[billyboymccoy]

Anyone whoses on for an A in chemistry must be a genius or someone who works damm hard...


But maybe I was just not made for chemistry.

[coldfish]

Chemistry was my doss subject that I was most confident of getting my A on. But I'm a freak.

[Supergrunch]

I did maths, further maths, chemistry, biology. In order of difficulty:

chemistry >>>>>>> further maths > maths >>>>>> biology

I got four As, with some effort, but not an absurd amount. First year natsci has been significantly harder.

[Demoskratos7]

7 A* and 4 A. You definitely don't need straight A*s or even straight As. My friend, who is going to read PPE at Oxford, got a B in GCSE Art. I kid you not, kids.

[Lottie]

I'm not sure how much this matters but are you only doing 3 AS levels, ~charmaine~? Applicants are encouraged to study either four or five.

[epitome]

(Original post by Lottie)
I'm not sure how much this matters but are you only doing 3 AS levels, ~charmaine~? Applicants are encouraged to study either four or five.

in some schools/circumstances, more than 3 is *very* difficult (some schools actually won't let their students, due to resource limitations).

S/he may also only be talking about the 3 they intend to take on to A2.

[kjc_us]

(Original post by epitome)
fundamental creative/thoughtful flair (intelligent ********ting!)

It's the way forward.

OP, go for it. The worst they can say is no. If I get rejected, I shall cry lots and lots. And then I shall realise that life does go on. And if by working really hard you're capable of 3 As at A-level then with any luck you should be capable of doing great things at Cambridge (if you get in) with hard work.

[generalebriety]

I got AAAAaa + S,S with minimal effort. And frankly, I regretted it; Cambridge workloads hit me like a ****ing freight train. Everyone finds it hard. Putting in hard work now is, if anything, an advantage.

[Chumbaniya]

I found it very easy to get 90% plus on almost all modules on my main 3 A-levels, but I don't think having to work for your A-levels is necessarily a disadvantage because it means you'll be better prepared for the workload. Those who have just coasted along in their A-levels will find it more difficult to adjust to the harder work needed for their degree. I suppose I kind of coasted for most of the last year though, and my exam results weren't too bad.

[Chewwy]

yes i did. next question.

[Demoskratos7]

(Original post by Chewwy)
yes i did. next question.

Srsly? I put in a bit of effort. Only a bit though mind, becuase my IQ is through the bloody roof, obv.

[originalname]

(Original post by generalebriety)
S,S

congrats

[Miss_Scarlett]

I havent got my grades yet, aimed for AAA although I feel Ive probably missed that. Im not ashamed to say I found A levels hard, and did work as much as possible without driving myself insane.

[Jigglypuff]

Yeah.

That said, I did the work throughout the year (there just wasn't much set) and I revised during study leave. I know people who got AAA with poor attendance at school because they worked so hard during study leave, whereas I could do less revision as I'd done the work throughout the year, gone to the lessons etc. Anyone who says they did nothing is lying, but aside from going to the lessons and revising for a couple of weeks before the exam I didn't find A-levels very taxing. I did do quite dossy subjects though. RS and Psychology I found really interesting so just absorbed the information really quickly...English Lit was a bit trickier as you have to jump through loads of hoops and work out what the examiner wants from you, but after a few practice essays I could get As no problem.

I'm just glad I didn't do sciences. I'm lucky that I chose subjects I enjoy, and that when I enjoy something I can learn it quickly.

[~charmaine~]

(Original post by epitome)
in some schools/circumstances, more than 3 is *very* difficult (some schools actually won't let their students, due to resource limitations).

S/he may also only be talking about the 3 they intend to take on to A2.

To be more precise, I have done my Maths, physics chemistry and biology AS this year. as well as furthermaths AS over 2 years (which means I only have done 2 modules) I want to drop biology next year and hope to extend FM to a full A-level on my own coz my school does't offer it. (I am really really worry about that! ) Fingercross I would't get a AAAA offer (having said that an offer is better than none. )

[epitome]

Thought as much.

Don't worry about things -- keep going, and good luck!

[7589200]

Yes - so much so, i thought id post my answer twice.

(^most arrogant response award goes to me, i think )

[Michelle598]

I didn't find it easy to get 3 As at A level, and I went to one of the best schools in the country and was doing what some people might consider 'doss' subjects (English, RS and Classical Civilization). I graduated from Cambridge with a 2.1 in English Literature last Saturday. Don't let the thought of how you might struggle even more at Oxbridge if you don't find your schoolwork ridiculously easy stop you from applying or accepting an offer. It's not necessarily a good thing to breeze through life never having to try hard academically until the age of 18/19, and there are ways and means of getting that important 2.1 even if you feel you're not quite on a par with most of the other students, ie question-spotting, reading the internal examiners' reports so you can see what the markers want from you.

[W0bble]

Obviously it's best to find your subjects easy and work hard. but that doesn't seem to happen too often, so you're at the advantage - everyone will need to work hard, and you'll be able to cope with that better than most. Just go for it!

[Lidka]

I didn't manage to get AAA, and I'm not ashamed of that: I enjoyed (most of) my A-level work, and in the end, that was more important to me than UMS. I don't think it matters whether (at university or school) you have to put a little or a lot of work in, in order to get good results, so long as you're happy. Certainly, there's no shame in working hard. Good luck with your NatSci application, ~charmaine~!