Is it possible to do 7 A levels and have a life?

Question

All I do right now is study, do you really think it is really manageble to get 7 good A level grades and still have a life?

Answer 1

You are not doing them to have a life now, but afterwards!

don't worry, you get an easy first year at Uni, to get a bit drunk, before you have knuckle under again.

Answer 2

In short No.

But the key question here is, why do you want to do 7 A Levels?

If you are doing them because you were an all-rounder at GCSE and got A*/A in everything. Then you need to be aware that the A Level course is sooooo much different. You should speak to those in the year above you about the subjects to find out what it really involves.

If you are doing it to help you when applying for university - Oxford and Cambridge only ask for 3 A Levels, and doing more than that will not give you an advantage when applying. I'm studying Medicine at Oxford now, applied with 3 A Levels and know the system well so I'm not lying when I say that. There are plenty of people at Oxbridge who only did 3 A levels and got their places ahead of those who did 4/5 A Levels.

If you want to do 7 because you enjoy the subjects, then good for you. You need to think about it though - will doing that many give you any advantage at all in the future? Bearing in mind employers are more interested in your degree rather than you A Levels, I don't think it does.

If you really want to do more than 3 subjects, 4 or 5 A levels is more manageable. Hope this helps. Good luck for the future.

Answer 3

I took 3 A-levels, worked 20 hours a week, 6 hours voluntary work a week and still had time to party. If you don't have to work (for money I mean) then I don't see why you couldn't possibly sit 7. However, I guess you will need to be seriously strict and disciplined with yourself, I think if you can master this then you can do pretty much anything.

The only thing I would consider (if you are planning to apply to university) is that most universities prefer 'well-rounded' students i.e. paid employment, voluntary work/DofE, development of interests/hobbies and good A level grades - these attributes will come across in your personal statement and give a good reflection of your ability to balance your work/home life, which in the long run will serve you better.
A good example: A girl at my old 6th form got 5 A levels (all in the top 5% of A grades in the UK), yet she had no social skills, no paid work - you couldn't even hold a conversation with the poor girl - not surprisingly she got turned down by Oxbridge!

Another girl at the same 6th form sat 3 A levels, 2A's 1B - she had fundraised her own trip to Africa, did voluntary work etc and she was offered an unconditional place at Cambridge!

Answer 4

I truly don't see why you would need to!

Universities never ask for more than 3. Sometimes the top universities (oxford/cambridge) may specify grades in 4 A levels, but that's only if you're taking 4, and even then they are adamant that they don't discriminate against people who take 3: after all, some state schools can't timetable 4 A levels that people want to do, and they can't be seen to discriminate against state schoolers.

There is really no point in doing more than 4 A levels unless you have intense passion for every single subject, are amazingly clever, have superhuman time management skills and dont want a social life; remember each subject will expect approx 5 hours worth of study outside lessons per week - thats 35 hours worth of homework!! (and if art is one of those subjects, expect to put in more than 5 hours a week - it takes up days and days just doing homework).

In my opinion, taking 7 A levels would be a ridiculous thing to do, you'd be spreading yourself too thin and maybe your grades would suffer. Would you rather get 7 alright A levels or 3/4 really strong A level grades? Don't jeopodise your chances of a good university later by being too ambitious now.

Answer 5

If you enjoy studying and really want to, but unis won't be requiring it. As long as you have what is required for a good uni (presume you're thinking oxbridge, who don't require more than 3 or 4 subjects. but be aware i don't think they like it if you've done 3 a-levels, one of which is something like art they say the a-levels done have to be 'academic'). It might be better to focus on doing well in the ones you're taking already, and then using some of your new-found spare time to increase extra-curricular activities which are becoming more and more important on an application form. It's not all about the academic grades to get into either a job or into uni - you hear of people rejected from oxbridge who have got 6 or 7A grades at A level.

Answer 6

7 A-levels? Blimey, you must be brainy. I would imagine it would be very difficult to do 7 and have a social life too, but I think it would be worth it in the long run. Two years' hard work, and you could do any course at any university - if you have the ability you should use it, even if it means you have to work extremely hard.
Good luck!

Answer 7

Very difficult... I only did three, and I was a drained zombie for two years... my mate, who's incredibly intelligent, went for four, but had to drop one cause of the pressure... he eventually got a 2:1 Masters Degree in Zoology from Sheffield Uni, so not too scruffy!!
Seven sounds over the top, to be honest...

Answer 8

Yes- learning is great - just make sure you enjoy all the other things as well- physical relationships, friends, parties etc- it is possible to do both. I used to read loads and sit all my exams and more and still party- enjoy it all!!

Answer 9

if you focus 110% on your studies and work hard to your maximum potential, then yes. though you must be some kind of smart ****

Answer 10

I agree with the 1st comment.. enough said!!