Help! Taking A-level as a private candidate

[WATDlives]

Hi you all, i just have gotten my A-level results. My GP, H2 Math and H2 Chemistry are all D grades while H2 Physics is E and H1 Econs is A. Quite a miserable result that i am sure no public universities would want. So i am considering to retake as a private candidate this year. I am pretty much clueless on how to prepare myself for A-level when i threw almost all my notes and can’t go back to school. Hence, i am writing this in hoping to get some helps from you for doing self-study.

Since i had scored well for H1 Econs effortlessly (Throughout school exams and the A-level and compared to the effort i put in my H2 subjects), I am thinking of taking H2 Econs and H1 Physics instead. So how do think of me upgrading from H1 Econs to H2 Econs? Do you think it is feasible? Any advice?

It may sound like an excuse but i have no idea why i got a D for GP when i was in top 10th percentile in my JC for GP. I had been struggling with my H2 subjects and worked hard to overcome but i still got Ds. Probably i needed more time to grasp the subjects. So is it possible for my H2 subjects to jump from D grade to B grade within months?

Here is the list of my questions:
1. How do think of me upgrading from H1 Econs to H2 Econs? Do you think it is feasible? Any advice?
2. Do you think it is possible to jump to B grades from D grades for H2 Math and H2 Chemistry?
3. Any advice on studying as a private candidate
4. Do you have any good tutors for any of the subjects? I think i would prefer a private tuition. I live in Serangoon. If you know any good tuition centres, that’s fine too
5. Are all working experience and volunteer works helpful for University admission? Or is there a specific kind that Uni looks for? There are ad-hoc translation job offers (English/Korean) for me but i am afraid that these would only affect my results.

By the way I am a girl so i don’t have to go for NS. Thank you all for your kind attention!

 

[Louie Liew]

Hi I can help you for pcm. I studied physics on my own as a private candidate. I pmed you.

 

[eddief4]

Hi you all, i just have gotten my A-level results. My GP, H2 Math and H2 Chemistry are all D grades while H2 Physics is E and H1 Econs is A. Quite a miserable result that i am sure no public universities would want. So i am considering to retake as a private candidate this year. I am pretty much clueless on how to prepare myself for A-level when i threw almost all my notes and can’t go back to school. Hence, i am writing this in hoping to get some helps from you for doing self-study.

Since i had scored well for H1 Econs effortlessly (Throughout school exams and the A-level and compared to the effort i put in my H2 subjects), I am thinking of taking H2 Econs and H1 Physics instead. So how do think of me upgrading from H1 Econs to H2 Econs? Do you think it is feasible? Any advice?

It may sound like an excuse but i have no idea why i got a D for GP when i was in top 10th percentile in my JC for GP. I had been struggling with my H2 subjects and worked hard to overcome but i still got Ds. Probably i needed more time to grasp the subjects. So is it possible for my H2 subjects to jump from D grade to B grade within months?

Here is the list of my questions:
1. How do think of me upgrading from H1 Econs to H2 Econs? Do you think it is feasible? Any advice?
2. Do you think it is possible to jump to B grades from D grades for H2 Math and H2 Chemistry?
3. Any advice on studying as a private candidate
4. Do you have any good tutors for any of the subjects? I think i would prefer a private tuition. I live in Serangoon. If you know any good tuition centres, that’s fine too
5. Are all working experience and volunteer works helpful for University admission? Or is there a specific kind that Uni looks for? There are ad-hoc translation job offers (English/Korean) for me but i am afraid that these would only affect my results.

By the way I am a girl so i don’t have to go for NS. Thank you all for your kind attention!

Hi there. In regards to your economics, my recommendation would have been to forget about economics and focus completely on your PCM H2 and GP. Unless you are aiming for some very atas course, you can just keep your A for H1 econs and focus on A's for PCM and GP and your RP will be outstanding.

By the way, I saw the H1 econs paper and the essay questions to be quite frank are very very very easy in comparison to H2 econs while the case study is also easier.

Why I advise you not to take H2 econs since you already got an A is the additional stress studying another H2. Also, you'll need to practice practice practice a lot more essays since essays make up a larger chunk for H2 economics.

What course are you hoping to enter for university? I think you have messaged me on carousell about the same thing unless I'm mistaken

 

[WATDlives]

Hi there. In regards to your economics, my recommendation would have been to forget about economics and focus completely on your PCM H2 and GP. Unless you are aiming for some very atas course, you can just keep your A for H1 econs and focus on A's for PCM and GP and your RP will be outstanding.

By the way, I saw the H1 econs paper and the essay questions to be quite frank are very very very easy in comparison to H2 econs while the case study is also easier.

Why I advise you not to take H2 econs since you already got an A is the additional stress studying another H2. Also, you'll need to practice practice practice a lot more essays since essays make up a larger chunk for H2 economics.

What course are you hoping to enter for university? I think you have messaged me on carousell about the same thing unless I'm mistaken

Thanks for your kind reply!
Since you said just focus on pcm, does that mean that i don't have to re-take H1 Econs this year? When i applied for Uni, i remember i was allowed to choose only one year of exam. I am considering to take H2 Econs cuz my teachers say i am more Arts orientated. So maybe it would be more effective to spend my time on econs than on science.
Since econs seems to be the only subject I'm good at, i am considering economics as a course. Other than economics, i am thinking of political science and business(Analytics).
I think you have mistaken... cuz i don't have a carousell account.. Thanks anyway!

 

[eddief4]

Thanks for your kind reply!
Since you said just focus on pcm, does that mean that i don't have to re-take H1 Econs this year? When i applied for Uni, i remember i was allowed to choose only one year of exam. I am considering to take H2 Econs cuz my teachers say i am more Arts orientated. So maybe it would be more effective to spend my time on econs than on science.
Since econs seems to be the only subject I'm good at, i am considering economics as a course. Other than economics, i am thinking of political science and business(Analytics).
I think you have mistaken... cuz i don't have a carousell account.. Thanks anyway!

Yes. Your h1 subject can be carried over from your last sitting.

Only gp and h2 subjects cant be carried from different years and need to be in one sitting.

So forget your h1 and focus on gp and pcm.

I wanted to add since I didn't read your entire post properly earlier, H2 econs has a higher emphasis on the essay portion. If you have been trained to do H1 papers, doing 3 essays in 2 hour 15 minutes may be tough if you're not used to that especially if you don't have a teacher to help implement such practices.

I also said earlier, the essay for last year's H1 paper is really really easy so it will be a step up if you do H2. I'm not saying you can't since scoring an A for H1 econs shows you have strong foundations, it's whether it's enough to learn new topics such as market structure.

Since you're arts oriented, what uni course are you hoping to pursue?

Haha it's ok. I got a message from someone on carousell telling me the same issue. Didn't do so well for her H2s but scored an A for her H1 econs. My advice was to focus on her other 3 subjects that she struggled. Less subjects to study is far better.