Philosophy- where and what A-levels

[Pumpkintopf]

DD (15) will be sitting her GCSEs this year. Sadly, despite being predicted high grades she claims not to actively enjoy most of her subjects, with the notable exception of Religious Studies.

She has been having a look at uni options as needs to make a decision on A-level choices soon. She is interested in Philosophy and I can see her really enjoying that as an area of study. We ran through the sample logic questions on the Cambridge website for instance and she seems to have a natural aptitude for logical reasoning and argument (in my biased maternal opinion).

A-level wise, she is leaning towards Eng Lit, Eng Lang, RS and Psychology with a view to dropping one, possibly eng lit as she likes the sound of that least.

I know that (as a sample) Cambridge, Nottingham, and the uni choices website suggest there are no 'needed' subjects for philosophy as such but do the options listed sound sufficiently academic and robust to get her a place at a top tier university? Will not doing maths be a disadvantage?

And uni wise, have had a look at the league tables but any insight would be very welcome!

Thanks so much.

Psychology is a really boring A level btw.

I'd say Eng Lit, History and RS.

I think English Lang would be really interesting and might have done it if it had been an option.

I did RS and history - but I think RS is now PRE so includes elements of philosophy anyway, whereas my course was very religious and very Christian.

Politics might be worth considering as well - at ds' 6th form college quite a few people doing politics are also doing PRE.

Eng lang, politics and PRE could be an interesting combination.

If she doesn't like analysing books, don't do Eng lit.

Dds school (independent) doesn't offer English Language A level. I think of it as inferior academically to eng lit and it looks as though Cambridge do too, but I'm sure it's probably really interesting.

@MrsMiaWallis yes that was my concern but I agree it does look interesting.

My dd has just finished a Philosophy and Theology Degree and absolutely loved it. No maths content.

I would only suggest someone did maths A-level if they have a real passion for it and will get a 9 (or maybe an 8) at GCSE. Math A-level is very different from Maths GCSE, and I wouldn't "persuade" anyone to do maths A-level who wasn't dead set on wanting to do it from the outset.

Eng Lang really isn't inferior academically. I wish people would actually have a look at exam papers and specifications before making such proclamations.

If anything , it is rather stuffily academic and dry. It's a self perpetuating thing : if people state a subject is easy, only the weaker students do it. Thus its reputation sticks.

My school decided to offer AS Eng Lang for some students last year to supplement their learning. Not a great decision. Many of them dropped it because it was too hard. The ones who stayed the course got Es...

Eng Lang really isn't inferior academically. I wish people would actually have a look at exam papers and specifications before making such proclamations

I said that I thought it was. It's my opinion and that of my daughter's school, and of Cambridge apparently.

I also think Psychology is a boring A level.

Opinions.

BackforGood this is what dd has applied to do! Looks really interesting.

Meant to add she's received excellent offers from good unis despite scraping a 7 in maths gcse and no A level!

History
English lit
Psychology

I think these three offer a nice mix and would also help her get to grips with having a lot of writing to do if she does go on to do philosophy at university.

I think pretty much every A Level subject would be considered boring by some! I can think of nothing more boring than Chemistry personally - which would horrify my dad, a Chemistry graduate who worked in the field all his life! It seems a bit pointless to say a subject is boring as it’s totally personal.

It doesn’t take much research to see that Cambridge lists English Lit as a desirable A level for keeping options open at their university. They still list the “facilitating” subjects but just don’t call them that. English Language isn’t on the list. That doesn’t mean it’s not academic - it just means they don’t consider it best prep for their courses. Students looking at Cambridge are always best advised to read what they say and ignore people on here! However, grouped with, say, History and RE, one would assume it would be fine but Lit is better for Cambridge.

However if she’s not a possible Cambridge student, then what they say is still good advice but one assumes the competition will be less elsewhere. The best subjects to prep for a course are still the best subjects though!

Some courses suggest you should avoid 'significantly overlapping subjects', such as Business and Economics, and there is a danger that English Language and English Literature would be considered 'significantly overlapping'.

@crazycrofter

I think pretty much every A Level subject would be considered boring by some! I can think of nothing more boring than Chemistry personally - which would horrify my dad, a Chemistry graduate who worked in the field all his life! It seems a bit pointless to say a subject is boring as it’s totally personal.

Yes, absolutely. I don't think I've met many students who have enjoyed A level psychology though.

It’s one of the most popular A level subjects now so plenty do enjoy it. And do well in it.