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General Category => General Talk => Topic started by: JMickle on August 20, 2009, 12:16:08 pm
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It's A-Level results day in england (A-Levels are what you take just before going to university for those who dont know) and every 17/8/9 year old in england have just found out how unlikely they are getting into uni!
I have only done my first year, so I got my AS level grades, which will count o half of my final grade next year, if i choose to carry on all my subjects and whatver/
I got a D in maths and physics and an E in music.
Anyone else got any grades today? what grades did you get when you did your A Levels however many years ago? or any other degrees/GCSEs or whatever?
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Got my grades today for AS, B's in Maths and Computing, C in Design & Tech and D in Physics. Dropping D&T and concentrating on the others in A2, seeing as the other three are the recommended ones for the course I wish to go onto at Uni.
I might try to do better at Physics this year though, main reason I got the D is from paying little attention out of boredom near the end of the year when I should have been revising... whoops
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haha i had the worst physics teacher i learn everything in the last couple weeks before the test :/ what are you planning on doing at university? I want to do physics, but I may reconsider looking at my grades :/
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Dude how could you do so badly at A levels :( Shit's like putting square block in square hole
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i'm an idiot. a few of my mates got like ALL As and the rest a few failed some of their subjects i think i got the middle ground here
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haha i had the worst physics teacher i learn everything in the last couple weeks before the test :/ what are you planning on doing at university? I want to do physics, but I may reconsider looking at my grades :/
My physics teacher was a good laugh, I just got bored of the subject matter, which ain't that helpful. Planning on doing Game Software Development, which is taught at my local Uni in town.
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Well done guys on your results thus far.
Remember that less than 50% of students nationally get 5+ A*-C GCSE grades including English & Maths, so by getting your GCSEs you put yourself in the top 50% of people qualification-wise. Less than half of those again stay on to do A-levels so, in spite of local rag/The Sun's saying 'EVERYONE GOTS A A-LEVELS!!' it simply isn't the case. You've put yourself in the top 25% of people now, so well done! Onwards and upwards.
Remember, if you aren't happy with your grades, there are always resits.
Mark: A lot of it boils down to the teaching of the subject as well as students' abilities to regurgitate information. If you have a pretty rubbish teacher, you most likely are not going to do well. I know a fair few students who had potential who've done badly due to teaching. Yeah, A-levels ARE quite easy if you know the system and exactly what's required of you, which is kind of how they're taught now. However, some teachers don't do this and leave students to enter examinations blind as to the requirements. This can equate to less good grades.
Note less good - two Ds and an E is WAY better than no AS levels at all!
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Long trip down memory lane/advisory post:
I got Ds and Es in my AS levels first time around and when my parents found out they said they refused to pay for me to live at home anymore and that they certainly weren't paying my train fare each day for me to go to my high school's sixth form. A few weeks later I convinced them to let me to go to a different place, a college - not a sixth form where I studied two subjects the same and 2 different. This meant that the second time around I did a lot better, I got AAAB in my first year of redoing my AS and AAA in the second year and I did Electronics, Maths and Geography (Eng Lit was the AS I dropped cause there's only so many times you can take a bunch of ugly girls in one room gawping at you).
If you are serious about wanting to do something specific at uni, maybe you could do the same thing. I think college is free in the UK until you are 25, one thing to worry about is that the longer you leave it before going to university the more chance that the tories will get in and that will most likely bring ball-breaking fees. You never know what they are going to be like the next year. My sister comes from the same household and she had the same financial check that student loans give you as I did and she gets a grand more than me because she is from a different yeargroup and they get more. Your loan-based fortune is pretty arbitrary is what I am trying to say.
When I went back to college a second time I knew what I really wanted to do and that was because I liked electronics so much. It was such a great subject and I have to credit that to the teacher because he made me want to study it at uni. You have to want to succeed to get the high grades otherwise, with Ds and Es you are pretty much treading water before heading into the world of work. Any worthy university these days has high entry requirements of B or above.
You have to think to yourself, are you enjoying what you do now and if you falter in that thought, you should go online to the sites of some unis you might want to go to and look at the entry requirements for the courses. That way if you see something that you would like to do you know right away what the requirements are to get in.
This is just some advice/experience from someone who got the same grades when I was back then. You do get an easy time doing you A levels compared to later study and they are easy if you can stay motivated and you know what you want to do. Not knowing what you want to do in life was the main source of apathy and de-motivation for me.
Keep us posted on what you decide to do man!
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Hey ed, I totally appreciate your giving out of advice, and a lot of it makes sense. I just need to pick you up/comment on a couple of things though:
I got Ds and Es in my AS levels first time around and when my parents found out they said they refused to pay for me to live at home anymore and that they certainly weren't paying my train fare each day for me to go to my high school's sixth form. A few weeks later I convinced them to let me to go to a different place, a college - not a sixth form where I studied two subjects the same and 2 different. This meant that the second time around I did a lot better, I got AAAB in my first year of redoing my AS and AAA in the second year and I did Electronics, Maths and Geography (Eng Lit was the AS I dropped cause there's only so many times you can take a bunch of ugly girls in one room gawping at you).
That's not great parental support there, I have to say. It's like punishing a student for not being able. I know a few people who HAVE gone to college and got better grades, but I believe this is for the reasons I'll talk about below. Oh yeah FUCK YOU for the English Literature comments hehe. Nowadays we have a few more guys taking the subject! I even had a COMMUNIST with a BERET in one lesson. I bet you don't get that in physics, EH?!?!
If you are serious about wanting to do something specific at uni, maybe you could do the same thing. I think college is free in the UK until you are 25, one thing to worry about is that the longer you leave it before going to university the more chance that the tories will get in and that will most likely bring ball-breaking fees. You never know what they are going to be like the next year. My sister comes from the same household and she had the same financial check that student loans give you as I did and she gets a grand more than me because she is from a different yeargroup and they get more. Your loan-based fortune is pretty arbitrary is what I am trying to say.
1) While college DOES sometimes improve one's grades, this simply isn't because colleges are 'better'. In fact, overall, colleges get a lot WORSE results from students. The main bonuses about colleges are that you're treated more like an adult, call your teachers by their first names, and it's a relaxed atmosphere that's conducive to independent learning. This DOES benefit some students and rapidly improve their grades, but these tend to be slightly older students, like yourself as stated earlier. Sometimes people who've restarted their AS-levels. A new setting, alongside the realisation that you need to work harder, CAN do wonders, but college isn't the miracle cure it appears to many people. It IS a change though, and it can be a good change at that. It totally depends on the kind of learner you are.
2) College IS indeed free until you're 25, as long as you don't have any higher qualifications than what you plan to study. If you're over 25 and unemployed, it is also free or at a massively reduced fee. My partner is going back to college to do a BTEC Level 3 (A-level equivalent) in Music Tech. As he's 25, and already has a BA in Music, we have to pay nearly two grand! If he didn't have that degree we'd be SITTING PRETTY!
3) Do not worry about 'BALL BREAKING FEES'. I left university with £48,000 of debt. However, the system works now as more of a GRADUATE TAX than a LOAN. This means you don't pay anything until you earn over £16k, and when you do you pay a minimal amount. I earn a fair bit of cash nowadays, but still only pay like £40 a month to the student loan company. Not the end of the world!
You have to want to succeed to get the high grades otherwise, with Ds and Es you are pretty much treading water before heading into the world of work. Any worthy university these days has high entry requirements of B or above.
This is the sentence that really makes me disagree with you dude. 'Worthy' university! ALL universities are worthy and all can produce the qualifications necessary to do what you want with your life. Don't do down people's achievements because they can only achieve Ds and Es. I have a colleague that got a couple of Ds and a B at A-level, who now teaches alongside me and is a FANTASTIC teacher. They ended up getting a nice class of degree from a university and are now pretty set up. Don't listen to the bullshit about 'WORTHINESS OF UNIVERSITY'. If it isn't one of the top twenty, which require AAB, it really doesn't matter whether the requirements are BBB are DDD. Employers don't give a shit anyway.
This is just some advice/experience from someone who got the same grades when I was back then. You do get an easy time doing you A levels compared to later study and they are easy if you can stay motivated and you know what you want to do. Not knowing what you want to do in life was the main source of apathy and de-motivation for me.
Total agreement with this paragraph. Keep motivated!
ed: Don't see any of this as an attack - I totally agree with your sentiment. Just wanted to give a POSTIVE INSIDER'S VIEW of the situation!
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Yeah, when I was talking about ball breaking fees what I really meant to say is that you may get less to live on during the year, which means you will have to get a job if necessary and that may impact on your degree depending on the number of contact and study hours you work a week.
I think my parents were pretty harsh on me, but it put me on the right path. It was the slap I needed to go from being a waste of space to someone who actually does work and you have to start working at some point in your life, better sooner when in academia so that you make a better return from it later on.
Those Eng Lit. girls were terrifying. There was one who always smelled funny, wore a pink lacoste tracksuit and put her hand on my leg when I was depserately trying to ignore those two other bad traits.
About that worthy university comment: If you know what you want to do you can quite easily find out which departments are the best and what university they are at. It sounded like a very GENERAL comment like I was being cavelier about it but at the end of the day, you only live once and if you have the chance to redo it all, like you would if you were JMickle's age right now why not aim to go to one of the best?
You were right though I did need to clear up some of the things I said above. I guess it's not the easiest message to get across really.
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Yeah I mean IDK I went to a grammar school so I guess it might be different but I didn't even try at A levels (did whole year's worth of art coursework in 2 weeks before hand in) and I did reasonably at least. The subjects with exams were even easier cause the teaching method in this country seems to be "here is how you pass your exam :)"
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Mark - there we go, that's the issue. You went to a grammar school, wherein GCSE pass rates are like 99%+ in the majority of schools, and they're able to achieve this through selective intake. The majority of normal schools have MUCH lower pass rates than that, some being 20%+. Obviously this isn't SOLELY due to ability - sometimes it's due to the living environment of students, parental support etc. Remember - most students go to grammar schools with a whole lot of parental support. There's some students whose parents can't even read and write, therefore can't even find out when and where the tests are hehe!
I get what you mean: at grammar school, DDE is like "WHOA YOU ARE LETTING US DOWN". In the normal world, however, it can be a really big achievement.
The subjects with exams were even easier cause the teaching method in this country seems to be "here is how you pass your exam :)"
This is my huge problems with examination based courses. However, if you DON'T teach in this style (and a LOT of teachers/schools don't), your results are a lot lower. Most children don't intrinsically know what is expected of them examinationwise.
Those Eng Lit. girls were terrifying. There was one who always smelled funny, wore a pink lacoste tracksuit and put her hand on my leg when I was depserately trying to ignore those two other bad traits.
That sounds like GOOD TIMES to me XD!!!!
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I just spent a year doing a fast track BTEC course. I studied Music Technology at a National Diploma level and came out with 2 Distinctions and a Merit which I am very happy with! For those non UK, here is a link to a page explaining BTEC - http://www1.edexcel.org.uk/quality-info/whatisabtec/index2.html
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Well done Jordan! What are you planning to do now?
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Man I remember my A-Levels. It was a fun time of working out what corses to ignore to focus on the fun/important ones, and juggling time around, and generally not caring at all at the same time. Never really worried much about it though, spent my time drawing dragons while everyone else was revising.(if anyone cares, Geography: D, History: B, Fine Art: C, Business: Pass, ICT: Merit/Distinction). Not great, but good enough.
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Just had my dad tell me i'm a failure which can't be good. :/ looks like it would be very smart for me to pursue a career in music and just get a job to pay my way through. I will go back to college next year and finish my A-Levels but at the end of the day I don't think i can improve on these grades by much without a lot of dedication, which i just don't have. I was considering going to a university to study music instead but really I would have to pay for that and I doubt it would be worth it a degree in music isn't gonna get me any further than I would without.
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Man, uni is awesome. You should at least consider some of what I said cause its a great experience.
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JMickle: Dude, there's always resits. You're allowed to resit your exams in January to improve your grade. You can easily turn those results around!
Oh, and you get loans while at uni to power through. Studying music for three years would be around 10 hours a week contact time, giving like 20+ more hours to focus on part time work to pay through. Plus you get the three years of freedom that you don't get if you go straight into the workforce.
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Man, uni is awesome. You should at least consider some of what I said cause its a great experience.
Totally. There was some really good advice in ed's post. Often some students find that they work much better at college than at sixth form, due to the more adult/independent feel.
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Man, uni is awesome. You should at least consider some of what I said cause its a great experience.
I know i know and I would love to go to university its something i've wanted to do for a long time, but... i dunno i'm just pretty down right now :P
my dad was saying that my college wont want me back because of my grades, but i know that isnt true coz they did say if you get at least 3 Es your back in. i'm just wondering if dads just trying to get me to prove him wrong or something and work extra hard next year. I know that if I want to get into the uni i wanted to (nottingham, to do physics) I need at least ABB, and from what i've heard about A2 of all my subjects, its going to be a lot more of the things i am better at , but doubled with retaking all my exams i dont know if i could cope with the workload.
i dunno i'm just really confused at the moment. i know i want to go back to college and my maths teacher always talks sense i just wanna talk to him and ask him whats best for me (as he know at least a bit how i am as a student now). ye gads i'm fuzzled
ps i am at a college not sixth form
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Everyone hates backtracking but if you re-did your first year with that aim in mind you would be better off. The reason I say this is because unis are looking at your AS grades when you apply for their courses so they need to be good to be considered. If you redid from the start you would find it a lot easier to take things on board, it's what I did and I went from Es and Ds to all As. Resitting everything whilst taking new modules is a lot of pressure to put on yourself.
You're gonna want to stay in education at the moment seriously. Getting a job right now = v hard and it will be nowhere near as rewarding as falling down, then succeeding.
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Well today I got my BTEC Diploma in ICT results, I got a DDD, triple distinction. So I'll be going to my university! I did do A-levels but I failed and decided to drop all of them and do the BTEC instead, mostly because I was pressured by parents and teachers into doing subjects I didn't want to do or like doing.
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Everyone hates backtracking but if you re-did your first year with that aim in mind you would be better off. The reason I say this is because unis are looking at your AS grades when you apply for their courses so they need to be good to be considered. If you redid from the start you would find it a lot easier to take things on board, it's what I did and I went from Es and Ds to all As. Resitting everything whilst taking new modules is a lot of pressure to put on yourself.
You're gonna want to stay in education at the moment seriously. Getting a job right now = v hard and it will be nowhere near as rewarding as falling down, then succeeding.
Everything said here makes a lot of sense JMickle, it's pretty sound advice. Retaking the year can be a huge boon - I have a pal that did that back in the day and it massively improved his grades on his initial try. You may want to think about changing subjects, doing something more arty than PHYSICS and shit hehe.
Whatever you do, don't drop out of education. There's WAY too many young people out there today who don't have post-16 qualifications, training or a job. They're called NEETs (not in education, employment or training) and life can be pretty bleak for them. You have a really great opportunity to resit or even retake here, and you can keep doing it until you're 19!
Why not consider a BTEC in music, if that's the field you want to enter, rather than A-levels? Or alternative, change your subjects. Or just try a bit harder with a retake year!
I did pretty much the same kind of thing at uni. I was initially reading Law, did that until nearing the end of the course, then decided "FUCK THIS". I wasn't scoring brilliantly as it wasn't interesting to me. I ended up studying Literature instead, and now I pretty much love my life!
Change focus, retake the year or do a different approach. Don't drop out man.
ON AN INTERESTING SIDENOTE: Well done SupremeWarrior! Congrats!
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Faust, I'd like to say I'm encouraged that you're getting excited about success. It's a sign of a great teacher.
I did my A Levels 2 years ago, I got 2Cs (History and Law) and a D (Philosophy) and had basically no idea what I was gonna do from there. I hadn't applied to University and had basically made a mess of things. I ended up getting a job in my old school, which was really surreal. After 18 months there I'm finally going to University in hopes of becoming a real life teacher. I have no idea what the moral of this story is (if you fuck up maybe you'll get lucky like I did?) but yeah, that's the story of my A Levels.
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i only took one A-level in the end, got a B in music technology.
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Can I find your exams somewhere online? Just interested, I did the Finnish equivalents last year and would like to see how they compare. Most interested in math and physics, but anything is fine.
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Hey Marge: You can find the specifications for our A-level subjects (which includes past examination papers, mark schemes etc) at any of the exam syllabuses' websites. Go to their GCE section (GCE is A-level, post-16, whereas GCSE is 14+ and at a lower level).
Try www.aqa.org.uk, which is the largest of the A-level providers. Or alternatively OCR at www.ocr.org.uk.
www.edexcel.com is another, lots of BTEC, science and maths exams there I believe.
Faust, I'd like to say I'm encouraged that you're getting excited about success. It's a sign of a great teacher.
Thanks Bumblebee man! I have to say, young people get drilled into them "THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE DON'T SCREW UP" way too much. If people have to retake a year or two, that's no big deal in the long run. Plus it's also really nice hearing about people that have achieved at the level they wanted - they can move on to the next level then hooray :D!
I did my A Levels 2 years ago, I got 2Cs (History and Law) and a D (Philosophy) and had basically no idea what I was gonna do from there. I hadn't applied to University and had basically made a mess of things. I ended up getting a job in my old school, which was really surreal. After 18 months there I'm finally going to University in hopes of becoming a real life teacher. I have no idea what the moral of this story is (if you fuck up maybe you'll get lucky like I did?) but yeah, that's the story of my A Levels.
I think the moral of the story is "Don't worry if you fuck up when you're young - as long as you get yourself on the right track at some point you'll be absolutely fine". I don't think CCD is anything to be ashamed of at all though - many unis would have accepted you with those grades. It's great to hear that you're on the FAST TRACK TO TEACHERSHIP hehe. Are you doing the BEd route or BA with QTS or a degree followed by PGCE or GTP? Either way, it's a bloody fantastic profession (as you'll know yourself from your SCHOOLJOBZOR), and a great way to ensure you have a job in these HARSH RECESSION-BASED TIMES!!! Oh, my father did pretty much a similar thing - went to school, didn't do well, got a job for a while, did some extra qualifications then retrained as a teacher. He was in his late thirties when he did that, so like I say FAUST'S TOP TIP IS - don't let it get you down if you don't immediately do well. Get your house in order and then try again!!! Huzzah!
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Everything said here makes a lot of sense JMickle, it's pretty sound advice. Retaking the year can be a huge boon - I have a pal that did that back in the day and it massively improved his grades on his initial try. You may want to think about changing subjects, doing something more arty than PHYSICS and shit hehe.
Whatever you do, don't drop out of education. There's WAY too many young people out there today who don't have post-16 qualifications, training or a job. They're called NEETs (not in education, employment or training) and life can be pretty bleak for them. You have a really great opportunity to resit or even retake here, and you can keep doing it until you're 19!
Why not consider a BTEC in music, if that's the field you want to enter, rather than A-levels? Or alternative, change your subjects. Or just try a bit harder with a retake year!
I did pretty much the same kind of thing at uni. I was initially reading Law, did that until nearing the end of the course, then decided "FUCK THIS". I wasn't scoring brilliantly as it wasn't interesting to me. I ended up studying Literature instead, and now I pretty much love my life!
Change focus, retake the year or do a different approach. Don't drop out man.
ON AN INTERESTING SIDENOTE: Well done SupremeWarrior! Congrats!
no qualitfication in music is going to do me any good in getting a job in the music business, it doesnt work that way unfortunately. it would be great to learn the stuff, but the actual qualification isn't an advantage really.
if i change subjects i'll have to think of something else to do at university, which to me doesnt seem to be a great idea
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I think you should perhaps keep your love of music secondary to a primary career goal that has more chance of putting bread on the table. That's not saying don't follow your musical interests, that's saying - do something else and nuture your musical interests as a hobby in the meantime.
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no qualitfication in music is going to do me any good in getting a job in the music business, it doesnt work that way unfortunately. it would be great to learn the stuff, but the actual qualification isn't an advantage really.
Well getting a job in the music industry is quite hard in general, and qualifications definitely help. BTECs, for example, open doors into studio work and producing. Music degrees allow you to become a teacher if you wish, which again looks good on a resume for pretty much any job. You're right, a qualification isn't going to immediately land you your dream job, but the most important thing in a music qualification is liaising, making a good impression and opening doors. It's a lot harder to do those things without the support of a college/university behind you initially.
Also: Dude, you're still young! So what if you change your mind about what to do at uni? But totally listen to your gut feeling. If you definitely want to study physics then go for it!
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I think you should perhaps keep your love of music secondary to a primary career goal that has more chance of putting bread on the table. That's not saying don't follow your musical interests, that's saying - do something else and nuture your musical interests as a hobby in the meantime.
this was my plan all along, pursue physics and look for an 'in' in the music business in the mean time.
Well getting a job in the music industry is quite hard in general, and qualifications definitely help. BTECs, for example, open doors into studio work and producing. Music degrees allow you to become a teacher if you wish, which again looks good on a resume for pretty much any job. You're right, a qualification isn't going to immediately land you your dream job, but the most important thing in a music qualification is liaising, making a good impression and opening doors. It's a lot harder to do those things without the support of a college/university behind you initially.
Also: Dude, you're still young! So what if you change your mind about what to do at uni? But totally listen to your gut feeling. If you definitely want to study physics then go for it!
lol i have no idea what my gut feeling is :P i know physics at uni is a very good idea, could land me a well paying teaching job (at secondary school my physics teacher earnt more than the head of science) but its not MY DREAM to do physics or aything
see i dont think i want to change my subjects next year, and i still want to go to notts to do physics but the decision is whether to go for my A2s and see if i can retake my ASs and still get good grades, which would mean some serious knuckling down, or to start AS again which would give me a better chance but also take longer and i may just be lax about it again. a huge workload may put me up to shape, because i do have the free time, i just never used it for studying.
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Are you doing the BEd route or BA with QTS or a degree followed by PGCE or GTP?
I'm getting a BA in Education (learning about the whole system, so if I get tired of teaching in the future I can go work for an Local Education Authority or the Education Welfare Office or some high up background type job still in the education sector) then going on to a PGCE. Hoping to go on to primary since having worked at a secondary I know for a fact I don't have the classroom presence or assertiveness to deal with older students, I sometimes used to struggle with my withdrawal group which was about 10 year 7's. So if all goes to plan I'll have QTS in 4 short years. Hooray!
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JMickle, I just finished a degree in music and while I can say that it hasn't directly led to any jobs, the fact that I had three years to devote time to writing music has improved me a hell of a lot. Now I'm moving to London and trying to get a job at a record label or PRS whilst writing freelance music for a music liscencing company, which will hopefully pay out if my tracks get used!
Anyway, not that I've been successful or anything at the moment, but I just reckon that you should do a degree in something that you really want to, otherwise it's a waste of your time and you probably wont do well in it imo. And yeah, can't you do a Btech or something in music for a year? That would probably be enough to go to some music schools?? (dont quote me on this)
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Hey Marge: You can find the specifications for our A-level subjects (which includes past examination papers, mark schemes etc) at any of the exam syllabuses' websites. Go to their GCE section (GCE is A-level, post-16, whereas GCSE is 14+ and at a lower level).
Try www.aqa.org.uk, which is the largest of the A-level providers. Or alternatively OCR at www.ocr.org.uk.
www.edexcel.com is another, lots of BTEC, science and maths exams there I believe.
Thanks, found some on OCR. You seem to have lots of practical questions in maths, statistics and that, many of your maths questions could've been from our physics exam. Also you've got some quite difficult subjects like differential equations, but the questions are composed in an easy way. They come in small parts and with plenty of hints. Not to say you're getting it easy, that depends on how grades are given and who you are competing with, I just wanted to check the differences.
Some more off-topic: JMickle, what kind of physics are you interested in? I think of physics as a cross of math and engineering, which side are you?
The basic rule of thumb is that if you don't have motivation, uni is gonna be hell. I would definitely recommend going for physics if you think that's your thing, switching to something less interesting but "ok" just because you can get in more easily might backfire later. Keep in mind though, that at least here, university physics is a LOT more math oriented than high-school (or whatever, I'm not sure about the school types there).
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Some more off-topic: JMickle, what kind of physics are you interested in? I think of physics as a cross of math and engineering, which side are you?
definitely the mechanics side. the kind of thing i wanna study is things like dark matter and the properties of extremely small particles and sub-atomic particles and stuff.
i heard that if you split an atom(i think its an atom maybe some other particle) and put a spin on one half, the other half spins the same direction. its things like that that amaze me and there are so many more examples of how sub-atomic things don't... obey the laws of physics xD
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Thanks Faust! That's the first ever congratz I have ever had, I don't even get that from my own parents.
Anyway if your not sure of what to do in university I suggest you choose a broad subject, I also did not know what to do but I spoke to my teacher about it and he said to choose something quite broad and since I do well in ICT and shouldn't have trouble then he suggested I look at computer science, as that course is quite broad in the fact that you learn all sorts of things ranging from coding to multimedia and other units that you get to choose. My teacher also said it's the best option for me because it will be like my BTEC course but on a higher level.
I would also listen to Faust about retaking, I mean JMickle you only got one E, maybe you should drop music and take up something else? You got a D in Maths and Physics both of which are very hard A-levels to do. I also did Maths A-level and got a U, I got a D in C1 and a U in the Stats and C2.
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definitely the mechanics side. the kind of thing i wanna study is things like dark matter and the properties of extremely small particles and sub-atomic particles and stuff.
i heard that if you split an atom(i think its an atom maybe some other particle) and put a spin on one half, the other half spins the same direction. its things like that that amaze me and there are so many more examples of how sub-atomic things don't... obey the laws of physics xD
I once stated in a thread that I like you. I must now add that I like you more and wish you the very best. That stuff keeps me up till 4am watching TED and reading wikipedia. I don't know if you already know this, but theoretical physics (which gets all those funky little particles, quantum states and all the good stuff) is the most math oriented side of physics. This is absolutely not meant to scare, it's just that all those awesome examples in Stephen Hawking's books can give the wrong impression, all those theories are based on a big pile equations.
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man I don't know how the fuck you get a good grade in AS-Level music composition, it seems to be the one thing thats let me down (my piece got marked a D), I really wanted an A in music but a B will have to do for now. The rest of my grades were B (ICT) C (maths) D (physics, dropping it)
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(at secondary school my physics teacher earnt more than the head of science)
No way dude. It's impossible, unless you're at an independent school. We have a PAYSCALE that is based on years of service, and heads of department are on a payscale which pays a lot more. If you went to a comprehensive/state school, teachers are all paid the same scale.
You'd make as much money for being a music teacher or physics teacher. HOWEVER, there's a lot more demand for physics teachers, so it'd be much easier landing a post! Like MUCH easier - the profession IS crying out for scientists!
But it's good to know that you're carrying on regardless man. You forget the bonus of retaking - true you might slack, but you've already got knowledge to get you D/Es at the moment. That means you DID learn some stuff over the year, so you'd be building on that rather than starting afresh!
Bumblebee: Spot on man, that's a pretty decent route in. Education policy is a little dry though, but it's stuff you definitely have to know to be successful in the field hehe.
Thanks, found some on OCR. You seem to have lots of practical questions in maths, statistics and that, many of your maths questions could've been from our physics exam. Also you've got some quite difficult subjects like differential equations, but the questions are composed in an easy way. They come in small parts and with plenty of hints. Not to say you're getting it easy, that depends on how grades are given and who you are competing with, I just wanted to check the differences
Wow! I know very little about AS/A2 Science/Maths as I really suck at those subjects, but it's always interesting to compare systems. They're considered pretty hard courses here, but that might be due to the fact that, as a nation, we seem to suck at these subjects XD!
Thanks Faust! That's the first ever congratz I have ever had, I don't even get that from my own parents.
No probalo man! It's been really great seeing how many British peeps still use this forum, and it's always nice hearing about people's results hehe. I understand how hard this period is for you guys, however easy it seems to people who aren't currently taking the tests/courses.
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No way dude. It's impossible, unless you're at an independent school. We have a PAYSCALE that is based on years of service, and heads of department are on a payscale which pays a lot more. If you went to a comprehensive/state school, teachers are all paid the same scale.
it may just have been a rumour then. it was an academy, if that makes any difference?
@marge - thanks ^^ yeah i know there is a helluva lotta maths involed in that area but it doesnt scare me i can handle my numbers quite well (ignore my AS results xD) escpecially when it comes to theoretisizing (made that word up i know) about things. i frequently hang back after classes to delve deeper into things and ask my teacher massive questions.
btw just a random thing- i did my AS in maths while does my GCSEs as well (a fast track thing my school was doing) and I got an E then, but the weirdest thing was the tests seemed completely different and i used absolutely different methods of solving things this year than last year.
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it may just have been a rumour then. it was an academy, if that makes any difference?
Theoretically it COULD do, as they aren't bound to the payscale. But all of the Academies have vowed to honour it...for now hehehe. Although they ARE free to pay MORE than scale, so I guess it could be true. If it's in an area which is especially deprived of physics specialists, paying like £50,000+ IS definitely a possibility I suppose. It'd have to be that much though, as heads of department typically earn £45,000+. But yeah, a bit rambly, but it totally COULD be true in that case, doy!
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My brother got his A level results yesterday, he's reasonably pleased (as it will allow to him to join the Navy at officer level). He got C in English Lit, C in Politics, D in Classical Civilisations and D in *some other subject I can't remember*. So not too bad imo! Especially considering he put in almost no effort the whole year (just playing WoW and Left 4 Dead all day lol).
I never did A levels though, I kinda went down a different route, and when I finished college (away in Scotland for 18 months) I got an NC in Multi-Discipline Engineering, a HNC in Measurement and Control Engineering and a level 2 NVQ in Performing Engineering Operations. Guess what my job is?????? Currently doing my level 3 NVQ in Instrumentation and Control Systems, and it's been easy street so far. Then I kind of don't know what to do after that, as I am in full time employment right now but I'd like to maybe go further in the subject (I fucking love it). I'm hoping the big bad oil company I work for will pay towards more training 8-)
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Wow! I know very little about AS/A2 Science/Maths as I really suck at those subjects, but it's always interesting to compare systems. They're considered pretty hard courses here, but that might be due to the fact that, as a nation, we seem to suck at these subjects XD!
We've got two levels of maths in our high-schools and A-levels (or the equivalent) and I'm comparing it to the higher one, so no sweat. Also the grading system is completely different, it's based on normal distribution, so the best 5% always get the best grade, the next 15% get the second best and so forth.
@marge - thanks ^^ yeah i know there is a helluva lotta maths involed in that area but it doesnt scare me i can handle my numbers quite well (ignore my AS results xD) escpecially when it comes to theoretisizing (made that word up i know) about things. i frequently hang back after classes to delve deeper into things and ask my teacher massive questions.
In that case absolutely go for it with physics if that feels right for you, even if you have to retake or resit something to get in. It pays off when you get to study and work with something you're interested in and have motivation for. What Faust said about the need for physics teachers in UK makes it sound even better. Here they've been telling us (and I hope they're not making shit up to get more students) that physicists, especially theoretical ones, can land some weird jobs, because it's basically a degree in mathematical modelling. For example some people from our theor.phy. dep. have gone to work for international banks, doing some kind of economical modelling. There's also the famous case of one who ended up as a sheep farmer in Australia. Astronomers also get it good, many of the observatories are located on tropical islands and other great places. People from my uni have been going to La Palma (that's Canary Islands).
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Hey, even though this topic isn't exactly about this, a lot of you are apparently going to be in the same boat (or maybe have already done this) so I'll ask here anyway. I'm applying to go to a British university in 2010. It'll probably be a LITTLE different for an international student, but what's the application process like? Does anyone know how long after you apply you find out if you're accepted? I really wish I had more specific questions but I can't think of anything beyond "tell me what applying to and/or going to (if you've already been through all this) a British university is like". Especially if you can tell me about the University of Westminster. Thanks dudes ;D
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I got a 5 in math, (Which is the bare minimum for passing), a distinction in Biology and a 1 in chemistry.
I totally blew Math though. But I think the highest grade in my school was IV so its definitely either something wrong with the paper or our teachers just suck. I still think this year's paper was amazingly hard compared to previous years. I'll probably resit it next year.
My O levels were 7 1's and 3 2's though, from the year before.
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O Levels? Dude, are you from the 70s??? Or from A DISTANT LAND?
We've got two levels of maths in our high-schools and A-levels (or the equivalent) and I'm comparing it to the higher one, so no sweat. Also the grading system is completely different, it's based on normal distribution, so the best 5% always get the best grade, the next 15% get the second best and so forth.
Ahh, I see. There've been a record number of 'A' grades here, which have caused the newspapers to bleat about EXAMS GETTIN' EASIAR!! That'd be solved by this. However, doesn't it give unfair advantages to people in weak years? Like if I go to a class filled with numpties, I get an A, but if it's full of geniuses I get a C, even if I score exactly the same in each class? I suppose that no one ever blames teachers for the situation though there hehe, as the results are always the same right? 5% As, 15% Bs and so on! Thinking about it, that DOES sound pretty good!
Oh, we have two levels of maths too! If you want to look up something called 'Further Maths' on those examination board websites, you'll find it. Like the best of the best mathematicians do that here (i.e. not many people at all do that here), so I imagine it's a little harder hehe. I think it's called an 'S-level', but I've never really been in a position to find out about it, sucking at maths and being shunned by the maths department and all.
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Hey, even though this topic isn't exactly about this, a lot of you are apparently going to be in the same boat (or maybe have already done this) so I'll ask here anyway. I'm applying to go to a British university in 2010. It'll probably be a LITTLE different for an international student, but what's the application process like? Does anyone know how long after you apply you find out if you're accepted? I really wish I had more specific questions but I can't think of anything beyond "tell me what applying to and/or going to (if you've already been through all this) a British university is like". Especially if you can tell me about the University of Westminster. Thanks dudes ;D
You get a larger student loan if you are from the EU and you want to go to a university that is in London because it costs more to live there than anywhere else in the UK.
Students from outside the EU have to pay ~£12,400 a year in tuition fees whilst EU members pay ~£3150 currently
I don't know what fees are like in the US but for us here, that's a lotta money.
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You get a larger student loan if you are from the EU and you want to go to a university that is in London because it costs more to live there than anywhere else in the UK.
Students from outside the EU have to pay ~£12,400 a year in tuition fees whilst EU members pay ~£3150 currently
I don't know what fees are like in the US but for us here, that's a lotta money.
I'm going to a VERY expensive school right now, the tuition I'll have to pay there (at least at Westminster since that's what I've been looking into) is still going to come out cheaper than my current tuition. I'm paying a LOT of money to not learn shit.
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Whachoo gonna study in the UK?
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Computer science. I'm leaving my current university because I'm starting my third year in CS and can barely put together a C++ program. It's a liberal arts school which I guess was a dumb idea for my major because I'm paying $30,000+ a year to be required to take a bunch of non-major classes. In the two years I've gone, I've taken about four CS classes. I'm better off starting over somewhere else than continuing to pay this kind of money to continue to not learn. I just wish I made this decision before it was too late to not go this year. I'm mostly going to the UK because a) the program is 3 years instead of having to do 4 here, b) I want to be in a major city but the ones in the US don't appeal to me, and c) I rely on my parents too much so I need to go somewhere where I'm forced to take care of myself for a change.
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LONDON IS TOO BIG FOR YOU ;_;!!!!
You should have gone to like a NORTHERN CITY for fun times/being glassed!!!
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I wish I could live in London but I guess I'd need richer parents for that. If I could get a good engineeing job down there when I finish uni it would be super. I would quite like to live out the rest of my days as an academic though...
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Thanks Faust! For now I am just working, I want to take some time out to learn to drive, buy better equipment and produce at home. I don't know about going to University to study this subject. I kind of agree with Ed that maybe I should keep it as a passion - I don't want to grow tired of it! But then that leaves a career to think about...
I can always go to University in the future, I just want to think about it for the moment and decide if it would benefit me and if I want a career in music. This doesn't mean I consider the past year wasted as I learnt so many techniques and all sorts about the industry, not to mention making new friends, some of which are very talented and still teaching me things!
Well done to everyone else on your results! I hope you make the most of them!
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Jordan: Oh totally - a lot of education is about developing skills, as well as progression. Also you're totally right - there's no age limit on going to university here. In fact, if you wait until you're 25 then you get a hell of a lot of help and benefits (damn mature students!) Education is never a waste, as long as you're not in a position (like Velfarre) where you're thinking "I'm not actually learning anything!!!"
A lot of people take time out before going to university anyway. Having a while working beforehand can really teach you to appreciate academia hehe. Like, before retraining as a teacher, I spent a year as a salesman. That's made me totally appreciate my current position.
Also don't stress yourself TOO much about a career yet. You're still young and there is a world of opportunity out there, whatever the newspapers currently say!
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I'm hoping to study in London in a few years (Idealy Goldsmiths), and I'm basically putting as much as I can from my student loan to one side and living off my grant/wages, so I'll have a little bit of cash(thankfully due to being poor working class, it'll be a few grand) to help with the initial costs and rent.
I don't care how much debt I have.
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Ahh, I see. There've been a record number of 'A' grades here, which have caused the newspapers to bleat about EXAMS GETTIN' EASIAR!! That'd be solved by this. However, doesn't it give unfair advantages to people in weak years? Like if I go to a class filled with numpties, I get an A, but if it's full of geniuses I get a C, even if I score exactly the same in each class? I suppose that no one ever blames teachers for the situation though there hehe, as the results are always the same right? 5% As, 15% Bs and so on! Thinking about it, that DOES sound pretty good!
It works pretty well because everybody in the whole country does the same exams, gets the same marking (the papers are sent away from the school to be examined by some very official, and very hated people) and then the normal distribution is applied to everybody at once. With such a large sample (tens of thousands) things like weaker years have practically no effect. The only problem is that sometimes the difficulty of the tests varies too much from year to year (The National Bureau of A-levels (that's a shitty translation) gets a lot of shit for this every year, nobody's ever happy) which causes trouble, like for example I did a maths paper that was ridiculously easy, so everybody got high marks and even a little mistake could cost you your A.
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Oh, we have two levels of maths too! If you want to look up something called 'Further Maths' on those examination board websites, you'll find it. Like the best of the best mathematicians do that here (i.e. not many people at all do that here), so I imagine it's a little harder hehe. I think it's called an 'S-level', but I've never really been in a position to find out about it, sucking at maths and being shunned by the maths department and all.
further maths isn't necessarily more difficult than normal maths, it is just different fields of maths. I took that this year, but I only finish the AS in January, so I haven't got a grade for that yet. Because the Maths and Further Maths A levels work all on units, some can be interchanged between the two, for instance Statistics 1 and Decision 1, which happened with me. They always prioritize Normal maths over further as well, so it is impossible (theoretically) to get a better grade in further maths than maths, unless you do really badly in the essential maths units (core 1 and core 2 etc.)
so yeah it isnt an EXTRA LEVEL it's just more, something to help you get into uni.
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We have the same sort of thing in the states with AP classes. They're not different classes normally, they're just MORE INTENSE and if you do good on the AP exam you can use them for college credit sometimes.
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When I wrote, it was: Biology (A), Geography (B), Chemistry (C), Mathematics (D... Eek!)
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O Levels? Dude, are you from the 70s??? Or from A DISTANT LAND?
I believe Seawed is from Grenada in the Caribbean. I'm from Trinidad and Tobago. We had to do O Levels too, called the CSEC or CXC exams.
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people do shit in math because they dont know how to study math. its fundamentally different than english lit or history in terms of methodology. its practice practice practice. in my history classes i could get away by just reading and not writing notes, but for math i had to do homework ifi wanted to ace it. its with most people who do well like that, except brillaint folks
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I agree with you Marmot! Except in school I was the other way round, I knew how to study Maths but didn't know how to study English! Although I found out it was still practice that I needed in the end. :fogetlaugh:
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I believe Seawed is from Grenada in the Caribbean. I'm from Trinidad and Tobago. We had to do O Levels too, called the CSEC or CXC exams.
A distant land indeed!!!!