Help, DD not happy with A-level choices, now wants to do psychology…

[IsNothingSacred1234]

DD is halfway through year 12. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she chose her A-levels. She was considering law or joining the police but did have an interest in psychology.

I steered her towards more facilitating subjects in order to keep her options open. She’s now doing history, English lit and sociology.

She’s become more and more interested in psychology. Some of the degree courses she’s looking at want her to have psychology A-level but her school won’t let her swap.

I feel awful for steering her away from the A-level and making it harder to get onto a degree course.

What could she do? An online A-level along side her current ones?

Yes, or perhaps a tutor?

Thanks, I don’t think the school would let her do it even with a tutor as they said she has 100 hours to catch up on. I could suggest it though, she does work hard.

Many of them do not require Psychology A level though, so she could still apply to those or look at a foundation year for those which may. Is she prepared for the statistical element?

Does she want to do Psychology at University?

DS has looked into this, and I think most universities in the UK require one of the sciences or Maths. But I'm not 100% sure on that, he mentioned it in passing.

She is too late to swap; she has missed too much. I'd advise her to think about what she wants to do at uni and what she can do with her subjects. She could always do a FutureLearn or similar course in psychology - they offer a lot!

She may find thermos interesting and varied than A level psychology, which is quite maths-heavy...

Check out the admissions page for the universities she wants to apply to and see what requirements there are for the psychology course.

I did a BSc in psychology many many years ago but did not do A levels psychology. My A levels were in the sciences and maths, and my course mates took a wide range of other A levels.

Would she consider retaking a year? I know one of the girls in my DD yr12 class is doing this due to similar issue. They are at a 6th form college though not a school sixth form. Interestingly my DD is doing English Lit, Sociology and Psychology and absolutely loving all 3 subjects.

She could possibly take a joint honours degree with psychology as a minor. What aspects of psychology is she interested in?

I think you need to relook at UCAS and university entry requirements. I think there are plenty of Universities that don't require Psychology A level, and this includes RG Universities. She doesn't need to do the additional qualification, she would get offers with her three current subjects.

Thanks all, really appreciate the replies.

I’ll look into a foundation year and futurelearn. A joint honours sounds interesting. The school aren’t keen on retakes, I’ve tried every Avenue!

She got a 6 in GCSE maths, it’s not her favourite subject but she’s capable and doesn’t mind it.

Thanks @smartiecake. She’s keen on Warwick, they seem to offer a more ‘humanities’ psychology degree whereas others seem to offer a more science based version.

We were advised NOT to do psych at A level

I think the selection she has is a good range - maybe she could do an AS level if they still do that?

I would refocus the course for degree that you are looking at. There are so many now and so many good colleges there will be something

She's missed too much. Psychology is a hard A'level and you need to be on it from day 1.

She’s now saying I’ve ruined her future as I steered her to do English. Do you think a tutor could help her catch up?

Psychology is a very interesting subject and is massively oversubscribed with many more studying it at university than there will ever be any demand for working in the field. That's ok because a good psychology degree will be useful for all sorts of careers not directly related to psychology.

Whilst some courses ask for psychology A-Level this is comparatively rare, not least because a lot of schools don't even offer psychology as an available subject so vast numbers of university applicants have never had the opportunity to study it.

I think its silly to try to rewind the A-Level decision. Maybe it was a mistake but there's not enough teaching time left to make a change now. She should focus on getting 3 good grades on the subjects she has started, do plenty of reading of psychology books in her spare time and apply to universities that don't require psychology A-level.

At ds1s school they are now halfway through the a level course. She’s missed too much imo to switch. However it’s unlikely to make any difference as to whether she can study psychology at university. There will be numerous places that don’t require psychology A Level

Many don't require psychology, but a lot will want biology.

I think doing psych a level in a year would be very difficult. It is a tough subject, and once the subject matter is learnt, tudents need to learn the skills to actually answer the different question types - that is usually a main part of the second year of the course.

Another option might be a Liberal Arts degree where you can pick modules to make your own degree - many include psychology modules as options.

First step is to look at entry requirements for the degree she wants to do. Then decide based on that. She could take an AS level in year 13.

For Warwick without a science A level she alas needs 2 x 6 (or B) in science gcses so as long as she has that she should be OK.

She may want to look at Future Learn and see if there are any MOOCs she could take alongside her A levels to see whether psychology is what she believes it to be. These would also be useful to evidence her interest within her personal statement.

There would be funding available for her to restart year 12 next September if she really doesn't like her actual choices at present but if she does like then but just regrets not having taken psychology the lack of A level won't prevent her going into a degree at many places but she will need to ensure she carefully checks the entry requirements (including gcse requirements) for the unis she is considering.

Could she consider an AS Level in Maths or Biology?

There's a statistical element in psychology that means many people doing the degree will have a strong maths background.

Both friends of mine who studied psychology at uni had Maths A Level and were natural strong mathematicians.

If a university can see she's been looking at statistics and studying that area, they may be more willing to consider her.

There are BAs in Psychology but you must make sure they are accredited. No point getting a degree without some recognition outside of the uni. It must stand in the real world.

There's an interesting discussion about maths/stats/psychology degrees here: www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5634140

Psychology is very competitive now as very on trend degree choice. How about focusing on the three she is doing to get best possible grades in those, plan in a gap year where she take psychology A level in one year plus gets some relevant work experience, apply this autumn through UCAS for course she wants to start in Sept 2024 specifying these are her gap year plans. She could earn some money too and fit in a bit of travelling after the exams. I'm v pro gap years as I've seen kids really grow and shift their focus over gap years and be very well placed for uni the following year. I think that would show real commitment to her choice. Personal statement on UCAS form would allow her to really detail why she wants to do psychology (other interests are literally one line at the end).

@IsNothingSacred1234

Thanks *@smartiecake*. She’s keen on Warwick, they seem to offer a more ‘humanities’ psychology degree whereas others seem to offer a more science based version.

Warwick’s psychology degree will be accredited by the BPS (almost all psychology degrees are and I’d be shocked if Warwick’s wasn’t - it was 10 years ago when I applied) which means they basically have to cover the same topics in the first two years as all the other unis, which includes 2 modules of year of statistics, plus biological and more science based modules, as well as the more humanities side of it.

What’s her reasoning for wanting to do psychology? I’m a psychotherapist and have a huge number of young people wanting to study it because they feel they’ll understand themselves better and to help people. This is fine, but it’s common for them to struggle with the stats/maths side of the degree. Other subjects ie therapeutic psychology at Roehampton or joint honours may fit better (but not offer the BPS accreditation).

If she is more interested in the humanities side, she should take a look at Psychosocial Studies degrees - much more interdisciplinary and her A levels are very suited to it. If she wants to be a psychologist, she can do a 1 year conversion MSc afyer any undergraduate degree, this would get her BPS accreditation in order to apply for training doctorates in clin psy, ed psy, etc.

@IsNothingSacred1234

She’s now saying I’ve ruined her future as I steered her to do English. Do you think a tutor could help her catch up?

You haven't ruined her future - though your advice was pretty poor and she has a point (why on earth didn't she swap that for Psychology?), she has options.

She can't do Psych next year though, far too much to catch up on. Tutor - only if the school was on board which it sounds as if they're not.

So options:
An AS next year, possibly as an external candidate (the extra workload will impact her grades though);
A year out and a crammer A Level;
Apply wherever she can that will take her on the subjects she has;
Better option though would be a foundation year. Either as part of a Psych degree, or use the FY to transfer to year 1 elsewhere.

She really should be doing Maths as well though, so an FY, or a year out should include some Maths.