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Poor AS Grades

Hi guys, I got my as grades yesterday and I wasn't too happy with it. I got:

A in Biology
B in Psychology
C in Maths
C in Chemistry

I'm not really sure what I want to drop, I was hoping to drop psychology as I find it uninteresting. But, can I turn the C grades into A grades by the end of year 13. I was really lazy and was hoping to apply for medicine, but now I have no clue what to do. Thanks in advance for any response.

Reply 1

aytuiq

Those are very good for AS, remember that many people improve their grades dramatically. With generous predicted grades you could easily apply for medicine and with hard work, particularly in chemistry, next year you would have a good chance of succeeding!

Reply 2

hijaaab

Yes you can definitely turn them grades around. I got C's at my AS too for Biology and Chemistry at the end of Year 12 but have just come out with an A* in Biology and an A in Chemistry.

If you know yourself that you were lazy then don't lose hope and just work a lot harder in Year 13. You even have some time before school starts to go over some Year 1 content for Biology & Chemistry before you start learning Year 2 stuff.

However, if you want to apply to medicine then you need to be sure your teachers are willing to give you decent predicted grades despite your results.

Reply 3

username2476735

I got BBDE at AS, went from a D in Chemistry to getting a B in it yesterday. It's definitely possible, you just have to work hard and keep motivating yourself. I printed out a picture of the uni I wanted to go to and put it on my wall, which helped me stay motivated.

Reply 4

draculaura

Dude they're good for AS. Like aytuiq said , it's normal to improve a lot in the second year! Be proud you got an A.

Reply 5

AliF98

Original post by AnonymousUser 29

Considering the heavy subjects you're doing and just in general, those AS grades are great so don't feel too dejected!

Also, you can definitely turn those C's into A's; many students I know got C's at AS and then A's and A*'s at A2 in the same subjects, it just takes hard work.

In regards to dropping psych it's a bit tricky because you don't want to do a subject you're not interested in but at the same time it was one of your best grades... maybe see what it's like for a bit in year 13 and if you're still not enjoying it then perhaps consider dropping it?

Reply 6

AnonymousUser 29

Original post by hijaaab

How did you revise for biology and chemistry? Thanks for your advice by the way.

Reply 7

AnonymousUser 29

Original post by RallySPORT

How did you revise for chemistry? And congrats on your grades!

Reply 8

username2476735

Original post by AnonymousUser 29

How did you revise for chemistry? And congrats on your grades!

Thanks! I did edexcel chemistry, and the main thing I did was write out class notes. For GCSE, I basically revised using only the CGP guides, which worked well then, but did not work well for AS. So for this year, every time we sort of finished a topic, we'd have a topic test, and at that point I'd gather all my topic notes that I'd written, combine them with some CGP guide stuff, and write out an A4 summary sheet or two. When the final exams came around, I had all these summary sheets for all my subjects on each topic, and if I'd done badly on a topic test, I'd go and add stuff to it. I then used this big A5 project notebook thing I had, split it into three subject areas, and basically rewrote the summary notes I'd made, leaving off stuff I knew really well. I went back and made it more colourful as well. Then, whenever I did a past paper, anything I struggled with I'd go and add to this notebook. I found it really useful having this revision notebook, it made it more useful as I was only revising the stuff I really didn't know, and the notes from class were so much more detailed than CGP, and you really need that detail at A2. Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 9

hijaaab

Original post by AnonymousUser 29

How did you revise for biology and chemistry? Thanks for your advice by the way.

For Biology I just tried to remember EVERYTHING. So I revised thoroughly for any topic tests by making neat notes using class notes, the CGP textbooks and the specification. I then made flash cards for mock exams that were a summary of these notes. Also, I did loads of past paper questions for the specific topic that was going to be tested. Before mocks and the real exams, I did full past papers from the AQA website and left the actual specimen papers until a few weeks before my actual exam.

For Chemistry, I did the same but I did more practice questions so complex calculations and stuff like that. a-levelchemistry.co.uk is AMAZING for practice questions so I just did loads of them. I also used chemrevise notes to make my own notes which were really helpful.