Advice on A-Level choices please

[manicmother80]

Sorry to be starting so many threads, but we decided just a few days back that we would definitely be sedning our daughter to the UK for Sixth form next year, and since I'm from India, I am completely clueless about the British system and need a lot of help.

My daughter has 2 choose four AS subjects and sit entrance exams in them, so she needs to decide her choices and start preparing ASAP. She wants to do English, Maths and History with a fourth AS in either Art or Drama & Theatre. She's not entirely sure yet what she wants to do at University, but it's probably going to be either Economics or English or some combination of the two.

My questions are:

1. Is English, Economics and Maths a good combination that top universities will look at positively?
   

1. Would it be better for her to pursue art/ drama as extra-curricular activities- would it be considered too 'soft' a choice by top Universities? Would Classical Civlizations or History of Art be better alternative AS Level?
   

1. Would doing 4 A Levels instead of 3 give her a significant advantage for university applications?

[reliablemillipede]

This list might help you decide:-

( Cambridge )

Re: Cambridge - hard, medium or soft subjects
There it is

LIST A1
Generally Suitable Science A-levels
Biology
Chemistry
Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Physics

LIST A2
Generally Suitable Arts A-levels
Art History
Chinese
Classical Civilisation
Economics
English Literature
French
Geography
German
Greek
History
Irish
Italian
Japanese
Latin
Music
Philosophy
Religious Studies
Russian
Spanish
Welsh

LIST B
Limited Suitability
Archaeology (Arch & Anth)
Art & Design (Architecture/History of Art)
Business Studies (Economics)
Design & Technology (Architecture)
Drama/Theatre Studies (Arts)
Electronics (Engineering)
English Language (Arts)
Film Studies (Arts)
Government & Politics (Arts)
Law (Law)
Media Studies (Arts)
Psychology (Arts)
Sociology (Arts)

LIST C
Unsuitable A-levels
Accounting
Citizenship
Communication Studies
Critical Thinking
Dance
General Studies
Health & Social Care
Home Economics
ICT
Leisure Studies
Music Technology
Performance Studies
Performing Arts
Photography
Physical Education
Sports Studies
Travel & Tourism

[manicmother80]

Thank you so much, this is very helpful!

[lljkk]

it depends what she wants to study later, OP. 3x sciences not much good for an economics place, for instance.

Extracurriculars aren't supposed to impact Uni applications in the UK, or so I'm told. Very very different from USA.

[secretscwirrels]

OP note that some 6th forms offer English language as well as English Lit and the Literature is more highly regarded.
She might be better choosing a 4th AS in a traditional academic subject and the decision about whether to take 3 or 4 to A level can be made at the end of the first year.

[RiversideMum]

Unless she wants to go to art school (which you say she does not) I'd avoid art. It's a massive amount of work - much more than any of the other subjects you have mentioned.