International A-level

Can u guys give me advice about A levels cuz im starting A- level after the summer break and i'm taking Maths, chemistry and physics edexcel exams

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Reply 1

student9850

hi!
im assuming you're starting year 12 and not year 13?
if its y13 sorry this won't help 😭

I have almost finished my first year, and I have chosen the same subjects as you.
something I recommend highly is, not to fall behind at all, on the first day make sure you have a way of taking notes and keeping them organised etc.
from the first day make a good relationship with your teachers so you always feel comfortable enough to ask them for help, which I promise you, you will need a lot, these subjects together are really hard.
don't overwork yourself or you will experience burnout pretty quickly and then exams will be much more challenging to manage, don't worry too much about the exams you do in the first year, even if in June/July next year you still struggle, over the summer holidays you can revisit all of the first year and be ready for the mocks in the second year, as these grades will go to your predicted grades for university.
if you feel you're really struggling get a tutor asap, if you cant afford etc then talk to your teachers about it and they could sort something out for you!
overall, work really hard from the start as it is a big jump from your previous school years, but you should also absolutely have time for yourself, find a hobby to maybe add to your personal statement or just for time to relax like art, take lots of breaks between studying!!

hope this helps, good luck with alevels!! (:

btw what are you thinking of doing after alevel?

Reply 2

Aamna2277

Thanks for your advice and i'm starting Year 12 :smile:

. Also, i really didn't think about it yet, i mean what to do after alevel

Reply 3

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Aamna2277

Thanks for your advice and i'm starting Year 12 :smile:

. Also, i really didn't think about it yet, i mean what to do after alevel

That really depends on what grades you are expected to get.

What did you have in mind when you picked those subjects?

Reply 4

Aamna2277

Original post by Admit-One

That really depends on what grades you are expected to get.

What did you have in mind when you picked those subjects?

i mean i like to be a mechanical engineer so i chose maths and physics, but for chemistry, i had to choose it because i didnt like the other subjects. for maths and physics, i like them smh

Reply 5

ran-dumb

Original post by Aamna2277

i mean i like to be a mechanical engineer so i chose maths and physics, but for chemistry, i had to choose it because i didnt like the other subjects. for maths and physics, i like them smh

Thats really fair, I did chemistry because of that too. I imagine like me chemistry will be a massive drag for you too. No physics pun intended, I didn't do it.

Reply 6

Aamna2277

Original post by ran-dumb

Thats really fair, I did chemistry because of that too. I imagine like me chemistry will be a massive drag for you too. No physics pun intended, I didn't do it.

So did you finish y12 and y13?

Reply 7

ran-dumb

Original post by Aamna2277

So did you finish y12 and y13?

Yeah, I'm at uni now. I don't know which I prefer but its work either way.

Reply 8

Aamna2277

Original post by ran-dumb

Yeah, I'm at uni now. I don't know which I prefer but its work either way.

good luck then :smile:

Reply 9

ran-dumb

Original post by Aamna2277

good luck then :smile:

Is there something about A levels you're worried about? I assume you're confident enough for maths and physics.

Reply 10

Aamna2277

Original post by ran-dumb

Is there something about A levels you're worried about? I assume you're confident enough for maths and physics.

yeah as you said im confident about maths and physics, but .... chemistry is a huge problem for me

Reply 11

ran-dumb

Original post by Aamna2277

yeah as you said im confident about maths and physics, but .... chemistry is a huge problem for me

Did you manage GCSE chemistry? If you picked it as your third you must feel its the next best subject to do right? I used to be fine with chemistry, one of my favourite subjects at GCSE after maths but the A level was a massive pain.

Reply 12

Aamna2277

Original post by ran-dumb

i mean GCSE Chemistry was not bad but when i asked the alevel students in my school, they said that chemistry was the hardest alevel they took and that it requires alottt of concentration

Reply 13

ran-dumb

Original post by Aamna2277

i mean GCSE Chemistry was not bad but when i asked the alevel students in my school, they said that chemistry was the hardest alevel they took and that it requires alottt of concentration

Yeah it does, there's a lot to memorise. But I'm sure you'll be fine, if you're doing engineering your chemistry grade won't be the biggest issue.

Reply 14

Aamna2277

Original post by ran-dumb

Yeah it does, there's a lot to memorise. But I'm sure you'll be fine, if you're doing engineering your chemistry grade won't be the biggest issue.

i mean yeah, in my country, the universities only require 2 alevels so its not really a problem.

Reply 15

ran-dumb

Original post by Aamna2277

i mean yeah, in my country, the universities only require 2 alevels so its not really a problem.

There you go then. Why did you want to do A levels if you're not going to the UK for uni. I assume not many schools do it so it's probably a bother.

Reply 16

Aamna2277

Original post by ran-dumb

There you go then. Why did you want to do A levels if you're not going to the UK for uni. I assume not many schools do it so it's probably a bother.

in our school, we must do alevels plus, you cant enter any uni without atleast 2 alevels if youre in a british curriculum school so yeah

Reply 17

Aamna2277

Original post by Aamna2277

in our school, we must do alevels plus, you cant enter any uni without atleast 2 alevels if youre in a british curriculum school so yeah

btw which uni are you in? and which specialty are you in? sry for these questions if they were personal you can ignore them

Reply 18

ran-dumb

Original post by Aamna2277

in our school, we must do alevels plus, you cant enter any uni without atleast 2 alevels if youre in a british curriculum school so yeah

Interesting, did you want to be at a British school? Where I was the local curriculum was awful so I ended up doing A levels. Also what're A levels plus?

Original post by Aamna2277

btw which uni are you in? and which specialty are you in? sry for these questions if they were personal you can ignore them

Oh no its fine, I'm at warwick, although no one ever hears about it. I'm thinking of moving to bristol next year. I do maths and statistics, not the most fun thing ever. I definitely couldn't do anything physics though, I dropped it like 2 months into Year 12

Reply 19

Aamna2277

Original post by ran-dumb

Interesting, did you want to be at a British school? Where I was the local curriculum was awful so I ended up doing A levels. Also what're A levels plus?

Oh no its fine, I'm at warwick, although no one ever hears about it. I'm thinking of moving to bristol next year. I do maths and statistics, not the most fun thing ever. I definitely couldn't do anything physics though, I dropped it like 2 months into Year 12

oh i mean atleast youre studying somewhere and the uni seems interesting. BTW, my mistake theres no such thing as alevels plus, i meant to write alevels, plus, like in addition to this ...