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computer science alevel but physics makes me want to die?

for the record, i love maths ( predicted grade 8 in maths, got a grade 8 in my last 2 mocks, and im aiming for a 9 if im lucky and have the motivation for revision); i didn't take computer science at gcse (i was heavily considering it but at the time i wanted to become a therapist so i took health and social care instead, though now id rather have a job in programming or something), and I absolutely hate physics, and it's one of my worst subjects

for a frame of reference, in my year 10 paper 1 mock i got an 88 for chem and bio but i got 44 on physics. it's the only subject i consistently get below a 7 on, and the thought of revising it makes me physically sick. ahahahahha..

i really want to do computer science alevel because the careers it could lead to interest me a lot; i like coding (though of course my knowledge of python is rudimentary, and i dont do it frequently because i dont have the time - but if i did end up doing CS alevel then i'd try learn more over summer and stuff); etc etc. is physics a very big part of it that i wouldnt be able to avoid? i know it's pretty essential in stuff like game development, which i am interested in though i wouldnt mind learning physics specifically for that.

and i know you dont necessarily need computer science at Alevel to pursue it as a degree, but I kind of just want to try it out at alevel to see if its actually something id actually want as a job

also this is my first time posting here sorry if its too long

EDIT: okay i accidentally posted this the GCSE forum instead of Alevel but i can't figure out how to delete it so i just reposted it
(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

Original post by abominable-undre
Hi mate. Hope you're well.
I currently do ocr a level comsci and I really enjoy it. I didn't do it at GCSE too. Initially it seems like a pretty big step up, especially learning some coding from scratch however it's definitely doable and not too difficult. The actual syllabus is not exactly what I expected tho so it's defo worth a look through just to check it's something you would enjoy as it isn't all coding and there's quite a bit of theory to. My ocr is this: https://www.ocr.org.uk/images/170844-specification-accredited-a-level-gce-computer-science-h446.pdf but it would be worth asking wherever you'll be going what exam board they use. Just for reference page 10 is probably the best to look at to get a good understanding of what it actually is :smile:
There's no physics at all in the actual course like whatsoever. It might come into play for your programming project depending on what you do it on but I haven't done a spot of physics at all so it is defo something not to worry about.
Good luck with your exams!
(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

Original post by shocked-general
for the record, i love maths ( predicted grade 8 in maths, got a grade 8 in my last 2 mocks, and im aiming for a 9 if im lucky and have the motivation for revision); i didn't take computer science at gcse (i was heavily considering it but at the time i wanted to become a therapist so i took health and social care instead, though now id rather have a job in programming or something), and I absolutely hate physics, and it's one of my worst subjects
for a frame of reference, in my year 10 paper 1 mock i got an 88 for chem and bio but i got 44 on physics. it's the only subject i consistently get below a 7 on, and the thought of revising it makes me physically sick. ahahahahha..
i really want to do computer science alevel because the careers it could lead to interest me a lot; i like coding (though of course my knowledge of python is rudimentary - but if i did end up doing CS alevel then i'd try learn more over summer and stuff); etc etc. is physics a very big part of it that i wouldnt be able to avoid? i know it's pretty essential in stuff like game development, which i am interested in though i wouldnt mind learning physics specifically for that.
and i know you dont necessarily need computer science at Alevel to pursue it as a degree, but I kind of just want to try it out at alevel to see if its actually something id actually want as a job
also this is my first time posting here sorry if its too long
EDIT: okay i accidentally posted this the GCSE forum instead of Alevel but i can't figure out how to delete it so i just reposted it
I'm in year 13 atm. I took computer science. maths and business. I got an 8 for maths GCSE and 7 for comp sci. I did take computer science for GCSE so i didn't find the gap massive so i feel like i can't have a say in terms of difficulty in that aspect. It doesn't include physics.
I handed in my programming project like a month ago and i was struggling even tho i did it for GCSE. I just hate programming but if you find it interesting, then im sure you would be more motivated to do it and therefore find it easier. I do the OCR exam board.

Reply 3

Original post by abominable-undre
Hi mate. Hope you're well.
I currently do ocr a level comsci and I really enjoy it. I didn't do it at GCSE too. Initially it seems like a pretty big step up, especially learning some coding from scratch however it's definitely doable and not too difficult. The actual syllabus is not exactly what I expected tho so it's defo worth a look through just to check it's something you would enjoy as it isn't all coding and there's quite a bit of theory to. My ocr is this: https://www.ocr.org.uk/images/170844-specification-accredited-a-level-gce-computer-science-h446.pdf but it would be worth asking wherever you'll be going what exam board they use.
There's no physics at all in the actual course like whatsoever. It might come into play for your programming project depending on what you do it on but I haven't done a spot of physics at all so it is defo something not to worry about.
Good luck with your exams!
hello!! thanks for the good wishes for my exams and the kind reply; hope you're doing well too

i very briefly skimmed the first 20 or so pages (i'll try go over it more when its not 11pm), and it definitely seems interesting enough to enjoy

which part of the alevel would you say was the most difficult without prior knowledge from GCSE, other than coding? im kinda worried that id feel i was dragging behind my peers if they have prerequisite knowledge, so were there any times or topics where you felt there was a significant difference between you and a classmate who's done it? this is really weird kind of FOMO to have but i just dont rlly want to stick out, though it would probably be bearable

also did you feel you had to manage your time better or put in more effort than someone who did the gcse, or compared to change in difficulty between your other alevels? i have a lot of problems with time management and planning and stuff

sorry for all the questions, but thank you very much for the reassurance!

Reply 4

Original post by shocked-general
hello!! thanks for the good wishes for my exams and the kind reply; hope you're doing well too
i very briefly skimmed the first 20 or so pages (i'll try go over it more when its not 11pm), and it definitely seems interesting enough to enjoy
which part of the alevel would you say was the most difficult without prior knowledge from GCSE, other than coding? im kinda worried that id feel i was dragging behind my peers if they have prerequisite knowledge, so were there any times or topics where you felt there was a significant difference between you and a classmate who's done it? this is really weird kind of FOMO to have but i just dont rlly want to stick out, though it would probably be bearable
also did you feel you had to manage your time better or put in more effort than someone who did the gcse, or compared to change in difficulty between your other alevels? i have a lot of problems with time management and planning and stuff
sorry for all the questions, but thank you very much for the reassurance!

No worries mate. Ask away 😂

You don't need to go over it in too much detail, I haven't even read it completely through myself and I'm sitting my exams in a couple of months 💀 as long as you think you'll enjoy the general idea of it.

For me I absolutely hate the long answer questions. There's like a few 9 markers which just suck the soul out of me 😂 but other than that I wouldn't say anything is particularly challenging (minus trying to memorize big O notation which is just unnecessarily difficult for something that might not even come up).

There was definitely a gap at the start of the year between me and other students but you're not holding them back at all really. Since some of the topics are brand new to them too (I think). I just had to work a little harder to begin with to wrap my head around a few topics and then get the basics of coding. But after the first term or so I would say I was pretty much on level grounds. Also you're teacher will definitely support you and there will probably be a few others in the same boat of not doing it before :smile:

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