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What to do Y12

Hey guys,

At the moment in Year 12 I’m EXTREMELY confused on what I’m supposed to be doing outside of lessons. I have a lot of homework that I’m being set as well as managing enrichment opportunities and uni research that I’ll need to do at some point.

If you are in Year 13, what were you doing at this stage in the year and what do you WISH you did? I do English Lit, History and Psychology, as well as an EPQ. Very lost so any advice would be great!

Reply 1

chloex56

Original post by gabriellarockx

Hey guys,
At the moment in Year 12 I’m EXTREMELY confused on what I’m supposed to be doing outside of lessons. I have a lot of homework that I’m being set as well as managing enrichment opportunities and uni research that I’ll need to do at some point.
If you are in Year 13, what were you doing at this stage in the year and what do you WISH you did? I do English Lit, History and Psychology, as well as an EPQ. Very lost so any advice would be great!

hii, i’m currently in year 13, one of the things i am very grateful for is that year 12 me kept up with year 12 content, you do not want to be that person who has a whole year to catch up on, saying that you don’t need to spend every single bit of spare time you have revising, also start thinking about if you want to go uni, if so what subject then start doing things NOW for your ps as you’re life will be so much easier when applying and your not rushing and thinking of things to add, also look at a wide range of unis, and think if you can actually see yourself going there, book open days and go see them and get a feel for them, honestly there’s no better way to know than actually going in person, if your thinking of apprenticeships just start doing some research, it does sound like a lot but find a routine that works for you and make sure you keep up with the content and your homework and you’ll be in an amazing place to come into year 13 as you’ll be much more organised than most people tbh

Reply 2

gabriellarockx

Original post by chloex56

Thank you so much! How have you researched for university and courses before visiting on open days?

Reply 3

chloex56

Original post by gabriellarockx

Thank you so much! How have you researched for university and courses before visiting on open days?

well depending on your grades depends on which unis you can go to obs but i started just looking on russell group unis websites and looking at what the course i want to do actually involves as it can range a lot between different unis, tik tok is actually a good place to look first cause people give more honest views on their of uni then if i liked it i booked the next open day

Reply 4

nwar

Study Forum Helper

Original post by gabriellarockx

Hey guys,
At the moment in Year 12 I’m EXTREMELY confused on what I’m supposed to be doing outside of lessons. I have a lot of homework that I’m being set as well as managing enrichment opportunities and uni research that I’ll need to do at some point.
If you are in Year 13, what were you doing at this stage in the year and what do you WISH you did? I do English Lit, History and Psychology, as well as an EPQ. Very lost so any advice would be great!

It’s going to make you seem like an absolute nerd, but reading ahead. It was an absolute lifesaver for me in Y12. Going through the content before the lessons made life a lot easier when eventually, the content started getting a lot harder. I don’t know how helpful this advice is as I am speaking from a STEM perspective, but it was super helpful in my experience - and it made the lessons more fun!

Alternatively, start exploring your degree options. Do some outreach courses, free online courses, a bit of reading, etc. It’s never too early to start considering your options, and it will place you in a stronger position later on. Best of luck!

Reply 5

ronaldoswife

Original post by gabriellarockx

Hey guys,
At the moment in Year 12 I’m EXTREMELY confused on what I’m supposed to be doing outside of lessons. I have a lot of homework that I’m being set as well as managing enrichment opportunities and uni research that I’ll need to do at some point.
If you are in Year 13, what were you doing at this stage in the year and what do you WISH you did? I do English Lit, History and Psychology, as well as an EPQ. Very lost so any advice would be great!

hey! what are you looking to do at uni and what type of unis are you going to apply to. because i wanted to do those a levels and epq to study psychology in uni but i dont know if it matches the entry requirements.

Reply 6

UCLan Student

Official Rep

Original post by gabriellarockx

Hey guys,
At the moment in Year 12 I’m EXTREMELY confused on what I’m supposed to be doing outside of lessons. I have a lot of homework that I’m being set as well as managing enrichment opportunities and uni research that I’ll need to do at some point.
If you are in Year 13, what were you doing at this stage in the year and what do you WISH you did? I do English Lit, History and Psychology, as well as an EPQ. Very lost so any advice would be great!

Hi @gabriellarockx,

It's great that you're already thinking of ways you can develop outside of class! Here's a list of things I did, or wished I did, throughout year 12:

•

Attend university open days - This is an excellent way to figure out if university is the right next step for you. You can engage in taster sessions, campus tours and ask tutors and students about their university experiences.

•

Do online work experiences - Online work experiences provides you with the chance to learn more about particular industries and possible form a connection with a particular corporation. For examples, I did an online law work experience and it was extremely engaging and taught me lots about how to enter the industry.

•

Volunteer - Volunteering can enhance your resumes for work or personal statements for university. It can evidence your morals and character, alongside helping you develop skills needed for your career.

•

Part-time job - Earning a bit of extra money is great during A-levels. You can save it towards your future, travel or engage in new opportunities! It also allows you to meet new people and develop skills that make you more employable.

•

Create revision cards - Creating revision cards now will save you a lot of time during year 13. I highly recommend spending 20-30 mins each day making revision cards based off what you learnt in class that day. Keep them organised and categorised depending on the topic and you will feel much more prepared when exam season comes around.

•

Past-papers - Becoming familiar with the structure of exam papers and the way the questions are asked can be a great way to boost your grade!

•

New Hobbies - Take the chance to find a new interest or build upon an existing hobby! You could discover something you really enjoy and develop new skills.

I hope this helps, please feel free to ask me any questions,
-Sophia (Business and Management)

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 7

MillieeM2

Consolidate your notes especially for English/make essay plans and you can add to them in the future. It will save you from having to do it right before your A levels

Reply 8

ronaldoswife

Original post by MillieeM2

Consolidate your notes especially for English/make essay plans and you can add to them in the future. It will save you from having to do it right before your A levels

tysmm

Reply 9

saraalegria

Original post by gabriellarockx

Hey guys,
At the moment in Year 12 I’m EXTREMELY confused on what I’m supposed to be doing outside of lessons. I have a lot of homework that I’m being set as well as managing enrichment opportunities and uni research that I’ll need to do at some point.
If you are in Year 13, what were you doing at this stage in the year and what do you WISH you did? I do English Lit, History and Psychology, as well as an EPQ. Very lost so any advice would be great!

Hi! I do exactly the same subjects as you except for psychology (I do sociology instead). I spend a lot of time studying, and here is a bit of a breakdown of what I do:

English:
For English, I try and listen to an audio book of the book that we are currently doing, even while I do something else, like walking or being on the bus. I know we will go over the chapter again in class, so I don’t need to know it in too much depth, just the basics. I also try and read a summary of the chapters before I listen / read them because it helps me understand it better.

History:
For history, I have two separate teachers, so I find it quite helpful to do mind maps for every topic we do, even if that’s only subtopics as it helps me understand it. I also find blurting quite helpful, but I do mine on a piece of paper instead of a white board so that I can look back later and see what I’ve remembered and what I need to improve on.

Sociology:
I know it’s different to psychology, but what I tend to do is go on the sociology teacher website (I believe there is one for psychology too), and I copy and paste the summaries on there for every topic and put it into Quizlet, as not only does it make flashcards, but I find the learn mode on there to be very helpful and it really helps me to memorise the content.

Uni research:
I try and do this during my downtime, so before I go to bed, or when I’m having a break from studying, because I feel like it helps to keep me motivated so that I know what I’m working towards. I also try not to stress too much about it (I know it’s hard tho) because we are only in year 12, so yeah it’s important to do uni research, but mainly we should focus on our main alevel subjects.

Epq:
We haven’t started actually doing the epq yet, so I haven’t been spending much time on it, but when I feel like I want to just have a go to switch my focus, I try and pick out topics that interest me so that I know what I will want to do when we eventually start doing it. I also start looking at websites that may be helpful for my research, so that I am prepared.

I hope this helps, and let me know if you have any more questions!