UCL Horizons

It’s finally summer in London but students everywhere are focusing on their studies rather than the sun. If you are taking exams this summer, make sure you read our top tips for revision so that you can keep calm – and get an A*!

Planning

-          It might be a bit late for this now, but you should revise each topic as you study it. When you finish a subject, create a 2-3 page summary with all the key points that you need to remember. If you missed any topics or don’t understand something, ask a teacher or a friend to explain it for you.

-          Make a revision timetable. Work out how long you have until your exams and split your time between topics. Allow more time for subjects that you find difficult, but don’t forget to revise the subjects that you find easier as well. If you have lots of exams grouped together, you will need to do most of the revision in advance and refresh your knowledge before each exam.

-          Make sure you understand the format of your exams. Are they essays, problem-based questions, or multiple choice? Is there an oral exam (e.g. for a language) or a practical exam (e.g. for art or drama)? Can you pick several topics to focus on, or do you need to revise the whole course?

Knowledge

-          To begin, go through your notes and think about your strongest and weakest areas in the topic. Look at past and mock exam papers, and think about which areas you might already be able to answer questions about.

-          Spend most of your time revising the subjects and topics that you find the most difficult. If there are gaps in your work, consult your textbook, ask a friend or teacher, and do some research in a library or online.

-          Create a new set of notes, which become more focused as you go along. Start with writing out everything you need to know about a topic, and gradually cut your notes down to the most important topics and keywords. Start with a few sheets of paper, then one side of A4, then A5, then a postcard and finally a post-it note! This helps you to actually remember the information rather than relying on your notes.

-          There are lots of different ways to revise – experiment! Try writing essay plans for questions from past papers; setting yourself mock exams; making timed mind maps on a subject; making up songs, rhymes and mnemonics to remember key facts and concepts;  writing colour-coded lists of information you need to remember;  making note cards that you carry around and use to quickly test yourself when you’re out and about; making a recording of you reading out your notes.

-          Check out websites like BBC Bitesize, S-Cool and UCL Revision Skills for more helpful tips.

-          Take lots of short breaks – or your brain and your eyes will get too tired to work effectively.  Turn off your phone and the internet when you are working – you can only take your breaks if you have been revising solidly.

-          It’s natural to be stressed, but stay positive! Eat sensibly and make sure you drink plenty of water – avoid junk food and sugary, caffeinated drinks. Take regular breaks where you move away from your computer screen – play sport, go for a walk, or even just turn up the music and dance around your room! Get plenty of sleep, especially the night before the exam.

Performance

-          Make sure you know all the important details in advance of your exam. Where is your exam taking place, and what time does it start? Make sure you have all the right equipment, including at least one spare pen. You might need to take specific items into certain exams – do you need pencils, a compass or protractor, or a calculator for maths, or the set texts for English? Do you need a bottle of water, tissues or throat sweets, or a watch to time your answers?

-          Make sure to read the instructions on the paper. How many questions do you need to answer? Do you have to cover a specific number of topics? Look at the possible marks for each question – make sure you spend the longest time on the questions with the highest possible marks.

-          Stick to what you know. Now is not the time to experiment! Don’t answer questions if you only know about half the topic. It can be good to choose all of the questions that you will answer at the beginning so that you are prepared.

-          Make sure you answer the right number of essay questions – it’s no use doing two great essays if you run out of time to write a third.

-          If you are answering a problem-based paper, quickly move on if you don’t know the answer to a question – don’t waste time and get stressed. When you have finished, work back through the questions that you didn’t know the first time.  Have a go at every question – you might get some marks for your working, or using the correct units, even if the answer is completely wrong!

-          Answer the question you are asked, not the question you revised – always make sure that you are doing exactly what you are asked.

-          PLAN your essays. Make sure that you have a strong introduction with a clear thesis statement (‘This essay will argue that…’), which is repeated in your conclusion.

-          SHOW your working – you can get marks even if your final answer is incorrect. Make sure that you write the units and check you have given your answer to the right number of decimal places.

-          CHECK your paper at the end – make sure that you have written neatly (you won’t get marks if the examiner can’t read it!), that you haven’t made any silly mistakes and that you haven’t missed any questions by accident.

After the exam:

• Don’t dwell on your answers or talk about the exam paper with your friends – it will only make you anxious.
• Try to take some time to relax before you start revising for your next exam – even if it’s just one afternoon off.
• Focus on the next exam, and think about how you might improve your exam technique – did you run out of time, do you need more practice answering essay questions, did you forget your extra pen?
• Have a quick look at your revision plan. Do you need to adjust it?
• Stay positive! Once you have sat the exam, there is nothing you can do the change how it went. Concentrate on moving on to the next challenge.

This blog post was written by Charlotte Lydia Riley.

It is important to have an up-to-date CV ready to send out at a moment’s notice!  This means that you can always take advantage of opportunities when they come up.

Writing a CV can be daunting, especially when you are still at school and haven’t got much experience yet. However, there are some simple things that you can do to make your CV stand out.

Top Tips:

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In January, people all over the world make New Year’s Resolutions to eat healthily, to exercise more, to watch less TV, to save more money or to be nicer to their families. These are all great resolutions! However, at UCL Horizons we have some suggestions for New Year’s Resolutions that YOU could make to help you do well at school and to improve your chances in the future.

Our top five New Year’s Resolutions are:

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What is the Modern Foreign Language (MFL) requirement?

UCL requires that all applicants have a GCSE at grade A*-C in a modern foreign language. It is fine for this to be a ‘community language’ (for example, a modern foreign language that you speak at home with your family), as long as you have achieved an official GCSE qualification in it.

Why do I need a GCSE in a Modern Foreign Language?

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Lots of people try to do some volunteering or work experience before they apply to university. This can be a great chance to add to your UCAS form and show that you are serious about your subject. Think about what sort of experience interests you – where would you like to work? What would you like to do? Who would you like to help?

Once you decide that you would like to do some volunteering or work experience, you need to target your plans, based on your future university study and career. It can be daunting trying to find work experience, but there are lots of ways to find opportunities:

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Post-16 Choices – Choosing A levels

What are A levels?

During Year 10 you need to decide what subjects you will study at sixth form. Most students take three or four A levels, but you can also study the International Baccalaureate (IB), which gives a wider range. Some people study BTECs. These are vocational courses focused on specific careers. All universities accept A levels and IB, but only some university courses accept BTECs. As most students will take A levels, this post is focused specifically on A level choices.

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It’s tempting to see half-term as a chance to sleep late, catch up with your TV shows and spend time with friends. But half term is also a great chance to take advantage of all the fantastic opportunities available in London. You can enhance your CV, get great experiences for your UCAS statement, and develop new skills and knowledge to help you in your GCSEs, A levels and beyond.

Try out some of our suggested half term activities this October!

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I’ve been reading lots of personal statements this week, so I wanted to write some last minute tips for students about to apply through UCAS. Here are some common problems, and examples of how you can remedy them. My examples are invented, but they are based on real statements that I have read recently.

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20 September 2012 is Student Finance Day! As part of this we wanted to give you a quick update on Student Finance and Studying at UCL.

The BIG Picture

With recent changes to the Student Finance system there have been lots of myths, rumours and misconceptions bouncing around about the cost of going to university. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

• You don’t have to pay for anything up front. All UK students are eligible for a loan to pay both their living costs and their tuition fees, regardless of what their parents earn. If your parents earn below a certain amount, you will also be eligible for a grant, this comes in the same package as the loan, but you don’t have to pay it back.
• You don’t have to pay back your loan straight away. Under the new system no student has to pay back their anything until they are earning above £21,000 a year.
• After 30 years any left over debt is written off. You stop owing when you’ve cleared the debt or when 30 years have passed, whichever comes first. If you never get a job earning over the threshold, you’ll never have to repay anything.
• What you repay depends on what you earn. If you earn just above £21,000 then you will repay a very small amount each month, if you earn a lot more than this then the amount you repay will be larger.
• What you pay back each month will be the same regardless of what your tuition fee was. This is because what you pay back each month is linked to what you earn NOT what you borrowed.

Martin Lewis (of ‘money saving expert’ fame) has loads of useful and (easy to understand) information about student finance on his website. For some great guides and tips go to www.moneysavingexpert.com/students

Also have a look at Student Finance England for information about how to apply for financial support.

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Sondos teaching on Summer School

Today’s post is a guest piece by Sondos Ibrahim – second year UCL English student and UCL Horizons tutor – on why secondary school students should get involved in debating.

“Recently, I joined the UCL Horizons team teaching debating on the fantastic Summer School. For four days in late July 70 Year 10 students learnt to express themselves with articulacy, respect and confidence. Debating is a much misunderstood skill – associated with stuffy, posh and arrogant old men. In fact, before I got involved in debating when I was in sixth form, this was exactly my view. Attending a debating workshop run by university students really encouraged me to get involved. My first ever debate was a clear disaster – I completely lost my trail of thought after 45 seconds and nearly burst into tears. Lots of practice and encouragement gave me the confidence to lead my schools’ debating society to competitions. I really think the buzz of debating and the skills I learnt helped me to tackle university and job interviews, and I got involved in competitions and university level debating. This year I helped run UCL’s debating society. Just before the Summer school, I had led several workshops for young people. I was so excited to get involved because I wanted to change people’s perception of debating and hoped it would help other young people just like it helped me.

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