Advice on University/Subject choices

I also think it’s worth looking at subjects at university where a grad job at the end is a strong possibility. Some degrees are better than others in this respect.

I wonder about this. My DD is Y10 and already seems very confident on what A levels she wants to do (she did start them in y9 so is a good chunk in) at the moment it's English, Psychology and Sociology / Criminology. It makes sense I think as English & Sociology are probably her strongest subjects. She's definitely not going to take a STEM route!

It seems so far ahead to think about what she may want to do at uni. Really I want her to do subjects she will enjoy and is confident she can do well in.

I do think most DC end up with subjects they prefer. Maths, Physics and History would be no barrier for Law! But he might settle on 3/4 subjects that suit him best. However guidance is needed to make sure they work together for a choice of degrees. Therefore doing academic subjects as far as possible (the guidance from Cambridge is best) tends to keep options open. There’s a big world out there that’s much bigger than school though!

@ValseTriste I think it is good to have a conversation though about the wide variety of courses available, especially when you look at maths and the variations of other subjects it can be studied with, same with MFL. Also degree apprenticeships or vocational apprenticeships etc.

I think schools just look at next steps. Ds2 is in year 11 and had a careers talk today. I had filled out a post-16 questionnaire but I don't even know if that had been looked at. He missed a lesson he very much wanted to attend to sit with 3 other students, only one of whom was doing A levels and had to sit through being told what an EPQ was. He had to tell them he wouldn't be doing one as he is doing 4 A levels, yes he knows the sixth form is great as his brother has just left there to go to uni.

I think just looking into courses at different ranking unis to see what grades they want and what subjects at A level just starts a conversation about the future.

“Where” matters a huge amount for non stem degrees. As well as the what!

Engineering degrees are perhaps particularly good for being both 'vocational' but also tend to produce highly numerate grads with a variety of transferable skills who can therefore go into a range of occupations thereafter if it turns out they don't want to be an engineer.

For kids capable of aiming at or near the top their employability will largely hang on where they dye the degree and not what they studied.

That only applies in some professions...especially not on the STEM side, which sounds like where the OPs DS is more likely to tend. 'Where' may matter to some extent but the 'what' is crucial.

My DS did his degree in Forensic Science, so a science degree (obvs) with practical skills taught alongside theory and knowledge. He graduated this year and secured a job in financial crime with a major audit and accounting company.

There are different ways of studying subjects!

Broad brush not house brush obvs

@JuneOsborne I don’t agree at all

Outside the obvious vocational degrees (law, medicine, vet med, accountancy, dentistry, engineering) it is fairly safe to say vocational degrees are offered by those institutions that don’t feature in the top tier. For kids capable of aiming at or near the top their employability will largely hang on where they dye the degree and not what they studied. And to pre-empt comments, yes this is a house brush generality and yes some employers are trying to move to a blind recruitment process but at the moment it is what it is.

@clary

Yes. I agree. They are different threads! However same problem! Economics is difficult without maths!

@TizerorFizz I think you are talking about a different thread wrt economics without maths - the one I meant is about a Yr 13 student who feels he was badly advised and should have taken maths A level

My DD is a barrister. Did MFL at university. She didn’t think about a definite career at school until she was in y12/13. A selection of her barrister friends have degrees in history, music, classics, MFL, philosophy and English. You can certainly get very good jobs with a decent degree from a top class university. They don’t have to be vocational but what they do have to be is a high quality springboard to a career and further training. The brighter you are, the better! Overall STEM degrees pay better and some of them are not career specific.

The advice I give my kids? Get a vocational degree. I didn't. I got the degree I wanted. And the student debt. Then I had to retrain. And got more debt.

There's time for vanity degrees (I can say this because I have one!) Later in life. But, what you need for the rest of your life is a job. And preferably, one you enjoy. So, do whatever it takes to end up in that position, as early as possible, so there is time later. Work hard while you're young and you've got the energy.

Given his current interests and aptitudes, he may want to take a look at the Smallpeice website and also Headstart. The latter do courses in yr 12 which can be helpful for students considering some of the STEM disciplines (not sure if they also do anything for younger ones).

With what you've said so far there are loads of obvious choices apart from maths itself : physics, the many and various types of engineering, the many and various possibilities of com sci/ data science /IT. In all cases there are courses and careers suitable for a variety of aptitudes.

One of the main things you can do at this stage to help him is to start saving the pennies - but that’s a whole other conversation!! Maybe get a paper prospectus (easier to dip in and out of than online IME) of a top/middle/bottom level
Uni and have a read of courses around a subject area. I agree so many degrees that don’t correlate to school subjects but which are related. Another thing to bear in mind is that some subjects at A level may be offered “new” - my DD now studying a degree in something related to a new subject she started at A level which was not available at GCSE

@clary

The OP in the other thread had a 6 at Maths GCSE. It could well have been good advice that A level Maths was beyond reach. Plus the OP was a mature student and coming into HE via an access course. However, planning according to your strengths is important!

If you are British and living here you will find studying in the USA very expensive. 4 years at $50,000 a year is a ball park figure. You can apply for a place where they are offered on merit snd the university will pay if you don’t have enough money. However, as you might expect, competition is fierce and only available at a few top wealthy universities. The Fulbright Commission can give more details. But being rich or American is the best way in! Followed by being exceptionally bright or sporty if the first two don’t apply. The best value is staying here and doing 3rd year abroad!

I agree with others, it's well worth thinking about now.

And it is worth looking at uni options in terms of required subjects - there is a thread about a student who wants to do economics at uni but was not advised to take A level maths, which is a poor decision unfortunately - maths A level more useful for economics at uni than economics A level.

If I were you, one thing I would do is choose a well respected uni and see what courses they offer - what might be of interest - think outside the basic subjects a bit, so not just a physics degree, how about engineering (etc) and then look what they ask for in terms of A levels. Most unis will be similar in that respect - what will vary IME is the grades asked for - you can think about that at the end of year 11.

I don’t think it is too early either. Some DC do know exactly what they want to do. Others are not sure and some subjects float to the front of thinking. However I think there needs to be coherent thought about where favourite subjects might lead.

DD1 was convinced history was her subject in y10. Later MFL became the obvious choice. History, culture, arts and literature could all be incorporated into a MFL degree. All things she enjoyed. So exploration of subjects is never a bad thing. She ended up being a barrister so you never really know!

Honestly you are over thinking and way too early. There’s absolutely no point in assessing likely universities without a handle on predicted grades which you won’t even be near until they’ve done GCSE. It is useful however to have a general inkling of likely SUBJECT because some universities require specific A level subjects eg some economics degrees require maths A level, sciences and engineering will obviously have their own requirements etc.