ATAR Notes: Forum
National Education => Admissions tests => Selective Schools Admissions Tests => Topic started by: thisongaintgottaname on December 06, 2009, 04:24:25 pm
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like what the subject says, what sort of material do you need to get and how much preparation do you need for their exams?
could anyon,who went to/studying at Melbhigh or Macrob or knows any details, please help out?
That will be very grateful!
thanks, thanks, thanks
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My brother recently got accepted into the MHS year 9 intake.
He went to preparation classes every weekend at this place: http://www.edxinstitute.com.au/
But he's really freakishly smart so I don't know if it's because that place actually worked, or because he's just smart anyway :P
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I went to JAC MHS prep classes, they were somewhat useful.
But I think the most effective method is to go to a non academically inclined government school. Worked for me =] When noone at your school sits the test it makes it somewhat easier.
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What kind of questions do you get? Do they let you see "tests" from previous years or do they just make slight changes to it every year?
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I can remember when I did the written section for Year 11 entry. You had several different pictures.. e.g a radio, a shack, a fire. And you had to construct a story.
Can't remember much else, but it would be like most entrance exams probably
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I THINK (I did the exam in year 8 and I have really, really bad long-term memory) I started "prepping/studying" during the summer holidays by looking through English textbooks which we bought for a few dollars at secondhand book shops and then doing questions from year 9 maths textbooks. I can't remember how much the maths actually helped in terms of relevancy to the exam.
It's very similar to the AIM test the way the maths/reading questions are formatted. But then there were really weird questions that are like, 'What number comes after: '2,4,6,8'?' And questions like 'Which one does not belong: cat, rabbit, cane, camel?). Damn you, logic. Then you had to write 2 pieces, one being a story with a collection of pictures as a prompt, but you only refer to a few of them and the other was persuasive like 'Public Transport should be free. Do you agree?'.
Anyway, despite all my studying I still missed the cut-off mark (by 5 marks or less. omg this is one of my 'should have' moments that just screw up my brain when I think back). I had no idea how to structure an argumentative essay back then and my story ended up being a bit psychotic. :|. Hmm.
But on the other hand, my best friend did the exam in year 11 and studied 0. She did nothing, and had no idea how the exam was even formatted until the day before because she asked me. She ended up doing brilliantly and passed, only missing out because they didn't have room to accomodate her subjects.
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I went to Melbourne High and from what I remember of the entrance exam, there were some things that we didn't cover in year 8 that turned up on the exam. Things you should learn are basic trigonometry, pythagoras, ratios and surds. Also, another element of the exam was where they gave you four pictures, and you had to create a story out of them. We had....a flag with a smiley face, a prisoner, a key, and a castle. I remember writing a dreadful story about some guy who had escaped from gaol and had to go to the kingdom of happiness or something. Somehow I got in. Our persuasive piece was about reality TV and the exploitation of its contestants. A tip that I have for you, which is what I did, is to keep a watch nearby. When you see that there are only five minutes left, fill in the rest of your multiple choice sheet, either randomly, or by selecting a single letter. Then, skim through the ones that you had to guess, and pick out what appears easy, and do only them. It'll ensure that you at least get an answer for everything, and that you'll get the easy ones near the end.
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I didn't study at all. All I did was read a novel a few weeks beforehand in the hopes that it would magically enable me to write a good essay. Back in Y8 I had no idea how to prepare so I didn't.
In the end I got accepted but I opted to stay at my school.
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I got into Mac. Rob; I attended a few weeks classes of JAC, which was very helpful as it trains you to do practice exams. You could look at doing this.
In addition, you might want to study a bit at home too, like if you don't get something at tuition, doing a whole exercise on it might reinforce concepts etc.
In general, you should probably know: sector angles, trigonometry, linear equations and graphs, basic probability (like when do you add/multiply), surds might be helpful and basic addition/subtraction and areas/perimeters of solids/2D objects.
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But I think the most effective method is to go to a non academically inclined government school. Worked for me =] When noone at your school sits the test it makes it somewhat easier.
Yep. Haha agree with this, since they only select a few from each school.
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James Ann Coaching Colllege
those motherfuckers know how to teach aslong as you put in the work
they give your practice exams as hard as the real thing and then you learn hwo to do the wrong answers
I did that and got just about the same style of stuff but differant. I actually enjoyed it. Then i got in and i hate the school. terrible teachers and substandard janitors. students good and competitive is the only plus but what's the point if you have vcenotes for that anyway.I went to Melbourne High and from what I remember of the entrance exam, there were some things that we didn't cover in year 8 that turned up on the exam. Things you should learn are basic trigonometry, pythagoras, ratios and surds. Also, another element of the exam was where they gave you four pictures, and you had to create a story out of them. We had....a flag with a smiley face, a prisoner, a key, and a castle. I remember writing a dreadful story about some guy who had escaped from gaol and had to go to the kingdom of happiness or something. Somehow I got in. Our persuasive piece was about reality TV and the exploitation of its contestants. A tip that I have for you, which is what I did, is to keep a watch nearby. When you see that there are only five minutes left, fill in the rest of your multiple choice sheet, either randomly, or by selecting a single letter. Then, skim through the ones that you had to guess, and pick out what appears easy, and do only them. It'll ensure that you at least get an answer for everything, and that you'll get the easy ones near the end.
this guy knows what he's talking about
...you need to learn random stuff
oh and you can pretty much memorize an essay with variable elements...you just need to have the objects or concepts vaguely in your story.
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James Ann Coaching Colllege
those motherfuckers know how to teach aslong as you put in the work
they give your practice exams as hard as the real thing and then you learn hwo to do the wrong answers
I did that and got just about the same style of stuff but differant. I actually enjoyed it. Then i got in and i hate the school. terrible teachers and substandard janitors. students good and competitive is the only plus but what's the point if you have vcenotes for that anyway.I went to Melbourne High and from what I remember of the entrance exam, there were some things that we didn't cover in year 8 that turned up on the exam. Things you should learn are basic trigonometry, pythagoras, ratios and surds. Also, another element of the exam was where they gave you four pictures, and you had to create a story out of them. We had....a flag with a smiley face, a prisoner, a key, and a castle. I remember writing a dreadful story about some guy who had escaped from gaol and had to go to the kingdom of happiness or something. Somehow I got in. Our persuasive piece was about reality TV and the exploitation of its contestants. A tip that I have for you, which is what I did, is to keep a watch nearby. When you see that there are only five minutes left, fill in the rest of your multiple choice sheet, either randomly, or by selecting a single letter. Then, skim through the ones that you had to guess, and pick out what appears easy, and do only them. It'll ensure that you at least get an answer for everything, and that you'll get the easy ones near the end.
this guy knows what he's talking about
...you need to learn random stuff
oh and you can pretty much memorize an essay with variable elements...you just need to have the objects or concepts vaguely in your story.
I must beg to differ about my MHS experience, but ok.
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Same here, that wasn't my Mac.Rob experience.
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If you're amazingly smart, you should get in anyway, but if you're a borderline student, maybe look at the following things:
English:
-Practise comprehension
-Expand your vocobulary
Writing:
-Expand your vocabulary
-Practise - keep a blog, write a diary
-Familiarise yourself with the time limit
-Experiment with different styles
Maths:
-Do some trig, pythag, surds
-Work quickly
-Practise looking for patterns in numerical sequences
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But I think the most effective method is to go to a non academically inclined government school. Worked for me =] When noone at your school sits the test it makes it somewhat easier.
HAHA so true. That's exactly what I did, and there were about 4 people who did it from my school, so all I had to do was pass the test. But make sure you pass it though, cause if you take the risk of going to a mediocre school, you're going to be stuck with it for the rest of VCE if you can't pass, unless you change again of course ;)
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What do you mean by 'just pass'? I know there's a 3% rule which stop more then this amount from a certain school from getting in, to stop the private schools from dominating. But apart from that, it's equally as tough for anyone to get in, as they rank u, and weed out those 3%ers....dont they??
PS- from what i'ev heard there's only 1 maths section, and it's fairly easy and the tip is to not make any mistakes.
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I'm pretty sure there's a cut-off mark that you need to pass instead of a ranking. If you miss that mark by 5 or less, or you're part of the 3% rule then you get to appeal by writing a letter. And then they pick a few from there to sit an interview before they can get in.
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Hey
I went to HES in Hawthorn, they're really good because they get past examiners to teach you all the material and they have heaps of past papers and an essay correction service, whereby they give you 5 essays and you do them at home and you mail them and they mail them back to you with some very valuable feedback. It's not cheap I think I paid around $1500, but well worth it. Got a place, but declined, because I had a scholarship already at Haileybury.
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There's sample papers for MacRob and Melb High available for download somewhere....
The test questions are VERY VERY similiar to the practice questions, if not the same. They just jumble some of the numbers around and insert some new numbers in.
Provided that you know your stuff, maths would probably be the easiest out of all the tests. There are some stuff related to simple trigonometry, but thats as hard as it gets.
English is a real killer if you are not a speed reader. The excerpts that give you for reading comprehension are literally a page to a page and a half in length, whilst having 3-4 question accompanying each. Tip: do not spend too much time reading. Skim past it and attempt the questions, or look at the questions first and then find it in the passage.
Numerical reasoning is plain weird. Has to do with patterns and stuff. Verbal reasoning is alright though, provided that you know a whole heap of useless vocab.
For the essay section, topics can be very very random. No real point trying to revise or study for it. Just make sure you have a good writing foundation. Don't spend too much time planning or pondering. Get straight to the writing and the ideas would flow out. You only have 15 mins to do it, and most people struggle to even finish. Do not do anything too complex, but all in the while somehow make your pieces stand out from the sea of mediocrity.
Hope this helps in some way.
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But I think the most effective method is to go to a non academically inclined government school. Worked for me =] When noone at your school sits the test it makes it somewhat easier.
HAHA so true. That's exactly what I did, and there were about 4 people who did it from my school, so all I had to do was pass the test. But make sure you pass it though, cause if you take the risk of going to a mediocre school, you're going to be stuck with it for the rest of VCE if you can't pass, unless you change again of course ;)
I do not understand the reason behind going to a school that would not necessarily help you academically for two years of your academic career merely to lower the benchmark for the 3% rule. I know there is a lot of hype about MacRob and Melb High, but my opinion (having 3 family members go there) is that the biggest reason why they thrive in terms of VCE results is because they are a union of selected top students. Teachers there (although there are some pretty good ones) are, in general, the same as most other schools in Victoria. The only advantage you will get in terms of doing well academically if you go to one of these schools is the fact that you get to compare yourself among the top-tiers, and discern your abilities more clearly.
Only my opinion though, no offence meant to anyone.
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The results are a bit better than what you'd expect though. In 2008, we had 4 99.95s - scores which are given to the top 0.05% of the state, or rather, 1/2000 students. Using the logic presented above, you'd expect that we'd had 8,000 students sit the entrance exam. In reality, it was more like 1,500, or even less.
Of course the students that sit the examination are more intelligent than the average, but you can't attribute statistics like that solely to the calibre of the cohort (especially seeing as we usually only have around 10 or so students per year level in the top 1% in various competitions). I'd agree that lots of the teachers are what you'd find anywhere (however, in saying that, some are absolutely astounding!), but I think the students do well because the academic environment is much more enriching. It's not seeing where your abilities are, per se, but admiring those of others and collectively benefiting from one another. That's what I've found.
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...but I think the students do well because the academic environment is much more enriching. It's not seeing where your abilities are, per se, but admiring those of others and collectively benefiting from one another. That's what I've found.
Agreed!
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For those wanting the practice papers, here they are.
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And more...
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Gah I swear VCAA is taking over the world. Seriously.
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VCAA writes them?
Poor, poor year 8s.
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VCAA writes them?
Poor, poor year 8s.
+1
I thought the department of early childhood teaching or something wrote the exam? VCAA taking over next year?? :o
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VCAA writes them?
Poor, poor year 8s.
+1
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what year is the best year to go into these schools? year 7 ? =P
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They start at year 9 and go through to year 12.
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They start at year 9 and go through to year 12.
i thought mcrob was from 7-12
my bad O_O
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I go to Melbourne High and I would definitely have missed out on a lot of things if I stayed at my local public school. For instance, the students I met there were very inspirational and influences you to do your best. I've heard many times from friends that they use to get A+ at their old school without trying, and now they study for hours and only get a C since the standard is far higher. Extra curriculum is also brilliant, with lots of strange interest groups (nintendo club, barbershop club, heritage, breakdancing, political interest group etc.) It also has a very dedicated old boy community such as voluntary career advice seminars, mentoring and sport coaches. Teachers there are like most schools, but on the first day, a teacher told us that most of the teaching would be done by our fellow peers. He was definitely spot on about his classes, he was lazy and just sat in his chair reading the newspaper while we did work. :P
From what I remember, there's a few crucial things you need to know. For maths, the Pythagoras theorem and basic trig questions are in there every year and you'll definitely lose marks if you don't know them. Other things include x^0 always equals to 1.
They allow you 15 minutes to write an essay, which is very limited time so you need to plan your story fast. One of the prompts includes 4 pictures, where you need to write a creative story which involves 3 of the 4 pictures. I remember in the exam, I pretty much planned my entire story in 15 seconds. Since it's creative, you can make it as crazy as you want. My pictures were: a ladder, bridge, car. My story was a thief speeds through the highway on a car, enters a bridge, gets cornered from both sides by police, gets out of the car, climbs a ladder to the top of the bridge and jumps off into the river (his body was never found). You can fill in the details as you write. For instance, I didn't think of the conclusion until the final minute or two.
It's much easier for the bunch of yr 9s coming into the schools this year, they've increased the % of students accepted from each school from 3% to 5% since they're building two new selective schools. Good luck to anyone taking the test in the future
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Omg...Nintendo club, barbershop club...what else is there?
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Omg...Nintendo club, barbershop club...what else is there?
Anime club, Strategy Club (those weird tabletop thingys). There was an attempted Tekken Club as well but I don't think that kept going.
Basically you can make any club you want.
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lol wat is exactly is the point of all these clubs?
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To explore one's passions.
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i see :P
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wow, this yr its going to be about 7000 pplz entering, or so i heard. on practice exams i saw that there were easier stuff at the back of the maths part. dont be scared of the d)None of the above answers, sometimes they are they are the right one.
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Good luck to all the kids trying out! Mac.Rob and MHS are genuinely good schools, but if you don't get in, don't fret... you can still get a great education elsewhere :)
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Go to a bad school hahahahha
more chance of getting in :)
theres always Discretionary :D
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DON'T GO.
YOU'LL REGRET IT.
Source: Moi.
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You from Mac.Rob or MHS?
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Just wondering, doesn't it take really long to travel to and from school if you don't stay near the city?
oh yes.
I'm loving Monash this year.
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You get used to it.
... or you're chronically late like half the cohort.
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What time does school end??? I always see kids from MHS getting home at the same time as me even though my school is about 20 mins away driving, while MHS is about an hour away driving :S
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Ohhhh thats cool. Mine finishes at 3:30 :(
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Yeah, they don't get late passes.... they just get in trouble. Although it helps having session 1 frees :)
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*bump*
Hello, I'm going to be sitting for the melbourne high entrance exam in 2011! I was wondering if any 2010'ers or any students who attend to that school help me out?
For example: Do you guys have any past exam papers?
Any help would be appreciated :)
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*bump*
Hello, I'm going to be sitting for the melbourne high entrance exam in 2011! I was wondering if any 2010'ers or any students who attend to that school help me out?
For example: Do you guys have any past exam papers?
Any help would be appreciated :)
There are no companies that make past exam papers however you will find a sample here: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/aboutschool/enrolling/selectentry/tests.htm
English; practice writing essays in 15mins aiming for 1.5 - 2 pages.
Maths; be at a Year 9 level
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2 pages in 15 minutes!?
I don't remember anything like that...
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2 pages in 15 minutes!?
I don't remember anything like that...
Courtesy of James An College :P ...It can be done, I started off with 3/4 page in 15mins; 2months later it was 2 pages. Just spam heaps of essays; time is the main factor at this exam. Of course the old addage still applies [ quality > quantity ] but you will be finding people writing quality 2-page essays.
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English; practice writing essays in 15mins aiming for 1.5 - 2 pages.
are you sure...lol. Pretty sure when I was at James An noone wrote over a page lol. Unless their writing was ridiculously huge.
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English; practice writing essays in 15mins aiming for 1.5 - 2 pages.
are you sure...lol. Pretty sure when I was at James An noone wrote over a page lol. Unless their writing was ridiculously huge.
Positive bro :P Mayb' things changed because you would have been at James An in 2005? The whole thing is ridiculous though; 15mins is nothing. @kser; aim for 1.5 and you'll be fine!
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Yeah it's about 1.5 pages.
Try and know year 10 maths.
Basic trigonometry, pythagorus, notice patterns in things, Do the University of New South Wales little books (i think thats what they were called), the English paper for UNSW was similar to the MHS one if I remember correctly.
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what year is this for?
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Year 8 by the looks of it.
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In that case I recommend for...
Comprehension: READ READ READ. For some reason i discovered that my mind is encouraged to actually read (i cant skim :/) the super long passages after reading the q.s? no wait - it depends on the person. XD
Maths: Go over your yr 8 maths txtbook, do exercises
Analytical writing: Make sure you just know the TEEL structure and how to write an essay. I think for essays it doesn't really matter if you don't finish it on time, as long as it looks like you can write from the very start --> intro + first few paragraphs (not to say that finishing would be even better, just dont stress with time limit as much as non writing parts)
Creative writing: Practice writing stories under 15 minutes, try memorise lines where you have used good metaphors and stuff if you're not really good with writing on the spot. Or write a full story that sort of has a general theme where you can sort of just rearrange it a bit to fit with the prompt on the day.
I think that with these writing tasks though, usually just going with the flow and writing your very best on that day will be enough if you're a good enough writer.
Numerical Reasoning: AMC papers and simple number pattern exercises, sudoku?
Verbal reasoning: go on this site - http://www.majortests.com they have heaps of practice tests for comprehension and also word lists.
This site is pretty handy too (try find your weaknesses and work with them): http://www.education.vic.gov.au/aboutschool/enrolling/selectentry/tests.htm
Or if you can be stuff wasting money on preparation, do that Henderson program thing (most people who do it are successful at the end) - http://www.hendersons.com.au/
Usually, if you're a maths person you'll do fine with numerical and maths (maths if you practice). And if you're naturally englishy and really bright you'll do good with verbal and comprehension (I think comprehension is for fast readers/workers who actually know how to 'skim'). And if you just like to memorise PLUS write good you'll ace the writing tasks.
They more so accept people who are well rounded at everything or strengths are more headed towards in English which is obvious since only 2 of the tests are maths linked and all the others are English. Most people who get an average for maths may still get in or by that 5% rule, those who get averages for comprehension or a writing task that isn't compensated by any other English ones probably won't. And if you're trying out for Macrob, make sure you get at least one superior and one above average for maths and numerical, cause then you'll be accepted to sit the accelerated maths test and get to do methods in year 11 if you pass.
Hope that helps. Good luck! :)
PS. Staying home the day before helps ;D It might not be that "major" and stuff, but an extra 24 hrs could mean a lot.
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Best prep is to go to University High's Accelerated Program in yrs 7 and 8. I'm in yr 11 MHS now, and did not learn a thing in maths and science in 9 and 10. Uni High teaches yr 10 maths and science in yr 8 and is so useful for getting into MHS. To get an idea of how beneficial it is, I remember finishing the Maths and Numerical Reasoning tests with 15 mins to spare in each (i was in the top area of the results chart -top 11%?)!
I also did James An for four months just for the analytical writing experience every week (tests were also good, most ppl get 60% but me and a few friends averaged 90%). Also, being serious in yr 7 helps a lot, good preparation starts at yr 7, not yr 8.
And to all those pianists and violinsts out there who think they need less academic ability to get in (principal's dis.), too bad. We have at least 30 A.Mus/L.Mus pianists and/or violinists in my year alone. Most pd musos are A.Mus/L.Mus in about three or four instruments.
Being state/national level in a sport (not state badminton, table tennis or counter strike -must be national for them) also helps.
Anyways, go to Uni High if u can, can them change ships to MHS.
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I wonder...how many of the people who got into MHS/Macrob actually did seriously prep, I think it's a similar situation to the UMAT lol
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I wonder...how many of the people who got into MHS/Macrob actually did seriously prep, I think it's a similar situation to the UMAT lol
You will actually find that the entrance exam can be prepared for especially the technique of writing a quality piece in 15minutes, both creative and analytical. As previous posts have also stated, Maths at a Year 9 level will be signficantly advantageous. Also improving one's vocabulary could potentially help out in Verbal reasoning and Reading Comprehension. As for how many people actually prepare; my own opinion is that A LOT do. There are many institutions that "specialise" in preparing these Year 7-8 students such as James An, St Vincent's Institute, Hendersons, NorthShore etc. Do you really need to prepare? I think not but it's a nice safeguard and confidence base to go in to the exam feeling like you're ready to tackle it on.
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For English:
Vocab! seriously, my story and analytical piece sucked ass.. but due to the use of 'better' language I managed to pull off 'superior' for both of them.
Know how to spell correctly etc.
You have 15 minutes to write TWO papers, writing fast is essential.
Math:
Do some work from the year ahead (Year 9 => Do year 10 work/Year 8 => Year 9 work)
They chuck in some stuff from the year ahead.. Its like a year 9 itute sheet actually.. :P
Good luck.
P.S I wonder...how many of the people who got into MHS/Macrob actually did seriously prep, I think it's a similar situation to the UMAT lol
I agree.
You would be surprised on how many people screw up the exam by getting intimidated etc. Be confident!
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I wonder...how many of the people who got into MHS/Macrob actually did seriously prep, I think it's a similar situation to the UMAT lol
You will actually find that the entrance exam can be prepared for especially the technique of writing a quality piece in 15minutes, both creative and analytical. As previous posts have also stated, Maths at a Year 9 level will be signficantly advantageous. Also improving one's vocabulary could potentially help out in Verbal reasoning and Reading Comprehension. As for how many people actually prepare; my own opinion is that A LOT do. There are many institutions that "specialise" in preparing these Year 7-8 students such as James An, St Vincent's Institute, Hendersons, NorthShore etc. Do you really need to prepare? I think not but it's a nice safeguard and confidence base to go in to the exam feeling like you're ready to tackle it on.
When I did it, all I did was read a random novel I had in my bedroom in the belief that it would improve my expression for the essays =D
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I wonder...how many of the people who got into MHS/Macrob actually did seriously prep, I think it's a similar situation to the UMAT lol
You will actually find that the entrance exam can be prepared for especially the technique of writing a quality piece in 15minutes, both creative and analytical. As previous posts have also stated, Maths at a Year 9 level will be signficantly advantageous. Also improving one's vocabulary could potentially help out in Verbal reasoning and Reading Comprehension. As for how many people actually prepare; my own opinion is that A LOT do. There are many institutions that "specialise" in preparing these Year 7-8 students such as James An, St Vincent's Institute, Hendersons, NorthShore etc. Do you really need to prepare? I think not but it's a nice safeguard and confidence base to go in to the exam feeling like you're ready to tackle it on.
When I did it, all I did was read a random novel I had in my bedroom in the belief that it would improve my expression for the essays =D
And did you get in? :P
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yea....
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yea....
Gd job :P ...but you rejected it yeah? Your profile says you're at Melbourne Grammar.
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yea....
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I got into Macrob this year. I think basically...the best idea is to go to a tutor. It will be worth your time, if you put in the effort. However, another option is studying maths/english textbooks, but unless you have a lot of self-discipline, it's pretty tough. But you need to definitely brush up on maths. and definitely start preparing early; I started preparing about a year and a half from the test. But don't overdo yourself. :D
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People actually study for this shit?
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People actually study for this shit?
You might want to reconsider your attitude; this "shit" as you-so-put-it is an exam to get into two of the most prestigious schools in Victoria and yes, people do study.
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It's all about the individual, sweetie. Prestigious really means nothing except for a swimming pool and some fat dude landing helicopters on the oval.
By all means study, but seriously, a year and a half before the exam? I don't even prepare that hard for VCE.
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It's all about the individual, sweetie. Prestigious really means nothing except for a swimming pool and some fat dude landing helicopters on the oval.
By all means study if you want in, but seriously, a year and a half before the exam? I don't even prepare that hard for VCE.
Ehh no sweetie. Prestigious, as defined by google means "Inspiring respect and admiration; having high status". You'll find that MHS/MacRob fits that category and uh well lets say the awesome facilities of MHS is just an added bonus. Some fat dude referring to Lindsay Fox? Ha...nice respect there; no comment. A year and a half before the exam? I did not recommend that, some other poster did and LOL, no-one cares if you don't prepare for VCE
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(http://giveafuckometer.com/giveafuck.gif)
It's really not the Mecca of education, stop pretending that it is.
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Take it easy guys. No need to bite each other. Each to his own.
While MHS/MacRob may be prestigious/inspiring/awesomeness, what school you attend should not/does not affect your life in any dramatic way. The ATAR you get, what you do after school, the course you get into, your future life is not dependent on what school you attended 10 years ago. Sorry if I'm wading in unannounced :). Can't resist discussions about schools, seeing as though I attend possibly one of the worst schools in the state LOL.
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Take it easy guys. No need to bite each other. Each to his own.
While MHS/MacRob may be prestigious/inspiring/awesomeness, what school you attend should not/does not affect your life in any dramatic way. The ATAR you get, what you do after school, the course you get into, your future life is not dependent on what school you attended 10 years ago. Sorry if I'm wading in unannounced :). Can't resist discussions about schools, seeing as though I attend possibly one of the worst schools in the state LOL.
You are of course correct however you cannot deny that MHS/MacRob are the prestigious schools of Victoria and are worth preparing for and are certainly not "shit" as Cianyx crudely put it.
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People actually study for this shit?
You might want to reconsider your attitude; this "shit" as you-so-put-it is an exam to get into two of the most prestigious schools in Victoria and yes, people do study.
what i take from the comment cianyx made was he/she thinks the actual tests are shit :P
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http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shit&defid=1532411
The word 'shit' is open to interpretation. You just decided to add your own meaning to it.
Here's what I chose:
shit
v. shit also shat, shit·ting, shits
n
1. An ebonic slang to describe an object in a positive way.
eg. Nigga, this is some real dank shit right here. Not like those other shit you get on the street
Yo man, this shit is dope
2. An ebonic slang to describe an object in a negative way.
I'm gon fuck shit up
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MHS/MacRob are the prestigious schools of Victoria
Really? I'd list half a dozen of the big private schools before getting to MHS or macrob in terms of prestige
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MHS/MacRob are the prestigious schools of Victoria
Really? I'd list half a dozen of the big private schools before getting to MHS or macrob in terms of prestige
Yes...paying $ 20 000 + a year is obviously [ should be ] going 2b of leet standard :P. MHS/MacRob you get in on merit through your performance in a "shit" exam as Ciyanx puts it but of course people will have differing opinions. Personally attending MHS I can see that the school has an over-rated reputation where the teachers are of no different standard to any other school. The main difference is the extensive curriculum and co-curricular activities and the driving motivation by your peers.
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By extensive curriculum, you mean no free periods?
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By extensive curriculum, you mean no free periods?
Eh? I had a free period every day.
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Dude, the only thing that makes these schools 'better' are shown below:
*Its competitive, almost everyone tries to beat one another (secretly at least)
*They have $$$$$$$$ and resources.
*The cohort is godly.
*MHS is a castle.
*Girls dig blazers.
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Prestige of MHS/MacRob > any other school I reckon.
You get free periods all the time, "extensive" curriculum just means that they finish the course for most subjects relatively early :) And they have more clubs/interest groups than you can imagine.
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By extensive curriculum, you mean no free periods?
Eh? I had a free period every day.
Still nothing compared to Mac Rob. I mean, seriously man. 1st period free and I still can't sleep in? On the other hand, some MacRob chicks get essentially the entire day off
^You know as well as I do that half of those clubs exist to wag class
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By extensive curriculum, you mean no free periods?
Eh? I had a free period every day.
Still nothing compared to Mac Rob. I mean, seriously man. 1st period free and I still can't sleep in?
As far as I'm aware, the only benefits they get is because they either only do 4 subjects due to having done 2 in year 11 and hence have more frees, or because they have Wednesday afternoon off because they don't run a sports program. MHS could also get this double off if you wag sports, but it's actually a pretty good opportunity to participate in a ridiculous range of sports including your typical basketball, soccer, futsul, cricket, tennis, badminton, table tennis etc. to stuff like rowing, weight training, sailing and even breakdancing.
I'd contest the claim about the teachers. There were some genuinely good teachers, with about 3 or 4 teachers having doctorates in their respective fields. While this doesn't mean that they're necessarily a great teacher, I'm sure anyone who's had Dr. G would attest to his epicness. Like any school though, there's obviously a few terrible teachers. Good thing though is that since there's so many smart people around, there's usually a few people who could teach you the content instead of your teacher.
And yes, castles are badass.
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Shinny man,,
Huysing?
Basu?
Wright?
Hohlweg?
...I didn't take Physics solely based on the fact that the Physics teaching faculity is useless.
Dr G of course is a legend but to be perfectly honest the teaching standard of MHS can easily be matched and its rapidly becoming an 'old' generation as the school is struggling to find new teachers as more and more retire.
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Shinny man,,
Huysing?
Basu?
Wright?
Hohlweg?
...I didn't take Physics solely based on the fact that the Physics teaching faculity is useless.
Dr G of course is a legend but to be perfectly honest the teaching standard of MHS can easily be matched and its rapidly becoming an 'old' generation as the school is struggling to find new teachers as more and more retire.
Heh, why do you think I have asian 5 without physics and BM instead? :P
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Shinny man,,
Huysing?
Basu?
Wright?
Hohlweg?
...I didn't take Physics solely based on the fact that the Physics teaching faculity is useless.
Dr G of course is a legend but to be perfectly honest the teaching standard of MHS can easily be matched and its rapidly becoming an 'old' generation as the school is struggling to find new teachers as more and more retire.
Heh, why do you think I have asian 5 without physics and BM instead? :P
lol :P got2 love Huysing's raging though...
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Basu is the easiest teacher you can get. You just got2 keep your mouth shut and watch the A's and A+'s roll in
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In recent times they've been hiring more and more young students.
The teaching ability some of them have is remarkable, but placing young female teachers into an all boys school is not the best idea I do not think.
Cianyx, who are you ? :P
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Take a guess. 1 in a 360 chance. Or I'll tell you in about a months time. I've got a sneaky feeling that Ludo (or Minto) spends a few hours a day googling our school to find out if anyone shit talks it. Don't feel like skipping Speech Night
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Basu is the easiest teacher you can get. You just got2 keep your mouth shut and watch the A's and A+'s roll in
Perfect for Y9/10 but notso for Y11/12. I've heard she's actually banned from teaching Y12 due to complaints about her? Is dat true?
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In recent times they've been hiring more and more young students.
The teaching ability some of them have is remarkable, but placing young female teachers into an all boys school is not the best idea I do not think.
Cianyx, who are you ? :P
Bro I think you mean teachers :P ...And the 'young female teachers', is that referring to the new psychology teacher? Not the "best idea" lol...never really got the details on the whole sexual harassment thing? Assuming Y11/12s did something idiotic.
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who the hell judges a school by the number of frees you get?
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Humour is obviously lost on you
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we both know that that isn't funny
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Take a guess. 1 in a 360 chance. Or I'll tell you in about a months time. I've got a sneaky feeling that Ludo (or Minto) spends a few hours a day googling our school to find out if anyone shit talks it. Don't feel like skipping Speech Night
oh I can narrow it down. I'm calling Bradford/Burgin/Randell/Lee
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we both know that that isn't funny
Aside from the fact that I wasn't even accessing the school based on a number of frees, the statement was more jocular than anything. Humour doesn't always have to elicit laughter. Ya dig?
And your second statement is indeed correct. Now that narrows down the odds to about 200 to 1
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*358:1
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Now it's like 1:1
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this has gone off topic a bit... most people go to tuition centers prior to the entrance exam
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There's sample papers for MacRob and Melb High available for download somewhere....
The test questions are VERY VERY similiar to the practice questions, if not the same. They just jumble some of the numbers around and insert some new numbers in.
Provided that you know your stuff, maths would probably be the easiest out of all the tests. There are some stuff related to simple trigonometry, but thats as hard as it gets.
English is a real killer if you are not a speed reader. The excerpts that give you for reading comprehension are literally a page to a page and a half in length, whilst having 3-4 question accompanying each. Tip: do not spend too much time reading. Skim past it and attempt the questions, or look at the questions first and then find it in the passage.
Numerical reasoning is plain weird. Has to do with patterns and stuff. Verbal reasoning is alright though, provided that you know a whole heap of useless vocab.
For the essay section, topics can be very very random. No real point trying to revise or study for it. Just make sure you have a good writing foundation. Don't spend too much time planning or pondering. Get straight to the writing and the ideas would flow out. You only have 15 mins to do it, and most people struggle to even finish. Do not do anything too complex, but all in the while somehow make your pieces stand out from the sea of mediocrity.
Hope this helps in some way.
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Could anyone tell me where i could get past papers or sample papers for the Macrob exam ? I will be sitting the test and i am really scared simply because I not confident on what exactly is going to be on the test. please help...
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Could anyone tell me where i could get past papers or sample papers for the Macrob exam ? I will be sitting the test and i am really scared simply because I not confident on what exactly is going to be on the test. please help...
There are practice questions somewhere in the registration process. It will be an essay on a recent issue, try back issues of the age education section.
Maths just learn trigonometry, and everything on the year 8 course. Comprehension try the past papers for UNSW english (comprehension)
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Could anyone tell me where i could get past papers or sample papers for the Macrob exam ? I will be sitting the test and i am really scared simply because I not confident on what exactly is going to be on the test. please help...
There are practice questions somewhere in the registration process. It will be an essay on a recent issue, try back issues of the age education section.
Maths just learn trigonometry, and everything on the year 8 course. Comprehension try the past papers for UNSW english (comprehension)
Found here
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oh wait the company has changed since i sat it :( sorry
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Practice essay writing, Maths problems and familiarise some words from the dictionary :3.
It's also about luck, my neighbour guessed 3/4 of the multiple choice and they got in :S
I agree with SmRandmAzn, i reckon they choose people from those types of school because i compared mine from my neighbours and It was close(infact my maths and written response was higher than his) and he still got accepted.
I didn't try for the year 10 one because if you think about it, i have to wake up around 5 or 6am everyday and i can just imagine te amount of homework they get. In the end, all I need is a decent score to get in my uni course which I can achieve through strategy, hardwork and my current school.
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hello, im doing the mhs test this year. i was wondering if you know the ordering of thr tests done. eg 1. verbal 2. maths 3. numerical ect...
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did u get into mhs??
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I'm laughing so hard right now