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Can I go from DEE to AAB in 3 months?

I’m in year 13 studying A Level Maths, Chemistry and Biology. There’s only 4 months left till the exams! Can I go from DEE to AAB???!?!??

So here’s the thing, I’ve been severely depressed for the past few years, and it really got in the way of my a level courses. Recently I’ve started treatment for my depression (CAMHS sessions and anti-depressants). I have been getting progressively better and am able to work properly now.

I would consider myself an academically able individual as I got really good GCSE’s results without too much work, but the reason for my poor grades currently is because I have not done any work for these subjects, as I just physically wasn’t able to, due to fatigue, depressive episodes and suicidal moments.

Would it be possible for me to get back up on my feet and smash my a levels? From DEE to AAB? I understand I have a TONNE of work to do, but if possible how can I devise a plan to re-learn the content and practice exam papers?

I kindly ask you give productive reply’s, thanks you.

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I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Without any context, I'd say it depends but from what you've said, it does seem possible, however, if you have the capability. But assuming you're doing linear exams, it will be a lot of work. Are you sure you can handle the stress? You don't want to work so hard that your depression remission ends and those feelings return.

I would encourage you to be systematic. Break down the topics you've covered so far, identify the gaps in knowledge. Don't be daunted by the amount and get to work learning the material. And after that, just try your best to continuously practice so you get familiar with the types of questions asked and the format of expected answers.
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 2
Original post by Kvothe the Arcane
I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Without any context, I'd say it depends but from what you've said, it does seem possible, however, if you have the capability. But assuming you're doing linear exams, it will be a lot of work. Are you sure you can handle the stress? You don't want to work so hard that your depression remission ends and those feelings return.

I would encourage you to be systematic. Break down the topics you've covered so far, identify the gaps in knowledge. Don't be daunted by the amount and get to work learning the material. And after that, just try your best to continuously practice so you get familiar with the types of questions asked and the format of expected answers.


Thank you for your kind reply.
My exams are indeed all linear and the amount of work that I have does seem quite daunting, however I think what would make me relapse into depression is having to sit this year out and redo it all next year (after having wasted almost two years of my life and believe me, as someone who was once suicidal that’s quite a lot of time - life’s too short). Just the thought of being left behind in the slow lane in life, while everyone else goes off to university and enters employment a year before me, makes me feel so alienated.

So I think I have the motivation now to move FORWARD!

So I’m terms of actually studying, could you give me some more tips?
If it makes you feel any better, you actually have 5 and a half months, not 4. A2 exams don't start until June :smile: Just means you have slightly longer to organise yourself.
hell no not in a million years. Prove me wrong I'll give you million£
Reply 5
Go for it, a lot of the time grade boundaries have really small margines between them. So just work hard and work on beating the exams to gain marks as well as to learn the content.

With studying don't overdo it though as you will perform a lot better with a happy mind
Technically you can. Now I'm not repeating what others said (you can but it's hard, depend on you etc) but you should work as hard as you can even though you might view such grades are not achievable.

For the revising plan, you should start with the subject you are comfortable with. I'm not studying Biology so I can't give you advice, but revising Maths and Chemistry should be relatively easy because they are like a spiral, repeating themselves at a higher level.

I would suggest doing a lot of past papers and learn the mark schemes, (learn in learn by heart) because at least half of the Chemistry papers are the same every single year and 80% of the Maths questions are the same type with different numbers (the 20% are the A* my teacher said-but you don't need it)
And focus on doing questions that you are moderately good at (not very good at or bad at) because you don't have much time to study those "hard question". You just need the grade and you only got 5 months, focusing on what you're bad at just going to waste your time and stress you out!
Good luck :smile: And btw what exam board are you taking?
Reply 7
The only person who can set limits to your capabilities is you; no one else. There is one thing for sure though. You can DEFINITELY get those grades within 3 months and I will tell you from personal experience why I think this way.

Last year I decided to change my career path from research to medicine. After frantically contacting relevant universities to make it possible for me to apply this year, I realised that I would have to sit my CIE A level exams during the October/November 2017 session. I only had 12 weeks to prepare for them while having a full-time job as a researcher and this was how I managed everything:

My typical monday-friday's went like this:
10am to 6pm was spent in my office working on my research.
8pm to 4am was dedicated to active studying.
4am to 8am I slept.
and the cycle continued..

Weekends (this is what I call "Golden time")
I studied about 14 hours on saturday and another 14 hours on sunday.

I did this for 12 weeks and hopefully I did ok in my exams (I will get my results in 4 hours, which is why I am too nervous to sleep, hence posting on here).

I should also add that, other than the amount of time that you spend on studying, it is equally important that you study "smartly", with the correct resources and avoid pitfalls that can damage you.

If you want some help with Chemistry and Biology, let me know and I can share my notes with you. However, my board was Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), so the content will inevitably be slightly different.
Reply 8
Original post by mafk80
The only person who can set limits to your capabilities is you; no one else. There is one thing for sure though. You can DEFINITELY get those grades within 3 months and I will tell you from personal experience why I think this way.

Last year I decided to change my career path from research to medicine. After frantically contacting relevant universities to make it possible for me to apply this year, I realised that I would have to sit my CIE A level exams during the October/November 2017 session. I only had 12 weeks to prepare for them while having a full-time job as a researcher and this was how I managed everything:

My typical monday-friday's went like this:
10am to 6pm was spent in my office working on my research.
8pm to 4am was dedicated to active studying.
4am to 8am I slept.
and the cycle continued..

Weekends (this is what I call "Golden time":wink:
I studied about 14 hours on saturday and another 14 hours on sunday.

I did this for 12 weeks and hopefully I did ok in my exams (I will get my results in 4 hours, which is why I am too nervous to sleep, hence posting on here).

I should also add that, other than the amount of time that you spend on studying, it is equally important that you study "smartly", with the correct resources and avoid pitfalls that can damage you.

If you want some help with Chemistry and Biology, let me know and I can share my notes with you. However, my board was Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), so the content will inevitably be slightly different.

Wow I admire thst sort of dedication. Let us know what grades you get but remember no matter what you clearly worked very hard for them.
Reply 9
Original post by fefssdf
Wow I admire thst sort of dedication. Let us know what grades you get but remember no matter what you clearly worked very hard for them.


Thanks :smile: will do.
Reply 10
Original post by tom123h456
hell no not in a million years. Prove me wrong I'll give you million£


What makes you think it is impossible?
I personally would not recommend the stress. I have been there and I failed as levels 2 times because I underestimated by ability to give a f*ck about the subjects. Dude I was exactly like you depressed and sad and that is because I hated the subjects I was doing!. I only realized I hated science when I could not even bother to open the book to revise 1 week before the exam. I would say quit the course, re-structure yourself, re-take or find a BTEC to do as they are so much more relaxing and less stressful. There is soooo many other options then A levels and do not stress yourself to the point of suicide because a levels can cause that, nearly did to me.

Look at this strategically, 4 months you overload do really hard work and finish the course with A, A ,B but the probability of that happening is 30%. Now consider the fact that you have depression and suicidal thoughts the probability becomes 5% and to top it off the possibility of you committing possible suicide spikes at 60%.

You need to find the cause of your problems which can not be resolved by pills, find the real cause it could be as simple as your sleeping style being ineffective- like there are studies found that side sleeping cleans out the brains waste materials. Find alternative ways to move forward and succeed otherwise spend your luck at a levels getting more depressed and wasting time.
Original post by mafk80
The only person who can set limits to your capabilities is you; no one else. There is one thing for sure though. You can DEFINITELY get those grades within 3 months and I will tell you from personal experience why I think this way.

Last year I decided to change my career path from research to medicine. After frantically contacting relevant universities to make it possible for me to apply this year, I realised that I would have to sit my CIE A level exams during the October/November 2017 session. I only had 12 weeks to prepare for them while having a full-time job as a researcher and this was how I managed everything:

My typical monday-friday's went like this:
10am to 6pm was spent in my office working on my research.
8pm to 4am was dedicated to active studying.
4am to 8am I slept.
and the cycle continued..

Weekends (this is what I call "Golden time":wink:
I studied about 14 hours on saturday and another 14 hours on sunday.

I did this for 12 weeks and hopefully I did ok in my exams (I will get my results in 4 hours, which is why I am too nervous to sleep, hence posting on here).

I should also add that, other than the amount of time that you spend on studying, it is equally important that you study "smartly", with the correct resources and avoid pitfalls that can damage you.

If you want some help with Chemistry and Biology, let me know and I can share my notes with you. However, my board was Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), so the content will inevitably be slightly different.

What other subject did you do?
Reply 13
Original post by FloralLuxe
What other subject did you do?


A level Biology, A level Chemistry, A level Physics and AS Maths.
Reply 14
Original post by FloralLuxe
What other subject did you do?


And I will be sitting the A level Classical studies and AS Psychology exams in May 2018 because I am thinking of applying to oxbridge.

I am anticipating that I will have to retake Physics. My main concern is whether I got an A in Biology and an A in Chemistry, which I will find out in 4 hours.

Which is why I am sitting in my living room at 3am watching Top Gun for the 100th time while writing this lol.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by minercrafty
I’m in year 13 studying A Level Maths, Chemistry and Biology. There’s only 4 months left till the exams! Can I go from DEE to AAB???!?!??

So here’s the thing, I’ve been severely depressed for the past few years, and it really got in the way of my a level courses. Recently I’ve started treatment for my depression (CAMHS sessions and anti-depressants). I have been getting progressively better and am able to work properly now.

I would consider myself an academically able individual as I got really good GCSE’s results without too much work, but the reason for my poor grades currently is because I have not done any work for these subjects, as I just physically wasn’t able to, due to fatigue, depressive episodes and suicidal moments.

Would it be possible for me to get back up on my feet and smash my a levels? From DEE to AAB? I understand I have a TONNE of work to do, but if possible how can I devise a plan to re-learn the content and practice exam papers?

I kindly ask you give productive reply’s, thanks you.


i was in an identical situation to you (even the same subjects). i thought i'd be able to turn CCC into AAB but i ended up getting BCC. i then forced myself to go to a sixth form college (not attached to a school but a poor one) had an amazing experience to totally re-do my a levels from scratch (everyone thought i was nuts), gradually cured myself of depression each year from then on and got A*A*A and into a top uni. now i have a great career.
(edited 6 years ago)
Albeit I can't say ive been through what you went through. In AS level I massively underachieved getting DEE, which was the point I realised that I needed to knuckle down as uni was what I wanted. I'm now in my first year of my degree at university of Kent after getting AAC, just goes to show if you really put your mind to it, anything Is possible, albeit be sensible as you'll know your limits :smile:
Original post by tom123h456
hell no not in a million years. Prove me wrong I'll give you million£


I don't think you need any other motivation, OP! :redface: /thread
Original post by mafk80
What makes you think it is impossible?


Lack of time.
Maybe not AAB, but it's certainly possible to improve your grades to CCC or sth...

Don't try to study everything. Instead focus on exam technique. Prioritise the types of questions that have higher marks. Download the marking schemes and answer according to what's on there. Unless you're explicitly told otherwise, of course.

Not sure what board you're on, or how things have changed in the last 5-6 years. However, when I took my A-Levels 5-6 years ago, that's what I did and it improved my grades drastically. I'm pretty sure i'd have managed to do even better had I done Edexcel (modular) instead of CIE, which was linear, meaning that I had 14+ papers in the same exam period. Oh and the multiple choice questions were often very similar.

That's what I did to improve my A-Level grades. Same with GCSE biology as well. I only took the actual exam once and got a B, but frankly, it was purely exam technique. I didn't know most of the stuff being covered. I just practiced the multiple choice paper like a maniac and lo and behold, the questions were very similar. Same thing with our alternative to practical paper. I answered what I could for the theory/essay based questions and the rest I just BS'd.

Depression and anxiety are tough to deal with. Try not to set impossible goals for yourself. That will only serve to overwhelm you and cripple you into inaction. Do what you can, whatever little it is. Every little thing you do is better than nothing.

In the end, if it doesn't work out as well as you thought, it's not so bad. You'll take your time to get better. You still managed to pass your A-Levels, which is great.This means you can actually go to uni. Some top unis may let you into a foundation course. Or you could start directly somewhere your future/current grades give you access to. If you do well there, it won't matter. You can build upon that and apply for a master's at another uni of your choice.

All of this to say, don't sweat it too much. Do your best. No point fretting over details. Take that energy and invest it in studying. That's the best you can do right now.

Oh and another thing is, you might want to consider taking another A-Level for one of the subjects you got an E in. Some of the essay based subjects shouldn't be too hard to study. Maybe you're just tired of doing the same thing? I dropped chemistry 4-5 months before my exams for an A-Level in a language I was good at and did alright. In retrospect, I probably should've dropped physics for history or sociology.

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