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Self Studying AS/A2 Maths Advice needed

I'm 18 turning 19 december. I attempted my as levels at 17 and failed due to not taking it seriously and not revising at all due to severe distractions (Maths U, Physics U, Product Design D). I have pretty much wasted a year since 2015. Most Colleges are telling me they cant fund A level maths for me due to my age. I really want to get an A level in Maths to prove to myself and I know that I'm capable of achieving it.

I am taking this so seriously now and aiming for an A/A* and plan to self study Edexcel AS/A2 and maybe hire a private tutor for once a week checkups for any queries and I have even already begun on C1, and hope to cover C1, C2 & S1 to A*/A standard by the end of summer. I achieved A grade at Maths GCSE and I'm enjoying A level maths so far.

I have some important questions; Are AS and A2 staying the same for 2016/2017- I heard that AS and A2 are going to be both at the end of year 2 and that you cant take AS and A2 seperately. If so will I have to cram C1,C2,S1,C3,C4,S2 by Summer 2017. And would it be possible for someone as capable of me (based on gcses) to learn the whole of A2 from July 2016-Easter 2017, or would it be more efficient to do AS in 2017 and A2 2018? And can you actually take AS and A2 exams in the same year if you wanted to? When would be the right time to apply to be a private candidate for the exams? And how does the private candidate system work, can I choose to study the examining board Edexcel and Statistics?
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by rga320
I'm 18 turning 19 december. I attempted my as levels at 17 and failed due to not taking it seriously and not revising at all due to severe distractions (Maths U, Physics U, Product Design D). I have pretty much wasted a year since 2015. Most Colleges are telling me they cant fund A level maths for me due to my age. I really want to get an A level in Maths to prove to myself and I know that I'm capable of achieving it.

I am taking this so seriously now and aiming for an A/A* and plan to self study Edexcel AS/A2 and maybe hire a private tutor for once a week checkups for any queries and I have even already begun on C1, and hope to cover C1, C2 & S1 to A*/A standard by the end of summer. I achieved A grade at Maths GCSE and I'm enjoying A level maths so far.

I have some important questions; Are AS and A2 staying the same for 2016/2017- I heard that AS and A2 are going to be both at the end of year 2 and that you cant take AS and A2 seperately. If so will I have to cram C1,C2,S1,C3,C4,S2 by Summer 2017. And would it be possible for someone as capable of me (based on gcses) to learn the whole of A2 from July 2016-Easter 2017, or would it be more efficient to do AS in 2017 and A2 2018? And can you actually take AS and A2 exams in the same year if you wanted to? When would be the right time to apply to be a private candidate for the exams? And how does the private candidate system work, can I choose to study the examining board Edexcel and Statistics?


What are your other plans for this year?

I am sure it is possible to study the 6 units before exam time this summer and do perfectly well, especially if you finish AS by this summer (though that's not entirely necessary, just take a break).

For example, I self studied Further Maths in Year 13 alongside my normal subjects, and finished the first 3 units by December and the last 3 units by April, and gave plenty of time for practice and past papers and ended up with an A in that year. It is worth mentioning that I was willing to work hard and really enjoyed it and have since gone on to study Maths at uni.
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rga320
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Hi, I really would like to complete maths AS and A2 together on 2017 as my plans are to have a maths a level by next summer as I really don't want to do A2 at age 20.

I going to try to complete all 6 units in maths and apply for the exams. How would I go about applying as a private candidate for all 6 units and when should I?

I have experience in C1 and C2 but not S1/2 C3/4. So I will do my best to self study/revise them all by January starting now.
(edited 7 years ago)
The A levels are becoming linear next year I believe for Maths, which means you're right in what you're saying, all students will have to take the exams at the end of the two years.

But it won't be easy, you said you got an A in maths at GCSE which is impressive, so you should be capable of it. I'm doing my AS year now and I finished learning C1, C2, D1, S1, FP1, D2, M1 about four months ago, doing 8 hours a week in normal time tabled lessons, I take Maths and Further maths so that's why I covered more modules.
So in theory if you put the effort in you can learn all 6 modules by the end of February by putting in 6 hours a week* and have plenty of time to revise at the end.
It's a good idea hiring a personal tutor to check on your progress, I don't believe it's too expensive.
Also, going about applying for the exams, I'm not too sure myself but I know you'll have to sit the exams under exam conditions, which includes a designated test center (most colleges), you also need the invigilators and resources to be delivered etc. This isn't free, you will most likely have to pay to sit your A levels again, the best way of going about it is ringing local colleges and explaining what you're going to do, and all you need from them is their exam hall, invigilators, exam resources etc. and you'll pay them for it.

Good luck!

*Bear in mind we have a tutor and are constantly doing maths, if we have a problem it can be resolved in 5 minutes, if you procrastinate then you'll need to do a lot more than 6 hours a week.

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