Help with degree choices.

[Star789]

My daughter is currently in Year 12 and is studying A Levels in English Literature, History and Geography. According to her first report she is predicted A, B, B respectively (targeting A, A, A) so off to a reasonably good start.

She enjoys all three subjects equally but has no idea what she'd like to study at degree level. We're looking for inspiration on future degrees/career choices with these subjects in mind? She got all 7s and 8s at GCSE level if that's relevant.

Any ideas gratefully received 🙂

There are websites and I input your A levels and it gives suggestions

www.ucas.com/careers/careers-quiz

Thank you for the reply. We've had a look on various websites which help guide your choices but as yet haven't found much inspiration.

I suppose I'm looking for more guidance on which degrees (connected to her specific A Level choices) are deemed more prestigious and more likely to keep the most doors open?

I'd think doing a degree in English literature gives the most options if she isn't sure what she wants to do. My sister did English and had worked in publishing, advertising and logistics.

I know the educational system here in the UK is quite different to what I experienced in the US; however, this is the advice I wish someone had given me:

Study / get your degree in something you love, something that fascinates you and captures your imagination; but you must also take courses that will help you to monetize that passion.

A degree is useless if you cannot support yourself and your family with it.
A job is miserable if you don't care about the subject matter.

Excellent advice, thank you. A huge decision to get right!

Might be worth looking at joint honours courses if she wants to keep options open. I did straight Eng Lit but wish I'd done joint English and French or something.

Archeology?

I think one thing to remember is that her degree choice doesn’t have to be connected to her A levels. Obviously some degrees will be out of the question but there’s other stuff. For instance I wish someone had told me when I was 17yo that I could have done a law degree, I’d assumed I would need A level law.

My best advice is to look at some prospectuses and go through the entire book/website and see what takes her fancy. Make a list.

English Literature, History and Geography are each fine to study on their own -- there are probably combined degrees possible, too, like "historical geography"

If like most 16 yr olds she can't figure out her future career, she would do well to choose the Uni & course that 'feels' most engaging and prestigious from those 3 topics & see what happens later.

I am reminded that...

Woody Harrelson mentored with Mike Pence to become a preacher...

David Duchovy started a PhD in English literature ...

Michael Moseley studied PPE at Oxford, became a psychiatrist, soon disillusioned so became a journalist, is now lauded as a "Nutrition expert"

Helen Moseley studied philosophy before becoming an investment banker

What I mean is, they just kept trying to excel at each step & ended up with careers they probably never would have predicted at age 16.

Kate Adie's autobiography is great for describing this -- she literally just bumbled along every time she made the next decision in her education and then career (or had to switch because she offended the Royal Family, etc)

Lots of valuable input! Thanks everyone.

Geography has loads of options and students can get all sorts of jobs and further training related to their interests. History and English less so. Geographers can become planners, surveyors, environmentalists, food supply specialists etc etc. There are endless options connected to the degree. Historians snd English grads don’t work so much where the degree is integral to the job. Except teaching obviously.

The IFS research shows that Geography and History grads as likely to earn more than English grads. However university matters. RG being gold standard. However do what she likes best.

DDs friends who did History are now civil servants or lawyers. English grads work in tv, advertising and charity sector.

My son is doing geography A level and I was trying to get him interested in the Global Sustainable Development degree at Warwick because I thought it looked really interesting. You can do it as a joint honours with various different subjects including history. He’s not up for it but your daughter might like to check it out.

@TizerorFizz that's really helpful, thank you.
@lilyfire we'll definitely take a look, thanks!

If she wants to continue studying a broad range of subjects it may be worth having a look at Liberal Arts courses.

@Star789
You can do Geography and then do sustainable development as a masters. I would not pick a niche area first. Look for a broad course that gives plenty of options. Then study for a masters if necessary. Don’t put all eggs into one basket. Look for breadth then barrow down later. You never know she might want to be a planner or surveyor!

@YeOldeTrout

English Literature, History and Geography are each fine to study on their own -- there are probably combined degrees possible, too, like "historical geography"

If like most 16 yr olds she can't figure out her future career, she would do well to choose the Uni & course that 'feels' most engaging and prestigious from those 3 topics & see what happens later.

I am reminded that...

Woody Harrelson mentored with Mike Pence to become a preacher...

David Duchovy started a PhD in English literature ...

Michael Moseley studied PPE at Oxford, became a psychiatrist, soon disillusioned so became a journalist, is now lauded as a "Nutrition expert"

Helen Moseley studied philosophy before becoming an investment banker

What I mean is, they just kept trying to excel at each step & ended up with careers they probably never would have predicted at age 16.

Kate Adie's autobiography is great for describing this -- she literally just bumbled along every time she made the next decision in her education and then career (or had to switch because she offended the Royal Family, etc)

Thanks for this, I have just shared it with my 17 year old who is freaking out about ucas forms as has absolutely no idea what he wants to do but is expected to write a personal statement outlining exactly why he wants to study xyz

His A levels are Law, Govt and Politics and Psychology but he doesn’t want to do any of them!

@JudyGemstone, is this needing to come up with a PS and at least one course to put on a 'live' UCAS form by the coming ?Wednesday (in which case, perhaps a gap year would be sensible?), or thinking ahead to next Autumn? If the latter, then plenty of time to look at what a range of universities offer and see whether his A levels fit the requirements for anything that he likes the sound of.
What are his interests outside of school?

Lots of degrees don't have specific requirements at A level. DS2 is studying History of Art. His A levels were Art, Maths and English Literature - none of these was a required subject at any of the universities he applied for and only the Eng.Lit. would have been needed (as an 'essay-based' subject, not specifically Eng.Lit) had he applied to Cambridge, which iirc was the only place that specified anything.

Yes, a very last minute panic that he needs to get a ucas form in now even though he’s pretty sure doesn’t want to go this year.

I didn’t go til I was 23 and now have a masters, another postgrad and a professional career so I’m fairly relaxed about it all but no sure that’s helpful or not!

I suggest looking at Liberal Arts degrees which are similar to the American system, and have a variety of subjects that can be studied and she can tailor as she goes through the years depending on what she likes.

@JudyGemstone
If you can afford it, get him to do a Morrisby Test. It looks at possible careers based on personality, Attainment, likes and dislikes etc. If he thinks of a career, he can make degree decisions. There is a whole world of work out there that doesn’t involve those A levels or a degree in them. Business. Management, and allied degrees might interest him.

[quote TizerorFizz]@JudyGemstone
If you can afford it, get him to do a Morrisby Test. It looks at possible careers based on personality, Attainment, likes and dislikes etc. If he thinks of a career, he can make degree decisions. There is a whole world of work out there that doesn’t involve those A levels or a degree in them. Business. Management, and allied degrees might interest him.[/quote]
Thank you, I will.

We have actually been looking at businesses mgmt courses, and this probably is his preferred option - just don’t think he could write a convincing PS stating why at this point!

How that buzz quiz is really weird.

Its listed 5 potential jobs. I would say my job is a variation/ combination of 3 of them.

So strange.

@JudyGemstone
Don’t worry too much about a PS. Unless he’s aiming for a top university he won’t be judged too much on that! I would just look at the contents of the courses and see what makes more sense to him. He might find some aspects click with him which he could then look at in a bit more detail to write a ps.

@TizerorFizz

Geography has loads of options and students can get all sorts of jobs and further training related to their interests. History and English less so. Geographers can become planners, surveyors, environmentalists, food supply specialists etc etc. There are endless options connected to the degree. Historians snd English grads don’t work so much where the degree is integral to the job. Except teaching obviously.

The IFS research shows that Geography and History grads as likely to earn more than English grads. However university matters. RG being gold standard. However do what she likes best.

DDs friends who did History are now civil servants or lawyers. English grads work in tv, advertising and charity sector.

I second @TizerorFizz, Geography has become a really respected degree because it opens so many doors while closing very few.

Of DC's friends who did Geography as a first degree, one is now a surveyor, one is doing a Masters in meteorology, one has finished a Masters in disaster management, one is a town planner…