Support Group For Retaking A Levels as a Private Candidate.

OP

Original post by unused-halo

Hi, I’m retaking mine also but honestly struggling to find motivation because I feel like I don’t know anything anymore

Hey y'all, I get what you mean with the whole motivation thing which can be difficult but personally if i struggle with motivation i like to write a short list of things i need to do while revising and tick them off - sometimes i even add things ive already done to motivate me to complete the list and carry on.

I always recommend if you haven't already setting a time table for yourself like start at 9 and work to 17 and then have the evening off some great apps i can recommend is tiimo or like owaves as it is really good for structuring your day. Or just a basic timetable on paper that your gonna stick to every day

Also set realistic goals for your day say me who does biology and chemistry i don't say i want to do all of topic 1 or something i break them down into bitesize chunks with which i can manage them and i am working my way through them slowly.

Remember everyone that this isn't a race this is a marathon meaning we have to pace ourselves so we're doing enough work while also over exerting ourselves if you get what i mean. I expected to have times where motivation was low and is the reason i made this chat so we can give each other advice and keep each other responsible.

Hope your doing well, and good luck
ps remember we can do this!! :biggrin:

Reply 26

OP

Original post by unused-halo

Hi, I’m retaking mine also but honestly struggling to find motivation because I feel like I don’t know anything anymore

Also dont worry about not being able to remember anything because we have had a summer(two months) between our exams with which we were holding onto that information tightly and then let go of it over the summer - thats fine but now all we gotta do is get back on the horse and learn it all again :smile:

Reply 27

OP

If y'all are up for it i think a weekly check in to see what we've done could be helpful where we are brutally honest and then give each other advice on what we want to accomplish next week.

Reply 28

Original post by UnfixedVase6

If y'all are up for it i think a weekly check in to see what we've done could be helpful where we are brutally honest and then give each other advice on what we want to accomplish next week.

Definitely, that’ll help to keep us on track : )

Reply 29

Chickenunicorn17

13

I also think its about finding what works for you, as in do u work better in mornings etc, does pomodoro work for u and all that and yes putting in the hours but doing so smartly and pproductively cause if you do that ur revision will be better more effective and u will have time for hobbies, like gym etc which will help your focus. It will be disheartening in the beginning cause u see how much u dont know,r getting wrong etc, but small steps rlly do add up :biggrin:

Reply 30

vondutches333

1

Original post by UnfixedVase6

Hi, I am retaking A Level Biology (Eduqas/WJEC) and Chemistry OCR A independently as well. What exam board are you doing for chem? Thanks hope your revision goes well as well, made this chat to try to help keep us private candidates motivated and to support one another :biggrin:

I'm also resitting (WJEC) as biology and doing (WJEC) A level biology at sixth form but doing a level chem privately how was your initial experience with year 13 a level biology (WJEC) ? (it's normally for me to find others who do WJEC because barely anybody even knows about it and there are barely any resources)

Reply 31

Hey guys think it’s about time for a weekly check in : )

Personally, not been the most productive week for me so far but have outlined a few of my weakest areas in maths and physics so am working on those.
I’ve also had the option by my parents to (potentially) apply to UCL if I get high enough predicted grades, which to me is exciting as otherwise I’d be living at home for uni.
I also think I’ll retake French to keep me sane as it wasn’t a difficult a level and given that I got a decent grade after studying it for only a year giving the subject the full two years will help me achieve a higher grade with a similar amount of/less effort.
Anyway,hope we’re all doing well and I was also hoping we could start a slack/YPT
/ teams group if that works better. Any suggestions welcome 🙏

Reply 32

OP

Original post by SodaMontgomery

Hey guys think it’s about time for a weekly check in : )
Personally, not been the most productive week for me so far but have outlined a few of my weakest areas in maths and physics so am working on those.
I’ve also had the option by my parents to (potentially) apply to UCL if I get high enough predicted grades, which to me is exciting as otherwise I’d be living at home for uni.
I also think I’ll retake French to keep me sane as it wasn’t a difficult a level and given that I got a decent grade after studying it for only a year giving the subject the full two years will help me achieve a higher grade with a similar amount of/less effort.
Anyway,hope we’re all doing well and I was also hoping we could start a slack/YPT
/ teams group if that works better. Any suggestions welcome 🙏

Weekly check up -
Same was more productive last week to be honest but have had a bit of a better start today as im working through my chemistry and biology syllabus and making summarised notes which i find helpful. But struggling due to not finding note making as enjoyable as something like flashcards or exam questions etc.
Glad to hear that you are doing well SodaMontgomery although dont burn yourself out / over exert yourself with French but if it keeps you sane then hope its a good morale boost. also wishing you the best in trying to get to UCL i know this year we'll just smash it with these a levels and go to the uni's that we want!
Btw curious about how you are getting predicted grade? On ucas i was just going to put it as pending 😅
and Sorry what does slack/YTP mean?
Thanks and wishing everyone the best in their private studies this week! 😀

Reply 33

OP

Original post by vondutches333

I'm also resitting (WJEC) as biology and doing (WJEC) A level biology at sixth form but doing a level chem privately how was your initial experience with year 13 a level biology (WJEC) ? (it's normally for me to find others who do WJEC because barely anybody even knows about it and there are barely any resources)

Yeah i agree it is difficult to find other WJEC biology students 😅
In my opinion Year 13 content was a bit better than Year 12 due to it being more chemistry based in some of the subjects which i prefer but overall kind of a natural progression from the last year if you keep up with the course load - only thing to be wary of is revising year 1 content as you go as Core concepts is the first thing you learn as well as being in 10% of every paper and most of Component 2 (As level) / Unit 2 with the mass transport stuff it is important in the later papers (ie Paper 3 Eduqas) to keep that in your brain is really important
Wishing you the best with WJEC biology it is very tough to find resources but you can do it so i wish you luck!!
PS do you use the revision guide as i think it is really good compared to the textbook overall

Reply 34

S_340

8

Original post by SodaMontgomery

Hey guys think it’s about time for a weekly check in : )
Personally, not been the most productive week for me so far but have outlined a few of my weakest areas in maths and physics so am working on those.
I’ve also had the option by my parents to (potentially) apply to UCL if I get high enough predicted grades, which to me is exciting as otherwise I’d be living at home for uni.
I also think I’ll retake French to keep me sane as it wasn’t a difficult a level and given that I got a decent grade after studying it for only a year giving the subject the full two years will help me achieve a higher grade with a similar amount of/less effort.
Anyway,hope we’re all doing well and I was also hoping we could start a slack/YPT
/ teams group if that works better. Any suggestions welcome 🙏

I wasn't greatly productive last week either- since I'm just going over the content for subjects mostly it is quite boring and difficult to stay motivated but I'm somewhat on track.
Hope your plans to go to UCL are successful and hopefully we all do how we want to in this academic year's exams.
I also wanted to ask, I need to update my UCAS application for this year's cycle however I'm still technically in clearing, does anyone know if I can get out of clearing or will I just have to wait until it ends to apply again?
And sure slack sounds like a good idea, not sure what YPT is tho.

Reply 35

That’s great to hear - keep up the good work! In response to you and @S_340 YPT is a platform where we join groups where we can record our study times and use a chat function.

I’ll start to look at setting up slack which is a similar thing, I can DM anyone who’s interested or vice versa? Lmk pls

Good luck everyone, may we all get the highest grades possible!!

Reply 36

OP

Original post by S_340

I wasn't greatly productive last week either- since I'm just going over the content for subjects mostly it is quite boring and difficult to stay motivated but I'm somewhat on track.
Hope your plans to go to UCL are successful and hopefully we all do how we want to in this academic year's exams.
I also wanted to ask, I need to update my UCAS application for this year's cycle however I'm still technically in clearing, does anyone know if I can get out of clearing or will I just have to wait until it ends to apply again?
And sure slack sounds like a good idea, not sure what YPT is tho.

i agree with the whole going over content thing being quite boring but it is quite important to go over the content so that you can do exam questions and make flashcards from the content you have learned - even though its a slog we can do this! 😁🤞
Also regarding your UCAS point I'm not too sure if it will cancel at the same time clearing does sometime in the beginning of October(7th maybe??) but im assuming so as clearing wont be option so then we can hopefully reapply soon, Good luck!!

Btw SodaMontgomery that sounds like a plan with the Slack thing if you could post a link that would really helpful,

Wishing everyone the best in their A level retake journey and hope your having a good day also!

Reply 37

Hi, everyone, looks like it's that time of the week again. Sorry OP only saw your message now, I'll make a Slack group today and hopefully it'll be easier to communicate on that instead.
As for revision, I'm having great fun with keeping up to date with French ( Duolingo for random vocab - I've gotten to a point in the course where I'm acc learning useful things, podcasts and yt series, as well as my previous quizlet notes)
Physics and Maths aren't looking the best in all honesty but we have to keep going! Optimism is really key to stay motivated and on task. That being said, I really need to cut out on my yt screen time, it's getting a bit ridiculous.
Anyway hope we're all having a more productive week, we've got this : )

Reply 38