ATAR Notes: Forum
HSC Stuff => New South Wales Education Discussion => The HSC Journey Journal => Topic started by: StudyBuddyKJ on February 06, 2018, 06:59:57 pm
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Hi everyone!
Well I am currently in year 12, for around a week so far. It's only been the second week and I am exhausted and a little bit let down by my results from the Term 4 assessments. I want to study dual commerce at either the University of New South Wales or the University of Sydney. My ATAR goals are relatively ambitious cause that is just the kind of person I am. Although I need 98+ ATAR for my degree, I want to achieve an ATAR above 99 and be an All Rounder in all my subjects.
I am currently studying:
Biology
Economics
Legal Studies
English Advanced
English Extension 1
Mathematics (2 unit)
Mathematics Extension 1
I would also love it if people will give me advice and support on how to tackle this year, and also tips on how to get a Co-Op scholarship to UNSW, or any other scholarship for that matter.
Thank you! :)
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hey, welcome to the forums! i hope AN will become a great place for you throughout the year. :-)
in terms of advice for the year: it's going to be okay. keep your goals and motivation high, and you'll get there. for scholarships, just apply for as many as you can! you never know what can happen.
best of luck!
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Hey there,
Another fellow HSCer, welcome!! I'm excited to read your future journals hehe. Generally, first term assessments mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, so just seek out your errors and work on them to improve your performance in your upcoming assessments. I do similar subjects to you - English Adv & Extension, Economics and Legal. What I found works for me is to have my phone completely elsewhere whilst I'm studying, because it is literally the number one distraction for me. Otherwise, I'm enduring the same struggle as you haha!
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Thank you so much to everyone who replied! It means a lot to me :)
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Welcome to the forums StudyBuddyKJ! ;D just a heads up that I'm a UNSW Coop Scholar, so if you had any questions about it hmu ;D
I also wrote this guide on scholarships that might interest you ;D
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HELLLOOOOOOOOO!!! Welcome to ATAR Notes - I hope your journal is therapeutic :)
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Well, right now, I am mid way into Term 1 of Year 12, and let's just say that I am not going well. I have just gotten back my marks for my Legal assessment and I have done terribly, almost bottom of the class, even though I had worked so hard on it. I feel horrible. At this rate, I don't think I am capable enough of even passing my assessments, let alone getting my ATAR goal which is 99+. I feel absolutely terrible and wish things were better. I really do feel like giving up on the work for my HSC because it is already going atrociously even though I have been putting my all into it (practicing past papers, checking them, studying weeks before hand). I go to a selective high school so competition is already very fierce. I am sad to say that right now I have given up on myself because I do not believe I am smart nor capable enough to achieve my ATAR goal, which means so much to me. Achieving success in my HSC (in my definition, it means getting 99+ and into the course I want) means so much to me because it will make me feel so much more confident in my abilities to succeed no matter what. This is because each and every year, I find myself sad because either my ranks were not as high or my mark just wasn't good enough. This year at least, I want to look back on Year 12 as being a high achiever in academics.
And now, even though I have been putting so much of my time and energy into studying, doing my best, doing everything that is in my control, it is still not going the way I want to. I have already stuffed up my term 4 Year 11 assessments, and now I have stuffed up my Legal assessment. I feel that I am definitely going to screw up on everything else, because it is a recurring pattern. I don't know what to do anymore. Do I keep striving to get better, or should I just conclude that I don't have what it takes (either natural aptitude) to achieve a great ATAR. I feel miserable, and hopeless, and already feel like descending into a downwards spiral. Please help me. :'(
Really would appreciate kindness and honesty at this point.
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Hey!
Don't be discouraged by your marks - use them as motivation to try even harder and do even better! Never, ever give up on yourself, because great things could
happen. :-) We're all here to help on AN, so whatever questions you have, ask them! Go on the question threads. Make your own thread!
All the best!
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Well so far, I have been keeping relatively up-to date on all my study notes and HW. I have half yearlies coming up in a week. Some study tips to get all the content done will be so helpful
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Currently cramming for half yearlies, and overwhelmed by the amount of content. Exams are in a week. AHHHHHHH
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Currently cramming for half yearlies, and overwhelmed by the amount of content. Exams are in a week. AHHHHHHH
My exams are in a week also and I totally understand how you feel but don't stress! Try making lists of what you need to complete and check them off, you will start feeling more accomplished and at ease when you do this because you can see yourself getting through the workload. Work on subjects that you find hardest first and then work on the ones you enjoy second so that there's like a little reward (even though you're still studying) if that makes sense. Good Luck with your exams!!
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My exams are in a week also and I totally understand how you feel but don't stress! Try making lists of what you need to complete and check them off, you will start feeling more accomplished and at ease when you do this because you can see yourself getting through the workload. Work on subjects that you find hardest first and then work on the ones you enjoy second so that there's like a little reward (even though you're still studying) if that makes sense. Good Luck with your exams!!
Thank you!!!! Good luck for your exams as well! You will smash them!
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Eco is so hard gosh....
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Okay, I have not filled out a detailed diary entry yet telling people about how I am going, so here goes.
Honestly, my HSC year is definitely not going well. Even with all the hard work I have been putting in, my marks are not picking up. First term of Year 12 was crazy hectic, and even though I was working so hard in getting my notes done, practicing past papers and remembering things, my marks did not reflect that at all. In Term 1, my assessment marks were atrocious. For Maths both 2 unit and 3 unit, I got 69% (because the test paper was so hard and I didn't understand a lot of the questions). My Legal mark was 21/30 for my essay, which was pretty bad considering I worked so hard on it. I did everything possible, from writing a practice essay, getting it checked, memorising it and practicing it under timed conditions. I guess that was my downfall in the end, because the question I got didn't really have anything to do with what I had researched. My Eco mark was average, but still not the best. I had gotten 23/30, which was not very good as compared to the other peers in my class. My Bio mark wasn't too good either. that was because I ran out of time for a section, which cost me so many marks. I could have easily gotten a high rank, had I actually finished the paper. My English Marks are pretty solid though. I got 13/15 for my Advanced task, and I got 21/25 for my Extension creative and am 8/10 for a written component (which was pretty on par with the standard of my class, so that was pretty good).
Term 1 of Year 12 has almost come to an end, and I feel like history is repeating itself. In the second legal task, I got 22/30, which yet again was bad (lowest in the class :( ) even though I worked so hard on it. Let's just say that there was one detail in a case that I did not know of, and that pulled me down. My 2 unit test for maths wasn't too good either. I got 74% on the test, which definitely wasn't as good as anyone else. I could have gotten a higher mark, had I had more time to complete the paper (as the paper was ridiculously long). Also I made heaps and heaps of silly mistakes. I have half yearlies coming up in a week and I am yet again freaking out as how to prepare and ace them, as I can't really afford to fail any more exams and risk a lower ranking, if I want a 98+ ATAR. Someone please help me in figuring out what I am doing wrong. I am working so hard but still not getting the results I want. I spoke to my teachers and they said that you will be fine, but honestly I don't believe that I will be fine. I want to get Band 6s and E4s in all my subjects, but it is proving too difficult for me to achieve. I don't think I am capable enough to achieve it honestly speaking. My marks are a bit of a letdown.
HELP! Honestly, am I the only one finding Year 12 difficult and unmanageable? I don't understand how everyone else is getting such high marks without straining themselves too much.
Wow i guess the writing helped. I feel a bit calmer. But half yearlies are honestly worrying me so much.
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Hey!!
Okay, so let me just say, you're not the only one in this situation. I assure you, about everyone I know is drowning aswell - myself included. What's worse is, I'm literally the worst procrastinator in the world. Which brings me to think, while I seriously admire your hardwork, is it possible that you're pushing yourself too hard? Sometimes I need that I need to take a day off to rejuvenate, otherwise I find that my brain does not retain any information at all - particularly if I do not want to be doing work at that point in time. This probably sounds bad from your perspective, but I think you just need balance - it will help you so much more than you probably imagine. Believe it or not, I study about 5 hours MAX on a GOOD day, on TOP of working a casual job 20 hours per week and am ranked in the top 3 for all my subjects at the moment, with a mark of 100 for legal. It's not easy, I can tell you that straight off the bat. In fact, I went to parent teacher interviews yesterday and all my teachers said that I'm "looking at a band 6", which made me have a literal mental breakdown because I feel like I'm going to disappoint them in the end. There is so much pressure, whether your marks are good or not. My half yearlies are in less than a week and I'm slacking off so hard too - it's killing me. While I know I've done a lot of preparation in advance, it never feels good enough. I think the thing is, you can't ever be complacent. With ANYTHING. Start your prep early though, that always saves my ass. Make sure you send in multiple drafts to your teacher as well - I do a shit ton of essays on past HSC questions, which brings up my confidence exorbitantly. It's time consuming, but worth it for sure.
Don't doubt yourself like that. You know, in year 11, my marks were absolute shit. They were nowhere near as high or consistent as they are now (my marks ranged from 20-85 across my subjects) and I thought that I was naturally bound to mark fluctuations because I kept bombing exams despite studying so hard - I basically had no life lol. I always knew I was intelligent and smart but somehow my marks were not reflective of this and it made me question whether I actually was or not. It made me so angry and upset and all kinds of disappointed - this fluctuation in marks never seemed to occur to my friends. A year later, my marks are all within the 86-100 range. I was so ecstatic when I got my first assessment marks back for Year 12, because I literally thought this was impossible. But that feeling was honestly incredible. Seek out your errors and work on them. It pays off. Good luck!!
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Hey!!
Okay, so let me just say, you're not the only one in this situation. I assure you, about everyone I know is drowning aswell - myself included. What's worse is, I'm literally the worst procrastinator in the world. Which brings me to think, while I seriously admire your hardwork, is it possible that you're pushing yourself too hard? Sometimes I need that I need to take a day off to rejuvenate, otherwise I find that my brain does not retain any information at all - particularly if I do not want to be doing work at that point in time. This probably sounds bad from your perspective, but I think you just need balance - it will help you so much more than you probably imagine. Believe it or not, I study about 5 hours MAX on a GOOD day, on TOP of working a casual job 20 hours per week and am ranked in the top 3 for all my subjects at the moment, with a mark of 100 for legal. It's not easy, I can tell you that straight off the bat. In fact, I went to parent teacher interviews yesterday and all my teachers said that I'm "looking at a band 6", which made me have a literal mental breakdown because I feel like I'm going to disappoint them in the end. There is so much pressure, whether your marks are good or not. My half yearlies are in less than a week and I'm slacking off so hard too - it's killing me. While I know I've done a lot of preparation in advance, it never feels good enough. I think the thing is, you can't ever be complacent. With ANYTHING. Start your prep early though, that always saves my ass. Make sure you send in multiple drafts to your teacher as well - I do a shit ton of essays on past HSC questions, which brings up my confidence exorbitantly. It's time consuming, but worth it for sure.
Don't doubt yourself like that. You know, in year 11, my marks were absolute shit. They were nowhere near as high or consistent as they are now (my marks ranged from 20-85 across my subjects) and I thought that I was naturally bound to mark fluctuations because I kept bombing exams despite studying so hard - I basically had no life lol. I always knew I was intelligent and smart but somehow my marks were not reflective of this and it made me question whether I actually was or not. It made me so angry and upset and all kinds of disappointed - this fluctuation in marks never seemed to occur to my friends. A year later, my marks are all within the 86-100 range. I was so ecstatic when I got my first assessment marks back for Year 12, because I literally thought this was impossible. But that feeling was honestly incredible. Seek out your errors and work on them. It pays off. Good luck!!
You are honestly so kind. Thank you for those words, you really made me feel a whole lot better about myself and my own self perception. Grades have always been a huge struggle for me to deal with because they impact on my self esteem so much. Your words really gave me hope. I hope I can learn more from you about balance, because you seem to be really good at that :) (like honestly, you work through HSC. I wish my time management skills were that good). I hope I get to hear more from you and thank you once again for your kindness.
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You are honestly so kind. Thank you for those words, you really made me feel a whole lot better about myself and my own self perception. Grades have always been a huge struggle for me to deal with because they impact on my self esteem so much. Your words really gave me hope. I hope I can learn more from you about balance, because you seem to be really good at that :) (like honestly, you work through HSC. I wish my time management skills were that good). I hope I get to hear more from you and thank you once again for your kindness.
Aw not a problem! Hahaha, my weekends are spent strictly like this: 5 hours in the library, 5 hours at work. I think working forces me to manage my time better, because I literally cannot afford to procrastinate. And I love the people I work with - being surrounded by non-HSC stressing people is its own special thing, idk HAHAHA.
And dude, don't worry. I'm literally the same - I'm so emotionally attached to my marks that I think it's actually unhealthy HAHHAHAHA. My teachers have pointed this out several times too, but I can't help it. I remember one time in year 9 (yes fucking year 9, when no one should have been obsessed with their marks), I got 68 in my maths test and I was balling my eyes out when I walked home that day because my friend beat me by 4 marks. I think it's because my 2 best friends are very academically inclined too, and we never admit it, but we all know deep down that we're quietly competing with eachother. I don't think competition is ideal, but I think this is beneficial in the sense that it pushes us all to study as much as each other. In the end, we all have the same goals academically so it's really nice to have people in real life to express my tribulations to (in regard to study) that no one else could possibly care/understand. So essentially, surround yourself with people who are likeminded if you don't have that already - whether it's a study group or what not. It works wonders. Also, maintain strong relationships with your teachers!! I feel this is often undermined, but it is so, so crucial in my opinion. I've had a fair share of cries to my English teacher (about personal issues beyond academic frustrations), and I've found that having the insight of a trusted adult is so rejuvenating, as opposed to just your peers. Honestly. My legal studies teacher is also my mentor, and I feel comfortable enough to just hit her up with any questions or rants I may have and she is ALWAYS so good with advice. This is imperative imo.
I'm so worried about my half-yearlies because I have a feeling I'm going to fail one of them (failing in my books is <80) due to lack of prep. I know for a fact that it will kill me mentally if it comes to fruition, but I'm trying to look past that possibility and focus on what I CAN do in the moment. It's easier said than done though, but you just have to make a start. I literally had a mental breakdown yesterday because I got so overwhelmed looking at the sheer amount of study that I was beset with for economics, and my motivation levels were subdued for the rest of the day. I spent it fully in irrational thought a contemplating dropping out of school, how life would be so much better if that happened etc. I ended up just skimming through news articles online for legal for the rest of the day, nothing else. But today, I spent 5 hours straight in the library writing out essays for potential legal questions USING evidence I'd acquired from those perusals.
I think for legal, it's absolutely imperative that you're on top of your cases and stuff like that. Check the news for contemporary reports everyday, I've liked a paraphernalia of reputable news sources on Facebook, aswell as enabling notifications for them on my phone. My sources mainly emanate from scholars, which I find have the best rounded information, such as The Conversation, UNSW Law Journals etc. For news, I find The Guardian, Reuters, SMH, The Australian and ABC are the way to go. Our teacher never gives us the question for the essay, so I never regurgitate anything EVER. What I do, is know my shit inside out and formulate sophisticated arguments before the exam - for all of the possible and probables. I ensure I know all of the relevant evidence behind everything that can be assessed; all the amendments to contemporary issues, media responses, Law Commission reports, statistics etc. I write several practice responses sporadically when I'm studying and send them to my teacher. I've written 4 in preparation for my upcoming legal exam this Tuesday, which I think is a good amount. I make sure the issues I centralise my paragraph overlap a variety of syllabus dot points - that way I'm maximising my efficiency by cutting down study time, with a little bit of tweaking of course. I never memorise essays however, because it's far too risky when there are so many possibilities. But I find that, because I've written so many practise responses, they come to my mind naturally anyway. Always have fallback cases for when in doubt. I have gotten 25/25 on every single legal essay I've done with this method, except for one which I got 23/25 in. And I prefer to write on issues that I'm passionate about (that is pertinent to the syllabus in some way of course), because it fuels my writing power lol. I'm 99% sure the reason behind my success in legal is because I love the subject. So, IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE SUBJECT. It is so interesting if you voluntarily expend efforts into it. I literally just waste hours reading law journals because I genuinely am fascinated by them.
Not sure how this turned out to be so long, but I hope it helped in some way!! I really understand how you feel, and it sucks for sure. I have spent days just contemplating the meaning of my existence over bad marks in the past, truly. I hope it gets better for you!! When are your exams?
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Aw not a problem! Hahaha, my weekends are spent strictly like this: 5 hours in the library, 5 hours at work. I think working forces me to manage my time better, because I literally cannot afford to procrastinate. And I love the people I work with - being surrounded by non-HSC stressing people is its own special thing, idk HAHAHA.
And dude, don't worry. I'm literally the same - I'm so emotionally attached to my marks that I think it's actually unhealthy HAHHAHAHA. My teachers have pointed this out several times too, but I can't help it. I remember one time in year 9 (yes fucking year 9, when no one should have been obsessed with their marks), I got 68 in my maths test and I was balling my eyes out when I walked home that day because my friend beat me by 4 marks. I think it's because my 2 best friends are very academically inclined too, and we never admit it, but we all know deep down that we're quietly competing with eachother. I don't think competition is ideal, but I think this is beneficial in the sense that it pushes us all to study as much as each other. In the end, we all have the same goals academically so it's really nice to have people in real life to express my tribulations to (in regard to study) that no one else could possibly care/understand. So essentially, surround yourself with people who are likeminded if you don't have that already - whether it's a study group or what not. It works wonders. Also, maintain strong relationships with your teachers!! I feel this is often undermined, but it is so, so crucial in my opinion. I've had a fair share of cries to my English teacher (about personal issues beyond academic frustrations), and I've found that having the insight of a trusted adult is so rejuvenating, as opposed to just your peers. Honestly. My legal studies teacher is also my mentor, and I feel comfortable enough to just hit her up with any questions or rants I may have and she is ALWAYS so good with advice. This is imperative imo.
I'm so worried about my half-yearlies because I have a feeling I'm going to fail one of them (failing in my books is <80) due to lack of prep. I know for a fact that it will kill me mentally if it comes to fruition, but I'm trying to look past that possibility and focus on what I CAN do in the moment. It's easier said than done though, but you just have to make a start. I literally had a mental breakdown yesterday because I got so overwhelmed looking at the sheer amount of study that I was beset with for economics, and my motivation levels were subdued for the rest of the day. I spent it fully in irrational thought a contemplating dropping out of school, how life would be so much better if that happened etc. I ended up just skimming through news articles online for legal for the rest of the day, nothing else. But today, I spent 5 hours straight in the library writing out essays for potential legal questions USING evidence I'd acquired from those perusals.
I think for legal, it's absolutely imperative that you're on top of your cases and stuff like that. Check the news for contemporary reports everyday, I've liked a paraphernalia of reputable news sources on Facebook, aswell as enabling notifications for them on my phone. My sources mainly emanate from scholars, which I find have the best rounded information, such as The Conversation, UNSW Law Journals etc. For news, I find The Guardian, Reuters, SMH, The Australian and ABC are the way to go. Our teacher never gives us the question for the essay, so I never regurgitate anything EVER. What I do, is know my shit inside out and formulate sophisticated arguments before the exam - for all of the possible and probables. I ensure I know all of the relevant evidence behind everything that can be assessed; all the amendments to contemporary issues, media responses, Law Commission reports, statistics etc. I write several practice responses sporadically when I'm studying and send them to my teacher. I've written 4 in preparation for my upcoming legal exam this Tuesday, which I think is a good amount. I make sure the issues I centralise my paragraph overlap a variety of syllabus dot points - that way I'm maximising my efficiency by cutting down study time, with a little bit of tweaking of course. I never memorise essays however, because it's far too risky when there are so many possibilities. But I find that, because I've written so many practise responses, they come to my mind naturally anyway. Always have fallback cases for when in doubt. I have gotten 25/25 on every single legal essay I've done with this method, except for one which I got 23/25 in. And I prefer to write on issues that I'm passionate about (that is pertinent to the syllabus in some way of course), because it fuels my writing power lol. I'm 99% sure the reason behind my success in legal is because I love the subject. So, IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE SUBJECT. It is so interesting if you voluntarily expend efforts into it. I literally just waste hours reading law journals because I genuinely am fascinated by them.
Not sure how this turned out to be so long, but I hope it helped in some way!! I really understand how you feel, and it sucks for sure. I have spent days just contemplating the meaning of my existence over bad marks in the past, truly. I hope it gets better for you!! When are your exams?
Hey Lumenoria,
Honestly I need so much guidance from you in terms of Legal. It is currently my worst subject and honestly your marks are goals, I wish I got your advice at the start of the year before my legal tasks. Initially, I wanted to do law at university, but seeing as how bad I am compared to the rest of the class (literally the lowest in the class), I feel like I should give up on that, because I don't want to have to slog 6 years of my life in competition with others. I have already been doing that 6 years in my high school lol.
Speaking of marks, I am glad I have someone to relate to. Marks have had such a negative impact on my self worth. I have so many cases of me having a melt down because of my grades in the recent exam. No matter how much or how hard I study, my marks are never as high as the grades of the kids around me. Except for English, I have never gotten a mark that was considered outstanding or particularly exceptional. For example in Year 10 maths, I would get around 80+ marks, whereas everyone around me would get 90+ marks. When I look back, I think "Man, my study methods were really inefficient. I shouldn't have wasted my time in just doing all the textbook questions, I should have practiced past papers instead." And this was a common occurrence. In years 7-8, I was around the top of my cohort. But then in the following years 9, 10 and 11, I found my grades dropping. I was no longer at the top anymore. In fact, my grades were around middle of the cohort and slightly below average (by like one or two percent). No matter how hard I studied, my grades wouldn't go up. In year 10, my ranks were really low, so low that in year 11, I wasn't selected for being a school prefect because my grades were around average. That felt really disheartening because I had worked so hard and put so much pressure in order to achieve. In year 11, it was the same thing. I tried super hard and put so much pressure on myself to get the best marks, even more pressure than before. I ended up burning out till the end of the year, where I aced some exams and flunked some. My self confidence was at an ultimate low.
This year at least, my aim was not to put so much pressure on myself, relax and stay balanced. That did help considerably. I wasn't as panicked as before. But now, as you saw in my previous entry, that my marks are yet again below average, despite me trying so hard. My marks have put such a negative impact on me, that I find myself considering dropping out of my school and running away to a distant land. So far, I haven't done that yet. I am trying to reaffirm this notion that marks are not a reflection of my self worth, and that just because my marks were not as good as everyone elses, doesn't make me any less of a person. It is hard thinking this way, because of all the years of brainwashing myself to think I wasn't good enough because of my less than superior grades. Back in earlier years, I thought I was pretty intelligent. Now at a competitive school, I feel less than everyone else, because everyone is super smart, well rounded and accomplished, and I'm not.
I'm trying to overcome this day after day. Maybe one day it will get easier. As for half yearlies, I am freaking out. I am in a mad rush trying to memorise everything, and I honestly feel like I am going to fail ALL of them. And my idea of fail is below 85%. :( My exams start next week tuesday and finish the week after onWednesday.
Today, I literally just started doing a maths past paper (which I flunked, just over 50%, so need to revise a lot because I had forgotten a lot of the concepts). I was sick for the past two days, so I couldn't do as much revision. In terms of legal and eco, I am honestly so screwed because I am trying to memorise as much as possible, but I feel like nothing is going into my head. I am literally panicking in my head. I just wish I can freeze time for like a year so I can prep for these exams and be confident. I am so scared AHHHHHH. I feel like I am the only person who is legit screwed. Teach me how to be as beast as you in legal Lumenoria! The exam is two essays (one family, one crime) and you have to know the entire damn syllabus. How do I prep for everything and ace it! Its out of 70 (30 multiple choice, 25 family law essay and 15 mark crime essay). I need to get above 90 so I have some chance in getting a band 6 (looking impossible so far). HELP!
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Hey Lumenoria,
Honestly I need so much guidance from you in terms of Legal. It is currently my worst subject and honestly your marks are goals, I wish I got your advice at the start of the year before my legal tasks. Initially, I wanted to do law at university, but seeing as how bad I am compared to the rest of the class (literally the lowest in the class), I feel like I should give up on that, because I don't want to have to slog 6 years of my life in competition with others. I have already been doing that 6 years in my high school lol.
Speaking of marks, I am glad I have someone to relate to. Marks have had such a negative impact on my self worth. I have so many cases of me having a melt down because of my grades in the recent exam. No matter how much or how hard I study, my marks are never as high as the grades of the kids around me. Except for English, I have never gotten a mark that was considered outstanding or particularly exceptional. For example in Year 10 maths, I would get around 80+ marks, whereas everyone around me would get 90+ marks. When I look back, I think "Man, my study methods were really inefficient. I shouldn't have wasted my time in just doing all the textbook questions, I should have practiced past papers instead." And this was a common occurrence. In years 7-8, I was around the top of my cohort. But then in the following years 9, 10 and 11, I found my grades dropping. I was no longer at the top anymore. In fact, my grades were around middle of the cohort and slightly below average (by like one or two percent). No matter how hard I studied, my grades wouldn't go up. In year 10, my ranks were really low, so low that in year 11, I wasn't selected for being a school prefect because my grades were around average. That felt really disheartening because I had worked so hard and put so much pressure in order to achieve. In year 11, it was the same thing. I tried super hard and put so much pressure on myself to get the best marks, even more pressure than before. I ended up burning out till the end of the year, where I aced some exams and flunked some. My self confidence was at an ultimate low.
This year at least, my aim was not to put so much pressure on myself, relax and stay balanced. That did help considerably. I wasn't as panicked as before. But now, as you saw in my previous entry, that my marks are yet again below average, despite me trying so hard. My marks have put such a negative impact on me, that I find myself considering dropping out of my school and running away to a distant land. So far, I haven't done that yet. I am trying to reaffirm this notion that marks are not a reflection of my self worth, and that just because my marks were not as good as everyone elses, doesn't make me any less of a person. It is hard thinking this way, because of all the years of brainwashing myself to think I wasn't good enough because of my less than superior grades. Back in earlier years, I thought I was pretty intelligent. Now at a competitive school, I feel less than everyone else, because everyone is super smart, well rounded and accomplished, and I'm not.
I'm trying to overcome this day after day. Maybe one day it will get easier. As for half yearlies, I am freaking out. I am in a mad rush trying to memorise everything, and I honestly feel like I am going to fail ALL of them. And my idea of fail is below 85%. :( My exams start next week tuesday and finish the week after onWednesday.
Today, I literally just started doing a maths past paper (which I flunked, just over 50%, so need to revise a lot because I had forgotten a lot of the concepts). I was sick for the past two days, so I couldn't do as much revision. In terms of legal and eco, I am honestly so screwed because I am trying to memorise as much as possible, but I feel like nothing is going into my head. I am literally panicking in my head. I just wish I can freeze time for like a year so I can prep for these exams and be confident. I am so scared AHHHHHH. I feel like I am the only person who is legit screwed. Teach me how to be as beast as you in legal Lumenoria! The exam is two essays (one family, one crime) and you have to know the entire damn syllabus. How do I prep for everything and ace it! Its out of 70 (30 multiple choice, 25 family law essay and 15 mark crime essay). I need to get above 90 so I have some chance in getting a band 6 (looking impossible so far). HELP!
Hey!
I'm no Lumenoria but in regards to her preparation for legal, I 100% agree with her. You need to constantly prepare different essays for any possibility that you can think of. I had my legal half yearly on Tuesday and I did multiple essay plans for my crime and world order essays, thinking of how they could ask any question relating to any dot point in the syllabus. As soon as the reading time start I turned straight to the essay questions and it was utter relief. The 2 essay questions were both ones I had done an essay plan for, and yes even though it's tedious it can ultimately pay off in the end. In legal because you always need to refer to CONTEMPORARY CASES, it is literally so important that you are using laws, cases and media that are recent. For example, one of my options is world order so right now I am constantly keeping up with the issues in Syria and North Korea so I can use all this info in my essays, which will make you stand out from everyone else. Even just using more recent laws, cases, media can jump you a few ranks!
Have also seen your posts about eco and I literally feel you. I had my eco half yearly yesterday and even though the essay questions were what I predicted them to be, the multiple choice and some short answer was hard. I literally feel my eco exams are always the hardest. I studied for eco 16 hours straight the previous day (not healthy, don't do it because right now I am so tired) and I literally don't even know if it will pay off at this point.
Anyways the weeks leading up to my half yearlies I definitely hit rock bottom but I know I just had to push through and get stuff done.
But I believe in you. I know you can do it, and I am sure you'll do amazing in your upcoming half yearlies!
All the best of luck! ;D
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Been studying so hard for half yearlies in the past few days, that I am starting to wear myself down. I think I am studying too hard and putting too much pressure on myself. The trouble is, I don't know how to relax and stop forcing information down my throat. I'm so tired already :( :'(
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Did so much productive work today!
In the morning, I practiced for Unseen texts, Discovery, and wrote a brief essay plan. Then afterwards, I did a whole practice paper in time limit conditions (2 unit) in 2 hours, marked it and went through it. Then I did legal, where I wrote a complete essay on International Crime and made myself learn the majority of the necessary content. Go me! :) :) :) :) :) So proud of myself rn. I feel like I am finally on track today!
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Seems like you turned a bit of lethargy this morning into a killer productive Easter Sunday! Nicely done, and so nice to see such positivity! ;D
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Seems like you turned a bit of lethargy this morning into a killer productive Easter Sunday! Nicely done, and so nice to see such positivity! ;D
Lol thanks Jamon. Tbh I dont know how I got so much done. I feel like it was just adrenaline from half yearly stress
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Well this is officially the last day of prep that I have before my half yearly exams start. Having studied so late last night, I woke up pretty late (like 9) but still refreshed somewhat so that is a good thing (I hope). My head slightly hurts, and my stomach is getting queasy...I think its just exam nerves. I have been procrastinating on getting my work started because of how stressed and alarmed I feel. I know that I shouldn't be stressing about exams because they are just another part of life..yada yada yada, but that has been a problem for me for ages. Exams freak me out. Without exams, I can easily and confidently express how much I know, but then you put the pressure of time limit as well as the pressure of ranks, and I freak. Even though I have been studying hard for the past week, I feel this gutwrenching sensation that the information has not sunk in and that I don't know anything. I feel a bit paralysed and unwilling to do any work right (hence why I am procrastinating on ATARnotes writing this post instead of actually getting started). I know that still I have to work really really hard today because this is the last day I have got before my exams start! AHHHH exams, HSC plz help! These exams are major!
I don't know how the 99+ achievers and the duxes do it honestly. I feel like they are heaps smarter than I am, or just better test takers. I really need some advice on how to stay calm for these exams, because right now I can't seem to get rid of my nerves. I am sitting on my laptop with bags under my eyes, my hair is a mess, I haven't showered, and just the thought of picking up my pencil and books is freaking me out. I know that I need to work, but I just can't seem to get started. I'm panicking ahhh! I can't seem to study in this mental state.
At this post, everything seems like a dead end. I need to pick myself up over this slump and just pray to God that nothing goes wrong. I want these exams to go really well, but I also have this sickening sense of dread that something is going to screw me over, and I don't know how to prevent it. I feel like I am doomed already.
DEEP BREATH, DEEP BREATH... okay, this is what I will do. I will go take a shower, wash my hair, go for a quick walk and listen to music, then come back, and churn out heaps of productive work. I also need to make sure I am on top of my game, by getting a good nights sleep. The goal here is not to freak out and to do as much as humanly possible. it shouldn;t be too hard, seeing as how much work I have been doing in the past four days. Someone please wave their magic wand so that my nerves go away. I know this is not the end of the world, but I feel like it is! I feel like everyone is wayyy more prepared for half yearlies than I am! Am I the only one who feels so underprepared?
I should stop rambling and figure out a way to be super productive today and ace all my exams, without letting my nerves, fear and self doubt consume me. This is my last shot. I shouldn't be wasting time. I should be working. Trouble is, I am panicked! Just the thought of exams is scaring me. How do I begin to study when I am so panicked! AHHHHHH :o :o :o :-\ :-\ :-\ :'( :'( :o
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Lol, it's been a day after my initial day of panic yesterday. Felt a bit better but was still nervous. Started the day off pretty well, I woke up early, had breakfast, tried to chill, read through my notes and made sure I knew my stuff. Came early to the exam venue, gossiped with friends, sat the English exam and yeah...
The exam wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I rocked the essay component because I analysed the scene first hand before whilst studying. However, I did find that I spent 10 minutes extra in writing my essay and finishing it, because I spent the first 5 minutes in planning out my essay. It did help me a lot because I was writing out my essay on the spot. It wasn't actually hard writing it because I knew my content so well and I could easily answer the question. However, I do wish I memorised a pre-planned essay because it would have given me extra security. I'll do that the next time round.
As for the unseen texts component, it was really tricky and the some of the texts were really obscure in terms of discovery, but I'm just glad I finished it. Now the worst part by far, was the creative writing component. Now I am the worst at creative writing. I did have a prepared creative ready, but because I was doing that last, I found that I forgot half my creative already and the stimulus was so obscure. I am horrible at writing on the spot. My plotline and stories sound like a Year 3 person is writing it. So I definitely did not do well in that section :-\ :'( I guess I am just going to have to work harder at creative writing because that is not my strength.
Well, I'm just glad that at least one exam is over and done with. I feel pretty confident with math, but I am expecting the worst and hoping for the best. I feel slightly prepared as I have done like 6 past papers (should have done more, but I got sick on some of the days, so oh well, can't really do anything about that). I have to make sure I kill it in the maths test! Hopefully I do well!
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Glad to hear you came out of that exam alright! Don’t worry too much about your marks now – what’s done is done, and all you can do now is focus your efforts on your next exam.
Best of luck with maths!
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Okay, so today was the maths 2 unit half yearly and....
TBH again it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I focused on my weak points whilst studying, to find out that it wasn't even in the exam! Overall, I found the exam do-able.
One positive thing I got from the test though- I didn't run out of time as I managed it pretty well. This was a big improvement from my previous maths 2 unit test in which I didn't do as well (didn't fail entirely, but definitely not up to standard). In the previous 2 unit exam I sat, I ran out of time and made silly mistakes, and I skipped questions that I could have easily solved had I managed my time properly. Plus there was the fact that in the previous test, the paper was ridiculuously long. i was struggling to finish it. Luckily in this exam, that wasn't the case. In this exam, I finished with 20 minutes to spare, so I can go back and fix the difficult questions. I didn't have time to check the whole paper though, but I think I did okay.
One negative thing- there were some questions I found tricky, and some I just had to leave out because I had no idea how to solve and get the answer. I did attempt the question, but I just couldnt get the solution...it was so frustrating. After doing the exam, I felt like I did okay, but then I spoke to my friends about the questions I found difficult, and found to my shock that they got a completely different answer to what I got. Now I am a little bit scared and doubting myself a lot, but anyway can't do anything about it.
Hope I did well though. Anyway, I have two days to study and revise Legal and Eco, which are the worst so far because both of them are super content heavy, and require essays (which I suck at writing), so I feel definitely screwed for both Legal and Eco. And worse, they are on the same day which means either I will forget some of my information or my hand is going to die mid way whilst writing. I'll have to cram as hard as possible. If I can get through the two exams all in one shot without screwing up anything then it would be a miracle.
Anyway, praying for my ATAR now! I better go and start building up motivation and cram for both Eco and Legal (ugh).
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Well, I have just completed my legal studies half yearly and my eco half yearly, and both of them did not go too well...
In my legal exam, there was just one essay question that I did not prepare, and lo behold it was in the exam. I was utterly screwed. I crammed so much info yet in the test I experienced a mind blank. I barely knew the multiple choice.
Same in my eco exam, I blanked out in the test and forgot a major component of what I studied. I definitely know I flunked both of them. I felt so terrible that I literally just cried after the end of the two exams. I was so stressed, so tired and so vulnerable after attempting to cram in so much content and still experiencing a mind blank where I couldn't recall a majority of the information.
Anyway, the only thing is, the tests are over. The bad thing is, I know I didn't do well. :'(
Hit a low point. Hope I can stop beating myself up about it and move on.
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Well, I have just completed my legal studies half yearly and my eco half yearly, and both of them did not go too well...
In my legal exam, there was just one essay question that I did not prepare, and lo behold it was in the exam. I was utterly screwed. I crammed so much info yet in the test I experienced a mind blank. I barely knew the multiple choice.
Same in my eco exam, I blanked out in the test and forgot a major component of what I studied. I definitely know I flunked both of them. I felt so terrible that I literally just cried after the end of the two exams. I was so stressed, so tired and so vulnerable after attempting to cram in so much content and still experiencing a mind blank where I couldn't recall a majority of the information.
Anyway, the only thing is, the tests are over. The bad thing is, I know I didn't do well. :'(
Hit a low point. Hope I can stop beating myself up about it and move on.
Jesus, you had economics and legal on the same day? That's just cruel, they're both so content heavy wtf haha - I struggled with having them both one day apart! That aside, fair enough, I completely understand why you must be feeling this way. I had my economics exam today, and for one of the EASIEST multiple choice questions, I got it right initially but CHANGED it in the last 5 minutes to something that I KNEW was wrong but did it anyway just in case of a "what if" scenario. This was literally just a result of the exam pressure, where it is notoriously easy to drown in an irrational mindset - where you can't think or seem to function properly. For the rest of the day, that error just ate away at my sanity and I couldn't get it off my mind but honestly the only way to curb this irrationality is to know your shit SO well that it overrides any possibility of this happening.
This brings me to my next point ,how are you "cramming" this info? There is a substantial difference between just taking notes with the assumption it'll go into your brain versus actually reinforcing this knowledge by testing yourself, through multiple choice, short answers etc. I find note taking basically useless, the ONLY way for information to stick in my brain is to do a shit tonne of past papers. That way, I truly know what I don't know and hence fill in the gaps in my knowledge by revising that content again after, then doing ANOTHER past paper until I'm confident in all my answers. This is particularly important for short answers and essays imo.
Personally, I am never REALLY studying on the days directly before the exam. I usually have my knowledge consolidated well before that so that in the lead up to the exams (3 days - a week before), all I'm really doing is refining my exam technique (HSC past papers). It sounds like a fat trek yes, but it is MUCH better than having a mind blank in the exam when you're confronted with the realisation that you don't actually know the information. For my economics exam today, I was cramming these papers for 10 hours straight last night because I didn't have time to do as many as usual due to how close my exams were together. I did all the half-yearly papers I could find online, as well as multiple trial papers from other schools - probably 7-8 in total? I was able to comprehensively answer most of these, which reduced my stress a lot. I think the reason you had a mind blank may possibly be because you're forcing too much into your brain in a short span of time? It is much, much easier to let the content sink into your brain over the term as opposed to just 2 days, and is WAY more effective too.
Remember, this exam is infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things. I know it is easy to dictate your self worth based on your performance in these exams - trust me, I'm notorious for doing this - but the reality is, all you can do is expend this energy into maximising your performance for your upcoming exams! Good luck, please take it easy on yourself :) You have 2 more chances to redeem yourself from this, this doesn't make or break you!!
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Jesus, you had economics and legal on the same day? That's just cruel, they're both so content heavy wtf haha - I struggled with having them both one day apart! That aside, fair enough, I completely understand why you must be feeling this way. I had my economics exam today, and for one of the EASIEST multiple choice questions, I got it right initially but CHANGED it in the last 5 minutes to something that I KNEW was wrong but did it anyway just in case of a "what if" scenario. This was literally just a result of the exam pressure, where it is notoriously easy to drown in an irrational mindset - where you can't think or seem to function properly. For the rest of the day, that error just ate away at my sanity and I couldn't get it off my mind but honestly the only way to curb this irrationality is to know your shit SO well that it overrides any possibility of this happening.
This brings me to my next point ,how are you "cramming" this info? There is a substantial difference between just taking notes with the assumption it'll go into your brain versus actually reinforcing this knowledge by testing yourself, through multiple choice, short answers etc. I find note taking basically useless, the ONLY way for information to stick in my brain is to do a shit tonne of past papers. That way, I truly know what I don't know and hence fill in the gaps in my knowledge by revising that content again after, then doing ANOTHER past paper until I'm confident in all my answers. This is particularly important for short answers and essays imo.
Personally, I am never REALLY studying on the days directly before the exam. I usually have my knowledge consolidated well before that so that in the lead up to the exams (3 days - a week before), all I'm really doing is refining my exam technique (HSC past papers). It sounds like a fat trek yes, but it is MUCH better than having a mind blank in the exam when you're confronted with the realisation that you don't actually know the information. For my economics exam today, I was cramming these papers for 10 hours straight last night because I didn't have time to do as many as usual due to how close my exams were together. I did all the half-yearly papers I could find online, as well as multiple trial papers from other schools - probably 7-8 in total? I was able to comprehensively answer most of these, which reduced my stress a lot. I think the reason you had a mind blank may possibly be because you're forcing too much into your brain in a short span of time? It is much, much easier to let the content sink into your brain over the term as opposed to just 2 days, and is WAY more effective too.
Remember, this exam is infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things. I know it is easy to dictate your self worth based on your performance in these exams - trust me, I'm notorious for doing this - but the reality is, all you can do is expend this energy into maximising your performance for your upcoming exams! Good luck, please take it easy on yourself :) You have 2 more chances to redeem yourself from this, this doesn't make or break you!!
Hey,
Well I would imagine that my study strategy did not work. I spent too much time working on essays and trying to memorise them, and that stressed me out so much. Although I wanted to do past paper questions and practice them under time conditions, I simply did not have time as I barely knew the content well. It was just a horrible situation where my brain decided to give up on me. Hence, why in order to make the load easier on myself, I am going to drop one humanity based subject- either eco or legal.
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Hi,
Well, now I have slightly gotten over my recent failures in both Eco and Legal. I am trying really hard not to let it get to me and to improve my performance in the next following assessments. I just had an Extension 1 English speaking task today, and I think I did well. I had to answer some questions about the module, and I tried to give as much info at the top of my head as possible. I guess whatever I said made sense to them as the teachers marking smiled, so I'm gonna take that as a good sign.
I have Maths Extension 1 tomorrow and then Bio the day after, which I feel really underprepared for. I am just going to give it my all, and manage my time really well. I do NOT want another repeat of Legal and Eco.
Speaking of Legal and Eco, I want to drop down to 10 units because I don't think I can handle studying for both humanities. Please give me some advice.
Pros of keeping Legal
* Have some support from my teachers and friends
Cons of keeping legal:
* Marks are not good despite studying so hard (literally at the bottom)
* Losing interest in the subject slowly, due to demotivation and continuous bad marks
* Don't want to study law at university anymore, so keeping it doesn't really positively impact my future at uni
* Huge time sucker. If I didnt have legal, I could have studied more for eco and done better.
* So much effort in writing essays,and remembering everything. I am struggling with that
Pros of keeping economics:
* It is directly related to what I want to study at university (commerce course at uni)
* Scales better. If I want to achieve my goal of 98 ATAR, I only have to get a 90 in Eco as compared to a 94 in Legal. Easier and less stress.
* I can get additonal support through tutoring i guess (which i am looking towards)
* Supportive teachers
Cons of keeping economics:
* Finding it very difficult, because the concepts are complicated
* Slow at picking up concepts in eco
* Don't really know how to write essays well
* No matter how much I study, the information doesn't stick into my brain
So I dont know what to do. help me decide plz. It has to be one or the other, so i can meet the minimum requirement of 10 units
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ONE LAST EXAM LEFT!!!!!!! THIS IS THE LAST DAY I HAVE TO STUDY FOR HALF YEARLYS. SO PUMPED TO GIVE IT MY ALL AND THEN CHILL OUT FOR THE REST OF THE TWO WEEK BREAK!
Gotta go cram the entire term worth of content into my head. Wish me luck for Bio!!!
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ONE LAST EXAM LEFT!!!!!!! THIS IS THE LAST DAY I HAVE TO STUDY FOR HALF YEARLYS. SO PUMPED TO GIVE IT MY ALL AND THEN CHILL OUT FOR THE REST OF THE TWO WEEK BREAK!
Gotta go cram the entire term worth of content into my head. Wish me luck for Bio!!!
Simply wishing you good luck for Bio haha. Hope you smash it! 🔬
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Omg I love reading these. It reminds me that I'm not the only one stressing my way through the HSC. I love reading your entries!
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Hey guys
Sorry I haven't been on in so long. I've been going through a lot of personal shit right now, particularly after Bio, my last exam. Confused? What happened to that bubbly girl who posted a few days ago about being pumped for studying for bio, her last exam? Let me fill you in.
On the day before the biology exam, I had a negative reaction to some anti-biotics I took that my family doctor prescribed for me for my coughing. It basically resulted in me being in so much pain, that I could barely concentrate. Imagine trying to study when your stomach is cramping for several hours. My mouth was getting dry and my head was spinning. I was lying in bed for hours before eventually throwing up. My stress and my poor health for the past two weeks have put such a strain on my body and my mind that it simply made me threw up.
I was still feeling terrible, but slightly relieved, so I simply tried to study as much as I could. It was horrible. I crammed until 11:30 pm (too late I know), and then woke up early to study some more. I went and did the biology exam, and I found my body so weak. I still did the exam because at that point, the stress over my body was too much and I simply didn't want to prolong it by studying more. I was so tired and broken.
Whilst the exam was on, I saw the questions. Luckily I studied for them, but because of poor health and lack of proper sleep, I simply couldn't recall how to answer them. I got a panic attack in the midst of the exam, and found the details of the info I crammed leaking out of my head. I simply could not get the words out. I left a lot of questions blank, and my mind was fuzzy. Worse I was still feeling super dizzy and sick from the day before.
After the exam was over, I was relieved that I didn't have to study any more, but I simply cried because negative circumstances affected me so much. Had I not gotten sick, I could have done better.
So basically, my plan is to get some distance from those exams, and wait till my results come. I already know I severely flunked Bio, Legal and Eco, but for Bio, I am going to speak to my deputy and tell her my circumstances and see what she can do. I am goign to see if I can somehow retake the test with a fresher mind.
Even though I succeeded in getting through half yearlies, I still feel like a huge failure, even though I did my best and it wasn't technically my fault for getting so sick. I think I need to stop beating myself up for it.
Need some advice at this point.
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Feeling so scared that I am not going to do well :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
Someone validate me and give me motivation! Tell me I am going to succeed even if you don't know me well or if you don't believe it
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Feeling so scared that I am not going to do well :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
Someone validate me and give me motivation! Tell me I am going to succeed even if you don't know me well or if you don't believe it
It's okay, I am sure you didn't do as bad as you think! If you just believe in yourself, you will always do the best you can.
I'll give you an example. I did my half yearly for economics about 2 weeks ago and I literally walked out knowing that the exam was so hard and I definitely didn't think that it was my best work. Fast forward to one week later and I got the results back. I got 75/80, coming first in the exam with even a 20/20 in my essay. Not only did I literally almost fall out of my chair due to shock, I literally asked my teacher if I had the right paper.
I double checked it and it was definitely mine. Leading up to that economics half yearly I know I didn't do as good as I wanted in the first assessment task so I worked my ass off, and in the end it payed off.
So as long as you know you put everything into your preparation for the exam and it was absolutely your best, I am sure it will all pay off in the end!
Hopefully you feel better soon! :)
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Hey girl, here's a long and love-ridden entry to make you feel better! <3
First of all, I'm so, so sorry that this happened. It must have been terrible for you (as evidenced by the description you have given)
Second of all, well done making it through your half-yearlies! This is a great achievement, and even if you don't feel like it now, you'll be okay. One foot in front of the other. That's your mantra for the next couple of days, alright?
A lot of unexpected things can happen in our lives that can really throw us off. Sometimes, we're in a position where we are kind of balanced on the razor's edge - it only takes a little nudge for us to slip. For you, right now, that edge was the high level of stress and your reaction to the antibiotics. You could not have done anything to help what happened, so I just want to tell you, don't blame yourself. You did the best you could, and that is all that matters. It's okay for you to not have done well on one exam (or all of them, for that matter); no-one but yourself is giving you negative feedback, and the best thing is that you can pick your marks up later. The best thing for you to do right now is give yourself some time and space to think and breathe. Know that you're not a failure for something you could not have helped.
Do you play or listen to music, draw, have a favourite book or food? Just treat yourself to something you find soothing for a bit. It'll ease your disappointment and take your mind off what happened in the exam. Don't feel guilty for giving yourself a bit of TLC; from what I've read, you need the recovery time.
One more thing: know that your marks aren't everything. ATARs are temporary. So if you're afraid you've messed up really badly, just breathe it out and put it behind you. The past is in the past, and you can't change that. Now you need to look forward and love yourself, and do better next time. Like emilygeorge said, you can always pick yourself back up if you try. And you can do it!
And yes, talk to your deputy. Hopefully, you can resit the test. Get a doctor's certificate.
We here at AN are with you all the way. You'll be okay. Now enjoy your holidays, because you deserve the break. :)
Sincerely,
~poet xx
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Hey, it's going to be fine :-) I was in a similar situation during my HSC last year - I got super sick after English Paper 1 and really struggled to get through the week. What matters to me now is I got through that awful first week of the HSC, and the marks I got there have led me to my dream course which I'm studying right now. :-) Props to you for getting through the pain while studying and doing the exam - you've definitely worked really hard for these exams, and the marks will show your effort at the end!
Make sure you take a break these holidays - chill out at least for the first week. Watch a bit of Netflix, go out with friends because you deserve this break. :-)
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Hi guys,
Thank you to all the people who gave responses to my dilemma. They were so kind and deeply empathetic, I felt very relieved and deeply comforted. It has been a week since half yearlies were over, and I took your advice. I went on holidays with my family interstate for a week, and made sure I enjoyed myself as much as possible. I didn't touch a single book and I forced myself not to think about marks, or results, or what it will do to my dreaded ATAR. And it really helped. I am now back in Sydney after the holiday, and my mind feels fresh and not as tense as I was before.
Bouncing back up from failure, particularly academically, has always been a struggle for me. I am usually not as comfortable in revealing my struggles, and usually reserve that to telling my teachers, closest friends and family. The main reason why I am able to communicate this so freely is because no one on this site knows my real name lol. Academics has always given me a lot of stress, because I am a very anxious person. Anxiety is something that affects my life a lot. Because of anxiety, I find myself in constant fear about my life, whether I am doing things the right way, whether I am good or capable enough, and whether I am successful or not. I often compare myself and my life to others and wonder why I am always lacking. I always feel like everyone else has their lives together and are infinitely more capable than I am. I find myself ruminating on my failures a lot, because they make me feel so horrible inside, like I have something wrong inside of me. Really melodramatic I know. But can't seem to help but not feel this way.
All negativity aside, I'll share with you all the awesome stuff I have been doing that is not school related. I went sky diving. I volunteered at an artistic event. I went to Gold Coast on holiday with my family, where I spent 5 glorious days waking up slightly later than normal, eating heaps of delicious food, doing all the scariest rides at Sea World, Movieworld, Dreamworld and White Water World, watching My Kitchen Rules and really spending quality time with my family. What is funny is that if you tell me to jump off a plane 15000 feet in the air instead of doing a HSC exam, I would happily do it. Really weird i know.
Since I got back late last night, I am in a slump right now, feeling a bit let down that my amazing holiday is over and I have to get ready in time for school and deal with the repercussions of half yearlies. I am taking it one day at a time. It is currently 2:15 pm and all I have done is wake up and eat. I really need to pick myself up, and shoulder on, as best as I can. I need to look forward into the future and enjoy the present and do as much as I physically can.
Doing this one day at a time, with as much positivity and good vibes as I can muster.
Regards,
StudyBuddyKJ
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Well I tried to start doing some productive study today, and that didn't work out too well. :'( :'( :'( :'(
I didn't get enough work done today. I'm kicking myself for letting that happen. there are many reasons as to why that is though. I was very distracted during my study, I didn't have an effective plan and more importantly I had no idea where to begin. My study game has been so off since I have been on holidays. Not to worry though, I'm going to work insanely hard tomorrow and get heaps of HSC studying done!
Here is my timetable for tomorrow.
7:00 am- Wake up
7:15 am to 7:45 am- Morning run
7:45 am to 8:15 am- Shower and brekkie
8:15 am to 9:00 am- Should be enough time to get all my supplies together and get organised
9:00 am to 10:00 am- Revision of legal content from Terms 4 and Term 1. WIll be doing that by continuing on in making notes that were left unfinished, and memorising content from the syllabus. (1)
10:00 am to 10:15 am- Break
10:15 am to 12:15 pm- Maths. Work on exercises from Chapter 14. FInish at least two exercises (2)
12:15 pm to 12:45 pm- Break (slightly longer because 2 hours is very intense work)
12:45 to 1:45 pm- Read ahead in prescribed English Texts (either WHy Werent we Told or The Spy Who Came in From the Cold". Write some analysis (1)
1:45 pm to 2:30 pm- Lunch Break
2:30 pm to 3:30 pm- Work on relearning and consolidating knowledge for Bio, seeing as I didn't get the chance to learn it well due to illness. Will be doing that by memorising info by heart and doing sample responses. I will post them on ATAR notes for them to be marked. (1)
3:30 pm to 3:45 pm- Break
3:45 pm to 5:00 pm- Eco. Need to memorise and relearn content that I didn't really understand. (1 hr 15 minutes)
5:00 pm to 7:30 pm- fun Stuff (extracurricular activities, time to pursue hobbies and passions)
7:30 pm to 10:00 pm- Chill I guess. I would study more, but I find that I dont study well at night. I am not as efficient so no point.
10:00-10:30 pm- SLEEP
I will try to stick to this timetable as religiously as possible. Following this timetable will mean I will be able to get 6 hours and 15 minutes worth of quality studying done. That should be a good effort. Anyway, now that you know what I intend to do on Wed to make up for my laziness today, comment below and let me know, does it sound realistic? Am I working too hard or not long enough? SHould I take shorter or longer breaks? I will see how I go and let you know how I fare.
The hustle doesn't stop! I need to really make up for Term 4 and Term 1 and really take my HSC performance to the next level! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D Come on guys, we got this!
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So good to see you're super motivated to study! I didn't have a lot of that last year hahaha.
The plan is pretty solid, but if you don't end up doing all the stuff you wanted, don't be disappointed in yourself, because:
1. it's the holidays
2. you have more time to do revision :-)
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Heya, just thought I should give an update on my timetable.
I woke up later than normal because I was unable to sleep well throughout the night. Missed my morning run, but still started my work at 9 on the dot. Was pretty on track. DId an hour of legal where I updated my notes. 2 hours of maths where I did questions from the textbook. I didn't end up finishing two exercises because the one I was doing was so long. I read my English text afterwards where I finished 1/4 of the book. Had lunch, felt lazy, so I just ended up trying to catch up on writing eco notes. I am behind a whole topic in my notes so I need to catch up. I am also very behind in my notes for Legal. Damn I have so much to do.
ARGGGHHH, trying not to get stressed. But on a positive note, I was a lot more productive than I was yesterday. Tomorrow, I am going to hang out with my friend, and then come back and do some more work to make up for it. I think I should be doing more past papers, but the thing is, I don't know the content well enough, so I think it is too early to do them.
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But on a positive note, I was a lot more productive than I was yesterday
It's all about the little wins. 👌👌👌
Remember that productivity isn't linear, though - you'll naturally have ups and downs!
Keep up the great work. :)
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It's all about the little wins. 👌👌👌
Remember that productivity isn't linear, though - you'll naturally have ups and downs!
Keep up the great work. :)
Thank you :)
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Hey guys!
Lol haven't been on for the past few days. Anyway, thought I will fill you in. I did get a little bit amount of work done, not much though. I found that I was really not in the mood to study for 10+ hours in one day, no matter how many times I forced myself to. So, I took time for myself to do the things I really enjoy and just had fun. I am not going to get the chance to relax properly this entire 10 week term, so may as well live it up, you know what I mean? Although it is completely against my nature to do so, I have been not as studious. Saving my energy for when school hits, which is coincidentally, tomorrow!
I'm living this day as if it is the last day I have to live lol. Basically all I have done is:
* Fully caught up on my Legal and Bio notes and completely up to date
* Did some practice questions for maths
* Finished reading English text (Why Weren't We Told?)
* Started going tutoring for eco
*
So basically, not that much. But I am happy. I am giving myself a proper break. For once I am not thinking about the amount of work I have to do. It feels so relaxing. I am so dreading going back to school tomorrow, and facing disappointments in my marks. But honestly I am over it. I just want HSC to be over. My school is amazing and I have a lot of supportive people, but honestly I just want to get Year 12 over and done with so I never have to do it again.
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I am basically procrastinating and wasting time....Here is my strategy for Term 2.
I am going to pull up my marks and ranks this term! And this is how I am going to do it!
Every week: I am going to write 6 essays. Two essays on English, two essays for Legal and two essays on Eco
Every week: I am going to complete 1 past paper per subject. So that will be 7 past papers in total per week.
Every week: I am going to spend time getting my notes done, memorising content every single day
I have already implemented a new system to keep myself organised!
Going to be a complete workhorse this term! Let's do this! :D :D :D :D :D
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-snip-
Wow, that's dedication!
Just remember to give yourself some love and downtime, okay? <3
Being a stress monkey the whole term isn't going to help your marks, no matter how hard you're working.
And sometimes when you set goals and don't meet them, this can really pull you down.
So you do the best you can, but make sure you're not setting yourself up for disappointment and/or burnout before final exams! :)
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Wow, that's dedication!
Just remember to give yourself some love and downtime, okay? <3
Being a stress monkey the whole term isn't going to help your marks, no matter how hard you're working.
And sometimes when you set goals and don't meet them, this can really pull you down.
So you do the best you can, but make sure you're not setting yourself up for disappointment and/or burnout before final exams! :)
Thank you for your kindness!
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Wow it has been so long since I have updated my progress on ATAR Notes. I have been avoiding it tbh. Here is why.
The first week back to school had been terrible, because we have gotten our half yearly marks back and let's just say they were very disappointing. I have underperformed. For advanced English (usually my best subject), I got 14/20 for my essay, 7/15 for reading and comprehension, and we haven't got our creative marks yet but I know I did badly. All my marks for Advanced English were below average.
For Legal, I got 49/70 altogether. Got 11/15 for my Crime essay, 20/25 for my Family Law essay, and 18/30 for multiple choice.
For Eco, I did dismally, I passed (over 50%) but now I am currently ranked last in the cohort for Eco.
For maths, I got 75% for 2 unit and 77% for 3 unit, yet again terrible.
For English Extension 1, even though I thought I did well, I also did badly in that because I had forgotten to talk about context in my speech, which was a massive significant part of my course, After the Bomb. I got 15/25.
For Bio, like I knew I would bomb, because like I mentioned below in my previous post, I was sick the day before and stupidly enough decided to do the test because I wanted to get it over and done with. I got the lowest in the grade, and got below fifty percent (22/55).
I cried for 3 days straight after I have been getting my marks back. I didn't want to go to school, and all I could think about was how much of a failure I was, and that I wasn;t cut out for academics and that I should just give up on high school and just drop out. my self esteem was so low that my year adviser actually called my mom at home because she saw me look very upset. My friends and my family tried so hard for three days to encourage me to get back up again. And luckily that helped. My year adviser eased my anxiety a lot by telling me that I needed to stop comparing myself to other people and to just try your best and that in uni, no one will ever care about what your ATAR was. She said that I still had a chance to do well, as long as I believed in myself.
RIght now, I feel better, although i still have my moments of ruminating over my failures. I am just currently working on changing my study strategies. So now this term, my focus is going to be on trials because that is the only chance I have to get back up and regain my confidence. So every day, I am preparing myself for the exam through focusing on my weaknesses, working on them, getting more tutoring, practicing more past paper questions, and just doing my best. I still have days where I feel like an absolute failure and stupid, but I am working on that.
Hopefully someone reads this and feels better about themselves, because if I can screw up that badly and still continue on in doing work, then others can too.
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I am procrastinating and facing a huge drain in motivation right now. I feel so overwhelmed with all the tasks I need to do, and the fact that I am too overwhelmed to do them is stressing me out and giving me anxiety.
Someone help!!!
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Still ruminating on the bad marks I got in half yearlies. I know that my rank is going to drop a lot in all my subjects. Do I still have a chance of getting 98+ ATAR?
I really want to get above 98 so I can get into commerce at UNSW. It's really high, but I will do absolutely anything to achieve it. I am really freaking out that HSC is only 5 months away, and I feel really negative about it. My nightmares involve me failing the HSC dismally and getting lower than expected. I am really really scared.
Do I still have a chance of recuperating and getting 98+ ATAR?
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Still ruminating on the bad marks I got in half yearlies. I know that my rank is going to drop a lot in all my subjects. Do I still have a chance of getting 98+ ATAR?
I really want to get above 98 so I can get into commerce at UNSW. It's really high, but I will do absolutely anything to achieve it. I am really freaking out that HSC is only 5 months away, and I feel really negative about it. My nightmares involve me failing the HSC dismally and getting lower than expected. I am really really scared.
Do I still have a chance of recuperating and getting 98+ ATAR?
Hey there!
It's completely normal to be ruminating on disappointments, I get it - but don't let that eat away at your potential for upcoming assessments, as hard as that may be.
I'm not going to sugar coat it - you will have to work much harder now, but there is absolutely still a chance of getting a 98+ provided that you implement effective study methods. You also have to take into account that you do go to a selective school, therefore, the calibre of the students are higher than the average person - and this will work in your favour later on.
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Hello everyone,
Gosh it has been so long since I have updated. Probably cause its been a hectic week. Did not get that much work done this week as I wanted to. I procrastinated for around two days after school, but most of the time I have been doing work, which is good. I have a hectic weekend ahead of me.
So basically, I have a bio practical this coming week on Thursday. In order to get over my disappointing marks so far, I know I have to really perform well. I am trying my best to just view this as a challenge, because I am not very good at handling practicals, because of the pressure it puts on me. I am really determined to overcome this barrier though. If I can do the practical, get good results and not self combust out of nervousness, that would be a huge win.
I woke up late (again) today, but I am determined to make up for my laziness and get a lot of productive work done. So today's task list will be focused primarily on preparing for the Bio practical, going to tutoring for economics, helping my sister with her school assignment, and catching up on inverse trig (which is so annoying, its killing my brain ugh). So here is the to do list of all the things I am going to do today.
To Do list:
1. Finish preparing for and revise 3 practicals for bio. Making sure I have it down pat so well I can visualise exactly how to do the practical
2. Go to Economics tutoring. Soak up as much knowledge and wisdom as I can.
3. Come home afterwards, and work on Bio practical again. Afterwards, catch up on maths homework.
4. Help my sister with her assignment
5. Watch Pretty Little Liars as a reward during dinner, provided I accomplish all the things I need to do.
Okay, the clock is ticking. Better get to it! It's going be to a hectic, but productive day! :) :) :) :)
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Okay, the clock is ticking. Better get to it! It's going be to a hectic, but productive day! :) :) :) :)
Loooove that you are making time for family and rewards on top of your productive stuff. That's the way to schedule ;D
Best of luck on the Bio Prac!!
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Loooove that you are making time for family and rewards on top of your productive stuff. That's the way to schedule ;D
Best of luck on the Bio Prac!!
Thanks Jamon!
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Okay so here is the update on what I have accomplished today. Good news!
1. I covered three practicals as promised for bio. I have also accessed a past paper I can do as prep.
2. I went to tutoring and soaked up as much knowledge as I could. Ended up walking away with a numb brain, aching wrists from writing a lot, but satisfaction from having learnt something new and useful.
3. I helped my sister with her
assignment as promised. Got a
significant portion done.
The only thing that I wasnt able to check off my list was getting to my maths hw (inverse trig) but honestly speaking maths takes so much energy which I dont have now. I am so tired and I can feel myself getting a bit sick already. My head is currently hurting and I am getting the sniffles. My stomach also hurts from having eaten too much food too fast. I find that I forget to eat food, so my body goes into starvation mode. And then when I eat, I eat so much that I become too full. And most of the food I eat is unhealthy. I can literally feel my health deteriorating and me gaining more fat. I need to develop a consistent routine so I can lose weight and get into shape before I become an oompa loompa lol.
anyways, gonna call it a night. I am watching pll rn as a way of relaxing and am planning on sleeping early. Gn. Hustle hard everyone. It will be worth it in the end (hopefully). praying for the high atar!
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Good morning guys!
Feel so much more refreshed and well rested. I woke up earlier than usual, went for a short run, washed my hair, ate breakfast and now I really need to start doing work. Let's get to what I want to accomplish today!
To do List:
1. Revise and make notes for 4 practicals for Bio (due Thursday)
2. Make a good start upon English Extension 1 assignment (Due next to next week)
3. Catch up on inverse trig homework (not really due but still need to do it otherwise I wont know anything)
4. Complete one exercise for tutoring homework (due Wednesday)
5. Study for Economics test (in three weeks).
6. Make time for one hour of dance practice
7. Do questions for Advanced English (due Monday)
8. Help my sister with her assignment
9. Go to bio tutoring today (maybe)- not compulsory nor that important
Once I finish doing all of the tasks, then I can do extra prep which will come in handy for trials. This can be:
1. Attempting past papers for 2 unit maths
2. Writing an essay plan for Legal
3. Write an economics essay
4. Write one discovery based creative (in time limit)
5. Work on improving Mod A essays
6. Practice writing responses to unseen texts for discovery
7. Find a related for Mod B and getting to work on essay prep
Well I have a busy day ahead of me. Let's make today the most productive day of all! Stick around for the update on how I go! Hustle hard and have a productive Sunday everyone! :D ;D ;D
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Hey guys!
Well sorry, but today I wasn't as productive, although I tried to be. I seem to have caught the cold. My head has been spinning and my nose has been running.
Basically what I did today was:
1. Revised on two practicals for Bio
2. Completed half a maths exercise for tutoring
3. Worked on creating scenarios for E1 creative
I have no strength in me to keep working. it's my own bad luck that I am slightly sick. Hopefully I will get better before my bio practical, or I am going to have to get a med certificate.
I am trying not to beat myself up for it. But yeah, really disappointed in myself for not getting enough work done. Hopefully I get better overnight so I can catch up
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Hey guys!
Well, just about to start on my work. Got loads to do. I need to:
1. Cover notes for 4 practicals for Bio (there are 15 practicals and I have covered 7)
2. Finish Maths HW
3. Complete one maths exercise for tutoring
4. Start studying for Maths (test) by completing a past paper
5. Work on English Extension 1 assignment
6. Start on Legal Assessment
7. Learn the Beadle and Tatum's one gene one polypeptide hypothesis fully
A lot of work, but let us see how we go! Hope you guys have a productive Monday! Let's start the week off right!
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Well today was my bio practical. Don't know whether I should feel good about it. I feel like I totally stuffed up in one station as I ran out of time and got frazzled. Just got to wait before I get my marks back I guess. I'm trying not to be negative about it. The good news is, I didn't combust under pressure, nor did I run out of the exam room, and also all the pracs I revised came in the test so I wasn't shocked as to what it would appear, so my preparation was worth it. The bad news, I completely forgot to read the instructions on the back page because I hurridly was trying to get all the instructions done for Station 1. My hands started to shake a bit, and for a moment I almost forgot to add one key ingredient. I ended up running out of time and having to fudge all the results and hurriedly write my answers. Luckily, I answered every question.
I have this sick feeling in my gut. I felt I was going to vomit. But the good news is, I survived and the practical is over. I just have to wait for the results to come out. i am doing really badly in Bio, and have a not so good rank. I probably will have to drop Bio soon.
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YAY its Friday! I made it another week! Really proud of how I managed to keep myself together all week. Today, I have two free periods after lunch. So I can use that free time to my advantage and really getting a move on improving my maths marks. My maths marks have been atrocious so far. No matter how much I study, I keep getting marks in the 70s, which is not good enough as per my standards. I want to push myself to get high 90s. My rank right now for 2 unit is 50th. I need to be in the top 30 to get a Band 6 in 2 unit. For 3 unit, I need to be in the top 40. I am rank 85th. So, obviously I need to improve a lot.
Here is my new strategy.
1. Focus on the fundamentals of each exercise. I will go through, write down important formulas that I need to memorise. Do a few practice questions just to jog my memory on how to solve them.
2. Start on a past paper. See how much time I take to finish and how many I can get right. The ones I get wrong or the ones I dont understand, I will circle. After I finish the whole paper, I check my time. I will try to solve the questions I didn't understand. Afterwards, I will do the whole question again, and try to beat my time. Sort of like a game.
I am aiming to finish all the past papers, go through them again, and make sure I get high 90s in all of them. Let's hope this will work :)
If you have any strategies to help me get better at maths and studying for tests efficiently, please let me know
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Hey guys
Wow it has been so long since I updated. Let me fill you all in.
I got my half yearly report ages ago, and it was BADDD. I mean the worst I have ever done in my entire school life. It was so bad that I full on started crying in front of my year advisor. My ranks and my marks were all so low. My marks are ranging from mid 50s to low 80s, and I came last in legal, second last in eco and 5th last in bio. :'( :'( :'( I am trying my absolute hardest to bring them up.
I really still want to get 97 ATAR to get into the course I want and the co-op scholarship. I really need advice from a fellow co-op scholar on my goal. Is my goal too unrealistic, or is it still possible?
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Hey guys
Wow it has been so long since I updated. Let me fill you all in.
I got my half yearly report ages ago, and it was BADDD. I mean the worst I have ever done in my entire school life. It was so bad that I full on started crying in front of my year advisor. My ranks and my marks were all so low. My marks are ranging from mid 50s to low 80s, and I came last in legal, second last in eco and 5th last in bio. :'( :'( :'( I am trying my absolute hardest to bring them up.
Really bummed for you my friend, that's a rotten situation. Love your last sentence though - That should be your immediate thought, improvement! Try and channel the negative thoughts into motivation for some hard work ;D
I really still want to get 97 ATAR to get into the course I want and the co-op scholarship. I really need advice from a fellow co-op scholar on my goal. Is my goal too unrealistic, or is it still possible?
Absolutely still possible! A tad harder, perhaps, but still possible. You'll need to work really hard to swing your results around for Trials - Do you know where your weaknesses are? Any plans in place to improve in any specific ways? :)
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Really bummed for you my friend, that's a rotten situation. Love your last sentence though - That should be your immediate thought, improvement! Try and channel the negative thoughts into motivation for some hard work ;D
Absolutely still possible! A tad harder, perhaps, but still possible. You'll need to work really hard to swing your results around for Trials - Do you know where your weaknesses are? Any plans in place to improve in any specific ways? :)
Hi Jamon!
I am actually glad you responded. You are exactly the person I wanted to ask, seeing as you have achieved everything I want currently (the Co-Op scholarship for example). And yes, I do know what my weaknesses are.
For Biology- I got super sick the day before the exam and that contributed to my poor performance. I shouldnt have done the paper, but I did anyway. Bad decision. Plus, I left studying to the last minute because I was studying for other subjects, and I crammed. Definitely not wise. For trials, I am going to focus on learning the content consistently, and perfect my practice responses. And also do a TON of past papers
For Maths- Again, a weak point of mine. More past papers, more mastery of the content is needed.
For Mathematics Extension 1- More past papers are needed!
For Eco- Again cramming. Stress was also a factor.
For Legal- there was an essay question that I was not prepared for. Again stress was a factor. Also, my essay writing skills in Legal are very weak.
For English Advanced- Screwed up whilst interpreting the question
For English Extension 1- Forgot to include a significant component from the module (After the Bomb).
For Trials, I have a whole different strategy:
Maths- As many past papers from different sources as possible. Keeping a mistake book with the hardest questions that i couldn't solve.
Mathematics Extension 1- Same as above
English Advanced- Writing practice essay plans and sending them to the teacher to mark. Practicing past papers to different questions in time limit consistently. Memorising quotes and ideas. Refining essay writing technique
English Extension 1- More analysis on context. Same as above with past papers. Write more creatives and get them marked
Biology- Writing notes down, memorising, past papers, getting them marked
Eco- Writing notes down, memorising, past papers, keeping up with the news, getting them marked
Legal- Might be dropping because legal takes up so much of my time and I am not getting better by a lot. But if i still keep, it then just writing essays and getting them marked, getting a good technique
Do you have any tips jamon? I can't afford to screw up trials. And also, would you be willing to assist me in applying for the Co-op? Let me know!
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Sounds like you've got a really concrete game plan. This is fantastic!! You are certainly going to see some amazing improvement with such a well thought out game-plan. My only advice would be, and it seems you are already planning on this, get loads of feedback. Seriously, feedback is so underrated, you can't just be writing essays and guessing, "Yeah, that was probably okay." Huge lost opportunity to improve. Make sure you stick to your guns and put everything through a red pen, whether it's a teacher, a peer, or us ;D
And yep, happy to help with Coop! Will probably start a thread for it in the UNSW section because I think there are a few aspiring Coops on here :)
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Hi guys!
Here is another update. So today, I went to the Western Sydney Careers Expo with my school! And it was pretty okay! I was so glad to be missing out on school to look at career options. It was definitively something I wanted to focus on particularly, because I wanted to particularly know all the different options and pathways I had in order to do the course I want.
So we got there around 9 or 10. The expo was so jam packed with stalls that I immediately lost track of where my friends went and just went for the stalls I was interested in. Normally, I would hate being alone because I love spending time with my friends, but today it actually felt really nice just to go by myself to all the stalls I was interested and seek out my options. I was able to talk to the ambassadors as much as I wanted without feeling obligated to decline just cause of a friend, and I was able to seek out information specific to what I wanted quickly. That being said, I did miss the presence of my friends as I walked around.
So the first stall I basically went to was UNSW- obvio- seeing as it was a uni I definitely wanted to go to. I wanted specifically more info on the Co-Op program. I was hoping to see a Co-Op scholar there to give me advice. But another guy talked to me for a long time about the Co-Op and what was expected of me if I got past the interview stage, and I must say I was quite intimidated. Apparently its really intense, you get sponsors from big companies interviewing you. Oh well, still gonna apply. Nothing can be accomplished if you give into fear 8)
So I spent literally four hours just wandering around, talking to so many people about my options, and honestly, those hours were well spent, because I learned so much! There are courses that I really want to do that don't even require a high ATAR (around 60) or even any ATAR at all, just my passion and willingness to see it through. this one guy I met talked to me about a course that I could do at a private college that is geared towards entrepreneurship and learning about business, and they don't even care about my ATAR! They have a high employment success rate (around 92%) and he can vouch for it being successful in developing entrepreneurial skills as he has started a business himself! God it was so amazing and freeing to find options where my capability is not defined by the four digit number I get at the end of Year 12. I can pretty much not do anything in Year 12 and still end up studying the course I want and achieving the skills I want! Not that I am going to do that though! I am still going to work my ass off and do as well as I can for Year 12, so I can get into my dream course with no regrets! But still, it is awesome knowing that I am not defined by my academics.
At the end of it though I got so tired, and my arms started hurting because I was carrying so many course guides from all the different unis. I am currently at home, and preparing for my two assessments (legal and bio) for tomorrow. I lowkey wanna die cause I hate legal so much and I really want to drop before trials because I don't want to study for it.
Speaking of trials, we got our exam timetable and I am already feeling so scared for it! I will start studying for it tomorrow!
Anyways, bye for now!
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How nice is it knowing there are so many options out there?? Amazing! You can be successful in anything you want – it’s so cool.
Best of luck for Legal and Bio tomorrow!!
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How nice is it knowing there are so many options out there?? Amazing! You can be successful in anything you want – it’s so cool.
Best of luck for Legal and Bio tomorrow!!
True! and thanks!
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Gonna be starting to study for trials today!
Here is what I will get done today.
1. Will memorise the content for two topics: Economic Growth and Unemployment
2.Complete 1 HSC Economics past paper, mark it and go through
3.Biology: Go through Blueprint of Life, dot point by dot point. Make hand written notes and complete practice questions from the study guide!
4.Mathematics Extension 1: Finish an entire past paper, mark it and go through!
Let's see how I go!
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Yesterday was pretty good, I am pretty happy with what I had accomplished. Couldn't complete everything but still did a lot of work! I finished one topic for economics fully and know it pretty well, wrote notes for two sections for Bio and completed half a maths paper. I was too tired to finish everything, but still got heaps done! Day 1 Trials Prep went really well!
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Yesterday was pretty good, I am pretty happy with what I had accomplished. Couldn't complete everything but still did a lot of work! I finished one topic for economics fully and know it pretty well, wrote notes for two sections for Bio and completed half a maths paper. I was too tired to finish everything, but still got heaps done! Day 1 Trials Prep went really well!
Super awesome! Love that you are reflecting on how you went and taking happiness from what did get done rather than swelling on not getting some things done. The best approach! :)
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Awesome news!!!
I got 28/31 for my bio research task! A massive improvement from Term 1 half yearlies! I am so stoked!
I had a Mod B essay exam today and it was really hard. the question was really difficult to answer and we had a listening extract that was also very vague.
Now normally, I memorise my essay and then mold my essay to the question in the exam. It has gotten me consistently high marks in English (14/15...18/20...23/25). Once in Year 11, I tried to go in with just quotes and techniques and evidence without a prepared essay, and I failed miserably. So for me, I need to memorise essays because I don't test well under pressure, and it gives me confidence knowing I have an awesome response prepared as a backup. But I have heard a lot of kids and teachers say that you shouldn't be trying to memorise essays as it takes up a lot of precious time. What should I do, if that is the only method that works for me?
I am so stoked about Bio! I put in so much effort and it clearly paid off. the best feelings in the world are when your efforts have been worth it and you have achieved what you wanted with hard work and faith. I was so convinced that I was going to fail the assessment given my poor progress in the year so far
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Wow!!! Congrats on that bio mark - that's amazing. Well done!
With English, do whatever works for you. If you do well with your method, do it anyways - on paper, no one's going to know how you studied. :-)
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OML wow its been so long since I have updated.
Let me fill u guys in since it has been ages. Its been an emotional rollercoaster. Waking up stressed every day, studying, procrastinating a little bit on ATARNotes...trying not to freak out about my trials.
I had Paper 1, and Paper 2 English, and Maths 2 unit so far. Paper 1 was my first exam and luckily for me it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The first exam always seems the hardest. then again, I was the most prepared for paper 1 English cause I did like 8 past papers all together, spent hours on fixing up my creative and my discovery essay plans. I also printed out trial papers from other schools, and OMG you will not believe it, the exact essay question that I practiced on, the same question came in the exam! I WAS SO HAPPY, you have no idea. I could have screamed with delight right in the exam room if I could.
As for maths 2 u I was freaking out as well. Ik a lot of people think that maths is easy, but for me it's something I've really struggled with, since primary. Picking maths extension was a pretty dumb decision I feel, because I am not as good at maths as other people in my cohort. Note that I go to a selective high school so all the people are super gun at everything, whilst I am just...average.
But luckily, when I did the exam, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was getting so anxious about it, I was practically gulping for air the morning of my exam. My mom could see I was so close to having a panic attack because I didn't feel prepared, and she kept reassuring me. Even though I didn't drink much water and went to go to the bathroom before the exam, I still had to go because I was busting. I was so annoyed at my weak ass bladder. I practically sprinted all the way to the bathroom and back, so I didn't waste much time. It was all well and good because I finished the exam well before time and still had time to check.
Paper 2 English was so far not so good. I didn;t have time to do any past papers in time limit because I had to memorise my essays and make sure I knew what to write. I was so annoyed at my fricking teachers. they took so long in getting our essays marked and giving them back to us. Literally they gave us our Mod C essay back only two days before trials, and our Mod B essay the day of our Paper 1. The feedback wasn't even that helpful. It was so annoying cause I didn't have any time to edit my essays cause I was busy with Math and discovery creative.
Speaking of which, I already posted for people to mark, so if ppl can mark it I would be so thankful. Shout out to Jamon Windeyer for marking it, I am so grateful.
Anyways, literarlly after the three exams, I was so tired I came home after Paper 2 and just took a solid 3 hour nap because I was running on 7 days of straight up cramming. Woke up with another headache, did some light memorising, and then I woke up early, studied for a solid 5-6 hours at the library and now I am procrastinating writing this post because I feel too ceebs to do legal.
Can I ask you guys something? Do you necessarily have to be thinking about studying or studying 24/7 to do well? Like, at times where I don't feel like studying and procrastinate a little, I feel so bad and guilty for being so lazy and undisciplined, even though I probably did a lot of work that day anyway. I feel so guilty when I am not studying and taking time for myself, but I feel miserable when I don't take a break. It's getting to the point where I feel guilty when I sleep, or do things that are not related to trials.
Speaking of trials, I am absolutely going to die next week. I have 5 exams back to back, with two on the same day (Bio and Eco). Someone please kill me, before trials does.
And honestly, at this point I am so done with the HSC and the whole ATAR obsession. For those of you who have been reading my journal, you guys know that I have had a rough year and have failed a lot (cough cough half yearlies) and have been super obsessed about my atar. for a while, I used to feel ashamed that I might do badly and get a not so good atar and not get into UNSW or any other Group 8 uni. But honestly, at this point, I don;t care about my ATAR and how well I do in the HSC, as long as I gave it my all. Its a bit hard to let go of my perfectionist tendencies (if I were in control, I would want to come first in every subject and get a 99.95 but that is not happening), but honestly, I need to care more about my mental health than that mark, because these marks don't give me nearly as much happiness as I get from spending time with my family and friends, and pursuing my hobbies. Don;t get me wrong, I still am going to work hard. I have to cause unfortunately its trials. I hate the fact that I have to put my life on hold just for these exams that I am going to forget in like 3 days. I don't even care what my ATAR is, I just want HSC to be over.
I am learning not to care so much about marks, and not to feel ashamed and beat myself up, for not being the perfect 99+ all rounder student. I'm just going to have to accept myself and whatever skills i have in a subject...and just focus on how I am going to enjoy life so much more after HSC because I am finally going to be able to choose what I want to do and study, not subject myself to stress because of the stupid NESA guidelines.
Anyways, my mini rant is done. Will try to actually update more. Just stuff on what I have been feeling lately. Mainly insecurity and fear, and a sense of apathy. I will continue to work hard...what happens...happens
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OML wow its been so long since I have updated.
Let me fill u guys in since it has been ages. Its been an emotional rollercoaster. Waking up stressed every day, studying, procrastinating a little bit on ATARNotes...trying not to freak out about my trials.
I had Paper 1, and Paper 2 English, and Maths 2 unit so far. Paper 1 was my first exam and luckily for me it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The first exam always seems the hardest. then again, I was the most prepared for paper 1 English cause I did like 8 past papers all together, spent hours on fixing up my creative and my discovery essay plans. I also printed out trial papers from other schools, and OMG you will not believe it, the exact essay question that I practiced on, the same question came in the exam! I WAS SO HAPPY, you have no idea. I could have screamed with delight right in the exam room if I could.
As for maths 2 u I was freaking out as well. Ik a lot of people think that maths is easy, but for me it's something I've really struggled with, since primary. Picking maths extension was a pretty dumb decision I feel, because I am not as good at maths as other people in my cohort. Note that I go to a selective high school so all the people are super gun at everything, whilst I am just...average.
But luckily, when I did the exam, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was getting so anxious about it, I was practically gulping for air the morning of my exam. My mom could see I was so close to having a panic attack because I didn't feel prepared, and she kept reassuring me. Even though I didn't drink much water and went to go to the bathroom before the exam, I still had to go because I was busting. I was so annoyed at my weak ass bladder. I practically sprinted all the way to the bathroom and back, so I didn't waste much time. It was all well and good because I finished the exam well before time and still had time to check.
Paper 2 English was so far not so good. I didn;t have time to do any past papers in time limit because I had to memorise my essays and make sure I knew what to write. I was so annoyed at my fricking teachers. they took so long in getting our essays marked and giving them back to us. Literally they gave us our Mod C essay back only two days before trials, and our Mod B essay the day of our Paper 1. The feedback wasn't even that helpful. It was so annoying cause I didn't have any time to edit my essays cause I was busy with Math and discovery creative.
Speaking of which, I already posted for people to mark, so if ppl can mark it I would be so thankful. Shout out to Jamon Windeyer for marking it, I am so grateful.
Anyways, literarlly after the three exams, I was so tired I came home after Paper 2 and just took a solid 3 hour nap because I was running on 7 days of straight up cramming. Woke up with another headache, did some light memorising, and then I woke up early, studied for a solid 5-6 hours at the library and now I am procrastinating writing this post because I feel too ceebs to do legal.
Can I ask you guys something? Do you necessarily have to be thinking about studying or studying 24/7 to do well? Like, at times where I don't feel like studying and procrastinate a little, I feel so bad and guilty for being so lazy and undisciplined, even though I probably did a lot of work that day anyway. I feel so guilty when I am not studying and taking time for myself, but I feel miserable when I don't take a break. It's getting to the point where I feel guilty when I sleep, or do things that are not related to trials.
Speaking of trials, I am absolutely going to die next week. I have 5 exams back to back, with two on the same day (Bio and Eco). Someone please kill me, before trials does.
And honestly, at this point I am so done with the HSC and the whole ATAR obsession. For those of you who have been reading my journal, you guys know that I have had a rough year and have failed a lot (cough cough half yearlies) and have been super obsessed about my atar. for a while, I used to feel ashamed that I might do badly and get a not so good atar and not get into UNSW or any other Group 8 uni. But honestly, at this point, I don;t care about my ATAR and how well I do in the HSC, as long as I gave it my all. Its a bit hard to let go of my perfectionist tendencies (if I were in control, I would want to come first in every subject and get a 99.95 but that is not happening), but honestly, I need to care more about my mental health than that mark, because these marks don't give me nearly as much happiness as I get from spending time with my family and friends, and pursuing my hobbies. Don;t get me wrong, I still am going to work hard. I have to cause unfortunately its trials. I hate the fact that I have to put my life on hold just for these exams that I am going to forget in like 3 days. I don't even care what my ATAR is, I just want HSC to be over.
I am learning not to care so much about marks, and not to feel ashamed and beat myself up, for not being the perfect 99+ all rounder student. I'm just going to have to accept myself and whatever skills i have in a subject...and just focus on how I am going to enjoy life so much more after HSC because I am finally going to be able to choose what I want to do and study, not subject myself to stress because of the stupid NESA guidelines.
Anyways, my mini rant is done. Will try to actually update more. Just stuff on what I have been feeling lately. Mainly insecurity and fear, and a sense of apathy. I will continue to work hard...what happens...happens
Ah I feel the same way. I've finished my trial exams on Tuesday, way earlier than most people in my year, and although I assured myself that I would talk a break from studying, it legit feels weird as fuck hahaha. It's like I'm so accustomed to studying that I don't know what to do with myself when I deviate away from my study regimen, so I've gotten back onto the grind until my friends finish their trials. It's definitely a bit of guilt, but also just routine I guess. Good luck with your trials! And I'm glad you're prioritising your mental health man, it's admirable. :) I wish I could be the same aha
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Ah I feel the same way. I've finished my trial exams on Tuesday, way earlier than most people in my year, and although I assured myself that I would talk a break from studying, it legit feels weird as fuck hahaha. It's like I'm so accustomed to studying that I don't know what to do with myself when I deviate away from my study regimen, so I've gotten back onto the grind until my friends finish their trials. It's definitely a bit of guilt, but also just routine I guess. Good luck with your trials! And I'm glad you're prioritising your mental health man, it's admirable. :) I wish I could be the same aha
Haha thanks. And dude you really should be prioritising your health. I used to think that just pushing through would help, but really it doesn't
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5 EXAMS NEXT WEEK!!!!! :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
MOD: Removed part of this post as per forum rules.
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Just finished two 3 hour exams today...can't wait to go take a nap
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Just finished two 3 hour exams today...can't wait to go take a nap
That's a bloody good effort. Nice work! Hope you enjoy your nap haha. 😴
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Hey guys! Now time for a massive update.
So yes, Trials are officially over! Before you ask why my trials finished so late, last Friday was technically my last exam (legal). I came after Wednesday (2 exams in one day, both 3 hours long). I had only a day gap to study and revise for Legal. I crammed the entire day, slept late, woke up early to study, only had a banana for breakfast and went off to do the exam. And you guessed what happened...I almost was close to passing out from exhaustion and anxiety within the exam. Instantly when I opened the booklet, I felt the facts trickling out from my head. Anxiety forced me to write whatever was in my head and head started hurting, my throat started to close up. Pretty soon I found my head leaning against the table as I put up my hand and told the supervisor that I didn't feel so good.
He led me out, and then I met with my Head Teacher of Welfare, and he was super kind to me about it. I started tearing up in front of him because I was so mentally and physically exhausted from having 4 consecutive trial exams in four days straight, and also because I was so anxious that I could barely remember the things I studied for the test. He took one look at me and was like, "there is no way I am letting you do the exam, you look terrible." he called my dad who picked me up, and I went home, ate cause I was weak, and then slept for 2-3 hours straight.
On the bright side, I was able to rejuvenate myself for the next three days. I studied as much as I physically could, and for the first time ever, went for a movie with my sister the day before the exam. I have never given myself a moment to chill right before a test, usually I would be cramming. but I guess it worked for me.
I finished the rest of the exam today, so finally I am officially done. It felt good to end things on a right note. I am so glad I told the teacher how I was feeling, instead of sucking it up and just getting it done. If I kept on continuing, I would have failed for sure. The only minor downside was that I had to study and keep up my motivation for the next three days. But weirdly enough, it didn't seem so bad. My mental strength kept me going and now I am chilling, so happy that they are over. Trials were the roughest period ever. I am really proud of myself for having gone through it only minorly scathed. I was able to handle a whole lot more than I thought I could, and I was a lot more prepared than I was for my half yearlies. Regardless of how my trial marks are, I would not stress about it. I am just happy I got through Trials and did the best I could with little to no regrets.
On a positive side note, I got into Macquarie via Global Leadership! I am so happy!!! Honestly, it doesn't even matter what my ATAR is, because either way I will be studying the course of my dreams without any stress at all. A lot of people I know talk really bad about Macquarie because it is not as highly ranked and prestigious as UNSW, hence why I have been a bit hesitant to tell people that Macquarie is sounding a lot more appealing to me
A- because it is closer and takes less travel time than UNSW
B- It has the major I want that UNSW doesn't have
C- Apparantly Macquarie is less stressful and more of a peaceful environment whilst UNSW is more competitive, IDK that is what my friends who go to Macquarie tell me
I feel like the main reason why I wanted to pick UNSW was because it is more prestigious, everyone I know is going there, and cause I like the campus (stupid reasons I know) And also cause it has high employment rates. I want to study business at university, and apparently those who go to UNSW have an edge and are more sought after than those who go to other unis. I have been told that a employer is more likely to pick someone who goes to UNSW than someone who went to Macquarie, because UNSW is better ranked. Is that true?
Can someone please give me advice on what you should consider when choosing a university? Cause seriously I have no clue on what to consider.
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That's a bloody good effort. Nice work! Hope you enjoy your nap haha. 😴
Thank you!
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On a positive side note, I got into Macquarie via Global Leadership! I am so happy!!! Honestly, it doesn't even matter what my ATAR is, because either way I will be studying the course of my dreams without any stress at all. A lot of people I know talk really bad about Macquarie because it is not as highly ranked and prestigious as UNSW, hence why I have been a bit hesitant to tell people that Macquarie is sounding a lot more appealing to me
A- because it is closer and takes less travel time than UNSW
B- It has the major I want that UNSW doesn't have
C- Apparantly Macquarie is less stressful and more of a peaceful environment whilst UNSW is more competitive, IDK that is what my friends who go to Macquarie tell me
I feel like the main reason why I wanted to pick UNSW was because it is more prestigious, everyone I know is going there, and cause I like the campus (stupid reasons I know) And also cause it has high employment rates. I want to study business at university, and apparently those who go to UNSW have an edge and are more sought after than those who go to other unis. I have been told that a employer is more likely to pick someone who goes to UNSW than someone who went to Macquarie, because UNSW is better ranked. Is that true?
Can someone please give me advice on what you should consider when choosing a university? Cause seriously I have no clue on what to consider.
Omg congratulations on getting the Macquarie Uni Global Leadership Program! I submitted my application for the 4th round on Sunday!
As for your uni questions, my philosophy is to research the uni as much as you can before deciding which uni. By this, I mean research what departments they specialise in because each department will have a different amount of funding. For example, UNSW is well-known for their engineering- someone told me they used to be an engineering school but then branched out into a university. As a result, this was perfect for my decision for going to UNSW because they're funding in engineering is massive. They offer "obscure" engineering fields (like aerospace) and they prioritise practical work, which is why they're also popular with science, especially medicine. On the other hand, USyd may be prestigious but if you look at their engineering buildings, the fact that they've updated the law libraries but their engineering buildings are still old really shows how much effort they put into engineering- none.
I guess my point is is that at the end of the day, universities are there to give you a piece of paper- a very expensive piece of paper. What matters is the work experience you get. I think the reason why a lot of people think UNSW has "higher employability" is because they prioritise work experience, but I'm not sure about business/commerce (apart from their extremely competitive co-op scholarship). The thing is, anyone can get a degree as long as you have money. What differentiates you from other candidates (when applying for a job) is how much experience you have. And personally, Macquarie Uni is a great place for that- I have heard that Macquarie Uni and UTS are really good with business. They have companies like Cochlear and I'm pretty sure Optus is also partnered with Macquarie Uni so you've got your work experience there!
Hope this helps you in some way :)
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First, huge congrats for finishing your trials -- what an achievement! Hope you have a really awesome break, definitely well-deserved. :-) Next, congrats on getting into the Global Leadership Program!
In terms of employability and uni prestige, like owidjaja said, your experience is what matters. Pick up any internship you can get, whether it's paid or unpaid and chuck that on your resume. Prestige and good marks are only one part of employability. Sure, it might look better if you went to UNSW on paper but it's the skills that count. :-) And idk what your friends are telling you but I'm finding uni not that competitive lol but it's probably just me -- I don't compete with others, I compete against myself.
Have an awesome week!!
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Hey guys! Now time for a massive update.
So yes, Trials are officially over! Before you ask why my trials finished so late, last Friday was technically my last exam (legal). I came after Wednesday (2 exams in one day, both 3 hours long). I had only a day gap to study and revise for Legal. I crammed the entire day, slept late, woke up early to study, only had a banana for breakfast and went off to do the exam. And you guessed what happened...I almost was close to passing out from exhaustion and anxiety within the exam. Instantly when I opened the booklet, I felt the facts trickling out from my head. Anxiety forced me to write whatever was in my head and head started hurting, my throat started to close up. Pretty soon I found my head leaning against the table as I put up my hand and told the supervisor that I didn't feel so good.
He led me out, and then I met with my Head Teacher of Welfare, and he was super kind to me about it. I started tearing up in front of him because I was so mentally and physically exhausted from having 4 consecutive trial exams in four days straight, and also because I was so anxious that I could barely remember the things I studied for the test. He took one look at me and was like, "there is no way I am letting you do the exam, you look terrible." he called my dad who picked me up, and I went home, ate cause I was weak, and then slept for 2-3 hours straight.
On the bright side, I was able to rejuvenate myself for the next three days. I studied as much as I physically could, and for the first time ever, went for a movie with my sister the day before the exam. I have never given myself a moment to chill right before a test, usually I would be cramming. but I guess it worked for me.
I finished the rest of the exam today, so finally I am officially done. It felt good to end things on a right note. I am so glad I told the teacher how I was feeling, instead of sucking it up and just getting it done. If I kept on continuing, I would have failed for sure. The only minor downside was that I had to study and keep up my motivation for the next three days. But weirdly enough, it didn't seem so bad. My mental strength kept me going and now I am chilling, so happy that they are over. Trials were the roughest period ever. I am really proud of myself for having gone through it only minorly scathed. I was able to handle a whole lot more than I thought I could, and I was a lot more prepared than I was for my half yearlies. Regardless of how my trial marks are, I would not stress about it. I am just happy I got through Trials and did the best I could with little to no regrets.
On a positive side note, I got into Macquarie via Global Leadership! I am so happy!!! Honestly, it doesn't even matter what my ATAR is, because either way I will be studying the course of my dreams without any stress at all. A lot of people I know talk really bad about Macquarie because it is not as highly ranked and prestigious as UNSW, hence why I have been a bit hesitant to tell people that Macquarie is sounding a lot more appealing to me
A- because it is closer and takes less travel time than UNSW
B- It has the major I want that UNSW doesn't have
C- Apparantly Macquarie is less stressful and more of a peaceful environment whilst UNSW is more competitive, IDK that is what my friends who go to Macquarie tell me
I feel like the main reason why I wanted to pick UNSW was because it is more prestigious, everyone I know is going there, and cause I like the campus (stupid reasons I know) And also cause it has high employment rates. I want to study business at university, and apparently those who go to UNSW have an edge and are more sought after than those who go to other unis. I have been told that a employer is more likely to pick someone who goes to UNSW than someone who went to Macquarie, because UNSW is better ranked. Is that true?
Can someone please give me advice on what you should consider when choosing a university? Cause seriously I have no clue on what to consider.
Hey! Congrats on finishing trials! What a relief!
And congrats on the early offer too!
I am currently at Macquarie and overall I am absolutely LOVING it! I am doing a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Media and cannot speak about the law school highly enough - it is amazing. Media on the other hand is quite bland atm.
But seeing as though you're wanting to do a course completely different to mine - I will tell you about the whole Uni overall.
Campus - this was the selling point for me! I loved how it wasn't in the city, but was still close to things (especially Macquarie centre!) The campus is so peaceful because it has so much greenery and is truly a great place to relax before your next class! If you are interested in driving, there is an abundance of parking - both on campus that is affordable, and in the side streets which you can find free!
Work experience - I know every degree does not let you graduate unless you have done an internship of some sort (which is good!)
Timetables - I can make my timetable for Semester 1 and 2 next year from the end of October which is awesome!! They also tend to group faculty timetables together i.e. basically everyone I know was able to fit all their classes onto 1/2 days. Other unis may do this but I know my boyfriend at WSU has classes all over the place!
People - the people at Macquarie have been great to date, no-one cares about prestige which makes it less competitive and makes you feel a lot better about yourself, because that is what you should be doing at uni - focusing on yourself!
Library - I LOVEEEE the library! During HSC I was never one to study at a library, but Macquarie's is so big and nice that I always study well there
Food - what can I say - a big food court inside the uni AND Macquarie centre across the road with loads of student deals!
I know you are at Uni to get a degree, but of course, you want to make the most of having fun before entering the full working world! So, I am not sure if you know this or not, but as of next year UNSW is going to trimesters instead of semesters. You may want to look into this more, but basically it is a lot different to the usual two semesters of four units each that most other unis have. But, this could suit you - so like I said have a look into this. The main downside for everyone I know at UNSW is that their uni holidays wont be the same time as ours :(
Good luck with everything!