Psychology or Biology A level?

[SlugsyMalone]

Hoping someone might be able to give some advice, my son is keen to apply to oxford uni next year to do economics, he is wondering whether he would be better off doing A levels in:
Economics, maths and biology or
Economics, maths and psychology

He’s leaning towards psychology at the moment but isn’t sure- he’s interested in both, his predicted grade in biology was an 8.
Thanks in advance!

Biology, definitely. It leaves more options open to him. He can do psychology modules at uni without having studied it before, but doing biology at a level will give him a better base knowledge.

Biology without a shadow of a doubt. Pure sciences are facilitating subjects and open more doors later on.

May have changed since I took both 17 years ago, but I found psychology a level really very easy so a good banker to get the most points. I think I recall getting 98% in one exam module and only needing a pass mark in the final exam to secure an A grade (before A* so top grade). I got a B in biology so it’s not like I was a total genius and this was a average school sixth form.

Biology definitely. It is a facilitating subject - the ones that most Russell Group universities are looking for. Psychology isn’t. Economics isn’t, but since he wants to do an Economics degree, that won’t matter so much.

With an Oxbridge application, I wouldn’t want to offer two non-facilitating subjects. The advice from the Russell Group website is that taking two facilitating subjects keeps options wide open.

Biology.

I say this as a university lecturer in psychology: Psychology A level is a waste of time.

Thanks so much all, that’s really helpful, I’ll show him all of your replies, he’s thinking Oxford or another Russell group uni so it looks like biology is definitely the better bet!

It's worth noting that there is no economics course at Oxford (unless .

There's economics and management, and (with a much larger entry) philosophy, politics and economics.

So if he cares significantly about going to Oxford then he needs to think about how his third A Level shores up the other aspects of the course.

Maths, economics and biology or psychology will mean he won't spend too much time writing essays, a really significant aspect of PPE and, to a slightly lesser extent, economics and management.

That given, I'd probably also say biology over psychology, but psychology A level could be spun as useful for management (and aspects of economics as well).

It’s the economics and management course he’s interested in. That’s interesting thanks Saola.

For the record I didn't think the psychology course was especially easy, it was the only one of my five that I didn't get an A in - though a bad teacher who left half way during the year, never to be replaced, didn't help.

Psychology covers loads of topics which do have relevance to both economics and management - incentives, social influence, etc. It also covers methodology and limitations to scientific tests on human behaviour. Probably most significantly, it covers critical analysis of scientific theories much better than any other subject at A level, and this is the stuff of gold for applying to top universities, especially for a subject like E&M.

The downside is that many people think its a fairly easy A level, and it closes off options that having a core science A level leave open. Maths, economics and psychology does, in essence, feel a little light weight.

Really its a shame that the vogue has gone back to just doing 3 A Levels from the start. 15 years ago when I was doing mine, it was standard to do four AS and then drop one for the A2 year - sounds like that would have been perfect for your DS.

Unfortunately it seems like they’re cutting down on the number of AS courses with a view to stopping them round here. He was thinking about doing 4 but now thinks he’d be better off concentrating on 3 to get the grades he will need. Thanks very much for your thoughts- really helpful.

Biology

Late to the party but biology.opens more options
Psychology can be studied at uni,don’t need A level in it

First of all, this course had 1450 applicants for this year and takes around 7%. It’s one of the most competitive courses and attracts many star studded applicants from abroad, around 50%. The 5 most popular A levels are: Maths, Economics, History, Further Maths and Physics. Therefore I’m not sure Biology is very relevant. History or physics would be better.

On line there is masses of freedom of information data about GCSEs and A levels which must be stellar and they like GCSEs in the right subjects (see Rusbridger article) but don’t say what they are. As so few are even interviewed, let alone get a place, its worth looking at all this data to see what attributes a successful candidate has. TSA scores are important. They may also require marked work submitted from school. In the Rusbridger article it mentions school teacher marking. When DD applies for another subject, this was a marked essay.

Another great piece of information, as mentioned above, was written by Alan Rusbridger about Lady Margaret Hall and the interview and decision process for this course in 2015. The really interesting bit is the disagreements over pooling. There is reference to a lot of debate about red flag students (background and school) and what school a student went to as meaning they know the student is likely to be good over a school they don’t know. That was worrying! The article talks at length about interviews, what students should be able to talk about and even how does your Physics A level relate to this course? Biology might get the same question. It’s hugely important to be up to date with British and world economics for interview too. They like candidates they would like to teach - this is very clear! This is why some people who look good on paper don’t make the final cut. It is certainly not all about results, but likely results and teachers over egging brilliance are taken into account.

The university also provides a hefty reading list and I think that’s why History is a big bonus. Lots of reading and an essay subject. The course is 50 per cent essays. History may well outrank both Biology and Psychology for this particular course. The vast majority of successful candidates think it does. Also lots are offering 4 A levels which suggests Further Maths.

When a course is so competitive, I think ticking as many boxes as you can gives you a chance and even that can be a slim one. It may well be possible to shine at interview, if you can get there, with excellent application of knowledge to their questions and being able to think about credible solutions to the questions they pose. They do like answers to be forthcoming and candidates who think on their feet. Good luck though.