The Last Stretch - HSC Journal

[zbolland]

Hi everyone!

My name is Zack and I am doing my HSC in 2021. For whatever reason, I have decided to construct an HSC Journal that will keep track of my journey heading into year 12 up until the final exams. Just for some background, I am currently 17 years old and attend a public school in Lower-North Shore Sydney. Before the term concluded, I was elected school captain and have the honour of carrying out all related duties for the remainder of my time at school, as well as maintaining a solid study-life balance (sounds slightly improbable, but oh well). I will try to update this weekly, describing how the week went and providing a general idea about how I am feeling in the lead up to the final exams/assessments. So, without further ado, join me on this monumental journey!

During my final year, I will be undertaking 6 subjects.


• History Extension: Y11 Rank (Unknown)
• English Advanced: Y11 Rank (10~/70)
• Legal Studies: Y11 Rank (3~/45)
• Maths Advanced: Y11 Rank (20~/60)
• Economics: Y11 Rank (2/20)
• Modern History: Y11 Rank (5/50)
• Biology: Y11 Rank (3/60)

I will not be undertaking Biology as a subject next year. Whilst it can be argued that my rank is high and therefore I should keep the subject, I genuinely have no interest in the subject and am willing to dedicate that additional time to bettering my other subjects. Ranks are all over the place, to be honest. We have not received our preliminary exam results yet for most subjects, therefore the ranks are a bit 'wishy-washy'. However, I am looking to nail down this year and really strive towards a 1st rank for at least three of my subjects (preferably Legal Studies, History Ext and Economics). As such, I need to work on improving my mathematics marks, which are acting as an anchor on my other subjects (peaked in year 6 for maths). We will see what happens though!

In regards to setting goals, I most assuredly want to achieve high ranks in all my subjects. ATAR-wise, I am looking in the range of 95-98, which certainly appears to be optimistic and could be readjusted later on. My dream course is to do a Bachelor of Commerce/Law at USyd, which is a 98 requirement with a mathematics prerequisite when applying through the Future Leaders Scheme. Originally, I wanted to do a Bachelor of Commerce, which was a 95/96 cutoff, but the secret weapon of school captaincy materialised and permits me to apply through the aforementioned Future Leaders Scheme. As such, I have developed a strong passion for the law and Legal Studies as a subject, thus paving the way for me to pursue a career in law.

Currently, I am in the first week of school holidays here in NSW and am looking forward to beginning Y12 upon return. I've attended a few of the ATARNotes accelerator/early Y12 seminars, which have been incredibly helpful. Additionally, I have begun organising my notes for the year, in an attempt to develop a rudimentary and somewhat superficial understanding that will provide a strong basis for the beginning of all my courses.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling! Feel free to ask as many questions about whatever I have written here and stay tuned for next week's episode. See you all then.

[zbolland]

Hey there, it's been a while.

The first week of Y12 has sadly concluded. I received most of my preliminary marks back this week, of which were mostly in the 81%-90% range (which I'm okay with, but would love to up my game a little). Regardless, this term is a fresh start as I tackle the problems of the world in a variety of different subjects. Biology is, unfortunately, leaving my timetable, thus providing me with additional time to annoy the school librarian. A win-win situation, if you ask me. However, in a measly attempt to rejuvenate my mathematics mark during the HSC, I picked up history extension. No, that wasn't the core reason for my selection but I'd be lying if I denied the fact that it was a contributing factor. That begins next week and needless to say, I'm looking forward to it.

Aside from that, Y12 has been relatively uneventful so far. I suppose it's had some overarching feeling of vigour and vitality floating within me, but it's been pretty stock-standard. For Modern History, Legal Studies and Economics, it would appear that we are doing some incredibly intriguing case studies throughout the year and focusing on particularly invigorating topics, of which I am looking forward to.

Stay tuned for an update! Bye!

[Bri MT]

Great to see your journal!
As much as I like biology if you don't find it interesting then I definitely think staying in it just for your rank wouldn't be a great idea so it's good to see you've made that decision. I hope you enjoy the extra time that frees up for you

I personally did a bunch of leadership stuff during year 12 as have many other people while still achieving our academic goals so it's definitely possible. In a way, I think having the extra role and responsibility can help you manage your time more efficiently.

Good luck with everything

[amal.rabbani]

Oh lovely.

I'm also keeping one on here and honestly I'm looking forward to see how your HSC journey pans out.
I did not get a leadership spot by ahggg the Future Leaders Scheme sounds good! I could possibly foresee USYD as an option if only I received DUX (which would be not completely off my radar) but as of now I'd be willing for Law/Arts at UNSW.

Not sure if UNSW is in your periphery, but if it was, did you do the LAT by any chance?

[zbolland]

Oh lovely.

I'm also keeping one on here and honestly I'm looking forward to see how your HSC journey pans out.
I did not get a leadership spot by ahggg the Future Leaders Scheme sounds good! I could possibly foresee USYD as an option if only I received DUX (which would be not completely off my radar) but as of now I'd be willing for Law/Arts at UNSW.

Not sure if UNSW is in your periphery, but if it was, did you do the LAT by any chance?

The Future Leaders Scheme is a literal miracle, I was ecstatic upon finding out about it. Definitely worth pushing it the extra mile for dux if you are within the radar for it!

About the LAT, I have always considered USyd to be my first option on the basis that the scheme allows for 'easy' access into the university, as well as the fact that the university has an incredibly vibrant culture. Therefore, in all honesty, I have never really considered going to UNSW. Obviously, I wouldn't be opposed to the potential of that happening, but I have not undertaken the LAT exam nor have prepared myself to meet the precipitous requirements for admission. However, I will consider applying to complete the exam during my Y12 year, as it seems like a very viable option!

[zbolland]

Great to see your journal!
As much as I like biology if you don't find it interesting then I definitely think staying in it just for your rank wouldn't be a great idea so it's good to see you've made that decision. I hope you enjoy the extra time that frees up for you

I personally did a bunch of leadership stuff during year 12 as have many other people while still achieving our academic goals so it's definitely possible. In a way, I think having the extra role and responsibility can help you manage your time more efficiently.

Good luck with everything

That's exactly how I felt in regards to dropping biology as a subject. Despite the entire science faculty of my school coming together as a collective to convince me to stay in biology, I don't have much interest in the subject holistically and I do not want to undertake a course that I have little to no interest in.

I couldn't agree more about the leadership comment! I'm hoping that the additional roles and responsibilities that accompany my role as school captain will deprive me of some extra time that I will undoubtedly have throughout the year. This will reinforce the idea that I need to study smarter, not harder. Looking forward to it though! Big year ahead!

[zbolland]

The weekly updates continue...

A relatively uneventful week, but I have begun to notice how quickly this year is going to fly by. It's literally been 2 weeks and I can already taste the end... Anyway, as I said, this week has been a bit of a doozy. I dropped biology, which is proving to be a great decision. I'm focusing a lot more time to the subjects that I struggled with slightly last year and giving myself as much leeway as possible to relearn forgotten content etc. Additionally, I began the History Ext course this week, which seems great!

Collectively, my subjects now align with my interests. Legal Studies has always been of great interest to me, however, we have begun doing Human Rights before Crime, which can get a little tedious. As such, Modern History has been my favourite so far- never thought I'd find treaties and dictatorships so intriguing. Economics is my favourite subject at school, but we started with Module 4 (Policies and Management). This is a little unorthodox, considering some of the content does not make sense without prior knowledge, but my teacher insists that it is a good idea as it aligns with the new budget. English has been relatively boring so far, just because we are going through the rudimentary prelude to the Common Module (analysing visual texts, poems blah blah), but we are beginning 1984 soon. 1984 is one of my favourite books, so as you can imagine, I am quite excited. And I can't forget Mathematics, oh Mathematics. We are going through some probability revision at the moment but start the proper Y12 course soon.

Whilst my time in Year 12 has only just begun, I am requesting opinions from those who decide to read this. Honestly, I find myself powering through all my work effortlessly and need to extend myself a little bit further. Should I begin learning new topics in advance or attempting practice questions from the HSC or should I just continue to revise already-taught content? What do you think? Our assessment block is in early December and they are predominantly hand-in tasks, so I cannot prepare for them yet. I would love to hear your opinions on how I can go about this, though!

Anyway, that's all for the weekly update. Managed to turn a monotonous week into some sort of diary entry extravaganza.

See you next week! (please provide some suggestions on how to handle my little 'dilemma' above )

[alice343]

The weekly updates continue...

A relatively uneventful week, but I have begun to notice how quickly this year is going to fly by. It's literally been 2 weeks and I can already taste the end... Anyway, as I said, this week has been a bit of a doozy. I dropped biology, which is proving to be a great decision. I'm focusing a lot more time to the subjects that I struggled with slightly last year and giving myself as much leeway as possible to relearn forgotten content etc. Additionally, I began the History Ext course this week, which seems great!

Collectively, my subjects now align with my interests. Legal Studies has always been of great interest to me, however, we have begun doing Human Rights before Crime, which can get a little tedious. As such, Modern History has been my favourite so far- never thought I'd find treaties and dictatorships so intriguing. Economics is my favourite subject at school, but we started with Module 4 (Policies and Management). This is a little unorthodox, considering some of the content does not make sense without prior knowledge, but my teacher insists that it is a good idea as it aligns with the new budget. English has been relatively boring so far, just because we are going through the rudimentary prelude to the Common Module (analysing visual texts, poems blah blah), but we are beginning 1984 soon. 1984 is one of my favourite books, so as you can imagine, I am quite excited. And I can't forget Mathematics, oh Mathematics. We are going through some probability revision at the moment but start the proper Y12 course soon.

Whilst my time in Year 12 has only just begun, I am requesting opinions from those who decide to read this. Honestly, I find myself powering through all my work effortlessly and need to extend myself a little bit further. Should I begin learning new topics in advance or attempting practice questions from the HSC or should I just continue to revise already-taught content? What do you think? Our assessment block is in early December and they are predominantly hand-in tasks, so I cannot prepare for them yet. I would love to hear your opinions on how I can go about this, though!

Anyway, that's all for the weekly update. Managed to turn a monotonous week into some sort of diary entry extravaganza.

See you next week! (please provide some suggestions on how to handle my little 'dilemma' above )

It's great to hear how you've been enjoying Year 12 so far!! Being genuinely interested in what you are learning is really half the work.

If you feel that the pace that your teachers are going at is too slow, I highly recommend you work ahead. Of course, make sure you understand the content and then move on, but learning the content in advance is super helpful, and when your class gets up to what you've already learnt by yourself it's like revision! This way, it also frees up a bit of brain space for you to focus on your weaker areas.

I think it's probably a bit too early to do practice questions, but of course, if you think that would be beneficial to you, then go ahead. I think now is the time to focus on learning and consolidating all the content and making sure you understand how everything links, its significance to the course (everyone prefers different methods; I quite like mindmaps!). Instead, I think it would be helpful for you can get acquainted with the types of HSC questions you will come across for all your subjects; basic exam format, minimum and maximum amount of mark allocations, mark to lines provided ratios, the most common types of NESA verbs for each subject(assess, evaluate, contrast, etc), most commonly assessed areas of the syllabus, comparing different past papers etc. Really KNOW what NESA can and can't test you on. Also start memorising your syllabi if you haven't already; ESPECIALLY LEGAL STUDIES. It'll help immensely.

I hope this helps you on your 'dilemma'!
Alice : )

[zbolland]

It's great to hear how you've been enjoying Year 12 so far!! Being genuinely interested in what you are learning is really half the work.

If you feel that the pace that your teachers are going at is too slow, I highly recommend you work ahead. Of course, make sure you understand the content and then move on, but learning the content in advance is super helpful, and when your class gets up to what you've already learnt by yourself it's like revision! This way, it also frees up a bit of brain space for you to focus on your weaker areas.

I think it's probably a bit too early to do practice questions, but of course, if you think that would be beneficial to you, then go ahead. I think now is the time to focus on learning and consolidating all the content and making sure you understand how everything links, its significance to the course (everyone prefers different methods; I quite like mindmaps!). Instead, I think it would be helpful for you can get acquainted with the types of HSC questions you will come across for all your subjects; basic exam format, minimum and maximum amount of mark allocations, mark to lines provided ratios, the most common types of NESA verbs for each subject(assess, evaluate, contrast, etc), most commonly assessed areas of the syllabus, comparing different past papers etc. Really KNOW what NESA can and can't test you on. Also start memorising your syllabi if you haven't already; ESPECIALLY LEGAL STUDIES. It'll help immensely.

I hope this helps you on your 'dilemma'!
Alice : )

Thank you so much! I think that is definitely the way to go about it.

(also I've read your journal consistently throughout this year, hope the HSC treated you well!)

[zbolland]

Hey everyone!

It's been around 2 weeks since my last post and regrettably, there isn't too much to talk about. The only somewhat-exciting thing that happened was the arrival of Y11 reports. Didn't do as well as I'd hoped (still did pretty well, just have high expectations :p, but it motivated me to do so much better this year!

My assessment block is coming up in about 2 weeks or so. I have three 'take-home' essays and two in-class exams (modern and maths), so that'll be really interesting! Funnily enough, maths and modern were the two outliers in my preliminary exam results, so I am going to dedicate extra time toward them to prepare for the in-class task(s). I think it'll be just fine, though!

Aside from that, there really isn't too much else to talk about. Consistently keeping up with school, study and homework, as well as my leadership duties as school captain. Like I've said many times before, Y12 is flying by. I genuinely thought it was Week 3 this week, but supposedly it is Week 5.

Anyway, thank you all for tuning in!

See you soon

[zbolland]

Hey guys!

Wow. It's certainly been a while. 2021 is closer than ever, COVID-19 still permeates worldwide and the Y12 stress is only beginning to kick in! The term concluded a week and a half ago and the six-week summer holidays are well underway. Regrettably, the term concluded with only one assessment being returned. Well, two assessments - but the strangest thing happened. The maths exam at my school was deemed to be invalid as one class had supposedly covered content that was included in the exam that the other class hadn't. I neared 80% for that exam, which in all fairness, was not my best performance, but I've never been particularly good at maths and only believe it will contribute one unit to my ATAR. However, the exam is to be re-sit T1 W3, so that'll be exciting.

Assessment-wise, it has been so far, so good. The one assessment mark I received back, for Legal Studies, was a 19/20 and culminated in a tied-first position in my cohort. Pretty happy with that, but I lost one of the pettiest marks of all time. Anyway, there really is not much I can do about it now. My History Extension draft was not accessible, but I received some very positive feedback on it. In regards to my other assignments, I am not sure what to expect, in all honesty. English was an infamous multi-modal examination, which seemed to go alright. Not sure what to expect in regards to marks, but I think it'll be an 18-20/20. Same goes for economics. However, I put an absurd amount of time into AT1 for economics, as my first assessment task basically denied me the opportunity to push for a number 1 rank in economics. So, for that assignment, I'm a little more hopeful - expecting full marks! And then there is modern history. Weird, weird, weird exam. Unsure as to how I went - I knew the content for the exam, but I really don't know how I went. My exam technique for modern has always been a little iffy as it is comparatively different from English, Economics and Legal Studies, in my opinion. To combat these fears, I really need to begin writing some practice responses for modern history, to alleviate these fears that I'm having about my performance in AT1. Not sure what to expect for that exam at all. In all honesty, I think I either did really well or didn't do well at all. We will see what happens!

These holidays have consisted of some very rudimentary study; just catching up on notes, making flash cards for all my content-heavy subjects and summarising my notes (particularly for modern). I intend to read both my English texts for Mod A and put a bit of work into my History Ext major work, just to give myself some leeway throughout the year. Additionally, I intend to do a bit of 're-study' for the upcoming mathematics exam and need to catch up on some work I missed for that. Not to mention, I have an overabundance of holiday homework that needs to be completed sooner rather than later, so I expect the next week of my life to be entirely dedicated to finishing that early. Hopefully, that will provide me with 3-4 weeks of breaks, practice questions, extra study and further revision to better my chances in Term 2. I am really excited about the term, though!

Until next time (probably will update end of holidays), goodbye and take care! Enjoy these holidays and don't forget to take a break or two. It's been a long year and we all deserve a break, so take your chances when possible! 

[zbolland]

Apologies for the bump.

Decided to log back 14 months after my last post. Really crazy to read about how I was feeling in the early stages of the HSC and how much my 'ATAR goal' changed since that first post.

For some context, I received a 99.80 ATAR, which would've been absolutely mind-blowing to me when I first wrote this journal. Work hard, stay consistent and set achievable goals. You guys have got this.

[sodacat_]

Apologies for the bump.

Decided to log back 14 months after my last post. Really crazy to read about how I was feeling in the early stages of the HSC and how much my 'ATAR goal' changed since that first post.

For some context, I received a 99.80 ATAR, which would've been absolutely mind-blowing to me when I first wrote this journal. Work hard, stay consistent and set achievable goals. You guys have got this.

Well done on the brilliant ATAR!