How on earth do people get a*s at alevel?

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I got 3A*s, and trust me, its not entirely about brains, although they do help; its about hard work.

Well, except maybe for maths, in which case natural ability is a bit more important.

What A-levels? By your name I'm assuming two of them were Maths & FM?

Reply 21

Abstract_Prism

For sciences, it's because they work hard.

For humanities, I'm convinced it's hard work + luck.

Reply 22

username1539513

Original post by lily.b9

Is it really only reserved for super brainy people or can ordinary people like me actually achieve A*s ???? Because it feels like only academically gifted people end up getting A*s, btw im in year 12 and am aiming to do my absolute best in my subjects (biology,psychology and chemistry)

Enjoy the subject and work hard :smile:

Reply 23

DarkEnergy

Original post by Mathemagicien

Maths, Further Maths, and Additional Further Maths :tongue:

And an A in Physics, because I hated the subject in A2.

I edited my original post when I realised I probably did a little less work for each Maths A-levels than other people, but I can't see natural ability being very important in other A-levels, since maths is the only popular A-level I know of where intuitive understanding is much, much more important than memorisation.

Wow, congrats on the amazing results in such challenging subjects! I barely scraped an A in AS Maths (after remarks too...) so I'll be resitting 2 of my AS modules, but I hope with a better work ethic this year I can get an A overall or maybe even an A*. How much work did you do at home weekly, and what resources did you use outside of class?

Reply 24

username2199397

Original post by surina16

Idk, I already feel like I'm going to get a U in Biology

Hey Surina,
Do you need to know the names of stains for biology? My book only mentions the techniques like gram staining :/

Reply 25

Magic Streets

Original post by surina16

Idk, I already feel like I'm going to get a U in Biology

What you need to do is stop trying to learn Biology texts cover to cover and concentrate more on questions - past papers, mark schemes, textbook questions and answers. See what type of thinking is needed to answer these questions, and you will soon get the nack for using the right thinking skills for applying knowledge.

Aim to have looked at a thousand questions and answers relevant to your course.

Reply 26

Magic Streets

Original post by Abstract_Prism

For sciences, it's because they work hard.

For humanities, I'm convinced it's hard work + luck.

Work hard, play hard. Anything else will lead to a mental breakdown, and we don't want that do we?

Reply 27

thebluepenguins

unrelated, but I thought instead of A* (grades) you were trying to censor the word a-s-s in the title and...well, I clicked on this looking to answer a very different question

Reply 28

MajorFader

Original post by surina16

Idk, I already feel like I'm going to get a U in Biology

You know 😂, I just started year 12 and things are started to go south.

Reply 29

Naruke

Original post by Mathemagicien

In my first year, I probably spent 2 hours a day at home revising, half for maths, a quarter for physics, and another quarter for chemistry. I mainly just used textbooks and past papers. A lot of past papers. For physics and chemistry, I tried to memorise the wording of the mark schemes. For mathematics, I tried to memorise the methods.

Its difficult to answer about what I did in my second year, since I honestly spent more time practicing for the British Maths Olympiad, interviews, and later the STEP exams (Cambridge admissions tests) than directly working for my A-levels; both of which helped my intuitive understanding of maths, but not so much my knowledge of what I needed for my A-levels in maths. This is why I think intuitive understanding is very important for maths.

Did you end up getting into Cambridge?

Reply 30

DarkEnergy

Original post by Mathemagicien

(..)

Thank you!

Reply 31

Naruke

Original post by Mathemagicien

Yarp. Despite two terrible interviews :redface:

Did you get a triple or double S

Had to if your interviews went bad

Reply 32

Mathsqueen

Original post by Himtiaz

What did you take at AS?

Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Biology & Chemistry (+general studies lol)

Reply 33

Himtiaz

Original post by Mathsqueen

Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Biology & Chemistry (+general studies lol)

I am wanting to do those subjects as well. Do you have any tips/advice. Also, do you think further maths helped at all

Reply 34

Paranoid_Glitch

Anyone can get an A* it's simply about work ethic and determination, but those students who are academically gifted are the ones who may often get dramatically higher A*'s and stand out from the crowd in terms of grades.

Reply 35

Mathsqueen

Original post by Himtiaz

I am wanting to do those subjects as well. Do you have any tips/advice. Also, do you think further maths helped at all

I want to do physics at uni and I had an amazing maths teacher last year so I really enjoyed doing F maths, it will definitely help me at uni. I think my options were overkill, if I were to redo my AS I would have taken one less science tbh because I didnt have a social life last year. My main advice would be to stay on top of your work throughout the whole year, revise early and take subjects you would enjoy (and will find useful). Also, don't stress yourself out by worrying about too many subjects like I did, you only need three! (if you take FM make it your fourth option)

Reply 36

UziGun

Getting A* is not hard at all.
Attend classes. If you have a problem ask your teacher, watch online lessons ( Khan academy is a savior ), ask your friends for help. Honestly thats it.

I have AAA* and I studied for like 2 months in my entire A level. And most of it was dedicated towards chemistry. As long as youre enjoying what youre learning I think its easy. One thing I always found helpful is looking out for what my friends or people on the internet faced problems in. Tutoring others always helps you as well!

Good luck.