To drop history or psychology A level....no real idea what to do at University....any help or advice welcome for DD.

[Canadalife]

DD is doing A levels in Maths, Chemistry, Psychology and History. Going into second year at college she needs to drop one......but is totally confused about which one.

She has done AS and did equally very well in all subjects. She has no real idea what she wants to do at Uni. Her grades are good enough for RG and poss Oxbridge. She enjoys psychology more.

Our advice at the moment is that history will help to keep more doors open because it is a 'facilitator' subject. It is very much her decision.

We are struggling to advice and she is floundering. Please help with your experience or knowledge. Thanks

[Hiddeninplainsight]

Loved the update! So glad things worked out well. Hope she loves her Uni.

[Marmie4]

My DS was almost in the same position last year, he wanted to pursue a science degree and chose philosophy instead of history as his 3rd subject, he got the same grade at AS for both but slightly preferred philosophy. When he applied for his uni choices he found that Russel groups weren't really bothered as long as he did well in his science subjects. He actually got 5 offers from Russell group unis. However to pursue science at Oxbridge the advantage was to have 3 science/maths subjects, it didn't rule him out but definitely went against him. Hope that helps and good luck.

[MrsMonkey13]

Is she actually being forced to drop one? The college I went to strongly encouraged this but I kept on all four and still did well at all subjects. Worth bearing in mind if she wants to continue with them all.

[Skiiltan]

Sorry. Hadn't spotted this was a zombie thread.

[Skiiltan]

Why does she have to drop one? My DD has just done 4 A levels....

State schools/colleges are only funded for three subjects per student. If they are providing extra staff time and exam entry fees for a fourth subject for some students they have to subsidise this from money they receive for other students. Some will do this if they feel there is a strong case for it because of the student's specific academic aspirations, but colleges in particular can find it difficult because they don't have the funding for pre-sixth-form students to dip in to.

[RedHelenB]

I I would suggest it is easier o get a high grade in psychology than history as the marking is more open to interpretation in history judging by the results at the college my kids gave been to/are at.

[Canadalife]

Just to up date because of this thread and your suggestions. DD is starting at Lancaster doing Natural Science. She has found a combination of subjects that suits her interests. Thank you again.

[Dunlurking]

I should say he dropped Physics after an AS. So very similar kind of mix to your dd.

[Dunlurking]

Going to open days helped my ds. He did Drama, History and Maths and considered all 3 as degree options at various stages but is now doing Liberal Arts. He went to talks on History and Drama as well as Liberal Arts at too many university open days and it helped him crystallise his thoughts.

[Canadalife]

Having other people input has been really useful. It helps to get other ideas and has expanded our thinking. Plus DD has read the thread and it is good to hear things from other people.

[Dunlurking]

Glad to help. I can see joint honours Maths and Psychology at St Andrews would tick lots of boxes

[Canadalife]

Many thanks for all your interest and advice. she liked the idea of Maths and philosophy.....so we looked at maths combos and there are some Maths and Psychology options. She was quite excited by St Andrews. In fact it is the first time I have seen a sparkling of interest.

All other ideas welcome.

[QuackDuckQuack]

While you don't need Psychology A level to apply for a Psychology degree, it would look pretty odd to have dropped it after AS, but want to pursue a degree in it.

But I would guess that your DD would know if she was passionate enough about one of her existing A Levels to do a full degree in it.

[SerfTerf]

Has she had a good poke around //www.prospects.ac.uk ?

[TwitterQueen1]

Why does she have to drop one? My DD has just done 4 A levels....

[MadeinBelfast]

Some colleges might allow you to attend classes for all 4 for about a month so that students get a feel for the topics/teaching styles used in Y13 and then make a more informed decision about which to drop. Would that be an option?

[Pizzaexpressreview]

I'd let her stick with whatever she has more passion for or enjoys most. Won't close any doors and more likely to really study arou d the subject if interested. Psychology goes better with Maths. History is v essay
heavy if she isn't doing essay based subjects long term.

I similarly found it hard to choose between arts and sciences and loved psychology!!

[HarrietVane99]

I'm a historian, so I'm all in favour of people learning history for its own sake. But history A level isn't just about learning history. It's about selecting and weighing evidence, constructing an argument, putting it all together in a concise, fluently written essay which keeps to the point.

Those are invaluable skills for anyone in any career who ever needs to write a report or submit a request for funding or research proposal or give a presentation. So I'd agree that it's a good idea to keep an essay-based subject.

[DumbledoresApprentice]

History is not only useful for studying history. The whole point of facilitating subjects is that they keep a wide range of courses open. Dropping the history is fine if she's definitely going down a science route but keeping the history would be useful for history but also politics, economics, law, anthropology, philosophy, PPE etc. If she literally has no idea what she wants to do at Uni then history gives more options. The advice you've had is sound IMO.

[Canadalife]

Many thanks senua, might not suit DD1 as she is less of an abstract thinker. But Dd2 is off to Maths school this year and it might suit her in the future.

[Dunlurking]

Can do the 4 years Maths in Scottish universities without Further Maths. St Andrews is very good www.st-andrews.ac.uk/maths/prospective/ug/entryrequirements/

[Canadalife]

We have been thinking about that as well. She is considering doing further maths fast track a level in a gap year. If she does maths her idea is to teach....

[senua]

What about studying Maths and Philosophy?

[Dunlurking]

Unfortunately if she wants to do Maths then she has already limited her options by not doing Further Maths. There will be plenty of threads about it if you search - it's still possible, but not necessarily Oxbridge or RG. Please look into this quick as she maybe could do an AS level Further Maths in one year (if available), which would improve her chances.

[indulgentberries]

"“Our consistent advice is that taking two facilitating subjects will keep a wide range of degree courses and career options open. This is because these are the subjects most commonly required by our universities and hundreds of courses require one or more facilitating subjects.”"

from: russellgroup.ac.uk/policy/publications/informed-choices/