My careers adviser likened them to climbing up mount Everest in gale force winds with a blindfold on and stones tied to your hands with your feet tied together...
If you possess skill in your chosen A-Levels and a large amount of work ethic then they shouldn't be 'hard'. If, however, you choose subjects you don't like it makes the situation harder.
Top tip: Choose your subjects carefully and prep from day one
1st year is difficult as its a huge difference to GCSES, so takes a while to get used to. You can't wing these exams unlike GCSES though, so you have to put extra work in to get the grades you want. Remember, you get out what you put in
hey guys! going into college in sept and recently changed my options to bio,chem, psychology and politics. was wondering if these are a good mix and if they will be okay to manage, i initially had ALL essay writing subjects however realised my essay writing skills are the weakest so that would be a bad idea any advice would be appreciated!!!!
hey guys! going into college in sept and recently changed my options to bio,chem, psychology and politics. was wondering if these are a good mix and if they will be okay to manage, i initially had ALL essay writing subjects however realised my essay writing skills are the weakest so that would be a bad idea any advice would be appreciated!!!!
hey, i do all of those except politics, psychology isn't as essay based as it used to be, the maximum markers are 12 for AS and 16 for A2, i'm not that great at them but they're not very hard, you just have to remember stuff from the textbook basically (stupid schooling system) Biology you can get 6/ 8 markers which i find challenging :/ chemistry has no essay stuff and idk about politics, i'm sure you'll be fine so long as you like the subjects
Stfu u pussy yout look at your name u f***** sideman I can tell your one of them dopy idiots in school striving just for d and c grades
well that's aggressive, and you didn't even use the right 'your'. Don't make assumptions about people, they will say what they will say and you should just grow up and take it. Words like 'sideman' etc shouldn't really be in anyone's vocabulary, they make anyone sound thick.
They are not hard, it's just a lot of work shoved into a short time at a fast pace. This means that is often hard for people to keep up. It doesn't depend on how smart you are, it's just how you retain information and whether you remember it or not in bulk.
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
Pretty hard, not impossible to handle. Just start revision in December at the latest and you should be fine for at least C's or above.
I made the mistake of choosing physics without taking maths alongside it... BIG MISTAKE. I've struggled all year (E's and U's oops) which is mainly down to my poor maths skills compared to the rest of my class. I put a lot of effort in, but its just too difficult for me and I can't wait to drop it.
They are not hard, it's just a lot of work shoved into a short time at a fast pace. This means that is often hard for people to keep up. It doesn't depend on how smart you are, it's just how you retain information and whether you remember it or not in bulk.
That's not completely true, a lot of people struggle to understand, even with time. I don't think exams are great for testing intelligence because people are smart at different things. For very smart people, timing is more of an issue than understanding but for those considered less 'smart', A levels are very difficult. It is also to do with motivation, so I would agree with the last part of your statement.
I'm doing Maths, English language, French and Biology. Are these bad subjects to pick?
Don't know about the Maths and English language, but I do both French and Biology.
I love learning French, the teaching at my school for it is great etc. Alongside History it's my favourite subject. By the end of the two year course I'm close to being fluent. But I must reiterate: it is incredibly difficult, amongst the hardest A-Levels. The grading system is ridiculous and I'm liable to miss my offer because of it. Regardless of the exam boards, languages are assessed unfairly, not only because native speakers take the exams but because as with any other exam paper grades are adjusted depending on how the year as a whole performs. Which is an unfounded idea for languages considering you could have an entire year speaking the language fluently but the vast majority of individuals gaining Cs/Bs because everyone else was on par and some people have to take the hit. The assessment of essays is unfair and the word limits imposed are very draining. If you're naturally good at French you won't find the first year to be too painful (though the listening/reading/writing takes some practice). But A2 is a huge step up and you'll find yourself yelling expletives in French at one in the morning because your teacher has - yet again - marked you at a C grade after your fifth redraft of an essay.
As for Biology, the concepts themselves aren't too difficult to get your head around and a good teacher will explain them to you . The textbooks should also provide what you need to know, but for me the best method of revision is to consistently do past papers once you feel you know the content as they will, word for word, provide you with model answers required. Learn these model answers. Biology is in essence a memory exercise and test of whether you can apply what you've remembered to various questions (but even then there's a general pattern of questions followed). AS Biology in particular was easy for most people I know who paid attention and learned all the content, whilst A2 was a slight leap forward with more things to memorise, more challenging-but-understandable concepts, and an essay which will be a breeze for an English Lit student provided they have the biological knowledge.
tl;dr French fun but harder than Churpi cheese, Biology doable if you're prepared to sit down and learn the content till you know it better than your best friend.
I don't know what my French grade will be, nor Biology, but this is my personal experience and the sentiments are generally shared with my classmates.
Don't know about the Maths and English language, but I do both French and Biology.
I love learning French, the teaching at my school for it is great etc. Alongside History it's my favourite subject. By the end of the two year course I'm close to being fluent. But I must reiterate: it is incredibly difficult, amongst the hardest A-Levels. The grading system is ridiculous and I'm liable to miss my offer because of it. Regardless of the exam boards, languages are assessed unfairly, not only because native speakers take the exams but because as with any other exam paper grades are adjusted depending on how the year as a whole performs. Which is an unfounded idea for languages considering you could have an entire year speaking the language fluently but the vast majority of individuals gaining Cs/Bs because everyone else was on par and some people have to take the hit. The assessment of essays is unfair and the word limits imposed are very draining. If you're naturally good at French you won't find the first year to be too painful (though the listening/reading/writing takes some practice). But A2 is a huge step up and you'll find yourself yelling expletives in French at one in the morning because your teacher has - yet again - marked you at a C grade after your fifth redraft of an essay.
As for Biology, the concepts themselves aren't too difficult to get your head around and a good teacher will explain them to you . The textbooks should also provide what you need to know, but for me the best method of revision is to consistently do past papers once you feel you know the content as they will, word for word, provide you with model answers required. Learn these model answers. Biology is in essence a memory exercise and test of whether you can apply what you've remembered to various questions (but even then there's a general pattern of questions followed). AS Biology in particular was easy for most people I know who paid attention and learned all the content, whilst A2 was a slight leap forward with more things to memorise, more challenging-but-understandable concepts, and an essay which will be a breeze for an English Lit student provided they have the biological knowledge.
tl;dr French fun but harder than Churpi cheese, Biology doable if you're prepared to sit down and learn the content till you know it better than your best friend.
I don't know what my French grade will be, nor Biology, but this is my personal experience and the sentiments are generally shared with my classmates.
Ah thank you for this! On my French I'm pretty sure I git a high B overall And biology ISA I got a D which means I need to get 3 A's in the exams to get an overall B grade, do you think it's still worth me taking it? And is it a lot more different to GCSE biology cos I really enjoy GCSE biology
I'm thinking of doing that as well, so I can try and get used to the independent study that you have to do in A levels. I'm planning on taking ; English literature History Economics or Sociology Do you think it is a good idea that I start early, maybe read the books that I will hopefully be studying. Also if you take any of these subjects, do you have any tips?, or any tips on A levels in general.
I currently take economics and absolutely love it! Some concepts can be a bit hard to grab your head around, but (for me) the content is really interesting so you don't mind revising it over and over. If you do take economics, I'd suggest subscribing to the economist magazine. You obviously can't read every article but there's usually at least 1 or 2 articles that will be relevant to what you're learning and data that you can use in your exams (examiners love it when you bring in your own knowledge!) Maybe do a bit of reading on basic economic concepts so you know what to expect.
I currently take economics and absolutely love it! Some concepts can be a bit hard to grab your head around, but (for me) the content is really interesting so you don't mind revising it over and over. If you do take economics, I'd suggest subscribing to the economist magazine. You obviously can't read every article but there's usually at least 1 or 2 articles that will be relevant to what you're learning and data that you can use in your exams (examiners love it when you bring in your own knowledge!) Maybe do a bit of reading on basic economic concepts so you know what to expect.
Thank you, I've heard very little about economics other than the whole macroeconomic and microeconomic which I know nothing about! I'll make sure to start reading some economics magazines over the summer.