how many hours should a sqa highers student sudy for all grade A

12

HOw mnay should i study a day after school as a top sqa higher student in scotland. Afterschool how many hours is maximum scientificallly without frying my brain

Reply 1

Becca2008

12

Hi! I got straight A's in my exam and I'm really sorry to tell you that there's no straight formula to say "If you do X amount of hours then you'll definitely get these results." It all depends on how effectively you study, your memorisation skills, and even what subjects you take because they can have an impact on how you revise.

HOWEVER! There are things you can do to maximise the grades you do get:

1.

Prioritise your weak areas: I know it's tempting to revise what you've already got down but the biggest grade jumps come from fixing what you don't understand yet. I was really guilty of just sticking to what I enjoyed learning and then I became so stressed the night before the exam because I was trying to cram everything in. Save yourself the hassle and go for the hard things first!

2.

Be consistent: A little and often works far better than last minute cramming (I promise!). You don't need to start big and aim for 4 hour sessions at this early stage, just even an hour a night and then gradually increase it as you approach exams.

3.

Practice exam style questions. The SQA love to reuse questions with similar wording and you'll only do yourself favours if you're already well-acquainted with the marking schemes and their expectations. I didn't really find the need to complete full past papers timed because I prefer to work through questions in my own time to really understand them, but I definitely found my timing to be an issue throughout the exams and my marks 100% suffered for it.

4.

Create "panic sheets". These should be little summaries that you can consistently refer back to when needed. Nothing too fancy or wonderful, just a page of something you always forget, weird definitions, or even steps that you often mix up.

I always struggle to focus in the exam hall because I'm hyper-aware of other people and their habits (like chewing gum or even their breathing) so I started the slightly odd habit of studying somewhere moderately uncomfortable a few times a week just to train my brain into coping regardless of what's going on around me. It doesn't have to be much, maybe not turning the radiator on so that it's slightly cold in the room, when my dad's cooking dinner (to get used to the sounds), or sitting in a less than ideal spot like the spare room instead of my desk so that I can hear the traffic instead of complete silence. By the time I'd got into the exam, I'd already learned how to focus in spite of the distractions, not only in perfect environments.

If you need any more tips I'd be happy to help!

Reply 2

MR finder al

OP

12

Original post

by Becca2008

Hi! I got straight A's in my exam and I'm really sorry to tell you that there's no straight formula to say "If you do X amount of hours then you'll definitely get these results." It all depends on how effectively you study, your memorisation skills, and even what subjects you take because they can have an impact on how you revise.
HOWEVER! There are things you can do to maximise the grades you do get:

1.

Prioritise your weak areas: I know it's tempting to revise what you've already got down but the biggest grade jumps come from fixing what you don't understand yet. I was really guilty of just sticking to what I enjoyed learning and then I became so stressed the night before the exam because I was trying to cram everything in. Save yourself the hassle and go for the hard things first!

2.

Be consistent: A little and often works far better than last minute cramming (I promise!). You don't need to start big and aim for 4 hour sessions at this early stage, just even an hour a night and then gradually increase it as you approach exams.

3.

Practice exam style questions. The SQA love to reuse questions with similar wording and you'll only do yourself favours if you're already well-acquainted with the marking schemes and their expectations. I didn't really find the need to complete full past papers timed because I prefer to work through questions in my own time to really understand them, but I definitely found my timing to be an issue throughout the exams and my marks 100% suffered for it.

4.

Create "panic sheets". These should be little summaries that you can consistently refer back to when needed. Nothing too fancy or wonderful, just a page of something you always forget, weird definitions, or even steps that you often mix up.

I always struggle to focus in the exam hall because I'm hyper-aware of other people and their habits (like chewing gum or even their breathing) so I started the slightly odd habit of studying somewhere moderately uncomfortable a few times a week just to train my brain into coping regardless of what's going on around me. It doesn't have to be much, maybe not turning the radiator on so that it's slightly cold in the room, when my dad's cooking dinner (to get used to the sounds), or sitting in a less than ideal spot like the spare room instead of my desk so that I can hear the traffic instead of complete silence. By the time I'd got into the exam, I'd already learned how to focus in spite of the distractions, not only in perfect environments.
If you need any more tips I'd be happy to help!

becca would you like to be my studdy budddy

how many hours should a sqa highers student sudy for all grade A

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