The HSC Marathon: Stride by Stride

[kauac]

Good luck for the rest of your exams!

Thanks! Hope your preparation for exams is going well. 

[kauac]

Another day, another exam. I think I'll try and debrief each exam either in this journal or in the discussion thread, so I can reflect on this later after all exams have finished.

Biology was this morning. Kinda got used to the two hour exams for English, so 3 hours definitely seemed like a long time! I had plenty of time to do the exam, and had about ~45 min to check over, which was good.

I'll just quote myself from the discussion thread for a record:

Spoiler

MC was definitely the hardest part of the exam imo, I definitely took a lot longer to complete them than I normally would in practice exams. Definitely think this was the section where I dropped the most marks.

SA: fairly nice, though I didn't like the question on co-dominance for the fur mammalians. It was difficult to interpret whether the question meant that the natural resistance resulted from the co-dominance (which is what I assumed) or not.

Option - Communication: Brilliant! Generally my strongest area as well, so not surprised. Especially liked part d), where we had to draw the diagrams of   correcting myopia. I think I overwrote for part e) though, because I needed another booklet, but I think I addressed the question really well and in-depth, so that's that.

Overall: considering it was the last year of the current syllabus, NESA hasn't managed to do anything drastic for biology, so that's a positive. Just hoping I did enough to achieve the mark I am aiming for, considering my MC game was weak.

.
On a random note, the supervisors forgot to hand out the question booklet until reading time, oops! (The one with the MC and option questions).

And another: I was so eager to leave that I forgot my bag from the exam room. I started freaking out, and had to run from one side of the school to the other because I thought they would have already locked up, but thankfully, the supervisors were still in there. There wasn't actually anything important in my bag, because I didn't bring my phone or anything, but nevertheless, it was a good feeling being able to retrieve it anyway, haha. 

Maths is tomorrow: kinda not worried at this stage. I have all the knowledge and methods, just need to be able to apply that to the questions. - Something that you can't really study for as much, apart from looking at past papers. Really hoping they will nice to us with MC, as I am usually atrocious at it, lucky to get more than 5/10.

But then again, my expectations for maths are lower than that for bio/food tech, so of course I will probably feel that I didn't do as well as I did in bio.  Keen to finish maths, because that's when the real fun begins. I think I might drop in at school every so often for food tech just to add a bit of variety to my study! I'm in a good mood, hopefully will be that way tomorrow after the exam! (No pressure Katie - just your whole HSC mark for mathematics depending on this one exam, because I am the only 2U student, ahahahaha  ). Nah should be good - after all, that's why I do 12 units. 

[headsup]

Heyy!!!

Good job with bio!!!!

ATVVVVB with maths and the other exams to follow!!!!!

Not long now 

[kauac]

Heyy!!!

Good job with bio!!!!

ATVVVVB with maths and the other exams to follow!!!!!

Not long now 

Thanks! Good luck for maths tomorrow too - we'll see whether the maths gods have been kindly to us poor HSC students haha.

Also, is it sad I had to look up that what that acronym means haha? I'm just a kid who doesn't get millennial talk.   

[Joseph41]

And another: I was so eager to leave that I forgot my bag from the exam room. I started freaking out, and had to run from one side of the school to the other because I thought they would have already locked up, but thankfully, the supervisors were still in there. There wasn't actually anything important in my bag, because I didn't bring my phone or anything, but nevertheless, it was a good feeling being able to retrieve it anyway, haha. 

Golly, I know this feeling well haha. Glad it all worked out for you.

Good luck for maths tomorrow!

[kauac]

Hmmmm.... Well, at least Math's done!

How did I go: ugggh, it was like trials all over again. Like, there were so many questions where I knew mostly what I was doing, but couldn't get the full marks for it. The only better thing about it then trials was that I did have more time to check over my work (but potentially because I couldn't do as much for the harder questions  ).

I am actually quite disappointed, but not in my own performance. I know I did the best that I could today. It just felt like a really hard test - harder than any of the HSC past papers I have done. Potentially could have been nerves that threw me, or it may actually have been a lot more difficult than previous years'. I just thought that I had a chance to achieve a decent mark in maths, but now I know that's not really likely.

Mostly scared I might get kicked out of early entry if my mark is as bad as I expect, since they can actually revoke the offer if your HSC marks are a lot lower than trials. Having said that, my trial mark was pretty terrible as well, so even if I did do as bad as trials, it would be a scaled mark, and thus,a lot higher.

A nice thing came out of the exam though... Once we had finished, and I was sorting through my extra writing booklets (3 extra, whoops!), the supervisor made a passing comment that they thought I was the smartest in the room (because I had used the 3 extra writing booklets, and didn't leave early  ). As I was the only girl in the exam, I felt honoured to represent the minority of women conquering the male domination of STEM haha.

So, I mean, that's it for the intense week of HSC! It is smooth sailing from here - let's see how well I can study to smash Food tech to salvage my ATAR, yay! (Wow - that sounded really sarcastic, but it wasn't meant to be...) 

[kauac]

The end is in sight! In slightly more than 24 hrs, I will have finished the HSC forever, (and not just for another year, as was the situation last year  ). It definitely has been a marathon experience, especially in these last few days. The amount of food tech study has been slowly dropping off, but I made sure I got a few days of decent whole-hearted study in between the procrastination - in my defense, its not 'procrastination' anymore really, it is just real life. I think I reached saturation point for food tech study several days ago, and basically have been doing a bit of study to prevent the study guilt. No matter what happens tomorrow, I will be done, and that's all that matters. I have my formal to look forward, and the immediate victory dance my friend and I are planning for immediately after the exam.

Definitely going to make sure I get into a good routine after this has finished, because I think I function better that way. Keen to get out and about heaps more too - do all of things that I wanted to do in these last few years, but had to decline, with the common phrase, 'I'm studying'. Been trying to get a second job (the one I have at the moment, get about 1 shift/week), so I applied for one place, and another place I was suppose to drop my resume into was closed when I went. I don't think I will get that first job, so will definitely make an effort to drop resume in at the second place.

All steam ahead for Japan, need to finalise itinerary (everything's booked, but need to work out what activities to do each day). I have been on a "chopstick diet" to try and improve my chopstick skills, since I have always been dreadful. It has seem to have payed off - though I still find banana hard to pick up because it is slippery when cut into pieces haha. Really keen to meet my friend in Kyushu, as I haven't seen her for years! Also just found out a few days ago that there are multiple active volcanoes on Kyushu, so that's fun! I wouldn't be complaining too much if flights got cancelled due to volcanic activity, because who wouldn't want to spend a couple more days in Japan, right? Also, really, really hope that it will snow when we are there! Unfortunately won't be going to the Northern island of Hokkaido, which is known to be one of the coldest parts of Japan, but I still have faith.

That's it for now! I don't think I will update for a few days at least, despite the milestone accomplishments, because things will get pretty hectic with formal and all. Oh, and thanks Poet for the shout out (if you are reading this  ).

[kauac]

Hi...

Predict what I am about to write? Yep, you're correct - I have finished HSC. 

Will definitely have some fun memories from my last exam, food tech. Since we had our exams at a different local school, there were only students from our school at the exam - which is what I expected. But considerately, the school had a lock-down during the middle of the exam ! They never actually said it was a drill, so it could have actually been real, oops. But when the siren started going, we just looked at the supervisors and they had no idea what to do, so, we just continued to do the exam, pretending that there wasn't a massive siren blaring. At least it wasn't a fire evacuation - that would have been even more inconvenient!

A little recap from the exam content itself:

Spoiler

So, the MC was a bit strange. Like some were dead easy, others were worded badly, others kind of missing the syllabus a bit. So reasonably difficult.

Short answer was lovely! I really liked the meal plan for active non-nutrients. The ethical advertising 6 marker was a bit difficult to interpret what they were asking for - so my examples were both health-related and non-health related for that. Suprising amount of 6 markers though - 5 overall.

Section III: Good! Questions on a food van at a music event were a bit unorthodox, but pretty straightforward, neverthelesss.

Section IV: Awesome! Got to talk about my Sanitarium case study, probably one of the easiest 15 marker questions I have seen. Did a similar practice response a few days beforehand so I was set!

Overall: A good one to finish.

Had a great time at my formal on Thursday! My sister drove me to the photos in my grandpa's convertible, which was fun. We only opened the roof up about 200m from the place, because I didn't want to mess up my hair haha. My friend who is training to be a florist made a corsage for me, and it was sooo pretty! Gosh, I have never worn that much makeup in my life before, but it was nice to dress up. Plenty of dancing and silly photo booth pics.

Things have been pretty chill since last week. I have a graduation assembly at school on Wednesday, so that will be officially the last time I have to wear my uniform. Have been pretty busy though, and my to-do lists are getting quite long. I don't mind the busyness though, because otherwise I would get really bored haha.

[kauac]

It's me again. 

Officially got my offer for B Nutrition and Dietetics at UOW today!

Was freaking out last week because the early admissions people tried to contact me while I was out and I didn't hear my phone, and then when I called back, the office was closed. Turns out they just wanted to go through the details of accepting the offer, rather than that there had been a mistake for my offer or something, which was what I thought it was about. 

I was invited to the UOW Early Admission Congratulations Event (lol- a bit of a random event) that is tonight. As much as I would have loved to go, I don't think it was worth the total of 4hrs travel just for a 2hr event haha. And it was also designed for meeting people that you would be studying with next year, which is irrelevant to me now, because:

I am taking a gap year.  No surprises there, I have been thinking about it doing a gap year most of this year, but I have officially found a program that will work for me. It's called Year 13, and it is a Christian discipleship program run by the Anglican Youthworks College. I will be studying a Diploma of Christian Studies, with a month-long mission trip to Fiji in July. So next year, my basic week will involve staying 1 night at campus for my classes, as well as ministry placements at my Church each week.

It will be a challenging but exciting year, and I am definitely looking forward to Fiji! Conveniently, it is sort of like a test run for what my uni experience would be like, since for uni, it is likely that I will be staying part time at Wollongong, part time at home (Sydney), to complete the degree. Definitely a less intense version of getting acquainted to "the uni life" though, since the diploma is obviously not as consuming as a bachelor's degree, and I only need to be on campus for two days a week (vs a potential 5 at Wollongong  ).

For the job scene, haven't been successful at getting a second job, yet. It's not crucial since I am still doing a little bit of work at my current job (salon assistant), but it would definitely be a big help for me at the moment.

Also had my graduation assembly yesterday. It was nice, I gave a devotions talk, my classmate ran a lip-synch battle, some classic small-school rituals like running through the human archway.  I also received the Long Tan Award, which I was pretty stoked about!

So yeah, an interesting few days.

[fantasticbeasts3]

Congrats on the uni offer!!! That's so exciting :-) Hope the rest of your break is amazing!!

[kauac]

Congrats on the uni offer!!! That's so exciting :-) Hope the rest of your break is amazing!!

Thanks! It definitely has been amazing so far. 

[kauac]

Hi...

Just popped in to say a little goodbye (for two weeks) before heading off to Japan tonight. 

A few things have passed since my last entry...I got my other early admission offer yesterday (B Nutrition Science UOW), so still working out how to deal with that. My birthday was on Sunday, so I had a cute mocktail and garden party on Saturday. Still don't feel 18 yet haha. Applied for a part-time job at my own school - that's was a bit of a weird experience!. It was a support staff position for food tech, so basically the ideal job for me.

Haven't decided whether I will look at my results while I am in Japan, or wait til I get home (results are released on my last day, atar comes out the day I get back). Might lurk AN if my data sim card works. Nevertheless, I am keen to get lost several times in incidentally the biggest and busiest city in the world!
- Katie

[jazcstuart]

Crongrats on both your offers!!! They sound fairly similar, what is the difference between them? Do you know which one you are leaning towards?

Also happy birthday, and hope you have an awesome time in Japan!

[kauac]

Crongrats on both your offers!!! They sound fairly similar, what is the difference between them? Do you know which one you are leaning towards?

Also happy birthday, and hope you have an awesome time in Japan!

Thanks!  . The Nutrition & Dietetics is my preferred course (as it provides accreditation for becoming a dietitian in the one degree - rather than having to do an undergrad and post-grad).

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Wow, what a crazy few weeks have gone by!

For starters, Japan! (I won't write too much about this for the sake of boring any readers to death, but some highlights:)
- Disneyland
- Catching up with my friend who I haven't seen for over 2 years!
- Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Golden Pavilion Temple - both really pretty spots to explore.
- Free hotsprings footbaths in Oita!

Just got back today, from an overnight flight. Very interesting: our flight was delayed for 3hrs, and we had to change planes after boarding the first one because the engines had problems.  Flight didn't leave until 1.30am, but I am surprisingly not that tired (yet!!!)

And, of course, results & ATAR release. A little anecdote:

Spoiler

Though technically I could have looked at my results from 4am (due to time differences), I didn't look at my results until lunch time, when my sister convinced me. My hands were shaking as I logged into my email, and I checked the bands first. I was relieved to see 2 band 5's and 2 band 6's, as I had been dreading my Maths mark would fall under my band 5 goal. I knew instantly that bio and food tech were the 6's seeing as they had been my best subjects all year. But I was surprised that food tech was 94, and bio was 90, as I thought it may have been the other way around - due to scaling.

English I was really happy about, as an 88 was a lot higher than I was anticipating. Maths, 82 was a solid mark. A little higher than the band 5 minimum, so that was a nice finale.

And I can finally confirm that according to these results, one would say that I am better at Maths than English, even though I prefer the former over the latter.

ATAR today! I didn't get out of the airport until about 1.30pm, so I ended up checking it in the car. But, before I even had a chance to do so, out of the blue, I got a call from USYD with an invitation to Dalyell Scholars. So was NOT expecting that hahaha, and also a little bit confusing, because I thought that this program was for like 98+ ATAR people, and no way would I have gotten that ATAR.

I finally checked UAC to find that I had received an ATAR of 95.75! (I worked out that the Dalyell invitation was due to my future leaders scheme nomination, as the ATAR needed for that was 95. This solved the mystery!) So I guess I will probably go to the USYD info day tomorrow for the Dalyell session. Too bad there aren't any bullet trains in Sydney - that would make the 1.5hr commute a lot faster. 

So, since all this USYD craziness, I still prefer the UOW course at this stage. But having the option to study at USYD, as a Sydney-sider, would be more convenient. So who knows what will be my final pick.

[kauac]

Hi...

It's been a while, and I guess this shall be my last post in this HSC journey journal.

Officially got the B Sci / M Nutrition & Dietetics @ USYD in the first round offers. Never expected to get this at the start of the year, oh how the tides have changed! Which leaves me with decision of choosing between USYD & UOW - uggh! I hate making decisions, so good thing I have a year to think about it!

This year I begin my Year 13 gap year on the 4th of February - a little earlier than uni time. O-week constitutes a week-long camp at a conference centre. It will be pretty intense, with lots of extra classes and having to get to know 60 odd people, but I guess I like a challenge every now and then. I am pretty terrified about it though, as I get socially drained very easily, but hopefully it will be better than I expect.

I might start a gap year journal, if I am inclined. I would definitely have a lot of content to write about in the Fiji mission in July, but I don't know if I would have internet access there.

Nevertheless, I have run the HSC marathon, jumped over many hurdles, and made it to the end, being very proud of what I have achieved and learnt along the way. It seems that what looms ahead is a giant decathlon, as life becomes busy and pulls me in a dozen different directions.

[Insert squeaking of the PA system at the athletics centre]
Katie has passed the finish line and is signing off on her HSC Journey Journal. Please give a round of applause as she runs her victory lap.