Students recommend History Over Government & Politics for A-Levels

Students are more likely to recommend studying History and English Literature A Levels, over Government & Politics or Classical Civilisation for a Law degree, according to student opinions on The Student Room.

The reasons students give in this hard vs easy A-Levels debate are:

• An A Level in Government & Politics is viewed by some students as a ‘soft option’ over History, even though an A Level in Government & Politics isn’t seen by top universities as a ‘soft’ subject, especially for a traditional degree like Law.
• Students believe that top universities tend to prefer Classics, Ancient History and Latin over Classical Civilisation.

One TSR user, who goes by the username thatgirlbecky, says:

“For a degree in Law, the ‘traditional’ subjects are best, so I’d choose English Literature & History which are both great for a degree in Law. Then maybe I’d pick A Level Maths, as it’s a great subject to take and keeps your options open, and then another one that you think you’ll enjoy. But it’s best to remember to choose subjects that you like and think you’ll do well in.”

Whereas another TSR user, Hemzo, says:

“If you want to be a lawyer, I’d recommend Government and Politics, Economics, History and English Literature. I took Economics, Politics and History myself and I think they’re good subjects, with Economics and History being the best.”

Understandably, students want to make the right decisions about which A Levels they should take, depending on their interests and what course they intend to study at university, which is why threads like this appear on The Student Room, for students to get advice from their peers and in this case vote on certain subjects.

The final results students voted for are:

• Government and Politics -13%
• English Literature – 39%
• History – 49%
• Economics – 29%
• Further Maths – 32%
• Classical Civilisation – 8%

Students have realised that to study certain degrees such as Law or to study at certain universities such as the London School of Economics, ‘traditional’ subjects are more accepted. However they are mindful that to be successful they must also study subjects that they enjoy and are good at, as well as those that may be relevant to the degree they would like to study.