Bro, If you're serious about achieving your goal, you need to aim for 100%. Don't half-ass it by aiming for 95%. Shoot for the moon, then at least you’ll land on a coconut tree.
Tnx I meant to say I am fully focused on achieving it but if do not get like in Top 100 I am still focused on getting into UCFM... Thnx for replying btw
Don't be disheartened even if you score poorly in your first few terms. I used to get 60s in my first few terms before I actually picked up (I am in UCFM rn). So just don't give up, learn the exam, and learn the content around it. For bio there's no point looking beyond the resource book so make sure you blend it and drink it. They don't ask outside that. But for physics and chemistry show genuine interest and learn a little bit more on how things work so that applying becomes much easier.
Tnx will do. I will focus on my studies and improving my marks for now. Main goal is to get into UCFM so had a goal of atleast getting an Islan Rank while doing it hehe. Thanks for the tip btw
A/L in my opinion is a whole lot of a psychological game. The tuition gurus, the teachers, the past students and the society as a whole will scare the shit out of you telling stories, presenting weird statistics. Every time you hear such stuff recall this respond and understand that is their perception and perception becomes reallity due to repetition. So build a stronger perception that the content and exams are easier. Trust that it’s not a big deal. It really isn’t. The tough part is keeping your head clear amidst all the false claims. If you win that psychological warfare you’ll be able to make it. Especially avoid talking to medical students. More often than not, they are the kings of bullshitting. Good luck
I totally half assed life in school (international school), but ended up doing Engineering in the UK and a MSc in Robotics (Distinction). Now, I’m into software as a gray-beard dev and I make over $100,000/annum working in a niche area of software (Cloud), hardware and firmware for Arm MCUs and microprocessors as well as Linux targets.
I never went for tuition classes as it felt like a scam and I didn’t want to wasted time. I mainly gamed ok my PC with my dialup modem. MechWarrior and the original MS Flight simulator to Prince of Persia (Floopy discs) to games like Comanche took all my time.
The Teachers at CIS were mostly a joke (other than the British Maths teacher), I only fell in love with engineering and maths at Uni though me self taught myself everything I skipped learning during A levels.
The hardest was picking up complex numbers, but this made calculus, vector calculus and Advanced Numerical Computational mathematics easier. My favourite from Uni physics are Lagrangian rotating body systems.
Thermal fluid simulations and Chaos theory such as the simple Lorentz attractor are immensely fun.
Moral of the story, learn something even gaming and always keep learning. And enjoy your young years. When your are old like me you will recall that 12-35 are the VERY best years of your life and you’ll never get it back again.
Use your time wisely!!
Have a friend, he was in the top 50 (island rank) or so, he got over 90 for all 3 subjects and above 47 for MCQ for each as well, hope you get an idea about the competition from this
If you want to get an island rank, you need to study with really smart people (who has the potential to get an island rank). You need to train your brain in a such way like they think. So choose your friends carefully
My friend who became island 4th in math got 100s pretty consistently for math and physics. Walking out of exams he would know if he got 100 or something slightly less. He’d discuss the not so confident questions right after term tests with his other extremely talented friends. It’s an unreal amount of dedication and passion to be the best of the best.
I did bio for a/ls. I didn’t get such a good island rank. But I managed to get into medical faculty here. And I’ve finished med school this year with very good results. Let me tell you something. It will be really cool to get such a big island rank. But what will matter is whether you carry forward that momentum and enthusiasm to med school and perform there as well. There were many people who had better island ranks who I outperformed in the finals.
Not to discourage you, but there’s another catch. Regardless of what island rank you get, or how well you perform in med school, this journey is really really tedious and working as a doctor here is not easy in terms of… well everything. So speak to someone knowledgable before you embark on this.
Good luck and farewell!
I was ranked above 10. Won’t tell you the stream or year😅.
What I can tell you is, while past papers are important, focus on the concrete foundation first. Make sure you know your shit. Don’t fall in to the mediocre metrics placed on you by the exam ‘marks’. They aren’t important. Once you know your shit, marks will follow. What I’m saying is your goal shouldn’t be to pass A levels or to get an Island Rank. Those are results, actually the by product of the knowledge you have gained. So focus on gaining knowledge, understanding the concepts, and so on. This is just my way so you can follow if you want. I’ll also explain my so called “secrets” here.
Make sure you study, and make sure you *resolve* all your doubts about any subject area. Make sure you know it so that you can explain it simply to anyone else. This is the very first step in approaching any lesson. Something you don’t understand is not in the syllabus? Don’t hold back! search on Google, Youtube, etc. Don’t frame yourself to the syllabus. That’s just a reference/scope as to what you should know. Nothing wrong in going beyond that, in fact if you want a rank, you should go beyond.
Next step, cram the hell out. Check some past papers and see what the examiner expects your answers to be on that particular lesson. Craft your answers to meet those expectations. Always answer to the question being asked first, in a concise manner because they almost only read the first paragraph and determine whether it’s worth skimming through the rest. Then you can continue your rant about all the other things you know.
Don’t reverse this process. ie, check past papers and study for it. Study and check past papers to see what you have missed. It lets you think out of the box. So that you can beat the examiners who are confined in to a box.
Another tip, if you want to remember a set of points, write them down. Multiple times. At least 6 times. Write them until you can write it without looking. After a month or so, do the same thing because you will definitely forget. When you repeat this enough times, it kinda gets carved to your brain and you will notice the effort taken to be able to write it down without looking at the points significantly decreases over time that by the time it’s near the exam, you don’t even have to do it.
Good luck and I wish you the best!
This was me when I first started doing bio for A/Ls. Halfway there it turned to “even vet or dentistry is fine”.
By the end of the second year I was like “any university is fine at this point”. Then I accidentally came across a judge delivering a maintenance order, ambition turned to get into Law Faculty. Did first shy, didn’t cut it out to join government Uni. Then did second shy, was selected to University of Vavuniya. Didn’t take it up and started doing Law entrance. Became island 13 and got into college.
To cut it short. I’m now a lawyer. Working towards my goal of being a judge in future. Word of advice OP, let your heart guide you to where u want to be. Either way, there’s a destined plan for us all and we can never bypass that. Also work hard, and little more. Good luck!! 🥂
I ranked around 700 on Maths but I know one of my Island top 10 friend
Those people are naturally got that talented. I mean, it is okay even you do not get a rank but you can enter medical faculty
He has finished his entire 3 subject syllabus 1 year before the exam. I mean he works around min 8 hours per day. Also no procrastination for ANYTHING.
No social media back then. His focus was 100% on the exam
He finished Island 3rd
Oh ys the distractions are high these days. I don’t have my own phone. Don’t plan on buying one soon either coz I can get easily distracted. Typibg this comment on my Dads phone which won’t be given after AL starts. But still the Wtsap groups and stuff are there. Main focus to do after classes start will be to self study without any distractions. Hope I will be able to do it. Thanks for your reply
Forget about Island rank if you're on Reddit. BIO second paper is hardest to score due to the marking scheme is graded out of 1000. People think it's just memorizing. Even you have idetic memory it won't be enough as you have to write it in the way marking scheme expectes you of. And managing the time.
Know that it's a uphill battle. Not impossible ofc. Good luck
Oh I got on Reddit to ask these questions about AL and medical school. Once AL starts I won’t even have a phone still don’t using my dads right now. Oh ok So the Paper 2 is structure and essay questions right?
Honestly you don’t have to worry . Before alevels I was constantly on Reddit and socials. I worked hard but also slacked off a lot . Currently studying at UCFM .
Don't let anyone in the comments discourage you. While I'm someone who hated ALs and didn't get any exceptional results, I've seen my closest friends excel at it with island ranks and are now enjoying their uni life. (Local uni has pros and cons but that's a a different topic).
I agree with everyone who says that you must have an exceptional friend who continuously pushes you. That's very important.
Here’s the z score of 46th rank in biology - 2.6168
heres the estimated raw marks and standard deviation for each biological science subject in 2022
Physics - 46.58//15.44
Chemistry - 44.61//18.53
Biology - 47.57//15.01
when applied to the formula to find z score, you should average around 88.72 for each subject.
(((88.72 − 46.58) ÷ 15.44) + ((88.72 − 44.61) ÷ 18.53) + ((88.72 − 47.57) ÷ 15.01)) ÷ 3 = 2.61708146218
hope I answered your question.
scoring such for physics and chemistry is not hard because of their generalized marking scheme. But biology marking scheme imposes huge penalties for even the slightest mistake. If you are aiming for an island rank, you should do Olympiad past papers along with A/L ones. Refer to every resource you have and dive deeeeeeep into the subject. You need to know from particulate fundamentals to score high in physics and chemistry. But that’s not hard it only takes time and it also won’t be an issue for you if you keep up the pace for the next 2-2.5 yrs.
## ⚠️⚠️⚠️ since raw marks and SD change with every year, the average score for each subject should minimumly vary at about ±0.3\~0.7 ##
Bro its not hard at all. Just finish the given work on time. Go to all the classes. Take good notes and make it very clear. Ask any doubt you have from your teachers and then sell your soul to satan and you are all good
Ok on a serious note, do keep high hopes. But also know... "Hope is a dangerous thing". A/L is one of the most toughest exams in SL. I understand you because I did BIO as well. Got 9A's for O/L and missed medicine in A/L. It was actually depressing after it happened. I was very narrow minded and began to see no future after that happened. My advice is have options and enjoy life. I always wanted to be a doctor because my father was a doctor. But now I make more than him and he is the happiest for me. Medicine is a noble but common jobs in the world. Have an open mind and have fun. If you are worth it you will get through. If not.... it doesn't mean you are a failure. It just means you are better in something elese.
Dont listen to these buggers . Gettin an rank is absolutely worth it if u r an above average student . The amount of recognition and self confidence u get is rlly great and gettin into the top 50 aint that hard if u hv good logical thinking , a good mathematical base and the dedication to focus the 2 years . But ofc if u r doing bio u need a good memmory capacity too . But there are ppl who were average students but got into top 10 by complete practice .
Yh the recognition and opportunities were also why I wanted to achieve something like this. I have always had good memory and am good at maths. Due to some bad choices during my OLs I got a B in maths after not doing 2 entire questions in Part 2 also B in Science. I was getting straight As but flunked my OLs which decreased my confidence in myself so getting an Island Rank will actually help alot. I am not one of those trying to get this Rank so I can go around thinking I am a God or someone. Even during my OLs I helped my friends who were struggling to study n stuff. So thanks for reminding me what I could gain from the Island Rank if I did get one. Getting the Rank would also make my parents proud which I am trying to do too.
I dont know what it is like now but u can easily get in if you have an island in the low 100s. Just try to get 3A and you sjould be good. Assuming u r from colombo distrixt
Depends on the year. I am from the ratnapura district and in our senior batch we had a guy with 50 mcq for chem, 47 for both bio and physics. He was district 2nd and island 25th or so. My advice is don’t aim for that high of an achievement this early on because a year down the line you’ll get burn out. So use the first year to complete your syllabus and clear out all doubts and gaps in your knowledge first. Then do as many papers as possible and immerse yourself completely in the exam. Soon enough you will see the small patterns, question formats and also gain the ability to write the answers to suit the marking scheme. This is what I did and I am very unlikely to be an island ranker but I went from being burnt out a year ago with absolutely terrible marks ( C level or so) to getting decent marks in the exam this January
Hiiii.... Last year a woman posted on epfs fb group asking to support her to study medicine in a foreign university. She's in her mid thirties. She wasn't allowed to the university due to her age. I didn't mean to discourage you. just know this.
I had straight up 40 41 40 for all 3 mcqs im the 3 subjects. Had a result of ABB eith A for bio. District rank was 92 in Kurunegala. Island rank was around 600. If you want to get into top 50 , you need to have mcqs over 45 for every subject. It is very possible as well if you keep on doing past papers and keep practising.
The best tip is to practice past paper questions. One of the best resources online for this is GradesFixer.lk! (https://www.facebook.com/share/crnZgpbiwyQ3dJi1/?mibextid=qi2Omg)
They provide solution booklets with detailed explanations. Just mention the subject and year you need, and they’ll deliver answers with detailed explanations. However, please note that they only offer these in English medium at the moment.
Top 50 in maths stream here. So I don't know the nature of the Biology subject but I'll give some details, at least useful for the other 2 subjects.
Honestly speaking, I see 2 ways of "doing" AL exam in Sri Lanka.
One way is like covering every material, doing every past paper you find within the actual allocated time, being ready for every type of question you can anticipate in the exam, having a defined strategic plan to tackle the question paper format, so and so. This is like preparing for the AL exam specifically (like a bootcamp training).
The other way is actually learning the material, being curious about what you are learning, having an urge to look further (potentially beyond the syllabus) about the learning material. In this way you will want to understand any new concepts as soon as you hear it from the teacher. You will question the things you learned, like, why can't I apply this equation for this scenario, where does this theory come from, is there any other method to solve this problem, so and so. In this way you may not want to do each and every past paper, with a timed environment, but you will be curious to find new questions, new books, new material etc. You will not be too worried about strategizing the AL paper, like which MCQs will I do first, which ones later etc.
Personally, I think if you can follow the second way to get a higher rank, will be more meaningful in your academic journey. Yes, the second way is way way more intellectually demanding.
At the moment, with the competitive nature of ALs, 99.9% teachers and tuition masters will be encouraging you to follow the first way; which is to practice rigorously for the exam and get the best possible result. They will give you all the past questions, answers, study plans, study timetables, short notes. It's up to you to which extent you are going to memorize/strategize vs curiously learning.
I'm not saying the first method is bad. For example, a person doing maths stream, may not have intention to pursue higher degrees like masters or doctorate. They might want to land a decent industry job, which will not expect you to know advanced mathematics or other concepts. So, for that person, tackling AL with a first method makes sense. However, I have seen people, selected to engineering, with a very good island rank, later struggling with university level math or other subjects. What I saw in them was they prepared for ALs by practicing very hard, but without actually learning or building intuition about the underlying concepts. I'm not that familiar with the biology/medical field. But if you are aiming for a biology/medical field academic scholar or a profession like a surgeon or specialist doctor, you may have to do something beyond just "practicing" for the AL exam.
If you're doing biology to be a doctor or any other medical professional, it's better to be actually passionate about being a doctor. ~~See this Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/MJ4cDWBHkFy2kXAt/?mibextid=oFDknk~~
See my reply to this comment.
I wish you the best of luck. Do not loose your determination. Doing ALs should be a marathon, not a sprint. Have enough discipline to curiously learn and sharpen your skills everyday, even though the next exam/termtest/next quiz is weeks/months away. Having motivation is good, but well maintained discipline always outsmarts short term motivation.
Taken from a Facebook post.
----------
A few weeks back I was asked to conduct a session for the new entrants of our faculty, as part of their introductory module. The idea was for me to convey an insider-look about the life of a medical student.
Among many reasons which make such a life quite a trying time, which I explained to them, I tried to counterbalance those with something I consider to be the highest reward you get in return. I wanted them to know what makes it all worth it.
That reason was “privilege”. This is not to mean the money, influence or the social status. They are nice things to have, but should ideally come as byproducts of a job well done. The “privilege” I tried to stress upon them was of a different kind.
You get to be part of someone’s darkest moment in life. You get to be a baby’s first touch. You get to see what it is like for someone to die. You get to see how people break down when they’re told their loved one is gone. Someone will tell you things their own family will never know. Your hands will hold someone’s heart and brain. You will be soaked in someone else’s blood. You will hold someone’s hand while they sob. Someone will show you parts of their body they’ve never shown anyone. You will be part of someone’s memory of heartache and loss. You’re forever etched in someone’s story. You will be let in to someone’s most private moments. You will become consequential.
I can only hope that idea of privilege was understood. There’s nothing else like this.
Bro, If you're serious about achieving your goal, you need to aim for 100%. Don't half-ass it by aiming for 95%. Shoot for the moon, then at least you’ll land on a coconut tree.
Tnx I meant to say I am fully focused on achieving it but if do not get like in Top 100 I am still focused on getting into UCFM... Thnx for replying btw
Don't be disheartened even if you score poorly in your first few terms. I used to get 60s in my first few terms before I actually picked up (I am in UCFM rn). So just don't give up, learn the exam, and learn the content around it. For bio there's no point looking beyond the resource book so make sure you blend it and drink it. They don't ask outside that. But for physics and chemistry show genuine interest and learn a little bit more on how things work so that applying becomes much easier.
Tnx will do. I will focus on my studies and improving my marks for now. Main goal is to get into UCFM so had a goal of atleast getting an Islan Rank while doing it hehe. Thanks for the tip btw
Damn I needed that quote😮💨
Coconut tree🥲
A/L in my opinion is a whole lot of a psychological game. The tuition gurus, the teachers, the past students and the society as a whole will scare the shit out of you telling stories, presenting weird statistics. Every time you hear such stuff recall this respond and understand that is their perception and perception becomes reallity due to repetition. So build a stronger perception that the content and exams are easier. Trust that it’s not a big deal. It really isn’t. The tough part is keeping your head clear amidst all the false claims. If you win that psychological warfare you’ll be able to make it. Especially avoid talking to medical students. More often than not, they are the kings of bullshitting. Good luck
I totally half assed life in school (international school), but ended up doing Engineering in the UK and a MSc in Robotics (Distinction). Now, I’m into software as a gray-beard dev and I make over $100,000/annum working in a niche area of software (Cloud), hardware and firmware for Arm MCUs and microprocessors as well as Linux targets. I never went for tuition classes as it felt like a scam and I didn’t want to wasted time. I mainly gamed ok my PC with my dialup modem. MechWarrior and the original MS Flight simulator to Prince of Persia (Floopy discs) to games like Comanche took all my time. The Teachers at CIS were mostly a joke (other than the British Maths teacher), I only fell in love with engineering and maths at Uni though me self taught myself everything I skipped learning during A levels. The hardest was picking up complex numbers, but this made calculus, vector calculus and Advanced Numerical Computational mathematics easier. My favourite from Uni physics are Lagrangian rotating body systems. Thermal fluid simulations and Chaos theory such as the simple Lorentz attractor are immensely fun. Moral of the story, learn something even gaming and always keep learning. And enjoy your young years. When your are old like me you will recall that 12-35 are the VERY best years of your life and you’ll never get it back again. Use your time wisely!!
Grey hat or grey beard? These terms are getting out of hand with tech these days 😂
White hat (usually 😏) but mostly going grey… started out with 5.25” floppy disks ne?
Have a friend, he was in the top 50 (island rank) or so, he got over 90 for all 3 subjects and above 47 for MCQ for each as well, hope you get an idea about the competition from this
Hi, Thnx for sharing it will come of help...
If you want to get an island rank, you need to study with really smart people (who has the potential to get an island rank). You need to train your brain in a such way like they think. So choose your friends carefully
what if the OP is one?
My friend who became island 4th in math got 100s pretty consistently for math and physics. Walking out of exams he would know if he got 100 or something slightly less. He’d discuss the not so confident questions right after term tests with his other extremely talented friends. It’s an unreal amount of dedication and passion to be the best of the best.
lol yeah this is how all people start. And then reality hits you in the face.
Some people need to touch grass
Oh ok tnx
I did bio for a/ls. I didn’t get such a good island rank. But I managed to get into medical faculty here. And I’ve finished med school this year with very good results. Let me tell you something. It will be really cool to get such a big island rank. But what will matter is whether you carry forward that momentum and enthusiasm to med school and perform there as well. There were many people who had better island ranks who I outperformed in the finals. Not to discourage you, but there’s another catch. Regardless of what island rank you get, or how well you perform in med school, this journey is really really tedious and working as a doctor here is not easy in terms of… well everything. So speak to someone knowledgable before you embark on this. Good luck and farewell!
You have to work hard to reach that levels, if you aren’t naturally talented.
I was ranked above 10. Won’t tell you the stream or year😅. What I can tell you is, while past papers are important, focus on the concrete foundation first. Make sure you know your shit. Don’t fall in to the mediocre metrics placed on you by the exam ‘marks’. They aren’t important. Once you know your shit, marks will follow. What I’m saying is your goal shouldn’t be to pass A levels or to get an Island Rank. Those are results, actually the by product of the knowledge you have gained. So focus on gaining knowledge, understanding the concepts, and so on. This is just my way so you can follow if you want. I’ll also explain my so called “secrets” here. Make sure you study, and make sure you *resolve* all your doubts about any subject area. Make sure you know it so that you can explain it simply to anyone else. This is the very first step in approaching any lesson. Something you don’t understand is not in the syllabus? Don’t hold back! search on Google, Youtube, etc. Don’t frame yourself to the syllabus. That’s just a reference/scope as to what you should know. Nothing wrong in going beyond that, in fact if you want a rank, you should go beyond. Next step, cram the hell out. Check some past papers and see what the examiner expects your answers to be on that particular lesson. Craft your answers to meet those expectations. Always answer to the question being asked first, in a concise manner because they almost only read the first paragraph and determine whether it’s worth skimming through the rest. Then you can continue your rant about all the other things you know. Don’t reverse this process. ie, check past papers and study for it. Study and check past papers to see what you have missed. It lets you think out of the box. So that you can beat the examiners who are confined in to a box. Another tip, if you want to remember a set of points, write them down. Multiple times. At least 6 times. Write them until you can write it without looking. After a month or so, do the same thing because you will definitely forget. When you repeat this enough times, it kinda gets carved to your brain and you will notice the effort taken to be able to write it down without looking at the points significantly decreases over time that by the time it’s near the exam, you don’t even have to do it. Good luck and I wish you the best!
This was me when I first started doing bio for A/Ls. Halfway there it turned to “even vet or dentistry is fine”. By the end of the second year I was like “any university is fine at this point”. Then I accidentally came across a judge delivering a maintenance order, ambition turned to get into Law Faculty. Did first shy, didn’t cut it out to join government Uni. Then did second shy, was selected to University of Vavuniya. Didn’t take it up and started doing Law entrance. Became island 13 and got into college. To cut it short. I’m now a lawyer. Working towards my goal of being a judge in future. Word of advice OP, let your heart guide you to where u want to be. Either way, there’s a destined plan for us all and we can never bypass that. Also work hard, and little more. Good luck!! 🥂
[удалено]
Ig yes
I ranked around 700 on Maths but I know one of my Island top 10 friend Those people are naturally got that talented. I mean, it is okay even you do not get a rank but you can enter medical faculty He has finished his entire 3 subject syllabus 1 year before the exam. I mean he works around min 8 hours per day. Also no procrastination for ANYTHING. No social media back then. His focus was 100% on the exam He finished Island 3rd
Oh ys the distractions are high these days. I don’t have my own phone. Don’t plan on buying one soon either coz I can get easily distracted. Typibg this comment on my Dads phone which won’t be given after AL starts. But still the Wtsap groups and stuff are there. Main focus to do after classes start will be to self study without any distractions. Hope I will be able to do it. Thanks for your reply
Forget about Island rank if you're on Reddit. BIO second paper is hardest to score due to the marking scheme is graded out of 1000. People think it's just memorizing. Even you have idetic memory it won't be enough as you have to write it in the way marking scheme expectes you of. And managing the time. Know that it's a uphill battle. Not impossible ofc. Good luck
Oh I got on Reddit to ask these questions about AL and medical school. Once AL starts I won’t even have a phone still don’t using my dads right now. Oh ok So the Paper 2 is structure and essay questions right?
Structured essay and essay. Find original marking schemes from past papers if you can. Read them and you will understand
Thanks
Honestly you don’t have to worry . Before alevels I was constantly on Reddit and socials. I worked hard but also slacked off a lot . Currently studying at UCFM .
🫡🙌🏽
I will make sure to focus on essays well
Thanks
Don't let anyone in the comments discourage you. While I'm someone who hated ALs and didn't get any exceptional results, I've seen my closest friends excel at it with island ranks and are now enjoying their uni life. (Local uni has pros and cons but that's a a different topic). I agree with everyone who says that you must have an exceptional friend who continuously pushes you. That's very important.
Thanks for letting me know❤️🫂
One thing I need to do now is find these exceptional friends… Might meet some in the classes I go… Thanks
Here’s the z score of 46th rank in biology - 2.6168 heres the estimated raw marks and standard deviation for each biological science subject in 2022 Physics - 46.58//15.44 Chemistry - 44.61//18.53 Biology - 47.57//15.01 when applied to the formula to find z score, you should average around 88.72 for each subject. (((88.72 − 46.58) ÷ 15.44) + ((88.72 − 44.61) ÷ 18.53) + ((88.72 − 47.57) ÷ 15.01)) ÷ 3 = 2.61708146218 hope I answered your question. scoring such for physics and chemistry is not hard because of their generalized marking scheme. But biology marking scheme imposes huge penalties for even the slightest mistake. If you are aiming for an island rank, you should do Olympiad past papers along with A/L ones. Refer to every resource you have and dive deeeeeeep into the subject. You need to know from particulate fundamentals to score high in physics and chemistry. But that’s not hard it only takes time and it also won’t be an issue for you if you keep up the pace for the next 2-2.5 yrs. ## ⚠️⚠️⚠️ since raw marks and SD change with every year, the average score for each subject should minimumly vary at about ±0.3\~0.7 ##
May I know where you obtained the raw marks and standard deviation values?
Bro its not hard at all. Just finish the given work on time. Go to all the classes. Take good notes and make it very clear. Ask any doubt you have from your teachers and then sell your soul to satan and you are all good
Bro Wtf 😳
Ok on a serious note, do keep high hopes. But also know... "Hope is a dangerous thing". A/L is one of the most toughest exams in SL. I understand you because I did BIO as well. Got 9A's for O/L and missed medicine in A/L. It was actually depressing after it happened. I was very narrow minded and began to see no future after that happened. My advice is have options and enjoy life. I always wanted to be a doctor because my father was a doctor. But now I make more than him and he is the happiest for me. Medicine is a noble but common jobs in the world. Have an open mind and have fun. If you are worth it you will get through. If not.... it doesn't mean you are a failure. It just means you are better in something elese.
Will do Thanks 🫡
Why do you want to get an island rank? Its not worth it. If it comes it comes. Otherwise u might just end up getting a mental breakdown
I agree too. Doesn’t worth the effort.
My main aim is to get into UCFM so might as well get an Island Rank and make my spot sure
Dont listen to these buggers . Gettin an rank is absolutely worth it if u r an above average student . The amount of recognition and self confidence u get is rlly great and gettin into the top 50 aint that hard if u hv good logical thinking , a good mathematical base and the dedication to focus the 2 years . But ofc if u r doing bio u need a good memmory capacity too . But there are ppl who were average students but got into top 10 by complete practice .
Yh the recognition and opportunities were also why I wanted to achieve something like this. I have always had good memory and am good at maths. Due to some bad choices during my OLs I got a B in maths after not doing 2 entire questions in Part 2 also B in Science. I was getting straight As but flunked my OLs which decreased my confidence in myself so getting an Island Rank will actually help alot. I am not one of those trying to get this Rank so I can go around thinking I am a God or someone. Even during my OLs I helped my friends who were struggling to study n stuff. So thanks for reminding me what I could gain from the Island Rank if I did get one. Getting the Rank would also make my parents proud which I am trying to do too.
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I dont know what it is like now but u can easily get in if you have an island in the low 100s. Just try to get 3A and you sjould be good. Assuming u r from colombo distrixt
Oh ok I will. I am from Gampaha District.
Thanks for letting me know
Depends on the year. I am from the ratnapura district and in our senior batch we had a guy with 50 mcq for chem, 47 for both bio and physics. He was district 2nd and island 25th or so. My advice is don’t aim for that high of an achievement this early on because a year down the line you’ll get burn out. So use the first year to complete your syllabus and clear out all doubts and gaps in your knowledge first. Then do as many papers as possible and immerse yourself completely in the exam. Soon enough you will see the small patterns, question formats and also gain the ability to write the answers to suit the marking scheme. This is what I did and I am very unlikely to be an island ranker but I went from being burnt out a year ago with absolutely terrible marks ( C level or so) to getting decent marks in the exam this January
Hiiii.... Last year a woman posted on epfs fb group asking to support her to study medicine in a foreign university. She's in her mid thirties. She wasn't allowed to the university due to her age. I didn't mean to discourage you. just know this.
I had straight up 40 41 40 for all 3 mcqs im the 3 subjects. Had a result of ABB eith A for bio. District rank was 92 in Kurunegala. Island rank was around 600. If you want to get into top 50 , you need to have mcqs over 45 for every subject. It is very possible as well if you keep on doing past papers and keep practising.
The best tip is to practice past paper questions. One of the best resources online for this is GradesFixer.lk! (https://www.facebook.com/share/crnZgpbiwyQ3dJi1/?mibextid=qi2Omg) They provide solution booklets with detailed explanations. Just mention the subject and year you need, and they’ll deliver answers with detailed explanations. However, please note that they only offer these in English medium at the moment.
Top 50 in maths stream here. So I don't know the nature of the Biology subject but I'll give some details, at least useful for the other 2 subjects. Honestly speaking, I see 2 ways of "doing" AL exam in Sri Lanka. One way is like covering every material, doing every past paper you find within the actual allocated time, being ready for every type of question you can anticipate in the exam, having a defined strategic plan to tackle the question paper format, so and so. This is like preparing for the AL exam specifically (like a bootcamp training). The other way is actually learning the material, being curious about what you are learning, having an urge to look further (potentially beyond the syllabus) about the learning material. In this way you will want to understand any new concepts as soon as you hear it from the teacher. You will question the things you learned, like, why can't I apply this equation for this scenario, where does this theory come from, is there any other method to solve this problem, so and so. In this way you may not want to do each and every past paper, with a timed environment, but you will be curious to find new questions, new books, new material etc. You will not be too worried about strategizing the AL paper, like which MCQs will I do first, which ones later etc. Personally, I think if you can follow the second way to get a higher rank, will be more meaningful in your academic journey. Yes, the second way is way way more intellectually demanding. At the moment, with the competitive nature of ALs, 99.9% teachers and tuition masters will be encouraging you to follow the first way; which is to practice rigorously for the exam and get the best possible result. They will give you all the past questions, answers, study plans, study timetables, short notes. It's up to you to which extent you are going to memorize/strategize vs curiously learning. I'm not saying the first method is bad. For example, a person doing maths stream, may not have intention to pursue higher degrees like masters or doctorate. They might want to land a decent industry job, which will not expect you to know advanced mathematics or other concepts. So, for that person, tackling AL with a first method makes sense. However, I have seen people, selected to engineering, with a very good island rank, later struggling with university level math or other subjects. What I saw in them was they prepared for ALs by practicing very hard, but without actually learning or building intuition about the underlying concepts. I'm not that familiar with the biology/medical field. But if you are aiming for a biology/medical field academic scholar or a profession like a surgeon or specialist doctor, you may have to do something beyond just "practicing" for the AL exam. If you're doing biology to be a doctor or any other medical professional, it's better to be actually passionate about being a doctor. ~~See this Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/MJ4cDWBHkFy2kXAt/?mibextid=oFDknk~~ See my reply to this comment. I wish you the best of luck. Do not loose your determination. Doing ALs should be a marathon, not a sprint. Have enough discipline to curiously learn and sharpen your skills everyday, even though the next exam/termtest/next quiz is weeks/months away. Having motivation is good, but well maintained discipline always outsmarts short term motivation.
Taken from a Facebook post. ---------- A few weeks back I was asked to conduct a session for the new entrants of our faculty, as part of their introductory module. The idea was for me to convey an insider-look about the life of a medical student. Among many reasons which make such a life quite a trying time, which I explained to them, I tried to counterbalance those with something I consider to be the highest reward you get in return. I wanted them to know what makes it all worth it. That reason was “privilege”. This is not to mean the money, influence or the social status. They are nice things to have, but should ideally come as byproducts of a job well done. The “privilege” I tried to stress upon them was of a different kind. You get to be part of someone’s darkest moment in life. You get to be a baby’s first touch. You get to see what it is like for someone to die. You get to see how people break down when they’re told their loved one is gone. Someone will tell you things their own family will never know. Your hands will hold someone’s heart and brain. You will be soaked in someone else’s blood. You will hold someone’s hand while they sob. Someone will show you parts of their body they’ve never shown anyone. You will be part of someone’s memory of heartache and loss. You’re forever etched in someone’s story. You will be let in to someone’s most private moments. You will become consequential. I can only hope that idea of privilege was understood. There’s nothing else like this.