I'm ruining my education

Hello fellow members of TSR,

I'm currently in Year 13. I've been so burnt out lately that my attendance has just shot to pieces. I really want to go to University but the rate at which I'm working is more akin to attaining D's and E's. I'm naturally a stressful person but this is spiralling out of control. What do I do?

Reply 1

Tiger Rag

22

Original post by Nerdcubed

Hello fellow members of TSR,

I'm currently in Year 13. I've been so burnt out lately that my attendance has just shot to pieces. I really want to go to University but the rate at which I'm working is more akin to attaining D's and E's. I'm naturally a stressful person but this is spiralling out of control. What do I do?

Are your teachers aware of why your attendance is so poor?

Reply 2

Nerdcubed

OP

13

Original post by Tiger Rag

Are your teachers aware of why your attendance is so poor?

I think one of the department heads sent me an email about my attendance because it dropped below 90%. Besides that, no.

Reply 3

stimtothesky

18

Original post by Nerdcubed

Hello fellow members of TSR,

I'm currently in Year 13. I've been so burnt out lately that my attendance has just shot to pieces. I really want to go to University but the rate at which I'm working is more akin to attaining D's and E's. I'm naturally a stressful person but this is spiralling out of control. What do I do?

I know it’s probably not what you want, but have you considered a gap year to get yourself together a bit? You could still apply this year (check the university policies on reapplication) and then defer, or apply next year (probably with better grades if you decide to retake). Something to consider.

What course are you doing?

Reply 4

Nerdcubed

OP

13

Original post by stimtothesky

I know it’s probably not what you want, but have you considered a gap year to get yourself together a bit? You could still apply this year (check the university policies on reapplication) and then defer, or apply next year (probably with better grades if you decide to retake). Something to consider.

What course are you doing?

Biology, Geography and Computing. Having to halt my academic progression is the last thing I want to do. If possible, I want to find an efficient way to manage my stress before it's too late.

Reply 5

stimtothesky

18

Original post by Nerdcubed

Biology, Geography and Computing. Having to halt my academic progression is the last thing I want to do. If possible, I want to find an efficient way to manage my stress before it's too late.

I know it sounds like forever but a year really isn’t that much, and you wouldn’t be halting your academic progress as you could do internships/longer work experience programmes which would really set you apart from the crowd!

As for stress management:

Little and often- if you’re currently in a situation where you’re so stressed you’re doing nothing, just sit down and write a list of all the topics in all your subjects. Then break down each topic into subtopics.

So an example for my biology would be:

Cells structure

->ribosomes

->chloroplasts

-> etc

Mass transport

->xylem and phloem

->etc

It doesn’t matter if that’s all you do in one night for now. The next night tell yourself you’re going to go through one of the tiny topics from your list. You only have to do one. Write a summary, do a PPQ, make and learn some flashcards, do whatever floats your boat. You might find that doing that motivates you into doing another section, but it doesn’t matter if not.

Just keep going like that and you’ll gain momentum. It doesn’t matter that you won’t technically have time to do one subtopic a night and still get through it all- you’ll build up speed as you start to get into it and some topics will be much quicker than others.

Try and get lots of PPQs in there (especially biology) if you can, or at least go through mark schemes.

Now you probably knew most of that anyway, but I’m in a similar situation, and it helped to write all that out. Good luck to you!

Reply 6

PerfectBrew4

2

Hello Nerdcubed

I'm a final year university student and have met so many people who had a similar experience to you.

If you're thinking you're not doing so well academically speaking, there are still lots of opportunities to get into university such as clearance or via interview (they just might not be your chosen university) but if you really don't feel confident maybe you could try an extended BTEC qualification.

You would only have to take a year of learning and you may do even better doing a BTEC qualification than traditional A-Levels due to the lack of exams. They simply test your understanding of a topic through coursework assignments and there are plenty out there to choose from. A close friend of mine studied Forensic Science at extended BTEC level and he got into Bournemouth University to study Forensic Investigation with no worries at all. Aside from that, lots of people get into courses through clearing, you could always try that!

I hope this helps.

Reply 7

adriennek

1

Original post by stimtothesky

I know it’s probably not what you want, but have you considered a gap year to get yourself together a bit? You could still apply this year (check the university policies on reapplication) and then defer, or apply next year (probably with better grades if you decide to retake). Something to consider.

What course are you doing?

Can you defer if youve already applied to university this year or would you just decline any offers and reapply in 2019? I'm just started to regret my choice and would like more time to think about what I actually want to do.

Reply 8

stimtothesky

18

Original post by adriennek

Can you defer if youve already applied to university this year or would you just decline any offers and reapply in 2019? I'm just started to regret my choice and would like more time to think about what I actually want to do.

Email the university’s (or call) and ask them. That’s the best way to find out!

I'm ruining my education

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you