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jessyjellytot14's strive for AAA

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Monday 25/04/16

Wow, what a tiring day! In the morning, I was planning on waking up early so that I could complete a past paper before going into sixth form but instead, I slept in and watched Youtube videos. This means that I had to do all of today's past papers after I got home from sixth form, which wasn't until half past four, and now I am exhausted! Sixth form was actually really good today. Anyway, the past papers I did today were:

Maths C2 January 2006 - 75/75 = 100% (My first 100% on a maths paper. Ever.)

Psychology June 2014 (Memory, attachment and research methods): 55/68 = 81% (Definitely need more practice)

Maths C1 January 2010: 71/75 = 95% (Made some brainless mistakes such as forgetting to put an answer as an inequality and somehow thinking that 60 equates to 60/5... God help me. :colone:

)

Reply 101

jessyjellytot14

Tuesday 26/04/16

Omg I'm so annoyed right now. Why do I have to be in the first year group that has to do the new 'reformed' physics A-level? Its more like a deformed A-level if you ask me. The exam board has only released ONE specimen paper which I did today and I only managed to get 61%, which barely scrapes a C. The format of the questions just don't make sense to me at all; working out what each question is actually asking is a challenge in itself. Since there is only one specimen paper, this is the only paper out there that truly represents what the actual exam will be like. There are plenty of past papers for the old specification which are much easier, but they don't prepare you for the new paper at all. Seriously, why can't they just have left things how they were?
Stats is also adding to my annoyance but at least I still have a long time to practice. I did a past paper earlier and have probably got a C or below. I'll mark it later when I don't have an urge to rip up every single physics/stats past paper that I see.
Anyway, I'm going to do a C2 past paper now which will hopefully make me feel less like a failure.

Update: I got 57/75 on the stats paper which is 76% aka a B.
On the C2 paper, I got 71/75 = 93% = A

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 102

celloel

Original post by jessyjellytot14

Tuesday 26/04/16

I know what you mean about the reformed AS/A Levels, 3 out of the 4 I'm doing are :frown:

The only suggestion I have is to nag your teacher to potentially make some practice questions up for you - it isn't a full practice paper, but it will at least allow you to get the idea of the sort of questions they're asking!
Best of luck with all of your upcoming exams :biggrin:

& love the blog

Spoiler

Reply 103

jessyjellytot14

Original post by celloel

I know what you mean about the reformed AS/A Levels, 3 out of the 4 I'm doing are :frown:

& love the blog

Spoiler

Yeah I think the teachers will probably do something like that when they make us do another mock. Fingers crossed that the grade boundaries will be lower than usual since the specifications are new(ish)!
Best of luck with your exams too- I'm sure you'll do great!
And thanks, cats + watercolours = life :smile:

Reply 104

jessyjellytot14

Tuesday 03/05/16

Wow- this past week has gone so fast; its like i'm on a roller-coaster that speeds up even more every single day and at the end of it are my exams.
I've done a lot of past papers, but not as many as i'd like to have done. Some days I just lose motivation to do anything related to A-levels and can't even bring myself to look at a textbook. Other days, such as today, I am full of adrenaline and I know that I need to cease every moment I have before my exams because once the exam arrives, I cannot go back and revise.
The subject I am most confident with at the moment is maths because I have done nearly all of the past papers and consistently get high marks. Stats still needs a lot of work but I have a lot of time for that.
Psychology is also going well, but I am finding it a little overwhelming trying to remember EVERYTHING in such fine detail. I certainly need to do more past papers for this.
Physics is *Insert Catherine Tate voice* "aaiiiiggghhhhttttt". The mechanics is freaking me out because I don't understand most of it and I keep getting Cs and Ds in past papers. And the exam is in 3 weeks aaaaaaggghhhh!!! I was half way through doing a past paper before I wrote this but I felt frustration starting to bubble inside me which always lead to a negative mindset which is what I need to steer clear of this exam season! I'm finding the rest of the topics okay though.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 105

jessyjellytot14

Thursday 05/05/16

Yesterday wasn't very productive at all. Well, I did two past papers for maths including a solomon paper for C2 which I got 68/75 on and in maths, we did the S1 June 2015 paper as a mock exam re-sit which I didn't find too bad part from one question. So basically, I did three past papers for maths but thats it. When I got home, I just couldn't bring myself to revise. Its hard to describe but I felt really tired and lethargic so I just watched episodes of Lost.

Today hasn't been much better. I'm feeling kind of mentally exhausted but not in a depressing way, more of a "i'm sick of revising for exams and just want to be free so I can stop feeling guilty whenever I'm not being productive" way. In maths, I did half of a past paper for C2. In physics, we did a test on potential difference and I have a gut feeling that i've probably miscalculated everything and all of my explanations are irrelevant. Oh well. We could go home after lunch to revise and I attempted the mechanics part of a physics past paper (Jan 2012) and got just under half of them wrong. Later on, I made some flashcards for materials and then I made some more flashcards on an app called StudyBlue which I think will be more convenient to use than paper flashcards. I'll still use the paper flashcards that i've made previously though.
My dad and I are going away for a mini holiday this weekend so I won't be in sixth form tomorrow. I'm hoping that being in a new peaceful environment will make me more motivated to revise so I'm taking some revision materials. I'll have to screenshot some past paper questions for maths because there won't be any wifi.

Reply 106

jessyjellytot14

Monday 09/05/16

Today has been crap. I'm feeling really stressed about exams since they are only a week away and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm even capable of getting an A in any of my exams. Today I did two mock exams in class, one for physics and one for maths C1, and in both of them, something happened to me which is hard to describe. Panic is one of the main things that happened, and I was so consumed by the fear of failing that I couldn't concentrate on any of the questions. Physics was way worse than maths- I skipped so many questions and now my teacher will probably think i'm some thicko who hasn't revised any of the content even though the exam is in two weeks. Seriously, whats the point in me learning all of the content if i'm just going to panic and screw up in the exam? I never had this problem last year during gcses.... exams didn't phase me at all.
If you've ever experienced panic/anxiety during an exam and have managed to overcome it, please let me know how.
Now i'm in a dilemma where I need to rest and find ways to calm my mind but I also need to revise and do past papers and since my day has been wasted at sixth form (yay for not letting us go on study leave until the day of my first exam!), the only time I have to do proper revision is in the evenings when I'm feeling tired and moody and stressed af.
Woooo sorry for the long rant.

Reply 107

jessyjellytot14

Tuesday 10/05/16

Apologies for the negative post yesterday- but i'm feeling better today. I think it just goes to show how much pressure I put on myself to do well and how despite this being good in the sense that I try my best, it is also a terribly bad thing because I begin to determine my self-worth by a grade or percentage on a piece of paper. So, to anyone reading this, take some time out when you need to and remind yourself that you are worth so much more than a grade no matter how important it may seem at the time. I cannot emphasise this enough.

Anyway, today I got back my physics mock and I didn't do as terribly as I thought. My teacher said that my result is actually in the top percentile for our whole year group even though I only got 50%. Yep- that is how hard the malicious specimen papers are. The majority of people got Us so I am pleasantly surprised with my D.
In stats, we got our mock exam re-sit marks back and I got 84% which I'm happy with considering I haven't even started my intensive S1 past paper regime yet.
When I got home from sixth form, I finished the C2 June 2015 paper which I started yesterday and I got 68/75. Then I did a Specimen paper for psychology which I am yet to mark and also did a Physics January 2009 Unit 1 paper which I am also yet to mark.
Tomorrow I'm going to wake up early and aim to be at sixth form by 9am so I can do a C1 Solomon paper in the library as if it was a real exam as the exam will be in exactly a week.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 108

alexamigo98

Heya I have been reading your thread for ages and honestly like you do so much work don't worry you will do great in your exams! I really hope they go well for you because you really deserve it.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 109

jessyjellytot14

Original post by alexamigo98

Thank you! That means a lot :smile:

Reply 110

jessyjellytot14

Thursday 12/05/16

I haven't really been in the right mind set to do much studying today but I did loads yesterday. Yesterday I did three past papers for maths, some physics questions and made flashcards for all of the evaluation points I need to know for the social influence topic in psychology which took aaagggeeesss.
If i'm feeling okay tomorrow morning then i'll go into sixth form early to do an international maths past paper in the library, then spend the rest of the day revising psychology and probably dedicate the evening to statistics and physics. So basically, I hope my mood is better tomorrow. I don't know why I keep having random days where I feel really unmotivated. Maybe its due to the hot weather which always make me feel tired and gives me a headache. Or maybe its stress. Idk.

Oh- one useful thing I did do today is a C1 solomon paper which I found quite difficult but after having gone through the mark scheme, I understand what to do with those kind of questions now.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 111

jessyjellytot14

Friday 13/05/16

Luckily I have been feeling much more motivated today which is a relief. I went into sixth form at 9am and did the IAL June 2015 C12 paper which to my distaste had 16 questions in and has a duration of 2 and a half hours. I feel sorry for anyone who has to actually sit the international maths papers. Despite this, I powered through it and managed to get 116/125 marks which equates to 93% which i'm happy with.
In double psychology, I made a few flashcards on psychopathology and then went through my social influence flashcards.
When I got home, I did a January 2010 Unit 1 physics paper and got 53/65 which is around 82%. I keep consistently getting around 80% in the unit 1 papers but hopefully by the time the exam comes, i'll be averaging at about 90%. Ideally, i'd like unit 2 to be around 80%.
Now i'm just chilling for a bit and later on i'm going to finish an S1 June 2005 paper which I started the other day.

Today was my last official day at sixth form before exams as I am now on study leave until the 16th June (I think?). We're allowed to still go in for unofficial lessons but i'm more an independent learner so i'll be studying at home.

Reply 112

jessyjellytot14

Sunday 15/05/16

I have pretty much spent the majority of this weekend going over my psychology flashcards for memory, social influence and attachment since my exam is tomorrow!! Today I did the third specimen paper and got around 85%. Hopefully i'll do better in the real thing tomorrow. I did a C1 past paper today but the mark I got is an absolute joke so I won't even mention it here. Inequality questions are so sneaky. I also hate the questions which ask you to sketch a graph given a horrid quadratic because I never know which quadrant it goes in. And missing coordinates in coordinate geometry never go down well. Oh well- its better to make mistakes now and learn from them rather than make them in the exam without knowing what to do!
My exam isn't until 1pm tomorrow so i'll probably spend an hour going through the flashcards for each psychology topic (so around three hours) in the morning and possibly write some essay plans on "predicted questions".

This isn't related to exams but I booked an open day for the University of Bangor today which is somewhere where i'm considering applying to. The town looks so beautiful, the university looks great (especially the library omg) and most importantly- they do a psychology course which specifies in clinical and health psychology. The entry requirements are quite low but for some reason, i'm just feeling positive vibes from this university. The other universities i'm considering applying to are Bath and Loughborough. I'm not sure about the remaining two yet.

Finally- i've came up with something that will hopefully help me to stay calm in the exams. I have a "revision playlist" on my iPod but the songs(?) that get me into a relaxed (but still alert) state of mind are the ones which just contain violin. They are so soothing and uplifting. I'll list my favourites here:
- Lindsey Stirling - Beyond The Veil
- Lindsey Stirling - Elements
- Lindsey Stirling - Shadows
- Lindsey Stirling - Crystallize
- Lindsey Stirling - Assassin's Crede Theme
When I start to panic or get stressed out, I just start playing one of the pieces of music in my head and it really helps.
I should probably go to sleep now...

Reply 113

jessyjellytot14

Monday 16/05/16 ~ Day of psychology exam 1/2

I actually can't believe that I sat my first AS exam today...but I did! And I think it actually went quite well. There were only two or three questions which I wasn't confident in but there's no point in dwelling on them. My time keeping wasn't very good though because I was still rushing to finish the last question when the invigilators were collecting the papers in!
After the exam, I stayed at sixth form to do a physics unit 2 past paper in the "study" room but got distracted as per usual so I finished it when I got home and my overall mark was 79% which i'm very pleased with! After that, I answered some C1 coordinate geometry questions from the hardest solomon worksheet and I did quite well apart from one question. For some reason I put that 16+64=81... :facepalm:

I have a very busy few weeks ahead of me but it will all be worth it in the end and then i'll have the whole summer to relax.
I'll attach an image of a study plan/timetable I have made for this week.

Sorry for the bad quality but hopefully its legible :tongue:

Reply 114

jessyjellytot14

Tuesday 17/05/16

I'm feeling super tired and i've actually done quite a lot today ( two c1 papers, a physics paper, made some psychopathology flashcards and then answered some questions from the Solomon algebra worksheets). I keep making stupid mistakes in the C1 papers and the marks I get would give me a low A which isn't bad but it puts me at risk for being close to the grade below.
I have mixed feelings about the C1 exam tomorrow. Excited because the past five months of preparation will finally be put to use but also panicky because I really really want to get an A in this exam because it will count towards my overall A-level grade and I really hope I don't have a panic attack like I did in the mock in December argh.
I'm going to do a quick bit of research on whether its beneficial or not to drink coffee before an exam now and then listen to a hypnosis which helps you feel less anxious about exams before going to sleep. Wait- coffee increases levels of anxiety... research done.

Reply 115

jessyjellytot14

Wednesday 18/05/16 - Day of maths exam 1/3 :frown:

After that C1 exam this morning, how am I feeling? Defeated, disappointed and frustrated are a few words I could use to name a few. I didn't necessarily find the exam difficult but it was more due to the fact that most of the numbers I had to work with were fractions and surds and this led to me making loads of stupid mistakes. The most annoying part is that I got the correct answer for the last question but I crossed it out because it didn't seem right and wrote something else down instead. I'm so angry at myself. I've looked at the unofficial mark scheme and I've lost between 15 and 20 marks which will probably give me a C. I can't believe how stupid I was. Usually in all the past papers I've done I lose between two and eight marks but now, now in the real exam, I lose freaking FIFTEEN + !
I knew this exam was going to turn out bad.
As a result, I haven't even stuck to my revision timetable (ended up crying into my psychology notes) for the rest of the day because I've been too busy crying and feeling sorry for myself. Yes- I cried over a maths exam, don't judge.
As sh!t as I feel right now, i'm going to do an S1 paper now using ExamSolutions because I don't want to let this stupid C1 exam stop me from doing well in C2 and S1.

Update: I did the S1 paper with no help from Mr ExamSolutions and got 68/75. Edexcel can choke on the high As i'm gonna get in C2 and S1 idec. I WILL NOT LET THEM DISTROY ME!!!!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 116

jessyjellytot14

Friday 20/05/16

Thoughts and feelings: Ready to drop out of sixth form, quit A-levels and become a mountain goat.

I've literally been revising since 9:30 am yet I still feel like I haven't accomplished anything. Well, in reality that's not true. My knowledge in most of psychopathology and psychological approaches has been optimised a little, and I have completed a couple of core 2 past papers (and realised i'm not as good at core 2 as I thought I was), but there's so much more that i'd like to have done. My second psychology exam is on Monday and I still haven't touched the research methods topic for a few weeks which is slightly worrying. I guess i'll just do an hour or so of it later before I go to sleep. I also still need to do a physics past paper... *cries*.
So with that said, I guess i'd better go and do those joyous activities now :smile:

Reply 117

jessyjellytot14

Monday 23/05/16 ~ Day of psychology exam 2/2

Psychology is now over (until study leave has finished)!!!
Don't get me wrong- I love psychology but it will be nice to not have to keep going over the flashcards over and over again for a while. I forgot the word 'polygenic' in the exam!! Despite that, I think it went quite well and i'm fairly confident that i've managed to get an A but you never know who is going to mark your paper so I won't get my hopes up. I'm always really paranoid that i'll get an evil examiner who will give me a U just for the banter :colone:

I have my first physics exam tomorrow morning but i'm not TOO worried because i feel quite prepared. However, if the exam paper is anything like the specimen papers then I am screwed. Seriously, on the second specimen paper there is a question about a car and the mark scheme talks about a rocket!!
I am super scared about the maths C2 exam on Wednesday though in case I make lots of stupid mistakes again like I did in C1. I shall do lots of practice questions for it tomorrow after my physics exam and hope for the best.

Reply 118

jessyjellytot14

Wednesday 25/05/16 ~ Day of maths exam 2/3

According to the unofficial mark scheme, I have dropped 12 or 13 marks across the paper which probably puts me at a B if the paper was as "easy" as a lot of people are bragging about it to be. I completely messed up on both parts of the logs question and then I couldn't prove the first half of the last question because I was working in degrees and not radians.

Rant alert:
It really annoys me how people are predicting the grade boundaries to be high just because THEY found the exam easy and have got full marks. What about everyone else? I'm not even talking about myself here- i'm talking about people who usually get low or average grades in past papers, people who don't even use this website, people who haven't done much practice. Do you think they found the exam easy too? They're clearly masterminds when it comes to logs and definitely know to use radians even when the question doesn't specify to anywhere. Yep.
At the end of the day though, whats done is done. I can sit here and keep recounting how many marks i've lost and keep checking the previous years grade boundaries like a robot or I can just accept my mistakes and move on. I don't have another exam until the 9th of June so I have plenty of time to prepare and relax.

For the rest of today, I'm going to have some much needed rest as the worst part of exam season is now over for me. After dinner, i'm going to do an S1 past paper.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 119

Rajive

Original post by jessyjellytot14

Wednesday 25/05/16 ~ Day of maths exam 2/3

Aaaaaaand i've messed up again! According to the unofficial mark scheme, I have dropped 12 or 13 marks across the paper which probably puts me at a B if the paper was as "easy" as a lot of people are bragging about it to be with their 95+ UMS. Seriously... i've spent the past 5 months literally dedicating my life towards these exams- and for what? Only for me to throw all of this hard work away in the exam. I completely messed up on both parts of the logs question and then I couldn't prove the first half of the last question because I was working in degrees and not radians.
Rant alert:
It really annoys me how people are predicting the grade boundaries to be high just because THEY found the exam easy and have got full marks. What about everyone else? I'm not even talking about myself here- i'm talking about people who usually get low or average grades in past papers, people who don't even use this website, people who haven't done much practice. Do you think they found the exam easy too? They're clearly masterminds when it comes to logs and definitely know to use radians even when the question doesn't specify to anywhere. Yep.
At the end of the day though, whats done is done. I can sit here and keep recounting how many marks i've lost and keep checking the previous years grade boundaries like a robot or I can just accept my mistakes and move on. I don't have another exam until the 9th of June so I have plenty of time to prepare and relax.

For the rest of today, I'm going to have some much needed rest as the worst part of exam season is now over for me. After dinner, i'm going to do an S1 past paper.