Random A level subject combo

[Bufftailed]

Hi all,

Results day looming - planning scenarios with DC. Diff schools got diff requirements and some subjects fill up. Putting to one side not meeting uni requirements does it stand against you if you have a slightly ‘random’ selection. Ie an MFL, biology and a humanity or social science, say economics or history. I feel like maths can be slotted in anywhere, but do bio and chem not really work alone…do these combinations work against you in uni apps (where you meet requirements).

Thanks for any

Not really. They are all academic subjects and will provide options.

No not at all. It will rule out a few options but in general it’s absolutely fine and actually has some benefits if a student doesn’t know what they want to do in future (so having at least one science or maths keeps open subjects like psychology, having an essay subject keeps open law, MFL keeps open MFL etc etc). I would check that you’re not closing any doors that you want to keep open but generally it’s absolutely fine. There is a lot to be said for just picking the three subjects you enjoy most, given that each one will be a third of your time.

No. If there are subject requirements and you meet the requirements, the rest of your subjects don’t matter.

A small number of unis have preferred subjects I.e. we prefer your second subject is in a numerate subject but not enough that you should worry.

They should pick the A Levels they like best, that they’ll do best in

Thanks all - I had a (maybe outdated) idea that you needed to hang at least two together…ie history & Eng lit or chem & bio or maths and economics or psychology & sociology - good to be reassured

If dc might want to study a Stem based subject or a social science then Maths might be a good third. Otherwise pick one they want to study further. To some extent options may be restricted by timetabling which may not accommodate less typical combinations.

It all depends what they want to do at uni as some degrees will ask for a second science, but others won't.
Do they have any idea what they'd like to do?

Someone I know did a similar combination and has just got a place at Cambridge (in MFL). So I suppose it's how well you do.

Something to be aware of though is that it may mean some exam heavy days come actual exams. DD had an odd combination (chemistry, politics and French) which meant that when exams came around she spent a fair bit of time in a room on her own due to overlaps (she gets extra time which doesn't help).

Of course you can't be sure, and there's nothing you can do, except maybe check the dates from this year, but I suppose that's no guarantee.

It definitely didn't work against her in uni apps - she was offered Cambridge but realised it wasn't right for her, and got other good offers.

As long as the student meets the requirements for whatever university subject they want to study, it doesn’t matter. If anything I’d say it’s good because as well as keeping options open it shows that the student has a wide range of interests. (My son did English, History, Maths, Further Maths and Physics.)

It very much depends on the plan for uni. Not having a second science may rule out some science degrees at some unis, though not all by any means.

If their plan is not a science degree then it doesn’t really matter other than for example a History degree would usually require History AL, but the other two could be random.

One of my DC did History, Biology and Music, which was a bit of an odd combination, but wasn't a problem when applying for uni

Thanks. I love the combination ❤️

Some science university courses require two sciences, so bear that in mind if a science based degree is on the cards.

Other than that the only thing I'd mention is sometimes "strange" choices can have timetabling issues. Schools won't have a timetable block on doing maths and physics for example, but students are less likely to do both art and chemistry, they're not as popular a combo, so might be that they offer those in the same option block and therefore kids can't take both.

Agree about science degrees. When I did Chemistry years ago, it had to be Chemistry plus either Maths or Physics...or both ideally.

Some courses count geography as a science. Geography and Biology go well for the environment side of things. MFL goes well with many humanity/ social science options. Biology and Psychology are often combined. The combination may not be as unusual as you think. See this link. https://analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/Alevel/SubjectCombinations/
Note it doesn't include less common A levels e.g. German. The main thing is to pick options that DC finds interesting and has aptitude for. Consider Core Maths if available.

I did maths, English Lit, psychology and German for my A levels, and felt like it gave me a good balance of a bit of everything. I went on to do psychology at university after. The only issue I had in relation to what others mention about scheduling is that both papers of my English and psychology were on the same day meaning I had 6 hours of exams and I did a bit worse than expected in both.

I guess that my child's options would be an odd combo then, he wants to do Maths, Design Tech and politics. Didn't even consider that the combo could be weird.