ATAR Notes: Forum

QCE Stuff => Queensland Education Discussion => Topic started by: Bri MT on November 06, 2019, 02:55:08 pm

Title: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Bri MT on November 06, 2019, 02:55:08 pm
Nick's Ask Me Anything!

Nick (aka Joseph41), your lecturer for "how to ace QCE" is holding an Ask Me Anything; feel free to ask your questions at any time :)

Some things you might not know about Nick: He has the most respect out of anyone on the atarnotes forums (with more than double the respect of the next most respected user), studied a bachelor of arts (honours) at Monash majoring in linguistics, and most importantly he has a cute doggo named Neville.



Here's some of the reasons you may want to hear from this academic achiever:

🔥 Achieved a 99.65 ATAR with all of his subjects except 1 scaling down
🔥 In each of those subjects, he scored in the top ~3% of the state
🔥 Obtained a perfect 4.0 GPA in university
🔥 Has been extensively researching the QCE system including how scaling, ATAR calculations, and subject scores will be calculated




We've been asked this before on other AMAs so YES you can ask ANY question - so long as it abides by our community rules (which basically come down to being respectful and keeping the community a nice place for everyone)

This might include things like:
- What should I consider when I'm choosing my subjects?
- Why is your username Joseph41 when your real name is Nick?
- What's linguistics all about?



IMPORTANT: In order to ask a question, you will have to click here and make an ATAR Notes account.
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 06, 2019, 02:58:28 pm
Hey team! Happy to answer any questions you have about all things QCE/uni/general life. I've spent countless hours doing the fun task of teaching myself the QCE system in pretty intricate detail and, like Bri has mentioned above, have a pretty neat understanding of how things like scaling etc. will work in Queensland, and how they will impact you.

Also happy to speak about general study questions, subject selection, or anything completely unrelated to school! It's up to you - I'll answer every single question as best as I can. :)

Looking forward to your posts!

- Nick/Joseph41
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: K888 on November 06, 2019, 05:09:36 pm
Have you taught Neville to do any tricks?
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 06, 2019, 05:19:38 pm
Quote from: K888 on November 06, 2019, 05:09:36 pm
Have you taught Neville to do any tricks?

Haha. Great first question.

Nothing too out of the ordinary. He sits on command very well, and stays fairly well (still a work in progress when on walks - he gets a bit excited). He also fetches and drops very well, which is actually a bit of a relief because a lot of other dogs seem to fetch, and then just leave the ball 100 metres away haha. Also drops on command (if we use the hand movement). Working on rolling but that's a fair way off tbh.

I also taught him to be a world champion at chess (he plays most nights whilst wearing a jacket with elbow patches), but that's no biggie.
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: PhoenixxFire on November 06, 2019, 06:11:13 pm
^My dogs can find toys but not fetch haha - they pick them up, drop them, come running back to me, and then expect me to throw it again even though they've left it wherever it landed. You should try teaching him how to shake your hand, it's quite useless but fun.

Which state do you think has the best system for year 11/12?
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Owlbird83 on November 06, 2019, 06:21:17 pm
Hi Nick!  ;D

How did you find the university workload compared to year 12?

Also, I've heard that it's harder to make friends in uni because there's so many people. Do you have to put a lot of energy into creating social connections?

Have you drifted apart from friends you were close with in highschool?

Thank you!  ;D
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Calebark on November 06, 2019, 06:36:50 pm
What would you consider the most substantial differences between education in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland?

Also, would you like to tell us a story? Perhaps a humorous tale about a dashing duo of cunning chevaliers as they gallivant across the land seeking some semblence of humble refuge?

Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: r1ckworthy on November 06, 2019, 06:39:05 pm
Hey Nick!
What interested you about linguistics? What aspects of linguistics resonated/ attracted with you the most?
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: whys on November 06, 2019, 06:53:01 pm
What breed is Neville? Do you have a photo of him?  ;D
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: sweetiepi on November 06, 2019, 07:53:41 pm
To add on to whys' question: What is your current favourite photo of Neville, and why?
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 06, 2019, 09:15:28 pm
What's your favourite type of weather? Justify your answer by way of an example. ;D
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 09:39:02 am
Thanks everybody for the questions so far! :) More than happy to answer questions from anybody. If you're currently reading this but haven't yet got involved in the ATAR Notes community, see this as a sign. ;) If you don't yet have an account, you can make one here super quickly (and for free).

Quote from: PhoenixxFire on November 06, 2019, 06:11:13 pm
^My dogs can find toys but not fetch haha - they pick them up, drop them, come running back to me, and then expect me to throw it again even though they've left it wherever it landed. You should try teaching him how to shake your hand, it's quite useless but fun.

Would love to get him to shake hands! I always find that adorable. We haven't worked on that at all yet - good call.

Quote
Which state do you think has the best system for year 11/12?

I'm only really familiar with HSC, QCE, and VCE in any sort of detail atm. All of the systems are quite similar but also quite different. For example, even if you just look at ATAR calculation:

> HSC: top 10 units (necessarily including English)
> QCE: top five subjects (not necessarily including English)
> VCE: top four subjects (necessarily including English), plus 10% of fifth and sixth best subject if applicable

There are obvious differences here, but the basic idea of each is pretty similar - to get an overall snapshot of high school performance. I'm most familiar with VCE's system because I studied in it myself, but I actually think QCE has been set up quite well. It's a really big change going from the OP to the ATAR and everything that comes with it (external examinations, inter-subject scaling etc.), but the system looks pretty tight to me as an initial iteration.

Something I don't really like for QCE (and also HSC) is starting Year 12 in Term 4 of the year prior. It doesn't really make sense to me, and just makes things messy IMO.
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 10:03:02 am
Quote from: Owlbird83 on November 06, 2019, 06:21:17 pm
Hi Nick!  ;D

How did you find the university workload compared to year 12?

Howdy! I found it different, and less time-consuming. So much less time-consuming, actually, that I really struggled to deal with the transition from Year 12 to first-year uni for quite some time. I don't think I really felt comfortable at my second year at the absolute earliest. Lots of things were different: class structure, work expectations, time commitments, independence, new location, new people etc.

For most of my degree (Arts), I had probably anywhere between 8-15 contact hours per week, which is very low relative to other degrees. That means 8-15 formally structured classes (lectures, tutorials etc.), but practically none of the lectures had compulsory attendance. I usually only had classes scheduled for 2-3 days per week.

This was good and bad. Good in the sense that I had a fair bit of time available to study independently. I'd have to say I used the time pretty well, usually studying on campus when I wasn't working or doing other things. My opinion is that you could probably pass my degree without investing heaps of hours into it, but doing really well in each specific unit takes quite a lot of time.

But it was also bad in that I felt I'd lost a lot of the structure I had through Year 12. Through high school, I felt like I was working toward something (final exams/ATAR), worked really hard, had school five days per week, had familiar teachers and friends, and so on. I didn't have any of that at uni, and honestly started to unravel a bit until I started to re-build that structure. My first semester at uni was definitely the hardest for me, and then my next semester.

In my fourth year, I was doing Honours. For the first semester, I had a couple of classes, and in the second semester, I was exclusively writing my thesis. This was my favourite year of all, and really got me excited about academia (I'm a little more jaded now but still think I'll return to academia at some point, for some reason, studying some subject - all to be confirmed haha).

Anyway, to answer your question, it wasn't really the workload that I found difficult - more everything else that came with the transition to uni. But my circumstances were very different to a lot of other people's. Some people would have had 3-4 times as many contact hours as I had, just based on what they were studying. I found Arts quite independent (lots of readings, lots of self-study, lots of essays), whereas other fields are more dependent on labs and additional classes, further to assignments. My partner studied Medicine, and their uni experience was definitely very different to mine. So I think it's quite field-specific.

Quote
Also, I've heard that it's harder to make friends in uni because there's so many people. Do you have to put a lot of energy into creating social connections?

Good question. I made virtually no (lasting) friendships until Honours. In my first three years, all of my classes were quite big. That is, typical university lecture theatres (hundreds of people), pretty good anonymity as a student, and no incidental contact with people through the day as you have with school. Classes were 12 weeks long, and not everybody attends every lecture, so it was difficult for me to make ongoing relationships, even if I managed a good chat with somebody in a specific week.

Tutorials are more conducive to friend-making, because they're smaller in student numbers (talking more like 10-20 students from my experience), and more like a classroom/discussion setup that you're probably familiar with. But with Arts, there are so many subjects to choose from (which is great for flexibility) that it's not uncommon to go through an entire degree and never have class with the same people again. One of my friends studied the same degree at the same university, and we only had one subject together across the three years - and that was only because we specifically designed it that way.

Honours was different because I had a cohort. From memory, there were 8 of us going through the same thing across the year, so it was a very different dynamic. The other difference with Honours was that I actually started to take initiative a bit. For most of uni, I actively avoided units that contained group-work, I never attended any social events, and didn't really try to make friends in all honesty. In my last year, I volunteered quite a lot (and even went on a camp as part of this, which is so horrendously unlike me haha), got a little bit more involved with LingSoc (Linguistics Society), and just enjoyed campus life a bit more.

Some people make dozens of friends from their first semester and don't slow down from there. Others (like me) don't. But it's probably one of those things where the more you try, the more you get out of the whole thing. I didn't try to get involved, I didn't push myself out of my comfort zone, and I didn't actively try to make friends for the first three years, but I have no doubt my experience would have been entirely different if I started uni with a different attitude.

P.S. I think my attitude actually changed a bit at the end of my third year, when I was on exchange in Malaysia. I had quite a lot of time to think, and thought I should really try to make the most of Honours - and I did!

Quote
Have you drifted apart from friends you were close with in highschool?

Thank you!  ;D

For sure, but that's probably to be expected. I graduated in 2012, so I'm now seven years out, which is actually longer than the amount of time I was at high school (that was a super weird realisation to make - not sure how I feel about it haha). But that's quite a long time, and a lot of my friends from high school have now moved interstate or overseas, have full-time jobs, are married etc.

I still keep in contact with a few (my partner and best friend mostly). It's just a lot harder without having the commonality of school, and seeing them 200 days per year. There are many I'd be more than happy to catch up with over coffee - it's just logistically a challenge.

About 15 or so of us went out for dumplings the other month. It was quite surreal. I hadn't seen some of these people since Year 12, but it felt like not much had changed.

I drifted a bit socially through high school, too, so didn't have an obvious group until nearer the end, so that probably plays into things, too. To my understanding there are still several groups from my year level who are super tight and catch up regularly. :)
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 10:27:14 am
Quote from: Calebark on November 06, 2019, 06:36:50 pm
What would you consider the most substantial differences between education in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland?

There are, naturally, differences from state-to-state in terms of subjects offered, how scores and the ATAR is calculated and so on, but the biggest difference to me is kinda general perception toward study and school. I guess cultural differences rather than ones pertaining to technical stuff or anything academic necessarily.

Quote
Also, would you like to tell us a story? Perhaps a humorous tale about a dashing duo of cunning chevaliers as they gallivant across the land seeking some semblence of humble refuge?

I've started telling an epic story here. To be continued.
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 10:32:21 am
Quote from: r1ckworthy on November 06, 2019, 06:39:05 pm
Hey Nick!
What interested you about linguistics? What aspects of linguistics resonated/ attracted with you the most?


Good question. I'm not 100% sure what attracted me initially. I didn't even know what a verb was until like Year 11 haha. Linguistics was my last-chosen subject in my first year of uni. I was always decent at English so I think I probably just wanted to know more about words and stuff. My first year subjects were:

> Psychology
> Human Rights Theory
> International Studies
> Linguistics

So it was something a bit different to what I was already doing, too.

I fell in love with Linguistics literally in the first lecture, which was taken by Kate Burridge. Over time, I developed a really strong interest in the social side of linguistics - how language is used for various functions, how it resonated with people, the impact it has. My thesis looked at the ways Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard were linguistically framed in media coverage through their prime ministerships, and how those representations may have impacted voters' choices. I really enjoyed the intersection of linguistics, gender, media, and politics, and this is something I'd like to pursue more.

I'm also interested in the "harder" areas, like phonology and syntax, but I was, in all honesty, just not that great at them. I find them fascinating, and have considered speech pathology at various points, but I just don't have a knack for them like some people do.
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 10:37:18 am
Quote from: whys on November 06, 2019, 06:53:01 pm
What breed is Neville? Do you have a photo of him?  ;D

He's a cavoodle! He's almost 14 months old now. I have many hundreds of photos haha, but for now, please enjoy this video of his initial stages of life:


Will get some adorable photos up at some point. :)

Quote from: insanipi on November 06, 2019, 07:53:41 pm
To add on to whys' question: What is your current favourite photo of Neville, and why?

This is like trying to choose a favourite child, haha. There's one particularly adorable photo of him looking up at the camera. Sounds innocuous but I melt every time. Also, any time he's tired and drowsy, or has found a stick. As above, will get some photos up as a public service. ;D
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 10:39:45 am
Quote from: laura_ on November 06, 2019, 09:15:28 pm
What's your favourite type of weather? Justify your answer by way of an example. ;D

About 14 degrees and drizzle. But not windy. Really can't stand the heat, and being exposed to too much sun really gets to me, which is actually interesting given how much time I used to spend outside playing cricket and stuff. But yeah, defs prefer winter to summer overall. :)
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 07, 2019, 11:35:48 am
Quote from: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 10:32:21 am
Good question. I'm not 100% sure what attracted me initially. I didn't even know what a verb was until like Year 11 haha. Linguistics was my last-chosen subject in my first year of uni. I was always decent at English so I think I probably just wanted to know more about words and stuff. My first year subjects were:

> Psychology
> Human Rights Theory
> International Studies
> Linguistics

What was it like studying Human Rights Theory? That sounds fascinating! Is it applicable to day-to-day things you do? ;D

Quote from: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 10:39:45 am
About 14 degrees and drizzle. But not windy. Really can't stand the heat, and being exposed to too much sun really gets to me, which is actually interesting given how much time I used to spend outside playing cricket and stuff. But yeah, defs prefer winter to summer overall. :)
Good answer. ;D
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 12:04:23 pm
Quote from: laura_ on November 07, 2019, 11:35:48 am
What was it like studying Human Rights Theory? That sounds fascinating! Is it applicable to day-to-day things you do? ;D

I personally didn't love it, didn't hate it. Honestly stretching my memory a bit for specifics, but at the time I recall thinking it was pretty applicable for the most part. You can read Brenden's reviews of the first-year units I took here:

> ATS1314 Human Rights Theory 1
> ATS1315 Human Rights Theory 2
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Owlbird83 on November 07, 2019, 12:49:51 pm
Quote from: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 10:03:02 am


Thanks so much for the super detailed reply!! :)

Would you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert or both?
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 01:20:51 pm
Quote from: Owlbird83 on November 07, 2019, 12:49:51 pm
Thanks so much for the super detailed reply!! :)

Would you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert or both?

100% an introvert.

EDIT: I wonder what the ratio of introvert:extrovert is on ATAR Notes! Somebody should make a poll. ;)
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Tvisha K on November 12, 2019, 10:29:50 am
is there a way I can bring my grades from year 11 up in year 12, if so do u have any tips for the holidays coming up?

Thanks :)
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 12, 2019, 10:46:39 am
Quote from: Tvisha K on November 12, 2019, 10:29:50 am
is there a way I can bring my grades from year 11 up in year 12, if so do u have any tips for the holidays coming up?

Thanks :)

Hey Tvisha. :) Sure, there are lots of ways! But I think it depends a little on why you're losing marks in the first place. For example, do you think you're losing marks because you:

* leave things to the last minute?
* aren't giving things your best shot due to a lack of motivation?
* are studying inefficiently?
* feel burnt out?
* are misreading questions?
* perform poorly on exams?

There are lots of reasons you might be losing marks, and in all likelihood there's probably a combination of reasons. So that would change my answer a little, but a few pieces of general advice probably applicable to most situations:

When you study, actually study.
It's so easy to sit down for a study session, and then in two hours, think, "wow, I actually don't know what I got out of that". I think this is where "studying smart, not hard" comes into play - actually setting yourself up for success by limiting distractions before you start studying. So for me, that meant turning off my phone, not taking my laptop (I personally did almost all of my study by hand, but this is a personal choice), setting myself up with a nice glass of water etc. Getting into a study zone is the first step to not wasting time. Doing this has other benefits, too - when you're not studying, you can be more guilt-free!

Have a system.
Organisation is a big thing, I think. I had a system of sorts for the way I took notes and revised (one notebook for rough notes, one notebook for neat summaries, one notebook for practice questions). I also had a system for time management (loved to-do lists, didn't like study timetables - but again, this is a personal choice). Try a few things out and see what works for you!

I never studied at night, because that wasn't effective or efficient for me. So I woke up a bit earlier and studied at school in the mornings. If I tried to do what a lot of other people were doing (pulling all-nighters etc.), I definitely wouldn't have done as well.

Do the little things consistently well.
Advice like "eat well", "sleep well" etc. is pretty generic, but also pretty useful, assuming you take it seriously. IMO the people who get great marks aren't doing anything ridiculously, amazingly different - they're just consistently doing the small things well. These things add up over time. For example, if you're dehydrated on one day, that probably won't make a huge difference to your marks. But if you're dehydrated every day between now and the day you get your ATAR, of course that'll impact your marks! It's all about doing things bit by bit, and consistently. Cramming is overrated. ;)

In terms of what to do specifically over the break, why not try a few different study techniques? There are literally hundreds and hundreds of ways to study, and different things work for different people. You might be interested in this article here.

Good luck - feel free to ask any follow-up questions! :)
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 12, 2019, 12:23:19 pm
Those tips were great Nick! Do you have advice for dealing with burnout?
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 12, 2019, 12:28:47 pm
Quote from: laura_ on November 12, 2019, 12:23:19 pm
Those tips were great Nick! Do you have advice for dealing with burnout?

Check out some tips in the article below. :)

https://atarnotes.com/qce-burnout/

In general, I'd say not going too hard for too long is important. And to avoid feeling as though you need do that, consistency (I keep coming back to this) is great. Doing some study here and there across the year means you don't need to pull out the all-nighters etc. later on, which I think is where a lot of the burnout comes.
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Tvisha K on November 13, 2019, 07:28:17 pm
Quote from: Joseph41 on November 12, 2019, 10:46:39 am

In terms of what to do specifically over the break, why not try a few different study techniques? There are literally hundreds and hundreds of ways to study, and different things work for different people. You might be interested in this article here.

Good luck - feel free to ask any follow-up questions! :)

omg thank you so much.
Title: Re: Nick's Ask Me Anything
Post by: Joseph41 on November 14, 2019, 09:51:58 am
Quote from: Tvisha K on November 13, 2019, 07:28:17 pm
omg thank you so much.

No worries at all! Super happy to answer any other questions you have. :)