Things you wish you knew before A-Level.

Discussion for A-Level students and for those choosing their A-Level subjects.

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  1. giraffegiraffe's Avatar
    • Exalted Member
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    (Original post by Frankster)
    18 GCSE exams done, 3 more to go. Posts in this thread not making it any better for next year. I feel I need a hug already
    Looking back on it I've no idea how we coped with that many exams at GCSE. Make the most of this summer - enjoy it! The next two years will fly by, just make sure you keep on top of everything, keep organised, don't rely on the teachers, don't burn out, and try your best at AS. The more UMS you can get at AS will make it slightly better for A2. Don't get too down if you don't get the marks you thought you would in the initial Jan modules especially. Like, if you're doing OCR biology, no amount of revision will prepare you for the exam - that is just the way it is! You will get through it. Good luck for the rest of your exams!!!
    Last edited by giraffegiraffe; 20-06-2012 at 08:37.
  2. EnviroProtector's Avatar
    • Respected Member
    • Posts: 176
    (Original post by XO*)
    That WJEC is the worse exam board known to human kind.
    :O what do you mean? Im going to be taking biology and my college uses WJEC for bio. Bit worried! How detailed do your answers need to be in the exam etc? And how vague are the questions? Or is there just loads to memorise :/


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  3. ReTurd's Avatar
    • Respected Member
    • Posts: 245
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    Hdhdnn
    Last edited by ReTurd; 20-06-2012 at 09:52.
  4. ReTurd's Avatar
    • Respected Member
    • Posts: 245
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    Most things have already been mentioned but a small tip: for each of you subjects where you have to simply remember a formula or a definition or a date or a constant (physics)... Just do it really early in the year it wont take long, it makes the work that follows easier to understand/keep up with. When it comes to revision you wont have so much stuff to push into your brain, you can really focus on the bigger questions.
    Last edited by ReTurd; 20-06-2012 at 09:53.
  5. Unientry2012's Avatar
    • Respected Member
    • Posts: 238
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    Mix with the right friends. Cut contact to a minimal with those bad influences. I sound like a parent but seriously, it's so true.
  6. Frankster's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    (Original post by giraffegiraffe)
    Looking back on it I've no idea how we coped with that many exams at GCSE. Make the most of this summer - enjoy it! The next two years will fly by, just make sure you keep on top of everything, keep organised, don't rely on the teachers, don't burn out, and try your best at AS. The more UMS you can get at AS will make it slightly better for A2. Don't get too down if you don't get the marks you thought you would in the initial Jan modules especially. Like, if you're doing OCR biology, no amount of revision will prepare you for the exam - that is just the way it is! You will get through it. Good luck for the rest of your exams!!!
    Thanks for that! I'm taking Maths, FM, Physics and Chemistry so at least I won't have insanely hard times with Biology! Yeah I need to try my best at AS (think I need 95 UMS average for Eng at Cambridge) so will be working towards that!
  7. queeniemuah's Avatar
    • Junior Member
    • Posts: 73
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    Doing Further Maths = Road to self-destruction.
  8. bytail's Avatar
    • Peer Of The TSR Realm
    • Location: Manchester
    • Posts: 1,496
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    Taking something like general studies, critical thinking or an EPQ is pointless.

    Universities don't care about your extra-curricular activities, so don't listen to your teachers when they try to convince you to do things on the grounds that "you can put it on your UCAS form!"
  9. XO*'s Avatar
    • Exalted Member
    • Posts: 286
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    (Original post by EnviroProtector)
    :O what do you mean? Im going to be taking biology and my college uses WJEC for bio. Bit worried! How detailed do your answers need to be in the exam etc? And how vague are the questions? Or is there just loads to memorise :/


    This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App
    OMG, that is what exactly what I do - WJEC Biology.
    Worst exam board ever, very hard exam in comparison to Edexcel and AQA.

    I seriously advise everybody, do not take WJEC Biology or Chemistry, not sure about Physics. They are so picky with what you can and can't write even on spelling. And are known for throwing questions in that are not even in the spec.

    Awful board.
    Last edited by XO*; 20-06-2012 at 11:45. Reason: WJEC IS SH1T
  10. BeccaAnne94's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Stoke-on-Trent
    • Posts: 604
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    Accept that people will change (a lot!), people who were your closest friends at the start of the year will probably turn their backs on you at some point. It really separates out the good friends from the superficial ones!
  11. AncientRemedy's Avatar
    • Junior Member
    • Posts: 48
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    In hindsight, I wish I knew that both years contributed to the overall grade. Very few people know this and in the second year it bit them in the a**. I say study hard for your AS exams as they have a MAJOR impact on your overall A2 grade.
  12. SillyEddy's Avatar
    • Peer Of The TSR Realm
    • Posts: 1,850
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    1) Fully understand what universities want from you. Look at the courses you want to do, and just double check that you'll have the qualifications (if that's your route)

    2) Give the work a high priority. I needed maths for university, so I was studying that for AS. I basically messed around with friends all lesson instead. Hell, I barely worked at GCSE and managed to get 8 A*s and 5 other grades between A and C. So I thought... College can't be bad? It can be. Just get the work done. Now I'm playing catch up because I dropped out of maths and had to do masses in one year just to get into an average university. I'm in my third year now, and I'm kinda glad... I have a brand new work ethic, but it shouldn't have taken this long to get my life sorted.

    3) Socialise. Have parties, go out, etc. Meet new people. I knew a lot of people, but about half of my small sixth form just went amiss. Be sure to make lots of friends. It shouldn't be all work, but make sure you get the work done before you play.
  13. iSoftie's Avatar
    • Adored and Respected Member
    • Posts: 597
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    Should I catch up over the summer?
  14. benjiappleby's Avatar
    • New Member
    • Posts: 20
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    (Original post by BeccaAnne94)
    Don't take chemistry!
    definitely
  15. IgorYakov's Avatar
    • Adored and Respected Member
    • Posts: 475
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    (Original post by benjiappleby)
    definitely

    I've seen this soo many times, why :O?
  16. Tullia's Avatar
    • Overlord in Training
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    (Original post by IgorYakov)
    I've seen this soo many times, why :O?
    If it helps, then I quite like Chemistry and I'm glad I've taken it at AS, and shall also be taking it at A2. Although, it could be that there are worse exam boards than AQA.
  17. IgorYakov's Avatar
    • Adored and Respected Member
    • Posts: 475
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    (Original post by Tullia)
    If it helps, then I quite like Chemistry and I'm glad I've taken it at AS, and shall also be taking it at A2. Although, it could be that there are worse exam boards than AQA.


    Ohhh :O I'm doing AQA for Chemistry so should be okay?

    And are the papers/topic EXTREMELY hard?
  18. Tullia's Avatar
    • Overlord in Training
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    (Original post by IgorYakov)
    Ohhh :O I'm doing AQA for Chemistry so should be okay?

    And are the papers/topic EXTREMELY hard?
    I don't know your abilities, but I would imagine that if you worked hard throughout the year you would do well at AQA AS Chemistry. Also, I don't know what other subjects you wish to take and so don't know what kind of overall workload you'll have to deal with at times.

    The most recent papers have deviated from a trend that developed between 2008-2011, with a few different style of questions being asked and so on. However, if you understand the subject content and just have a good think before rushing into an answer then they're not really problematic.

    As you plan on taking it, then I would advise you to go to a local library or whatever and pick up a copy of AQA AS Chemistry by say Nelson Thornes to get you started. The syllabus is OK; it begins with the real basics of chemistry, and then drifts into organic and physical chemistry.
  19. Miss Sweet's Avatar
    • Adored and Respected Member
    • Posts: 518
    Re: Things you wish you knew before A-Level.
    WJEC PY4 is a killer -_- (Psychology)
  20. StephanieAc's Avatar
    • New Member
    • Posts: 20
    ENGLISH LITERATURE IS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK


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