The Student Room Group

Struggling (Oxbridge, pressure, motivation)

Hi guys,
I'm a first year A-Level student studying economics, politics and geography and I'm struggling generally. I did well at GCSE (4 9s, 2 8s, 3 7s) but I have no self confidence in my ability at A-Level, much as I didn't at GCSE (I excepted to do above averagely, not come 3rd out of all students in my school; coming ahead of some incredibly intelligent people). I struggle MASSIVELY to motivate myself to work (revise and consolidate that is, I get homework done on time), I want to when I think about it but actually doing it is a major obstacle for me. Anybody got any tips on what I can do to help myself? Also, having to make a choice on life after A-Levels is coming fast, and I'm not sure what to do. I've thought about applying to Oxford (even though i'm not sure that Uni is for me, but what an incredible achievement it would be) and my mum is keen on the idea (she didn't go to Uni and she wants me to believe in myself and be the best I can be, but I just never thought I'd be good enough for it so never thought about it and now its coming to it I don't know if I could handle the rejection if I don't get in). I don't want to let myself down because I'm starting to believe I maybe could make it if I put the work in, but as I said earlier I can't seem to do it. Please, any help would be appreciated! :smile:
Ok - you've got quite a lot of different things going on in that post, so I'll try and break it down a bit!

1. Motivation to revise is really difficult - it's something I've always struggled with. For me, I have to remind myself why I chose that subject. You must have chosen Economics, Politics and Geography for a reason - what is it about them that fascinates you? I try to stay in that mindset, and rather than thinking of revision as a means to an end (i.e. passing an exam) instead think of it as an enjoyable process where I get to spend time reading and thinking about topics that interest me. When I think about the exams, the stress of that can often stop me from revising as it seems like such a massive, insurmountable task; when I put the exam out of my mind and focus on getting enjoyment out of it, I can make progress.

That's what works for me - it might not work for you. You will find out what works for you eventually.

2. Self-confidence - Let's imagine: You have to go to a court and defend your statement that you have no confidence in your ability to do well at A-level. The judge would ask what evidence you have - they'd probably want to know how you did in your GCSEs. So you would tell them that you got four 9s, two 8s and three 7s, the third best grades out of all the students at your school. Do you think the judge would accept based on that evidence that you can't do well at A-level?

Do you see my point? There's no evidence that you can't achieve good grades at A-level - you need to trust yourself and take confidence from your past achievements. I know that it's really hard to see it like that yourself, because you have your mind telling you different things, but just try to stack up the evidence dispassionately, like lawyers would in court, and remind yourself that there is absolutely ZERO evidence that you can't do it.

3. The future - You don't say what course you would be wanting to study at university - have you decided yet?

4. Oxford - You can apply to 5 universities - you have nothing to lose by making Oxford (or Cambridge) one of those five. Speaking as an Oxford reject, of course getting a rejection is disappointing and upsetting at first, but you do get over it. I'm now really happy at my second choice university (LSE). Don't let the fear of rejection put you off trying - I don't regret applying in the slightest, but know I would regret it if I hadn't tried. The fact that you got the 3rd highest grades in your year at GCSE shows that you are extremely capable and would be a worthy Oxbridge applicant.

But equally, make sure you aren't applying solely for the prestige, but because you actually want to go there. Go to an open day - see whether you could imagine yourself there. Do you think the tutorial system (so 1-to-1 or 1-to-2 teaching vs. small group teaching at most unis) would suit you and your learning style? Does the course on offer suit your interests? There's no point going for the prestige if you're going to be miserable for three years, studying a course you hate in an environment that doesn't suit you. In short - apply, but make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.
Original post by sophswfc4
Hi guys,
I'm a first year A-Level student studying economics, politics and geography and I'm struggling generally. I did well at GCSE (4 9s, 2 8s, 3 7s) but I have no self confidence in my ability at A-Level, much as I didn't at GCSE (I excepted to do above averagely, not come 3rd out of all students in my school; coming ahead of some incredibly intelligent people). I struggle MASSIVELY to motivate myself to work (revise and consolidate that is, I get homework done on time), I want to when I think about it but actually doing it is a major obstacle for me. Anybody got any tips on what I can do to help myself? Also, having to make a choice on life after A-Levels is coming fast, and I'm not sure what to do. I've thought about applying to Oxford (even though i'm not sure that Uni is for me, but what an incredible achievement it would be) and my mum is keen on the idea (she didn't go to Uni and she wants me to believe in myself and be the best I can be, but I just never thought I'd be good enough for it so never thought about it and now its coming to it I don't know if I could handle the rejection if I don't get in). I don't want to let myself down because I'm starting to believe I maybe could make it if I put the work in, but as I said earlier I can't seem to do it. Please, any help would be appreciated! :smile:

It seems you are a little bit depressed at the moment, I used some antistress tabs, omega, to keep me functioning. Workload and pressure is too high.
Reply 3
@LeapingLucyThankyou so much for your reply and making it so simple!! I will definitely try putting myself in a different mindset and thinking of it more as actual learning rather than, as you say, a means to an end. You also make such a good point in reference self confidence; I think we have a kind of 'fail culture' today, where we're all so scared of failure, rejection and disappointing ourselves that we constantly doubt and play down our strengths and achievements and fixate on the weaknesses. Thinking logically is definitely a must for me right now, so thats really helped bring things into perspective. In terms of courses, I'm looking at Law, PPE, BA Economics or something around social science. I'm not too sure as I'm not sure of my long term goal but these are the things that interest me most, and I recognise I probably should whittle my list down by researching more. I definitely would not be applying solely for the prestige, Oxbridge's style of teaching really would suit me as I much prefer being one on one and having a close relationship with my tutors and I love the idea of there being separate colleges. You're correct in that there's no harm in applying (and I'm seriously considering LSE too!) and I just need to believe in myself more and wake myself up to the fact this is happening. Thankyou so much!! @leapinglucy
(edited 5 years ago)

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