If you used Clearing in 2024, how did you find it?

resit diaries #11: road to AA in OCR A Biology and Chemistry :)

Hi everyone,

How are we all doing?
Good news, today I actually started getting back into my revision/routine!
For anyone new, hey! I’m an aspiring medical student who unfortunately didn’t get any offers this year, and also missed the typical entry requirements on A-Level results day around 2 months ago. I have decided to give Medicine another go, meaning I’m going to have to resit 2 of my A-Levels for 2025 Summer. It’s been VERY hard to come to terms with, but I’m trying to pick myself up and look at the bigger picture. One year is nothing! These minor setbacks will become major comebacks in due course, it’s just not ideal now, but it will make sense in the end :smile:

In terms of A-Level prep today I just revisited my exam scripts I requested from when I sat my exams in June and made a note on what I kept getting wrong and what skill I was lacking.
I’ve done this only for Biology so far. I feel like I don’t need to do it for Chemistry. I averaged around 75% in my actual Chemistry exams, so I know it’s only little tweaks I need to make. Biology on the other hand needs a LOT of work, but nothing out of my reach :smile:

I identified in Biology that my ‘Clarity of Answers’ and ‘Knowledge’ (very surprisingly!) were my weakest areas. If anyone is interested, I basically went through my 3 papers, used the MARCKS analysis acronym and any time I got a question wrong I’d put a tally by the letter the lost mark corresponded to. For example, the M stands for Maths, so if I got a Maths related question wrong I’d put a tally by M. For more info on this Miss Estruch has a great video explaining it in depth!

Tomorrow I’m going to flick through my Chemistry scripts and just see what patterns I can find in the questions I’m getting wrong. It shouldn’t take too long, so afterwards I’m going to make a plan of action for the final 3months of the year which is insane to say!

I’ve already gotten an idea of how I want to map out these 3months.
I want to spend it essentially recapping ALL the content. More so for Biology over Chemistry, since my Chemistry is a lot stronger and built into my long-term memory a lot better than Biology.
Also forgot to add, because my old Anki flashcards were attached to my old school email, and my email has been deactivated since I no longer go to the school, I’ve literally lost over 3000 flashcards 😭😭😭😭
But I’m taking it as a sign to start from scratch and rebuild my foundation :smile:

So for Biology:
- I’m going to purchase Miss Estruch Biology’s full set of paper flashcards for OCR A A-Level Biology which is my spec, they’re £22 but they seem very comprehensive, reliable and extremely straightforward which is EXACTLY what I need because my focus needs to be on APPLYING the content, not wrapping my head around it. Plus I overcomplicated stuff so much when I sat my exams this year, I can’t do that again!
- Though I left paper flashcards back at GCSE, it did work it’s just a bit fiddly, but it’s just for one subject this time, and I think it might be a viable option for me, since I find it hard sometimes to sit down at a computer for extended periods of time, paper flashcards seem more interactive etc. so will hopefully appeal to me a bit better :smile:

- My goal for October is to purchase the cards, and recap Modules 2 and 3 through videos
- My goal for November is to begin spaced repetition and review my Module 2+3 flashcards, as well as recap Modules 4 and 5 through videos
- My goal for December is to continue spaced repetition and finally recap Module 6!
This means content will be DONE by Christmas, and from next year January up until June will be hammering down on my exam technique so I get that A*
My plan for Chemistry is more or less the same except the flashcards won’t be pre-made, so by ‘recap’ I’ll be watching videos and making my revision material as I go along, still including spaced repetition.

It does feel lighter now that I have a comprehensive plan, and I am excited to show that I CAN do it. A school close to mine accepts private candidates, but for double the price. I’m having to mentally accept the fact that I’ll have to return to school. I’ll just have to see it as exposure therapy LOL. My journey is unique, and if it means returning to sit exams again, I’ll do it. I’m definitely overthinking it it’s just not that deep. I need to remember the world doesn’t revolve around me literally no one cares haha. Plus the Year 13s are probably more concerned about their own A-Levels than the fact that I’m sitting mine again. I’m not even embarrassed I can’t describe it, I just wanted a new environment so bad since I’ve been at my school for 7 years, I really don’t want the paranoia of being in a familiar environment to jeopardise my performance but I guess I now have to just train my mind, and I also would have preferred to have just completed my A-Levels with no one except my close family knowing (+ on here anonymously lol)
The same way people don’t really share their driving test date, or when something unexpected has happened in their life, you know?
But it’s cheaper and I guess the environment being familiar is good. I do know someone sitting Chemistry again from my school, so it’s not just me. I just really hope there’s not a lot of attention drawn to me. But I mean this is an issue for about 8months time sooo.
Anyways I’ll probably update tomorrow, I don’t know if I mentioned but I’ve applied for KMMS, HYMS, ARU and Aston.
Until tomorrow!

Reply 1

kkyra

Hey!!!!
Although I did not retake year 13, I did retake year 12 meaning i should have finished my a levels by now, but i'm only just in year 13. It's really nice to meet someone in a similar boat to me! I am applying to veterinary medicine this year, so our career paths are similar in some aspects. It's nice to hear you've got a solid plan, i'm hoping i can stick to mine in time for november mocks! Aiming for a C in chem and a B in bio. What exam boards are you doing?

If you wanna become study buddies or just be friends, feel free to dm me and I can give you my socials!!

Reply 2

resitdiaries

Original post by kkyra

Hey!!!!
Although I did not retake year 13, I did retake year 12 meaning i should have finished my a levels by now, but i'm only just in year 13. It's really nice to meet someone in a similar boat to me! I am applying to veterinary medicine this year, so our career paths are similar in some aspects. It's nice to hear you've got a solid plan, i'm hoping i can stick to mine in time for november mocks! Aiming for a C in chem and a B in bio. What exam boards are you doing?
If you wanna become study buddies or just be friends, feel free to dm me and I can give you my socials!!