(Very) Long time, no post!
Being honest, I kinda forgot about this journal during trials, and never bothered to keep track of it. Lots of things have happened since then, so I just wanted to give everyone that *might* read this a little update.
So… PIP related stuff:
Since, my last post, I’ve resubmitted my PIP 4 times (yes, not even joking). On our school’s designated “hand-in day,” I had to redo the PDF quite a few times, just because of the small things, like accidentally including my own name, or not deleting teacher comments and all that stuff. I ended coming back during my trial period to give my teacher a final copy (20 minutes) before NESA’s final due date. Needless to say, I was pretty proud that I actually was submitting something that I was content with. I can’t really judge the quality of my PIP, it all seems so subjective, but I found it somewhat rewarding. Turns out it wasn’t as much of a “nightmare” than what I predicted it to be.
Now, onto Trials. My school had a relatively early trial period (late July-early August - coinciding with the PIP), and decided to cram every exam into 2 weeks, so it was a pretty hectic time for me. I sorta neglected some of my subjects in trials, so I was pretty surprised with the results. I’m gonna recap my thoughts on each subject, so this might be long…
~ English Standard ~
Ok, somehow I did wayyyy better than expected. Paper 1 and 2 were my first exams, so I was probably underprepared.
Paper 1 was tough… Comprehension was quite difficult, but the extended response wasn’t all that bad.
My biggest challenge was balancing my time. I started with comprehension, so I ended up sacrificing the quality of my answers by rushing through, so I would have more time on the essay. In the HSC, I’ll probably do the opposite - I’ll give comprehension a bit more time, because I know that I can quickly wrap up an essay, whereas scrambling to finish a short answer is more difficult for me.
Paper 2 was interesting to say the least. In terms of the questions, it was pretty good, and I got lucky with Mod A (they didn’t specify a poem), however, my experience of sitting it was not. For some reason, the exam supervisors insisted that standard got one less booklet than advanced, so we were left without a designated Mod A writing booklet. Our grade let the supervisors know, but one of them told us that for this paper, the question booklet had answer space. So the reading time started, and lo and behold… there wasn’t any answer space in the question booklet. Instead of dealing out extra lined paper, or letting us write in a different module’s booklet, the supervisors stopped the exam. After about 15 minutes, our English Head Teacher came down to the hall, and just told us to write on extra paper. Even though it didn’t cause any disadvantages the stress the situation induced made me a lot less confident in my writing.
I ended up getting 93/100 (34+59), which was the 2nd highest mark in Standard. (I’m still in shock tbh). Selective school culture really looks down upon those that drop to standard, but I can say that it’s one of the best decision’s I’ve made. I was getting triple digit ranks in advanced last year, so I’m happy that I’ve seen some solid improvement.
~ Maths Ext 1 and 2 ~
My school (Hurlstone) writes their own trial papers, which tend to be quite a bit easier than the HSC, so I did quite well (better than expected). However, mechanics (my worst topic) was excluded from the trial, so I definitely won’t be getting these marks in the HSC for sure.
For Ext 1, I got 70/70. Quite a few people got full marks on this one, but there was a big spread of marks (some of my mates neglected 3u to work on their 2u, fair enough).
Somehow, I got 99/100 in Ext 2 (top rank!). My school’s trial wasn’t awful, but it was certainly challenging in some aspects. We had a pretty high average for 4u (high 70s), so I’m 100% not expecting to get something this high in the HSC. Still kinda pissed at myself for the mark I lost - I got the right answer and my working was mathematically correct, but not physically correct - it was a shell volume, and my shell thickness was a negative number.
~ Economics ~
Well, I did shite (77/100 = Band 4), but that was to be expected. I actually quite like the mechanics and maths of economics, but the exam is a different story. I ended up making a lot of stuff up that was kinda just sitting in the back of my memory, so I can’t even be mad at the mark. For the HSC, I need to brush up on the little things, so I don’t lose marks for simply not knowing basic terms and definitions.
At the end of the day, I got carried by my earlier tasks and ranked 5/45 overall. I’m super happy with it, but idk, something isn’t sitting right with me. Eco will only count for 1 unit, so I’m not expecting much for the HSC, but I’d hate for my rank to drag other people down as well. I’m not an expert on moderation and scaling, so I don’t even know if that will happen, but I’d rather be solely responsible for poor performance, than affect someone else as well.
~ Society and Culture ~
Ok, not gonna lie, S+C is a cursed subject, it’s hella vague, and half of my class hates the content, but it actually ended up being on of my best marks and ranks (2/11 overall). I got 56/60, with majority of my marks being lost in the Belief Systems and Ideologies section - I need to brush up on Buddhism!
My teacher is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I feel like he gave us depth studies that didn’t suit the interests of the class. But then again, doing things that aren’t passions might make for less biased essays, so that might be a plus. Hopefully, my PIP gets a decent mark, and I can squeeze in a band 6 for the HSC.
~ Studies of Religion ~
My school is public, and I’m not religious at all, so I’m shocked that I ended up keeping this unit. I did pretty well, (47/50, 1st/6), so I just need to replicate this going forward into the HSC.
I had my graduation and formal on the same day, so I guess that closes a chapter of my schooling life. I’ll really miss school, but I’m excited for new beginnings.
However, such new beginnings have not yet revealed themselves to me. I still have no idea as to what I want to study at uni. I keep getting ideas, but I never stick with them, somehow I always find more cons than pros. I keep thinking about business oriented careers, but I'm not too sure about the ethics of 'hustling money' ya feel? I didn't do the UCAT, and I squirm at the sight of blood, so that rules out anything health related. I did have an inkling towards orthodontics, as I really enjoyed getting my braces done, but I know I won't get into dental courses this time round (no UCAT) and I don't relaly think its my dream. I really love the idea of becoming a maths teacher, but both of my parents heavily object to it. I've also heard that it's hard to get a job as a teacher, as there is excess supply, so I'm still unsure about that as a career. Engineering has crossed my mind, but I'm horrible at physics (I did so poorly that I dropped it after prelims), but I'm particularly interested in humanitarian engineering, to help with infrastructure for those in need.
A part of me wants to do a gap year program with Year13 and teach English in China, take a break, and reset, but my parents would never let. So I'll probably try a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts, and figure the rest out along the way. I know I'm capable of getting into a BSc somewhere, so I just need to make it happen!
And to anyone who might stumble across this, good luck for your HSC! I know that you’ll no doubt earn every single mark you get.
Martin