To think that doing an A level in Psychology isn't enough to get into Uni

[Poppyanddaisy55]

My dd leaves school this summer. She is clever and has the potential to get good GCSE results if she puts the effort in.
She has all of a sudden decided she would like to study psychology. Then have the potential in the future to become a psychologist. Our local college has an a level course but it says it might not be enough to get into Uni? Anyone any experience in this? She has already been accepted on another course and I would hate for her to turn it down and work so hard to find it's not good enough.

You don't need an A level in psychology to do a degree in the subject. She would be better off finding out what she would need to get into the degree course she fancues. Could be a mix of a-levels and btec.

One A level will not earn the required points to get into university - she would need to study 3 A Levels.

Providing she does other A levels then I can't see it being an issue? Is it definitely an A level? One A level isn't enough to get you int uni though so she would need to pick some others.

She also needs to research Psychologist - a psychology degree doesn't qualify you to be a psychologist. The vast majority of psychology graduates don't go into a psychology related career. That's not to say it isn't a valuable degree though.

A relative was a psychologist and taught degree level - he said that they preferred students who were slightly older and had 'done other things' as they bring more to the job.

As in just only do the psychology A-level? Obviously that will be insufficient as it's not enough UCAS points regardless of the topic.

If she us serious about the degree she needs to look at universities which have them and are in her capabilities and see what grades they require, and whether they require her to have done a level sciences rather than simply the psychology course, which I imagine most will. I don't think it is for her if she isn't minded towards science.

What appeals to her about it OP? What would she be aiming to do at uni if not that? Does the school or college not have a careers advisor or course coordinator she can speak with? Perhaps you could set this up with the college.

Psychology includes a lot of maths and statistics and essay writing. Agree you do not need the A level to take a degree but it may be interesting. Something like Philosophy and Ethics, Biology, Maths might work alongside or instead. Psychology degrees are quite competitive to get on though so she will need to do well.

There is nothing wrong with an a level in psychology, but surely she will need more then one a level to get into uni?

If she wants to be a psychologist then a-level psychology is not even necessary. One a-level definitely isn't.

The most important question is what is it she thinks psychologists do? Often what people think they'll be doing by studying psychology is studying (psycho)therapy. What they're actually studying is how societies function, research methods, statistics and how to use computer programmes for that, some basic developmental theory and more research methods. There's no actual therapy if it's on a BPS accredited course (which it needs to be in order to lead to chartered psychologist qualification).

Mental health nursing might be of interest if she's more driven by being "with" people before she gets to what is essentially post grad level. There is also less competition for MH nursing positions, whereas it's HARD to get onto the psych post masters qualification programmes - very highly competitive. And with one a-level it's unlikely she'd be able to meet the general requirements as others would have 3 plus outstanding uni grades plus work experience.

*one a-level is definitely not enough - not that you don't even need an a-level!

She will most likely need biology and maths alongside it. If she wants a career in psychology she will also need to do a masters if not a PhD programme. So looking at 7 years in uni after A levels.

Psychologist here. To have a career in psychology, i would recommend maths and biology A levels. Psychology a level is nice, but not the slightest bit relevant

She needs either 3 A levels or 1 Btec Extended diploma to get into university.

One A level alone would not be classed as a full time course for college anyway. (To be classed as full time and continue to receive child benefit you need to have a certain number of contact hours which equates to roughly 2 A levels as a minimum.)

I've just chosen two universities at random (Manchester & Bath) and both specify psychology as an accepted A level (Manchester class it as science)

As i remember psychology is very competitive to get in to. I think it is written in the courses as a health warning.

There used to be snobbery with some psychology departments not liking a level psychology and some law departments not liking law alevel etc. Generally this was pompous rubbish.

I would check a couple of university psychology departments entry requirements.
If she is interested in the science she will need to like maths biology as well

But generally if i had to tell my past self anything its that nothing is that set in stone and you can still do a lot of stuff what ever your alevel choices through one route or another.

Psychologist here too. Obviously she would need 3 a-levels in total. A psychology A-level is good to have (in my opinion) because it introduces you to research methods. I also did biology and chemistry instead of maths.

I found stats very useful when I studied psychology (degree level).

I studied psychology, both a level and undergraduate.

Psychology a level isn’t remotely similar to the degree. In fact, I chose my degree subject because I liked the a level so much, so I was a bit disappointed with my course content. Agree with others that maths and science a levels would be more appropriate.

In terms of what she would need to get in, you need to check the entry requirements of her universities. Some may prefer certain subjects, others won’t. Some may want a high attainment across her a levels, others won’t. From there you can plan which a levels are best to select. She’ll need at least 3.

Also what are these courses you speak of? Typically 16-18 year olds take a levels, so what is this other course that she was accepted on at the other college?

DD had 5 offers for RG unis she is doing Psychology, Biology and History. You need a reasonable grade in Maths GCSE (at least a 5 , 6 preferred. You don't need Maths A level. With Psychology another science and an essay writing subject make a good combination

*Also what are these courses you speak of? Typically 16-18 year olds take a levels, so what is this other course that she was accepted on at the other college?8

Possibly a Level 3 Btec Extended Diploma

She will need 3 A levels to get onto an undergraduate psychology degree. However, if she then wants to work as a Clinical Psychologist she will need to do a further 3 year Doctorate. These are very competative and require at least a years work experience in a related field and a First. Nor for thd faint hearted !

Interesting! I thought it wouldn't be enough. She is going to have to speak to someone at college to get further advice.
She originally chose the easier option of travel and tourism as she had no idea what to do and wanted to travel. But shes now changed her mind and when discussing it with her teachers they have agreed. Said she is very good at the science part of it.

I'm pretty sure you need 3 A Levels or equivalent. 1 A level would never get you a university place.

Tell her to look at any university prospectus so she can see entry requirements.

ONE A level in psychology wont get her into any uni to do anything.

She needs to have a proper look at entry requirements.

No college will accept a 16-18 year old student to only do 1 A level as it won't fulfil the funding requirements of a full time course anyway.