Cambridge NatSci Admissions Test 2018

Revision time!

ft tea and toasted hot cross buns

07/01/19 - 1/100 days of productivity

Thank you for 2000 followers! I love you all!

First day back at sixth form and first day of a new productivity challenge! I will honestly try to suck less at posting every day this time hehe

Because I have 4 free hours on a Monday before my first out of two lessons at 2pm, I got a lot done. I started out with some maths, but then my computer logged me off my digital books and it wouldn’t load again, so I ended up writing up some biology notes and then doing some chemistry - that’s what you can see here :)

Although I am full of cold, it has been a good day all round! I found out I got an A* in my bio mock when I thought I actually flunked that test so hard.

16/08/18 So studying languages is amazing but I also love sciences and there is an introductory lecture tomorrow about pharmacokinetics that I unfortunately am not attending. However, it looked like fun so I’m reading up on it myself and making some notes for something to do because it’s 22:14 right now. I’m not a person to specialise in just one thing 😫

12/8/19

3 days until A Level results day and I feel physically sick knowing that what’s on that paper is not going to be a reflection of my best work by a long shot.

However, I know that I will have plenty of opportunities to prove myself at uni. New chapter, new start. It’s all a learning curve and those results can’t hurt me. I’ve already got a confirmed place at uni; now I need to focus on that.

Good luck to any fellow A level takers of 2019. We will get out the other side x

I started on the 13th June 2018 with Pure Maths. I finished Pure Maths on the 26th July. And I finished Stats and Mechanics today after taking a few weeks off to rest. This feeling is what makes it worth it.

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH FILING

No, seriously. Have a system for your binders, datestamp and label those notes you just took with the topic up top and bung them in a folder in the correct order.

I did this in year 12 and it helped a lot. I gave up on it in year 13 and just had a pile of papers that came up to my thigh from the floor across all 5 subjects. What happened? I lost all my revision materials right there.

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 ¾, 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.

If anyone has any other tips on starting A Levels please mention them! 

How to be a white or non-black ally at a rally

via  @laurielovelugo 

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Work experience!

So a bit of background: a charity called The Talent Tap approached my school last academic year for the first time ever and said they were looking to fund 2 weeks worth of work experience in London (and around it, in my case) for disadvantaged state school kids, would anyone like to apply?

I decided to put my name forward for interview, got in, and now you’re all caught up!

What a ride these 2 weeks have been. I spent week 1 at a biotech lab in Cambridge, where I actually got to do loads of lab work as well as meet people from all around the company.

Back in London for the weekend, there was a public speaking workshop on Saturday. I hate public speaking but I decided to put my all into it despite that. (And put my all in I did - my punishment for ultimately winning “best speech of the day” was to speak at the final drinks celebration on Thursday 18th July 2019.)

Week 2 was at a property investment management firm in London. We did a marketing project there... and while I quickly learned marketing really isn’t my thing, we did have a ton of guest speakers in - including a patent attorney or two, who piqued my interest.

My speech at the final celebration went amazingly (tip: wine helps) and I was congratulated by many of the businesspeople there. I was scared, but I tried my best to be brave. I was actually the only first year on the programme to win an award for being one of the best ambassadors for the scheme.

I am now working to secure placements for next year - one being with an IP law firm. Bring it on!

25/11/18 - 77 days of productivity

This is why I love chemistry. It’s messy yet highly predictable, and all molecules are intrinsically related to one another - even if it’s hard to get from one to the other in a single step.

I mentioned nucleophilic acyl substitution on my personal statement, and I’m just reminding myself of it - just in case Cambridge decide to grill me on it. In fact, as much as I HATE my personal statement, I’m going through it all. But my grey mildliner is healing my heart :)

To all exam-takers

Gentle reminder that however much of a shitstorm your exams are, they do not tell you shit about yourself really. All they do is tell you how good you were at conforming to a mark scheme on that particular day. 0% doesn’t mean someone is stupid and 100% doesn’t necessarily mean someone is smart.

Of course try your best and revise and do what you can to maximise your success. But if it doesn’t go your way, know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and as long as you end up doing what you want to do, nobody gives a fuck if you don’t get straight A’s or whatever ❤️