How/when/where to take A Level exams?

International Students
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<p>I am planning to take a few GCE A Level tests (not courses, just tests) to improve my academic standing for next year.</p>

<p>I’m planning for Pure Mathematics, and maybe Physics, Chem, Bio.</p>

<p>But I have NO clue how to go about it. I’m in India, so I guess I’ll have to get in touch with the British Council and register for the tests. I am confused about -</p>

<ul>
<li><p>When are the tests held? I think it’s June? If it is, can I take the tests in June this year? When are results available?</p></li>
<li><p>What’s the grading scheme? I need all A’s so what’s the % of marks I gotta get for it to be converted into an “A” ?</p></li>
<li><p>Any other pointers?</p></li>
</ul>

<p>I’m just totally confused… :confused:
In fact, I’m looking for other higher level tests/courses too… esp in Math, Chem and Bio.</p>

<p>Any help will be greatly appreciated.</p>

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<p>hi merc! i’m on the A-level system so maybe i can help you out. I’ll give you a few pointers about this system first.</p>

<p>Generally, there’re two levels of A-levels course, the first one is called Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and the second one is simply A2. A2 is a continuation of AS. You can opt to take only the AS course or the AS + A2 course, but you cannot take A2 without AS. Tests are held twice a year, once in May/June and another in November/December. </p>

<p>As for me, I’m on the 1.5 year course (there’s a 2-year course for those who wants it), so my AS exam was on November/December 2004, and my A2 exam will be in May/June 2005. As for whther you can take it this June, I’m not too sure if they will allow such short notice. You will have to ask British Council. The results will be out August 2005.</p>

<p>Grading system? Well, 76 is an A for most papers. It’s not that tough to get a 76, provided you do well in all of the paper’s sub-components. For instance, Physics at A2 level has 6 papers altogether (remember that you cannot take A2 without AS); Papers 1,2,3 at teh AS level and 4,5,6 at the A2 level. The mean score will be your final marks. A at the A2 level is equivalent to an A+ in the US system. Cool huh?</p>

<p>Higher level tests: If your maths is strong, you might want to consider taking Further Mathematics, but I seriously advise you against taking it unless you have some reallY proper coaching, because it IS tough.</p>

<p>EDIT: I forgot the link. <a href=“http://www.cie.org.uk%5B/url%5D”>www.cie.org.uk</a>. Site for Cambridge International Examniation Syndicate.</p>

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<p>k wus the diffrence between the cambridge exams n ed excel london ?</p>

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<p>man, everyone else doin Alevels is in may-june ahd has A2/As level…are singapore schools the only one offering A level (not a2/as) and in nov-dec…??
from doin apst yr papers, seems like As/A2 have a bit more breadth but not as much depth as Alevel…(the ones in nov)</p>

<p>somehow, i doubt this info helped u at all rite merc? :stuck_out_tongue:
wanted to clarify my own ques regardin A’s as wel…</p>

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<p>Awesome alyssa, thanks! I’ll be posting more questions as and when they pop in my mind.</p>

<p>Neha - you confused me even more :p</p>

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<p>Ok more questions, anyone feel free to answer:</p>

<p>1) In Math, I’m thinking of just Pure Mathematics. Basically, I’m trying to undo the negative effect that my high school transcript (probably) had on the adcoms. I didn’t care about school at all… but now it’s time I accepted my folly :wink: Btw do you know if the calculus in A2 level is equal in difficulty to collegeboard’s Calculus BC? Or is it easier/tougher?</p>

<p>2) How are the test dates spread out? Do you mean AS level tests are in May/June and A2 levels in Nov and I gotta sit for both of these? I mean can I wind up “A level Math” in one round of tests (taking AS as well as A2 tests), in, say June this year (or nov if they cant allow me to take the test on such short notice)? Or if I’m unable to take the test in June this year, does it mean that I’m screwed and that I will have to sit for Nov 05 and June 06 dates?! That will be disaster as I need to re-apply by December!</p>

<p>Also I hope the test dates for one subject (e.g Math) are close together, maybe a day or two apart?</p>

<p>3) How difficult is Biology, if I have not studied bio at school after 10th grade?</p>

<p>4) How does A level compare to IB or AP courses?</p>

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<p>I can answer the Biology question: the course is long, filled with excruciatingly minute details that take several readings for me to remember, and is for most people incredibly boring. I like READING biology, but when it comes to doing the actual exam, I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT because our school marks us VERY strictly. Also, the questions, I find, tend to be vague. That depends on the exam board you choose, I suppose. We’re doing Edexel - I don’t know what Cambridge is like.</p>

<p>If you haven’t studied it in a while, it might be difficult for you. What Edexel did was take all the nastiest topics and left them for Unit 4 of A2. It came as a shock to me, therefore, when I started A2 bio, because I found AS very easy.</p>

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<p>hey merc, maybe if i am still given access to my jc’s site, i can mail u sample ques paper n all?? lemme see ya</p>

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<p>no As and A2 both happen in may-june i am pretty postivie… A happen in nov-dec…</p>

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<p>England has many examination boards: cambridge and edexcel are just two of them. There’s NEAB, WJEC, OCR, Edexcel, AQA and god knows what else. It’s just their different style of grading and course structuring. I heard that the cambridge one (CIE) is the toughest board.</p>

<p>Pure Maths calculus A2 is the same as Calculus BC. As tough, I mean. Further Maths is even tougher. Not for the faint of heart. On the same context, Alvl = AP. An A in A-levels is a 5 on the AP system.</p>

<p>Both AS and A2 are offered twice in May and November, depending on which course and exam board you’re on.

yes you can. Some of my friends who wanted to re-sit their AS, and taking A2 at the same time, will be taking physics Papers 1-6 in one go. </p>

<p>Test dates vary by year, so I can’t tell you whether they’ll be close enough.</p>

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<p>I don’t know about the A-Levels but I can give you some information on the IB programme. It’s a pretty comprehensive program and your grade is based about 70% on the final examination and 30% on internal assessments (differs from subject to subject). I don’t think the programme in itself is that hard if you work consistently and are organized and have good teachers. AHem.</p>

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<p>You can (rather SHOULD) download sample and past papers form the CIE website. cie.org.uk.</p>

<p>Have a look at the Math papers; if you’re planning on doing AS Math with P1 and P3, you should really have no problem. Its really quite easy.</p>

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<p>Make sure you get your hands on as many past papers you can, especially with their markschemes. You really need to know how the questions are set (sometimes some are repeated, too) and, more importantly, how to answer correctly: there is a fine line between giving a correct answer and answering correctly. The markschemes will prove to be very helpful.</p>

<p>As an example, I took Unit 1 Biology (Edexcel was the board) and got a C last summer. I retook it a few months ago and got a high A without really revising. All I did was simply read the markschemes to get an idea what kind of answers the markers were looking for. I recommend you do the same.</p>

<p>As for subjects, I did/am doing Math (3 pure and 3 mech modules), Further Math (3 pure and 3 mech modules), Biology, Physics and Arabic.</p>

<p>The math is pretty easy. Just make sure you know how to answer according to the markschemes, because missing out some steps you would think are obvious will lose you marks. You should manage doing 6 pure modules just fine, but if you do run into some trouble in one of the modules, you could always pick up a low-level applied math module and go for an A-level in Math instead of Pure Math. Edexcel is the ‘popular’ board for math.</p>

<p>Biology on the other hand is rather ‘tedious’. My board is Edexcel, and I feel that their specification is messed up and incoherent, plus their tests are horrible. It seems, at least to me, that a large portion of their questions (especially ones related to ecology and other similar topics) are very vague and require little biological preperation. You can still do well on the tests if you practice with past papers and markschemes. (It also helps if you stay away from Edexcel for Biology. :))</p>

<p>There’s nothing odd or special about A-level Physics, so I can’t comment much.</p>

<p>Finally, tests are different. There are two things you should know: UMS and test marks. For example, all Edexcel math tests are out of 75, but when you get your certificate they’ll be out of 100 (the UMS). The conversion to UMS process depends on how other students did on the tests, i.e. it’s graded on a curve. The curve can help or hurt you. If you get, say, a 80% on a test you might get a 78% UMS or a 81% UMS – it depends on the curve. Naturally, this is good when the test is hard, but this is almost always bad in regards to the lower-level tests, especially in math, as most people score high. So in P1, for example, you can get 73/75 on the test (you never know your test mark, btw) but get a 94/100 UMS. An 80% UMS is always an A. Also not all UMS are out 100, some are out of 90 or 120.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post and any grammatical or spelling mistakes.</p>

<p>Good luck. :)</p>

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<p>Oh, and if you have any other questions, please ask.</p>

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<p>And merc,are u absolutely sure u need to do Bio?
This is coz a guy I know who tranferred to MIT(Punyashloka Biswal) hadnt studied Bio since class 10 and MIT didnt require it from him…</p>

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<p>Don’t take Bio unless:

  1. You have never gotten any score below 100%.
  2. The unis specifically request it.</p>

<p>Friends who are doing pharmacy and medicine courses didn’t take Bio and still got accepted.</p>

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<p>oh merc, if u decide to do bio, dun worry abt difficulty…if i cud do w/o Olevel, u Definitely can :p</p>

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<p>That was some seriously good advice, guys!! :slight_smile:
Luckily I know someone who’s done A-levels so most of my questions now go to her :p</p>

<p>

What! I’m thanking you for it! :wink:

I’ll need more info about it, come on yahoo sometime.</p>

<p>Neha & alyssa - I dont know… hehe… I got A in bio (10th grade final) even though I hate biology… but if it’s not required, i will make sure I dont run into it now. thanks for the advanced warnings!</p>

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<p>Yes merc- don’t run into Bio- I have done Bio for all 4 years in my high school life and though it is extremely interesting, studying for exams is pure hell…nearly everyone in my class including developed rashes, lost weight, had high fevers or hyperventilated before the tests…ugh it was terrible :(</p>

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<p>Let me reiterate my post and that of my wise fellow posters above: STAY AWAY FROM BIOLOGY. Especially Edexel bio.</p>