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Any questions regarding sixth form / studying A levels?

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Original post by s.mo
Im getting a shoulder bag (im getting it tomorrow lmao and I start college inset day tomorrow, so im going with no bag :s-smilie:). It doesnt matter tbh, whichever suits you.

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Do you have any advice for me, I have an inset day tmorrow and im kinda nervous. Im also nervous for the ice breakers and stuff....


Just speak to people loads of people are in the same shoes as you and are going to be shy
What I would say is don't become friends with someone too quickly most people become themselves after a few weeks
Ask people what a levels they're going to study, what GCSEs they did and their hobbies
Tbh most first year sixth formers are immature af
Original post by surina16
This is random but do you think a shoulder bag/handbag instead of a backpack is a bad idea? :biggrin:


It doesn't really matter but I strongly prefer a handbag! I never used a backpack in my whole 2 years at sixth form because it felt heavy on my back.
Original post by s.mo
Im getting a shoulder bag (im getting it tomorrow lmao and I start college inset day tomorrow, so im going with no bag :s-smilie:). It doesnt matter tbh, whichever suits you.

-
Do you have any advice for me, I have an inset day tmorrow and im kinda nervous. Im also nervous for the ice breakers and stuff....


Ice breakers should be ok. Remember that everyone is at the same stage of their education as you so you already have something in common:smile:
You'll probably be put in groups to do simple tasks where you pretty much have to talk to people.

I was nervous as well, especially as I didn't know anyone there whereas some other people had friends from their previous Secondary school. But I was ok, so you should be as well:biggrin:
Original post by studentmoments
I studied Biology, Chemistry, Psychology and Maths in my first year and dropped Biology in the second year.../QUOTE]

Ok cool, thanks.
Reply 24
I went to day for the induction day and it was way better than i expected :biggrin::biggrin: Im kinda worried about the lessons and when i have frees etc but It will prbably be ok. It was also kinda awkward at times because most people knew eachother well and there werent that many new students but still some in my form
I start sixth form college in a few weeks. Would you recommend taking very detailed but rough notes in class and writing them up in a more neat and organised way in a different notebook after each lesson? If not, what would you do instead?

I am taking Biology, Psychology and Sociology. What do you think are the best ways to revise for each course? For example, flashcards for biology, mindmaps for sociology, etc.

Do you think the teacher would find it weird if I asked to voice record their lessons? I want to do this so I can listen and revise when I'm on the bus or in town.

What do you specifically do in your free periods? I'm planning on doing homework, writing up notes, making flashcards, doing summaries for each lesson, past papers and going to teachers. Is there anything else I could do? Also, how is this any different from general revision at home?

How should I stay organised? I've brought a student planner/academic diary and colour coded my subjects. Is there anything else you can think of?

I really want to get off to a good start and revise as I go. Sorry for all the questions and if any seemed a bit stupid.
Any help/advice would be massively appreciated. Thank you in advance!x
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Clueless<3
I start sixth form college in a few weeks. Would you recommend taking very detailed but rough notes in class and writing them up in a more neat and organised way in a different notebook after each lesson? If not, what would you do instead?

I am taking Biology, Psychology and Sociology. What do you think are the best ways to revise for each course? For example, flashcards for biology, mindmaps for sociology, etc.

Do you think the teacher would find it weird if I asked to voice record their lessons? I want to do this so I can listen and revise when I'm on the bus or in town.

What do you specifically do in your free periods? I'm planning on doing homework, writing up notes, making flashcards, doing summaries for each lesson, past papers and going to teachers. Is there anything else I could do? Also, how is this any different from general revision at home?

How should I stay organised? I've brought a student planner/academic diary and colour coded my subjects. Is there anything else you can think of?

I really want to get off to a good start and revise as I go. Sorry for all the questions and if any seemed a bit stupid.
Any help/advice would be massively appreciated. Thank you in advance!x


You might be lucky enough that your teachers give you notes, If not then I recommend writing as much as you can but bare in mind that if the teacher has a Powerpoint presentation then they may go through it quickly. You’ll probably have textbooks to buy. If your writing is really messy like mine you may need to write it again or type it up, otherwise it should be fine.
Psychology and Sociology especially require a lot of writing. It depends on the method of revision you find will help you to remember the most. Quite a few people in my year used flashcards but I prefer typing my notes (which is a combination of notes written in class and what is in the textbook)) then going over them. For Biology I did more past papers as the mark scheme tends to repeat itself.
I would say ask them. They might say no but there’s no harm in asking!
What you want to do sounds just fine and the revision at home I did was pretty much continuing what I did at school, although before exams I had to do more revision over everything we learned.
Some people I know made their own revision timetables prior to exams specifying which subjects they will revise on which days and for how long. You could do that if you want but personally I just made a mental note of what I had already gone through and what I needed to go through.
How can I balance taking the ukcat, bmat, work experience/volunteering and revision as well as social life.

Ps. How do you get work experience? Letters/phone calls?
I'm pretty sure the teachers will give us notes, but I'm still going to try and take my own anyway. I think I'll understand it a bit better if I do my own alongside theirs. If your teachers gave you notes, what did you do with them, e.g. Highlight?
When I'm rushing, my handwriting is awful which is why I plan to write my notes up. I'm also a really slow writer which is why I wanted to voice record lessons, so I have something to refer back to.
What sorts of things do the people in your year put on the flash cards for sociology and psychology? Just definitions and case studies?
When you "go over" your notes do you mean rereading them? Or making summaries, etc?
I will keep in mind about the biology mark scheme. Are past papers the only thing you use to revise biology?
Reply 29
Original post by studentmoments
Ice breakers should be ok. Remember that everyone is at the same stage of their education as you so you already have something in common:smile:
You'll probably be put in groups to do simple tasks where you pretty much have to talk to people.

I was nervous as well, especially as I didn't know anyone there whereas some other people had friends from their previous Secondary school. But I was ok, so you should be as well:biggrin:


How quickly dos you make friends in sixth form? Did you only do 3AS levels?
I just finished AS levels - Bio(A) Chem(B) Maths(B) and Computer Sci(B) - feel free to msg if you have any Qs! (Board: all AQA)
Original post by shohaib712
How can I balance taking the ukcat, bmat, work experience/volunteering and revision as well as social life.

Ps. How do you get work experience? Letters/phone calls?


It is possible but it is quite difficult to balance everything! With volunteering I recommend doing no more than once a week and you may find more work experience placements available during the half term so there isn't the added pressure of needing to do school work the next day. If you're struggling to balance everything I suggest making a timetable of what you will do each day and for how long. Its helpful if you can find other people studying for the ukcat / bmat.

With work experience, you could check online but it is more helpful if you have a student advisor or someone with a similar responsibility in the sixth form / college to help you. In my experience phone calls are better than emails or letters as a form of contact because they may take a long time to reply to emails.
Original post by Clueless<3
I'm pretty sure the teachers will give us notes, but I'm still going to try and take my own anyway. I think I'll understand it a bit better if I do my own alongside theirs. If your teachers gave you notes, what did you do with them, e.g. Highlight?
When I'm rushing, my handwriting is awful which is why I plan to write my notes up. I'm also a really slow writer which is why I wanted to voice record lessons, so I have something to refer back to.
What sorts of things do the people in your year put on the flash cards for sociology and psychology? Just definitions and case studies?
When you "go over" your notes do you mean rereading them? Or making summaries, etc?
I will keep in mind about the biology mark scheme. Are past papers the only thing you use to revise biology?


I highlighted the key information in my notes but at first I wasn't quite sure what was key information so I ended up highlighting almost everything :colondollar:
Its difficult to explain how but after a while you pick up what you need to know for the exam and what information may be irrelevant but is just there to explain the concept.

We didn't really need definitions but they did write case studies on flashcards. I think in Sociology they needed to know the names of the person or people who conducted the case studies as well. The flashcards had brief clear information, generally following this structure: aim, procedure, findings.

I reread my notes over and over then tried to recall what I just read.

With Biology past papers were the main source of revision for me but if there was a question that I answered wrong and I didn't understand the answer in the mark scheme I would read up on the topic in my textbook. If I still didn't understand then I would go to my teacher.
Original post by studentmoments
It is possible but it is quite difficult to balance everything! With volunteering I recommend doing no more than once a week and you may find more work experience placements available during the half term so there isn't the added pressure of needing to do school work the next day. If you're struggling to balance everything I suggest making a timetable of what you will do each day and for how long. Its helpful if you can find other people studying for the ukcat / bmat.

With work experience, you could check online but it is more helpful if you have a student advisor or someone with a similar responsibility in the sixth form / college to help you. In my experience phone calls are better than emails or letters as a form of contact because they may take a long time to reply to emails.


I dont think we have a student advisor :/ Aright I'll try ohone calls but I thought that they would turn you down alot of the times via phone calls? - specificaly for medicine
Original post by Rajive
How quickly dos you make friends in sixth form? Did you only do 3AS levels?


I made friends quite quickly, obviously you won't be friends with everyone but its not that difficult really. Just say a bit about yourself.

In my year we had to do 4 AS levels in the first year then drop one the next year so we had 3 full A levels. I think it might be different for people currently starting. I heard that you may only start with 3 AS levels but I might be wrong or it might not apply to all sixth forms / colleges.
What stuff do I need? (Like a pencil case and folders and stuff?) x
Original post by shohaib712
I dont think we have a student advisor :/ Aright I'll try ohone calls but I thought that they would turn you down alot of the times via phone calls? - specificaly for medicine


For medicine you could try doing work experience at a pharmacy, particularly Day lewis. They may give a week long placement. You can approach your local pharmacy in person and ask for experience.
Original post by abc_123_
What stuff do I need? (Like a pencil case and folders and stuff?) x


In terms of pencil case just a pen, pencil and colours if you want to make notes with it. Nothing too different to school.

folders - I had an A4 ring binder for each AS (4 folders).

I then had A4 Lever Arch folders to store all my notes, past papers etc. in.

I would empty my ring binders into lever arch at the end of each half term.
Highlighting is a good idea, I will definitely do that if we get given notes. I think I might do key points in one colour, and then in different colours things I don't understand, things I understand a bit and things I understand completely.
I've never heard of the "aim, procedure, findings" structure but I'll definitely give it a go! I think at GCSE I made flash cards way to complicated and put too much information on them, so this method should really help. Would you be able to give me an example of this technique?
When you tried to "recall" what you just read, would you say it aloud to yourself, mentally, to a friend, write it down...?
Did you used to mark your own past paper or get a teacher to mark it for you?
Also, can you recommend any websites (besides The Student Room of course😉) that will generally help me with A Levels either with revision materials or information, e.g. BBC Bitesize for GCSE or websites specifically for my subjects e.g. Khan Academy for maths?
Original post by Clueless<3
Highlighting is a good idea, I will definitely do that if we get given notes. I think I might do key points in one colour, and then in different colours things I don't understand, things I understand a bit and things I understand completely.
I've never heard of the "aim, procedure, findings" structure but I'll definitely give it a go! I think at GCSE I made flash cards way to complicated and put too much information on them, so this method should really help. Would you be able to give me an example of this technique?
When you tried to "recall" what you just read, would you say it aloud to yourself, mentally, to a friend, write it down...?
Did you used to mark your own past paper or get a teacher to mark it for you?
Also, can you recommend any websites (besides The Student Room of course😉) that will generally help me with A Levels either with revision materials or information, e.g. BBC Bitesize for GCSE or websites specifically for my subjects e.g. Khan Academy for maths?


For example, in AS Psychology (my exam board was AQA btw) one study we had to memorise was from Milgram (1963). I think this was under the topic Social Influences.
Aim: Investigate to what extent people will obey an authority figure even if this involves harming others.
Procedure: Volunteer (teacher) administers electric shock every time confederate (learner) answers a question incorrectly, increasing shocks by 15 volts up to 450 volts. If teacher refuses to give shock psychologist encourages them to continue.
Findings: 65% of volunteers continued to maximum 450 volts. Only 12.5% stopped at 300 volts.
Conclusion: Majority of people are likely to obey an authority figure.

With recalling my information I would read it then rewrite the information. After that I would compare how much I wrote with how much I had in my typed notes and go over whatever I missed out. If you find writing too tiring you can read aloud. Just before exams I would practice reading to a friend then they can help me and I would help them with their revision.

With past papers our teachers would give us a few to practice for homework a few weeks before mock exams and actual exams but it is highly recommended that you practice more past papers yourself to get a good grade. Once you know the exam board you can find past papers though September is way to early to be practicing past papers imo.

For Psychology I used simplypsychology.org and loopa.co.uk although this is more specific for AQA. They have model answers and predictions for the questions for the exams as well. For Chemistry I used 4college.co.uk which is specific to the OCR exam board. I found this the most useful out of all the websites as it broke down each topic into bullet points. For Maths I looked at some Khan academy videos but for Biology I personally couldn't find any websites that would help explain the topics clearly. Excluding Chemistry, I didn't really spend that much time on websites though, only to clarify information I was unclear about rather than revision.

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