Guess it depends what way you look at it. At uni you do one subject which you are (hopefully) interested in, whereas for A2's the content is easier but if you're still doing 4 then you have to learn more, you have to manage your time better etc

Reply 64

clairebear101

11

Original post by _Xenon_

I was thinking of revising A levels after all my GCSE exams had finished so 18th June. Is that a good idea or bad? Any advice what stuff to learn during the summer to give me a head start because I really want to ace A levels.

Thanks.

Do not do this, firstly you will get confused, u have plently of time if you start in september and you need a break I started in september and tbh i am still strugglling with the exams but starting earlier would not have helped, they are jsut super hard exams. With the old spec stuff life would have been a lot easier, just thank yourself lucky you are not the firts year(my year) doing the new spec. I got 9A*'s at GCSE and it's hard.
I guess on results day if i do well i can let you know what think to do but for now, focus on your gcse's - if you work hard from september life will be easier. Do not revise over summer.

Reply 65

TommehBoi

12

Original post by RBoss

Guess it depends what way you look at it. At uni you do one subject which you are (hopefully) interested in, whereas for A2's the content is easier but if you're still doing 4 then you have to learn more, you have to manage your time better etc

Yeah I guess so. I can only speak from my course but the level of detail is much higher that what you learn during A-levels.

Reply 66

_Xenon_

12

Original post by clairebear101

Do not do this, firstly you will get confused, u have plently of time if you start in september and you need a break I started in september and tbh i am still strugglling with the exams but starting earlier would not have helped, they are jsut super hard exams. With the old spec stuff life would have been a lot easier, just thank yourself lucky you are not the firts year(my year) doing the new spec. I got 9A*'s at GCSE and it's hard.
I guess on results day if i do well i can let you know what think to do but for now, focus on your gcse's - if you work hard from september life will be easier. Do not revise over summer.

Thanks! I appreciate the advice. :-)

Reply 67

Jehaan

19

DO NOT TAKE BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY (unless you have a death wish or really like revising)
It is fine if you do lots of consolidation throughout the year and not two week before exams like some people
Do lots of past papers and use the specification a lot and you'll be fine. You just need to find a certain trick for each subject like Biology you need to condense information as there is so much of it and learn mark schemes as examiners are not creative

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 68

splashywill

17

Original post by natninja

Physics at Oxford... it's somewhat challenging

nice

Reply 69

mrashid98

1

Original post by Wan Hury

Wagwan. I was wondering if I could get some honest feedback of how life is like whilst studying for your A-levels. I'm starting them in September (hopefully) and I wanted to know what people think of it. I already know it's one of the toughest things anyone could ever do, but other than that, is there anything else? Thanks

I entered y12 so happy. I was so optimistic and ready to learn. Now look at me. I'm a cynic with blurred vision who can't stand the sight of my friends or happy people.

That's just me though, and it's probably just because i'm a narcissist and because my sixth form treats us like children.

A-levels are as hard as you try. In other words, if you don't attempt to understand them, then you won't. The learning curve from GCSE is a big one, there's no doubt but you'll have settled in soon enough. That being said, try not to be disheartened by any bad mock results you get before April. Trust me, exam pressure and a better understanding of your subjects will force you to get better grades.

And before you hit me with 'exam pressure does nothing for me, i'm a chronic procrastinator', just know that that is basically true for all of us, but you will end up revising whether it's a week before your exam or even a day.

Here's a myth i feel like dispelling: A lot of people say that cramming right before your A-level exam doesn't work at all. Although i'd agree that it isn't wise to revise the day before your exam, for me, as long as i have adequate resources, i can start revising probably around three days before and feel confident going in.

Some advice:

1. Make adequate notes: i recommend using yellow lined paper to do this, as the contrast between the paper and the black ink of your pen emphasises your notes and can actually help you remember your content better. Also, yellow paper looks better.

2. Stay (relatively) organised: try to organise yourself according to the subjects you are taking. I took Physics, Maths, Chemistry and English Literature. For Physics and Chemistry, i kept separate folders and stored all of my notes chronologically in them, so i could flick back when doing homework or classwork. With Maths and English, i started out with folders, but then realised it was easier to make notes in separate notebooks, or to not make them at all. Maths is a subject which i find fairly straightforward, so no surprises there. English, however, i found that notes were just painstaking to keep organised, mostly because my teachers were shite and inconsistent. For that, I decided on just using purely Sparknotes (website) and York notes (revision guides). Whatever subjects you're taking, you will find your rhythm. However, and this leads me onto my next point, notes are more helpful when it comes to homework, and not so much when it comes to exams so try not to stress too much about keeping your notes up to date.

3. Textbooks and past papers: These are a godsend. Textbooks might be clunky and useless at GCSE, but at A-level they serve a real purpose, as long as you have the textbook relevant to your exam board (try to get the endorsed ones- for example, if your school has kerboodle then use the online textbook they've given you. Or ask to see the textbook your department has, and try to find a more up to date version of it). All of my exam revision has hinged on taking past papers, seeing where i'm messing up, looking that up in a textbook and attempting to correct that whilst refreshing my memory on stuff i already knew at the same time. Textbooks from your exam board are specifically written to fit the specification for your upcoming exam, so every bit of information in them is useful. CGP guides are useful, but not on the same scale as the textbooks your school might have. CGP are revision guides, and are therefore mainly useful for just looking back over stuff you need a refresher on in a jiffy (e.g right before your exam).

4. Make sure your sixth form respects its students: i attend a school which bases its reputation on the natural intelligence of its pupils- its teachers are nothing outstanding, yet it consistently churns out good grades purely because the pupils are really really clever, and puts it down to the 'outstanding' facilities it offers and other ********. At least it used to. My year was the worst performing year at GCSE in the history of the school so, being a greedy school that really only cared about money, they decided to double the number of places available for our Y12 sixth form, even though our common room is about the size of a dry-cleaned school bag. Then they complained that we were too loud in the common room and that we didn't do enough work, so they halved the size of it and made one half a silent study area. I attend a nerd school, so trust me, everyone there does work, and they work way too hard ( i don't but i appreciate how much they study ). It was disrespectful and wrong of them to blame the loudness and apparent appearance of more slacking on us, when clearly the fact that the sixth form has doubled from 200 to 400 in size was the culprit.
Anyway... take your college choice seriously- i didn't, because i assumed the sixth form would be fine.

5. Don't study too hard: you're a teen- these are your years, so don't overwork yourself. AS levels don't 'decide' your future- not least because AS levels don't mean anything anymore (you gain your qualifications at the end of A2 now), but because you still have plenty of time to decide what you want to do- whether that is a passion yet to be discovered ( i recently discovered a love for graphic design ), or a dream degree that you dont even know exists yet ( nanophysics is what i found). Even if it doesn't work out and you don't get the grades for the university of your choice, you can always take a gap year, or an apprenticeship, or resit your a-levels, or take a course in something, or just go it alone and start a business.

Hope this was helpful!

Reply 70

ArtyQuell

6

They aren't too bad if you have sufficient notes and planning. Current student of History, Spanish and English Literature at A2 here, so I find that extensive notes and flash cards for these essay based subjects are essential. :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 71

elen90

12

Hey.

Hey, you.

DO NOT.

TAKE.

A LANGUAGE.

DO NOT.

Reply 72

kelefi

19

(As an A2 student currently doing bio, chem, maths, and phys)

The journey to Mordor was long and arduous, many times did our young hobbit wish to turn back, during the attacks of orcs and spiders, and throughout his journey into dwarvern ruins he wished he did not bear the responsibility of the ring. But one thing kept this young hobbit strong, preventing him from turning back on his mission; the fact that upon his return, he would need to sit his A level exams...

Reply 73

Pianoluverclo

A-levels are hard. Really hard. And you can't wing them like GCSEs. I'm just about to take my A2 exams and they are sooooo hard. One bit of advice - go with traditional subjects like maths, physics, chemistry, history, english etc. and really check out what you're going to be doing. I chose food technology not realising that a 90,000 (yes really) word piece of coursework was required for A2 as 50% of the final grade :-( . Do an EPQ relevant to your future degree course if possible in your A2 year because uni's (especially Southampton and UEA) look on an EPQ as something really worthwhile and valuable (UEA has a scholarship for great EPQs). But A-levels are also a great opportunity to learn more about yourself, enjoy school life and learn what subject area really interests you. Good luck! :-)

Reply 74

matterofthemind

1

work throughout the year and you'll be fine. IF NOT THEY'RE HORRIBLE (speaking from experience)

Reply 75

natninja

21

Original post by RBoss

Guess it depends what way you look at it. At uni you do one subject which you are (hopefully) interested in, whereas for A2's the content is easier but if you're still doing 4 then you have to learn more, you have to manage your time better etc

No you really don't have to learn more... I took 5 AS and 4A2 and the breadth of a single module in my uni course (admittedly it's the fourth year) is far larger than all my A levels put together. Also the difficulty is far far far greater.

Reply 76

TercioOfParma

18

Original post by Pianoluverclo

A-levels are hard. Really hard. And you can't wing them like GCSEs. I'm just about to take my A2 exams and they are sooooo hard. One bit of advice - go with traditional subjects like maths, physics, chemistry, history, english etc. and really check out what you're going to be doing. I chose food technology not realising that a 90,000 (yes really) word piece of coursework was required for A2 as 50% of the final grade :-( . Do an EPQ relevant to your future degree course if possible in your A2 year because uni's (especially Southampton and UEA) look on an EPQ as something really worthwhile and valuable (UEA has a scholarship for great EPQs). But A-levels are also a great opportunity to learn more about yourself, enjoy school life and learn what subject area really interests you. Good luck! :-)