Hi, I would like to share my experience retaking A levels and some thoughts and reflections that I have after going through this 3 year A level journey !
Subject Combi : PCME
I was from a school that is known for its Arts stream. I hope this information would give you a better idea on how to gauge my results and experiences.
In JC, I have always been consistent with my work. I took lectures and tutorials seriously except for physics, economics and GP. Truthfully speaking, my tutors were not very helpful. Even with extra 1 to 1 consults, I still could not grasp the concepts of the subject well. However, I did attend tuition classes for physics.
J1 was more or less a manageable year due to my consistent efforts which helped lay a strong foundation for certain subjects. When it came to J2, commitments and various leadership responsibilities started to pile up and I was burning out. Despite having worrying grades, I did not seek help from other tutors or sign up for tuition because I was not HUNGRY ENOUGH FOR BETTER GRADES. I thought I still had enough time and would be able to pull it off on my own at the end of the day. But I was wrong. I UNDERESTIMATED THE TIME I HAD LEFT and OVERESTIMATED MY LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS. Towards the last stretch before A levels, I felt myself giving up, thinking that it was impossible to pull my grades up and “finish studying” everything that I needed to prepare myself for.
When I received my 2019 A Levels result, I knew immediately that I would not be able to get into any local universities. I did not consider the private university that everyone talks about because it was not in my area of interest and I was not sure of what courses I could pick up in poly. Although many advised me to stay away from retaking A Levels because it is really tough, it appealed to me the most at that point in time. I was confident that I would be able to do better in the second round because I have the DISCIPLINE and I thought I just needed a little brushing up and I could get help to improve my economics and GP.
I stuck to a very strict schedule and followed the timeline very closely while I was preparing for the 2020 A Levels. I had tuition for physics, chemistry, economics as well as for GP. This time round I did not shy away when I needed to ask for help and made sure that I completely understood any concepts that I have doubts with before I moved on. My tutors were also confident that I would be able to get As and Bs this time round.
I was definitely very shocked when I received my 2020 A Levels result because it was far from what I had expected myself to get. My tutors were also surprised and asked me what went wrong but I simply could not answer, even up till now. I hope no one will be offended by what I am going to say next but this was when I realised that A Levels is not meant for everyone…
With my current grades, I applied to the courses in local universities with cut off requirements that I managed to meet. I got rejected from 3 and currently I am still on the waiting list for 1.
It is not impossible to ace retaking A Levels as there have been many successful stories if you just look it up. But I think it is important to know the spectrum of retakers well and know where you stand within the spectrum.
From my experience, I have learnt that:
If you want your retaking year to be worthwhile, you have to be confident that you will be able to get above 70 rank points.
You need to be very focused on getting the grades that you want and take whatever necessary steps that you need to get there. Once you have made up your mind to retake, there is no going back. You should not regret making this decision.
Be it you decide to go on this journey with or without the help of tutors, it is important to know the estimated timeline of your A Level journey (when to clear up fundamental concepts, when to start doing practice papers etc) as well as knowing your level of preparedness at each step of the journey.
With that being said, this is just my take and experience on this journey. It is not the same for everyone but I hope that my sharing will help give you a better idea on what it is like to retake A Levels! :)