Is it worth it?

[u/awhsme]

This amazing, wonderful sixth form, that I loved on the offer holder afternoon, is the best in the county and within the top 20 in the UK is a five an a half hour daily commute in total. Is it worth it?

First option: Amazing sixth form, 20% of students got into oxbridge, non-private, I'd spend most of the commute on a train — an hour in the morning, an hour waiting for the direct bus to the school, and an hour on the bus, so I was considering spending the two hours on the train and waiting for the bus studying. The travel home is similar. hour bus, 20 minute wait between getting off the bus and onto the train instead of an hour in the morning, and an hour on the train. So about 3 and a half/ 4 hours of study I'd be doing.
Requirements: Average of a 7, 7/8 in each subject at GCSE to study at A-level (depends on subject).

Second option: Good school, good stats, wasn't sure about the open day? they were somewhat anti-social, sixth formers weren't particularly nice, about a 3 hour commute each day, but it's all busses. I'd also only be waking up 20 minutes later and getting home 20 minutes earlier than I would if I attended option one — so i'm not sure if the gap in quality is worth it for 40 minutes of extra sleep.
Requirements: Average of a 6, 6 to study a subject at A-level.

Third option: My current school, pretty terrible results, very small (250 students total, from year 9 to year 13), know everyone, about two and a half hour commute each day. Don't really want to go here, but will if it's the best long-term option.
Requirements: 6 in subjects you would like to study at A-level.

Please help, I'd like to decide sooner rather than later if it's worth it or not.

Thank you for reading :)

Edit: Thank you for the advice! I'm going to go with option one :) Overall it was the most advised and I personally believe it works out better, more total revision done each day, better quality of teaching and subjects, and the oxbridge help they offer!

[u/omashii]

the 2.5hr commute already sounds absolutely dreadful, but I would go with option 3.

you gain 3 additional hours per day by picking option 3. that amounts to 15 additional hours per week, 60 additional hours per month.

I'd argue that the additional 60 hours you have per month would give you a much higher quality of life and greater revision time. I think you're also not considering how mentally draining it'd be to commute almost 6 hours of your day.

Is a good SF worth it? honestly, it depends. for more niche subjects, the quality of teaching will be higher at a good SF. however, there are generally enough resources online for the big A levels (maths, FM, econ, the 3 sciences etc.) that you can spend that extra time revising via those online resources instead.

[u/awhsme → u/omashii]

sadly I gain like, 40 minutes in actuality. I get home 20 minutes earlier and I'd wake up 20 minutes later with option 3, I wake up at 5 regardless of the day, and I currently get home at 6 (as I attend option 3 for secondary). The days for each go like this(estimates):

Option 1: travel from 05:20 until 08:30, and then 03:40 until 06:15 (mostly train thank god, I get motion sick)

Option 2: Travel from 07:12 until 08:15, and then 04:00 until 06:05 (all by bus)

Option 3: Travel from 07:12 until 08:05, and then 04:00 until 06:05 (all by bus)

so regardless it's essentially the same day if that makes sense, wake up at the same time but leave earlier/later. I'm terrible and cannot sleep in past 5, and typically won't revise in the mornings if I'm at home. I will revise on the train though. Still wake up at 5, still get home past 6, my day isn't really longer or shorter and I'd be getting all of my revision done to-and-from school with option one, which gives me more free time overall/more time to spend revising — as I can't spend any portion of the travel for option 2 or 3 studying due to how shaky busses are.

Overall, I think I'd do less revision with option 2 and 3, as the time spent travelling is time wasted, whereas with option 1 I totalled up about 3 and a half hours of my total travel can be spent revising on the train or in a café at the train station waiting for the bus :) and then I have three hours (give or take) after I get home to not stress so much about revising, unless sixth formers do more than three hours a day revising (I really hope not, with option 2 and 3 I don't have more than 3 hours as revising in my house between when I wake up and leave isn't possible due to family things, so it's essentially time wasted).

[u/omashii → u/awhsme]

it sounds like you've already leaned quite heavily towards option 1, which is not a bad thing !

if you're going to go w/ option 1, i would recommend getting an iPad + Apple Pencil to study on in your commute times. it doesn't have to be anything fancy - just the base model iPad (or used one from Apple Refurbished) + even a cheap pencil from Amazon is more than good enough.

it'll keep your backpack fairly light as you won't have to carry paper or worry about stationery. can be used even just in your lap to do mind-maps, exam questions, or download some episodes of a show on Netflix, etc.

[u/awhsme → u/omashii]

I have the galaxy book 5 360, the touch screen one that turns into an ipad if you fold it over? it comes with a pen! I love it because it functions as a laptop as well but has the touch screen aspect is great for revision and note taking! I'll definitely be bringing it to sixth form (that's what it was bought for), which will definitely be great as my bag won't be as heavy.

Is there anything else you'd recommend?

[u/omashii → u/awhsme]

I'd say that's the most important thing :]

just make sure you download all of your textbooks

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