As the second year of college is ever looming for most of us AS students, it can get a little daunting since, apparently next year is when our ‘adult’ lives are supposed to begin. Here, I took it upon myself to ask a wise A2 student about what next year will bring, and how awfully hard it will be. If not just for me, I hope that some of these questions maybe make next year seem a little bit more approachable.
University
How did you narrow down your University course options to the ones that you’re choosing to do?
- I made sure I attended all the available open days, because you need to get a feel of the place before you make any major decisions. I also took into account distance from home, expected grades etc.
What happens if you’re accepted to a university, but don’t get the grades that you need?
- There are plenty of other options. You’ll have an insurance choice uni, which is basically a ‘fall-back’ plan. But there’s always jobs and apprenticeships, loads of people are getting into other areas now. It’s not all about academic ability anymore, vocational courses are much more valued by employers than they used to be.
How much support is there from New College if you decide to go to university?
- There’s plenty. All of my teachers are happy to help, and many of them are interested. (especially the teacher that is already in the field you want to study at uni) And your tutor is always happy to talk, not to mention the careers team who, as the name suggest, help you with your career,
When did you properly start planning for University?
- I’d say when I knew open days were available for booking, so around the end of my first year. But there’s no rush, really. I was quite early, to be honest.
How long did it take you to write your personal statement?
- It took a couple of form lessons, (form is especially dedicated to your UCAS application for a good 6 weeks) but I also worked on it at home in my free time with my parents.
How do you plan to stay in contact with your friends from college while in University?
- I always take the mantra of, if the friendship was meant to be, there’ll always be a way of staying in contact. You don’t have to see each other regularly, even on a weekly basis, to know that you’re still friends. I have friends that I don’t see for months on end, but we stay in contact online etc, and we’re as close as ever.
A2 Year
How much harder is A2? Is it easier if you only do 3 subjects, or is there more work to make up for it?
- A lot of people have the misconception that it’s going to be easier because you have less classes and more free time. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s not easier. And that free time is just filled with more work (I started revising a couple of months into the term. Yay.) But the prospect of uni or freedom and NO EXAMS being ever-closer, makes it worth it.
What would happen if one were to truly, royally mess up this year’s grades?
Again, there’s other options out there nowadays other than academic pathways. For as long as you’ve been told that grades are the most important thing, and you’ve been seen as a number for the last 7 years of your life, they’re not the most important thing in the world. I tell you now and swear on Tom Hiddlestone, that you are not going to peg it if you fail A-Levels.
What ways do you recommend to revise AS and A2 content next year?
- I always stick to the trusty flash cards. Literally reading things through, repeating them, writing things down will help you to remember them – like how easily you remember a JBeebz song after it’s played 100 times in the space of 5 hours on Capital. It’ll sink in eventually, and soon you’ll be stuck with random facts just floating about even after you don’t need them.
Fact: did you know that Functionalist sociologist Emile Durkheim (20th century) believed that there were four different types of suicide- Anomic, Egoistic, Altruistic and Fatalistic?
It’s fascinating really.
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