A levels-3 or 4 subjects?NEED URGENT REPLY..

[coffee_machine]

Okie,the scenario is like this..I'm currently taking a level at Taylor's..I can add or drop subjects between these two weeks...Now,I'm taking physics,chemistry,maths and computing.The problem is I'm gonna drop computing..as it has nothing to do with my future..or I should say I'm not interested..Should I add another subject..?I thought of adding either biology or economics..I had refered to some people and books..they say economics is kinda easy but you need high command in english..I dun think so i haf super duper or fantastic english.As for biology,my results kinda good when I was in form 5...compared to physics and chemistry..I wana study engineering after my a level if possible or maybe business if my results not good..but I dun rili need biology or economics(maybe for business) for that...but my physics is not that good(ain't taking engineering need good understanding in physics).So,guys should I give it a try for bio or econs?I can only choose 1..and which wan would be better?or should I take 3 subjects and concentrate on my physics and maths??I can actually take 4 subjects now..and drop 1 of it after my 1st semester exams if i find it difficult to handle or something...Besides that,is it possible for me to get loan or scholarships if I take 3 subjects only??EXPLAIN TO ME PLEASE..EACH and EVERY questions I WISH TO KNOW..YOUR HELP WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATED...thankss..

[bush]

Take maths.....it sure helps.

I would recommend physics, chemistry and mathematics as the most ideal choice if you are uncertain of what you want to do in the future.

If you are thinking of another subject, economics or biology or computing would be good provided you are certain that the extra subject will effect your performance in the other subjects. Scoring AAA is better than AABB. More so if you aiming to get into oxbridge etc.

scholarships......i suppose that it would be awarded to you not because of the number of subjects you took but because of the firm offer from a university.

[Europa]

I'm slightly confused.

First, you mention taking Biology and you're considering taking it up again? 8O
Does that mean you're taking only 3 subjects at the moment or 4 (excluding TKS)?

I agree with bush. Why didn't you take Maths when you plan to take Engineering? And for Engineering, it's a wise idea to do Further Maths too.

Another thing is you're interested in sitting for Biology but not interested in pursuing a Biology related course at University. So I'm curious, are you taking subjects for the sake of taking them so that you'll be able to get 4As (5As including TKS) or just keeping your options wide open? IMHO, it's better to take subjects that are going to be most helpful to you in University.

[coffee_machine]

sorry it's maths not biology..now i'm taking maths...i am considering of taking bio...

[coffee_machine]

1st of all,my physics is not that good..I'm taking bio for the sake of getting another A if possible...and also keeping my options wide..in case i'm not able to cope with physics...is this a right decision?

[bush]

in that case, take 4 subjects of your liking.

Drop one later if you find it too difficult to handle. You would be more informed in a few months time to make a better decision

[ary]

erm..... if u can handle it, take 4 subjects. although most scholarships says that 3 As if elligible to apply for scholar but in the end only the most As (at least 4 or 5) get shortlisted for interviews......

i took Bio during my A-levels.....i don't think it's easy to handle...quite different from SPM...or should i say harder...if u already don't like memorising all the bio stuffs during SPM, don't think u will like it during A-levels.......and the practicals...the microscope....those drawings.... ZZZzzz......

Didn't take econs in A-levels, so i do not know whether it's hard or easy...but i suppose there are definetly less papers than BIO (6 of them).....so MAYBE easier....dunno Ooo ~ but personally, if u are aiming just another A, and not the consideration whether that u'll need it in the future, i think econs is a better choice ~

because even if u decide to aim for any bio-related career in the future, they usually don't require you to have bio in A-levels....although taking it will give u a clearer sense wether u'll like the bio related field or not ~ same applies to econs...if u wanna study business in the future, econs in A-levels is not required.....
so y not just choose the one which u think is easier ~

Y didn't i thought of that durin my A-levels !!!! 8O

[bush]

For post A-levels scholarships, the university offer is more important than number of As....

[coffee_machine]

Ary,

even if u decide to aim for any bio-related career in the future, they usually don't require you to have bio in A-levels....although taking it will give u a clearer sense wether u'll like the bio related field or not ~ same applies to econs...if u wanna study business in the future, econs in A-levels is not required..

u sure about these???mind to explain in detail??

easier subject??hmm..i dun think so there is any easy subject?mind telling me any easy subject?

[Zeroth]

If you want to go for eng, take further maths, it'll be relavant for your course.

Its still possible to get scholarships even with 3As, but it repends on your luck i guess. I have a friend that got ASEAN scholarship with 3As, phy, chem and maths.

[trojan209]

i'm agree with zeroth.

take further math. there is not much english words in it. mostly numbers :lol: further math is among the easiest subject in A-Level since they don't really require u to be very good in english and least memorization. just need to understand the concept and a lot of exercises

btw, it seems to me that u don't have a clear goal in mind of what u wanna be in future. u better decide it fast or otherwise u might be unhappy in future. :wink:

[ary]

"even if u decide to aim for any bio-related career in the future, they usually don't require you to have bio in A-levels....although taking it will give u a clearer sense wether u'll like the bio related field or not ~ same applies to econs...if u wanna study business in the future, econs in A-levels is not required.. "

here goes my explaination :

if u do a little research on the net, u will find that BIO is not a MUST have subject to take bio-related courses such as Medicine, bioengineering and pharm in most of the unis...such as NUS(bio still required for pharm) or IMU malaysia ~ most uni will just want u to have 3 out of the 4 subjects (maths, phy, chem, bio).....

the reason for not requiring pre- bio knowledge although u will be learning about it in the courses is because (I HEARD ABOUT IT B4...but dunno whether 100% true )-------------------------- ppl believe that bio is something that u can easily catch up with, where deadly memorising will do just as good. Not like chem or phy where u have to accumulate ur knowledge step by step ..... to confirm about this theory, i suggest u to consult your school counsellor .....


then about the "easy" subject thing......actually there is no "easy" subject in A-levels....only that one is "easier" than another.....just like maths is definitely easier than phy ! and personally i think econs will be easier than Bio.....since in econs u need analytical and memorizing skills but in bio, u not only need those, u need more than that......

and btw......further maths is HARD !!!!

hmm...... and also.....i agree with trojan209.......better decide wat u wanna be in the future, if not exactly, at least minimize it to a smaller scope....... and taking 4 subjects will give u more flexibility when choosing course in the future ~

[Europa]

"even if u decide to aim for any bio-related career in the future, they usually don't require you to have bio in A-levels....although taking it will give u a clearer sense wether u'll like the bio related field or not ~ same applies to econs...if u wanna study business in the future, econs in A-levels is not required.. "


Yeah, I heard that for bio related courses Chem is crucial to the courses. If you happen to take Bio, it serves as a Bio post-SPM refresher course and could help make your life easier if you're aspiring to be a Doctor. Not sure about Econs though, but it is not absolutely essential for Economics courses (think they prefer Maths and F.Maths over Econs)

IMHO, each individual subjects have their own challenges in learning them so you can't really judge which is harder than the other (except for subjects like Maths and F.Maths :wink: ). If you have the dedication and relish the challenges the subject provides to you, I'm sure that getting a distinction wouldn't be so difficult.

[chloe]

i suggest you take further maths over econs and biology as it is very usefull in engineering., actuarial science.. etc...
even though u might want to consider business but a good maths foundation helps a lot....
Further Maths Rocks!!!!

[elaine86]

"the reason for not requiring pre- bio knowledge although u will be learning about it in the courses is because (I HEARD ABOUT IT B4...but dunno whether 100% true )-------------------------- ppl believe that bio is something that u can easily catch up with, where deadly memorising will do just as good. Not like chem or phy where u have to accumulate ur knowledge step by step ..... to confirm about this theory, i suggest u to consult your school counsellor .....


hmm..i agree with the second part. For Chemistry and Physics, u need to have a stong basic, the knowlege is accumulated. I found out that most students who didn't have strong undestanding in SPM phy n chem would normally have difficulties in their A level.

As for bio, memorising alone is not enough for Cambridge A level. You need to have an analytical mind..and critical and creative thinking too..For example, most people thought that one of the option papers, Mamalian Physiology,only requires memorising. However, in the last Oct/Nov exam, only a very small proportion of what we memorized came out...Paper4(core) wasn't easy too..

[elaine86]

1st of all,my physics is not that good..I'm taking bio for the sake of getting another A if possible...and also keeping my options wide..in case i'm not able to cope with physics...is this a right decision?

Physics is not that good?I used to have the same opinion when i was in Form 5..But not anymore in A level. erm..can be said quite easy. i believe u will be able to cope with it...it is not very difficult..what u need is understanding the concepts and theories fully, so that u'll know how to apply them when answering the questions. Plus some memorising of the definitions..As for paper3 and paper5 (experiment) ur lecturers will guide u..no worry.

[eslite]

Take Further Mathematics. It will definitely help if you plan to go for engineering, and the mechanics component is so much more than difficult in Physics that it it will beyond a doubt imporve your Physics.

[Zeroth]

yes, further maths is good, but it requires quite a substantial effort as it is quite difficult compared to maths alone. Chemistry is compulsory for most eng courses so keep it. Physics would be useful so keep it.

Conclusion: take chem, maths, phy, further maths..

[chris_khor]

i wish to take a-level...is it a good choice for me if i wan to study in business in the future????? what courses should i choose in a-level?
which univesities/colleges is better???
i heard foundation programme is better if i want to study business..
so which is better? i'm not sure what to choose and where to go..

[kelvinlym]

I have but only one rule.

Decide what you want to do, and work hard to achieve it.

Not the other way around as in your case.

If you want to take engineering and if that's your passion, everything will fall into place. Trust me.

What you need to do is to put aside all your worries and ask yourself sincerely this question, "What am I really interested in?"

End.

[digimushu]

The problem is I'm gonna drop computing..as it has nothing to do with my future..or I should say I'm not interested..Should I add another subject..?I thought of adding either biology or economics..I had refered to some people and books..they say economics is kinda easy but you need high command in english..I dun think so i haf super duper or fantastic english.As for biology,my results kinda good when I was in form 5...compared to physics and chemistry..I wana study engineering after my a level if possible or maybe business if my results not good.

Engineering these days require more and more programming. THe new generation of engineers are trained more to use software for both design and data acq than to know materials. Often times you will realize that engineers do a lot more refering than remembering.

To be an engineer these days are easy. At the end of the day you will have to ask yourself "is this what i want to do with my life?".

Think about it. Good luck!

[chris_khor]

i wish to take a-level...is it a good choice for me if i wan to study in business in the future????? what courses should i choose in a-level?
which univesities/colleges is better???
i heard foundation programme is better if i want to study business..
so which is better? i'm not sure what to choose and where to go..

[Hanna101]

greetings everyone! im new here..
im taking a level next year in chemistry, biology, math and IT.
any idea what course cud i take during my uni year??
i'd like to further in uk :D
i'd wanna have something to do with bio but definitely NOT medic such as biochem or biotech n i heard something about bioinformatics too..anyone??