Reply With QuoteDo I look like I give advice
So, I'll keep this short and sweet. I'm planning to apply to either Oxford or Cambridge come autumn, in order to hopefully begin a degree at one of them in about 18 months. Only problem is, I still have no idea what subject I want to do at university, so next year I'm thinking about taking extra qualifications - the maximum most people do is three, I'm planning to take four, but more on that in a moment - in order to keep my options open in terms of what courses I could apply to for university. Just to note, Cambridge usually requires three As, frequently in the 'upper band' (called an A1, which is 85% or higher) and Oxford usually requires two As and a B, as well as an exam prior to the interview.
What I actually need advice on is whether I should actually take on these extra courses. In short, instead of doing the usual maximum of three exams, I'm planning time do four, which is already something that perhaps one person each year - and that's at my very academic and highly rated school. That, being honest, I could probably handle fairly well. The worry is that one of those four Advanced Highers would be a 'crash', where I didn't do the Higher and am essentially skipping a year, and in particular the Higher year which is considered the most important. To give some scope on this, after having spoken to numerous teachers, several of whom have been teaching for 30 years or more, none of them have ever even heard of someone doing that. It's unprecedented, and the only reason they've agreed to let me do it is because of my... well, very high marks in other subjects with a noticeable lack of effort, shall we say, along with recommendations from my English teacher and no small amount of persistence on my part. They were pretty stubborn :P
Anyway, enough of what probably sounds like me bragging. :/ I'm here to ask for advice, because I'm not sure if I'm just pushing my limits - which I'd enjoy, because academically I've not been stretched like that before - or if I'm just being fucking mental. My teachers have told me they think if anyone could do it, I could, but still.. general consensus from my peers is that I'm being ridiculous, even though quite a few have also said they think I could do it. I'm incredibly torn, and I'd appreciate the opinions of a group of mostly intelligent people, several of whom are at university, and most importantly are looking at this more objectively than a bunch of teachers and students who know of my, eh, 'reputation' about the school for being... uh... "a genius", apparently. Which I disagree with, but whatever. Hit me with your honest opinions and thoughts on this matter, please, objective minds of Spam.
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On a serious note from me:
It's your choice, Halo. Do you feel like you could push yourself and not have all the excess shit fall on top of you?
If so, then I say go the fuck ahead with it, but bear in mind that University can be very tough if you don't properly study, especially the near the end of the course.
" Careful now. We don't want to get blood all over your pretty white cloak. "
Decide what you want to do and who has a better program for it. It usually helps to have a plan in the first place, just sayin'. However just as important as pushing yourself is you should learn where your limits are at the same time as to not burn yourself out. There are consequences for not doing well.
“Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn’t make you who you are. It is the rest of your story – who you choose to be.”
"Illuminate a world that will try to bring you down."
Note to self: Halo's career prospects will be a dozen times higher than mine. I will look after our children.
It seems like an awful lot of work, but if you think you can handle the extra work load then I don't see why you shouldn't do it. I'm sure the rewards for completing such a task would be well worth the effort.
Crafted by Lillian Thorne, after some aggressive pestering.
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You, being serious? Wut.Originally Posted by Darkdrago666
Being honest, yes, I feel I could do this if I was organised and worked hard. I want to do it. And it gives me more options in terms of what courses I could potentially apply for at university, once I do go. Furthermore, I actually enjoy my subjects and want to learn more about them. I'm just worried that I'm being overconfident or even arrogant in basically giving dual middle fingers to the conventional maximum workload. :/. And in the end, I'm concerned that I'll ruin my last year of school with a bunch of work that is, essentially, optional, and then go to a uni like Oxford/Cambridge where I'll be working really hard too for several years. As Ester said... instead of finding my limits, I could just burn out.
A few people have said to me just to decide what I want to do, so I don't have to try and do four to keep my options open. I would absolutely love to do that, but I just... I'm dedicating several years if my life to this subject, I want to make sure I make the right choice, and I'm not stronger at either maths/science or humanities so... I really don't know what to choose. And I only have a month to decide before I hand in my subject choices for my last year of school, next year.
As said in response to Drago, I am worried I'm being too cocky and will burn myself out instead of finally finding and testing limits.
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Our babies will be beautiful after your tender care, my sweet, and I disagree with anyone who says raising children and running a home is a lesser prospect than any career .. But don't have that attitude, make of yourself what you want to be. :3
That's the thing... while it would give me an edge in getting into one of the Oxbridge unis, as they're known, getting three As would be enough. It doesn't really pay off much; all it does is enrich my learning for me personally, and allow me to apply to a wider range of courses.
Not only several years of your life, but I suspect no small amount of funds (unless you have a Full Scholarship).
I suppose the question then is: What would your ideal career allow you to do? Would it allow you to help people? Would it let you do what makes you happy all day long? Would it make you very good money?
“Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn’t make you who you are. It is the rest of your story – who you choose to be.”
"Illuminate a world that will try to bring you down."
I'd recommend still trying to get a better idea of what it is you're looking for before going through with it. As the others said burning yourself could be very possible with the amount of work you'll have, and the negative implications of that would be... Well, negative. It could start as a good idea and down the road become more of a toil than a healthy challenge. I guess what I'm saying is have an air of caution and think it through before going through with it ^_^
By the ever talented Lillian Thorne!
I think you're more than capable of doing it. However, it means you have actually got to put the effort in.If you get those fantastic marks without even trying, you'll get by with flying colors in the "crash" and other advanced classes if you put the work in. If you do decide to take on those extra courses, be sure to study ahead as much as you can so you can get the gist of the material you're skipping over in the Advanced class.
"If Scribz had a vagina, it would be Taaj." -Smiral
Indeed, although university is not as ridiculously expensive here as it is in the US and elsewhere. I'll just about manage, financially.
I... have thought about those things, and reached a few conclusions. For various reasons, including advice given by people from the universities, I'm not going to use those factors as primary guidance in choosing my courses. I'll keep it in mind of course.
[Vena Sera IV;8561714]I'd recommend still trying to get a better idea of what it is you're looking for before going through with it. As the others said burning yourself could be very possible with the amount of work you'll have, and the negative implications of that would be... Well, negative. It could start as a good idea and down the road become more of a toil than a healthy challenge. I guess what I'm saying is have an air of caution and think it through before going through with it ^_^[/QUOTE]
Fair advice, thank you. Luckily, I've negotiated a deal with the heads of the subject I'm crashing - if I'm struggling, I can back out and do the Higher instead. That gives me an escape route if I really can't cope.
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