A level Business and Economics for an Economics degree

[sam122]

Posting this again as i need opinions urgently.

Im in yr12 transitioning to yr13. My A levels are Maths, Economics, Business studies and Computer science. Im going to drop either Computer Science or Business. In Business Im achieving A/A* while in Computer Science Im achieving low B's. The chances of me getting an A in Comp Sci by the end of yr13 is low.

Preferably i would like to drop Computer Science however I've been warned to stay away from the Business Economics overlap.

I want to apply for Economics at universities with requirements AAA - A*AA. Im thinking of applying to places like Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Birmingham, Loughborough. Majority of the top universities don't state anything about the overlap other than LSE or Durham unless I've misread . What will be the best option going forward? Dont want to apply blindly then get rejected.

For context im achieving A's in both Maths and Economics. I've also emailed and called some unis but have not received replies.

You need to drop Business Studies because of the overlap with Economics.

I've known people who've been admitted to UCL for Management with the same Maths, Economics and Business Studies A level combination.

Ultimately, it's best to play to your strengths

@sam122 probably worth a phone call or email to the admissions departments of the universities you're interested in this week. They'll be able to give you the definitive answer

@SunsizOut I don't think that's accurate - there are plenty of universities who will support that combination

From the LSE website

"Many of the undergraduate programmes at LSE are multi-disciplinary and for this reason we consider a broad mix of traditional subjects to be the best preparation for study. A broad academic background will provide the skills to perform well in any of the challenging programmes at LSE. Students offering a narrow range of subjects may be at a disadvantage compared to those offering a broader combination. Examples of narrow subject combinations might be Economics, Business Studies and one other or English Language, English Literature and one other."

This may be true of other Universities offering Economics. Worth checking.

Computer science can be useful. DS used the coding knowledge he had gained via his electronics A level.

Drop business management and avoid the overlap, especially when business studies isn't exactly well regarded

I'd suggest drop business. I don't think it's seen as a target subject. Computer science would be helpful.

Yes business studies isn't well regarded. That's what I meant to say

Do you still have coursework due for Cs? Can you really up your game there?

@sam122 why are the chances of you getting a higher grade in computer science low? Your other grades suggest you are a capable student. Two things about your A levels, one, know what the exam board is looking for, it isn't always about being academically smart, you have to know how to play the game to get the points. Secondly, looking at your year 12 mock paper, why didn't you get more marks? That is a specifics thing, identify where you went wrong. The way to crack it is to have the mark scheme and add notes to that mock paper. You can practise by sitting it again and seeing how much you improved. Past papers and mark schemes inform a lot about what they are looking for answers wise.

Durham is a BA for economics, the rest are mainly BSc courses. Durham's is like Oxford with their PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) more social science based whereas the others you mentioned Loughborough, Manchester are probably slightly more maths based. My youngest son is applying to uni for Economics.

Although universities (except LSE) won't specifically state the overlap of business studies and economics a lot of applicants will have been told not to do both these subjects at A level by their sixth form as they are too similar in content. I would contact the university admissions departments to get their personal take on it.

As mentioned above, business studies isn't well regarded in terms of depth. Was your original intention to drop BS after year 12 but the computer science grade is worrying you?

I’ve got an economics degree and did business and economics as (separate A-Levels). Not at a uni you’ve listed but a top 10, and I was accepted to Loughborough.

(Also did A level psychology and an AS in maths.)

@Boomboom22 my son has an NEA component worth 20% but that might be board dependent.

I meant to say Sam that unis will be incredibly busy at the moment with dealing with A level results and admissions for this year. I know that doesn't help you. As a parent I would be saying to you how much do you want the unis you have listed? What can you be doing to increase your CS grade? Realistically you probably have around 6 hours free time after college each day, plus weekends. How much of that could you dedicate to CS? Have you spoke to your CS teacher? Sought help if you have struggled with something? My son's sixth form has a contact time every day after lessons finish where students can see their teacher.

Drop Business and with the time gained, use it to improve your computer science- if you think that’s achievable. Did you always intend to complete four? Have you done your CS coursework? How did it go? Also maybe you need to rethink your uni choices and go for those that want the grades and aren’t concerned about the overlap. A call to admissions is an excellent piece of advice.

I’m assuming your maths and economics are going better than the CS?

If you’ve not already done so - analyse the module content of all courses to see if they are a best fit for you. It might be that Durham/LSE aren’t in the running anyway and you only have five options. There’s more to selecting the right place that it just being ‘a top’ uni so it needs to be the right fit for you and aspirational but somewhat achievable. Good luck!

My plan was to keep business in-case i didn't like economics. Turns out its what i want to do at uni... I didn't drop the subject because my comp sci grade was worrying me as you mentioned.

I found Business much more interactive. I know half of the class and the teacher helps regularly. I think i was able to receive a much higher grade in my business mock because of this. We do assessments frequently which i find beneficial.

In comparison, I find Comp Sci extremely boring. I don't know anyone in my class and feel lost in lessons. Despite it being my lowest grade, its the subject i put the most effort into as i had to self study most of the course due to the poor teaching. No assessments have been done except for our mocks so hard to track progress. I find the NEA is time consuming - i can put that time into improving my other A levels and other areas of my application.

I have emailed the admissions teams for Sheffield, Birmingham, Loughborough, Exeter and Bath. They all replied saying that combination was fine. Bristol said they don't recommend although someone in my school last year got in with the combination?

Im still not sure what to do.

It sounds like you don't gel with the teacher and the class for CS, which can impact your learning. I know my younger son was unhappy with his classes in Y12 (they shook them up in Y13 and he much preferred the set he was in, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen at your school/college). Also possibly the CS teacher just isn't great! There's a big shortage of CS teachers I think.

Can you chat to your BS teacher just before term starts - email him/her and explain your dilemma and ask if they can give you any advice? They should know the landscape and outcomes for recent pupils and it sounds as though you get on with them. (If you do this, don't criticise the CS teacher - just explain that you don't enjoy it or perform as well in it as you do in BS.) Maybe they know some admissions tutors who can give them an informal opinion?

I think if you were my child, after everything you said, I'd say stick with BS but go all-out this year to get the highest possible grades across all three. Plus if there's anything extra-curricular you can do this year to demonstrate breadth of interest that might be a good idea - an independent project of some kind? If you just hate CS, the teacher, the class and the way it's taught it's going to be an uphill struggle!

For what it's worth you sound proactive and sensible and thoughtful, which will stand you in good stead whatever subjects you do.

I work in a related field and I would drop computer science. Your predicted grades are unlikely to leap dramatically for CS at this stage which would naturally limit the offers you receive for competitive economics courses.

I would be more concerned at the lack of further maths for some courses than for the slight overlap. Students with without FM may find that they have reached the limit of their maths ability in the first year and need to pick later modules carefully. My DD needed to chose more discursive modules on global economics.

BTW Oxford will quite happily consider Business Studies as a 3rd A level, so don't fret.

Given the high grades needed for Economics, I would drop Computer Science, as it's going to be hard to get your grade up. Hopefully Universities will have more time once Autumn term has started to answer your query about admissions and A Level combinations.

This is a no-brainer for me:

1. You don't like CS
2. Your CS grade is the lowest
3. The majority of your target universities have said they'll accept Economics and Business Studies

I don't wish to sound like a Mum, but I think you're starting to overthink this/move into paralysis by analysis.

Please don't do an A level subject you don't enjoy

Based on your update @sam122 about the teaching situation with CS I completely understand why you are struggling with it. A teacher can absolutely make or break a subject. As the other unis have confirmed the combination is fine, drop CS and continue with BS.

The positive is you will have more time now for your other subjects and it won't feel like such a slog just to get through it. Best of luck to you for year 13.

Ds is current year13 heading to uni this Sept. His A levels were maths, economics, business. He applied to economics and finance at Bristol, Nottingham, Newcastle and Leeds, plus the straight economics at Leeds.

He received all 5 offers for AAA other than newcastle at AAB. No interviews needed. The only criteria that came back as a surprise is Leeds needed proof of an 8 at gcse English (slightly bizarre) yet their prospectus stated a 6 at gcse English. Fortunately his gcses were all 9s and 8s.

So my advice is that dropping computer science should be fine, so long as you carefully check individual uni entry requirements before applying.

He applied to 5x courses but at only 4 universities.

Predicted were A A A.

He didn't do any super or targeted extra curricular. He didn't do EPQ.

He wrote his own PS, quite quickly, didn't dwell on it or want feedback. But, it was quite fun to read (that sounds bizarre) and applied for 4 course by end of Oct then got on with doing his A levels.

Then end of Jan, once he knew more about how his offers were going and how his A levels were going, he added his 5th choice.

Best of luck to you.

Do the subjects that you'll get the highest grades in, even if that does include Business. The only essential subject for Economics is maths.