What 3rd a level would you add to these two?

[TeenLifeMum]

Dd isn’t sure career wise what she wants to do but knows she wants to do something science/research/healthcare medical maybe.

so far she wants to do biology and chemistry and is considering psychology but also enjoys history and English. What would you recommend would be a good combination? I want her to have options open so she can decide uni courses later and not be too restricted due to choices made at this point because she is so unsure. Keen to hear other’s thoughts as I’m English/history/politics subjects so science is very new to my world (other than I did them at gcse).

She should take the subject she likes the most

Is she y11 or y12?
Assuming y11 an doing college applications.

Maths, if she is good enough.
Psychology or Sociology maybe.
History or English Lit if she loves them enough.

Honestly - whatever subject she enjoys the most. Simple.

With A level choice you do close doors to uni courses, it is how it works.
If she does subjects she likes and is good at it should hopefully lead naturally to a degree in a subject she likes and is good at.

I'd recommend Maths. Failing that Psychology, but with two pure sciences she has wiggle room if she isn't quite sure about committing to science/health.

Whatever she likes best and is likely to do well in. Biology and chemistry won’t close any doors to her, so regardless of whether she does another science, social science or essay subject she is keeping her options open.

I know she won’t want maths or physics but the rest are all possible (not a language). I guess I’m thinking medical type degrees want chemistry and biology but what else… in case that’s the route she wants. The rest are probably more flexible from what I’ve seen.

I guess I’m also worried they are two notoriously hard a levels so the third child be easier which might be history for dd.

I did chemistry, biology and psychology. It was a pretty good combination. I wanted to do dentistry but struggled too much with the chemistry as found it a massive leap from gcse!
if she wants to do anything medical I’d go for the psychology over English or history but if she’s not sure then go with whatever she likes best.

An essay subject (like History) would leave options open. My daughter is going into social sciences and all the unis strongly advise an essay subject. Is Psychology essay, science or a bit of both?
I'd look at possible degree choices and see what most students on the course took (uniguide will tell you this).
History is not an easy A level, though of course some kids find some subjects easier than others.

@mondaytosunday I am not sure any are easy which is why I said “easy for dd” meaning it’s her natural interest.

Any of those are great although I’d lean towards psych and English over history. I would say have a look at the syllabus for each (especially psychology if it’s new to her - she may like the idea but not the reality) and then go with the one she finds most interesting. If she doesn’t fancy psychology after further investigation but still keen on the other two, pick whichever she gets the best GCSE grade in

Thanks everyone.

So many schools and colleges give bad advice. If she wants to do a science subject at university, especially a pure science or medical sciences, admissions officers will and do look down on “random” humanities a-levels in the mix. They expect 3 sciences, or 2 science and a social science. Yes picking subjects she enjoys is important, but do be aware that this might mean she will not be accepted for some science courses. It will limit her options

That’s what I wondered. I’m planning to look at uni courses with her to see what they ask for.

If she chooses Psychology it is counted as a Science at Uni. So if she needs 3 science A levels for a course she will have them. Personally I'd look at the grades the departments get at her school/college. Sometimes one department will hugely outperform another.

@caringcarer her school only goes up to gcse so we have 3 options to weigh up and compare.

She should do maths. If she doesn't like maths or isn't good enough at it to do A level then she may not enjoy A-level science as much as she imagines, and will find her choice of science degree courses really quite limited. For medicine she would really need to do maths or physics.

Otherwise I might suggest biology, psychology, English. They would be a great fit for both an English or psychology degree.

Another one saying maths. She's massively limiting her science career options without it.

Geography
Psychology
Economics
Sociology

This. I always wonder why so many people on MN say do xyz subject [usually science] to avoid closing doors" - I mean you do three subjects for A level, so you are bound to close doors. DD took three subjects which were on the old facilitating list and still closed the door on medicine, engineering, physics, chemistry etc etc. No issue as she was always intent on a hums-based degree.

Admissions for medicine will not look down on a subject such as history. In fact many welcome an essay subject. This is not an area of expertise for me but even I have gleaned as much.

Not doing maths will not limit her options either (except in as much as maths-based degrees will be closed off). Biology and chem lead well to a range of medical degree courses, yes including medicine. What you need for the popular courses is the best grades - an A in history is much more useful than a C in maths.

Bristol university, for example, requires chem, and one of biol, maths, physics, FM. No requirement for more than two sciences.

Psychology or sociology for medical or research.
sociology should be slightly easier.
universities may not stipulate the third a level but she’s more likely to get an offer if her third is relevant.

As well as uni it might be worth having a look at NHS apprenticeships for some ideas of areas she might like to work.

There are careers in the NHS that include photography and arts skills, eg the people who create prosthetics need a mixture of skills, not just science.

So what will she enjoy studying and what grade can she get?

She really should do the one she likes the most. Maths is the classic with chem and bio, but if she doesn't like it then don't take it. If she actively hates it or is weak in it however, it will impact upon her chem. Plenty of science candidates offer a non-science 3rd a level. Look at some university courses online, you will get an idea of entry requirements.

Do you have evidence for that assertion?