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AS -> A2 shock

Hi guys

Just started A2 Maths, Physics and Computing. I got decent grades at AS (AAB respectively) however now having just started A2 I see no way I will be able to keep these grades up. Esspecially in maths the step up has been huge, In lessons I feel that I'm just constantly hanging on with my understanding whereas last year I was one of the people who normally understood most things.

Did anyone else feel like this at the start of A2 and how did it go for you in the end? Also is anyone feeling like this at the moment?

Its really demoralising, I'm doing my UCAS application and wanted to go to a Russell group uni however knowing that to do that I will need to keep my AS grades the same into A2.

:frown:

Any advice/ experiences would be brilliant.

EDIT: And to make it worse my predictions are A*AA (the physics A and the Computing B were very close to the next grade boundary.)

(edited 10 years ago)

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Reply 1

DanieleRosato

Yeah I have this issue as well :s-smilie:

Felt I could keep up with the work at AS, but the jump from AS to A2 has shocked me. Homework in EVERY lesson, and feeling like I'm spending all night doing homework, only to get more the very next day... :frown:

Reply 2

Blackfyre

I had 5 subjects in AS Russian, ICT, Maths, Government and Politics, Business Studies and got AABCC respectively.

I decided to drop the two Cs and keep the rest. ICT was quite easy during AS and I expected the same thing from A2 but it's much more harder, maybe it's because I am not used to the concept of coursework but I didn't expect that honestly. I am also planning to apply strictly to Russell Group Unis so heads up. Work hard and you'll get there, I hope to get A*A*A for predictions and work as hard as possible to achieve that. Upon reading stories where people got Cs and Ds in their AS level results and then getting straight A*s in A2 always cheers up so nothing is lost.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

QuantumSuicide

Whaat? I bombed my AS and now finding A2 fairly easy atm. Strange world, huh?

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Reply 4

QuantumSuicide

You just started C3, right? What chapter are you doing?

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Reply 5

Tee Logan x

Original post by DanieleRosato

Yeah I have this issue as well :s-smilie:

Oh my, that is exactly how i feel. And on top of that i have to write my personal statement :frown:

people said that the jump from gcse to AS was big but tbh i think the jump from AS to A2 is just huge.

Reply 6

JordanS94

I was like this I couldn't keep up and homeworks I was getting D's and E's but with lots of practice I got an A* :smile:

just keep at it and it will seem easier after a while.

Reply 7

User990473

I think, for me, the GCSE-AS jump was bigger.
Just put a little more time in per week per subject and see how you feel.

Reply 8

lbsf1

Original post by QuantumSuicide

You just started C3, right? What chapter are you doing?

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Yeah kinda just started it, we did a little bit of fractions, functions and exponents after exams last year however yeah we have just started proper now.

I don't know the exact chapter number however for example today we were doing modulus functions which I was just about Ok with however then randomly the teacher chucks in a few questions about differentiating logarithms and exponents which whilst we did it briefly at the end of last year (with another teacher as they have mixed up the classes) I didn't remember much about however pretty much everyone around me was just steaming through the questions.

Reply 9

letsbehonest

Original post by lbsf1

Any advice/ experiences would be brilliant.

EDIT: And to make it worse my predictions are A*AA (the physics A and the Computing B were very close to the next grade boundary.)

C3 isn't too bad

End of year 12 we started learning it and I didn't understand anything and I did about 2/3 days on exam solutions learning things and I found out it's not that bad actually!

Don't expect to understand everything in class.

It takes me longer to understand things naturally, so I always have to learn it by myself at home and it just sinks in better when there is no one else around. I understand how you feel.

Reply 10

Ben Kenobi

No my grades were always consistent throughout the a levels. Don't worry , just do your best.

Reply 11

mischief-managed

Core 3 is a really hard module and I think everyone struggles with it initially. Personally I actually thought C4 was much easier, so just keep up with the C3 work and do practise papers etc and things will start to slot into place.

I also found the step between AS and A2 to be bigger than that between GCSE and AS, and the first few weeks of Year 13 were really difficult, but once you get used to the increased work load and difficulty it gets much easier- it took me until half term to feel like I was actually coping. It's a tough year and it requires a lot of hard work, especially to get the predicted grades you have, but it's managable and I'm sure you can do it :smile:

Reply 12

DanieleRosato

Original post by Tee Logan x

Oh my, that is exactly how i feel. And on top of that i have to write my personal statement :frown:

people said that the jump from gcse to AS was big but tbh i think the jump from AS to A2 is just huge.

Yep

Feels like I'm being swamped with work, and have no relaxation time and it's killing me

Reply 13

lbsf1

Thanks for your help everyone.

It makes me feel better to know that others are feeling/have felt the same and how you dealt with it.

Reply 14

DenzelRyder

Original post by lbsf1

Any advice/ experiences would be brilliant.

EDIT: And to make it worse my predictions are A*AA (the physics A and the Computing B were very close to the next grade boundary.)

A2 will literally kill you from the inside not the outside u will be drained inside and u will die day by day till results day no matter how much effort u put in i put in 7 hrs a day and I got DEU the first time I did A-levels

Reply 15

123formyabc

What topics are hard for you in maths a2?

Reply 16

jonnyb123

Yeah I personally think the AS-A2 jump is as big/bigger than the GCSE-AS jump. (I did physics chem and bio to A2)

Reply 17

ozzyoscy

It's all about the teaching. You just need to be taught the right way.

It's saddening to see people being swamped by homework. I don't recall one piece of homework I ever got that taught me anything. If you need to give homework, you're obviously not being efficient teaching in the classroom, I say.

If I get homework, does that mean it's ok to have schoolsleep?

Reply 18

Mynameisnotearl

Hi! Firstly - I think you're being a bit hard on yourself. You've only just restarted so give yourself a chance to settle back in. I remember I spent the summer of Year 12 playing Sims 3 and going on bike rides and found that once I got back into the rhythm of school, it was a lot easier. I wasn't sure if by half way through Year 13 I was getting less work or I was just on top of it... I also found that at the start of the new topic, I had trouble understanding it but by about two or three weeks in, it all started coming together. Particularly Geo which I found fine at AS became unbearably difficult so a period but I did okay in the end.

Secondly, your exams are a long way off so I think you might be a bit premature stressing about grades. Your teachers won't have predicted something you can't get. Have confidence! Your AS results are great! :biggrin:

My advice for C3 would be to keep on top of the work and see your teachers about any problems straight away - it's definitely easier than letting it get out of control. A lot of C3 builds on from C2 so if there were topics you found really tough, get them sorted to make your life easier (trust me on this - I ignored my integration issues from C2 and boy did that come back to bite!).

I always tried to give myself a night off per week. For me, it was Sundays. Helped to keep me sane, and gave me a chance to do things like the movies.

Above all, stay positive. Everything feels ten times harder when you're down. Talk to your friends, study together, eat chocolate - whatever works. Remember that you deep down, you do really like your subjects.

Good luck!

I did Maths, Geography, English Lit and French at A2, with an AS in English Lang :smile:

Reply 19

Rainingshame

Original post by DenzelRyder

You clearly weren't revising properly. People clearly get A*/As so it's certainly do able. I did nine hours a day for 4 A2s + STEP and my lowest grade was a 3 in STEP (II) and an A at A2 so you must have not been doing it efficiently.
To answer OP with respect to maths. The thing with maths at A2 is the amount of understanding actually needed increases. The only way to get that understanding is to carefully do every question taking care to think about why you are doing what you are doing with every question. That last bit wasn't needed for AS/GCSE and it's often the bit that catches people out the most.