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4 Advanced Highers?

I was thinking about taking chemistry, physics, maths and mathematics of mechanics. I'm not sure if that's too much? From looking at the course spec and talking to people who have taken mechanics, it seems like most of the content is covered in physics and maths. So I just wanted to know what the workload is like at AH and if doing 4 would be possible.
Reply 1
Original post by finlunn
i was thinking about taking chemistry, physics, maths and mathematics of mechanics. I'm not sure if that's too much? From looking at the course spec and talking to people who have taken mechanics, it seems like most of the content is covered in physics and maths. So i just wanted to know what the workload is like at ah and if doing 4 would be possible.


thats what i take right now bro
Reply 2
oKAY So, my opinions on those four exact advanced highers.

Maths - quite easy, definitely the one I do the least amount of work for. A bit boring but a decent 7/10.
Mechanics - hard, you need to put the effort in. If you think you can put lots of effort into mechanics whilst doing the other three then go for it. A bit boring if your teacher is a balding old man but I love the dude and the subject is really interesting. You have to be good at problem solving and just gritting your teeth through the questions. 9/10 for subject, 4/10 for the exams a bit long-winded, 7/10 for questions tho when ur not burnt out after 3 hours.
Physics - decent subject, am studying it at uni. AH is a bit (read very) dry. Mechanics definitely helps with the course, end up only really teaching myself quanta/waves and the theory bits. 5/10 at AH.
Chemistry - I have a really bad teacher who can't teach and getting through it, so I believe you can too. I'd give it a 4/10.
Reply 3
So a lot of mechanics is covered in physics, just not asked in the same way as physics. Same with maths, some of the pure maths bits are included within the mechanics questions itself, some are just straight up integrate the kid.
Some stuff, like vertical circles, is just building on physics knowledge, and I don't believe SHM is the same as the physics version of SHM according to last years students - we haven't covered SHM in physics yet tho so I will get back to you.
Reply 4
Original post by bxcs
oKAY So, my opinions on those four exact advanced highers.

Maths - quite easy, definitely the one I do the least amount of work for. A bit boring but a decent 7/10.
Mechanics - hard, you need to put the effort in. If you think you can put lots of effort into mechanics whilst doing the other three then go for it. A bit boring if your teacher is a balding old man but I love the dude and the subject is really interesting. You have to be good at problem solving and just gritting your teeth through the questions. 9/10 for subject, 4/10 for the exams a bit long-winded, 7/10 for questions tho when ur not burnt out after 3 hours.
Physics - decent subject, am studying it at uni. AH is a bit (read very) dry. Mechanics definitely helps with the course, end up only really teaching myself quanta/waves and the theory bits. 5/10 at AH.
Chemistry - I have a really bad teacher who can't teach and getting through it, so I believe you can too. I'd give it a 4/10.

That sucks about physics because that was the subject I was most looking forward to at AH! I thought the General Relativity stuff would be really interesting.
In terms of the mechanics course, that sounds like a lot of fun. It's something I'm willing to put work into.
With maths at Higher I definitely feel like I need to put work into it. I mean I'm sitting at an A1 right now after my prelim but I had to work for that grade so would I find AH really difficult?
Reply 5
Original post by finlunn
That sucks about physics because that was the subject I was most looking forward to at AH! I thought the General Relativity stuff would be really interesting.
In terms of the mechanics course, that sounds like a lot of fun. It's something I'm willing to put work into.
With maths at Higher I definitely feel like I need to put work into it. I mean I'm sitting at an A1 right now after my prelim but I had to work for that grade so would I find AH really difficult?

It depends, I would recommend trying it if you really want to do four. I said to my teachers that if I didn't get 4As at prelims I would drop a subject, and whilst maybe not as extreme as my case, I recommend just setting a goal and trying to achieve it.
Definitely, if you're finding higher hard you are going to find Mechanics hard next year, the workload is harder and there is a much larger proportion of problem-solving to actual maths in the course.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by finlunn
I was thinking about taking chemistry, physics, maths and mathematics of mechanics. I'm not sure if that's too much? From looking at the course spec and talking to people who have taken mechanics, it seems like most of the content is covered in physics and maths. So I just wanted to know what the workload is like at AH and if doing 4 would be possible.

All 3 people I know who've left school with 4 advanced highers are at oxbridge (I'm including myself in that).
None of us found it too challenging to be honest, so I'd say go for it if you're applying to oxbridge or other top unis as you will stand out (my interviewer actually brought it up because he was surprised).
If you're not though, then frankly its a waste of time.
(edited 2 years ago)
One thing to bear in mind, when getting feedback from those sitting this/last year, is the additional workload of the coursework/project which counts towards your mark has been removed and there is no indication if it will be reintroduced next year yet.
Reply 8
Original post by BlackLab
One thing to bear in mind, when getting feedback from those sitting this/last year, is the additional workload of the coursework/project which counts towards your mark has been removed and there is no indication if it will be reintroduced next year yet.

That is true (forgot they existed for a hot minute), I would struggle a lot more if we had projects as I only get 2 free periods a week (which at least in my school is when we would traditionally do our projects). It does depend on how your school does projects, but it would be increasingly hard with them.
(edited 2 years ago)

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