A-levels in law or business could harm chances of high-flying career
PUPILS choosing A-levels in non-core subjects such as law or business which they intend to study at university are putting themselves at a disadvantage compared with peers who opt for traditional courses, a study suggests.
Sixth formers planning on entering higher education often choose similar A-levels to bolster their applications, but it appears that they would be better off choosing core subjects such as maths, science and history.
The research, carried out by the Institute of Education, University College London, found that the Russell Group, comprised of Britain’s 24 leading universities including Oxford and Cambridge, tend to favour students with a grounding in the fundamentals.
The author of the study, Catherine Dilnot, found that students applying to elite institutions in the fields of law, accounting and business were less likely to be accepted if they studied the subject at secondary school.
Instead, the survey – which monitored the admissions outcomes of 475,000 English students attending British universities between 2010-12 – found that leading universities appear to prioritise those taking the sciences, maths or languages.
Mary Curnock Cook, former head of Ucas, warned earlier this year that middle class parents had become “utilitar- ian” and “too fixated” with employment post-education. In order to make the most of their schooling, Ms Curnock Cook said that students should take up subjects that “sets your brain on fire … something that motivates you, that gets you really engaged with the subject”.
Her comments are supported by advice distributed by the Russell Group, which identifies a list of “facilitating subjects” that are often preferred, or required, in order to be considered for undergraduate study.
Meanwhile, Oxford advises law applicants that whilst it accepts all A-level subjects with the exception of General Studies, candidates should demonstrate that they are “appropriately numerate”, and for those wishing to study abroad, they should possess a qualification in a modern language.
This is echoed by the study, which found that students taking A-level law, for example, were more likely to attend a lower-ranked university than those who studied subjects on the list.
Jessica Cole, head of policy at the Russell Group, said that it was of “vital” importance” that students were given the correct advice when making choices at A-level.
“Our advice is that if students don’t know what they want to study at university then it’s a really good rule of thumb that taking two facilitating subjects will keep a wide range of degree courses open.”
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