AS/A2 Level Psychology

KizzyK_2

Im thinking about signing up to AS/A2 Level Psychology (the whole A2 in a year, one day a week) at my local college, can anyone who has studied Psychology give me the real 'low down' on what its really like? :beer:

Ollieda

I did it for AS and A2 and loved it. I found most of it really interesting (althoguh im not too keen on child psychology) and it was one of my fav subjects.

Do be careful though as your experience of the subject can change massively depending on what you teacher is like and also what individual modules you do in the subject. I was lucky to get 2 really good teachers and we were also always based in our schools brand-new computer room (with the "smart-board" at the front) so we had quite a lot of options in how we did the lessons...i.e. working on computer documents, taking notes on the computers, being able to research the internet there and then and also watching videos (obviously psychology based ones........most of the time :rotfl: )on the white board (i'm sorry.... the writting board, i'm sorry if I have offended anyone but white board is now apparently a racsist remark and in these politically correct times we cannot call it that anymore!) using the projector.

Make sure you go to where ure going to study it and just meet the teachers and have a look round the facilities and just ask about how the course is laid out at that place, for instance at A2 level you get a choice of subjects such as sport psychology or helath psychology and so on so check which ones they offer.

And most of all, good luck with it, its a really good subject. Oh and the author of the main book you study from (Edexcell) and one of the cheif examiners (Edexcell) just happens to be called Ms. Brain (we found that funny in a silly little school kid way)

kimith84

yeah i really enjoyed this course to - did the full a2
its interesting, can be hard work as theres a lot of reading and remebering of case studies and names to do but it is enjoyable.
completley agree with the above poster about the tutors though. one of mine was fantastic really lively and enthusiastic about the subject whereas the other seemed to be doing it to pay the bills!!
it does effect the way you feel as i didnt enjoy some of the lesson quite so much because of the individual

anewman

I feel I should point out that different exam boards use different methods of assessment so some people's experiences might be different to what yours will be.

To study Psychology at degree level you do not necessarily need to have studied it at A level (for some universities) but it would probably help, both in terms of understanding what it's about (so you don't end up quitting after 1 year thinking "what's all this about?") and possibly the application.

SmileBeHappy

most of my friends failed coz the teacher was awful. ok not all failed but got d's e's etc

Laura

dribsndrabs

I too want to do the same sort of course when i leave uni. I've done a bit psychology in the degree course i'm doing (animal behaviour) and you do have to remember case studies and do some statistics but if it's something that you really want to learn, you'll have the enthusiasm to do it.

Make sure you check out the college/course though to see what kind of grades previous students have obtained.

good luck

kittykate_2

I did AS, A2 and a BSc degree in Psychology. I loved it but it was very hard. You must be prepared to put in the work, lots of reading and remembering things. Very enjoyable though.

PS: not a subject to take if you want to 'doss' it. Seriously, the amount of work and time you need to put in is a lot. Be prepared to study a lot, but also have lots of fun. There's some really cool things you get to learn about and participate in.

Smashing

I definitely enjoyed A level psychology. A2, moreso than the AS level as I found the topics far more interesting.There's a lot to remember and most if not all exam boards require you to carry out your own investigation and use statistical analysis...it's simple enough when you get the hang on if it, but it can be a suprise for those expecting an easy ride.

KizzyK_2

Thanks for all the advice everyone :beer: Im signing up later today but just for the As in the evening

ac24

i hated it. There is a huge work load. its just all about memorising things. In my opinion it shouldnt even be a subject. 80% of it has nothing to do with applying your knowledge. its just memory. if you want a good grade you have to memorise millions of pages of stupidness.

lpoolt

I did the AS and A2 in it in a year and loved it. I was going to do it in uni anyway but missed the entrance requirements so went back and done it in a repeat year. My teacher was really enthusiastic about it and I loved all the case studies and experiments you get to do. Some modules were pretty boring though. I loved it so much that I got an A in my AS and B in my A2, my highest A-level marks even though I'd done others for 3 years (2+1 repeat year).

I'm now going into my second year of psychology degree. One complaint I've heard from alot of people on the degree is that they didn't expect there to be as much maths/statistics as there is in it.

ac24 wrote:

i hated it. There is a huge work load. its just all about memorising things. In my opinion it shouldnt even be a subject. 80% of it has nothing to do with applying your knowledge. its just memory. if you want a good grade you have to memorise millions of pages of stupidness.

Near enough every A-level is about memorising things. It shouldn't be a subject, don't be so ridiculuous, it's a science, so in that case then biology, chemisty and physics shouldn't be subjects either :rolleyes: .