The Student Room Group

Hating A levels...

Since i have started my AS levels, i have been feeling really down and hating it :frown: After going through all the stress, sleepless nights, waiting for the results, exams and more stress from GCSEs, i feel that i really dont want to go through all that again :bawling: I literally feel like quiting A levels and if i continue feeling this way i think i am :frown: I cant deal with all the stress and workload and im behind in all my subjects :bawling: I dont want to go through all of it again. I'm not usually a quitter but i feel really unhappy and hating A levels that im thinking of quiting :frown:
Any suggestions?
SCx

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I hated it too but stuck it out for a few months,caught up with my work and got my act together during the Xmas holidays/half term and I passed and got to uni.

Stick at it.
Reply 2
i feel sorry for anyone taking A levels now.

while the work is not greatly difficult, there is a great workload. It takes a lot of work to achieve straight A's. yet once those gardes are achieved, it is still a lottery as to whether ur academic dreams can be realised.


it can be very disheartening !
I have to admit, the novelty of 6th form has worn off and I'm starting to feel the same way. I had a terrible time stress wise during the GCSEs (due to other factors as well), and I have no wish to repeat it. I've considered dropping at least one of my subjects, even though I really don't want too. I've been told that this is the worst stretch when it comes to Alevels, because of the january exams. Once they're over, apparently it gets a little bit easier. I'm disinclined to believe it, but I need something to look forward to lol.

My suggestion would just be to try and stick it out.
Reply 4
theres no shame in quiting but id do these things first
talk to your tutor / college counseller about the pressure that your feelin they can get you extra help - this is what im trying at the moment
how many a-levels are you doing you may find it easier to only take 2-3 this year instead of 4-5
talk to your subject tutors about what the course structure is like e.g in drama we are doing out cw before half term so its outa the way so drama is gonna get easier for me this may be the case in some of your subjects
decide what you would do if you did quit - staying at home all day is no good it will make you resent your friends who are at college and feel down so make sure you can do something if you quit

oh and if you do quit you can always re-join next year if you wanted tho you would be am monitored student

good luck with whatever you choose to do
you're probably just really worn out after being back working, so this half term just take it easy and set a time slot each day, 10am to noon perhaps, where you get some work done. You'll feel so much better after a rest and getting back on top of everything.
Reply 6
Sorry you are feeling like that.

Have you talked to your form tutor and subject teachers?

The workload is a lot, so you need to make sure you organise your time so you can fit everything in.

What is it you want to do after A-levels? Are you thinking of going to uni?

Sometimes, all this workload is something we have to get used to...it is never ending once we it Year 10.
Reply 7
Hvae you told anyone that you arnt enjoying your alevels? Dont keep this to yourself, talk to your tutors and see if anything can be done. An alternative is to try a differnt course a t a college. There are loads of BTEC diplomas out there that are the equivelant to 3 alevels which are mainy portfolio based. Its still not too late tochange courses - but u'l need to decide soon

Good luck, tryto keep positive. Remember alevels are only for 2 years you may just have to stick it out - but the benefits are worth it in the end
I was like that in the first few months but after I was dissapointed with my jan exam results I pulled my socks up :biggrin: it gets better.. until you start applying for uni! :s
Reply 9
The first half term of year 12 is really hard for a lot of people. I found it to be the hardest half term apart from maybe the few weeks during exams - even then, I'd say I was a little more relaxed at that time.
Reply 10
I hate mine too, the only one I like is History which I think has been pretty easy so far. I want to quit, but then what would I do?

What do you want to do?

Maybe you could drop one? Then just do 3?
Year 12 is a bit of a shock to most people I think, especially if you've started at a new college/sixth form.

Like everyone else I'd say just stick it out...It might seem like a long time but it really isn't. I hated college - I did the bare minimum that I needed to do to get the grades I needed for uni and that was my only aim, I thought about quitting so many times, but you just have to keep thinking about what you're going to get at the end of it, whether that's a place at uni or the chance of getting a much better paid job than if you only had GCSE's.
Sorry to hear that :frown: Could it be that you haven't chosen the right subjects, or is it just the workload in general that's getting you down? If it's the subjects, you've got a bit of a problem; it would be very difficult to change after half a term, if it's possible at all. The only thing I could suggest is finding something to do for the rest of this academic year and starting again with new subjects next year. If it's just the workload, it'll get better. There's a pretty big gap from GCSE to AS in terms of the amount of work and it takes a while to get used to. This year I've found I have good days and bad days; some days I'm fine, others I curse myself for being stupid enough to take 4 A2s and a GCSE! You'll probably find the same thing happens to you, but you just have to strike a balance between getting the work done and relaxing so you don't get too stressed. I'd go along with what others have suggested about talking to your form tutor/head of sixth form so they know what you're going through and they can help you cope. You can always PM me too :smile:
Reply 13
A levels arent the be all and end all you know. There are plenty of jobs out there if you really do hate them... or even vocational courses. I know a couple of my friends moved to a college to do some vocational courses like hairdressing.

If you really hate A levels... maybe they arent for you.
Reply 14
I think that at this stage if you are really feeling that you don't like any of your subjects you should consider dropping it because for all the obvious reasons. With decent GCSE grades you should be able to get a reasonable job and then take time to decide what you really want to do.
Reply 15
Hi...
I guess that how you feel during the first stages of the course...but it gets better-once u adjust with the flow & all, its a cinch :biggrin:
Just dont stress urself too much...take it easy & it'll all come with time!
im having a mixture of good and bad days, the workload is annoying but reading some notes on the bus in the morning helps me
Reply 17
Same here...I just keep thinking how amazing it would be to leave school! I suppose just stick at it and try to do lots of chilling, watching tv etc! Maybe things'll get more interesting after half-term...fingers crossed?!
Thanks everyone for all your advice, very much appreciated! :smile:
I'm doing Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Art. I picked the science ones because i was thinking of doing Medecine/Midwifery and Art because i enjoy it but lately its taking too much of my time and Maths is too hard, i find some parts quiet hard but other areas i understand fully. I feel worn out basicly and dont know whether to stop or not, i would be happier i guess if i did quit but then i'll regret it because of the importance of a levels. I also have Chem,Bio,Maths and Art exams in January so im stressing over those too :frown:
But if i did quit, what would i do? My GCSE results (siggy) are v.good imo (i still wonder everyday how i got them :confused: ) and would they be any use? Maybe if i did quit, i could take a year out first for a break and then maybe start into a Job (maybe midwifery) after?
But im going to try and stick it out to see how it goes :frown: I also have a tutor meeting tomoro where my form tutor speaks to all the students individually from the form, so im going to tell her then.
Thanks again,
SCx
Reply 19
Don't worry about it. Once I started my A2s I was completely run off my feet even though I had dropped a subject. I just foung it really hard to keep up and it just seemed lile nothing was ever going to click. I hadn't done as well in my maths AS as I'd hoped but had to keep ot up. I started getting all panicky about it but once I had the re-sit over (in Novemember luckily) everything just seemed so much better and I really started loving it. Just try not to get any further behind and don't be afriad to ask you teachers for help.