Hi guys I'd just finished my A lvl and I would like to give you
some insights and tips for JC life. You may find it useful. Theres
no A1 A2 B3 B4 in JC, but just A, B, C , D, E , S and U.
I am from a JC whose COP is below 8.
Now when you enter JC, you will meet all sorts of ppl. This is
the time where u will truly see the outside world for the first
time. There are ppl of bad influences, of good influences, the
selfish one, the selfless one, the enthu one, the smart one and
stuff. So accept the differences, and choose your company
wisely.
If you want to score well for the tests and ultimately A lvl,
CONSISTENCY is the key. Gone are the days when you can get that A1
in chemistry even though u only studied 3 months prior to O lvl.
Unlike the Ordinary Lvl, you are now facing Advance lvl. Do not
think that your life will be easier just becos you are taking less
subject (i.e no SS, no elec geog, no chinese etc). Becos the H2
subjects u are taking are going to be of very chim stuff, more
deeper than your O lvl.
In O lvl, lots of stuff u are learning are actually "fake", and
that is why when u try to google your O lvl electron configuration
of Chlorine, it pops up strange stuff. But in A lvl, you are
learning SIMPLIFIED version of the REAL stuff. That is why when u
google ur A lvl questions and concepts, answers will pop out.
The H2 subjects like Physics Chem Bio and Math are of great
depth. Most require understanding rather than memorising, because
most questions are application qns anyway. Try to understand what
you are learning first, before u memorise them. For subjects like
Physics Chem Bio math, they are ADDITION to what you have already
learnt in O lvl. In other words, they teach you more methods of
differentiation and integration; they throw more Organic Compounds
formula for you rather than the 4 you learnt in O lvl; they throw
more complex qns of F=ma. Most are additions to what you have
already learnt in O lvl, while some are totally new stuff u'll
learn.
In JC, I recommend you to prioritise whatever you do. Time is
very short. Despite only taking 4 subjects (lets exclude GP and PW
and CL), YOU HARDLY CAN TOTALLY understand all 4 subjects that are
taught at any point in time. That is to say, you'll find yourself
lagging behind in some subjects. So prioritise what is imporant. If
need be, forget about burning midnight oil just to complete ur hw.
Sleep is more important. Make sure u get at least 6 hrs of sleep
everyday, and concentrate in class to know whats going on. I rather
you not do the homework, but understand what the teacher is saying
when they go through in class. For your information, I have not
done a single Econs HW in my entire J1, simply becos Econs is just
writing essay, and I write the essay in my mind instead, and I
understand them fully when the teacher teaches in class. I ended up
with 99percentile at the end of J1, and by not doing econs HW, i
have time for other hw like math.
Most ppl will tell u they have less than 6hrs of sleep everyday.
But by prioritising, it is possible to get 7hrs of sleep everyday.
Something is wrong with u if u can get more than 8hrs of sleep,
becos the hardtruth is those time should be spend studying LOL.
Learn how to say NO occasionally when ur friend ask u to stay
back after school to gossip. Learn how to say NO occasionally when
your friends ask you to play soccer after school. Becos those time
are precious to you in either keeping up with ur academics, or
gaining rest, or engaging in your personal activities. And your CCA
is gonna drain up lots of your time away, especially if u are in
sports. (Theres a reason why most top sports athletes who DSA into
top schools ended up undergoing 3 years programme).
JC IS LIKE O LVL EVERYDAY, unlike in Sec 4 where O lvl pressure
is only felt at the few months prior. Start your revision at J1 if
u wanna lighten ur workload in J2s, else u'll break down in J2
(provided ur target is straight As for A lvl lah).
Math is gonna be more chim. But good news is those JCs questions
on Math are ABOVE A lvl H2 Math qn standard. AJC has a particular
reputation for setting out-of-the-world impossible to solve Math
QN. So just skip AJ qn when u are revising LOL anyway they will not
come out in A lvl too. A lvl H2 Math qn is way way easier than
those u did in school (maybe ang moh math lousier you know). And
the distinction rate for H2 Math is about 50% nationally each year.
But that being said, know how to solve your school math qns first
before u attempt the easier A lvl TYS lah.
For Physics, A lvl Physics qns are also way easier than the
school's standard. A lvl Physics only test you some basic
application of formulas and understanding, but the school will set
qns that require much more mathematical treatment and further
thinking. Physics is alot more mathematics than O lvl. You may need
to differentiate too. So do not be too discourage if u cant
understand the chim concepts. Physics, IMO, is the most chim
subject out of PCME.
For Chemistry, lots of ppl say its tough. I tink its tough too,
but not so tough IMO. H2 Chemistry is all about understanding,
becos most qns are application qns. Unfortunately, A lvl standard
for Chem is not below that of the school's standard. Sometimes, A
lvl pops out qns u nv see before. Thats why u need to understand to
be able to solve them. Understand, then memorise. But u still need
to memorise about 50 reactions. Quite a big workload for
chemistry.
For Econs, OMG it is a JOKE H2 subject lah. Honestly, the
content in H2 Econs is SOOOOOOOOO much lesser than those in Physics
Chem and Math. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY PPL HATE ECONS. Becos Econs
require the least amount of time (IMO). As Econs is not a subject
in O lvl, all of you new Econs students are on a fair playing
ground. No one has a headstart. Econs are all about writing essays
and case study. If you always do well in SocialStudies, chances are
you will do very well in Econs. Becos it is all about BULLSHITTING
and SMOKING your way through your Econs essay. Alot of ppl failed
Econs, becos they do not know what the teachers want to see. They
do not know how to WRITE ONLY. They have the concepts, but dont
know how to phrase them in an A standard way. So I HIGHLY RECOMMEND
YOU to read model essays and see their way of writing. The teacher
will almost gurantee not give u model essays, for fear that
everyone thinks thats the right way and copy the style. But for
Econs, theres no particular right and wrong. Its like debate. All
can be argued both sides, provided ur concepts are correct.
For H1 Math Physics Chem Bio, they are 50% content-wise lesser
than their H2 counterparts. For H1 Econs, it is only 30% less
content than H2 Econs.
Also, H2 BIO is ridiculously tough and lots of memorisation. I
did not take BIO, but I heard from my friends that Bio requires
lots of memorisation. U might tink it as 20 times more difficult
than ur O lvl Bio.
Anyway, final advice for you is to be independent in your
studies. Dont just rely on your teachers. Lots of teachers are
actually useless as they cant teach zzz. Google is your friend.
Whenever you are in doubt, GOOGLE THEM, becos A lvl teaches u REAL
STUFF, but just simplified version of those in Uni. Go youtube and
youtube about the Math topics to understand the concepts behind
them. Youtube the Chem and Physics concepts and you'll understand
them. KhanAcademy and DrPhysicsA are especially good in Math and
Physics, and you might even understand the concepts via youtube
video better than those lectures u attend in school. The best part?
They take only 10mins to let u understand, and ur stupid lecturer
takes 2 weeks to explain the concepts ZZZZ. 90% of whatever I
understood are mostly from self-research online and watching some
videos. Becos some teachers are really useless in teaching. If u
are fortunate and got a good teacher, good for you. Treat ur
teacher as a personal tuition teacher and clarify your doubts with
them, and they're FREE.
When u enter JC, you are ready to give up 2 years of freedom.
Your life is just studying, trainings for CCAs, go home cry over
stress, wake up with panda eyes, repeat. If you prioritise, you'll
skip the crying and panda eyes part.
Choose ur friends wisely. Work hard and play hard. Thats the way
to survive these 2 hell yrs. Literally hell zzzz. But overall its
an enriching 2 yrs. Dont miss out those opportunities like OCIP,
OGL, CIP CAMP, CCA CAMP, OVERSEAS TRIP and all exciting stuff. But
they cannot be exciting if you cant cope with your studies, and
ended up with Bs and Cs and Ds for A lvl. So consistency is the key
in JC academic rigour. Your O lvl cert is useless once you enter
JC, throw that away. A lvl is the cert that will gurantee u a spot
in Uni. Flunk it and your dream of entering law school or medicine
school or whatever is gone.
