Which A levels for Economics degree?

[Roseyposeypie]

My DS is thinking of Economics at uni. He’s just choosing A levels and he’s looking at 3, maybe 4 from this list:

Maths
Economics
Business Studies
Politics
Further Maths

Maths, Economics and Business Studies are probably his favourite three. Are Economics and Business Studies too similar? Does it matter that they’re not necessarily traditional subjects. Is there anything else he should consider (he’s a fairly good all rounder doing Buisiness Studies, History, Geography and Art at GCSE)

Also, would an EPQ be more valuable than a fourth A level?

Maths, F Maths, Econ and Politics. Bus studies not looked upon favourably by some unis (less academic than Econ) but will vary from uni to uni. They usually publish their guidelines - I’d start there.

If achieving very high grades at GCSE and looking at top ranking unis for Econ then this will usually be maths heavy. Therefore maths, further maths, economics and politics would be a good choice. Business Studies is not considered to be a good subject compared to Econ and he probably wouldn't be allowed to take both.

Some unis have maths entrance exams as well as high grade profiles. For maths A level anyway he needs at least an 8 at GCSE, if he is looking at a 7 then it is likely he will come out with C/D grade wise. This is talked about a lot on here.

Having a 4th A level puts him in a much smaller cohort of students applying to uni. I would say a 4th A level would be better than an EPQ if aiming for sought after uni places. Both my children did 4 A levels including maths and further maths as they did/do maths heavy courses at uni. One of my children is at Warwick doing Econ and loving it. The grade profile has dropped to 1 A star and 2 As with only an A needed in maths. Last year this was 2 A stars and an A star in maths plus TMUA (maths entry exam)

Also look out for English Language grade requirements to, usually a 6.

Econ can be combined with many other subjects like Econ and Management so he needs to look into all of them to see what he likes the look of. L100 is the UCAS code so google that plus the university as a starting point. Mine had a spreadsheet for the information when researching courses.

A fourth A level is not needed. The only time it would be advisable is if taking maths and FM (and even then some schools are more than happy with those two plus A N Other). But the unis will not be interested. They offer on three A levels and if a candidate offers four, that just means they need to do well in four. In other words AAA is better for uni applications that AABB. But offering four (AFAIK) does not mean you are more likely to get an offer.

Caveat – there are some courses I think at some unis where FM is not counted separately – but IIRC that's specific courses - medicine? – so not relevant here.

I would advise your DS to take maths, FM, economics and one other – politics is fine, or geography would keep doors open in that direction if he changed his mind about econ. Maths and FM means he could take a maths degree at a high-ranking uni.

YY tho what is his PG at GCSE maths? It needs to be an easy 8 or ideally a 9 for maths + FM.

I think the decision hierarchy goes something like this:

Likely to achieve 8 or 9 in Maths GCSE? If so, more likely to thrive at Maths A level.

Likely to achieve a 9 or high 8 at Maths GCSE? If so, take FM as it enables access to very competitive quantitative Econ courses; but take FM as one of 4 at the outset of Y12 in case struggles and need to drop it.

Take Econ as why wouldn't you if seriously considering Econ at uni; look at syllabus and past exam papers online to check pre-conceptions vs what Econ A level actually involves.

You may be told by teachers, parents and others that Econ and Business too similar but check actual uni requs; as far as I am aware, only LSE specifically says it dislikes that combo and only Cambridge says it regards Business as a 'vocational' subject, only to be taken in addition to three academic subjects (Oxford, by contrast does not have such quarms).

If in doubt about selecting the Econ and Business combo, consider Politics as a good fit with Econ but, again, check the syllabus and past exam papers to understand what Politics A level actually involves.

If the prospect is an A in Business but, say, a C in Politics, then it would have been better to ride through the risk of the Econ and Business combo and forgo application to the likes of LSE or Cambridge. However, if a good all-rounder, then something other than Business will give a little more breadth.

Finally, I know a number of people with Econ and Business A levels who went into competitive school leaver accountancy and other business related apprenticeship schemes, so if your DC has an early interest in business, they should be researching that route now.

Not bus studies

What grades and what universities would he be targeting?
Oxbridge / LSE / Warwick may have more specific requirements than next tier down.

EPQ genuinely more useful than 4th A level. Universities make their offers based on 3 subjects. An EPQ gives the student an opportunity to demonstrate self-directed learning and enthusiasm in the area that they want to study at university and, in the event that they are interviewed by their chosen university, it is a very useful talking point.
That said, some universities treat Maths and Further Maths as one but your 6th form should be able to advise on that.
The other benefit of an EPQ is that it is completed in Lower 6th which frees up timetabled hours in Upper 6th. Upper 6th is disproportionately more demanding than Lower 6th and it can be hard on students who have extra taught hours because they are studying 4 A levels (which also obviously increases revision time and the number of papers to be sat in their final year).

That said, some universities treat Maths and Further Maths as one but your 6th form should be able to advise on that.

I was concerned re this but my recollection (and Google agrees) is that this is only an issue for medicine.

Maths courses such as econ really welcome FM and in fact he will need it if aiming high (LSE, UCL, Imperial, Leeds).

If taking four A levels (if one is FM) then an EPQ might be too much?

Great post from @PerpetualOptimist

My DS is currently applying for Econ type degrees. Not pure Econ, but Maths and Economics/Morse.
He is doing 3 A levels Maths/FM/Economics and this meets the requirements of all Unis he has looked at including LSE.

Grade requirements are high and competition is fierce for Econ so it would be good to get three excellent grades rather then spread yourself thinly across 4. The top tier econ type degrees need A⭐A⭐A (Warwick you can reduce this by doing well in TMUA)

Thanks all. He had his interview with the head of sixth form today and has come away thinking he’ll opt for maths, economics, politics and further maths initially. They seem quite flexible on them dropping one if necessary to improve grades in the main three.

People asked about predicted grades. He’s currently predicted an 8 in maths and recently got distinction in his further maths GCSE mock. He’s quite interested in some very competitive universities and I find it hard to know at the moment whether he’s going to get the grades he needs. To date I’d say he’s been slightly coasting and relying on his natural ability but he seems to be keen to try harder for the upcoming mocks so we shall see.

If you really want to give him a challenge, have him take the intermediate maths challenge and some past papers