worried that A2 will be the undoing of my mental health

hey
i dont know if this is a good place to talk about it but im really scared that im gonna crack this year
i did well in my gcses (10 A* 3 A) and surprised myself so i got really high standards of what i was expecting from myself at A level
i got such a nasty surprise and found AS total hell, ended up getting AAAB (was hoping AAAA)which i still have to keep reminding myself to be happy with. the B was in history, and for some mad reason ive decided to carry on with it, which means to get into unis that ask for AAA or higher theres more pressure to bring up the B
and i guess teachers keep telling me how hard A2 is gonna be and how weve got to work really hard and im getting so scared because i worked as hard as i could last year and im just miserable sometimes and i know im overreacting but im so scared of exams and so scared of not getting into a good uni
wow i just realised how whiny this seems, seriously i dont know what im expecting people to say.

Reply 1

usycool1

19

Original post by EmergencyBagels

hey
i dont know if this is a good place to talk about it but im really scared that im gonna crack this year
i did well in my gcses (10 A* 3 A) and surprised myself so i got really high standards of what i was expecting from myself at A level
i got such a nasty surprise and found AS total hell, ended up getting AAAB (was hoping AAAA)which i still have to keep reminding myself to be happy with. the B was in history, and for some mad reason ive decided to carry on with it, which means to get into unis that ask for AAA or higher theres more pressure to bring up the B
and i guess teachers keep telling me how hard A2 is gonna be and how weve got to work really hard and im getting so scared because i worked as hard as i could last year and im just miserable sometimes and i know im overreacting but im so scared of exams and so scared of not getting into a good uni
wow i just realised how whiny this seems, seriously i dont know what im expecting people to say.

AAAB are very good grades and you can go on to bring up the B to an A next year, especially if you say that you were expecting an A in it at AS. :smile:

I don't think you sound whiny, it's understandable why you're feeling that way. :sadnod:

If it is getting hard for you and affecting your mental health, have you considered talking to your Form Tutor or Head of Year about it all? I know it's daunting to consider it but it can actually be very helpful. :smile:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

Nymthae

16

Those grades are fantastic so try not to beat yourself up so much. You'll look back in a couple of years and wonder why you bothered so much over it. It's perfectly reasonable to go from a B to an A in history at A2 - you're a capable student! It's an important time, so the stress is understandable, but if you can find ways to control it and keep it to a minimum then you'll have far more energy to focus on the work that does need to be done.

Despite what the general population of TSR seems to think: there are a lot of good universities, and your life isn't over if you don't get into Oxford, Cambridge, LSE etc. but with those grades, you're not going to have a problem during your applications. My friend graduated from Oxford this year, and he got AAAB in his AS levels, and I don't think his GCSEs were quite as good. The world is still your oyster :smile:

As above, do let your tutor know how you feel. They may be able to offer some support or suggest things that may help. It's important to communicate these feelings, so you can prevent bigger issues arising.

Reply 3

EmergencyBagels

OP

18

thanks, i love you guys literally, that makes me feel so much better. i dont know where ive got this ridiculous fear from. i have been talking to my tutor who is very lovely and supportive. it just keeps surging up, you know? and i dont know how much time im actually meant to spend studying, as every time i get invited out somewhere i freak out thinking NO I SHOULD STUDY 20 HOURS A DAY
phew
i just wish i could skip forward a year. i dont want to do this

Reply 4

crayolaguy

7

Original post by EmergencyBagels

hey
i dont know if this is a good place to talk about it but im really scared that im gonna crack this year
i did well in my gcses (10 A* 3 A) and surprised myself so i got really high standards of what i was expecting from myself at A level
i got such a nasty surprise and found AS total hell, ended up getting AAAB (was hoping AAAA)which i still have to keep reminding myself to be happy with. the B was in history, and for some mad reason ive decided to carry on with it, which means to get into unis that ask for AAA or higher theres more pressure to bring up the B
and i guess teachers keep telling me how hard A2 is gonna be and how weve got to work really hard and im getting so scared because i worked as hard as i could last year and im just miserable sometimes and i know im overreacting but im so scared of exams and so scared of not getting into a good uni
wow i just realised how whiny this seems, seriously i dont know what im expecting people to say.

I can imagine your pain of getting that 1 B and 3 A's instead of 4 A's, but sometimes you need to look at the positive side of things to make yourself feel better, you got literally the best possible AS grades for yourself except just 1 subject by 1 grade, that is fantastic. I'm sure you will get that A in history if you work well at A2 and for the other subjects you're already on track to do really well in those too. You have literally nothing to worry about at all, focus on what went well at AS, you got 3 A's!

Reply 5

Paralove

21

You don't need to be mad studying right now. Just do all your homework and make sure your notes are good, maybe read around the subject a little bit. Chill until after Christmas/mocks, you don't need to be revising until then (though I didn't start until April, but I do not advise this at all - makes it worse come June!). Try to get revision materials for that term done in the half term holiday that follows it, as it wastes time later in the year.

All I can say is I am so glad to be done with A-Levels. Got into uni, so the hard work was certainly worth it, but my god does it kill you on the inside at times.

Reply 6

bluebeetle

18

Firstly, congratulations on those amazing grades!
A2 can be a bit harder, but I found it a lot easier than the jump from GCSE to AS, and although it's trickier it can go a lot better because after a year of AS you'll have gotten used to A-level technique.
As somebody who stressed a lot during A2 year, my advice is to do all of your studying outside of your home (library, school common room, with friends) so that you have a place where you can relax that's not associated with studying. If this isn't possible, maybe just keep studying material out of your bedroom and study in the living room only.
Best of luck :smile:

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