A level Business, Media Studies & Sociokogy/Psychology

[kimlek]

None of these are GCSE options at school but DC considering them for A level. Is very definite about Business (defo not economics) and interested in psychology or maybe sociology but know little about the A levels. Very interested in Business/Marketing/Digital marketing/the fashion industry (but not arty), so also thinking the 3rd could be media studies. Not yet done GCSEs but probs 6/7’s. Any thoughts please?

Business with psychology and sociology should be fine. Psychology is 1 of the most popular A levels in the U.K. and sociology is a good option for those achieving 6/7's at gcse.

Sociology A level must've changed then, it was flipping hard at A level when I did it, found psychology much easier.

OP, for the sort of job your dd is interested in, I'd say business, media and psychology would be the better combination.

My DD is doing Sociology A level - she has found it quite easy at GCSE. The A level syllabus is apparently pretty similar so she is hoping its an easy option (she does love it though as well)

Ds1 did Business, Sociology and Psychology, through timetable clashes he had limited choice. He now wishes he'd done maths. He found psychology trickier than sociology, it's more sciency and theory based.
What's the plan? Uni? Which courses and what Are their entry requirements?

@tennissquare why is sociology a good option for 6/7s at GCSE please? Would it be too tricky for 5/6 profile? Is that compared to psychology? Do you teach one of them?

@dogsweetdog why do you think business, psychol, media would be the better combination please? I think you are possibly correct as Bath Uni for business (only for example) say they want a mathsy/science A level and also a social science/essay A level. Psychology is accepted for the mathsy/science whereas there wouldn’t be one with the business, sociology, media combo. But wondering if you’ve another rationale?

@Oblomov23 no definite course as yet but thinking Business, Marketing, Communications and also interested in combining those types of things with fashion industry (not arty, not designing etc, more buyer type jobs) but it’s all a general ball park. Grades from AAA downwards for uni but if there’s any apprenticeships in the right area then that’s a possibility but I think most likely Uni. Did your DS enjoy sociology and/or psychol even though psychol a bit trickier? Oh, and had he done any of the 3 at GCSE?

I am concerned doing none of the 4 at gcse a bit risky!

If they are all new it might be worth substituting one for a known subject like maths, history or geography to reduce risk of not liking them or to have one which they should do well at. What do they hope to do afterwards?

I work in education, sociology is seen as a good A level if you are considering Btec route or A levels. Uni admissions is driven by predicted grades, it's important to choose A levels she will do well in. Business/psychology/sociology is a solid combination. Look at the a level results of a local sixth form college and look at the number of students sitting each course and the percentage o( Astar to A or Astar to B achieved. For psychology at any sixth form you will see a good set of results.

I've no personal knowledge of those subjects but my 2p worth.
My ds says business studies is perceived as an "easier" A level than economics but that the grade boundaries are thought to be high so someone with 6/7 should do reasonably well as many will be sitting it with lower GCSE grades. (His perception from his school is that the 7-9 cohort tend to do economics and the 4-6 cohort tend to do business studies, obviously with some overlap).
My friend's child did Art, Media Studies and Sociology A level. Her GCSE profile was mostly 5s with a couple of 6s and a couple of 4s. She got her worst grade (C) in sociology but really liked it and found it interesting. Media Studies she found hardest because it was quite different from anything she had done before (but got a B).
Lots of my friends' children have done Psychology. I think it's quite "science"y and those who have done (for example) Maths, Biology and Psychology have done a lot better because there's more overlap of subject content.
I think there's something to be said for doing one familiar subject (though not maths unless getting 8/9 in maths) but, if it was my child considering those options, I'd advise sociology over psychology.

Can he do 4 and drop one at half term: my dd is doing 2 new ones (classics and psychology) and really cannot decide between them so plan is 4 until October half term / Xmas and then make a call which she will continue.

I’m not sure if 4 subjects will be permitted, but I can ask. I’m also not sure if the combi will be ok or if there’ll be clashes. You submit choices first and then they see.

DC not remotely mathsy (6/7 gcse) so defo not A level maths. History ok but I’ve an older one who did A level History after getting 9 in GCSE and it’s been tricky.

yes, that’s what we are thinking @Nextlifestage re the grade profile of students choosing business over economics. Hence DC thinking business - econ would be too mathsy. I’m concerned similar may be said for psychol. It’s hard to gauge how mathsy psychol will be. I do know it’s a proper science and well respected. DC is interested in psychology but probably not the bio related aspects. Not very science oriented and struggles at all 3 - probs 6’s maybe a 5.

He did Business GCSE, but sociology and psychology was new at A-level and was not offered at GCSE, which is very common in a lot of schools so I don't think worrying about doing a fresh a level is a worry at all. I think that should be the least of your concerns.

I have taught A level Media Studies (as well as English). Just be aware that the figures show that it’s very difficult to get high grades in. You have to be good at essay writing/forming and evidencing arguments AND practical work. In my opinion it’s more challenging than English.

Sociology teacher here, reporting for duty!

I also teach a subject akin to media (but more fun!). Media has been 'reformed' , like all A level and is , sadly, vvvvvv dry now. All the theory that was shared between two A level subjects was parked in media. Is the business the business A level or eg a CNAT wit coursework? DS1 found business A level very dull. My school offers the more coursework based version and the students get high grades.

Sociology is a 100% essay writing subject. Lots of memorisation of theorists, date, research studies. It's not easy. Don't want to irritate any psychologists on here, but my students say sociology is more demanding in terms of revision, depth of learning and recall and develops writing skills more. Both are interesting , though ,as they focus on human behaviour, with different emphases. MN favours psychology over sociology (because STEM) and no doubt the sneerers and naysayers will appear. It's the biggest growing A level and, I think the 5thmost popular now.

I would be extremely wary of adoption of the all shiny new subjects approach at A level. Doing three completely new subjects often isn't a good idea.

OP, the most common degree course my sociologists head for (outside of subjects tied to other A levels such as geography) are marketing, business,law, media.

Our entry requirements are 4 + for English. The ones with 4s really struggle, obviously but 6/7 shouldn't be an issue at all. Teachers do teach the skills!

I also have one heading for fashion design and branding.

Is graphics or fashion not an option?

If potentially Comms in future , maybe English would be useful at A level. Psychology and Economics, and to a lesser extent Business will require an understanding of statistics.

Just to pick up on a PP's point...media has coursework. Does she like that possibility?It's good to blend if possible coursework and exam subjects.

Just asked DS what he thought were his hardest /most intensive subjects:

sociology - huge amounts of content
economics - hardest conceptually
history- most pedantic about how to answer 'correctly'.

This fashion branding course

is the one three of my students have gone on to by the way.

Well they all have some relevance to what she wants to do as a career (and my dd did very similar A levels and is in that career!)

Lots of great replies thank you.

@Piggywaspushed and @smooththecat agh! I was thinking that media may be a nice combination of academics and arts. It sounds like marketing in the school prospectus. We also thought some coursework may be good. Not liking the idea of it being dry!

also interesting that your DS piggy thought sociology was content heavy given he took history! Which is hardly light. She likes gcse history but I’m not convinced (and more importantly neither is she) that’s a good option for her at A level - too pedantic, the 4000 word NEA and the school’s choice of periods. Not a reader (dyslexia) so English lit out.

That fashion course is exactly the type of thing she’d love thank you piggy. They don’t do ‘fashion’ at school at all piggy and to do ‘graphics’ you have to have done art at gcse & she can’t draw for toffee.

@ssmooththecat will have a better idea of the dryness , to be fair! That's just what I hear from people who have jettisoned media in their school.

Don’t get me wrong, Media is a good course - for people who understand what it is and isn’t. Similar to Sociology, there is a lot of content. I can’t remember, but around 30 theorists to grasp and you need to apply them to both studied and unseen material to unlock the high grades. Loads of set texts. The practical work is very much meant to demonstrate your academic understanding of the subject through practical application, and that’s how it is marked. I do also think that students going into it should be made more aware that high grades are very hard to come by compared to other subjects.

Interestingly , I looked the fashion marketing course up on the Uni Guide. Rarely mentioned on MN, this is a great resource as it tells you about entry statistics, including what A Levels entrants typically did, which is what you would like to know.

The answer: Business, psychology and sociology!
Here is the info

Ha ha, that’s very interesting piggy thank you! Maybe she looks at Psychol, sociology and business with no media. Although I have seen other courses where ‘art/design’ is needed and media counts as such. Your course looks very & seems to get decent student feedback too.

@smooththecat 30 theorists! Wow. It is A level I suppose. There’s no such thing as an ‘easy’ one.

Lots to think about, thank you.

Yes,I saw one that accepted media as an 'art' replacement subject. She will need to look at the different emphases of courses.

On the subject of theory, my colleague and I may be over enthusiastic, but we counted the number of studies students could do with knowing for sociology and came up with over 100!!