Which A level for Politics degree

[stilldumdedumming]

I wonder if anyone can help here. My ds was ill as a child and more or less home educated. He's pretty academic though and very dedicated. So far he has an English GCSE grade A, and 2 A levels Politics A grade and Sociology B grade. He tends to study without tuition as it's very expensive. So he just sits the exam.

He should complete a Cert HE this year at a specialist music college. He has no music grades - so no UCAS points there.

So he would like to do a politics degree and thinks he will need another A level (I know his GCSEs are not enough but he's hoping that will be ok).

What third subject could he do? It needs to be exam only as getting non exam coursework marked is a pain and expensive (otherwise he would do English).

Any thoughts at all?

A Grade 4 in foundation GCSE maths requires circa 55% across the 3 papers (a 5 is around 75%). There is a November series for GCSE maths so if he’s already comfortable at that 55% level he could work his way through past papers and get it over with in a few months.

Nope. I teach History, and the content and skills are very demanding. Not all A levels are the same - compare papers. I do.
I think the NEA in History is particularly challenging for many, as is the comparative evaluation of source materials. Some subjects are more accessible in that regard.

63,000 students sat AQA A-level psychology this year, more than 25000 more than the next largest subjects (sociology and biology).

I have yet to meet a university that does not respect A-level psychology. It contains elements that are scientific and mathematical together with essay writing. So is ideal for science students to develop some essay skills and for humanities students to keep some maths/science.

If employers don't rate it, more fool them.

I agree with you about Psychology - it's the most popular A level where I teach. I think it would be a good option.

I think the NEA in History is particularly challenging for many

As is the one for geography. Although the skills involving research, data collection, evaluation, referencing etc are invaluably useful for university.

My ds is doing a social and political science degree.
He did sociology, geography and criminology A levels.

Yes, Geography is demanding - but not very popular where I teach, which is a shame. I think often that the language in History can be somewhat off-putting for students who don't have English as a first language. Although some work incredibly hard at it.

Rubbish. I have one studying politics at. Too uni with psychology, even Oxbridge are more than happy with if

He absolutely has to prioritise maths gcse

Have you come to any decisions, OP? I think the advice about doing Psychology is good. Many A levels are very different to what the students expect.

He will need his maths gcse and he will struggle with economics without it being at least a 6 or preferably a 7. I think you need to make that a priority and then choose another A level. I would also have a chat with a few admissions departments to check the logistics of him having only 1 or 2 GCSE’s and having taken his A levels over a longer period. Some won’t be bothered, some may have an issue with this but he really will find having no maths GCSE a real barrier

The only thing I would also say is that although psychology is a great idea he may struggle without having covered the content for biology GCSE. Lots of people do it alongside biology A level. My son didn’t do biology A level and although he had an 8 at GCSE he did find it quite hard.

Thank you for all your replies. I have advised law actually as I can help him with that (I have a law degree and work in a quasi legal profession with a fair few solicitors/ barristers who would defo help him if he needs it)

I completely agree with gcse maths for later life. Lots has happened in his life and qualifications got put on the back burner. He works too hard but I'm not worried how he'll cope at uni- he's no shrinking violet! He works with people a lot creatively.

He is cramming a lot in this year and he massively underestimates the toll on his health because he's so used to pain and discomfort! He's always pursuing his own creative projects too. The Cert HE seems mad to me but I'm a conformist 9-5er. He's an adult tho and he has to make his own (mad) decisions.

Most Politics degrees include an element of statistics (as does Psychology or Economics A level) so Maths gcse/level 2 Numeracy is required as a minimum. Could he also look at degrees with Foundation years to cover any gaps?

Oh I have spoken to some admissions departments and he has booked in some open days. We have figured that an actual gcse will be better than the level 2 thing as some admissions staff reckoned they didn't accept them.

So the plan is iGCSE maths in January (he's checked it's the last year they're doing them in Jan). So he's got time to retake if needs be and then the A level in June.

I do wonder how it works if you are waiting for the gcse result when you put your application in - the UCAS deadline will not allow time for the result. But then others must do this and you just update your application.

Must do GCSE Maths. A third A level Psychology, History or Economics. Any of those would be equally good. I have taught Psychology and had lots of students get medicine/Oxford and Cambridge with Psychology so no problems with it at all.

Ah more replies! I have psychology A level but did it some 30 years ago (eeek). It's a possibility. Thank you to everyone that has provided some solid opinions on A level choice. I liked it and did well. But I also like maths and biology.

We have established that a politics/economics combo will not be realistic due to the maths demands and he's fine with that. He's more interested in social policy.

I didn't realise that uni's would consider how long it had taken. He has also worked though and he's only 21. He has done a fair amount of creative stuff out in the real world. He works for journalists and a publisher and has a music publishing contract himself- so I was hoping they'd see that he has not been doing nothing and he can work hard.

Universities will also consider why it has taken that long, and so in your sons case I would expect them to see it as a positive.

@jgw1 thank you. Short of a time machine (I wish more for myself than him) there's not much he can do about it in any case - except present himself in the best possible light. Thank you for your pm - mumsnet is not letting me open it - but I will try on my laptop.

Id say history would definitely be a good fit or maybe law or economics.

I think he may have to sit his maths GCSE at some point though? Can you afford a tutor?

It sounds like he wouldn't have a problem getting offered a place at university in spite of his challenges. He would be able to produce a rounded personal statement.

DD did psychology up to AS level, and simply found it boring. I suspect that they did the boring stuff in year 12 and covered the more interesting stuff in year 13. She was struggling with doing 4 A levels, so she dropped psychology after AS levels to concentrate on the remaining three, which was the best decision as it turned out.

She says that she found psychology unchallenging. It isn't academically hard like maths or chemistry, but you need to have an excellent memory. As with law you have to remember lots of case studies conducted by people with unpronouncable and hard to spell names, and a lot of it is simply learning by rote. The volume of work was much greater than for her other subjects - biology, chemistry and geography.

@Mammyloveswine history has the NEA element which would need marking.

I'm really glad I started this thread by the way. Because although I immediately said maths would be a problem, it wasn't completely obvious to me that it would be such a bar. Many excellent posters prompted me to actually talk to the uni's. I think without it, the issue would have been raised much later in the process and we would have had a panic on!

I wish him loads of luck. He can clearly work independently, which is what is required at university. I'm sure he will do well.

Where did you get this information ?