The Student Room Group

Destination Biological Scientist

Hi, my name is Hannah and I am a BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences student at Bournemouth University! I am currently studying three units: Field Research (Environment), Human Osteology and Introduction to Toxicology. Next year I will be taking a placement year and will be working as a laboratory technician in a local college. I did not gain very good grades at A-level (B, C, D, D, D) so I hope that I can inspire people in the same situation to keep at it! As well as the academic side of my life I have a lot of hobbies! I am a music scholar at the university because of my violin playing so I perform with the orchestra and contemporary choir. I am also a member of the First Aid Society and occasionally join the Wildlife Conservation Society and Conservation Rangers in their efforts to conserve the Dorset heathland. I hope you enjoy my grow your grades blog and feel free to ask me any questions!
Reply 1
Congratulations on your growth mindset :smile: why do you think A levels didn't go so well, and what specific and measurable steps will you take to improve your learning skills?
Reply 2
Original post by Assan
Congratulations on your growth mindset :smile: why do you think A levels didn't go so well, and what specific and measurable steps will you take to improve your learning skills?

Thank you! Firstly, I had to change school as my secondary school didn't have a sixth form. It took me about an hour to get there in the morning and the day started at 8.30 so that meant a very early start and a lot of time spent traveling. I struggled with maths at AS which had a negative affect on my other subjects. Also, there was a lot of maths involved in chemistry! In music I was the only student which meant I had no one to compare my work with and I couldn't learn from anyone else's mistakes. Both the music teachers left after AS so I had two brand new teachers and, although they put a vast amount of effort in, they had very little experience teaching A-level. Admittedly I spent a lot of time participating in music groups when I had other subjects to spend time on! Lastly, it probably didn't helped that our house flooded just before the summer exams so I was living in a house with no carpets and numerous machines working to dry the floor out!

I am trying to improve my grades by revising as I go along and doing a lot of extra reading. I am a rather organised person so the uni life style suits me as I don't need someone nagging me to get my work done in plenty of time for the deadline!
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 3
Okay, so I just got my grades back for my semester 1 exams!
Biochemistry: 75.00% giving me 80.84% overall
Ecology and Ecosystems Management: 65.00% giving me 67.50% overall
Human Origins and Evolution: 76.00% giving me 72.50% overall

73.63% overall!

Very happy, although Ecology and Ecosystems Management could have gone slightly better. It was a completely essay exam and I'm soooo bad with essays so it could have gone much worse! Maybe I can achieve my goal of getting a distinction in 2nd year.

Now back to Field Research - Environment, Human Osteology and Toxicology ! :smile:
Reply 4
I had my toxicology test this morning. 30 multiple choice questions in 30 minutes. I was soooo nervous but I got 93% ... over the moon!

Role on Thursday's 4 slide, non-graded presentation!

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