Art A-level: does it hard uni applications for humanities?

[AnonymouseQuestion]

My child is choosing A-levels and wants to do History, RE and Art. Those are their favourite subjects and they are predicted strong GCSE grades in all 3. They likely want to do History or RE or Classics at uni. Will the Art A-level weaken their application to do History etc at a top uni? Would they be better doing English as the third A-level? They love English too but they really love Art.

Sorry for the typo in the title. It should ask whether Art will harm uni applications not “hard” them.

My son is doing a history degree. I don't think Art will be an issue, it's normally only subjects like General Studies that are excluded. If your DC has an idea of the kind of unis he might want to apply you can check the entry requirements.

they would love Oxford or Edinburgh both of which just say three As for classics and for history but that’s not true is it? That is the minimum and the truth is they will look for higher grades in rigorous subjects but is art a rigorous subject in their view?

I don't think it will be an issue. I have anecdotally heard of a child on a history course at Oxford with an Art A Level.

If DC is staying at the same place for A Levels as for GCSEs is there a teacher that handles Oxbridge applications, I would ask them?

Does the setting offer Classics A level? My DS did that and loved it, it was his favourite A Level.

She should check admissions requirements for courses she is interested in. She can always ask the admissions team for further advice if she can’t find the answer to her questions.

Here is a link to the Cambridge advice on choosing A levels. They recommend taking 2 out of History, English Literature, Languages and Maths for a History degree:

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/choosing-high-school-subjects

RE, History and Art should be fine but, if she loves English too and is equally as talented at the subject, she might find life a whole lot easier to take English instead of Art and keep up art as a hobby. Art A level is a LOT of work, it may take time away from her other subjects and reduce her chances of top grades.

I think she will find that although Art is acceptable, universities would recommend English Lit above Art. Choosing Art won’t hinder her, more that English might help her as it will further develop relevant skills for her degree. Although she is doing 2 essay subjects already… If she is considering Oxbridge, English might give her a tiny advantage in selection. I would suggest it is more important to choose a third subject that maximises her chance of getting top grades in all 3 A levels though.

Art is fine OP dw. It's a time-user tho but then if she has liked the GCSE happy days.

It’s emphatically not the case that any uni will discount it. Especially as she is already doing two from "the list" published by Cambridge (and only Cambridge pretty much). Other unis really don’t mind as long as you do any subjects requested (so usually history for a history degree for example).

If art A level is going to be too much or she won’t get a good grade then for sure pick something else. But don't worry that choosing it instead of Eng lit will harm her Cambridge application. It won't. And if she would get A-star in art and B in English then art is a much better choice,

That was kind of what I was saying 😂 Although OP’s daughter isn’t doing 2 A levels from the Cambridge recommended list, only 1.

My point about the list wasn’t that that Art will count against her in her application, just that skills from English Lit A level might make her a better candidate, which is why some universities recommend it as a good subject for History candidates rather than they give preference to candidates with that A level. But, as we both agree, the most important thing is to take the 3 A levels she will do best at.

My bad, RE isn’t on the list is it.

Yes the best thing is the best grades for sure.

And tbf apart from I think LSE for economics, it’s only Cambs that is even this prescriptive about subjects, beyond as we are all saying the ones essential for a specific degree (biology for biology etc)

If anything , I would swap RE for English Literature and keep Art. RE is less of a foundational subject than English Lit, especially at A level.

That Cambridge list is odd. Obviously maths is a demanding A level but how and in what ways does it add specific value to a history student??

It's not even the old facilitating nonsense as I think a couple of those are missing.

I am imaging a bright child wanting to do history who because of this list picks maths over , say politics, just because of the list.

Oh, hang on - that link is for all hums, including law and does say maths is useful for law, so not specifically history. Got it.

And economics, of course is in that cluster.

To add, my DS got an interview at Cambridge for HSPS which is in that cluster with only history from the 'two from' list - so I don't think in reality they pay it much heed.

My DD did History, Psychology and Art. She is now at Durham doing Sociology and received offers from Bath and Glasgow. Missed out on Cambridge but did get an interview there.
Most unis will publish their 'preferred' A level subjects or at least the ones they will not consider (General Studies for example). The only place I think her subject combination hurt was for LSE, as most people who are on the course she applied to had Maths or Economics (History being most popular A level).

It's fine. My DD did Art, English, German and studied German and Linguistics at Oxford (she also took AS Maths but doubt that made any difference!).

I'm an Oxford tutor that makes admissions decisions and we are actually not allowed to favour certain subjects unless the admissions requirements specify that they are at least "recommended". And when it comes to the AAA requirement we have to accept any subject that is not explicitly ruled out.

Provided at least AAA is predicted, then for getting an Oxford interview, aptitude test results and (contextualized) GCSE results will be more important than predictions of A* stars *which are very inaccurate. Then if they get an interview then that will be very important. The conditional offer will always be AAA so achieving A stars will be irrelevant.

@Piggywaspushed Cambridge interview loads - did he get a place? The key info is how many get places without 2 from
the list? Not who is interviewed.

I would say English Lit and not RE is a stronger application for elite unis. RE and Art are more subject specific ones for the third A level. If not looking at elite unis, it doesn’t matter really. It’s worth bearing in mind that Art is not on the Cambridge list at all. It’s not as if Oxford is any less competitive but these A levels would not meet the recommendation from Cambridge. Maybe there’s better info on what subjects successful applicants to Oxford offer in addition to History?

They get feedback when they don't get a place and it wasn't about his choice of A levels. HSPS is now the second most competitive subject and they by no means interview everyone. Thanks for your patronising post though.

Of course Art WON’T harm an application- why would it?
It also keeps doors open for a range of creative degrees.

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I have read your answers with my child and we have had a good chat. They love art and enjoy the time spent on GCSE art projects as it’s a different type of study to the more bookish subjects. Plus they point out that at GCSE and A-level the art is handed in well before other exams start meaning you can really concentrate on fewer subjects at revision time.

There is no offer of classics a level at their sixth form otherwise they would 100% choose that over RE.

If a uni says it prefers two A levels from a list it probably means it at the elite level. All nuances matter and the feedback for thousands and thousands who do not get in is sketchy really. These few unis can afford to be choosy so why not give them what they say they want? Of non elites the aim, RE and Art are fine! Absolutely.

Nope. Feedback is very detailed. 3 sides of A4 with graphs and everything.

Do you have any lived experience of admission to history at Oxbridge?

OP one of my DDs took History, English and Art for A level and read History at Oxford. She went on to get an ESRC scholarship for a PhD. Her tutors (one of whom was head of the History faculty at the time) said that Art being offered as one of three was very definitely unusual. One thing I would say is that for the two major projects within the Art syllabus (not sure if that's the correct name for them) DD undertook very specifically academic and historical themes. I'm sure that made a difference. But then her grades and school reference were flawless - obviously it's every case on its merits.

I might quibble about the argument in favour of time being freed up in May/ June. It's very easy for perfectionist DC to get sucked in to their art course in the months prior, to the detriment of their other two subjects. Swings and roundabouts for sure.

Art A level is not the easy subject a lot think it is!