Best way to Smash A LEVELS?

Hey guys i am starting AS in september and everybody who i have asked about how difficult A Levels are, All replies are the same :frown:

(EXTREMELY DIFFICULT)

I Created this thread for people who have completed A Levels, Currently doing a levels to give me an insight on what they did during these stressful 2 years in order to smash their exams.
Best advice i have heard so far is to go over what has been taught in lesson 30 minutes for each subject?

Advice is much appreciated

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

Pectorac

Learning the difference between they're and their would be a good start.

All you have to do is do the work; complete all classwork, complete all homework, revise at home and go to a lot of the revision classes the school/college will put on. There's no magic wand.

Reply 2

Tillybop

Original post by Famokhan

Hey guys i am starting AS in september and everybody who i have asked about how difficult A Levels are, All replies are the same :frown:

(EXTREMELY DIFFICULT)

I Created this thread for people who have completed A Levels, Currently doing a levels to give me an insight on what they did during these stressful 2 years in order to smash theyre exams.
Best advice i have heard so far is to go over what has been taught in lesson 30 minutes for each subject?

Advice is much appreciated

You need to do lots of revision outside of class. Go over things you did in the class when you got home, and go over the material for your next class to get ahead. Do the homework set alongside the pre-reading for your classes. And of course attend all the classes and don't waste time there. Do loads of practice papers plenty of time before the exams so you get practiced at how to answer the questions.

Something a lot of people forget is that there is a big jump between A2 and AS as well. AS levels are so much more difficult than GCSE, and A2 levels are so much more difficult than AS levels.

Reply 3

Gunni098

Original post by Famokhan

Hey guys i am starting AS in september and everybody who i have asked about how difficult A Levels are, All replies are the same :frown:

(EXTREMELY DIFFICULT)

I Created this thread for people who have completed A Levels, Currently doing a levels to give me an insight on what they did during these stressful 2 years in order to smash theyre exams.
Best advice i have heard so far is to go over what has been taught in lesson 30 minutes for each subject?

Advice is much appreciated

Well tip one would be to have better English skills. If you don't know the difference between their and they're how the hell can you proceed exams with grammar errors :facepalm:

Just revise everyday for a few hours really because if you slack you're buggered xD

Reply 4

iJess

I'm starting A2. AS isn't 'extremely hard' but does require work. Its never too early to make notes or to revise. Go over topics in your free time and ask straight away if you don't understand something

Reply 5

aka r

Original post by Famokhan

Hey guys i am starting AS in september and everybody who i have asked about how difficult A Levels are, All replies are the same :frown:

Bruv just put your head down from day one ygm, us paks always leave it last minute but this aint gcse its a levels gotta keep on top of it serious no ****ing around tryna pass time till a month before exams

Reply 6

Reina

I think the main reason AS is such a big step up from GCSE is because most people don't really do that much work for GCSE.

In GCSE you get a couple of pieces of homework per week and leave all the revision until a little while before exams - and for a lot of people, that works. At AS you get a couple of pieces of homework per day, and there's a lot more content (also more difficult) so you have to work harder for exams.

If you look at AS by itself, it's really not that bad. As long as you keep yourself organised and start assignments a while before they're due, it's you should be fine. Easier said than done, I know, but the main reason people struggle with the workload is because they leave things until the day before it's due before realising there's not enough time.

My main piece of advice is to review what you've learnt, and if you don't understand something, ask someone to explain it to you. Another issue people have is leaving gaps in their knowledge unattended until just before the exam, and then having to teach themselves everything in a few weeks. If you make sure you understand everything as you go along, it will make life a lot easier in the long term.

Which subjects are you planning to take?

Reply 7

Famokhan

Original post by Reina

Thank you for your reply.
I am planning to take Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Psychology

Reply 8

jimbo007

a tip I found on youtube (which im going to apply to my A2's next year) is that write down in a calendar what topics you learned on that day, and then go over those topics in a months time, then two months time, then 3 months time until you reach exam time. That way you're constantly revising and going over things so you don't have to cram come exam time, so you can just focus on exam technique (which at a-level is as important as knowing the spec). Good luck!

Reply 9

shrn

I would definitely recommend doing some summer work if you are going into sciences/maths. I regret not doing much over summer for these subjects and it really set me back for the first term in school.

In fact do a chapter of bio, chem and maths before school even starts.

I honestly regret not doing any work when I started AS and if I were to do it again, heck I would force myself to work soo hard.

Reply 10

Dalek1099

Original post by Famokhan

Hey guys i am starting AS in september and everybody who i have asked about how difficult A Levels are, All replies are the same :frown:

From what I've seen at college the majority don't seem to do a lot of the homework nevermind the revision so I wouldn't necessarily trust people, who say that they are extremely difficult.Most of the time its those people who say that that have 2 or more gaps at the end of the year in their homework-notice how I said end of the year some of the homework they still hadn't completed months after it had been due and I think the majority of the students had 2 or more gaps in the class so bare that in mind when people say that AS is difficult.

I would advise you to only go over stuff that you find hard and leave the rest for the exams because the homework will put you under a lot more pressure than you are use to, someone mentioned about how much more homework you get they exaggerated a lot "saying a couple of pieces a day) at my college they sometimes give you some huge project/task to do it might be to produce a booklet,PowerPoint presentation or sometimes its just loads of booklets of questions to do for Physics.

I do have to warn you that for essay subjects you need to revise a lot before any exams/tests you have or you will do badly because there is so much to learn, for sciences/maths you will be ok in the short term.

After doing my AS I just mainly crammed in all the work a couple of weeks before the exams, that way you will be able to remember a lot more-I don't agree with learning throughout the course because most of the time you will find all that learning you forgot, once you reach the exams.

From my experience of AS they were harder my best subjects at times were as hard as my worse subjects at GCSE(I was still a pretty all rounder at GCSE so don't worry too much)-I generally worked very hard to get As/A*s at GCSE in most of my subjects bar Maths which I found easy but I had to work like I did at GCSE for most of the harder subjects for Maths and Further Maths although, most of this was due to me needing lots of UMS for my Cambridge application next year but I did find Further Maths very hard at times, particularly Mechanics.

Geography was really hard and I had to work quite a bit attending compulsory mock resits because I failed the mock-based on my friend that did essay subjects they are much harder than maths/sciences and you will have to work hard to do well at them because there is so much to learn but Geography wasn't one of my better subjects at GCSE-I took it because I liked Geography.

I actually found Physics easier than GCSE due to the large Maths content and the huge cross over with Further Maths and didn't really work as hard as I had to to get (A,A*) in the modules at GCSE.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 11

Jacob Boris

I didn't find AS levels hard, and I equally found A2s just as fine. I did no extra work at AS, only the class work and the homework that was to be collected in, and came out with 3 As and a B (music was significantly harder than GCSE and ABRSM grade exams).
I've yet to get my final results for A2; however I consistently got As and A*s all year in mocks, class tests and graded homework with only a little work, as well as completing an EPQ in which I have achieved full marks before moderation.
Overall, I would say the key to success at A level is realising that they are not this extremely difficult and rigorous task to be scared of, they are simply a means to an end. Don't stress out about them, relax and work as hard as you need, to achieve the grades you want. If you aren't achieving the desired grade work harder, if you are continue the level of work you are doing. Study subjects that lead to your ultimate goal, and if you don't have one then choose subjects that you enjoy so that you are motivated to work hard. Last but not least keep up to date and constantly consolidate (both in class time and in free time if you are so inclined) so that you have a good grasp of everything you need to know. Ultimately enjoy them, and work hard enough (for you) and you will get the grades you deserve: good luck.