it does not mean that it is impossible to do well at a subject, even if you did not achieve or are not predicted one of the top grades at GCSE for those subjects. The key is in understanding the basic knowledge of each course by doing a little bit of work or background reading each day on each subject to make sure that you know the course material well. At A-Level you can’t do little work over the course of the unit then cram the night before as easily as it is claimed to be for GCSE subjects so persistent reading and extra study is required throughout A-Levels in order to gain a good grade. As a guideline it is good to try and get around 5 hours of additional independent study for each subject done each week in order to gain a good grade. This may increase to around 6-7 hours for those wanting to achieve the highest grade possible. Please remember though that this is only a guideline and it is variable for each individual.
How Will I Know if I Will Be Able to Cope With a Particular Subject? The simple answer to this is that you just don’t know, and you’ll never know unless you try! However if you are concerned about taking a subject on to A-Level or are considering it but are unsure, the best thing to do is to talk to your subject teacher and ask for their opinion on the matter.
How Many Subjects Should I Take? The majority of A-Level students take 3 or 4 A-Level subjects. Many take 4 subjects in their AS year and drop one subject in their A2 year so that they also have an extra AS qualification on top of their full A-Levels (ASs count as a qualification on their own, and they do count for UCAS points. See
www.ucas.com for more details on UCAS points, or post in the Applications and UCAS sub forum).
Few students take 5 ASs or more and take all of their subjects onto A2. This will all depend on how much work you do and how suited to the subjects you are taking. However, in many cases you will not gain an advantage when making university applications by taking more than 3 A-Levels as most university courses only require 3 A-Levels to gain a place. If you are unsure if your chosen university course requires 4 A-Levels to gain a place on the course, contact the admissions officer for that course at your preferred universities and they will be able to provide you with this information.
Can I Change to a Different Subject if I Don’t Like One That I’ve Chosen? Most sixth forms and colleges would allow you to do this very early on into a course (maybe a maximum of 2 weeks) if there is a legitimate reason for you wanting to change. To do this you will have to speak to the person at your sixth
form or college who deals with your A level courses. If you are unsure who this is, then speak to your tutor or subject teacher to find out. It might be a good idea to speak to your subject teacher before deciding to change as well. They won’t be offended if you ask for their opinion on the matter, I’m sure.
What Do the Russell Group Think? They’ve just published this list on which A levels they prefer and which degrees require which A levels.
You may have noticed references to certain A-Levels subjects being ‘blacklisted’ by universities as being ‘easier’ than others. In general, the official line from universities is that there is no such ‘blacklist’, but this is something that has been strongly rumoured by many in the media and can’t be dismissed. It is notable that Trinity College at Cambridge University, LSE and Sheffield University have published lists of ‘preferred’ A-Level subjects, as linked below, but these should not be taken as a strict ‘blacklist’. You should also remember that these lists are from these institutions individually and are not recognised by other universities.
Find more at
www.thestudentroom.co.uk
full on! 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20