6th form subjects - Help decide between IB and A Levels

[Curlywhiskers]

DS received GCSE results last week and it was disapponting.
He was predicted 8s and 7s but ended up with 7s (English, History), 6s (Maths, Physics, Biology, Geography, English Lit, French) and 5s (Chemistry, Computer Science)
He was at IB school and wanted to continue IB with Maths, History and Economics at HL and English, French and Biology at SL.
He was off a 7 in Maths by 5 marks. I have asked for scripts back and will see if it is worth a remark. His teachers say he is/was capable of more than 6 but it is of little consolation now.

His school have offered him English, History and Psychology at HL with Maths, French and Biology at SL.
He wanted to do economics at university.
This has now closed a lot of doors as several universities need Maths at HL.

He does have a back up A level offer at a local school which offers Geography, Politics and Business Studies.
I think he should do A levels as it is only 3 subjects. However, he suddenly realises having some Maths is better than no Maths and hence wants to stay on and do IB.

Uni options will now be Law, Psychology and maybe economics (few that take Maths at SL)
I worry that Law also needs LNAT.
I suppose end of the day it is his decision but I wanted to present all options before we finally decide by Thursday.

He did have mental health issues and was seeing a counsellor. He did revise but he was also quite distracted and very secretive on his phone this year.
I think these have heavily contributed to his average performance throughout.
He says he has had the lesson he needs and will really buckle down and work.
I am very worried.

Stop being so worried. It’s contagious. Doesn’t his school offer IB Economics?

IB economics at HL needs Maths at 7 which he doesnt have.
He could do economics at SL but then he needs a Science (IB requirement) which he can only do at SL.
You are right. I am overly worried. He does have some options and it is not all doom and gloom

Things have changed since my day. I did HL Economics with maths at SL. Is this an IB rule or a school rule? I had a 6 at HL so my lack of maths wasn’t an issue (mind you it was a long, long time ago)

I’ve been looking at A Level options with my son. Not one school has had a problem with doing Economics without maths.

I don’t think my son would cope with IB. It’s a lot, particularly when you factor in CAS.

It is a school rule and not a IB rule.
I have been checking the https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/ and going through each university and their entry reuqirements.
Obviously the top ones were never in our list but several of the ones after rank 15 still need Maths at HL.
A few like St Andrews, Loughborough accept Maths at SL but several do not.
I think the IB workload will be a lot to cope but I am accused of being not supportive so cannot push him too much.

He could still do Economics at uni, as long as he takes Maths.

There is a massive jump in levels between HL and SL maths. If he got a 6 at GCSE, he would find HL very difficult. If his school allows, he also needs to decide between Applications & Interpretation and Analysis & Approaches. (Some schools only offer 1). In my experience, A&I is slightly easier and would be OK for Economics. But you would need to check the individual uni requirements.

Law only needs LNAT for a handful of the top of the league tables universities. Oxbridge, Durham, some London, Bristol and Glasgow, plenty of very good options out there that don’t ask for it.

Agreed.
We are not even thinking of HL Maths.
He will take Analysis & Interpretations at SL - again less preferred by most universities.
I think rather than Economics he should focus on the other pathways such as History, Law etc.

Thanks. That is good to know.
Our spreadsheet of analysis is only for economics at the moment.
We need to do similar for Law.
Again, even before results we sort of knew top unis are not within his reach.

Is it worth lobbying school about letting him take HL Econ if he has some support from the Maths faculty to say he is capable?

Have you looked at any joint honours - e.g. Economics & History, Politics and Econ etc? Sometimes the maths requirements are lower.

btw through work I’ve met some excellent economics graduates from Loughborough (and St Andrews), so if his passion really is Economics do continue to explore who doesn’t require HL maths, and if there’s joint honours instead.

Is US universities an option, you could do Economic electives and take Maths at college level pertain to Economics?

Thank you! I haven't explored this option but did come across quite a few joint courses. One that caught my eye was Economics with Psychology.
I think it will be worthwhile to explore this option.
I have seen a few posts on other threads here this week about lobbying the school. It has been on my mind too.
The only thing holding me back is what I have researched so far tells me it is more of a problem not having Maths at HL than not having economics.
He has 3 essay based subjects so that should be plenty for Economics at Uni.

Hardly any of the lawyers I know studied law at Uni. Lots did other arts or social science degrees and then did a law conversion after uni so he could easily study something like psychology or history at uni and still become a lawyer rather than studying law.