beginning to panic self doubt

So i go to a steps course on Monday this coming Monday. I am getting worried because most of the prep questions I am getting but one or two throw me I have not managed to solve any of the step questions yet I have not really fully learned all of the A level material yet. Like I have covered and understood it but if i sat an exam now I would not do well for for certain modules.

I am worried I am going to be the worst one there and not understand anything. I actually am thinking this will likely be the case.

So i go to a steps course on Monday this coming Monday. I am getting worried because most of the prep questions I am getting but one or two throw me I have not managed to solve any of the step questions yet I have not really fully learned all of the A level material yet. Like I have covered and understood it but if i sat an exam now I would not do well for for certain modules.

I am worried I am going to be the worst one there and not understand anything. I actually am thinking this will likely be the case.

As PQ says, you're going there to learn. Pretty much everyone finds STEP extremely daunting at first, so you're definitely not going to be the only one.

In practical terms, assuming you've covered a reasonable proportion of the A-level syllabus, there will be quite a few STEP questions that you won't have issues with.

Which areas do you feel you don't know yet?

Just out of curiosity, is this the course at Marylebone?

PS just curious if I had terrible GCSES like not much better then 5 C grades better but not a lot better and bad A levels previously below 3 Bs with medicore university degree and was sitting 3 a levels in maths again and resound to working my ass off for it, what odds would you give me of getting into Cambridge or what odds would you accept?

I'd say it's not so much a question of memorizing it, more doing question after question until it's lodged in your brain. You don't have to know all the formulas (I don't remember all the trig integrals, nor the details of the trig factor formulas), but you need to know them well enough to know "OK, I know I this will simplify if I use a factor formula", or "OK, I know if I can manipulate this into sec x + sec^2 x then those are both things I can integrate using the formula book".

You don't get "deep" understanding of maths topics unless you use them a lot. For a lot of people (it was true for me), C3 and C4 are the first places this really starts biting you. It doesn't take great understanding to be able to get through A-level questions, but it takes a lot more work to be able to use the techniques as needed in other questions. This doesn't mean "Oh, no, I'm doomed at STEP!". But it probably does mean you'll start realising "Damn, I really need to practice these topics".

OK, so this is just my personal opinion, but I'm going to be honest: I think the previous degree is a big issue. I obviously don't have the experience with 100s of students that admissions tutors have, but I think you have to "thread a pretty fine needle" between "He's already done a degree and he didn't do very well" and "He's already done a degree and done well so it would be a waste for him to go back to the start of another undergrad degree". (It would also depend what the previous degree was).

For maths, I don't think the GCSEs and previous A-levels are necessarily that big an issue, but the overall amount of time you've had that could reasonably be considered "studying towards A-levels" definitely is. (in other words, if you've spent 2 years doing A-levels, 3 years doing a maths-related degree, and then spent another year retaking the A-levels, then you've basically taken 6 years to get to the same point most applicants will have managed in 2 years. Since most people find the workload at Cambridge a big shock after A-levels, I think there's no escaping that this will cause a lot of concern.

On a similar note, if I'm going to be honest, if you're having to "work your ass off" for the A-levels, that's not a terribly good sign. STEP is a lot more work than A-levels. Not like 50% more, it's several times more work, IMHO.

That said, I've got no idea how to estimate a probability for this. Do you have an offer or are you planning on applying next year? In the latter case I would absolutely be sounding out colleges now on how they feel about your circumstances.

I will be applying next year with grades for better or for worse. Obviously If I get poor grades I wont apply to Cambridge its why I was hoping steps could help me stand out.

How do you mean sounding out colleges? I don't like contacting people with hypothetical eg emailing colleges etc.

Should I get grades of A*A maths further maths and 2 2 in steps or better I will email colleges this is on the weaker side obviously but its the min grades I can get at which I will even consider applying.

I will sit additional further maths next year so will apply with that pending and potentially physics I say potentially.

OK, if you're definitely wanting to apply regardless of applying to Cambridge, that makes sense (I thought you were looking to apply specifically to try to go to Cambridge, in which case you definitely want to find if "there's a chance" before devoting a year to it).

I think colleges will generally be happy to at least give feedback about how they'd look on someone with your circumstances (they were for me, but I was looking to apply early, not late). Some colleges will be happier taking mature students than others, etc., so it makes sense to do some "pre-shopping" to try to find the colleges most friendly to your situation.

Again being honest, I think with your background you will need 1 1 in STEP at an absolute minimum. If I had to bet, I'd expect at least one S grade in any offer made to you.

Again, staggering your exams so you only take 2 A-levels a year is probably going to be questioned in terms of your ability to handle the workload.

I mean if I went down this path I would have completed four A levels in a two year period. Maybe Cambridge expect more though I guess.

yeah I think i need S S to get an offer. which will be very very difficult.

I think it's the exam stress as much as anything. Also, TBH I don't think Cambridge will see M, FM and AFM as equal to 3 A-levels in different subjects. (I basically did the equivalent of AFM in a couple of months - it's just "more maths" and after enough STEP prep you can go through A-level material very quickly).

As I said, having a previous degree is going to raise expectations quite a bit I think.

Not to pile on the gloom, but you also want to be getting an A* in FM (I missed that you were thinking of applying with A*A not A*A*). On the +ve side, if you are doing the work for an S in STEP III, an A* in FM should not be a big stretch.

I know my comments have been quite negative, but I'm just trying to give you my honest assessment here.