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Original poster

Sorry another A level choices thread

33 replies

IdontknowwhyIcare · 29/11/2011 15:33

Ds is making his choices for 6th form. He doesnt find reading easy at all and has struggled with the two books for this years Eng Lit (mice and men, and Lord of the flies) and he has a diagnosed learning disability which entitles him to an extra 25% time, a scribe, use of a computer and someone to transcribe if he uses a grid system like in science multiple choice (bit like a lottery ticket).

He is very interested in politics and would like to work behind the scenes in government, or head and NGO.

He is happy to go with History, Government & Politics and economics. His fourth choice is proving more problematic. I suggested Eng Lit as you cant go wrong with that (IMHO) but he is worried (and I can certainly see his point) about the amount of reading coupled with the other subjects.

My question is this, would Psychology be a better option? Useful and maybe more relevant and therefore more easily digested reading? Is Psychology considered a useful subject? I'm checking the UCAS site for links to course he is interested in, like International relations etc. Any advice would be more than welcome. TIA

OP posts:
mrswoodentop · 29/11/2011 15:38

My ds is applying for politics at University next year (one offer so far but from v good university) he is doing English Lit,RS and History for A2 and also did Philosophy at AS

Philosophy was harder than he thought even though he enjoyed it,his HM calls philosophy and psychology the trendy P subjects as because they are new and lots want to do them but then find them harder going than expected because they don't really know what they are getting into.

Psychology generally quite well regarded I think,especially as a forth subject

cricketballs · 29/11/2011 16:35

if he struggles with reading then I would suggest re-thinking the History as there is a lot of work based on sources

titchy · 29/11/2011 16:43

I have wonder why you suggested English Lit as a fourth choice given his difficulties with reading.....?

The three he has are all good academic subjects and won't restrict where and what he can apply for - what is he predicted for GCSE?

All three are quite reading-heavy though. Will he be abel to cope? The leap from GCSE to AS is a big one.

He could do a totally different 4th subject for the sheer joy of it you know. Art, Drama, Music, Photography, Media Studies if I dare say it. Quite a lot of universities like to see a bit of breadth.

If he is fixed on the idea of the fourth being relevant then Media might be useful, or a Language, or Business. Or Maths.

To be honest though I'd be suggesting something less reading-intense. No point in buggering up his three main subjects for the sake of a fourth that won't really count.

mummytime · 29/11/2011 17:23

I'd suggest Maths or Sciences if he is any good at those and struggles with reading. What does his school suggest.

mumblechum1 · 29/11/2011 17:28

He'll probably find that there isn't a massive amount of reading for politics. DS is doing it for A level & hoping to do a politics degree and he finds that most of the work in class is discussion, and there isn't that much homework. In fact he says it's by far the easiest of his four subjects (Chem, bio, Politics and History) and the most enjoyable. He reads a lot of foreign newspapers online but mostly for interest

Agree English Lit sounds like a bad idea if he struggles to the degree you mention in your OP, and if he's good at sciences/maths that would seem a better balance, as v little reading and writing as such (compared to essay based subjects)

Kez100 · 29/11/2011 17:28

My daughter was looking at Psychology. They wanted minimum C in English, Maths and in her double award Sciences. When I mentioned a C and D predicted profile on the sciences, they said they would have to consider her full grade profile before making an offer.

Get0rf · 29/11/2011 17:29

I am having the same conversation with dd at the moment.

She also has reasonably severe dyslexia and has the same level of help as the OP's son. She is OK at reading, however it takes her a lot longer than her peers. However her favourite subjects are the ones which require a lot of reading, and she is choosing to study History, Geography and either English lit or Biology.

She is unsure about a 4th, and is thinking Media or a food tech course (I forget what it is called exactly, is an AS level). I am tempted to tell her not to bother with a 4th at all, and just concentrate on the 3 main subjects. You don't have to do a 4th subject, do you?

Original poster
IdontknowwhyIcare · 29/11/2011 17:35

I agree about being less reading intense. I suppose I orginally sugested Eng Lit as I would be able to help by at least having read the books, plays poetry. He was struggling to think of a 4th subject and so I suggested Eng Lit. Stupidly with hindsight, must be because I enjoyed it but quite rightly not a reason for my DS to choose it. Blush

Because he wasnt diagnosed till last year, he always struggled with languages and now isnt taking one at all. Against my better judgement having read mumsnet for years. However DH made the very valid point that better he take another subject and be in with a chance of a good grade than take a language and be doomed to failure.

Regarding the leap from GCSE to A level we have talked about this alot (I found it quite hard) and hopefully he will get a chance to speak with another student in 6th form who struggles in the same way who can advise him from their actual point of view.

Congrats to woodentop junior (it must be a releif to have a good offer under his belt already). Ds school dont offer RE (we are in the ME) nor philosphy.

OP posts:
mumblechum1 · 29/11/2011 17:36

Kez, I think normally they have to get a minimum of a B in a subject to be allowed to take it at A level, or that's how it is in DS's school. Even then, he got As in all his GCSE sciences but is still finding Chem in particular massively hard, it's a big leap up from GCSE.

MindtheGappp · 29/11/2011 17:40

If he doesn't want to do a lot of reading, then the sciences, mathematics, geography, art...

If he wants to loosely go into politics, NGOs, then any decent/traditional degree will do.

Economics is a hard-slog reading-wise. My DS does A2 Economics and I have tried to read some of his texts (because I want to understand what is going on in the economy - I feel pretty motivated), but my eyes soon glaze over.

grovel · 29/11/2011 18:01

My DS is reading Politics at Durham. He did Politics, Economics (A/S only), History and English. I'm pretty sure Durham would have accepted Psychology in place of English.

mrswoodentop · 29/11/2011 18:11

Ds certainly finds history very hard going and a lot of work,and I would say he was a natural historian ,there a huge amount of reading involved.How about RS ,well regarded by universities but definitely less reading

grovel · 29/11/2011 18:18

Thinking about it, my DS (referred to above) did comparatively little reading for Eng Lit. There are not that many texts and I know he never "read" 3 of them. He used audiobooks (supposedly while looking at the text).

circular · 30/11/2011 07:34

Has he thought about Geography - Generally well accepted for Arts & Humanities degrees.

Maths is another option - goes well with economics.

Or even a science if he us that way inclined - goes well with psychology. And may even leave more options open if he changes his mind.

gettingalifenow · 30/11/2011 17:52

grovel - audio books is an excellent idea...that would make Eng Lit much more accessible for the OP's son. I would have said that the amount of reading in Eng Lit is huge (my DD has just started Eng Lit at uni) but the audio books would cut that down a lot. Plus theatre visits to see the plays would help too.

TheFallenMadonna · 30/11/2011 18:08

Maths.

grovel · 30/11/2011 18:40

gettingalife, thanks.

From my DS's experience you can get an A* by just reading the (comparatively few) set texts at A/S, A2. Assuming a good, sparky teacher.

Agree that university is a different kettle of fish but OP's son wants to read Politics.

BornToBeRiled · 30/11/2011 18:48

I'd go for maths or geography. Either would be useful, and are accepted at all universities. Both demonstrate logical thinking, number handling, statistical analysis etc.

Original poster
IdontknowwhyIcare · 01/12/2011 04:01

Thanks. It's given both of us a lot more to think about. Audio books is a great idea. Agree very important not to cock up the main 3 by being overwhelmed with the fourth.

OP posts:
Parietal · 01/12/2011 05:00

Go with a trad subject, not media studies or drama or sport

Maths or physics would be a strength if he can manage it. Not much reading and shows breadth of knowledge.

I do uni admissions for a Russell gp uni. We always like to see maths / science, and are less keen on non-trad subjects.

sashh · 01/12/2011 05:25

Before making the choice sort out the techy side of things. Does he have a kindke? Kindles have an option to read the book to you.

Does he have voice - text software - something like Dragon, or the one that comes with windows 7.

As he has 3 solid academic subjects then let him choose something he will enjoy.

Kez100 · 01/12/2011 12:39

And join the charity, listening books

campaigner · 03/12/2011 18:38

Four rather similar AS subjects have been suggested - heavy reading and writing components. Economics also requires strong Maths for a high grade at A level. The 4th AS choice will not overtly influence university choice if that is the possible plan. Don't discard subjects which he is good at in school but which may not 'go well' with his other choices. Has he an artistic side to him? What about any interest in Sports? Psychology could work out well depending on the specification which the school offers - Sociology might also be considered as some overlap with Politics.

cory · 03/12/2011 20:37

parietal, do you object to non-traditional subjects even as a fourth choice if good marks are achieved in three heavy subjects?

happygardening · 04/12/2011 10:27

Geography I'm a geog grad if he wants to work for an NGO geography is an excellent subject particularly when human and physical are studied side by side. It's covers economics history and sociology so even iif one bit bores you there will always be more interesting bits round the corner.