Accio Coffee

my first semester is coming to a close and im not ready for finals.

have been writing a term paper all afternoon, haven’t even started practicing for my calculus class yet either.

A Levels is a lot different than GCSEs and here are some tips from a recent graduate.

It needs a lot more revision.

The jump from GCSEs/O Levels is enormous.Even though you go from having 8/9 subjects to 3/4, much more studying is required. There’s a lot more to cover and all the topics are more elaborated. Overall, everything is just more difficult. Knowing this ahead of time can really be beneficial. Don’t think studying a week before midterms or exams will be a good idea because it won’t be. Your best bet would be to study as you go along.

Do not skip classes unless absolutely necessary.

The second mistake was skipping classes. So the first time I ditched, I told myself it would only happen again if it was an emergency, but alas, not the case. After my first time ditching, I almost stopped attending Economics classes completely because I thought I could study on my own, because I didn’t like my teacher. I regretted this when we had our mock, where the questions that were given to us had already been gone through in class.

Don’t waste your free periods.

I had a lot of free periods, and in all of them, I’d chat with friends, walk around the school, do nothing of sustenance, basically. These are ideal for studying or revising because you’re technically already in the right mindset seeing as you’re in school. Also, if you get enough done at school, you’ll end up having to do a lot less at home! I’m not saying do this every single time, but just realize that there’s more to free periods than social gatherings.

Pick subjects you enjoy.

Every subject is going to be difficult in it’s own way, and you’re going to most likely get fed up of everything. By picking something you enjoy, you may be able to deal with it a lot better and spend more time working on it. I spent the most time in AS on Economics because I loved it and it was so interesting to me, and much less time on Psychology just because it didn’t give me the same excitement. This was blatantly obvious when I got my AS results.

Your friend group will change,

I thought I’d be friends with the same people all throughout it. I was wrong. Over just two years, I lost a lot of people I considered to be close friends, but I also made so many new friendships. Friend groups change and it doesn’t have to be due to drama or whatever, it kind of happens naturally. Don’t be alarmed if this happens, because you’ll meet so many new people over the course of your A Levels.

Ask questions.

Don’t be afraid to raise your hand and clear your concepts if you’re confused. That’s literally what your teacher is there for! If you don’t want to ask in front of your class, ask in their office hours! It’s better to have accurate information than flipping through different books a week before the exam trying to make sense of it.

Join extracurricular activities and clubs

A Levels isn’t going to be fun if all you do is stay locked up studying. To make new friends, meet new people, just have a better time, you can join a club or an activity or something sports related! I joined like three clubs in AS and ran my own in A2, and let me tell you, it was amazing. I met people I would’ve never been friends with if it weren’t for the clubs. Yes grades are important, but some universities may prefer it if you seem like an all rounder.

Some school tips I’ve thought of at 3am.

Have a random folder.

This folder is going to be to be for any non-subject related sheets you get. This way, your backpack won’t be crowded with random papers and the sheets also stay safe from getting crushed at the bottom of your bag. Just try not to start stuffing everything into this folder, keep your subject work organised!

Breakfast.

I know a lot of people don’t eat breakfast because they get stomach aches in the morning or something along those lines, but as soon as you start feeling hungry, eat something light. Even just a piece of toast with some jam on top. It’s not called the most important meal of the day for no reason. Eating something will give you some more energy in the mornings!

Wake up at the same time every day.

So I know people like sleeping in on weekends, but think of it like this. The entire week your body is being conditioned to wake up at a certain time, but you’re not letting it get completely used to it by sleeping in on the sixth day. If you have trouble waking up in the mornings, try to wake up at the exact same time every day of the week for two weeks and just see how your body becomes more accustomed to it.

Wear something you’re comfortable in.

Okay I’m not saying show up to school/college in a tracksuit unless that’s what you want, I just mean, don’t wear a shirt that itches or is too tight because chances are, you’ll be focused so much on that, you won’t pay attention in class. I once wore brand new shoes to class and they hurt so bad, I didn’t even listen to the teacher, I was busy praying for my feet.

Designate a study area.

If you study at home, designate one area as a study area. For my, it’s my desk. I know some people study on their beds, but that’s never worked for me because I, being a lazy person, have related my bed with laying down/sleeping. So even if I start studying sitting up, after an hour, I’m on my stomach and feeling super lethargic. I find that studying in the same place every time makes your brain understand that this place is where you should be most alert.

To do lists.

You don’t need a fancy shmancy bullet journal or planner for this tip. You need a piece of paper or a sticky note. Whenever you’re sitting down to do some hardcore studying, make a list of everything you want to realistically get done. Then, you won’t forget anything and you’ll be able to deduce how long you’re able to allocate to each task. Also, it’s super satisfying when you cross everything off!

Hello! This is a masterpost of my favourite school supplies! This includes pens, pencils, highlighters, markers, paper and notebooks! The small star ( * ) represents my all time ride or die products :) There are no brush pens on this list because I currently don’t own any, got a Pentel Sign one coming though!

Black Pens:

Pilot G2 0.38 

Pilot G2 0.5 * 

Pentel Energel Needle Tip 0.3 * 

Muji Capped Gel Ink Pen 0.38 

Coloured Pens: 

Muji Capped Gel Ink Pens 0.38

Pilot Juice 0.5 *

Staedtler Tripus Fineliners

Pencils: 

Papermate Clearpoint Mechanical pencils 0.5 *

Bic Mechanical Pencils 0.5 

Markers: 

Crayola Supertip markers *

Staedtler markers 

Highlighters:

Zebra Mildiner highlighters * 

Stabilo Boss highlighters 

Muji clear view highlighters 

Paper/Notebooks:

Typo A4 notebooks * (best paper quality ever, kind of expensive)

Muji Plantation lined notebooks * (really good quality, ivory paper)

Muji recycled grid notebooks 

Fivestar reinforced paper (decently smooth but SUPER white)