A-LEVELS "OR" FOUNDATION AFTER IGCSE? 🎓

If you are someone who has already finished IGCSE or finishing it up soon, you are most probably stuck in the confusion of what exactly to do after IGCSE? After IGCSE, you can either pursue "A-levels" or "Foundation Studies". 

Being in the last year of my IGCSE, I too get confused about which option to go with after IGCSE. I'm pretty sure many students are concerned about deciding between A-levels or Foundation Studies after the completion of IGCSE. 

In this blog, I'll tell you the pros and cons of A-levels and Foundation Studies so you can easily interpret what you should pursue after IGCSE without getting caught in the bubble of doubtful situations!

 A-LEVEL:

A-Level is the "Advanced Level", which is the expert or difficult stage of IGCSE. Its official duration is 2 years. You are required to select a minimum of 3 subjects that are solely based on your future field. For example, if you want to pursue medical science, you'd choose physics, chemistry, and biology. 

If you want to be an engineer, you would select Maths, Chemistry, and Physics at A-level. The same goes for the other respective fields. You can either give exams of all A-levels subjects at the end of the second year or you can give half of the exams in the first year and another half in the second year

This would divide A-levels in " AS-LEVEL" (first year) & "A2" (second year). A-level is the required qualification before applying for any university.

Pros of A-level

- It is an internationally accepted qualification, which strengthens your chances to grab study opportunities at well-known universities. 

- Since the duration is 2 years to complete A-level, you come across in-depth analysis, complex concepts, and critical questions, which set a STRONG, yet general base to familiarize yourself with University-level content. So, when you go to your university after studying A-levels, you already have some sort of background understanding of what you will learn. 

- There are around 55 subjects available. This means there is a variety of subjects to choose your minimum 3 subjects. This gives you more freedom in terms of deciding your field and exploring diversified careers.

Cons of A-level

- A-level is quite expensive to study. Schools charge hefty fees per month. Studying such advanced concepts might require you to have the best coaching classes apart from the school, and you eventually have to spend more money attending those coaching classes. 

- We can't ignore the fact that Cambridge University, Pearson, or Ed-excel, all these boards that conduct A-level exams charge huge fees per subject A-level subject. You must spend a fortune to complete A-level.

- Time is a major issue with A-levels. After spending usually 3 years in IGCSE, A-level further takes your 2 years. In other words, if you start your IGCSE at 16 (which is the ideal age declared by Cambridge University), you finish IGCSE at 19, and then start A-level at 19, and by the time you'd join university, you'd already been 21! 

- Most of the students studying at the local boards start their universities at the average age of 19. The latter you start the university, the latter you'd finish it and it would delay the time before you could finally practice your profession. 

- A-level could turn out to be a do-or-die situation. In A-levels, your final grade depends on the average of "AS-LEVEL" (first year's grades) and "A2" (second year's grades), and by ANY CHANCE if you mess up either one of the years (AS or A2), there is no chance of coming back! 

- For example, if you are inexperienced in your first year, and your exams go bad. But if you improve in the second year by working tirelessly hard, your overall grades would just be OKAY. With the OKAY grades of A-level, you would not be offered much at the universities even if you've had distinctions or all A-stars in IGCSE!

FOUNDATION STUDIES:

It is the course that many students take after IGCSE. Foundation Studies are a one-year program offered by numerous universities such as the University of Nottingham or Asia Pacific University. Students have to study semester-wise. 

There are usually 3 semesters, each lasting for 4 months, but it ultimately varies from one university to the other. Students have to complete assignments, projects, and exams per semester. 

All these activities are internally conducted and evaluated by the universities. After completing the foundation studies with a decent CGPA, students can pursue degrees in their respective fields such as MBBS, Engineering, fashion designing, etc from the desired universities. 

Pros of foundation studies

- It just lasts for one year. This gives you more time to master your side-skills which would help you in your career. For example, you'd have spare time to improve English for better communication or you can learn data analysis software such as; Mendeley which would prepare you for higher studies.

- You only study the required material which leads to further specializations in your field. If you want to be an aerospace engineer, you would only study subjects and topics that are specific to aerospace engineering such as aerodynamics, hydraulics, etc. This prevents wasting your time on such concepts, which would be of no use in your future career.

- In contrast to A-levels, foundation studies would allow you to start your university life and major degree at an early period. Most universities that offer foundation studies have additional 3 months of industrial training for the students as a part of their course. It helps you to straight away start hustling for your dream career!

Cons of foundation studies

- It might not be offered in your country. As of now, the concept of foundation studies is only accepted on a larger scale in the countries like Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, or Australia. So, you might have to apply overseas to pursue foundation studies 

- As foundation studies are not offered worldwide, the chances are that foundation studies might not be accepted worldwide. This restricts you from applying for certain universities or jobs if they don't accept foundation studies.

Verdict: At the end of the day, the ball is in your court. You have to decide between future goals and the earlier you plan, the better it will be! To sum up, I would recommend you to choose the course which offers you most of the scholarship, whether it is foundation studies or A-levels. 

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