tips on balencing alevel art and biology and chemistry
Two years ago I made the mistake of choosing two science alevels with art.
I was initially going to do maths but the set one maths teacher told me not to because I was in set three (we had 10 sets at GCSE) and I should focus on the subject where "it's easier to get the A* in" and also because he didn't think I'd get an 8/9 so I did art alongside chemistry and biology. I got 8s in all three of my chosen subjects and I got an 8 in maths so he was wrong about that.
My issue is that I crave academic validation. I don't like getting anything below an A in any of my subjects and have been consistently getting As and A*s in all of my topic tests for chemistry and biology. But the other issue with me is that I'm not a naturally intelligent person. I can't just do the "bare minimum" in terms of revision and come out with A*s like one of my friends does for biology, I have to really work hard and my revision is very vigorous (making notes doing flashcards continuous blurting exam questions) which means chemistry and biology take up most of my time. This is where art becomes an issue because I struggled to make time for my art leaving me behind a lot of people in my class. Others who took chemistry and biology alongside art only focused on their art and not their chemistry or biology and now have just given up on their science subjects and want to do art at uni. I want to do medicine and I know that my art is just as important as my other subjects because barely any medical schools seem to offer Bs (I did do an EPQ and got an A so I know that some medical schools may lower an AAA offer to AAB but I still don't want to take the risk because I'm planning on taking a gap year). Year 13 made everything worse because the revision in preparation for year 13 I was planning on doing during the summer was ruined by the fact I had to prepare for my ucat which I did awfully in which wasted my whole summer. Then when I go back I had 50 million topic tests and mocks flung on me for chemistry and biology it was complete hell. And now I've got mocks after christmas as well but also my coursework for art is due in January and I have to finish my essay as well. But I haven't been finding time to do one or the other because I also need to focus on my revision for chemistry and biology. I really don't know what to do. My mum isn't helping at all she doesn't understand that I can't just "stop revising at 8" my subjects are so content heavy and I live so far away from school by the time I get home it's nearly 5:00 pm. 3 hours of revision after school for chemistry and biology when I've mentioned how extensive my revision has to go (it will take a whole hour just to write up notes) it's not efficient for me and then to try and balance art with that? The only thing I can think of now is pulling all nighters for my art. I've started sacrificing my Saturdays for art now (which I hate because I don't feel productive at all since I haven't done any revision for chemistry and biology and my Sundays have never been productive) but it still doesn't work I'm super slow I don't think people realise how long it takes to actually produce a piece of art then try to arrange it in the sketchbook. I want to restart my sketchbook because I don't feel like its good enough and I always end up with artist's block. My mum doesn't understand she thinks it will "effect my mental health" but doesn't realise by restricting the time I take for studying she's making me even more stressed. I there anyone who did Chemistry Biology and Art as Alevel subjects who also got As/A*s in all of them (and didn't just give up on one to focus on the other) who can recommend what they did to balance all three subjects because it's super intense for me at the moment
I was initially going to do maths but the set one maths teacher told me not to because I was in set three (we had 10 sets at GCSE) and I should focus on the subject where "it's easier to get the A* in" and also because he didn't think I'd get an 8/9 so I did art alongside chemistry and biology. I got 8s in all three of my chosen subjects and I got an 8 in maths so he was wrong about that.
My issue is that I crave academic validation. I don't like getting anything below an A in any of my subjects and have been consistently getting As and A*s in all of my topic tests for chemistry and biology. But the other issue with me is that I'm not a naturally intelligent person. I can't just do the "bare minimum" in terms of revision and come out with A*s like one of my friends does for biology, I have to really work hard and my revision is very vigorous (making notes doing flashcards continuous blurting exam questions) which means chemistry and biology take up most of my time. This is where art becomes an issue because I struggled to make time for my art leaving me behind a lot of people in my class. Others who took chemistry and biology alongside art only focused on their art and not their chemistry or biology and now have just given up on their science subjects and want to do art at uni. I want to do medicine and I know that my art is just as important as my other subjects because barely any medical schools seem to offer Bs (I did do an EPQ and got an A so I know that some medical schools may lower an AAA offer to AAB but I still don't want to take the risk because I'm planning on taking a gap year). Year 13 made everything worse because the revision in preparation for year 13 I was planning on doing during the summer was ruined by the fact I had to prepare for my ucat which I did awfully in which wasted my whole summer. Then when I go back I had 50 million topic tests and mocks flung on me for chemistry and biology it was complete hell. And now I've got mocks after christmas as well but also my coursework for art is due in January and I have to finish my essay as well. But I haven't been finding time to do one or the other because I also need to focus on my revision for chemistry and biology. I really don't know what to do. My mum isn't helping at all she doesn't understand that I can't just "stop revising at 8" my subjects are so content heavy and I live so far away from school by the time I get home it's nearly 5:00 pm. 3 hours of revision after school for chemistry and biology when I've mentioned how extensive my revision has to go (it will take a whole hour just to write up notes) it's not efficient for me and then to try and balance art with that? The only thing I can think of now is pulling all nighters for my art. I've started sacrificing my Saturdays for art now (which I hate because I don't feel productive at all since I haven't done any revision for chemistry and biology and my Sundays have never been productive) but it still doesn't work I'm super slow I don't think people realise how long it takes to actually produce a piece of art then try to arrange it in the sketchbook. I want to restart my sketchbook because I don't feel like its good enough and I always end up with artist's block. My mum doesn't understand she thinks it will "effect my mental health" but doesn't realise by restricting the time I take for studying she's making me even more stressed. I there anyone who did Chemistry Biology and Art as Alevel subjects who also got As/A*s in all of them (and didn't just give up on one to focus on the other) who can recommend what they did to balance all three subjects because it's super intense for me at the moment
Reply 1
Original post
by Alesha_skTwo years ago I made the mistake of choosing two science alevels with art.
I was initially going to do maths but the set one maths teacher told me not to because I was in set three (we had 10 sets at GCSE) and I should focus on the subject where "it's easier to get the A* in" and also because he didn't think I'd get an 8/9 so I did art alongside chemistry and biology. I got 8s in all three of my chosen subjects and I got an 8 in maths so he was wrong about that.
My issue is that I crave academic validation. I don't like getting anything below an A in any of my subjects and have been consistently getting As and A*s in all of my topic tests for chemistry and biology. But the other issue with me is that I'm not a naturally intelligent person. I can't just do the "bare minimum" in terms of revision and come out with A*s like one of my friends does for biology, I have to really work hard and my revision is very vigorous (making notes doing flashcards continuous blurting exam questions) which means chemistry and biology take up most of my time. This is where art becomes an issue because I struggled to make time for my art leaving me behind a lot of people in my class. Others who took chemistry and biology alongside art only focused on their art and not their chemistry or biology and now have just given up on their science subjects and want to do art at uni. I want to do medicine and I know that my art is just as important as my other subjects because barely any medical schools seem to offer Bs (I did do an EPQ and got an A so I know that some medical schools may lower an AAA offer to AAB but I still don't want to take the risk because I'm planning on taking a gap year). Year 13 made everything worse because the revision in preparation for year 13 I was planning on doing during the summer was ruined by the fact I had to prepare for my ucat which I did awfully in which wasted my whole summer. Then when I go back I had 50 million topic tests and mocks flung on me for chemistry and biology it was complete hell. And now I've got mocks after christmas as well but also my coursework for art is due in January and I have to finish my essay as well. But I haven't been finding time to do one or the other because I also need to focus on my revision for chemistry and biology. I really don't know what to do. My mum isn't helping at all she doesn't understand that I can't just "stop revising at 8" my subjects are so content heavy and I live so far away from school by the time I get home it's nearly 5:00 pm. 3 hours of revision after school for chemistry and biology when I've mentioned how extensive my revision has to go (it will take a whole hour just to write up notes) it's not efficient for me and then to try and balance art with that? The only thing I can think of now is pulling all nighters for my art. I've started sacrificing my Saturdays for art now (which I hate because I don't feel productive at all since I haven't done any revision for chemistry and biology and my Sundays have never been productive) but it still doesn't work I'm super slow I don't think people realise how long it takes to actually produce a piece of art then try to arrange it in the sketchbook. I want to restart my sketchbook because I don't feel like its good enough and I always end up with artist's block. My mum doesn't understand she thinks it will "effect my mental health" but doesn't realise by restricting the time I take for studying she's making me even more stressed. I there anyone who did Chemistry Biology and Art as Alevel subjects who also got As/A*s in all of them (and didn't just give up on one to focus on the other) who can recommend what they did to balance all three subjects because it's super intense for me at the moment
I was initially going to do maths but the set one maths teacher told me not to because I was in set three (we had 10 sets at GCSE) and I should focus on the subject where "it's easier to get the A* in" and also because he didn't think I'd get an 8/9 so I did art alongside chemistry and biology. I got 8s in all three of my chosen subjects and I got an 8 in maths so he was wrong about that.
My issue is that I crave academic validation. I don't like getting anything below an A in any of my subjects and have been consistently getting As and A*s in all of my topic tests for chemistry and biology. But the other issue with me is that I'm not a naturally intelligent person. I can't just do the "bare minimum" in terms of revision and come out with A*s like one of my friends does for biology, I have to really work hard and my revision is very vigorous (making notes doing flashcards continuous blurting exam questions) which means chemistry and biology take up most of my time. This is where art becomes an issue because I struggled to make time for my art leaving me behind a lot of people in my class. Others who took chemistry and biology alongside art only focused on their art and not their chemistry or biology and now have just given up on their science subjects and want to do art at uni. I want to do medicine and I know that my art is just as important as my other subjects because barely any medical schools seem to offer Bs (I did do an EPQ and got an A so I know that some medical schools may lower an AAA offer to AAB but I still don't want to take the risk because I'm planning on taking a gap year). Year 13 made everything worse because the revision in preparation for year 13 I was planning on doing during the summer was ruined by the fact I had to prepare for my ucat which I did awfully in which wasted my whole summer. Then when I go back I had 50 million topic tests and mocks flung on me for chemistry and biology it was complete hell. And now I've got mocks after christmas as well but also my coursework for art is due in January and I have to finish my essay as well. But I haven't been finding time to do one or the other because I also need to focus on my revision for chemistry and biology. I really don't know what to do. My mum isn't helping at all she doesn't understand that I can't just "stop revising at 8" my subjects are so content heavy and I live so far away from school by the time I get home it's nearly 5:00 pm. 3 hours of revision after school for chemistry and biology when I've mentioned how extensive my revision has to go (it will take a whole hour just to write up notes) it's not efficient for me and then to try and balance art with that? The only thing I can think of now is pulling all nighters for my art. I've started sacrificing my Saturdays for art now (which I hate because I don't feel productive at all since I haven't done any revision for chemistry and biology and my Sundays have never been productive) but it still doesn't work I'm super slow I don't think people realise how long it takes to actually produce a piece of art then try to arrange it in the sketchbook. I want to restart my sketchbook because I don't feel like its good enough and I always end up with artist's block. My mum doesn't understand she thinks it will "effect my mental health" but doesn't realise by restricting the time I take for studying she's making me even more stressed. I there anyone who did Chemistry Biology and Art as Alevel subjects who also got As/A*s in all of them (and didn't just give up on one to focus on the other) who can recommend what they did to balance all three subjects because it's super intense for me at the moment
Hi @Alesha_sk
So I didn't study science A Levels, but I did Art alongside German, History and Drama, and achieved A*s and an A in all of them. And I will say honestly, I feel your pain with trying to juggle different subjects, especially in year 13. But there is light at the end of the tunnel - I promise!
When I was studying four subjects, my key thing for success was planning, which sounds self explanatory, but it can often be overlooked.
I know the struggle of balancing different subjects - and Art which requires so much extra time! I started out by prioritizing my weakest subjects or subjects I found more difficult. It's not necessarily about equally splitting the exact amount of time for each subject, but about being proportionate with your time. You still want to ensure you're covering all three subjects, but if you're smart with your time allocation, you can definitely fit in revision for everything.
I started out by getting hold of the exam board specifications for each subject and coordinating each subject topic in a 'traffic light' system. Green for 'confident', orange for 'feeling okay', and red for 'not confident'. And then I would use these specs as revision checklists. The subject with the most red areas was also where I'd begin prioritizing my time.
You can also plan your revision out per colour too, for example, you allocate one hour of focused revision on a 'red' Chemistry topic that really frustrates you, then a 30 minute 'amber' Biology topic and then a break to do some art work.
I liked to save some of my art work for times when I was feeling stressed or didn't want to 'engage my brain' as much, like later on a night where I'd usually be sat watching TV. I would work on a drawing or some pages of my sketchbook but would work at a more leisurely pace.
Also, even though it can feel like the complete opposite of what you 'should' be doing, your mum is right in that you should take it easy and rest too. It can be really easy to keep pushing yourself to work, but it's only going to stress you out more if you're sleep deprived and exhausted. Try your best to keep a regular routine where you can, and don't forget the important stuff like fresh air and good food!
I hope you start to get into a better rhythm with your subjects, it will happen so trust the process. Consistency is key, so even if you start out with an hour or two when you get home, its better than not doing anything and spending that time worrying about your work instead. If you can, you can also use your commute time to go over things like online flashcards or quizzing yourself - be time efficient where you can.
Good luck! You've got this! 🙂
Emily
Student Rep at BCU
Reply 2
Original post
by Alesha_skTwo years ago I made the mistake of choosing two science alevels with art.
I was initially going to do maths but the set one maths teacher told me not to because I was in set three (we had 10 sets at GCSE) and I should focus on the subject where "it's easier to get the A* in" and also because he didn't think I'd get an 8/9 so I did art alongside chemistry and biology. I got 8s in all three of my chosen subjects and I got an 8 in maths so he was wrong about that.
My issue is that I crave academic validation. I don't like getting anything below an A in any of my subjects and have been consistently getting As and A*s in all of my topic tests for chemistry and biology. But the other issue with me is that I'm not a naturally intelligent person. I can't just do the "bare minimum" in terms of revision and come out with A*s like one of my friends does for biology, I have to really work hard and my revision is very vigorous (making notes doing flashcards continuous blurting exam questions) which means chemistry and biology take up most of my time. This is where art becomes an issue because I struggled to make time for my art leaving me behind a lot of people in my class. Others who took chemistry and biology alongside art only focused on their art and not their chemistry or biology and now have just given up on their science subjects and want to do art at uni. I want to do medicine and I know that my art is just as important as my other subjects because barely any medical schools seem to offer Bs (I did do an EPQ and got an A so I know that some medical schools may lower an AAA offer to AAB but I still don't want to take the risk because I'm planning on taking a gap year). Year 13 made everything worse because the revision in preparation for year 13 I was planning on doing during the summer was ruined by the fact I had to prepare for my ucat which I did awfully in which wasted my whole summer. Then when I go back I had 50 million topic tests and mocks flung on me for chemistry and biology it was complete hell. And now I've got mocks after christmas as well but also my coursework for art is due in January and I have to finish my essay as well. But I haven't been finding time to do one or the other because I also need to focus on my revision for chemistry and biology. I really don't know what to do. My mum isn't helping at all she doesn't understand that I can't just "stop revising at 8" my subjects are so content heavy and I live so far away from school by the time I get home it's nearly 5:00 pm. 3 hours of revision after school for chemistry and biology when I've mentioned how extensive my revision has to go (it will take a whole hour just to write up notes) it's not efficient for me and then to try and balance art with that? The only thing I can think of now is pulling all nighters for my art. I've started sacrificing my Saturdays for art now (which I hate because I don't feel productive at all since I haven't done any revision for chemistry and biology and my Sundays have never been productive) but it still doesn't work I'm super slow I don't think people realise how long it takes to actually produce a piece of art then try to arrange it in the sketchbook. I want to restart my sketchbook because I don't feel like its good enough and I always end up with artist's block. My mum doesn't understand she thinks it will "effect my mental health" but doesn't realise by restricting the time I take for studying she's making me even more stressed. I there anyone who did Chemistry Biology and Art as Alevel subjects who also got As/A*s in all of them (and didn't just give up on one to focus on the other) who can recommend what they did to balance all three subjects because it's super intense for me at the moment
I was initially going to do maths but the set one maths teacher told me not to because I was in set three (we had 10 sets at GCSE) and I should focus on the subject where "it's easier to get the A* in" and also because he didn't think I'd get an 8/9 so I did art alongside chemistry and biology. I got 8s in all three of my chosen subjects and I got an 8 in maths so he was wrong about that.
My issue is that I crave academic validation. I don't like getting anything below an A in any of my subjects and have been consistently getting As and A*s in all of my topic tests for chemistry and biology. But the other issue with me is that I'm not a naturally intelligent person. I can't just do the "bare minimum" in terms of revision and come out with A*s like one of my friends does for biology, I have to really work hard and my revision is very vigorous (making notes doing flashcards continuous blurting exam questions) which means chemistry and biology take up most of my time. This is where art becomes an issue because I struggled to make time for my art leaving me behind a lot of people in my class. Others who took chemistry and biology alongside art only focused on their art and not their chemistry or biology and now have just given up on their science subjects and want to do art at uni. I want to do medicine and I know that my art is just as important as my other subjects because barely any medical schools seem to offer Bs (I did do an EPQ and got an A so I know that some medical schools may lower an AAA offer to AAB but I still don't want to take the risk because I'm planning on taking a gap year). Year 13 made everything worse because the revision in preparation for year 13 I was planning on doing during the summer was ruined by the fact I had to prepare for my ucat which I did awfully in which wasted my whole summer. Then when I go back I had 50 million topic tests and mocks flung on me for chemistry and biology it was complete hell. And now I've got mocks after christmas as well but also my coursework for art is due in January and I have to finish my essay as well. But I haven't been finding time to do one or the other because I also need to focus on my revision for chemistry and biology. I really don't know what to do. My mum isn't helping at all she doesn't understand that I can't just "stop revising at 8" my subjects are so content heavy and I live so far away from school by the time I get home it's nearly 5:00 pm. 3 hours of revision after school for chemistry and biology when I've mentioned how extensive my revision has to go (it will take a whole hour just to write up notes) it's not efficient for me and then to try and balance art with that? The only thing I can think of now is pulling all nighters for my art. I've started sacrificing my Saturdays for art now (which I hate because I don't feel productive at all since I haven't done any revision for chemistry and biology and my Sundays have never been productive) but it still doesn't work I'm super slow I don't think people realise how long it takes to actually produce a piece of art then try to arrange it in the sketchbook. I want to restart my sketchbook because I don't feel like its good enough and I always end up with artist's block. My mum doesn't understand she thinks it will "effect my mental health" but doesn't realise by restricting the time I take for studying she's making me even more stressed. I there anyone who did Chemistry Biology and Art as Alevel subjects who also got As/A*s in all of them (and didn't just give up on one to focus on the other) who can recommend what they did to balance all three subjects because it's super intense for me at the moment
Hey @Alesha_sk!
I didn't study Art, Biology and Chemistry at A-Level, but I did study Art, Chemistry, Economics and English Literature - so I have a bit of an idea of what it's like to balance Art with a STEM subject. I ultimately achieved an A* in Art and an A in Chemistry (alongside an A* in English Lit and an A in Economics).
In terms of Art A-Level, I'd recommend watching some YouTube videos of A*/A-grade sketchbooks. Although your content/art will obviously be completely different, I always found these sources useful in figuring out how to lay out sketchbooks pages or what techniques I could explore in the future. Remember that your sketchbook can also be a record of experimentation rather than just a collection of finished pieces: whilst art is a subject that requires time and effort, there are ways you can make lots of content in a relatively short period. You can do a page of quick, timed line drawings, a collage page, a double page of artists you're inspired by or first-hand photos that you're working from. Sketchbooks aren't meant to be perfect either - so please don't ever feel like your sketchbook isn't good enough. 🙂
For Chemistry, my technique was always to learn from my textbook/the printed notes given by my teacher rather than write out my own. If there was a topic I was finding particularly difficult, I would write my own notes as it would help me memorise it and I could wrap my head around it a bit easier - but for the most part, I stuck to learning from the textbook. It saved a lot of time: instead of spending two hours writing out something from the textbook, I could instead spend an hour learning the topic directly. Obviously this technique doesn't work for everyone, but it is something worth trying if you're finding time management tricky.
Best of luck!
Eve (Kingston Rep).
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