(Jun 4, 2016, 05:33 AM)Safira Wrote: in my humble opinion, GCSEs are harder than whatever further exams you take. (Generally)
I'm not gonna do A Levels though. They're too concentrated and linear, I would much prefer a syllabus which is open. That's why imma do IB - International Baccalaureate, if you don't know.
Universities in the Russell Group (the British equivalent of Ivy League universities you could say) do look at your GCSEs. They look at whether you're a shitty person or not. And since I'm in 'that' kind of community where academic excellence isn't just wished for, but rather expected, I'm doing what I can to not fuck up.
There's kids in my school getting Ds and Es because they couldn't be fucked to study. Yeah, I get that 'exams don't define your intelligence and exams are bad and fuck the system', but if you're going to spend your time getting smashed and doing fuck all instead of picking up a book, I cannot wait to see what'll happen to you once you get out of school.
I do agree in some sense, the sheer number of exams at GCSE level. I remember having to sit upward of 20 because of the subjects I picked. Though I do think A-levels in general are harder because there's a lot to do and requires actual understanding of the content, whereas a lot of GCSE one could rely off memory recall.
A few A*s and As, maybe a couple Bs at GCSE won't hinder your chances at getting into top UK universities, unless you're looking into medicine or law I suppose, but a great performance in A-levels (or IB as the route you'll be taking) as well as a wide understanding and true interest in the course you want to take.
I'm currently sitting AS maths exams, as the sciences were made into linear courses by the shitty UK government. Three down, three to go. I've focused on maths this year, but next year I'll be focusing more on physics and biology; as science is what I want to do at university.
I think exams do matter a lot, depending on what you want to go into when you're older, as they're one of the only ways we have to compare people's performance in subjects. If you know the content and actually understand it, you should do well in the exam regardless of the technique; you then only have to rely on not panicking etc.
(Jun 3, 2016, 07:15 PM)Faustie Wrote: I took chem through my A2s along with maths and biology; realized it wasn't quite for me, especially as I struggled in the exams. Still have to do some now, but I'm much happier doing mech/aero engineering - more maths, physics, design, and computing; less chemistry.
Don't worry too much about your exams. Do your best, but if your best isn't that great, you shouldn't worry too much. Networking is much more important than exams once you're in work; a few years down the line, your GCSE/AS/A2 results won't even matter.
Maths and physics eh? Beautiful, love the path you've taken with the mechanical/aeronautical engineering.
Forgot to add to my post though, as Faustie said, once you get into higher education or your chosen career, the results matter little.
Good luck everyone!
