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A level and uni choices

I’m currently in year 11 and doing my gcses in may. I want to take a level maths, computer science and business studies + EPQ currently although I am having some doubts.
I’m hoping to study computer science at a top university.

Is business studies a good option to take? On the website for cambridge university it says that business is not a useful a level to take so I am wondering whether it may not be counted as an a-level/looked down upon. The problem is I dont really enjoy any other gcse subject which I could do instead of business

I also see that Cambridge requires further maths for a computer science degree. I wasn’t planning on taking it as I am currently on an 8 and I feel like i will struggle too much doing further maths a level, but now i feel forced to take it

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Reply 1

Clearing and Applications Advisor

If you like business and don’t want to study FM then the Cambridge CS degree isn’t likely to be a good fit for you. It’s a heavily theory based degree - so quite restrictive in terms of what jobs you are prepared for unless you do substantial amounts of work placements and work beyond the curriculum.

Unless you want a career in CS academia it’s not a bad thing to look into more industry focused CS courses. There’s a reason CS has the highest unemployment rate of any degree subject so looking for placement years and courses including project management principles etc is worthwhile.

Reply 2

McGinger

Comp Sci at top Unis is Maths heavy - many will require or prefer both Maths and FM, and surprisingly don't actually need A level CS. Other course at other Unis may be more practical/applied in focus. or just more flexible :
BSc (Hons) Computing Science with a Year in Industry 2024/25 | UEA
Computer Science BSc (Hons) Undergraduate Course | Nottingham Trent University

Its worth also looking at courses 'like CS that include Business etc' such as :
Finance and Technology (FinTech) BSc : University of Sussex
BSc (Hons) in Information Technology for Business at Oxford Brookes University

Reply 3

yzven

Original post by dtspookyy

I’m currently in year 11 and doing my gcses in may. I want to take a level maths, computer science and business studies + EPQ currently although I am having some doubts.
I’m hoping to study computer science at a top university.
Is business studies a good option to take? On the website for cambridge university it says that business is not a useful a level to take so I am wondering whether it may not be counted as an a-level/looked down upon. The problem is I dont really enjoy any other gcse subject which I could do instead of business
I also see that Cambridge requires further maths for a computer science degree. I wasn’t planning on taking it as I am currently on an 8 and I feel like i will struggle too much doing further maths a level, but now i feel forced to take it
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

you need further maths

Reply 4

Jeffxry1

Original post by dtspookyy

I’m currently in year 11 and doing my gcses in may. I want to take a level maths, computer science and business studies + EPQ currently although I am having some doubts.
I’m hoping to study computer science at a top university.
Is business studies a good option to take? On the website for cambridge university it says that business is not a useful a level to take so I am wondering whether it may not be counted as an a-level/looked down upon. The problem is I dont really enjoy any other gcse subject which I could do instead of business
I also see that Cambridge requires further maths for a computer science degree. I wasn’t planning on taking it as I am currently on an 8 and I feel like i will struggle too much doing further maths a level, but now i feel forced to take it
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Imperial college London, for example, do not accept business studies as an a level for the comp sci course I’m pretty sure. I would suggest doing further maths if you want to target a top university

Reply 5

LIBF

Official Rep

Hi @dtspookyy,

It is great to see you are already thinking about what and where you are going to study at university!

Entry requirements vary from institution to institution and it is therefore very important that you consult the university's website or contact their admissions department to clarify things.

Another option you may want to explore is institutions with flexible entry requirements. This is certainly the case at LIBF, where we review applications holistically. This means we consider your personal statement, background, work, and other experience.

If you think you would like to find out more, you can explore our entry requirements here - https://bit.ly/49W9pA7

You can also find out more information about our computer science course at the following link - https://bit.ly/3vlZF3u

I hope this information helps.

Wishing you all the best of luck with the rest of your GCSEs!

Sam

Reply 6

mesub

Original post by dtspookyy

I’m currently in year 11 and doing my gcses in may. I want to take a level maths, computer science and business studies + EPQ currently although I am having some doubts.
I’m hoping to study computer science at a top university.
Is business studies a good option to take? On the website for cambridge university it says that business is not a useful a level to take so I am wondering whether it may not be counted as an a-level/looked down upon. The problem is I dont really enjoy any other gcse subject which I could do instead of business
I also see that Cambridge requires further maths for a computer science degree. I wasn’t planning on taking it as I am currently on an 8 and I feel like i will struggle too much doing further maths a level, but now i feel forced to take it
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

If you still want to be on the business-y side of things, you can take Economics as an A level instead, much more respected than business and you would still be able to get into some top unis.

Of course, for the very top unis, further maths is highly recommended, but don't force yourself to do it if you don't think you'll have the drive for it.

Reply 7

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Jeffxry1

Imperial doesn’t offer a comp sci course. Their degree is in computing.

There’s no point in doing FM if someone is going to struggle with the content. They’re unlikely to get a decent grade needed and then even if they do are likely to end up on a theory heavy degree that doesn’t suit their strengths.