You’re done with the hectic O-Levels, and now it’s time for you to advance to pre-university education. Now’s the time for you to figure out what career you’d like to go into and what your short-term and long-term goals are. While thinking about all the important stuff, and what paths lead to the best outcome, it’s possible you might be thinking about which of the following you should consider: A-Levels or Foundation courses. Which of them are better for you and which would lead to you getting into a specific program of study?
Initially, you need to figure out what A-Levels are and what Foundation courses are, before you dive into figuring out their differences.
A-Levels (short for Advanced Levels) are the standard, and most-opted-for qualification for entry to high-ranked universities internationally. They’re subject-based qualifications, with students taking 3-4 subjects. The exams are conducted by the Cambridge Assessment International Education (a part of the University of Cambridge).
Foundation courses are one-year pre-university programmes that replace the last 2 years of required high-school education. They’re offered by specific universities for a variety of courses.
Now, what exactly is the difference between AL and Foundation? The two can be differentiated on different levels, since the two have various aspects that should be taken into consideration.
A-level courses are a 1.5-2 years scheme of study where students study in-depth 3-4 specialist subjects, with the choice to choose any combination offered by the subjects available at one’s school. A-Levels is considered to be more comprehensive since the learning material that students have to study, understand and apply is substantial. Due to this, A-Levels, and also because it’s administered by the external University of Cambridge. are considered to be harder than Foundation courses,
Foundation courses, on the other hand, are shorter courses, completed across the duration of 12-months/a year, however, the study program is more focused and specialized, with a number of subjects that teach the fundamentals of a particular study area. This means that studying in this program could be more hectic due to a shorter study duration. In foundation, you learn the basics of your chosen field-of-study, which makes it slightly easier than AL.
A-Levels also has the advantage of being internationally acclaimed and accepted; many highly-esteemed and academically-advanced universities all across the world give special preference to students who have sat for and achieved top grades in their A-Level examinations. Foundation courses, however, may not be as accepted, especially on an international level.
A-Level courses offer a variety of subjects that students could opt for, covering Sciences, Arts, Humanities, etc. Students can be very flexible in choosing their subjects, often going for subjects that they enjoy or are good at and are relevant to their future degree.
Foundation courses offer core subjects that are tailored to the study area, so often have a more controlled set of subjects.
The study scheme of A-Levels is 100% exam-based, separated into AS and A2 Level, where the final grade is determined from both AS and A2 Level grades. This means that most students often focus on achieving the best result on the final exams, since projects and assignments aren’t taken into account for the grades. This takes away the distraction of having to do well in school, but also can be more difficult since students have only one chance to do well.
Grades in foundation courses are often evaluated on the basis of both coursework and exams. Students can work more consistently and be assessed continuously throughout the duration of their studies, since the overall grade is distributed amongst different tasks.
A-Levels or Foundation: both are viable options for higher secondary school education and for getting into great universities. It depends on what kind of student you are and where you can thrive the best, and what your future career plans allow you to do. Both options provide the required academic integrity needed, and the choice you make depends on your future plans and where you want to end up.