Which A-levels Should I Take?

Selecting A-Levels to Maximise Your University Chances

Picking A-levels can be a daunting task; it’s one of the first major steps you’ll make towards your future path in higher education and beyond into the world of work. It can be difficult, however, to really factor in their future impact when making your final decision.

With GCSE results around the corner and the summer in full swing, now is a crucial time to fully consider how each choice of subject will help you going forward before beginning A-level courses in the autumn. This will ensure that you keep open any options you want to pursue, make your application potential attractive to admissions tutors, and give you the skills and knowledge you will need for your future studies.

The key here is to think logically and critically about several factors and weigh them up to come to a final decision. You will need to weigh up:

1. The past (which GCSEs did you take, how much did you enjoy each GCSE, and how well did your exams go)
2. The present (which subjects are you genuinely motivated to study at the moment)
3. And the future (which university courses or disciplines do you have your eye on, is there a particular career you’re interested in, do you want to narrow or widen your options for the future).

This article takes you through the key factors to keep in mind when making the all-important choice.

Factoring in GCSE Subjects and Performance

You must take into account the subjects you have already studied before moving onto the next rung of the ladder. Most importantly, you need to check which subjects your school or college will allow you to take with your current GCSE options and grades.

For example, if you want to study French A-Level, most schools will require French GCSE to a certain level (aside from particular circumstances, such as have a background speaking French). Make sure you are confident that you can get the grades in the right GCSE subjects to advance onto the courses you have chosen.

If you have the subject but you don’t think you’ll meet the grade requirement, then maybe you should rethink whether that subject is going to serve you long term. These are questions only you can answer! If you are targeting a specific subject at university and aren’t confident you will get high grades at GCSE in that or an adjacent subject, remember that many universities (including Oxford and Cambridge) take GCSE grades into consideration.

Even if you technically qualify for the A-levels you are interested in, you should still think critically about whether they are for you in the long term. If you are scraping the grades at GCSE, you should be confident that you will be able to improve markedly (not just continue as before) when it comes to studying at a more advanced level.

Tailoring to Your University Ambitions

Whether or not you have a specific plan for your university studies, the next step should always be factored into your choice of A-level subjects, especially if you’re going for the top UK Universities. One could even argue it’s more important for those without a clear plan, since a more complicated strategy will be required to keep the right options open and delay your decision.

I Know What Course/Subject I Want to Study at University

If you already know what you want to do at university, congratulations! Whilst your specific course preference may well change over the duration of your a-levels (and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that if it does!) having an idea of what you’d like to do at this stage will certainly help you angle your A-level subjects in the right direction.

In most cases, if you want to study a subject at university you should probably study it at A-level; for many courses this is compulsory. Science subjects tend to be more specific on this point, whereas humanities and social sciences prefer studying subjects with shared skills but do not require the exact subject. We recommend visiting the course requirements for any universities you are interested in to avoid any nasty surprises further down the line!

This holds especially true primarily for very common A-level subjects such as Maths, Physics, or English Literature. For less common Humanities subjects such as Theology, Philosophy, or History of Art, universities will not expect or require you to have taken the A-level, so just make sure you take at least one other essay-based A-level and research your chosen degree subject as much as you can. Again, university websites will outline their preferences for you (check out our blog on the Oxford Traffic Light System for this year’s hard and soft requirements course-by-course).

If you’re interested in Classics but your school doesn’t offer Latin or Greek, don’t worry— many universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, have Classics courses specifically for those with no prior knowledge. Modern language or Asian and Middle Eastern Studies degrees in particular, such as Russian or Japanese, are often offered ab initio, meaning that you’re not expected to have studied the language at all when you arrive—but bear in mind that you will likely be required to have taken an A-level in a different modern language, such as French or German, to demonstrate your aptitude for languages.

I Don't Know Which Subject I Want to Study at University

First thing’s first is to remember that this is entirely normal; loads of students are in this position and it’s not a barrier to picking a good set of A-levels. We recommend starting by thinking about whether you’re more interested in Science or Humanities subjects, as most subjects within these categories will be useful for other similar subjects at university regardless of which specific course you go on to do. For example, a History A-level will be useful for an English literature degree, whilst A-Level Physics will be very beneficial for a degree in Maths, and vice versa.

Beyond Humanities and Sciences, we recommend writing down a shortlist of courses you would be most interested in studying hypothetically. Research the admissions requirements for these courses at a few universities you like the look of and note them down. This should help you select a group of A-levels which hit as many of the requirements as possible.

If you are still tossing up between the Sciences and the Humanities, then you are in a slightly trickier position. Since A-levels are typically restricted to between 3 and 5 subjects, it can be difficult to select a balance between the two that allows you to shine when applying for either track at university.

In this situation, although ultimately you must follow your heart, we really do recommend that you try as hard as possible to lean towards one or the other. One piece of advice, however, is that Sciences tend to be more specific in their subject requirements, whereas there are various humanities and social science courses that do not require any humanities at A-level (although it may make application harder without them).

Considering the Oxbridge Factor

If you are aiming high in your applications, then you need to think about how Oxbridge will look at your subject choices.

The first thing to consider is the grades. It is unlikely that you will get into Oxford or Cambridge with anything other than A*s and As, and ideally you’ll have more of the former than the latter. This means that you really need to weigh up your skillset and attainment so far when picking your subjects.

The second thing to think about is how Oxbridge view certain subjects. Not all A-level subjects are created equal in the eyes of Oxford and Cambridge. Generally they prefer what you might think of as more ‘traditional’ subjects, such as Maths, Physics, History, Modern Languages, Music, etcetera.

The list of subjects they will consider is very long, so don’t worry about being restricted! It’s more a case of their avoiding the more vocational A-level subjects, since their priority is academic attainment plain and simple. We recommend avoiding subjects such as the following:

• Accounting
• Art and design
• Business studies
• Communication studies
• Dance
• Design and technology
• Drama and theatre studies
• Film studies
• Health and social care
• Home economics
• Information and communication technology
• Leisure studies
• Media studies
• Music technology
• Performance studies
• Performing arts
• Photography
• Physical education
• Sports studies
• Travel and tourism

Additionally, no universities consider GCSEs more than Oxford and Cambridge. Although there are no ‘requirements’ on your GCSEs as such, there is a high chance that universities will look at your grades as part of their admissions process. This means that you are best advice to pursue a path in which you have excelled at any related GCSE subjects.

For example, if you apply for Maths at Cambridge, it might not enthuse admissions tutors wildly to see that you received a B or a C at GCSE. We recommend aligning you’re A-levels, and university plans, as much as possible with the subjects in which you are already demonstrating aptitude; especially if you’re aiming for Oxbridge.

A final consideration for Oxbridge is the subject combination; read more about this below!

Forming a Successful Combination of Subjects

Ultimately, as long as you fulfil the requirements on the university website, you are in with a chance of being accepted onto your chosen course. However, if you do have your heart set on a certain course already, you can maximise your chances by picking a cogent set of A-levels.

For example, if you want to apply for Maths, in addition to A-levels in Maths and Further Maths you might be best selecting a complementary subjects such as Physics. Whilst not compulsory, this shows that you are serious about applying maths and solidifying your knowledge. Again, this is less important for humanities subjects where, generally speaking, a good skillset is more important than specific subject knowledge.

Overall, you want to impress admissions tutors with a set of subjects which set you up well for the studies ahead, proving that you are a good fit for their course. Think about the knowledge you will need and the skills that you will practise in the course of you A-level studies, and check that every subject provides you with something useful for the university course you want to pursue.

Lastly, you want to pick the right number of A-levels. Whilst it is tempting to think “the more the better” when it comes to your a-level choices, this isn’t necessarily going to be the case for everyone. It’s important to remember that, the more courses you study, the less time you’ll have to give dedicated focus to each one, making it harder to get the top marks in each of your subjects. So, whilst five A-levels might seem better than three, three A*s definitely looks better on a university application than five Bs!

There are, however, some situations in which an additional A-level might be useful for university applications. For example, if you’re planning on taking both Maths and Further Maths, it might be a good idea to take a fourth A-Level to give you a little more breadth across your studies (e.g. taking Maths, Further Maths, Physics, and Chemistry).