Geography or psychology a level?

[driedapricots101]

Which is more respected by universities? Other two choices are sociology & economics. DS strong in geography at gcse but not studied psychology before. Is it better to stick with previously studied subjects? He's never studied economics & sociology either.. advice pls!

I'd say that A level Geography is more respected because of the scientific aspects. It's also, in my opinion, a far more fun course (but I love field work), as it's not largely restricted to classrooms and is about people, the world and animals/plants/rocks/rivers, rather than just people.

I'd advise against three new subjects.

Geography and sociology are happy bedfellows.

Psychology and sociology are a common combination too .

My DS did economics and sociology, but with history.

Both geography and psychology are equally respected by universities. No uni is going to accept one subject over the other for a degree where subjects are not specified.

However, geography will leave open more doors - psych is not needed as such for any degree as not all sixth forms offer it. This includes psychology btw, tho of course if you were considering a psych degree, then the A level would give you an idea what it was about. But geography is needed for a geog degree obvs and also leads to a lot of related areas.

Sociology and economics are also perfectly fine as A level subjects. But I agree with @Piggywaspushed - I would be wary of choosing three new subjects for A level. FWIW psych was very popular at my DCs' school - but also very much given up quickly by a lot of people who didn;t like it a much as they thought they might. I think it sounds fascinating but I can also see how it might be very dry.

Why does your DS want to take three new subjects? Does he not enjoy any of his GCSE choices? Does he think a change is good? Or does he actually have a genuine interest in these subjects?

I would suggest geography and then two out of the other three. Economics is not going to lead to an econ degree without maths so maybe geog, socioolgy and psych - at least then he would have a good idea if he wanted to pursue either of the latter two at uni. And he would be able to consider degrees like town planning and quantity surveying if that was his interest.

Thanks all. Really helpful. @clary he did business studies at gcse & enjoyed it but thought economics might stretch him more. He really didn't love any other subjects but is strong in geography & Spanish.. doesn't really enjoy either though & not into physical geography so much. I know psychology is the most popular a level & degree course these days so am steering him away for those reasons, & as you have noticed lots drop it when they realise it's not what they thought. He has no idea what next at uni, but probably something businessy... he's a natural entrepreneur!

Not sure how bright your DS is but actually that combo of A levels lends itself perfectly to a Liberal Arts degree. They often feature geography, psychology, sociology and economics modules alongside other things. Like an academic pick n mix.

Offered at quite a few unis now.

Sorry to hijack, but @Piggywaspushed : really interested to hear about the liberal arts degree. Who is doing those in the UK? Always hear about them in America and think it's such a great idea for those who don't have 'a mission'.

Off the top of my head , Birmingham, Keele, Warwick , Exeter, I think but there are others.

Gosh, just looked it up and there are loads more! Including... Loughborough, Leeds, Manchester, KCL, Roehampton, Royal Holloway, Durham, Bristol.

Spoilt for choice!

Geography is considered a more academic A-level by certain elite institutions.

Such as? I just checked the LSE list of preferred A levels and both geography and psychology appear on it. The Cambridge list of "relevant A level subjects" also has both on.

Its' all stuff and nonsense on a repeating cycle. I remember when before the 90s Geography wasn't considered a 'proper' degree and lots of the plate glasses copying prestigious templates didn't offer it. They all do now!

As mentioned upthread, the advantage of Geography is that your DS has previous exposure to the subject at GCSE; this is a big help.

With his potential 'new' subjects, could you buy some of those GCP style books and download most past A level exam papers? This helped my DC answer 'can I really imagine myself studying this for the next two years and answering these kinds of exam questions at the end of it?'

Depending on the board, Geog has an NEA. This gives scope to an enterprising student to explore the boundaries between Geog and other subjects eg mental maps (geog/psych).

Oh good point about NEA. It's definitely good to have one subject with coursework . I'd argue it's better preparation for uni, and cuts out an exam.

Just because you have been exposed to a subject at GCSE does not mean you will enjoy and do well at A level... worth bearing in mind.

I have known many a young person be turned off a subject they really enjoyed at GCSE because it is different at A level, or in some cases it feels repetitive and they get bored.

In terms of what universities prefer - please get up to date advice by going to open events at universities - or a HE fair.

With the other two options, geography, as it adds breadth to what is other wise a very narrow range of options (assuming he doesn’t know what he wants to do later). Is he good at maths - quite a lot in economics and psychology.

Some super helpful answers here, thank you. Lots to consider. Such big decisions for someone who has no idea what to do past this stage. I didn't realise this subject choice was narrow.. & I thought it a bit early to visit unis before picking a levels?

I don't think it is all that narrow! There's a lovely blend of science, humanities, social sciences in the potential choices.

OP it's not that this is a narrow choice of subjects - I don't think it is; it's more that (assuming he is looking at uni in a couple of years), these are not subjects any uni degree will ask for. There are other subjects that will be required on some degrees.

As an example, my DD took Eng lit, French and geography A level - so she could have applied for degrees in Eng lit, French (or another MFL tbh), geography (and associated subjects) as well as all the subjects your DS will be able to apply for - such as psychology (tho lack of a science might have been an issue unless geog counted), sociology, philosophy, liberal arts, criminology, linguistics, classical civ, archaeology and the like. Your DS's choices will limit him just to those latter courses. That's fine of course, esp if he already knows he wants to take business or marketing or sociology.

wrt uni open days - nothing wrong with going to have a look in year 11 tho we didn;t look till the summer of year 12. But both my uni-bound DC had a strong path in mind.

Thanks @Piggywaspushed 😃