A-level choices

[McVities24]

Hello,

DD is looking at applying for a-levels. Trouble is she cannot break it down to 3 subjects, stuck between: English Language, English Literature, Drama, Psychology.

She wants to be a writer or theatre director.

I suppose the natural choice would be picking between the two English subjects but they are both so different and both sound equally beneficial for her career aims. She is not gifited academically but works hard. So I think 4 subjects would be too much… the decision is her’s but with the aim of getting advice, which subject would be best to drop?

Thank you :)

Hi there. I do those jobs, amongst other things, and they're not really jobs that will be made or broken by A-level choices, so first off I'd say she shouldn't stress too much about it or take too much on. It's much more important to be reading, writing and seeing and making things and finding like-minded peers to work/play with, than doing four A-levels. So take any pressure off that. I'd definitely ditch one of the English subjects, not many people do both of those. Eng Lit makes more sense if she wants a creative career. Presume if she's going to uni she'd do theatre studies or some kind of creative writing degree (though I personally think they can be a rip-off/uni cash-cow), so Lit, Drama and Psychology would be good for that path. Worth saying also that theatre directing isn't really a job that anyone except maybe the top 1% can make a living at these days, and writing is tougher than ever, so while it's good to go for it, it's also wise to keep in mind related roles/fields e.g. working in comms, other arts jobs, teaching etc.

Great post from @pinkdelight

I work in writing/copy/press and would agree, x or y A levels will not really make much difference, so she should not worry too much about that.

I agree dropping one of the Englishes is the badger – we know how different they are but employers and others in future may not and may question why someone has done both. Eng lang actually supports psych well (acquisition of language etc) but I agree, Eng lit is more related to theatre and writing so I would drop Eng lang myself – unless she really feels passionate about it.

The most important thing if she wants to be a writer is to write! Sounds silly but it’s true. Does she write much atm? What sort of thing? I say this a lot on MN but it’s so so easy to get your work published now thanks to the internet. She should write a blog, write book reviews, try to do the comms for any local groups she is interested in, write creative work and put that on the internet – that’s what will impress and maybe get her somewhere. Best of luck.

The obvious solution to me would be to find a college that does a mixed lit and lang English A level course. It depends what bits of Lang are most important to her.

Of all of them, psychology is the easiest to do later by yourself. Another option if she's wanting to go to uni is to look for courses there where she could pick up some units in the dropped subjects later. Eg Southampton is quite big on offering all students units from outside their main study area. Psychology you can study at uni without the A level.

Grades rule the roost in securing uni places. Anecdotally my daughter has found the jump up particularly hard in English, so she would advise against doing 2 x English. She finds Psychology massively easier to get high grades in. I guess this depends on the individual.

DD did a levels in English lang, English lit and psychology. She’s heading off this weekend for her third year in a joint honours degree in lang and lit.

Language and psychology complemented each other well, but her favourite was always literature. Her uni was chosen because of the literature modules that involved the physical nature of books eg libraries and publishing.

There is an option to take A level English Lit and Lang as one subject. A link to the AQA course is here www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-language-and-literature-7707 www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-language-and-literature-7707]]]]

However A level English Language is not the same as the GCSE - if her favourite part of the GCSE is Creative Writing that's not covered at A level.

I’d drop the Eng Lang.

Oxford run an English Language and Literature joint degree. Obviously not saying DD is thinking of this but the essential A levels are Eng Lit OR Eng Lit and Lang. Cambridge is the same and don’t include English Language on their longer relevant subject list either. So to make life straightforward, Lit, Drama and Psychology are best.

Christopher Nolan did Eng Lit and his wife did Ancient History. A levels won’t really matter. Getting into writing, film and acting clubs will make a lot of difference. It will end up being what you can actually do that matters, not if you have Eng Lang A level.

She should take the subjects she is most interested in.
Why can’t she put 4 subjects on her application but narrow down at enrolment? Students often feel very different about subjects after they have revised endlessly and taken the GCSE exams.

Finally, please don’t encourage her to take subjects based on what Oxbridge do.

I’d ditch English language - it is much ‘softer’ than English literature, to the point that many schools do not offer it as they see no real reason or demand to do so.

Is that true? I’m not sure it is

@Pinkissmart It is seen as less helpful at the highest level competitive courses.

I pointed out the view of Oxbridge because it’s good guidance for 3 A levels. There’s no need for 4 anywhere. So by any objective analysis, Eng Lit is the stronger subject and you only need 1 English. So Lang should go. Drama is English too in some respects, so 3 English A levels is not sensible. I don’t agree Lang helps with the career aspirations mentioned. A good uni and suitable course would be a better help. A levels are just the vehicle to get into the course and 3 are not needed.

@TizerorFizz not everyone want to go to ultra competitive universities. The OP says her daughter is not especially academic, but does work hard. So, taking a subject she enjoys the most is likely to lead to higher grades.
I hate how young people all get corralled into taking the same subjects because there is some outdated perception of them based on a few universities.

@Pinkissmart Yes, I do know that but no one much has really thought Lang is better than Lit in this scenario. I added in the Cambridge info because it backs up the Lit aspect. The DD has Lit on her list. So whatever you think of Oxbridge/elite unis,
it’s still the best advice for DD to take Lit in the circumstances outlined. If the DD only wanted Lang we would not be having the conversation.

Also doing what’s she’s best at could be Lit, Lang and Drama? Would that be a good idea? I don’t think so but some advisors who don’t look at subject combinations could say it’s great - do what you want! There is a need for reasoned guidance.