A levels brought me down to my knees...

[Forde3654Eire]

Hi all, just thought I'd share this.

About 2 years ago, I started my AS Levels. Took Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Unfortunately, my school wasn't certified to teach A levels... our teachers knew nothing of the curriculum... classmates and I were left to fend for ourselves. At the end of the year, we all ended up with D's, E's and U's. I managed to get C in Biology, D in Chemistry and D in Physics.

Prior to this, the IGCSE year was very good: 5A*, 2A, 2B

After receiving my results, I moved out of my small town to the big city to another school to try and improve my grades. Left my family and all my friends behind, very traumatic experience. I retook AS Chemistry, AS Biology, AS Physics, while at the same time took A2 Chemistry and A2 Physics... what made it all the more harder: I found out my previous teachers had taught us everything wrongly during my AS year... so it was like starting from scratch.

A year passed, I did the exams and received my results... not too happy with them either. A level Chemistry B, A level Physics C and (the big surprise) AS Biology D.

Life the past couple of years has not been an easy-going experience... and I'm ever more shattered to see all my hard work and effort gone down the drain. To make matters worse, I live in a part of the world where A = great and anything below = you are an utter disappointment, a disgrace to the family, go crawl in a hole and die.

Fortunately for me, I've been accepted into a Pharm D programme in a reputable university... however, my parents and everyone I know have completely changed their perception of me, I am seen as a disappointment, someone who'll never get anywhere in life... my dad even has plans of pulling me out of the Pharm D programme, convinced I will not make it through the first year.

A levels have shattered me, I feel broken inside, I never saw this coming round the corner after IGCSE... damn you A levels.

 

[HassanBinFahim]

Errr ... I start my AS levels from tomorrow. Thanks for the moral boost buddy *sarcasm*

 

[leadingguy]

U lived so far away from ur home and parents at an age. I will say u were hardly 18, not more than that. and started with the scratch..... As u told that As/A2 were both not taught to u till the time. physics, chemistry and biology are considered one of the toughest subjects in A levels. U studied them u get B,C,D in first attempt. B, c are not the worst but as u said that we live in an era where any thing below A is considered bad. This is a little unfortunate.

still there are much u can do. That is something awful to assume that u can never achieve/earn a reputable position in the world. it is totally wrong mate. I have many examples and as u are not a spoon fed child so find different people and stories that can boast u up.

As u are a medical student so it is something I am unawre of. still I am stick to the thought that this Alevel has not brought u to ur knees. but has given u a breeze of practical world mate. Now it is upto u. u may take it as a caution to improve ur upcoming life or else, if u broke here u will surely curse ur self in the near future.

One advice i would like to give u. I am not sure u will find it worth or not.

u have spent two years on ur A levels as all others did. U scored B, C, D. Now skip one year of ur graduation and give Alevels again studying hard on ur own. U may atleast increase grades. upto B's. or even more. So that u may not curse ur self in future. It is better to struggle now then to struggle in the near future.

I am not sure that What I am saying is rite or wrong but stil u can extract the essence out of it. for ur own sake.

 

[premgaire]

I can understand your situation mate. But now since you got to a good university, I hardly see any reason to still feel bad about A levels. Your parents are wary of you now! But then, it will compel you to work harder and do better in the future. And your parents will soon forget it.

There's a saying something like: Do something. If you succeed you'll win. If you fail you'll have experience! So, just think that you got experience. Trying your best is more important. Results can be improved.

I disagree with leadingguy, above. Since you have already got admission to an uni, I recommend you to just focus on it. If you have free time, then go on to visit the areas of your fields, such as hospitals, etc. You can even do internship to gain practical knowledge and experience. However, I don't recommend you, in any way, to look back at your A levels once again. Life is short and you can't go on to correct every mistake you made in the past! If you already made a mistake, just learn from it and don't repeat it next time. That's all.

Wish you all the best for you undergraduate program! You can rock in Pharmacy, if you have the passion and will to work hard for it. What I suggest is, do everything now, that is directed towards your future career and your Pharm D. Attend workshops, conduct related programs yourself if you are enthusiastic, do internship (if you have time) but never look back!

 

[wajji345]

Don't worry brother. We're on the same boat.


Say NO to O'Levels and A' Levels :///

 

[NouranAyman]

Im doing my AS in november!!! im struggling cuz i cant get myself to study much im not satisfied... and seeing this freaked me out !!! :S

 

[leadingguy]

so?

 

[premgaire]

Im doing my AS in november!!! im struggling cuz i cant get myself to study much im not satisfied... and seeing this freaked me out !!! :S

I think you don't have any choice now, other than to study. Be optimistic because it isn't necessary to study too much to get better grades. Sometimes working smartly provides you a better result.

So, I suggest you to read 1 hour a day per subject you are taking in AS this November. This is because regularity is important.

And also, I suggest you to see different types of resources: past papers, examiners reports, mark schemes, etc apart from textbooks. This makes you well aware about examination process.

And while studying the textbooks, ignore the questions you find too difficult. Practice the easy and medium questions because that is where you should not loose your marks!

If you follow these three formulas, you'll do well without working too hard. I mean the return will be more than the input!

Wish you all the best for your exams.

 

[NouranAyman]

I think you don't have any choice now, other than to study. Be optimistic because it isn't necessary to study too much to get better grades. Sometimes working smartly provides you a better result.

So, I suggest you to read 1 hour a day per subject you are taking in AS this November. This is because regularity is important.

And also, I suggest you to see different types of resources: past papers, examiners reports, mark schemes, etc apart from textbooks. This makes you well aware about examination process.

And while studying the textbooks, ignore the questions you find too difficult. Practice the easy and medium questions because that is where you should not loose your marks!

If you follow these three formulas, you'll do well without working too hard. I mean the return will be more than the input!

Wish you all the best for your exams.

Oh That was really helpful ! Thank you sooo much, I really appreciate your advice. The thing is I usually study no problem, but right now we are having summer vacations so I find it so difficult to concentrate and work harder. I'm glad my school will start on Saturday so I will obviously have a higher intention to study rather than wasting my time chilling.....

 

[fasim]

JUST SAY F*** u to alevel & carry on with ur lyf, mate

 

[lilyanneth]

I agree with what premgaire said. Since you've already been accepted into a good uni, let A Levels go. UNLESS the uni requires you to meet certain conditions like minimum grades etc. I have a friend who did quite well for her O Levels, but A Levels was a nightmare for her. Her grades were probably C's and D's as well, and she plans to study Theoratical Physics in India! But she didn't really care as long as she passed, because apparently the uni she's looking at only needs their applicants to pass 3 A Levels subjects, as they focus more on their own entrance exam. Funny, but oh well. Whatever your decision is, I wish you all the best! Don't let failure pull you down. Get back up and kick it in the @$$! =)

 

[geek101]

just know that your parents don't love you in return for the grades you get for them. Its all rooted down to them wanting a good, safe and secure future for ya. They are probably just feeling a little insecure right now, once they see you doing good in your uni and heading off for a good life, trust me, they'll be the happiest people in your life! keep praying, and there is always good in everything that happens

 

[ZohaibAsad]

Just 1 question: Did you go through each and every past paper for the last 5 years with conceptual reading of each and every examiner report and used CIE endorsed textbooks and spent more time doing past papers than doing textbooks ?

 

[confused123]

See you have earned what you needed to earn from alevels. that is the hard-work which you did throughout 2 years. don't care about the grades. you have to groom yourself in any university and you should aim for a career. ALevel is just a formality to get into a university and it makes you get ready for the tough study in university.
your parents might not know the true importance of alevels. their perception can easily change and it will change once you get settled in university. maybe they are watching things in a confined manner, and that should not bog you down bcz you need to do self analysis of urself. people can judge you wrong. dats not important i guess.

and i agree with you that if you don't have proper guidance and seasoned teachers support then Alevels can be hard to manage specially these science subjects. Taking a C or D is quite an achievement if you managed dat by urself. i always prefer studying from former alevel students bcz their knowledge is fresh and they have more energy to teach. old teachers sometimes can loose interest in teaching and they can do more harm then good. you need to be proactive in alevels and find alternatives if u think teachers are not doing their job with honesty.
so no need to be a cry baby and you just need to learn from your failure and you should know where your interest and aptitude lies bcz if these alevel subjects seemed boring to you then you can't really excel as u r going against ur will. so dnt repeat the mistake again. CHOOSE THE UNIVERSITY PROGRAM WHICH MATCHES UR INTEREST!

so bottom-line is just that there is continuous struggle in life and building a career is a gradual step. you can certainly come back in life. many more exams to come....good luck for future