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Alice's road to high grades

HEY!

I'm Alice, I'm in year 12 and currently studying Biology, Chemistry, Maths and an EPQ which will be finished around April time.

Bio and Chem - new AQA linear (all actual exams summer 2018)
Maths - Edexcel old spec (we're the last year doing it, exams 2017 summer and 2018)
EPQ: Edexcel I think, I'm doing mine about dietary fat and cancer :tongue: its not easy but its something I have an interest in.

If anyone cares:flower2: I also am a fan of Eminem and honestly most grime artists. I'M from London but love northern artists as well.



why am I doing this?
to
track my progress
make sure I'm actually doing something:colondollar: (i honestly suck at being productive BUT HELL THATS GONNA CHANGE:biggrin: )
Get into medical school
AND HELP OTHER PEOPLE WHO FEEL LIKE ITS TOO LATE TO SUCCEED

So yeah I want to study medicine and iT MAKES ME SO HAPPY ok and I'm going to make it come true:u:

My GCSE results

Spoiler



Why aiming so high? whY NOT haha especially becuase my GCSE's aren't the best.

Tests so far (brace yourselves they're bad but I have to be truthful)

Spoiler

(edited 7 years ago)

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Reply 1
So today, I plan to do the majority of my homework.. hopefully all (but I have a ton)
I made a list:

Spoiler


Some of those are things I should have done way earlier but I haven't:angelblush:

Productivity begins noW :deal: :excited:
Already did most of immunity booklet, I plan on finishing all bio and then moving on to maths and I will update at the end of today :biggrin:

oo also I need to do EPQ
Looking at your GCSE's it seems kind of unlikely, but if you put in the effort then why not.
Don't be put off by people trying to put you down. Getting low grades at the start of a-levels is so normal since you're kind of in transition, once you get the hang of it, you'll be fine.
Reply 4
Original post by aylavkeyefsi
Don't be put off by people trying to put you down. Getting low grades at the start of a-levels is so normal since you're kind of in transition, once you get the hang of it, you'll be fine.


Thank you! I saw those comments and I was like :redface: what the hell?? chill man go live your life
Reply 5
Work hard and you will get there. Slack and you won't get anywhere. Everything is honestly hard work and effort. Intelligence plays a very little role😊
Original post by veganavb
So today, I plan to do the majority of my homework.. hopefully all (but I have a ton)
I made a list:

Spoiler


Some of those are things I should have done way earlier but I haven't:angelblush:

Productivity begins noW :deal: :excited:
Already did most of immunity booklet, I plan on finishing all bio and then moving on to maths and I will update at the end of today :biggrin:

oo also I need to do EPQ
Reply 6
Original post by Sabz152
Work hard and you will get there. Slack and you won't get anywhere. Everything is honestly hard work and effort. Intelligence plays a very little role😊


Yeah that's true! Thanks for that
Original post by veganavb
Thank you! I saw those comments and I was like :redface: what the hell?? chill man go live your life


Exactly blyat haha these cykas don't know whats going on :smile:
Original post by veganavb
HEY!

I'm Alice, I'm in year 12 and currently studying Biology, Chemistry, Maths and an EPQ which will be finished around April time.

Bio and Chem - new AQA linear (all actual exams summer 2018)
Maths - Edexcel old spec (we're the last year doing it, exams 2017 summer and 2018)
EPQ: Edexcel I think, I'm doing mine about dietary fat and cancer :tongue: its not easy but its something I have an interest in.

If anyone cares:flower2: I also am a fan of Eminem and honestly most grime artists. I'M from London but love northern artists as well.



why am I doing this?
to
track my progress
make sure I'm actually doing something:colondollar: (i honestly suck at being productive BUT HELL THATS GONNA CHANGE:biggrin: )
Get into medical school
AND HELP OTHER PEOPLE WHO FEEL LIKE ITS TOO LATE TO SUCCEED

So yeah I want to study medicine and iT MAKES ME SO HAPPY ok and I'm going to make it come true:u:

My GCSE results

Spoiler



Why aiming so high? whY NOT haha especially becuase my GCSE's aren't the best.

Tests so far (brace yourselves they're bad but I have to be truthful)

Spoiler




Im currently doing a2 biology, chemistry (both AQA) and maths (ocr). If you need any help on anything you're finding difficult i'm always here to help you and if i'm not here i'm sure someone else will reply to your message because MOST people on here are very supportive and helpful.

Also i'd strongly advise you to get the aqa cgp books for the sciences. Those books were responsible for my results! 🤗

Btw im applying for medicine this year so if there's anything you're unsure about now or later on when your applying dont hesitate to ask on here.

Good luck on your journey! 😊👍🏿
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 9
just being honest, might be worth having some more realistic aims
Original post by Lay-Z
just being honest, might be worth having some more realistic aims


C'mon dont put someone off. If someone wants to aim high you should be willing to help them get there by providing more support not discouraging them. I totally understand why you feel that way but although it is rare some people have been able to get exceptional grades at A level even though their gcse grades may not look exceptional.
You're expecting too much from yourself, when you realise the difficulty things will change
Original post by Lay-Z
I hear you, its not just the GCSE grades though.. also the tests shes done don't look great


I understand that but even i've gotten grades like that before (an E in chemistry) but that was due to a lack of revision. Also there's still plenty of time for Alice to prepare before her exams so these grades can be pulled up with some effective revision and most importantly motivation.

Lay-Z i honestly understand why you may feel that it is unrealistic but the reason i feel it might be is because i also failed mini tests but still came out with not just the highest grades but the highest marks compared to people in my college! (I'm not trying to be egotistical btw i'm just using myself as an example 🙂)
Indeed. Most people end up only doing 3 A-Levels btw. Wait actually you would be... might need to amend title. For AS you'd want AAAA*.
You definitely are choosing the right ones for Medicine, so goodluck.
If you need help with Maths I have done edexcel too. Goodluck. You are in year 12 so it's okay to aim high. When you see what you get in your AS' you will know better what you can aim for! Goodluck. Remember Biology and Chem AS grades do not count to the A2 so it's ok even if you got a B (any lower and you are done though :frown:)
Alice...

The reason people on here are telling you to be more realistic is because they have most likely experienced As levels themselves and i totally respect their feelings because i myself know how difficult A levels can be.

So just to emphasise, the jump from gcse to A level is quite large meaning you really need to get your head down and make sure you stay on top of things.

I'll say it again get the AQA CGP books for bio and chem and use the SPECIFICATION when making your notes (the spec can be found on the aqa website). I'd also advise you to download the spec on your phone so it's always there for you when you need it.
I think it is entirely possible. I have heard of someone on here who didn't got mostly C grades at GCSE, and is now at Cambridge studying Maths.

Good luck, and if you need any help with Chemistry feel free to ask (I'm in year 13 doing new AQA spec; predicted an A* grade).
Reply 16
You most definitely can do it, for chemistry it's a matter of knowing the markscheme rather that becoming complacent on learning and relearning the text book. My advice for chem in particular would be understad the topics then get your hands on past papers from 1990 minimum and work through them towards the new ones, I know the spec has changed since then but a lot hasn't so just miss the ones not in your spec, by the time you get to last year's paper you'll be scoring 100% as questions just keep repeating year upon year. For bio it's pure textbook and then knowing how to approach the data questions. Maths, I initially got a low grade in my December mocks yet went on and achieved near 300 ums in the real thing (again a matter of past papers and thinking outside the box). Just believe in yourself and keep working, make sure you balance your life as it will drastically improve the quality of study achieved when you study. Best of luck
P.s don't listen to any of these people putting you down! If people can't achieve something they'll try make you think you can't either! Aim for the sky and you'll get half way, best of luck.
Ignore the people saying you can't do it, it is possible as long as you work consistently hard.

If you want to do medicine then you should organise all your work experience/volunteering now, places can be hard to secure and starting early will give you more time ( if you want work experience in a hospital then you need to planning it now ).

With you GCSE's you won't be competitive at uni's which score GCSE's as part of their interview selection process, so you will need a high UKCAT/BMAT, a good PS and solid predictions so you can apply to uni's which place more emphasis on these. But for now focus on your A-levels and get the highest grades you can ( especially in Maths, high UMS takes the pressure off of next years exams ).

Best of luck:smile:

EDIT: Don't worry about the grades your getting now, i remember getting a D in my first Biology test and a U in M1 mock, just make sure you learn from your mistakes and work hard on the areas where you are weak.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 18
Original post by aylavkeyefsi
Exactly blyat haha these cykas don't know whats going on :smile:


ghaahahHA
Reply 19
Original post by Kantth1
Im currently doing a2 biology, chemistry (both AQA) and maths (ocr). If you need any help on anything you're finding difficult i'm always here to help you and if i'm not here i'm sure someone else will reply to your message because MOST people on here are very supportive and helpful.

Also i'd strongly advise you to get the aqa cgp books for the sciences. Those books were responsible for my results! 🤗

Btw im applying for medicine this year so if there's anything you're unsure about now or later on when your applying dont hesitate to ask on here.

Good luck on your journey! 😊👍🏿


oooh ok Thank you! I will try to get those books and thank you for offering help :h:

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