Selective School Entry Help

[forbiddensoulxx]

Hello there, I am in year 8 and trying out for the selective schools in Melbourne (preferably MHS!) Can someone give me some past exam papers or stuff that would be on the test? And what would be on the test? If you have done it before, is it considerably easy or hard? Also, my current school has around 150 people in it, so how many people trying out would get into any of the selective schools? I go to JAC and another tutoring place. I get around High Average, Middle Average and Superior in the tests, based on that, is there a chance for me to get in?

Also, I study around 2+ hours each on a weekday, and 6+ hours on Saturday and Sunday.

[Shenz0r]

You'll never get past exam questions but I think there are some practise questions from Edutest? Make sure you do those.

I did the test back in 2008, so my memory is fuzzy, but I don't remember it being that hard, but definitely not considerably easy. No way.

If you mean that your Year 8 cohort has 150 people on it, the 5% rule means that you'll probably have a maximum of 7 people getting into any of the selective schools in the first round (before Principal's Discretion).

From what I heard JAC exams are harder than the actual test, if you're doing well on those then I guess you have a chance of getting in.

The strength of your school also matters a lot too. I went to a rather shitty school, so I still got in with like 1 superior, 2 above averages and 3 high averages. But in schools like GWSC or Brentwood, I heard from my friends that people with even 3 superiors got rejected in the first round (due to the 5% rule).

[forbiddensoulxx]

^, thanks! I go to a a Grammar School which got really high scores last year. And is it true that JAC tests are harder than the actual one?

Thanks

[Shenz0r]

No idea, I never went to JAC. But from my friends who did go to JAC, I remember some of them saying that they used to get grilled on those tests.

[pi]

And is it true that JAC tests are harder than the actual one?

Bit harder, I went to JAC and have some experience in tutoring their Trial Test 8 classes on a casual basis (which I believe are tailored for the MHS/Mac.Rob/etc exams). Personally, I think to be safe it's always best to be getting above 70% for every test you do in JAC, when I was in Year 8 I aimed for 80%+ and worked accordingly (met my aim with a couple of exceptions).

[Shinkaze]

I'm not sure but for English in JAC I used to get like the lowest rank for both reading comprehension and verbal reasoning and I usually get around 30s- 40s.
However in the actual exam I got an average for both! I guess the cohort in JAC is very strong and their test is really hard so don't worry!

[SKGUN11]

^, thanks! I go to a a Grammar School which got really high scores last year. And is it true that JAC tests are harder than the actual one?

Thanks

Hi,
I am doing the JMSS entry exam this year and I also do JAC. It is very difficult, no one usually manages to get over 60%! My best is like 70% and thats on Science . Average is always 30 - 40%. I heard from people who sat it last year for Melb high etc. that JAC is w=WAYYYYYYY harder than the actual exam. Apparently you will find the exam a massive relief when you actually sit the actual one compared to JAC (dont take it too easy though  ). For JMSS, numerous people I know have said the Maths test is irrelevant. JAC includes year 11 syllabus where at most the JMSS exam will go into basic year 10. Even the Maths teacher at JAC says it is way too hard and irrelevant! Science is not like science reasoning but more like preparation for the essays. I have to admit, JAC is GREAT for essays! Really gets you prepared for them with great techniques/ideas. Thats the reason I stay, for science revision and the essay. Numerical Reasoning is also not good in JAC!

Good Luck!

[Orb]

Hi,
I am doing the JMSS entry exam this year and I also do JAC. It is very difficult, no one usually manages to get over 60%! My best is like 70% and thats on Science . Average is always 30 - 40%. I heard from people who sat it last year for Melb high etc. that JAC is w=WAYYYYYYY harder than the actual exam. Apparently you will find the exam a massive relief when you actually sit the actual one compared to JAC (dont take it too easy though  ). For JMSS, numerous people I know have said the Maths test is irrelevant. JAC includes year 11 syllabus where at most the JMSS exam will go into basic year 10. Even the Maths teacher at JAC says it is way too hard and irrelevant! Science is not like science reasoning but more like preparation for the essays. I have to admit, JAC is GREAT for essays! Really gets you prepared for them with great techniques/ideas. Thats the reason I stay, for science revision and the essay. Numerical Reasoning is also not good in JAC!

Good Luck!

Yeah, imo if you can get 85%+ at JAC, getting into MHS will be a breeze. I remember that I only got like 65% on my first time, but steadily progressed to 90%+ by the time of scholarship/selective school exams. Mind, I didn't try for MHS but did get 5 superiors in my Edutest.

Grammar School? Mind specifying which one? Eg. Getting into MHS will be considerably harder from somewhere like Melbourne Grammar or Camberwell than it is from somewhere like Brighton Grammar, simply because the number of people aiming to get into MHS is considerably larger.

Not trying to diss Brighton here but just using it as an example.

[Hannibal]

Yeah, imo if you can get 85%+ at JAC, getting into MHS will be a breeze. I remember that I only got like 65% on my first time, but steadily progressed to 90%+ by the time of scholarship/selective school exams. Mind, I didn't try for MHS but did get 5 superiors in my Edutest.

Grammar School? Mind specifying which one? Eg. Getting into MHS will be considerably harder from somewhere like Melbourne Grammar or Camberwell than it is from somewhere like Brighton Grammar, simply because the number of people aiming to get into MHS is considerably larger.

Not trying to diss Brighton here but just using it as an example.

Wow, 90%... That's freaking amazing .

[pi]

Wow, 90%... That's freaking amazing .

A fair few people get 90%+, after a while it shouldn't be out of reach to restrict your errors to 2-3. I can't say I consistently got 90%+, but towards the end I would be getting around there or high 80%s. Just got to keep improving.

[Hannibal]

A fair few people get 90%+, after a while it shouldn't be out of reach to restrict your errors to 2-3. I can't say I consistently got 90%+, but towards the end I would be getting around there or high 80%s. Just got to keep improving.

Either that or people from your age group are way more intelligent , because from looking at the highest score in the state for most tests, haven't seen a single one over 90%. Or the MH practise tests are easier than JMSS, since this course is relatively new.

[SKGUN11]

Yeah, imo if you can get 85%+ at JAC, getting into MHS will be a breeze. I remember that I only got like 65% on my first time, but steadily progressed to 90%+ by the time of scholarship/selective school exams. Mind, I didn't try for MHS but did get 5 superiors in my Edutest.

Grammar School? Mind specifying which one? Eg. Getting into MHS will be considerably harder from somewhere like Melbourne Grammar or Camberwell than it is from somewhere like Brighton Grammar, simply because the number of people aiming to get into MHS is considerably larger.

Not trying to diss Brighton here but just using it as an example.

Brentwood Secondary College in Glen Waverley. Tonnes of asians and I know over 50 people from our cohort doing JMSS. More probably did MHS last year 

[waftj]

Brentwood Secondary College in Glen Waverley. Tonnes of asians and I know over 50 people from our cohort doing JMSS. More probably did MHS last year 

Hahaha same with Wellington!! Pretty much all of my friends who weren't successful for MHS/ Mac Rob are trying out for John Monash...
LOL that's what happens when all of us go to an Asian school.

[Novashock]

At JAC Trial Test 8, for both English tests I get around 70%+, but Maths I barely pass. I also suck at maths, so if JAC tests are easier than the actual ones, that's a BIG relief. Also for both writing, I get around 17-18 out of 20. Is that good enough?

[forbiddensoulxx]

At JAC Trial Test 8, for both English tests I get around 70%+, but Maths I barely pass. I also suck at maths, so if JAC tests are easier than the actual ones, that's a BIG relief. Also for both writing, I get around 17-18 out of 20. Is that good enough?

I would say so. Which JAC do you go too? If you go to where I think you go, you may be in my class. And I usually get around Above Average, High Average and Superior on all the tests. On the essays I get around 16-19. I have never gotten below an average though! Lmao.