4 A Levels in 4 Months

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Hey! Only 2 replies I'll have time for today - sorry about that.

First things first - yes, I'm self-studying. I don't think there is any college in the west, not even something like KIPP (Knowledge is Power Programme) that would let you study 16 hours a day.

I won't lie - it's not easy just studying for 16 hours a day. I'm starting to dream about studying...and not just random things, but actual things I read/listened to/wrote during the day. I'm hoping that will contribute to my memorisation.

I mix it in with exercise: 2km swimming per day, which takes me no more than 2 hours including travel, which means I manage to sleep about 6 1/2 hours a night. I need to get enough sleep if I'm going to actually retain all the information that's coming in.

Swimming is also good for retention and working memory.

When I swim I think about what I've learned to max out the time I'm studying - any time at all that I can scramble up is useful.

I've actually looked into Polyphasic sleeping, not just the Uberman but also things like the Everyman, and it looks like they have a real negative impact on memory, so they're immediately off the table.

And now I'm off to sleep :wink:

. Night!

Your going to collpase and your brain going to overload. Why you want it done so early?

Reply 21

TimmonaPortella

Original post by Dooderman

Hello, I've started taking A levels 6 days ago. So far I've clocked up 16 hours per day, and I plan to study at least 16 hours per day to make this work.

I'm taking Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

I'm also spent about 200 hours on these subjects previously.

All in all, that adds up to 2300 hours I'll be spending on the subjects, which is more than the average person spends in school in 2 years.

I'd like to know whether you think this is realistic. Also, any study tips are welcome.

I'm planning to go through all Science books by the end of January.

Don't be ridiculous.

Treat it as a slightly heavy full time job (maybe a 50/60 hour week) until you get close to the exams. Then, if you need more (which you may not), start to increase it. That should be plenty to get you through, if you have an aptitude for those subjects (if you don't, you shouldn't be trying this).

Reply 22

username2125037

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(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 23

Blackstarr

Original post by Dooderman

Still alive, still going.

Did I ever say it was going to be easy? :smile:

No, I was just saying.

Reply 24

High Stakes

Original post by Dooderman

Update

Well, it's one week in (since 2 days ago), and I've finished the Biology specifications for the AS/A2.
Taking another week to solidify my knowledge in the subject.

Pretty smooth sailing so far.

I encourage you to make sure you practise enough through past papers and questions after you finish learning the content!

Also make sure you're set for the practical assessments. I'm doing the written papers through my school and the practicals through an exam centre. (only doing Chemistry).

Reply 25

jamestg

Original post by High Stakes

This is honestly the most important thing you will be told in this thread.

It's one thing understanding what's in the textbook - but you've got to be able to do past papers.

Also the textbook will only go so far content wise, for something like Biology application is key. I recommend 'biological sciences review' which is written by the chief examiner and discusses current topics in biology linked to the exam content. Almost every year at least one of the topics in the magazine is used in an application question.

Also remember there are essay questions for Biology!

Reply 26

yasmin#2

Why 4 Alevels? Why not just 3 because thats all you really need?...

Reply 27

High Stakes

Original post by Dooderman

Hey guys!

No video, I'll be doing monthly video updates from now on to save time.

I like your videos. Anyway upload one for today/tomorrow because it's the end of this month!

And keep going!

Reply 28

RoadtoSuccess

Chat Forum Helper

Original post by Dooderman

Hello, I've started taking A levels 6 days ago. So far I've clocked up 16 hours per day, and I plan to study at least 16 hours per day to make this work.

I'm taking Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

I'm also spent about 200 hours on these subjects previously.

All in all, that adds up to 2300 hours I'll be spending on the subjects, which is more than the average person spends in school in 2 years.

I'd like to know whether you think this is realistic. Also, any study tips are welcome.
I have made a video on this.

I'm planning to go through all Science books by the end of January.

Anything is possible i believe in you

Reply 29

Adeel Ali

How's it going?! What do you want to do at uni? This is inspiring!!

Reply 30

username2125037

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(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 31

jamestg

Original post by Dooderman

Month 1 1/2 Update:

No updates for a while, but I'm still here, still toiling away at my books!

My filming device is having some problems, so I'll publish a video later on.

Now, on the progress. I've completely finished Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. A lot of material, a lot of smart work, and a lot of good results. Just a month and a half in. The Biology was sweet, the Chemistry sweeter, and Physics a pure sugar bomb. All this sugar necessitates a short break, lest I get diabetes from an overdose of the Sciences - a week should be enough.

Method:

My method of study is now set - and quite efficient, as I've found through practice.

The first thing I've found is that 16 hours per day is too much. It's excessive - at this point, the mind tires. I did not, until now, think that mental fatigue due to study was a thing. Well, trust me - it's real, and, if you study long enough with insufficient breaks, it will sink you.

The ideal daily study time is 8-10 hours daily. 90 minutes a session, 10 minute break afterwards. Rinse and repeat 5 or 6 times in total - 500 to 600 minutes, or roughly 8.4 to 10 hours. 1 day in 5 is a day off.

In Addendum:

I've had my first two practical preparation sessions - and they were great.

Since my level of practical experience for the necessary A Level assessments is zero, they were essential in helping me maximize my future ISA marks, the first of which will already be next month.

Where to from now?

Rest for a week, then attack revision...

... and Mathematics, of course.

May Pythagoras help me :colone:

What are you going to do with these A-levels once you have finished? Apply to uni for 2017?

Reply 32

Vanilla Poison

Mind sharing a quick summary of what you do to learn the sciences. Like the order you do things such as past papers etc.
Good work btw!

Reply 33

Sciatic

Hope you don't get suicidal when the going gets real tough! I had to do S2-4, M4-5, D1-2, as well as revise all three science subjects in 2 weeks. If I had given up I would have failed two subjects. What I've learnt is that no matter how many hours you put in, the last week is crucial. The mind's ability to forget is phenomenal, something that came as a shock to me.

Good luck. You need to reward yourself well :yep:

Reply 34

Sciatic

Original post by Dooderman

Suicidal? How can I be depressed with all these past papers laying around :cool:

?

I am thinking about better methods for revision. The best I've thought of is making many flash cards, and covering my wall in a wall paper of home-brewn A3 revision sheets.

Also, I am looking into Nootropics - and I highly recommend them to anyone that needs to learn a lot, fast. Bacopa Monnieri so far, and I think it's making a difference. Perhaps will add more to my current "stack" (if you can call it that).

One of my teachers used to advise us to do that. He said that we would learn and retain stuff passively if we covered our walls -bedrooms, living room, toilet all - with those sheets summarising all the stuff we have learnt. He claimed that it will not only make revising more fluid, but that it would also make doing household chores and bathroom stuff more bearable. It was kinda tempting - what better thing to do when having a shower, brushing your teeth, eating a meal and trying to sleep than get some revising done.

To be honest I don't think learning, revising and recalling should be passive. It should be an active process. What I did was to break down all the materials into several "chapters" which was in turn broken down into "segments". I would then have a strict timetable - detailing all what I should "learn" and then add to the my timetable, and all what I should "revise". The frequency depended on its position in the learning curve. Whenever I was revising something, I used to first pace the room trying to recall all what I knew of the topic with a glance here and there (sometimes for certain subjects I used to break down everything I've learnt into questions - so I could just go on trying answering them), then I would read the stuff and add the facts I've missed to my memory and try perfecting my understanding on the topics. If I've made a serious mistake, or missed something important - I would write a question about it in a book I called "the book of questions". I would try doing a couple of pages of this book every half a day. The most important thing to do when revising is to find out what you have missed/forgotten and what you have misunderstood and concentrate on those and not everything else.

This worked for me for the science subjects. Maths was always going to be a walk in the park anyways, as long as I did enough practice and actually covered everything. Doing the Holy Trinity (pastpapers, mark schemes and examiners report) would I guess be of little use if you haven't already mastered the topics to the best of your ability. Otherwise it's just Tom and Jerry tbh

And also how do you manage your notes? Do you think of your notes as exhaustive (contains everything you got to know) or open (you don't try to include everything you have to know). Ive noticed that those students who count the marks they think they lost with one hand after an exam are usually the ones who desperately made sure everything they had to know was in one place.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 35

Metapheonix

Original post by Dooderman

Well, that's the plan.

But you know how it goes, finish what I'm doing first, everything else later.

The A-Levels are the main focus at this point.

Good luck- I'm doing the same.

When did you start studying for A levels?

Reply 36

Metapheonix

Preparing for the practicals- correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing you're studying unaffiliated with a college?

Regarding the new practicals, there are no ISA stuff on the new spec. (phew!)

It's very ambitious to do 4 A levels in that time - how come you started now and isn't there a deadline to apply for the actual exams?

Sciatic's revision techniques worked very well for me at first, but wasn't able to stick to the 'strict regime' as events/ things got in the way on my pre-planned calendar. However, I find reading ahead and doing the exam questions - after learning topics yourself very useful because that's what the teachers are going to give you eventually.