What qualifications do you need to go to university?

[Rainbowskytoday]

I appreciate this will depend on University and courses; but in general what do you need to attend a reasonable good (not top) university in England? Specially if you have no clue what to study 😅

Well your choice of A levels will certainly affect the university courses available to you. If you do English, Spanish and history you won't be accepted to study medicine or nuclear physics.

You can probably narrow your choices by what you are good at, if you are not good at maths that restricts a lot of your science options at uni, so you might want to go arts side for A levels, if you are good at maths and science and are more practical you might pick those and go for science or engineering at uni, if you are great at languages you might choose them. If you are lucky enough to be good at pretty much everything, do you have a passion for anything? Also you need to think about grades if you go for subjects you are not so good at you may get low grades or fail which will restrict your choice of universities.

There’s 0 way to know that without knowing what you want to do. It varies. At my university currently you need BBB in three science A levels to do my course, or to do an Art you need a single A level at C or above. But if you want to do foundation you need a pass in Maths and English at GCSE equivalent.

That being said I am on my course and didn’t do any sciences at A level but I had a previous art degree so they let me do it.

Generally I’d say to pick A levels do what you are interested in and what you are good at. You can always change direction when you’re an adult like I did. This is my third degree and I am 30.

Generally a level 3 qualification (A levels, BTec, T levels) of if a mature student they may take an access to HE course.
Some courses will specify subjects and specific grades.
You also need maths and English GCSE and in some cases (like teaching) you’ll need science too.

It’s hard to make A Level choices when you are unsure what you might want to study and/or have no idea what careers you are interested in. Try not to think about A levels entirely in terms of university - instead consider which subjects you actually enjoy and do well in, as these will feed into the subjects and types of degree you can eventually do.

A levels go into more depth on a smaller range of topics than GCSE, so you need to be sure the subjects you choose are ones you will be excited to study for two years - even though there may be one topic in the mix that you like less than the others. There’s no point studying history if you hate it.

The starting point should be to look at your predicted grades for GCSE at the moment - are they strongest in maths/science, or humanities/arts? Does your 6th Form offer subjects you’re interested in but never been able to study at GCSE - Psychology, Economics, Business studies or Computer Science, for instance, can be great to add to the mix.

My son had no idea in y11 and , after a bit of a disaster with GCSEs, he ended up doing Maths, Physics and Economics. Wasn’t much fussed about maths/physics by the time he did GCSEs, but it was the only A Level pathway he was allowed on with his grades. He was told he had to do economics or a BTEC in engineering as the 3rd subject. He chose Economics with no expectations.

In the end he really enjoyed economics, almost considering doing it at uni, but actually fell in love with Physics in a way he hadn’t had the chance to at GCSE. He’s now doing an MPhys in nuclear astrophysics. Two-three years ago he had no idea what this was, but he went in to A Levels open minded and with no idea at all what he wanted to do with his life.

So I’d refer you back to: which subjects are you doing well in and enjoy? Start there.

By all means choose subjects for A level that you are most likely to get the highest grades in, but also be sure to look at what studying each of those subjects entails at A Level as it may be taught and examined in ways that do not suit you or will not best represent your ability. Do also be aware that there are some A Levels on offer in subjects you have not taken at GCSE that you might do well in. And be sure to check what examining board each of the A Levels that you are interested in taking are being taught at the Sixth Form College you'll be going to as the content and methods of assessment can vary for each subject depending on what exam board is used. What are your predicted GCSE grades and what have enjoyed studying so far and what have you hated? Have you been going to 6th Form open evenings?

Normally GCSE maths and English (not sure of grades now you are on numbers) and 3 A levels (each course will specify grades abd sny special requirements)

I am doing better at Science than humanities.

What do you mean your son had a bit of a disaster in GCSE? If he went to study maths, physics and Economics I imagine he got really good GCSES. Or did he resit?

Thanks.

So, he was supposed to get grade 7-9s, but bombed and got 5-6’s. (He was late diagnosed with autism, and didn’t get ADHD confirmed until recently.) Most of the 6th forms wanted 7s, but might have considered a 6 in one subject. :(

He got 6’s in maths and physics, and 5s in everything else (erm, plus failed history…) so he went on to a local tech college with low expectations - only to be taught by fab teachers who really cared about the subject. This makes a huge difference.

He went on to get AAB for AS levels/ABB for A Levels and is now doing a 4 year MPhys degree.

If you like sciences, but are unsure what you might want to do afterwards then Maths, with your best Science subject is a good place to start? Economics or Comp Sci slots well with Physics; Psychology, Sociology or Economics can go well with Biology and both ‘mixes’ give a good general grounding for many degrees you won’t discover even exist until y 12? Degrees in accounting, business studies, engineering - even game design and 2d animation - are accessible with maths/phys combos.

As someone says above - really good idea to have a look at UCAS at the types of degrees on offer.

Also, you can look at https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer

You put in different A level subjects and it brings up possible degree subjects that you could study with each combination. At this stage your focus needs to be on: what you like/are good at; and your subjects giving you the MOST possible options when you start looking at uni degree subjects.

Also be careful about the advice saying there is no point going and getting student loan debt if you don't know what you want to do. There are a lot of potentially lucrative jobs that just require a 2:1 degree or better in something e.g recruitment, IT Sales etc. I slightly disagree that degrees need to be specifically related to the job you will do. Lots of lawyers didn't study Law at university, but wouldn't have been able to become lawyers without a degree. Same with lots of people in IT/HR/Sales/Consultancy etc.

The debt is a graduate tax as well, not like actual loan debt. As long as it enables you to do something where lefetime earnings are projected to be higher for gards vs non-grads, then I think it is still worth it. Plus there is a lot to be said for the social and mental side of going to uni - maturing, learning who you are and what you want to do in a comparatively safe environment etc.

Good luck - my son is in Year 11 at the moment and has a sixth form information evening coming up - do you have one? They will give you lots of good advice there about university and also other options like degree apprenticeships.

Thank you. Glad things worked out for your son, I will look at the UCAS website and will go to Sixth Forms open days for inspiration. Good teaching makes a difference. I got some good ones and some not so good.

Have a bit of a Google:
A search for ‘entry requirements Biological Sciences Sheffield University’ tells you that you need 3 A levels at AAB
https://sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/2027/biological-sciences-bsc

Law at Hull requires a mini
um of 96 UCAS points https://www.hull.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/law-llb-hons?option=standard-course&start=2027

STEM subjects generally stand you I. Good stead, including Maths.

Lots of STEM graduates move into finance / accounting

What were your predictions for GCSE in your last report? You should be starting to have meetings at school about A levels or other choices.

If you go on to take A levels, try to take those that are ‘facilitating’ if you’re not sure what to study at degree level. So things like maths, single sciences, history, English, geography, music, computer science etc. Subjects like food tech, drama, business studies, Pe, can be seen as a bit ‘lightweight’ unless there are two harder A levels accompanying them. There are degree courses at university, like economics or Liberal arts for example that cover several areas and other courses that you won’t encounter at 6th form at all like architecture or civil engineering.

Once you get to year 12, I suggest you go to a few university open days to look at what’s available or you could even do that now.

As a uni lecturer I will just say don’t rush, take your time. Better to do other things until you are ready. You won’t be too old, you will fit in even if you’re 3 years older.

This is broadly good advice about checking what is needed for a specific degree. But I don't like to see A level subjects being tagged as lightweight. I see that PE is there, as a usual suspect.

PE (and the other subjects mentioned) are not lightweight at A level. No subject is. (Actually there is no food tech A level, and it's business not business studies.) PE is basically biology and DS2 found it very far from easy (and he is a smart lad).

Yes, sciences (biology, chemistry, physics) and maths and Eng lit and MFL are subjects which are needed for some degrees. So indeed it's certainly good advice if you might want to take a degree in an MFL, a science, maths, engineering or anything medical that you need to take certain subjects.

Actually there is no need to take history or geography A level to do a degree in those subjects. Ditto CS.

I know you said you have no clue what to study and that you asked for requirements in general, which as PPs have said are A levels or Btecs plus 5 GCSE at minimum 4 including English and Maths.

Once you start to look into specific universities and courses, the requirements can vary. Some ask for GCSE minimum 6 in English Language and/or Maths. A few will want GCSE minimum 6 for additional subjects like Biology and Chemistry. Some don't have a GCSE requirement for English Language; examples below:

• Swansea University: If you are a UK national and taught through the medium of English you DO NOT need to provide an English Language qualification

• University of Glasgow: If English is your first language and you have taken A levels in England, you would normally meet our English requirement through your school qualifications and would not need an additional test like IELTS

Not sure if it fits your (and others') ideas on what are good and not 'top' universities, but I thought I'd share some concrete details as an example in the attached image, especially as you said you're doing better at science than the humanities. DS is studying Maths, Biology and Chemistry for his A levels and he put together a spreadsheet of target universities and courses he's interested in, mainly related to biomedical science.

Obviously take your time as advised by PPs, and visiting university open days to attend sample lectures and have the opportunity to talk to students about their experiences and how they chose their own courses will be very helpful.

@Greenbriar glad your DS is looking at Leicester. I bang the drum for it all the time as it is overlooked IMO (not RG y'see) and is an excellent uni in a pleasant lively city, central, nice uni area, very very cheap halls and private accom. DD went there and her dept (not biological sciences) was so so good.

Thanks

If you want to go to uni but you’re not sure what you want to do yet keep your options open and do a couple of sciences and a humanities or arts subject. Something like chemistry, biology, and history would get you into many courses where an A level in the subject is not a prerequisite. For example, you’d need an good A level in geography to do geography, and in maths to do maths, but if you want to do psychology, business management, archaeology, medical related degrees (e.g. nursing, biomedical science), politics. etc. they would stand you in good stead. Do some research on the courses and unis you’d like to consider, and don’t be scared to take a year or two out if you need to.

Again this is pretty good advice to take a couple of science subjects and to research unis, but you don't need A level geography to do a geography degree. I know, it’s wild – it’s true tho.

At Leeds uni for example, you can take geog BA and just need a social science (inc English) or BSc and need a science (inc biology). Oxford only "recommends" geography A level for geog BA; Birmingham doesn't specify any A level for its BA or BSc course.

So more options are kept open by bio, chem and Eng lit than history (also not needed for a history degree in lots of places) or geography.

You could look at https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/ which gives guidance from the Russell group. Cambridge has some advice too https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/the_subject_matters.pdf

Choose subjects you enjoy, are interested in and good at. Maths plus a science plus another subject probably keeps the most options open. Sciences can sometimes include geography, psychology, economics. Consider core maths or an EPQ.

There are broader degrees like natural sciences and liberal arts which let you study a wider range of subjects.