Let's make our summers constructive! Come on.

[Furqan Azam]

Assalam-o-Alaikum people!
Breathing space in the CIE's, so I thought let's talk about the future a little. I am in AS Level and would definitely like to brace myself for the upcoming university thing and it certainly needs planning and organization. What I want you people to do is to share different ideas on how to make our summer vacations more beneficial. It can be like study hard (we are getting P3 in Math next year) or Do some preparations for Entry tests already, Appear for SAT's, Do some internships etc.....
The point is that ALL suggestions are welcome!
It will help everyone around here and instead of having a long boring summer of sleep and Facebook, we can make it a memorable one.

 

[Ram97]

Internships and volunteering

 

[TheJDOG]

I suggest researching about anything you like, there are many extremely useful knowledge sources on the internet like Wikipedia, we are lucky we have an internet connection So go ahead, read and be curious about things, for example, read about Spacetime, General and Special Relativity, SuperSymmetry, Stress-Energy Tensors, String theory , if you'd like also read about the lives of the great ones and their contributions Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Galileo , Archamides, Aristotle ,Einstein, Keplar , Michel Faraday, Louis de Broglie, Max Planck, James Clerk Maxwell etc...
Also, if you want to get ready for A2 next year, check out www.examsolutions.net for P3 math and P5 Mechanics.
You can try volunteering in anything you like to gain experience and be ready.
There are many things you can do to make your summer more beneficial.
And finally, knowledge is power, remember that and good luck in your university later on.
Peace

 

[n.r.s.007]

I am considering writing my personal statement and reading tons of books regarding Psychology ( which is what i want to study at uni ) and perhaps study psychology AS
I know I am a little obsessed
I am also appearing for IELTS on 1st of August
And maybe. I will start going through S2 and M1 because I am unsure of which to study along with P3..

 

[ovoxotillweoverdose]

i am gonna prepare for Sat exams. Has anybody given them or know about them?which months are Sat heald? i am planning to go to germany and if not then to other european countries after my A levels on scholarship but i don't know if sat if required for those countries, because i heard it is only required for american universities? Also i might change my college after the vacations, right now i am in roots. Does anyone know good schools with good career counseling staffs that land me applications to those countries?

 

[ovoxotillweoverdose]

I am considering writing my personal statement and reading tons of books regarding Psychology ( which is what i want to study at uni ) and perhaps study psychology AS
I know I am a little obsessed
I am also appearing for IELTS on 1st of August
And maybe. I will start going through S2 and M1 because I am unsure of which to study along with P3..

i am currently giving psychology AS exams and i have also covered A2 for psychology,as for AS i would recommend you to at least first look at the syllabus and read a few case studies because its kinda lengthy and sometimes boring, A2 however is a little less boring

 

[omaaaar]

i am gonna prepare for Sat exams. Has anybody given them or know about them?which months are Sat heald? i am planning to go to germany and if not then to other european countries after my A levels on scholarship but i don't know if sat if required for those countries, because i heard it is only required for american universities? Also i might change my college after the vacations, right now i am in roots. Does anyone know good schools with good career counseling staffs that land me applications to those countries?

Sats are held in June and November that's what i know. And go this link if u need more information regarding sats exams
https://sat.collegeboard.org/home

 

[qwertypoiu]

List of stuff I might learn online:

• Learn coding at Code Academy
• Learn new languages at DuoLingo (excellent for learning european languages)
• Learn math and many other things on Khan Academy
• I might learn programming as well, this site is good if you wish to learn C++
• This is a pretty good site in english explaining Tajweed.
• If you're interested in Arabic, then Madinah Arabic is pretty good.
• Word by word translation of Quran with nice colors here

There is more to the list however we should not spend all our time on screens. We should take up healthy activities and sports.

As others mentioned if possible we must try doing internships and gaining work experience.
Even if it's just tutoring middle school students or something it will help.

As for studies, I'll definitely try learning some A2 chapters for one or two subjects so there's less weight upon me during the year.

We should also be making preparations for colleges and universities, we should be doing our research (if we haven't decided where to study yet) or making career choices.

If uni requires SATS we should be doing them over the summer. I probably will just in case.
Here's a link about college admissions on Khan Academy.
Here's another useful link about colleges.

If you wanna learn P3 but don't have the textbook for some reason:
Pure Mathematics 1, 2 and 3 scanned copy available now!!

Link to Career Counselling thingy on XPC.

 

[MarcoReus]

Do an internship, especially if you are applying abroad. Universities appreciate them alot and unless you are stacked with great ECs + grades, it's a near compulsion to do atleast one. (Plus, you're helping the community, which is a good thing) If you can have some work experience in the field you wish to go into, that's a better option.

You could do other ECs regarding your field as well. (e.g.. starting to learn coding)

If you haven't given the SAT/ACT yet, make a pick between them (see a test) and practice it accordingly.

Doing A2 syllabus is an advantage and lessens the burden, but grades alone are only enough if they include distinctions or something like that (even then they aren't enough sometimes for top schools). So while you can't jeopardize your grades, don't jeopardize your ECs over them. Find a balance - which isn't as hard as it sounds.

(BTW, this EC thing is mostly for good foreign unis. Pakistan Universities are grade based).

 

[qwertypoiu]

Do an internship, especially if you are applying abroad. Universities appreciate them alot and unless you are stacked with great ECs + grades, it's a near compulsion to do atleast one. (Plus, you're helping the community, which is a good thing) If you can have some work experience in the field you wish to go into, that's a better option.

You could do other ECs regarding your field as well. (e.g.. starting to learn coding)

If you haven't given the SAT/ACT yet, make a pick between them (see a test) and practice it accordingly.

Doing A2 syllabus is an advantage and lessens the burden, but grades alone are only enough if they include distinctions or something like that (even then they aren't enough sometimes for top schools). So while you can't jeopardize your grades, don't jeopardize your ECs over them. Find a balance - which isn't as hard as it sounds.

(BTW, this EC thing is mostly for good foreign unis. Pakistan Universities are grade based).

Hi sorry if this is a silly question but what exactly does EC stand for? Thanks

 

[Ram97]

Hi sorry if this is a silly question but what exactly does EC stand for? Thanks

Extra Curricular

 

[qwertypoiu]

Extra Curricular

Ah! Thank you

 

[ovoxotillweoverdose]

Do an internship, especially if you are applying abroad. Universities appreciate them alot and unless you are stacked with great ECs + grades, it's a near compulsion to do atleast one. (Plus, you're helping the community, which is a good thing) If you can have some work experience in the field you wish to go into, that's a better option.

You could do other ECs regarding your field as well. (e.g.. starting to learn coding)

If you haven't given the SAT/ACT yet, make a pick between them (see a test) and practice it accordingly.

Doing A2 syllabus is an advantage and lessens the burden, but grades alone are only enough if they include distinctions or something like that (even then they aren't enough sometimes for top schools). So while you can't jeopardize your grades, don't jeopardize your ECs over them. Find a balance - which isn't as hard as it sounds.

(BTW, this EC thing is mostly for good foreign unis. Pakistan Universities are grade based).

which test should i be doing for european countries especially germany?

 

[Dr Death]

Aww hell naww. After A/L's imma sleep.

 

[22shimmer22girly]

I am considering writing my personal statement and reading tons of books regarding Psychology ( which is what i want to study at uni ) and perhaps study psychology AS
I know I am a little obsessed
I am also appearing for IELTS on 1st of August
And maybe. I will start going through S2 and M1 because I am unsure of which to study along with P3..

hey i will be doing IELTS isA on 11th July...pray for me

 

[Ram97]

For Karachites there is an I AM KARACHI Innovation Challenge being held in June

 

[Furqan Azam]

I suggest researching about anything you like, there are many extremely useful knowledge sources on the internet like Wikipedia, we are lucky we have an internet connection So go ahead, read and be curious about things, for example, read about Spacetime, General and Special Relativity, SuperSymmetry, Stress-Energy Tensors, String theory , if you'd like also read about the lives of the great ones and their contributions Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Galileo , Archamides, Aristotle ,Einstein, Keplar , Michel Faraday, Louis de Broglie, Max Planck, James Clerk Maxwell etc...
Also, if you want to get ready for A2 next year, check out www.examsolutions.net for P3 math and P5 Mechanics.
You can try volunteering in anything you like to gain experience and be ready.
There are many things you can do to make your summer more beneficial.
And finally, knowledge is power, remember that and good luck in your university later on.
Peace

Thanks Man. Some very good spot on suggestions there. The research ones are especially great!
Please tell me about the entry test preparation a little. What I should do? Should I buy and specific books or join an academy etc? Please guide me in this regard as I have heard scary stories about O/A level students doing really bad in these tests (I hope its not the case but still...). Thank you.

 

[Furqan Azam]

Do an internship, especially if you are applying abroad. Universities appreciate them alot and unless you are stacked with great ECs + grades, it's a near compulsion to do atleast one. (Plus, you're helping the community, which is a good thing) If you can have some work experience in the field you wish to go into, that's a better option.

You could do other ECs regarding your field as well. (e.g.. starting to learn coding)

If you haven't given the SAT/ACT yet, make a pick between them (see a test) and practice it accordingly.

Doing A2 syllabus is an advantage and lessens the burden, but grades alone are only enough if they include distinctions or something like that (even then they aren't enough sometimes for top schools). So while you can't jeopardize your grades, don't jeopardize your ECs over them. Find a balance - which isn't as hard as it sounds.

(BTW, this EC thing is mostly for good foreign unis. Pakistan Universities are grade based).

Thanks a lot brother. I was pretty enthusiastic about foreign universities in the start but now I am losing hope everyday (my seniors' fate has something to do with it )
Nevertheless, I am going for this internship thing this summer since our school is arranging it. Would you please tell me what sort of internships I should go for? My majors are engineering and I want you give me some specific names which may benefit me.
As far as the SAT's are concerned, looks like the Pakistani universities are also accepting it now (LUMS etc). But can someone prepare for them in 2 months if he want a good score?

 

[MarcoReus]

Thanks a lot brother. I was pretty enthusiastic about foreign universities in the start but now I am losing hope everyday (my seniors' fate has something to do with it )
Nevertheless, I am going for this internship thing this summer since our school is arranging it. Would you please tell me what sort of internships I should go for? My majors are engineering and I want you give me some specific names which may benefit me.
As far as the SAT's are concerned, looks like the Pakistani universities are also accepting it now (LUMS etc). But can someone prepare for them in 2 months if he want a good score?

No need to lose hope. Foreign Unis aren't impossible, far from it.

The best scenario is Work Experience + Volunteering. Try to do both if possible (you could possibly do one after another). If you can only do one of them, Work Experience is preferable. (Though usually it's difficult here, safarish/contacts scene hi chalta hai mostly).

Uhmm, for NGOs. Akhuwat, NGP, CARE, SOS Childrens Village are few I have heard about. Dunno about engg, as I said, it's mostly about contacts. Try asking your parents and relatives. However, there are still other opportunities. I recently stumbled across an internship for some IT Tower software house. You need to be on the lookout. Talk with seniors on this as well.

What do you mean 2 months? The next SAT attempt will be in October. Loads of time. And depends on said definition of good score and how good you are in English beforehand. Do tell me about these factors. If you are looking for a 2000-2100, sure. 2350 or more, difficult unless you are incredible in English. Do keep in mind that the SAT isn't a pure English test. Your English might give a headstart in prep but you can get a 2400 without this jumpstart.

 

[MarcoReus]

And remove this "tough" mentality. Take it this way, the toughest subject in ALs is probably Further Maths. And you'll be studying that level of Maths if you go into engineering. It isn't tough, people do incredibly well every year in whatever test/field you want to pursue.