can i bang out an AAA in 4 months???

background: got 556666788 at gcse, messed around etc
year 12 predicted: A*A*A i put my head down after having no motivation and got good grades
year 13 november mocks: AEE

i have currently been feeling absolutely NO motivation whatsoever to do any work outside of lessons/school since september (and it's now january). my first a level is in 4 months and 6 days. i take maths, econ & psych. is it possible to get A*A*A in these 4 months? any tips would be appreciated. need honest answers + uni offers :smile:

Reply 1

cariiii07

5

anything is possible, if you put in the work now and keep consistent yes, don't overdo it or else you will burn out. Personally I don't take any of those subjects so Idk how hard it is but keep positive and change your mindset, I believe that you can do it! but yeah, past papers, flashcards, active recall, consolidating your notes ect are my tips

Reply 2

emm4nuella

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper

19

Original post by princessjowusu

background: got 556666788 at gcse, messed around etc
year 12 predicted: A*A*A i put my head down after having no motivation and got good grades
year 13 november mocks: AEE

i have currently been feeling absolutely NO motivation whatsoever to do any work outside of lessons/school since september (and it's now january). my first a level is in 4 months and 6 days. i take maths, econ & psych. is it possible to get A*A*A in these 4 months? any tips would be appreciated. need honest answers + uni offers :smile:

hiya i take aqa a level psych, and im also in year 13. how is it going?

and yeah like @cariiii07 said, you can definitely achieve those grades if you put your head down now and focus. for example with psychology, very content heavy subject, you might want to have a checklist where you can review information little and often :smile:

Reply 3

leno_o

11

You can't rely on motivation, because it's variable. As you've experienced, you work hard when you get motivation, then it quickly goes away. My advice is to be consistent, whether you're feeling motivated or not, realise you haven't got much time left to work hard, and keep pushing. Even if you don't feel like it. Don't use useless revision techniques (reading notes, highlighting etc) and good luck.

Reply 4

Oct25Nov07

3

And try not to force something that is not there.

Reply 5

Oct25Nov07

3

I believe A-level grades are the manifestation of your true interest and passion for the subject. You should base your future off of that so you can have a fulfilling future whether it would be uni, apprenticeship or whatever that helps with your future growth.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 6

princessjowusu

OP

6

Original post by emm4nuella

hiya i take aqa a level psych, and im also in year 13. how is it going?

and yeah like @cariiii07 said, you can definitely achieve those grades if you put your head down now and focus. for example with psychology, very content heavy subject, you might want to have a checklist where you can review information little and often :smile:

it's honestly not the best. last year, i was an absolute wizz but i literally just got an E in my mock. i feel kinda annoyed that we'll probably be finishing content right before the exams but oh well. how's it going for you?

Reply 7

examboard

9

Original post by princessjowusu

background: got 556666788 at gcse, messed around etc
year 12 predicted: A*A*A i put my head down after having no motivation and got good grades
year 13 november mocks: AEE

i have currently been feeling absolutely NO motivation whatsoever to do any work outside of lessons/school since september (and it's now january). my first a level is in 4 months and 6 days. i take maths, econ & psych. is it possible to get A*A*A in these 4 months? any tips would be appreciated. need honest answers + uni offers :smile:

ye I did It icl , I went from an E to A* into Econ in 4 months 🤣 , dk about the other but can help with ec👍on

Reply 8

furtherfrommaths

9

IB student here, meaning I study 6 subjects! 🎶can anybody help meeeeee🎶

Yeahhh burnout is real my friend. My number one tip is to make it as easy to revise as possible. Put revision stuff on your phone to go over while you’re standing idly or when you catch yourself doomscrolling. Flash card apps are great for this. My German improves so much when my motivation to do other subjects plummets 😆

Make summaries of your psychology studies and set them as your phone background on rotation (you can usually do this by making a pictures folder). Bookmark a website with past paper questions and do a random one at a set time each day as part of your routine. Any revision is better than none, and small light activities will make sure you don’t get burned out as fast.

Everyone has different stamina regarding how long they can revise for without getting burned out, but doing ~30 minutes a day will definitely show a lot of improvement over time with minimal mental strain. Once you start, it’s easier to continue into more intense revision even if your motivation isn’t there.

If you want those grades, you can get them. You’ve done it before: you just need to get your knowledge back. You’ve just gotta do the revision, even though it probably sucks.

Also, be strategic. Ideally you’ll have time to revise everything and get everything back in your brain, but when motivation is low, look through the exam papers and choose question styles to revise for. This is an example from my course, so it won’t translate to yours necessarily, but in IB Psychology, one of our papers consists of three 9-mark essays and one 22-mark essay. The way I revise for that paper efficiently is to learn the theories and research for the 9-mark essays, and then learn the generic essay structure for a 22 mark essay along with practising coming up with evaluation points for research on the fly. Though might not have ALL the research or every essay question memorised for the 22-mark content, making sure I nail the 9-markers means I can have potentially 27 marks in the bag, and at least like 16 or so on the 22-marker. Hacking the exams like that really helps when revision seems overwhelming.

Best of luck!! I’m sure you can do it if you make it your goal. Let those Es frustrate you into working hard!!! I believe in you 💫

Reply 9

emm4nuella

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper

19

Original post by princessjowusu

it's honestly not the best. last year, i was an absolute wizz but i literally just got an E in my mock. i feel kinda annoyed that we'll probably be finishing content right before the exams but oh well. how's it going for you?

alright - i have my mocks coming up and i just need to make sure everything/most things stick in my head lol

Reply 10

BreadForce

11

Original post by leno_o

You can't rely on motivation, because it's variable. As you've experienced, you work hard when you get motivation, then it quickly goes away. My advice is to be consistent, whether you're feeling motivated or not, realise you haven't got much time left to work hard, and keep pushing. Even if you don't feel like it. Don't use useless revision techniques (reading notes, highlighting etc) and good luck.

Listen to this. Also, turn your phone off, stop coming here and revise efficiently. There are so many threads here about people being on university courses without any motivation. FGS, sit down and try your best.

Reply 11

study23!

14

Original post by princessjowusu

background: got 556666788 at gcse, messed around etc
year 12 predicted: A*A*A i put my head down after having no motivation and got good grades
year 13 november mocks: AEE

i have currently been feeling absolutely NO motivation whatsoever to do any work outside of lessons/school since september (and it's now january). my first a level is in 4 months and 6 days. i take maths, econ & psych. is it possible to get A*A*A in these 4 months? any tips would be appreciated. need honest answers + uni offers :smile:

Set some habits in and stick to them if motivation isn’t working, as someone else said motivation varies and some days you’ll feel like you can do 8 hours then you won’t do anything for weeks. Start by 1 hour revision every night. Make it every day from 5-6 let’s say you do an hour of revision. So tomorrow you may do maths, then Monday psychology. On weekends do an extra hour per day.

Rule - no homework can be done in your revision slot, so you have to do homework as well.

Then in three weeks time add and extra 30 mins slot at 7-7:30 let’s say. This is a different subject. So for example you’d do 5-6 Econ revision. Break/dinner/relax. Then 7-7:30 practice some psychology flashcards.

USE FREE LESSONS. If you have them in the timetable use at least half of them for revision.

Then in terms of logistics you seem to be strong at maths so try and practise more of econ and psych for now, but make sure you get maths practise too.

A good habit is to also do like a quizlet first thing when you wake up - so make one in a revision session, then practice that quizlet for a week.

And of course practice the parts you struggle with - not the easy parts.

It’s all easier said than done but it takes 21 days to form a habit. Try for three weeks and should become fairly natural. Avoid break days, no more than one per week. This is your academic comeback, you can at least raise your two Es to C/B, if even higher, but you need to put the work in. You clearly had the potential in Year 12, your year 13 hasn’t gone aa expected but 4 months is enough time to significantly improve.

Ask your teacher now as well what you struggled with in mocks.

Wish you the best of luck