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DDC to A*A*A* in two months, how do i actually revise?!

hi guys! i need your best advice 😭


so i do OCR A biology OCR A chemistry and AQA psychology, and in my mocks i got DDC respectively. the problem is i need A*A*A and i know that sounds really ambitious, but im willing to work hard for it in the next two months.

but the issue is that i don't know how to work for it, which is what i need help with

ive never really revised for anything in my school life, and until now i didnt really pay attention in lessons. i managed to survive gcses with mostly 9s 8s and some 7s. for the year 12 exams i got AAE (the E was in chemistry) so i dont really know what method works best for me

ive only been focusing on chem so far, psych will be fine for closer to the exams i think- but i am also very scared for bio as there is SO much content and i don't even know how to learn it

what ive tried so far:
- reading PMT/save my exams notes - this is my go to strategy but as you can see i don't think it's been very effective...
- watching yt videos - i tried machemguy for chemistry, it was okay but i feel like i forgot everything afterwards

what i want to try:
- past paper questions and exam papers

the issue with this is that i need to actually learn the content first

my plan so far:
- do AS papers for the next week or two until i get 90%+ (my teacher told me to do this last year and i regret not doing it then)
- start from the beginning, module 2? do you think thats a good strategy

in regards to time, i have frees and studies in school and lunchtime too, i think we're finishing chem+psych content in the next week or two but we are behind in bio and will probably finish after easter. another side thing is im not sure if i should quit my part time retail job, on one hand it will free up my weekends but on the other hand i like the money (its minimum wage though and at a place with very bad employee reviews, jewelry store for reference) and also maybe it would help my time management? i don't have any time management though,would it help to make a schedule?

im interested in trying spaced repetition but theres just so much i need to learn its overwhelming. oh and also i want to buy a mini whiteboard to use for revision lol


so if anyone has any advice how to learn the content very fast for my subjects or personal experience, please let me know!!! i will appreciate it so much, im finally ready to take responsibility!!


thank you 🫶

Reply 1

Original post
by lemon.sorbet
hi guys! i need your best advice 😭
so i do OCR A biology OCR A chemistry and AQA psychology, and in my mocks i got DDC respectively. the problem is i need A*A*A and i know that sounds really ambitious, but im willing to work hard for it in the next two months.
but the issue is that i don't know how to work for it, which is what i need help with
ive never really revised for anything in my school life, and until now i didnt really pay attention in lessons. i managed to survive gcses with mostly 9s 8s and some 7s. for the year 12 exams i got AAE (the E was in chemistry) so i dont really know what method works best for me
ive only been focusing on chem so far, psych will be fine for closer to the exams i think- but i am also very scared for bio as there is SO much content and i don't even know how to learn it
what ive tried so far:
- reading PMT/save my exams notes - this is my go to strategy but as you can see i don't think it's been very effective...
- watching yt videos - i tried machemguy for chemistry, it was okay but i feel like i forgot everything afterwards
what i want to try:
- past paper questions and exam papers
the issue with this is that i need to actually learn the content first
my plan so far:
- do AS papers for the next week or two until i get 90%+ (my teacher told me to do this last year and i regret not doing it then)
- start from the beginning, module 2? do you think thats a good strategy
in regards to time, i have frees and studies in school and lunchtime too, i think we're finishing chem+psych content in the next week or two but we are behind in bio and will probably finish after easter. another side thing is im not sure if i should quit my part time retail job, on one hand it will free up my weekends but on the other hand i like the money (its minimum wage though and at a place with very bad employee reviews, jewelry store for reference) and also maybe it would help my time management? i don't have any time management though,would it help to make a schedule?
im interested in trying spaced repetition but theres just so much i need to learn its overwhelming. oh and also i want to buy a mini whiteboard to use for revision lol
so if anyone has any advice how to learn the content very fast for my subjects or personal experience, please let me know!!! i will appreciate it so much, im finally ready to take responsibility!!
thank you 🫶

Hi @lemon.sorbet,
First off, the fact that you already care is going to help you so much already. I was in a similar position to you as, I didn't have anywhere near the grades I needed- especially in psychology! On YouTube I found this guy called Bear It In Mind (psychology) and he made 1 hour summaries on topics such as, attachment. These helped me sooo much and im really glad that I found that when I did. I work in a weird way where, I leave it quite late but work very hard when revising. I regret this a lot but it does work. You have plenty of time until your exams however, a teacher once said to me that money will come and go but, it will be harder to change the results of your Alevels. You will have an extended period of time to work over the summer so for now, it may be best to just focus on your Alevels. A schedule would be easier to form as well as you wouldn't need to include shifts and schedules are very helpful. When motivation goes discipline takes over and this is what I found with schedules.
Please let me know if you have any questions as id love to help!
Jack, LJMU Rep.

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