Your marks vs other people's marks

[Nialllovespie]

I don't really know where to put this but...

How do we stop caring about the marks we get compared to other people's marks. Like my friend and I are extremely competitive and even when I get a really good mark, if she beats me I'm still upset with my mark?

I don't know how to avoid that?

Any tips?

Thank you!!
Nia

[bholenath125]

how exactly does my scaling work if I'm top 10 in my school cohort?

[sudodds]

I don't really know where to put this but...

How do we stop caring about the marks we get compared to other people's marks. Like my friend and I are extremely competitive and even when I get a really good mark, if she beats me I'm still upset with my mark?

I don't know how to avoid that?

Any tips?

Thank you!!
Nia

Hey!
Okay so first all it is 100% natural to be competitive, particularly within the HSC where they place such an unfortunate focus on ranks. It is also okay to be a bit competitive. It can be a great motivator for you to work hard, and rank goals are A-okay as long as you approach them with realistic expectations.
   However, when being competitive starts to lead you to think negatively about your own work, or even threaten friendships (I don't know if that is actually what is happening in your case - but I know people where that did happen) then that is when it has gone too far. You need to remember that though in the short term you may get that initial satisfaction of being the "smarter" or "better" student (quotation marks because that is very subjective), in the long term your overall HSC mark is not only determined by your hard work, but also the hard work and marks of others. The HSC really is a team effort, and you want everyone in your cohort to do as well as possible, as that will in turn raise your own marks after moderation and scaling.
   Being overly competitive is a difficult thing to unlearn, but the good thing here is that you are self-aware and know that you are doing this. If you catch yourself thinking in this way, remember what I said above about how important it for the rest of your class to do well. Also, instead of working against your friend, try and shift that to working with them instead. Hold some group study sessions with them, share your notes (you will probably have to be the first to offer if your friend is quite competitive as well), etc. etc. Two brains are better than one, and will be super beneficial for your final mark, which in the end is more important than the individual, internal assessment marks that you receive that aren't even considered by NESA.

Hope this helps!

[elysepopplewell]

I don't really know where to put this but...

How do we stop caring about the marks we get compared to other people's marks. Like my friend and I are extremely competitive and even when I get a really good mark, if she beats me I'm still upset with my mark?

I don't know how to avoid that?

Any tips?

Thank you!!
Nia

It isn't easy! It's like this for so many things in life - how do we stop comparing ourselves and our achievements to others? Competition is great if it is boosting you and your friend to achieve better academically, but it's awful if it leaves you feeling like you can't celebrate the great things you've achieved. Within yourself, focusing on only trying to be better than yourself might be a mindset to adapt.
But, if you and your friend are keeping a competition running - maybe you should talk about it and call it quits? You need all the good feels and support you can get in the HSC - and maybe the competitiveness is making your friend feel this same way?

[jamonwindeyer]

I don't really know where to put this but...

How do we stop caring about the marks we get compared to other people's marks. Like my friend and I are extremely competitive and even when I get a really good mark, if she beats me I'm still upset with my mark?

I don't know how to avoid that?

Any tips?

Thank you!!
Nia

Hey Nia! That's a really tough question to answer - Ultimately the only think I can say is that, at the end of the day, your success is their success and vice versa! When it comes to moderating your marks at the end of the year; you really want your friend to do well. To massively simplify things, the better the marks of the people around you, the better moderation will treat you

The HSC is very much seen as a "me vs the world" situation. No one wants to share resources, no one wants to do anything that could give people an edge over themselves. But that's not a good way to look at it, because when your friends perform well, you benefit. When the students taking your subject perform well, you benefit. While good ranks are great, you don't want that at the expense of the performance of your support network. The HSC is very much a team game

Edit: Post gets missed, someone bumps it, 3 immediate replies

[jamonwindeyer]

how exactly does my scaling work if I'm top 10 in my school cohort?

Check out this guide!