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Am I Picking Too Hard A levels

Hey, Im in year 11 currently im about to do my gcses for A level i have choosen Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry, do you think these are too hard? I should be getting A*A* in science and A* in maths. I go to a state school and everyone i have talked to in person has said they are impossible, and what can i expect to get in these subjects, Thanks very much :smile:

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Reply 1

Mr M

Study Forum Helper

What can you expect to get? Anything from UUUU to A*A*A*A*. There is nothing to prevent you going on to obtain high grades from that starting position.

Reply 2

JamesyB

CannonT

Are they your predictions for GCSE?

If so, how come you aren't doing the third science / neglected to mention what your prediction is?

Reply 3

ByronicHero

LOL. Of course they are not too hard, and certainly nowhere near 'impossible'.

Reply 4

ByronicHero

JamesyB

Are they your predictions for GCSE?

If so, how come you aren't doing the third science / neglected to mention what your prediction is?

Some schools don't offer triple science as an option as far as I'm aware.

Reply 5

Muffinz

You should be fine with the sciences, althought Further Maths really is a step up. If you're doing that well and Mathematics is your talent then I see now reason why you shouldn't get good grades :smile:

Reply 6

Ihategcse

No problem, just put a bit of work in and you'll be fine.
I can't comment on the further mathematics.. I assume that if you have some talent in math go for it.

Reply 7

atomic-aaron

They're all really really hard. I'd drop one. And if you wanted to take a fourth take an easier one. Your going to be killed with the amount of coursework.

Reply 8

kaying

GCSEs are a lot easier than A Levels, remember.
If you're around the top 10% of your year group it should be easy to get good grades in these as Further Maths and Chemistry are usually looked on as the more "difficult" A Levels. Physics and Maths too of course...

no, these aren't "too hard" of a selection you'll be fine.

Reply 9

skipp

For those with a scientific mind I sometimes think that's the most sensible combination :dontknow:

makes life a lot easier than if you start mixing it with a bunch of coursework subjects, as you don't have to focus on essay deadlines halfway through the term to distract you from your other subjects. This means you can build up a good routine and so long as you're ok with having mostly exam based subjects you should be fine

Reply 10

MathsHamster

I do exactly those subjects... at AS further maths is no harder than maths (there is just more of it).
Added to that the added benefits you get from doing so much maths, it makes normal A level seem easy.
Further maths is only a step up at A2 really, but if you enjoy maths you should have no problem.

Physics can take some time to get your head round, and because it isn't too challenging at GCSE some people take it because they think it's easy. It isn't easy, but it isn't impossible either as long as you're prepared to put the work in. At my school loads of people failed because they weren't natural mathematicians and didn't work harder to compensate for it; people who were good at maths tended not to find it a struggle.

My chemistry teacher thinks chemistry is "the hardest A level ever and if you don't do two hours of revision a day you'll fail", but to be honest I think it's the easiest out of the four. It gets a bad press because (like anything) it is a jump from GCSE, but it's not so bad and much more interesting.

I love my subjects and they go really well together (when you come to do mechanics in maths you'll see what I mean). If you have some degree of natural talent (you obviously do) and put a bit of effort in you can do well; I go to a state school and am hoping for 4 As or A*s. I got a similar reaction when people found out what I was taking but non-mathsy people tend to freak a bit at anything numerical anyway, and I honestly have no regrets, and would do exactly the same subjects again. Go for it, and good luck :smile:

Reply 11

TomMcCarthy

I'm taking Maths, Further Maths, Computing & Physics. And I got A* Maths A*Physics A Bio and B Chemistry. (I got an E in the coursework, fml.) at GCSE, so more or less the same as you.
I'm currently on target to get A A A B(Physics), probably with 90%+ in Maths & Further Maths.
Basically:
You'll do well if you put a fair amount of work in.
You will fail if you don't.

Reply 12

Mm_Minty

All A-levels are hard, but you sound pretty scientifically minded so you should be fine, especially with predicted grades like that (as long as you do your work mind, much more intense than GCSE but I find science revision is easier than essay based subjects)

Reply 13

chemcat

No, they're absolutely fine, i do/did those and German as well. They're fun, and maths will get to the stage where practice papers are all that are needed.

Reply 14

TomMcCarthy

MathsHamster

SHH! Don't tell everyone! :wink:

I want people to think I'm cool. :cool:

I completely agree though. The subjects just go so well together, I'm so glad I'm not taking any essay subjects.

Reply 15

You Failed

atomic-aaron

They're all really really hard. I'd drop one. And if you wanted to take a fourth take an easier one. Your going to be killed with the amount of coursework.

Uhh...You don't really know what you're talking about do you. The reason I say this is because Physics, Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry all have no coursework involved with them...The marks are comprised soley from doing exams.

@The OP. I took Maths, Physics and Chemistry (ICT as well but that's not relevant) for AS and found Maths and Chemistry to be quite difficult but Physics fairly straightforward, I ended up dropping Chemistry simply because there was too much to memorise, none of it was particularly hard it was just the quantity of stuff and I have a terrible memory, I still ended up with a B though which is quite reasonable.

Maths I struggled with as well, however I hadn't taken Add Maths for GCSE and was the only one in the class who hadn't, so I frequently I started well behind the others, as they had seen a lot of the topics before. Our teacher really wasn't that good either but I wouldn't blame it on him completely. However, I just got a revision book and went through that and ended up with a B at A level.

The point is, none of them are anywhere near impossible, you just have to work a bit harder at it.

Reply 16

Fuzzed_Out

CannonT

I did them, dropped Chem for A2 but it wouldn't have been TOO much work to keep it on, more that I'm lazy. I got A in phys and maths at GCSE and A* in chem (though I did under achieve :frown:

)

Reply 17

AzureMews

CannonT

That's exactly what my boyfriend did for A-Level and he did really well.
As long as you have determination and you enjoy the subjects, you'll be fine :smile:

Reply 18

L.McEnaney

I'd say you'll cope fine. I'm in my 2nd year of maths at the moment, considering the circumstances I put myself in last year i've managed to recover 2 years of maths in one year. I only got a grade B at GCSE and in year 12 i slacked off hugely and failed every single maths exam, however I was lucky enough to be allowed to resit year 12 AND do year 13 at the same time. Now im not saying this is a pleasent experiance but the point is its doable as ive sat 4/6 exams so far all with C/B grades and have C4/D1 to sit in the summer. I've got no personal experiance with further maths other than 2 people at my school talking about it in maths lessons. However teachers generally compair FP1 (the first further pure module) to C3 in terms of difficulty. i.e the 1st exam you'll take in year 13. I've also almost completed A level physics and would say in my honest oppinion if you can do A level maths you can do physics no problem.

Hope this helps.

Reply 19

bluemax

you'll be fine, though i'll recommend pick up further maths only if you're really good at maths and genuinely like the subject. The transition from gcse to alevel math is huge and there is even a possibility that even if you're doing spectacular at gcse you might have considerable difficulty in alevel maths.