Which A level would you drop?

[EachandEveryone]

If you were 17 and didnt have a clue what you wanted to do. Medicine is out because she knows it would be too stressful. She wants to earn money and has had part time jobs since she was 14 so she likes to spend😃. No interest in computing. She is quite argumentative and much more woke than me. Typical teen really. She is desparate to do a course which means she cannwork abroad for a year.

Todays halfway results Geography A Biology B Sociology A and Chemistry C (which she is gutted about) Apparently they dont have to drop one but it would make sense to.

@Talkwhilstyouwalk

If she could get her grade up in Chemistry it would hold her in much better stead than Sociology which at A level is not regarded very highly. I'd ditch the sociology for sure, with one less subject she'll have more time to focus on the other subjects.

It's a myth that sociology isn't regarded highly. It's very different from the old style sociology

@Frazzled2207

I'd drop sociology or chemistry if she isn't enjoying. But a Chemistry B at a level will look better than a Sociology A IMO.

Totally agree

Cambridge has a list of preferred subjects for HSPS, which includes... sociology....

At A-level it is not well regarded by many of the top graduate recruiters. Banks, Accountancy Firms and Law Firms are generally not interested in A Level Sociology, unless the candidate is applying for an HR type of role. Even then there are many subjects that are more highly regarded. Good grades in science subjects prove academic attainment as they are a lot more difficult. She could perhaps consider a role in pharmaceuticals with 2 sciences, or how about an embryologist?

It does depend on what she wants to do though. With sociology and geography she could appeal to recruiters for the government, market research or the police for example.

So really, the best thing she could do would be to have a really good think about her future. Also, uni isn't the be all and end all these days, some companies are offering some excellent apprenticeship schemes to those who achieve good A-level results!

What is your background to make these assertions?

Yes I agree with @Piggywaspushed, cannot believe that some are still peddling the myth that sociology is not well regarded.

Seriously, on what planet would a C (any C) be better than an A (any A - tho sociology is indeed on lists of acceptable subjects)?

OP suggests that her DD does want to go to uni, and unless it is to study chemistry she will have a better chance of good offers and getting in where she wants if she is going to gain A/A* rather than C/B.

I would be amazed if banks and accountancy firms looked beyond the degree subject and class to see what A-levels you did tbh.

@clary

Yes I agree with *@Piggywaspushed*, cannot believe that some are still peddling the myth that sociology is not well regarded.

Seriously, on what planet would a C (any C) be better than an A (any A - tho sociology is indeed on lists of acceptable subjects)?

OP suggests that her DD does want to go to uni, and unless it is to study chemistry she will have a better chance of good offers and getting in where she wants if she is going to gain A/A* rather than C/B.

I would be amazed if banks and accountancy firms looked beyond the degree subject and class to see what A-levels you did tbh.

If someone is going to university it will be the degree that matters, they probably won’t even look at A levels unless something specific is needed for a particular sector

Eg I used to recruit ex primary school teachers to work in my kids performing arts school and if their degree differed I might look for music or drama A levels.

@Comefromaway

Eg I used to recruit ex primary school teachers to work in my kids performing arts school and if their degree differed I might look for music or drama A levels.

Yes indeed, I was a teacher of MFL but my degree was only in one MFL - so I am sure schools looked at my A levels to see another one there! But otherwise no, surely.

@clary

Yes I agree with *@Piggywaspushed*, cannot believe that some are still peddling the myth that sociology is not well regarded.

Seriously, on what planet would a C (any C) be better than an A (any A - tho sociology is indeed on lists of acceptable subjects)?

OP suggests that her DD does want to go to uni, and unless it is to study chemistry she will have a better chance of good offers and getting in where she wants if she is going to gain A/A* rather than C/B.

I would be amazed if banks and accountancy firms looked beyond the degree subject and class to see what A-levels you did tbh.

Most require at least BBB in in their criteria, often more. In reality, many candidates will have straight A's. They often don't specify this on their website but they are usually after certain academic A Level subjects such as Maths, Economics, History, English, languages and sciences. Candidates with, say, Photography, Sociology and Business Studies A-levels generally don't make the cut even if they do meet the minimum requirements in terms of grades......why would they if they have hundreds of applicants with straight A's in Maths, English and Economics?! They have to narrow down the candidate pool somehow.

Sorry for being direct but I work in graduate recruitment and sift through plenty of graduate applications on a daily basis. Most don't stand out.....most job offers go to those with very strong grades in academic subjects who have attended the best universities and have lots of work experience (e.g. internships). Most will have participated in a range of extracurricular activities and will have held some leadership positions both at school and university.

It's competitive out there.....graduate schemes are very competitive.

I'm a sociologist so I'm obviously going to take offence at the perceived uselessness of the subject! It depends what she wants to do in future. The biology matches with chemistry if it's science she wants to do - geography matches with sociology if it is a social science she wants to do. You will find a lot of encouragement tp do STEM subjects but they are not for everyone. We will still need social workers, drugs counsellors and probation officers etc in future

But a Chemistry B at a level will look better than a Sociology A IMO.

No it won't.

@RampantIvy

But a Chemistry B at a level will look better than a Sociology A IMO.

No it won't.

Probably wouldn't for the type of recruitment I'm involved in (grad recruitment for big firms and banks). But might do if sociology was relevant to the role....

So @Talkwhilstyouwalk in this graduate recruitment scenario, is the OP's DD really going to do better with AAB (but oh dear the A is in sociology) or ABC (but hey, the C is in chemistry)? Because that's what you said.

Then you said you need AAA anyway. So I think it's all a moo point.

And it sounds like you actively discriminate against candidates who attend schools in often poorer areas who don’t have”leadership positions” or extra curricular activities & those without the contacts to source internships.

I would not drop any subject but I would consider a subject tutor.

Who can afford that?

Drop whichever is her least favourite as long as it's not needed for any potential route she wants to take. I started with 4 and had to drop one would have loved to have dropped chemistry but needed it for medicine so dropped PE instead. It got me where I wanted so am glad I did it but part of me still wishes I carried on with PE as I genuinely loved it. Whereas I spent the next year disliking chemistry as it got sooo much harder but not much more interesting

Oh talk obviously isn't aware of al the top unis that list sociology, along with all the traditional subjects, in their lists of preferred subjects for various degrees.

I teach film, English Lit and sociology. All hard in different ways. English is the easiest! My DS does sociology (horror!), economics ( double horror (or is that hard because it's a subject of the capitalist elite??) and history. He is on track for A A A.

I am happy to acknowledge that film does not always appear on lists for these types of 'selecting universities' and always suggest to very able film students to do eg English and history as well. But no uni asks for 3 'traditional' subjects' - one or two is fine and we have that here.

FWIW a tutor at my school at the moment who will be going to a magic circle law firm next year met a person working there with film, drama and history A Level and a degree from Bristol so clearly time wasn't doing their recruitment !

I don't think your DD should do 4. It's not required OP and could be one of the reasons why chemistry didn't go to plan.

Look at websites, attend talks, have a careers appointment?

Gosh some odd "advice".Piggy agree completely.

"Dont drop any". Well unis want 3 grades, 3 grades is the current norm. 3 As is better than ABBC for entrance of course it makes snese to drop one and focus on getting as high grades as possible.

"Sociology is worthless drop it." Showing some real ignorance here. Its an A gradd so very much worth keeping! As has been demonstrated is a mainstream subject. And even if it wasn't they have 2 others so really no problem!

"Do chemistry". Without any knowledge f they "need" it doing it because it sounds good is ridiculous. If already a C (which is still a good grade for A level but if she can get As it will open up more uni choices for sure.)

"Get a tutor." Crackers when she has 3 good grades... And also yes throwing that out as if it was a common thing to do. It isnt always the answer anyway.

There is no planet from which a C is better than an A... But discussions need to be had.

Is it her favourite subject and desperate not to drop it?
Does she want to do a degree requiring chemistry (maybe not the right direction anyway.)
Otherwise yes I'd drop it and focus on the others. A good time to start lookong at courses they fancy though.

So good to see some common sense on here!

I haven't read the whole thread so this may have been said: she should drop the one she enjoys the least. She is less likely to carry on with that subject. People saying things like " no one takes sociology seriously " are talking rubbish.
Being hung up on snobbery when it comes to A level choices ends up causing all sorts of problems, not least for the students who end up doing subjects they have no interest in.

My dd did English Lit, rs and classical studies and an epq. We got absolute bare faced snobbery about her choices from my grammar school nephews and their parents. I was quite shocked at the time that anyone could be that damning, particularly their absolute belief that an extra A level instead of epq would be much preferred by unis. I can't say I wasn't delighted when she got a Durham offer (nephew was rejected by them the year before).

@clary

So *@Talkwhilstyouwalk* in this graduate recruitment scenario, is the OP's DD really going to do better with AAB (but oh dear the A is in sociology) or ABC (but hey, the C is in chemistry)? Because that's what you said.

Then you said you need AAA anyway. So I think it's all a moo point.

Sorry, my post was confusing! A B in Chemistry would be more useful than a A in sociology for most of the graduate schemes that I recruit for. In this case it would give the OP's daughter 3 academic subjects. But for HR and Marketing type roles that might not be the case.

Some candidates with lower than AAA do get through, especially for the less popular roles such as IT.

The recruitment process is usually as cut throat as the work culture.....Not saying it's right but it does take a certain type to survive in many of these roles.