Failing Chem Alevel when I need A’s by the end of this year

Just did my Y12 Christmas mocks and I got B in both bio and psyc, and AN E IN CHEMISTRY.How the hell am I supposed to get an A by the end of this year if I wanna get into medicine if I’m practically failing. D:I’m literally the worse in my class in chem it’s actually embarrassing aswell. I need help but I don’t know where to start. :/Chem has always just been a bad subject for me and I think that’s what makes me insecure about it which consequently makes me preform badly. But tbf I DID manage to get a grade 7 in my GCSE after getting a grade 3 in y11 mocks, so I know that improvement is possible because I’ve shown myself before that I can work hard when I want to.Ig I just need a reminder of where to start again and how to get my **** together in chem a level; like how do I revise for it, best tips and tricks, and I don’t want to hear the classic ‘just do practice questions’ bs because clearly that didn’t work in my mock, and ALSO don’t I need to learn the content first before I do that? How can I focus on learning the content when it’s such a boring subject anyway?Please I just need someone to guide me here…

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

CaptainDuckie

Study Forum Helper

There’s going to be more chemistry when you study medicine. Maybe not as in depth as you go in A-level, but having that background knowledge is definitely needed.

Reply 2

Scotland Yard

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

I always thought Chemistry was the most boring and frustrating subject in the world until I finally understood it one day and it all changed. It's always a challenge though, and I fell shy of the A I wanted in the exams (probably because I was falling asleep on one of the papers), but it's a really fun subject... once you start to understand it.

You do need to do practice questions, and loads, because A-level mark schemes are awful and ultra pedantic. You don't know how many times I've practiced, answered questions correctly but still gotten zero marks because it's not in the way the mark scheme wants. Doing well in A-levels is not just about knowing the stuff, but knowing how they want you to say the stuff.

But to know how they want you to say it, you need to know the content and it seems like you may have a bit of a problem with that. Best advice I can give you is find alternative revision materials. There's loads of youtube videos and websites that will explain things to you in ways that you'll hopefully find not boring, which will help you in actually learning and recalling content. Basically, try to make Chemistry fun, or at the very least not boring.

Lastly, get a good night's sleep (do as I say, not as I do). Does wonders for your ability to actually think and remember things.

And, about applying to Medicine, yes, it would be mighty nice if you could apply this year, but if not, don't worry too much about it. In the end, the only place it matters getting an A is on the actual A-level exams. So if you're not getting As by the end of this year but you're still determined to do Medicine, just do your best to get the As on your A-Levels and apply with your achieved grades. It means taking a gap year but trust me, it's not the end of the world. And even if you don't succeed, there is still the long way around to do Medicine as a second degree.

Basically, don't give up. Good luck!

Reply 3

aliaa03

chemistry used to be one of my worst subjects too (i’m talking U’s and a rare D throughout year 12) but when i resat i came a few marks off an A !! (unfortunately i missed out due to making some very stupid mistakes cause i got nervous 😭) but trust me i was in the exact same situation as you, but once you understand chemistry and put in the work it’s really one of the easiest subjects to improve in.

depending on your exam board you can watch youtube videos for the topic you’re doing. i did OCR A so machemguy was a saviour, but if you’re doing something like AQA i’ve heard elliot rintoul is pretty good. Most of the exam questions for chemistry are usually the same sort of thing, especially when it comes to stuff like acids and bases or calculations.

for me the best way to learn the content was just going through my textbook along with the specification and making flashcards for everything i needed to know, e.g the definition of enthalpy of hydration or the gibbs equation, or sometimes if i struggled with a calculation id literally write the question onto a flashcard with the method at the back.

every morning i’d sit at my desk and go through the stacks of diff topics, e.g Enthalpy or Bonding and Structure, and eventually i’d been through them so much i could whizz through and knew every definition off by heart as well as the methods for the calculations. Once you’ve nailed the content you need to do past paper questions to learn the markscheme, as this tells you what they want to hear, e.g describing the trend across the period table or down group 2 or whatever. write the answers onto a flashcard.

i know it seems hard now but if i can come a few marks off an A anyone can !! that’s how much i sucked 😂😂 it will be hard and you might cry sometimes 💀 but keep at it and ask for help when you need it and you WILL get the grade you want :smile: