A level choice - confused to take Music or Physics

[MAT525]

DS will have to make his A level choices in a few weeks. At his school they are required to take 4 A levels. He is interested in pursuing a degree in either Computer science or Maths. Not quite sure at the moment.

For A levels he intends to take Maths, Further Maths, Computer Science. However for his 4th choice he not sure whether to take Music or Physics. He has completed his grade 8 piano and grade 7 violin.

Would music be seen by top universities as a less academic option/soft option? Does taking Physics give him an advantage especially when applying to top universities like Oxbridge , Imperial etc or even the Russell Group universities. Would love to hear suggestions as to which would be a better choice between Music and Physics as a fourth option.

Thanks.

I'm pretty sure that as he's got the three most relevant subjects for either of his likely degree choices (maths, FM and CS), whichever of the other two he takes will be a bonus.

If there's any chance he might change his mind to a degree in physics or engineering or the one hand or music on the other then obviously he should choose accordingly.

However, what really matters for most of the 'top unis' is top grades in 3 subjects so if doing 4 is liable to result in lower grades then the school should not compel him to do all 4.

I'm told by a friend whose son did music that despite playing lots of instruments to a high level it's quite hard, had to get a tutor in to help with certain aspects like appreciation and composition.

Music is not a soft option. He should do whichever of physics or music he prefers. Maths teacher here!

Maths and FM are the ones that matter. CS doesn't. Either Physics or Music is a good choice IMO.

If the courses prove tough, drop CS first.

As everyone else says, he should take the one he enjoys. Music is not seen as a soft option by any uni. Tho they are only looking for three A levels anyway.

Might he switch to engineering? Then take physics. Might he, like dd's mate (who also took maths and physics) prefer the starving musician route? Then take music.

Agree btw if he drops one, make it CS rather than FM.

Will doing music give him a change from his other subjects, does he enjoying the writing and analysis side of it? I don't think it would be seen as a less academic choice, make sure he's thought about what the course will be like. One of mine did not do A level music as she didn't feel she would enjoy it / be taught well enough in the areas she needed tuition and was doing other essay subjects. Studying English lit at university now and it is interesting how often she is able to bring music into her essays!!

DS did maths/FM/physics and music (and a language- slightly mad), now doing maths (oxbridge). His university offers were either just on the maths and physics results, or on both maths and any one other. If your son does maths/CS/music he might well have offers, for a maths course, that ask for the CS result ahead of music. If he does maths/CS/physics, his offers might ask for maths and physics ahead of CS, possibly even for a CS course. CS courses are so extremely competitive just at the moment he might well get university offers specifying all 4 A levels.

It is often said that doing physics complements the maths, certainly there is overlap. But DS enjoyed physics less than his other subjects and I'd heard the same from friends with older children (who both went into maths/engineering type courses). Which I think is a shame - but having done physics at uni myself I would say that wouldn't I? (I do think there are problems with physics syllabuses but don't know what the solutions would be - though where I was educated it was far worse).

I agree that a little bit of looking at university course descriptions would be sensible, to check that as far as he can currently tell, maths and CS appeal in a way that physics and engineering don't. And when he's done that let him make his choice. How he gets along with his likely teachers for the subjects could be as good a reason as any to be honest.

Good luck to him.

I think the suggestions upthread that CS would be the one to drop may be outdated. While it may not be essential for many (if any?) CS courses, I've heard it's much more highly rated since the A level reforms, and more students doing CS degrees will have taken it for A level than they would have in the past.

If your DS is unsure, then I strongly recommend that he contacts the admissions tutors for a few of the courses he is currently thinking in terms of and ask for their advice. My dd did this when she couldn't decide on her fourth subject - in her case they were more than happy with any of her possible options. Email addresses should be easy enough to find on the course websites.

One thing to check about CS is the teaching staff. If your DS is already at the school does he rate the teacher? Is there only one CS teacher who does a levels? I know there are many shortages of good teachers across the board, but my DD dropped CS at the end of the first year after her teacher went on mat leave and they couldn’t replace her, except with a succession of supply teachers and it wasn’t their chosen specialist subject.

If he is happy with either then physics - gives him more options in the long run. Makes engineering a possibility.

I was going to say the same. Most engineer going courses are not available without physics. Music is great for music and certainly is academic. It won’t give as much breadth to his options as physics will so he won’t be as well placed if CS ends up not what he wants.

A friend's son did science subjects and music - he wanted to get into digital music and the recording industry. I'm not sure what degree he took.
He's ended up doing sound set up for big music festivals, but I think there are many jobs for those with both technical expertise and musical knowledge/ talent.

Physics is purported to be the hardest A level. It may take time/ focus away from other A levels. Does he love it? Don't do it if not.

Says who? probably not someone who is doing maths and FM...

Lots of people find it easier than FM or eg chemistry, and for many music would be completely impossible!

Physics fits best with his other a levels in terms of keeping options a bit more open. If he’s sure it’s either CS or Maths at uni then that’s less important. Music is a LOT of work and more than just the performing side. If he really likes the appreciation and composition side then it might make a nice change from his other subjects, however speaking as someone who took it and regretted it, it doesn’t open many doors and takes up an awful lot of time (this may depend on the school but mine had an expectation on a level students to be in multiple ensembles as well as taking sectional rehearsals, doing arrangements for concerts etc)

DD is currently studying maths, biology, chemistry and music (with a view to doing something biological/pharmacological at Uni). The school expects most students to have the 4th A level as a "hobby or enrichment", unless they are comfortably expecting top grades. She is very likely to drop music in the summer.

As I understand it, the music syllabus varies quite a bit between boards. Some put more emphasis on theory over composing or performance (with DD's board they can ask for the split of marks to vary by a few percent between them).

DD has 3 or 4 chunky scores to study (each were £30+), which strikes me as being a bit tedious if you don't like them.

She is in a small class (most years <8) compared to 15-20 in other subjects, which means lessons are more like tutorials. There is nowhere to hide!

Decent teachers could make/break A level music. For the science A levels there is far more revision/tuition/videos etc online.