Y12 DD struggling to choose uni course

[sydenhamhiller]

DC2 is doing Maths, RE and Classical Civ for A level, (Econ for AS).
She’s predicted 3 x A*.
She suffers from imposter syndrome: really worried about her GCSEs and then ended up getting eight 9s and one 8. She didn’t really love any of her subjects, lockdown killed off quite a lot of her enjoyment of y9-11, but she is good at maths and she hoped she’d like Economics. For various reasons it’s not been a real hit, and a lot of the class are just going to take it as their AS level at the end of the year and carry on their other subjects.

So, long story short, this is how she finds herself with Class Civ, maths and RE, good predictions, but no huge passion. She does want to go to uni though. I have suggested a year off/ apprenticeships/ etc.

We’re currently poring over courses, and they are all starting to blur into one.
Wondered if anyone on here has any insight into any of the following courses:

1. HSPS (only offered at Cambs though and she is not sure she is Oxbridge material)

1. Classics without Latin. (She started Classics as her 'extra' when she moved schools for 6th form, and is really enjoying it, but feels she might be at a disadvantage because she does not have Latin).

3 MA Interdisciplinary Futures at the University of Edinburgh’s Futures Institute.

She's been looking at Liberal Arts degrees, but isn't sure.

DC1 is doing medicine, and super stressful of course, but there was an obvious path to follow. DC2 is equally academic, but (rather like her parents!) not quite sure what she wants to do. Thanks for any advice/ guidance any one can give.

I would say take a year out, get a pt job,, get some life experience and then decide

Get her to have a look at the study first degree apprenticeships with pwc. Something she may not have considered.

Liberal arts is a fine choice and one that I think would be suited to someone with a broad range of interests. Wish I'd have done it tbh!

Doesn’t sound as if Uni is right for her now. A year out - travelling, volunteering or working. Chance to decide what career she wants. Maybe that Uni isn’t for her and an apprenticeship whilst working is more suitable.

Why does she want to go to Uni?

You don’t need Latin to do Classics nowadays because so few schools study it. It’s a great degree and well respected. If that’s what she enjoys then definitely worth looking at Classics degrees.

She has at least six months, maybe encourage her to visit some unis and attend tasters. Some do Classic based degrees with ab initio Latin/Greek.

All Classics courses now offer the languages from scratch. For some courses you'd need to do some of both languages, for others you'd only need to do one, for some there's no language requirement.

Worth checking course requirements at different unis, but she'd not be at any disadvantage whatsoever in applying, particularly not if she has Class Civ.

What is it that makes her think she’s‘not Oxbridge material’? Granted it’s not for everyone, but is it just impostor syndrome that’s making her rule it out?

She might also like to look at:

Philosophy
Ancient History
Archaeology

Classics without Latin is sometimes called Classical Studies - I think so many people won’t have Latin there won’t be a disadvantage.

Might she like anthropology, if she’s considering HSPS?

Thanks everyone, food for thought.

Her grades are good enough for Oxbridge, but they are looking for real passion for the subject so she’d be fine as long as that course excites her.

If she likes Maths but didn't like economics, has she considered actuarial science?

I'd absolutely suggest a year or two off to consider. I'd imagine she has too many rather than two few options.

To throw a couple of ideas in, perhaps look at maths and philosophy degrees, or if she is interested in humanities why not think about statistics - and gain the tools to investigate them.

Obviously it depends on why economics isn’t a hit atm, but those A levels definitely lend themselves to PPE at most universities.