Will A-Level Biology be too hard - should I drop it now?

Hi,

Just started AS Biology and we haven't really learnt much yet, so to some it seems silly that I am worried. I looked ahead in the CGP AS Biology guide, and there are around 100 pages with loads and loads of quite high level information that will be in the unit 1 exam.

The exam board is AQA and apparently its the most difficult?

I am just worried that I won't be able to remember it all and won't get a high grade in the exams - which are meant to be tedious and very tricky.

I don't want to drop it, as my dream is to become a doctor - but If I take biology and it's going to be 'too much' then I won't get a good grade and won't be able to do medicine anyway.

So basically, I am just wondering if it is too hard and should I drop it whilst i'm ahead?

Reply 1

ERdoctor

More info:

I did triple biology at GCSE and got an A. (A lucky 'A' imo)

And I wouldn't say Biology excites me. Its just something I do because some of it is interesting, but my main motive is simply because I want to be a doctor. I know I will find medicine interesting, because that is the part of biology I find interesting.

Reply 2

Freiheit

Original post by ERdoctor

Just be prepared for a tough year but through hard work anyone can get at least a B grade. Don't be scared about it and see how you feel about it after a month.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3

Lord Mirza

Firstly A-Level Biology is TOTALLY different from GCSE unfortunately..

If you start working now you'll get a high grade! I'm just starting A2 Biology now! :tongue:

Personally I say you try it out, if you find that you get a poor grade by the end of AS, drop it and pick up another one or something.. But cross that bridge when you come to it IMO!

G'luck! :biggrin:

Reply 4

ERdoctor

Original post by Lord Mirza

Firstly A-Level Biology is TOTALLY different from GCSE unfortunately..

If you start working now you'll get a high grade! I'm just starting A2 Biology now! :tongue:

Original post by Freiheit

Just be prepared for a tough year but through hard work anyone can get at least a B grade. Don't be scared about it and see how you feel about it after a month.

Hey, what would you say the best form of revision is? I am not a big fan of writing notes, I like to read through textbooks/guides and do practice questions. I am willing to try something else though :smile:

Thanks for the replies :smile:

Reply 5

MissClumsy

If you put the effort in you can easily achieve a B. I didn't probably put in as much effort as I could, but to balance it out I had epic teachers, and I achieved a solid B i.e. not a low B, but not the top end of one either.

Please though for all you AS subjects, work hard! I wish I took notice of that advice before starting A levels, but I got lucky and came out with BCCD.

Edit: Yes, past papers and practice questions are essential to do. The way you need to answer an A level question to get full marks is different from GCSE, learn what the exam board want from you and know your key words and use them!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 6

Freiheit

Original post by ERdoctor

Thanks for the replies :smile:

I have it in 4 stages:
Stage 1: sep-late November. Pay attention in class, complete all homework, take notes from the book for each chapter while teacher covers that topic.
Stage 2-end November (around 2-weeks): Go through the specification each point one by one and write notes to cover all of the points. This is where revision guides are helpful.
Stage 3: Make sure you know the specification inside out and have no doubts.
Stage 4: Complete ALL past papers you can find even if the questions are from a different exam board (as long as the topic you have covered is the same).

Reply 7

flowerscat

Original post by ERdoctor

Hi,

Just started AS Biology and we haven't really learnt much yet, so to some it seems silly that I am worried. I looked ahead in the CGP AS Biology guide, and there are around 100 pages with loads and loads of quite high level information that will be in the unit 1 exam.

I don't want to drop it, as my dream is to become a doctor - but If I take biology and it's going to be 'too much' then I won't get a good grade and won't be able to do medicine anyway.

So basically, I am just wondering if it is too hard and should I drop it whilst i'm ahead?

Hi,

Start revising early (like now), make short revision notes for each chapter, use flow charts or visual aids, and most importantly go through all the past papers, understand what the mark scheme is asking of you. At least try to finish one or two past-papers under exam conditions (timed, with no textbook) and see how you fare and where you went wrong.

The biology you do in any biology degree or in medicine which be much, much harder than anything you do at A-level, so unless you want to drop biology completely (which seems a real shame to me as it seems like to enjoy it), just start early and study well.

Seems a pity to let 4 exams get in your way of your lifetime ambition of becoming a doctor!

Good luck!

Drop it now!!!

I just did AQA AS bio, and as long as you are prepared to put in a lot of hard work, you'll be fine. Also for AQA you basically just need to learn the markschemes, the questions they ask aren't hard - they're just very strict markers, as in you need the exact word to get the mark. Having said that, the grade boundaries are low due to this (about 70% raw marks for an A I think?) so that kinda makes up for it. :smile:

I thought I would do awful in bio, but it came out as my highest UMS in all my subjects.. so don't be too diheartened if you're not getting A's from day one!

Oh, also - you don't need bio for medicine, just look at the individual websites to check (although some want it at least at AS.)