What's the most important tip you would give an AS student?
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Original post by vd12345
How does one know it they're naturally smart?
Thank you
Thanks did you do edexcel? What does DE stand for?
Thank you
Why would it affect my school subjects?
Thank you
Thanks
did you do edexcel? What does DE stand for?Thank you
Why would it affect my school subjects?
You'd have less time to do your other four subjects when you do FM work.
I'm gonna start by saying, do what you love and put a lot of effort in to everything from day one. Not only will A2 be a lot more stress free, you'll be happier with the fact that if you chose to go to uni or even get a job, there will be a lot more opportunities. If you don't understand something just ask your teacher as they will honestly give you better insight, and on top of that just know when to relax and when to do work. Finding a perfect balance is key
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Original post by vd12345
Thanks did you do edexcel? What does DE stand for?
did you do edexcel? What does DE stand for?DE stands for differential equations
Original post by RiahDawson
Why further maths?
Because most STEM subjects such as economics, physics, engineering, natural sciences are fairly heavy in the maths and if you don't take Further maths and you suddenly decide you want to do any of these subjects at university halfway through lower 6, then you'll be in a really tough spot.
Only don't take it if you are absolutely sure your degree course won't need it, since a lot of them do. If you do make up your mind halfway through, you can just drop the subject and you will not have wasted your time actually since it will help you with single maths
Even for most subjects that aren't that heavy in maths such as Medicine, further maths although not as crucial, is still not a bad option.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by vd12345
Hey, I'm starting sixth form in september; title says it all
By all means, elaborate
By all means, elaborate
seriously start revising from day 1 and do a little everyday.some people told me that this was a bad idea last year but trust me, you will not burn out! you will thank yourself for doing it instead.
also, try to understand everything inside out -- really important to get top the marks! not only will it help you remember it better, you will also be prepared for the tricky questions in the exam. i'm aware that exams are liner from next academic year so this advice becomes even more prominent.
so what i am trying to say is that don't just memorise everything for the exam, actually further read to understand it all. it can be quite fun actually.
past paper? yes, do lots of them. i didn't do much for mine, i did about 2 or 3 for each exams (a bit more for maths) but i think it would've definitely helped if did more... i just didn't have time; i spent it all making very irrelevant detailed notes which probably is like 1000 page and procrastinating lots during christmas break. ye, that's another advice btw, Do not procrastinate during christmas, it's so easy to get distracted all the time but try to minimise that so you can get your revision done for the day.
i took bio, chem, phys and maths btw and am expecting v. high UMS.
PS. last year, people also told me that it was a massive jump form GCSE to A-level, but i my opinion it really isn't. i found it even less stressful in fact. for gcse i just had to cram everything in in that last last minute (well i started after feb half term of y11), even if that meant doing like 10 hrs+ a day, but in AS i started revising earlier and so i never even came close to the 10hrs at all.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Raven of the Sun
DE stands for differential equations
Because most STEM subjects such as economics, physics, engineering, natural sciences are fairly heavy in the maths and if you don't take Further maths and you suddenly decide you want to do any of these subjects at university halfway through lower 6, then you'll be in a really tough spot.
Only don't take it if you are absolutely sure your degree course won't need it, since a lot of them do. If you do make up your mind halfway through, you can just drop the subject and you will not have wasted your time actually since it will help you with single maths
Even for most subjects that aren't that heavy in maths such as Medicine, further maths although not as crucial, is still not a bad option.
Because most STEM subjects such as economics, physics, engineering, natural sciences are fairly heavy in the maths and if you don't take Further maths and you suddenly decide you want to do any of these subjects at university halfway through lower 6, then you'll be in a really tough spot.
Only don't take it if you are absolutely sure your degree course won't need it, since a lot of them do. If you do make up your mind halfway through, you can just drop the subject and you will not have wasted your time actually since it will help you with single maths
Even for most subjects that aren't that heavy in maths such as Medicine, further maths although not as crucial, is still not a bad option.
I thought i wouldnt do further maths. Because it's said to be really time consuming and I'm already doing chem, bio, physics, maths (and critical thinking? My school makes it mandatory). I looked at a few university requirements for the courses I'm thinking of they recommend further maths but it's not essential . They do expect a good grade for maths or further maths. So I was thinking I would do better if i concentrate on the subjects I'm doing. I'm not sure what I'd actually want to do at uni so i don't really want to spend hours doing maths when I may not even need it. Though I kinda wanted to do mechanics and they only offer M1(and D2,S2) in further maths in my school . Maths it's s1 and D1. (its a small school)
So if I don't take further maths would it still be okay? I don't mind having more to catch up on later at uni if i decide to do something maths based. It's just I'd rather get good grades in the subjects I'm doing and not spend my free time doing maths. Plus it's an extra 6 exams!
Original post by imjustrach
Do the work. If it's on the spec read it, even if it's not due to come up on the exam at least have a general knowledge of it.
Be nice to your teachers. Hand things in on time, do your homework ect so when you need help they will be more than happy to go over things with you.
Find your revision technique early on if you haven't already found it through GCSE, look at a few books/blogs to get some inspiration on ways to make revision more interesting.
Take subjects that you enjoy. This is probably the most important if you hate the subject before A Level you will hate it even more during A Level, you're just making life a lot harder for yourself.
If it's Humanities/Art read around the subject, examiners are reading pages and pages of the same analysis if you have a different example and/or explanation they'll be thankful for the change.
Also if everyone's making AS seem awful it's because if you get into good habits at AS, A2 will be a lot easier plus if you do well enough in first year you don't have to worry about resits alongside A2 exams which I can say from experience are not fun. Just don't do it. It's not worth it.
Be nice to your teachers. Hand things in on time, do your homework ect so when you need help they will be more than happy to go over things with you.
Find your revision technique early on if you haven't already found it through GCSE, look at a few books/blogs to get some inspiration on ways to make revision more interesting.
Take subjects that you enjoy. This is probably the most important if you hate the subject before A Level you will hate it even more during A Level, you're just making life a lot harder for yourself.
If it's Humanities/Art read around the subject, examiners are reading pages and pages of the same analysis if you have a different example and/or explanation they'll be thankful for the change.
Also if everyone's making AS seem awful it's because if you get into good habits at AS, A2 will be a lot easier plus if you do well enough in first year you don't have to worry about resits alongside A2 exams which I can say from experience are not fun. Just don't do it. It's not worth it.
Thank you
That's more than one tip haha
Original post by Starvation13
START EARLY, I cannot stress this enough. Don't think you have the rest of the year. And DON'T YOU DARE think that you can take it easy cos you worked really hard for the GCSEs and you need to relax a bit. Relaxation is for the summer holidays, u need to hit the ground running for AS. Cos if you think u can relax, in december your mock results will hit you so hard, it will really stress you out!
Thank you for your bolded statements
how early, is early??
Original post by Piledriver
File your work, file your work, file your work.
May you suggest a good filing method to abide by?
Original post by Star Light
I did Maths, Chem, Bio, Physics. You can cram these, have limited true understanding and be just fine - a deeper knowledge and appreciation is only very helpful for essay subjects, eg, Philosophy, History.
I see lots of advice to do FM. This is only really useful if you're planning to do Maths or a very Maths-related degree, eg Physics, Engineering of some sorts. It's not useful otherwise, and a different AS would add more to your portfolio than FM. For courses where Fm isn't essential or highly desirable, it's often considered to 'not count' for admissions and offers.
Don't take it all too seriously. You don't need to read in this summer or stay ahead of the class, you go there to learn. Don't say you'll revise for 3 hours each night, instead take up or work on a hobby, job or spend time with friends.
I see lots of advice to do FM. This is only really useful if you're planning to do Maths or a very Maths-related degree, eg Physics, Engineering of some sorts. It's not useful otherwise, and a different AS would add more to your portfolio than FM. For courses where Fm isn't essential or highly desirable, it's often considered to 'not count' for admissions and offers.
Don't take it all too seriously. You don't need to read in this summer or stay ahead of the class, you go there to learn. Don't say you'll revise for 3 hours each night, instead take up or work on a hobby, job or spend time with friends.
Thanks
It's really hard to decided, since I don't know if i'll go into maths, biology, medicine or dentistry
I think I'll be leaning toward maths, If as/a2 go well
Yes, I understand I need a good work/play balance; I think you're the first person that has mentioned relaxation/enjoyment in a positive way
Original post by sos_
Start revising now...
In all seriousness, I would advise to do extra reading. Don't skimp on homework. A level is a completely different 'ball game' to GCSE. You can't just slide past and expect yo get good grades without doing the work.
In all seriousness, I would advise to do extra reading. Don't skimp on homework. A level is a completely different 'ball game' to GCSE. You can't just slide past and expect yo get good grades without doing the work.
What are good sources for extra reading?
(For biology, chemistry and philosophy/ethics)
Original post by H0PEL3SS
You'd have less time to do your other four subjects when you do FM work.
Would you say its managable to do 5AE subjects?
Original post by maryamzahid
I'm gonna start by saying, do what you love and put a lot of effort in to everything from day one. Not only will A2 be a lot more stress free, you'll be happier with the fact that if you chose to go to uni or even get a job, there will be a lot more opportunities. If you don't understand something just ask your teacher as they will honestly give you better insight, and on top of that just know when to relax and when to do work. Finding a perfect balance is key
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
I kinda have a love/hate relationship with the subjects I want to do, haha
I'm the type to get mad when I get questions wrong
How would you balance work/relaxation?
I end up wasting all my time on cheap forms of entertainment, such as scrolling through news feeds.
Original post by swopnil
seriously start revising from day 1 and do a little everyday.some people told me that this was a bad idea last year but trust me, you will not burn out! you will thank yourself for doing it instead.
also, try to understand everything inside out -- really important to get top the marks! not only will it help you remember it better, you will also be prepared for the tricky questions in the exam. i'm aware that exams are liner from next academic year so this advice becomes even more prominent.
so what i am trying to say is that don't just memorise everything for the exam, actually further read to understand it all. it can be quite fun actually.
past paper? yes, do lots of them. i didn't do much for mine, i did about 2 or 3 for each exams (a bit more for maths) but i think it would've definitely helped if did more... i just didn't have time; i spent it all making very irrelevant detailed notes which probably is like 1000 page and procrastinating lots during christmas break. ye, that's another advice btw, Do not procrastinate during christmas, it's so easy to get distracted all the time but try to minimise that so you can get your revision done for the day.
i took bio, chem, phys and maths btw and am expecting v. high UMS.
PS. last year, people also told me that it was a massive jump form GCSE to A-level, but i my opinion it really isn't. i found it even less stressful in fact. for gcse i just had to cram everything in in that last last minute (well i started after feb half term of y11), even if that meant doing like 10 hrs+ a day, but in AS i started revising earlier and so i never even came close to the 10hrs at all.
also, try to understand everything inside out -- really important to get top the marks! not only will it help you remember it better, you will also be prepared for the tricky questions in the exam. i'm aware that exams are liner from next academic year so this advice becomes even more prominent.
so what i am trying to say is that don't just memorise everything for the exam, actually further read to understand it all. it can be quite fun actually.
past paper? yes, do lots of them. i didn't do much for mine, i did about 2 or 3 for each exams (a bit more for maths) but i think it would've definitely helped if did more... i just didn't have time; i spent it all making very irrelevant detailed notes which probably is like 1000 page and procrastinating lots during christmas break. ye, that's another advice btw, Do not procrastinate during christmas, it's so easy to get distracted all the time but try to minimise that so you can get your revision done for the day.
i took bio, chem, phys and maths btw and am expecting v. high UMS.
PS. last year, people also told me that it was a massive jump form GCSE to A-level, but i my opinion it really isn't. i found it even less stressful in fact. for gcse i just had to cram everything in in that last last minute (well i started after feb half term of y11), even if that meant doing like 10 hrs+ a day, but in AS i started revising earlier and so i never even came close to the 10hrs at all.
A little every day of revision is how much? Generally.
How many hours a day did you revise for AS?
It's never too late to start revision. Even if you're three weeks away from your first exam, there's still time to start working hard (TSR gets multiple threads each year of people giving up on AS because they're in that exact position)
Original post by vd12345
A little every day of revision is how much? Generally.
How many hours a day did you revise for AS?
A little every day of revision is how much? Generally.
How many hours a day did you revise for AS?
i think during term time i did about 2-3 hours a night. but that's just an average, there was times i did none, and times i did more. my ideal was to do 5 hours a day but i really couldn't stop myself from procastinating so ye i did about 2-3. maybe at weekends i did about 5hrs.
but the thing is, the way i revised, i didn't just follow the book. whenever i found something interesting i would go ahead and read about that further. i was also very keen on understanding things (especially for biology) so i would like ask 'how does that work' 'or why?' and so a lot of my time actually went into finding those out.
then in like half term holidays, i would gather everything and makes notes on everything we have coved in class so far and any further reading i did.
further reading to me = y'know finding things out by reading further about the topic in the internet. i didn't read any books.
but that's just me.
i think if you just want to get high marks then just understanding the syllubus is fine i think, and that should take 1-2 hour commitment maybe? depending on how you feel about the topics.
that 1-2 hrs a night +use of free lessons should be more than enough i think.
PS. i did nothing in my free lessons, just used it for chilling. i guess it's good for doing homeworks i guess... so you can do that.
(edited 8 years ago)
I know it's already been said, but if you're leaning towards doing maths/medicine/any science at university, doing further maths would be extremely useful. I've only just finished my AS levels but I know of people who have gone to university to do chemistry etc and they have all been so grateful that they did further maths! The modules I have done/will do next year are FP1, FP2, D1, D2, S2 and S3, statistics is particularly useful for me since I want to do economics at university. I'm not sure what modules would be most useful for medicine/dentistry but universities tend to value the FP modules and M modules quite highly. I would recommend you contact people studying medicine/dentistry or contact universities and ask them which modules they would recommend. Good luck!
study and revise all the way through, not just at the end, keep everything organised and have a good level of communication with your teachers in terms of going through work and getting feedback. A levels are only hard if you make them hard for yourself!
The mistake so many people made in my year that led to us getting the worst AS results in at least a decade:
AS is not like GCSE. You need to make sure you understand the material when you are taught it, and work consistently throughout the year - you cannot just revise all the old stuff two weeks before the exam and be fine; you have to keep refreshing the material and get stuck into learning exam technique months before the actual exams. You may have aced your GCSEs but that is no guarantee that you will sail through AS. AS is fun, but you do have to work.
AS is not like GCSE. You need to make sure you understand the material when you are taught it, and work consistently throughout the year - you cannot just revise all the old stuff two weeks before the exam and be fine; you have to keep refreshing the material and get stuck into learning exam technique months before the actual exams. You may have aced your GCSEs but that is no guarantee that you will sail through AS. AS is fun, but you do have to work.
Original post by Raven of the Sun
unless you are doing an arts subject at uni, take further maths.
Can I ask why?
Start reading around the subject during the summer holidays, you can do this by reading online journals, articles, newspapers, books (even if they're just normal novels about the topic) and find revision booklets etc. online that other schools or students have posted.
I personally did arts and humanities subjects (History, English Lit, Spanish and Psychology) and would say it's a good idea to write your notes out from the beginning whether it be in a notebook or online. Do your normal work for lessons and write it out again and again so you have a good understanding.
Start looking at past papers and mark schemes from the start so you understand what is expected of you.
Make sure you're super organised - get a lever arch file for each subject with dividers that split it into all of your topics/modules and make sure you keep it all in order. Try to get ahead and know what you're going to be learning throughout the year.
And obviously only take subjects that you know you'll enjoy and are willing to put the work in for. Good luck
I personally did arts and humanities subjects (History, English Lit, Spanish and Psychology) and would say it's a good idea to write your notes out from the beginning whether it be in a notebook or online. Do your normal work for lessons and write it out again and again so you have a good understanding.
Start looking at past papers and mark schemes from the start so you understand what is expected of you.
Make sure you're super organised - get a lever arch file for each subject with dividers that split it into all of your topics/modules and make sure you keep it all in order. Try to get ahead and know what you're going to be learning throughout the year.
And obviously only take subjects that you know you'll enjoy and are willing to put the work in for. Good luck
Original post by JoshC98
I know it's already been said, but if you're leaning towards doing maths/medicine/any science at university, doing further maths would be extremely useful. I've only just finished my AS levels but I know of people who have gone to university to do chemistry etc and they have all been so grateful that they did further maths! The modules I have done/will do next year are FP1, FP2, D1, D2, S2 and S3, statistics is particularly useful for me since I want to do economics at university. I'm not sure what modules would be most useful for medicine/dentistry but universities tend to value the FP modules and M modules quite highly. I would recommend you contact people studying medicine/dentistry or contact universities and ask them which modules they would recommend. Good luck!
my teacher said there was no maths involed in medicine whatsoever (apart from basics that is), and he did medicine.
but maybe stats could be useful if you want to do reserach i guess?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by vd12345
Would you say its managable to do 5AE subjects?
I kinda have a love/hate relationship with the subjects I want to do, haha
I'm the type to get mad when I get questions wrong
How would you balance work/relaxation?
I end up wasting all my time on cheap forms of entertainment, such as scrolling through news feeds.
A little every day of revision is how much? Generally.
How many hours a day did you revise for AS?
I kinda have a love/hate relationship with the subjects I want to do, haha
I'm the type to get mad when I get questions wrong
How would you balance work/relaxation?
I end up wasting all my time on cheap forms of entertainment, such as scrolling through news feeds.
A little every day of revision is how much? Generally.
How many hours a day did you revise for AS?
Manageable, yes. But it would be difficult. I had the option to, but chose not to, as I could better focus on 4 rather 5 subjects. You only really need 4, and 3 at A2 (although you can take 4).
Other people have probably already said all this, but, start early. It is never too soon to begin making revision resources or doing past papers. Work throughout the year with the aim of always being ahead of what you're doing in lessons. Secondly, it probably sounds obvious, but be organised. Know exactly what notes are for each topic in all of your subjects; have all your resources/past papers/etc ready for whenever you need them. Lastly, if you're lucky like I have been and you have amazing, supportive teachers, use them. Let them help you, and don't be afraid to go ask them for help/advice or even extra work.
In short, AS year will fly by, so just try to keep on top of things and most importantly, enjoy learning!
In short, AS year will fly by, so just try to keep on top of things and most importantly, enjoy learning!
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