Dd A Levels - Psychology- how much to advise?

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DD will enrol at college on Tuesday. She’s thinking Psychology (what she wants to read at Uni), Biology and Philosophy. As a background, she is very passionate about social justice (got a distinction on her speaking element for Eng.lit on sex work), and got 9s in both English exams and History.

However, I’m concerned about her choices - especially Philosophy, which unlike the other A levels has two three hour exams rather than three two hour exams. Anecdotally it’s very challenging and I think it won’t be ‘real world’. enough for her. I also don’t think Biology is a good fit - I hear studying sciences at A level is a while different ball game to GCSE. She did okay in maths and quite well in her sciences (all 7s), but, again, not peopley enough.

I’m looking at the courses, and think that Psychology, Sociology and Religious Studies would be a much better combination for her. She LOVED RS at GCSE (her favourite subject), and these would fit with her interest in the justice-based worldview that she’s got (she’s autistic and that brings a huge interest in what makes people tick).

Could anyone please advise on how we approach this with her? Would these subjects fit for a Psychology degree? I wish someone had chatted with me properly about my choices when I was her age.

Thanks in advance.

Definitely she should stick with biology as it complements psychology at degree level well and also a more traditional red brick university will strongly favour it over RS. As an aside noone gave me any career advice and whilst I sort of wish they had, just make sure you approach it in the right tone. FWIW I studied psychology maths and English, went to a top 5 university and then studied a masters in organisational psychology once I had a few work under my belt and now have a career I love :)

If she wants to do a psychology degree I'd advise against doing psychology a level. The first year of the degree is basically the a level. This is what everyone told me before doing a levels.

I wanted to do a psychology degree and did biology, geography, maths with stats (AS) and classics.

I changed my mind during my a levels and applied to do classics at uni.

I'm a psychologist, agree about keeping biology and philosophy is fabulous for uni as it helps you construct arguments.

If you're worried I'd talk it through but dont let one assessment put you off, and don't say "you won't like/get on with". My DM did that and I changed courses as a result and never really forgiven her. Instead say "have you considered this might be tricky? How would you deal with this situation?"

I think her choices are perfect tbh. Psychology and biology are a good combination especially if she wants to consider psychiatry which is psychology plus pharmacology (you need to know the human body to prescribe medications). Philosophy is fantastic and will cover things like ethics, very good for anyone going into mental health.

Sorry, but your ideas of social studies and religious studies are naff for someone wanting to pursue psychology at university level.

Leave your DD to it, it’s her life and she’s made some really good choices.

For a child who got 9s at GCSE I can't believe you are trying to influence choices on which exam arrangement would be 'easier' - it is never easier to do a subject you want to do less.

It sounds like you don't understand the subjects that well - philosophy is no more or less 'real world' than RE and is a fascinating subject.

If teachers feel the subjects are wrong then maybe interfere but unqualified backseat driving is unwise.

You don’t need to do a psych a level to go on to do a psych degree. That said, she is better off taking a levels that interest her as she will give it more time/effort. She’s obviously smart and with those grades she can take her pick of what she wants to do, I wouldn’t worry about exam timings.

If she loved RS she will likely love Philosophy from my experience. By all means suggest she looks at RS and sociology but ultimately it is her decision

Id advise the opposite for a student with ASD. My ASD DD is doing computer science A level, and it’s true she will cover much the same ground her 1st year at university. But for an ASD student, just living away from home in unfamiliar surroundings and having to build a new life and routine is a huge stress, especially if they struggle with day to day things like cooking, laundry, life admin.

So for the 1st year to have some of the coursework to be a repeat increases their chances of being able to successfully transition into Uni and not, as happens all to often with disabled students with autism, end up having a mental breakdown and dropping out, or failing their first year.

This is what was advised to us by the sixth form SENCO. It proved true for one of our older DC who is also autistic and they are about to start their 3rd year of Uni.

I think her choices are good OP, I studied psychology at A level and then a Psychology and Philosophy joint honours degree and finally a Doctorate in Clinical psychology.

I found the philosophy more challenging than the psychology but I think it helped me to stand out a bit when I was subsequently applying for clinical training as it helps you to think, reason and construct arguments eg about the ethics, which are actually very helpful in a clinical career.

I agree with the previous poster who said that the psychology A level is similar to the first year of the psychology degree but I wouldn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing. I found that background knowledge really helpful in that first year of the degree.

I did psychology biology and history. Did chemistry at AS but dropped it.

Psych and biology are a good fit

My ds took psychology, maths and geography a level. He's about to start uni, studying psychology. You can advise, but at the end of the day your child is studying, not you.

DD Zia also autistic and just got accepted to do psychology this year. She did biology (really helpful) and maths (also helpful for the stats ). I teach psychology and am also autistic and I agree that the repetition in first year would be good for your DD. Hth.

@Discovereads oh totally missed the ASD part.

Agree, redoing the a level in the first year could be very useful for her.

I think you should allow her to pick after all she's the one going to be studying it. Guide her yes and recommend she perhaps checks out uni criteria for degree she's thinking of.

You can’t go into psychiatry from a psychology degree - you have to go through medicine .

Psych a level is similar to degree level first year but it's a good way to find out what psych really is (not Freud, body language or dream analysis but an actual science). There were a large number of drop outs in the first year at uni due to this basic misunderstanding. Those of us who had done a level had far more understanding of the discipline.

Psychology teacher here - I agree with PP about not being able to access psychiatry, you need to be a doctor then specialise for that.

As for the choices, philosophy is much better than RS at A level, and will teach much better skills. Psychology and Biology work well together, Biology will be a big step up but if she enjoys it 7s will be sufficient. I think they are a great mix of choices, plenty of flexibility if she changes her mind about studying psychology further.

I would advise for uni studying a combined degree (e.g. psychology and criminology) if there is something she is interested in, gives a more broad experience.

I would have thought law is an obvious choice if she's looking at justice?

I agree with her choices and, sorry, but I think that they're much better than doing psych with sociology and RE.

Her choices are all serious, traditionally academic subjects that will teach her excellent skills and are well respected by employers and universities.

Sociology and RE are more niche.

She's got her head screwed on, your girl. She's going to shine!

I teach Philosophy and it is challenging but is brilliant for enabling students to develop critical thinking skills. It also definitely has real world applications ethics / what is a mind / what can we know all relevant to many areas of life. Many students do Philosophy and psychology.
I have also taught RS a and it is a also a very interesting course, more wide ranging than Philosophy. It will focus on one religion rather than 2 as is usual at GCSE so that might depend if she is interested in that particular religione.g. some students enjoy Buddhism and some Christianity. It’s usually more essay based than Philosophy.

Psychiatry is not "psychology plus pharmacology". As others have said, it is a medical speciality. Medical school for six years then another 6+ years of specialist training. OP didn't mention psychiatry.

As pp said , you DON’T need a psych A level for entry however, it’s VERY risky not to take it.

I work at a college, and psychology is the subject most students get disillusioned with after the first year/ first few weeks.
They think it will be all case studies and compelling discussion, and they aren’t always prepared for the theory and the stats,

If she’s passionate about social justice, perhaps swapping sociology for psychology may work better?

Let her make her own choices

Biology and Maths are the most helpful subjects to prepare for a Psychology degree. Perhaps swap out Psychology or Philosophy A level for Maths?

I teach psychology too and biology is definitly a better option, a science at A level is definitely a plus when applying to psychology. I appreciated the fact I had done A level in both biology and psychology when it came to the first year of my degree as it meant I wasn't overwhelmed by the scientific side of things and could go more in depth. Philosophy goes well too, will develop her skills and critical thinking and will be well regarded by unis.

I disagree with this