Post by: Joseph41 on June 27, 2017, 05:01:12 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/Jy9hUqi.png)
Hey y'all!
Exciting news coming your way. :) on Saturday, 15 July, Stephen Zhang - known as zsteve around these traps - will be holding an "Ask Me Anything" session.
This is amazingly good news for those of you in VCE at the moment (or in the future), and a great opportunity to ask one of VCE's highest achievers how exactly he did it.
Who is zsteve?
Spoiler
For those who don't know, Stephen is one of Australia's best VCE tutors, and he knows a thing or two about the system. He graduated in 2015, with a perfect 99.95 ATAR.
- 50 raw in Chemistry.
- 48 raw in Methods.
- 48 raw in Physics.
- 47 raw in Specialist Maths.
- 46 raw in English Language.
As if that's not absurd enough, he also studied uni extension mathematics, and scored the maximum 5.0 increment.
For his efforts, he achieved a Premier's Award as a Top All-Round High Achiever. Pretty impressive.
Since finishing his own VCE, he's delivered free lectures to literally thousands of VCE students across the state. He's currently studying a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, plus a concurrent Diploma in Applied Mathematics for good measure.
Further to all that, zsteve is one of the ATAR Notes Forum's most known members. A moderator, he's the reigning Forum MVP after hundreds and hundreds of helpful posts.
- 50 raw in Chemistry.
- 48 raw in Methods.
- 48 raw in Physics.
- 47 raw in Specialist Maths.
- 46 raw in English Language.
As if that's not absurd enough, he also studied uni extension mathematics, and scored the maximum 5.0 increment.
For his efforts, he achieved a Premier's Award as a Top All-Round High Achiever. Pretty impressive.
Since finishing his own VCE, he's delivered free lectures to literally thousands of VCE students across the state. He's currently studying a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, plus a concurrent Diploma in Applied Mathematics for good measure.
Further to all that, zsteve is one of the ATAR Notes Forum's most known members. A moderator, he's the reigning Forum MVP after hundreds and hundreds of helpful posts.
Spoiler
It's a pretty simple process!
This thread will remain locked for a little while to allow you time to think of your most burning questions for Stephen. It will be opened a few days before July 15. At that point (and on the day), you can send through your questions - and Stephen will answer them!
To ask a question, you'll first need to register a free account. Then, you can just scroll down to the bottom of the thread, and post your message using the "Quick Reply" function.
Over that Saturday, zsteve will get through to answer each and every one of your questions. :) It's that easy!
This thread will remain locked for a little while to allow you time to think of your most burning questions for Stephen. It will be opened a few days before July 15. At that point (and on the day), you can send through your questions - and Stephen will answer them!
To ask a question, you'll first need to register a free account. Then, you can just scroll down to the bottom of the thread, and post your message using the "Quick Reply" function.
Over that Saturday, zsteve will get through to answer each and every one of your questions. :) It's that easy!
Spoiler
So long as it adheres to the Forum Rules, anything at all!
NOTE: To ask a question, you'll first need to register a free account. Then, you can just scroll down to the bottom of the thread, and post your message using the "Quick Reply" function.
Stephen will now introduce himself below. :D Remember: a question unasked is simply wasted potential!
Post by: zsteve on July 12, 2017, 06:31:07 pm
As mentioned above, my name is zsteve, and I've been a member of the AN forums ever since I started my VCE :) AN has always been a great place and I've had many good memories during my time here, ranging from intense academic discussions to late-night savagery on the IRC channel.
A bit about me - so I graduated VCE in 2015 and I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as well as diploma in Applied Maths. I'm not too sure what I want to do in the future, but it will definitely be science related (and hopefully have some maths as well :) ). Shortly after starting uni I began doing work here and there for ATAR Notes (and here I am now!).
When I'm not studying/working/sleeping on public transport, my hobbies include computer programming (#l33t), spending time with friends, aaaand running and going to the gym (like ok pls, let me continue believing that this is a "hobby" -- I haven't been to the gym in like 2 months :P).
Sooooo.... hit me up with any questions you may have =)
Post by: Anonymous_ on July 12, 2017, 06:41:25 pm
How many students are there doing the same degree as you?
Do you know how many students there are doing Bachelor of Biomedical Science and how many of them usually try out for a postgrad degree in MD?
Post by: Calebark on July 12, 2017, 06:44:14 pm
1- Do you regret not attending a 'real' (for lack of a better word) secondary school for VCE?
2- What's your favourite joke?
3- Would Melbourne Uni or Monash Uni win in a fight?
Post by: Bri MT on July 12, 2017, 07:46:11 pm
Hope this isn't too many questions
VCE:
1. I'm wondering if you prioritised your subjects much or at all (spending more time on methods over chem for example)
2. What, if there are any, specific studying techniques apply for Eng Lang (specifically I would like to know how to improve written responses)
3. Did you spend practically every-waking-moment focusing on your studies?
4. Did you learn how to be ok with mistakes/how?
Science at UniMelb
1. Do people co-operate or is there a vibe of competitive animosity?
2. How long does it take for the science to feel real rather than very simplified?
3. Can you actually enjoy the nature aspects of campus or is it just too chaotic during semester?
Thankyou :)
Post by: sweetiepi on July 12, 2017, 07:49:12 pm
1. What VCE subject do regret not doing?
2. Which is better- Chemistry or Physics?
3. Chocolate milk or coffee?
Post by: bsdfjnlkasn on July 12, 2017, 08:48:42 pm
Well done on your incredible result :D
Post by: Glasses on July 12, 2017, 09:35:32 pm
Oh and...
1. Were you expecting and/or aiming for the score you did?
2. At uni, do you find yourself having the same level of dedication and the same aspiration to do extraordinarily well as (I assume) you had during VCE?
Post by: Quantum44 on July 12, 2017, 09:42:19 pm
2. Which topic did you find the hardest in spesh and why?
3. Did you have a rigid study regime leading up to the exams?
4. What is your favourite programming language?
Post by: The Raven on July 12, 2017, 09:56:33 pm
Post by: miguel_1 on July 12, 2017, 10:22:01 pm
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want - Ps. 231/ Are you religious?
2/ While completing VCE, did you regularly go to church as well?
3/ Did you have a casual job while doing VCE?
4/ Why did you choose to complete your bachelor of science and diploma at UoM?
5/ Is the vibe at UoM as bad as people describe it to be?
6/ Did you take a gap year before going to uni?
7/ Favourite scientist? Why?
8/ Do you believe we are only living in a simulation?
Post by: Erstwhile on July 12, 2017, 10:33:20 pm
1. How did you fight procrastination?
2. What was your worst subject and how did you get better at it?
3. How many hours do I have to study everyday to achieve a 90+ ATAR?
Thanks for doing this Zsteve, best wishes! ;D
Post by: exit on July 12, 2017, 10:34:12 pm
Hey, Steve:
Thank you- Your Chem lecture was nothing short of excellent. I read that you found EngLang difficult and got a tutor.
- Do you have any tips/tricks to improving in EngLang to stand out ( i guess this is multiturtle's question, but more based on the 'stand out' aspect rather than 'getting good' ) and how did tuition help you in Englang? (was it private or group?)
-How many hours did you study a day? And in term 2/3, what was the average hours/day you put into study and how long are your 'study blocks' on average?
-Could you do a breakdown of how you allocated your time for each subject you did? (i.e. did find that you needed to study more consistently or more or harder for maths compared to sciences? How did you allocate your time for studying for Englang?) Sciences, UMEP, Maths, Englang all require different amounts of time and approaches i imagine.
-How many quotes and how many examples did you memorise for EngLang?
-What is your opinion on people memorising phrases or paragraphs or even essays (then adapting them) for EngLang?
Thank you once again! ;D
Post by: Sconey on July 12, 2017, 10:41:23 pm
Post by: PhoenixxFire on July 13, 2017, 01:01:57 pm
How many hours did you spend on it (rough week guide)?
How hard did you find it?
Why did you choose English Language over regular English or literature?
Post by: clarke54321 on July 13, 2017, 02:27:10 pm
Thanks for answering all these questions! :)
Did you continually have confidence in your own abilities? If so, how did you maintain this?
Post by: TheCommando on July 13, 2017, 02:54:03 pm
Post by: amigos on July 13, 2017, 04:58:36 pm
Post by: rocksonchan on July 13, 2017, 05:00:51 pm
Post by: dan0038 on July 13, 2017, 07:25:52 pm
1. How far ahead did you go with each study (like were you done with the book exercises by end of unit 3? )
2. How many exams did you do for each subject?
3. What rank were you in each subject by the end of unit 4?
4. How did you start working for atarnotes?
5. How many tutors did you have for year 12?
6. How uni maths?
Post by: Sconey on July 13, 2017, 07:30:52 pm
Did you work ahead on the holidays?
Post by: KANYEWEST on July 13, 2017, 07:38:50 pm
My question to you is regarding motivation!
In all honesty- what are the few things that kept you motivated- throughout the year? (any motivational quote, or something you would recommend?)
Thanksssssssss!
Post by: Aaron4477 on July 13, 2017, 08:18:54 pm
Post by: GalacticProcess on July 13, 2017, 08:44:32 pm
I have a few questions. (I am not sure if any of them have already been answered and if they have, skip them)
1. Did you accelerate any subjects in year 11?
2. Did you go through any periods when lack of motivation (possibly due to drop in marks?) impacted your results? If so, how did you overcome this?
3. What marks did you get throughout the year (SACS) to achieve a 99.95 ATAR?
4. Would you say your school was competitive or fairly relaxed?
5. Was your social life impacted because of VCE (friendships, parties, get-togethers, etc.)?
6. What were your study habits like? Did you study everyday and have a set routine or did schedules fluctuate?
7. Did you play any sports throughout VCE?
Sorry for asking you so many questions but a 99.95 ATAR is so fascinating and there are so many things to ask haha! Once again, if you feel as if you have already answered a question, please skip it. :)
Just another question... how will these questions be answered? Will you post on this thread?
Thanks a lot for doing this by the way! ;D
Post by: captkirk on July 14, 2017, 12:30:51 am
1-you know how in vce science subjects you have thick 300-800 page textbooks which you cover in a whole year. eg (biology, physics and chemistry).
In university the textbooks are much thicker. Do you basicly go through the whole textbook in a semester (5-6 months)?
2-A simple uni question that I've Been thinking for a while.
For science lectures, you know how you have to write notes, does the lecturer person just buzz through the PowerPoints? If they do this how do you write down all the notes? What happens if you missed a fair bit??
3-Is UoM science any good? I've heard some people say it's not great. I'm just assuming these people are Monash students who try to make UoM look bad.
4-UoM or Latrobe for science
Thankksssssss!…
Post by: asdf666 on July 14, 2017, 06:01:27 pm
One of my teachers told me i could, while others have said it docent work that way!
what do you think?? :) :D :D :D ;D
Post by: jh18316 on July 14, 2017, 07:39:41 pm
Just wondering if you have any tips and tricks for me to revise for my end of year exams.
also what advice would you give me for my Physics SAC's?, finally how did you go about making your summary sheet for physics?
Thank you so much in advance :) :)
Post by: Gogo14 on July 14, 2017, 11:02:12 pm
1. On average how many hours did u study vs should study in yr12?
2. How often do u run and usually how far?
3. what motivates u? Like what pushed you to keep going through vce and achieve high?
4. What in ur opinion separates the good studnets from the outstanding ones? Esp. In spesh, phy, meth and chem
5. Where do u want to be in 5 years time careerwise?
6. Best parts about uni life?
7. What is ur biggest regret looking back at vce?
And lastly....
8. What is the secret ingredient to doing so well
/15 marks
Thanks!!!
Post by: captkirk on July 15, 2017, 02:29:16 am
1-Are university science exams hard? I'm assuming it would be because you need to know/remember lots of information. But if this is the case, wouldn't it be very hard to get a H1?
2-what breadth subjects did you do/are you doing? Are these subjects easy or hard?
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 08:55:27 am
Hey, got a few questions:Several thousand students in Science :P but it's a very very broad course, which means just because they do Science too doesn't imply that we have anything in common. I'd say there are a good 200+ people going down a similar path to mine (depending on how you measure similarity), i.e. people doing applied maths OR biochem. People doing applied maths AND biochem? LOL AFAIK I'm the only one #feels :'(
How many students are there doing the same degree as you?
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Do you know how many students there are doing Bachelor of Biomedical Science and how many of them usually try out for a postgrad degree in MD?There are roughly 400-500 students enrolled in BBiomed at UoM and my guess is that 80-90% of them will apply for MD or Dent. Definitely most of them! Apparently the atmosphere in the biomed cohort is very med-oriented (hence the name I guess).
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 09:15:21 am
Hey, thanks for doing this!Not really - I guess given my circumstances it was well suited. Having been at uni for a year and a half now, looking back I don't really see much that I actually regret, I mean, I was pretty happy throughout Year 12 so I guess that says I didn't have massive problems :P
1- Do you regret not attending a 'real' (for lack of a better word) secondary school for VCE?
It hasn't impacted me at all at uni - I think I've been able to blend in with the crowd pretty well all the way through (or so I think)
[/quote]
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2- What's your favourite joke?I've heard a good many jokes in my time, but none seem to come to mind :P (^ actually I do, but a lot of them I fear are politically incorrect so I won't mention them here HAHA).
Here's a good one
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"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems" (P. Erdos)
Addendum: American coffee is good for lemmas.
aaaand another one...
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Math is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
I don't have any biology ones :( But I DO have biology memes
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3- Would Melbourne Uni or Monash Uni win in a fight?
UNIMELB :D (depends on fight for *what* though)
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 10:46:18 am
Hey,Initially, I didn't really prioritise too much in VCE, i.e. I tried to devote roughly equal proportions of my time and energy to all my subjects. As the year wore on, however, I gained an idea of the relative difficulties of subjects (e.g. Methods easier than Specialist, Chem is hard, Physics is easy, etc.) as well as an expectation for which subjects I wanted to be in my top four (EngLang, Spec, Meth, Chem). All in all, in terms of amount of effort spent on each subject:
Hope this isn't too many questions
VCE:
1. I'm wondering if you prioritised your subjects much or at all (spending more time on methods over chem for example)
\[\text{specialist maths} \sim \text{chemistry} \sim \text{englang}> \text{methods} > \text{UMEP maths} \sim \text{physics}\]
lol.
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2. What, if there are any, specific studying techniques apply for Eng Lang (specifically I would like to know how to improve written responses)Practice, practice and loads of practice (mainly for analytical commentary and essay). I used Kirsten Fox's Green Book heaps (although I hear it is no longer green). I kept a 'cuttings journal' throughout Units 3 and 4 (it formed part of my SAC assessment) and read up on news and media regularly (few times per week).
I compiled noteworthy examples from my cuttings journal into a document on OneNote and grouped them by topic (e.g. overt/covert norms, national identity, Australian English, ethnicity, etc.) and I tried to memorise key facts (references, who/what/when/where, and so on) that would help me out when trying to build discussion points in my essay responses.
I spent a lot of time planning and writing out essay responses in the second half of the year - in fact there are some very good resources for essay prompts on the English Language section of the forum. I obtained a good deal of practice from those, as well as green book + past exams. Personally, for essays I did them at first un-timed, and then under timed conditions after I had built a certain level of confidence.
Analytical commentary was more straightforward than the essay, but it was challenging to learn how to structure it. I ended up taking the subsystems approach because the contextual approach (going top-down and all subsystems at once) felt too messy and convoluted. Again, practice helped me be able to pick out significant features and provide an adequate discussion.
Englang was a tough subject - I finished the exam with like 3 minutes to go :'D
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3. Did you spend practically every-waking-moment focusing on your studies?NO. I spent a significant portion of my time at my desk throughout the year (shall we say 15-20%) looking at maths/chem/physics for fun (i.e. not studying for VCE) or playing around with other things. Towards the end of the year there were periods when I did, though. You know how it is ;)
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4. Did you learn how to be ok with mistakes/how?I was and still am quite the perfectionist; a big fault of mine which has come back and bitten me in the past (and probably will in the future too). I need to be more lenient with myself/more forgiving of myself at times (what my mum says to me all the time). I've made heaps of mistakes and I'm not sure I'd say I was "ok" with them at the time but definitely I've gotten over all of them.
Personally, I don't think it's necessary (or maybe good?) to be 'okay' with myself making mistakes, I mean, I think it's natural to be annoyed when mistakes happen; but definitely it's something that I get over with in a few minutes/hours/days/weeks ... or years :)
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Science at UniMelb
1. Do people co-operate or is there a vibe of competitive animosity?
2. How long does it take for the science to feel real rather than very simplified?
3. Can you actually enjoy the nature aspects of campus or is it just too chaotic during semester?
Thankyou :)
1. Science is pretty much fragmented so I can't really say - it differs depending on *what* in Science. Cooperation is present but it's always on a small scale (like, I've gotten together with 3-4 friends to revise for exams/study), but it's not a big thing that everyone is involved in. People tend to form small clusters and stick to them (much like colonies of cells on an agar plate HAHA)
Not much competition in the areas of Science I've been in; the only really competitive place is with students wanting to do med (GAMSAT preparation so on). Contrast this to biomed which is quite competitive (or at least 80-90% of the students want to get into med, hence some sort of group mentality of 'we all gonna get into med')
2. This is a tough question HAHA - it's always a learning process and it kind of never ends. In Year 12, I felt like uni would be so cool and interesting, like I'd learn all this cool stuff. Sure, uni is like 1000 times more information than what you learn in VCE, but you grow to cope with that. Now that I'm halfway through my degree, I realise that undergrad is only the tip of an iceberg (PhD is where it's at xD).
I guess "Science" becomes real when you apply it to real-world problems though (contrast this to textbook based learning). Depending on your path, this can either be a long time or a short time.
3. The Melb Uni campus is <3. Semester is pretty chaotic though, and I don't get much time to lie around on South Lawn (esp when it's winter and South Lawn = muddy football field lol) but the campus itself has a nice soothing effect :)
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 10:48:57 am
Hey zsteve!Biology OR Chinese (#feels :( )
1. What VCE subject do regret not doing?
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2. Which is better- Chemistry or Physics?C H E M I S T R Y
But physics is cool too =)
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3. Chocolate milk or coffee?
Coffee. Why ask a question if you already know the answer :P.
By coffee, I mean long blacks btw, no sugar and no milk :)
I'll have none of the Coles-brand coffee-flavoured skim milk thank you very much :P
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 10:54:19 am
Did you have many set backs in year 12 as in, in terms of marks? Any advice for getting over them?
Well done on your incredible result :D
Yes, I found English Language pretty disappointing in terms of marks (never seemed to do too well on SACs, despite trying really hard. I guess things kind of got better towards the end of the year). Um, the attitude I took towards it was just to make sure I did all I could, so that when VCE was over I wouldn't have any regrets. Even if I got worse than I hoped for at the end of the year, at least I would have the comfort of knowing that I did my best. So in terms of setbacks over marks, I'd just say try to learn from your mistakes and do your personal best. It's normal to feel bad about them, but don't let them take your motivation away.
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 11:01:44 am
Can I please have your autograph? #fanboyingHow do I put it on the forums :P
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Oh and...Definitely not. Throughout Year 12 I never even thought about it - flipping through the UniMelb prospectus I came across the scholarships page; my reaction was like "pffft nah nah nah not relevant lol". I didn't really have a dead-set goal in terms of ATAR or what course I wanted to get into at the beginning of the year, but my general focus was on doing as well as I could.
1. Were you expecting and/or aiming for the score you did?
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2. At uni, do you find yourself having the same level of dedication and the same aspiration to do extraordinarily well as (I assume) you had during VCE?Probably more so than in year 12. I'm working a lot harder overall now than I was two years ago (so, less sleep), but it's also WAYYYYY more fun. Uni is a lot harder (but also more rewarding and fun, don't forget that bit) than VCE, and one step closer to 'real life', whatever that is. I guess a lot of my motivation stems from really enjoying what I do, which in my opinion is really important when one makes choices in life :).
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 11:08:05 am
1. How many practice exams did you do for maths?Methods: roughly 40 (exam 1 + 2 count as two, or roughly 20 complete sets)
Specialist: same as Methods (give or take)
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2. Which topic did you find the hardest in spesh and why?Circular functions. Because. It. Is. Hell.
Yeah I just wasn't really into it unfortunately - circular functions were too loopy and made my head go round and round. Studying for it was pretty aimless - I'd end up just going in circles :P
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3. Did you have a rigid study regime leading up to the exams?Yes - I kind of made sure I apportioned my time in a well-thought-out way for each of my subjects. The amount of time I spent reflected a combination of subject difficulty, my relative aptitude for the subject, my desired mark for the subject, and so on. Generally, I tried to study regularly for each subject more often rather than sporadically binging on subjects. I did binge study once for English Language, and it did not turn out well.
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4. What is your favourite programming language?Hands down C/C++
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 11:09:47 am
Applied Maths vs Statistics Diploma. Which one to choose?
Understand and be wise my friend :)
A statistician is someone who is good with numbers but lacks the personality to be an accountant.
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 11:36:25 am
Hey, Steveee! Thanks for taking the time to do this! ;D1/ Are you religious?Indeed I am, my family is Christian :)
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2/ While completing VCE, did you regularly go to church as well?Yep, I regularly went (and I still do now that I'm at uni). Something that I've always done.
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3/ Did you have a casual job while doing VCE?Not during VCE, I stopped working in around Feb-ish because I had too much on my hands (5 subjects + UMEP). In the 3 or so years prior to VCE, though, I worked a couple of hours per week doing lawn mowing. Made a fair bit of money and also kept fit LOL. That said, in my opinion having a casual job through VCE is a great thing. If you have a job, I'd strongly recommend keeping it (of course, there are other considerations to be made, but for what it's worth having that work experience is super important once you go into the real world).
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4/ Why did you choose to complete your bachelor of science and diploma at UoM?I feel like the mentality at UoM is a lot more research-focused and relaxed, and there's a lot of flexibility (like my interests have changed since Year 12, and I've not been pigeonholed into a certain major area of study so I've been able to adjust my study plans to match). Because I was in the UMEP program I also copped a lot of UoM propaganda, so here I am.
I guess I wasn't really into professional-jobs stuff like engineering or commerce and so on, hence I wasn't really considering professional qualifications or number of years in a degree.
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5/ Is the vibe at UoM as bad as people describe it to be?You'll have to tell me what people say about UoM first before I can answer. At the moment, I'm going "the vibe? what vibe?"
.. or flashback to The Castle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gls09kO-8DE
(https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2014-01/enhanced/webdr06/29/2/anigif_enhanced-32068-1390980461-13.gif)
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6/ Did you take a gap year before going to uni?Nope, was too keen to get started lol
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7/ Favourite scientist? Why?Ooft hard one. Hmmm... if you can classify mathematicians as scientists, probably Leonhard Euler.
A scientist that amazes me? John von Neumann
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8/ Do you believe we are only living in a simulation?Neil deGrasse Tyson apparently does. I don't :)
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 12:04:13 pm
Hi! I just have 3 simple questions I want to ask.Firstly, I enjoyed the subjects I did so that helped a fair bit motivation-wise. Additionally, I felt that a small side-benefit of doing 5 VCE subjects (+UMEP lol) was that I was always busy. In a good way, this meant that I didn't really have time to procrastinate. Of course, there are many undesirable side effects from taking such a work load HAHA, but keeping busy helped.
1. How did you fight procrastination?
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2. What was your worst subject and how did you get better at it?Quite honestly English Language was the subject I had the least confidence in, and it was a very very gradual road to improvement throughout the year. I managed to improve quite a bit by consistent practice with analytical commentaries and essays. The key was to keep trying :)
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3. How many hours do I have to study everyday to achieve a 90+ ATAR?There really isn't an answer to this question - it's not like "input x hours" and "output y ATAR" - it's different for everyone because of what subjects they're taking, their aptitude for those subjects and the amount of background they have, personal circumstances, school, etc. etc. etc.
How much time to spend studying is really something that every student needs to decide on a personal level - start by thinking about how you've performed overall in your studies relative to your goals :)
Post by: zsteve on July 15, 2017, 12:19:38 pm
I sent you a pm a few days ago, just pasting some of it here since you haven't replied yet:I ended up getting a tutor for English Language because I needed someone to mark the essays I wrote, so 'tutoring' was pretty much me writing a ton of essays and getting my tutor to read them and offer me feedback. Hmmm... to add on my earlier response, I think practice is really important to standing out as well. Most importantly, I think it's important to read example essays and look at the way arguments are composed and how the entire essay provides a comprehensive and coherent response to the prompt. It's really easy to give a one-sided response in essays that overlooks a major aspect of the question, and that's where I often lost marks - failing to discuss things. Try to look deeper than the bare minimum (like, maybe learn some interesting but less well-known examples, or learn some additional metalanguage). Also, time management in the exam is really important because it's really really tight.
Hey, Steve:
Thank you- Your Chem lecture was nothing short of excellent. I read that you found EngLang difficult and got a tutor.
- Do you have any tips/tricks to improving in EngLang to stand out ( i guess this is multiturtle's question, but more based on the 'stand out' aspect rather than 'getting good' ) and how did tuition help you in Englang? (was it private or group?)
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-How many hours did you study a day? And in term 2/3, what was the average hours/day you put into study and how long are your 'study blocks' on average?Difficult to answer, because I don't think it's a good idea to compare amount of time spent 'studying'. To a certain level, I think the amount of time spent studying should be your business and yours alone - comparisons don't really work (i.e. I might have to spend more (or less?) time than someone else to achieve the same end result). I would, however, encourage you to think critically and broadly about your study habits and optimise for what works for you.
Comparison of study hours is kind of like comparison of how much you sleep... something I engage in unfortunately (very unhealthy but I do it) - the less you sleep, the more glorious.... :P
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-Could you do a breakdown of how you allocated your time for each subject you did? (i.e. did find that you needed to study more consistently or more or harder for maths compared to sciences? How did you allocate your time for studying for Englang?) Sciences, UMEP, Maths, Englang all require different amounts of time and approaches i imagine.
I've responded to a similar question here: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg961970#msg961970
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-How many quotes and how many examples did you memorise for EngLang?Umm I can't remember HAHA - I tried to memorise a fairly large bank of examples (i.e. for each topic, e.g. "Aus English" or "Euphemisms" I'd try to have a handful, like 5+ useful ones). In the end, there would be two or three examples for each topic that would be extremely robust in that I could integrate them into a broad variety of arguments. Those were the ones that I tended to know the best, but I always kept extra ones on hand for backup. (some of these backup ones came in handy on the exam I recall)
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-What is your opinion on people memorising phrases or paragraphs or even essays (then adapting them) for EngLang?
I found that, from a lot of practice, I ended up remembering quite a few common arguments and examples off by heart (i.e. I would have engrained the structure of the argument, like the skeleton of the paragraph with space for specific examples and quotes), but this was something that happened organically (i.e. not intentionally per se, but just because I was practicing a lot). I wouldn't agree with actually memorising essays because that kind of ruins the fun, and if it's not done right, the fact that a memorised plug-n-play paragraph was used sticks out like a sore thumb.
Post by: Kittocks on July 15, 2017, 12:44:19 pm
1. How early did you begin exam revision?
2. Did you work ahead in any of your subjects? If so how far ahead?
2. Since you were going to the distance education centre, how did they distribute SACs for you?
Post by: Anonymous_ on July 15, 2017, 01:43:59 pm
Well, time to get cracking :)Thanks for your reply.
Several thousand students in Science :P but it's a very very broad course, which means just because they do Science too doesn't imply that we have anything in common. I'd say there are a good 200+ people going down a similar path to mine (depending on how you measure similarity), i.e. people doing applied maths OR biochem. People doing applied maths AND biochem? LOL AFAIK I'm the only one #feels :'(There are roughly 400-500 students enrolled in BBiomed at UoM and my guess is that 80-90% of them will apply for MD or Dent. Definitely most of them! Apparently the atmosphere in the biomed cohort is very med-oriented (hence the name I guess).
When you mean 400-500 students enrolled in Biomed, are you including the whole number of students (i.e the students from first years, second and third)? If so, do you know how many are there ONLY in the third year's batch(i.e the ones which are graduating soon)?
Post by: chelsmansfield on July 15, 2017, 01:56:04 pm
Post by: christinett_ on July 15, 2017, 01:58:03 pm
1. How much study you did each night and what it consisted of?
2. How many hours in a week of study?
3. How early did you start working on full practice exams?
4. What are your tips if i am failing chemistry right now but need to get a decent study score for my uni course?
Thanks
Post by: christinett_ on July 15, 2017, 01:59:16 pm
Post by: Absurdo on July 15, 2017, 01:59:59 pm
A few quick question:
1. What was the hardest part in Specialist Math
2. Bachelor of Biomed vs Bachelor of science, is there a lot of differences?
Thanks.
Post by: diin.u on July 15, 2017, 02:12:29 pm
Um doing VCE in another 3 months, what tips can you give me for methods and chemistry?
THankyou
Post by: Patriciady on July 15, 2017, 02:15:17 pm
Post by: Ashjames on July 15, 2017, 02:19:04 pm
I was just wondering, because I haven't stated any exam prep, How the heck do I start??? I just can't bring myself to doing it!!!
Thanks :)
Post by: Syndicate on July 15, 2017, 02:24:20 pm
Just a few questions :P
1. Which company practice exams do recommend for specialist and methods (ie MAV, TSSM etc...)
2. Which topic did you struggle the most with in specialist and chemistry?
Post by: Joseph41 on July 15, 2017, 02:29:08 pm
Post by: anon_1 on July 15, 2017, 02:32:11 pm
- How did you structure and make your notes, and how long did it take you to make them? How can you make notes faster from textbook content?
- What did you do for the 3-4 months leading up to your exams in terms of revision? How many practise exams did you do?
- If you average low scores for one of your subjects in the first semester, is it possible to still get approx 40 raw score if you average 95 and above in your SACs and exam for that subject?
- I also do a uni subject, and I wanted to know how that increment is calculated. Can I calculate my own increment if I have my Sem 1 and 2 overall grades? And if you don't mind me asking, what was your study score increment?
I don't have the prerequisite of Maths Methods, to pursue the Commerce degree I want at either Melbourne or Monash. My teacher has advised me to do an Arts degree at Melbourne and do subjects that will be the equivalent of methods, and then transfer into the Commerce degree in Sem 2. However, the advisor at a Melb uni open day told me that this may not be the safest plan because there may not be any spots opened in the commerce degree subjects in Sem 2, for me to transition into. So could you advise me as to whether or not this is the best way? and any other pathways that could help me overcome this prerequisite issue.
Sorry that was a lot but thank you so much!!!
Post by: InfinityStarex on July 15, 2017, 03:07:53 pm
Great achievements btw, I wonder how you did it, I'm dreading year 12.
Just wanted to know how you coped with specialist maths, what should I consider if I'd like to take it as a 3/4 and what were you scoring in 1/2? Did you receive any tuition for any of your subjects? And any tips for chemistry and eng Lang and spesh? In terms of notes, did you take any or find them effective for English language? How much did u study in a day?
Thanks! ;)
Post by: Xaki.z on July 15, 2017, 03:14:50 pm
I was wondering what marks did u need to average in order to get above 45 as ur study score?
:)
Post by: -273.15 on July 15, 2017, 03:28:47 pm
What would your advice be for getting a really high study score in chemistry and physics?
Thanks :)
Post by: Yertle the Turtle on July 15, 2017, 04:32:31 pm
As someone who did Specialist Maths by distance, what tips do you have, and what was the hardest part of doing it by distance?
I am also doing Specialist by distance and need help!
Also what did you enjoy most about Physics and Chemistry?
Thanks,
Marv
Post by: Joseph41 on July 15, 2017, 04:46:55 pm
Stephen is happy to continue answering any questions asked today (he'll respond either tonight or tomorrow). :)
Post by: Josh Moresi on July 15, 2017, 04:57:20 pm
Thank you so much for doing this.
I just have some general questions,
How did you best prepare for your end of year exams?
Did you break up study? if so how long would you take breaks for?
Thanks again
Post by: dani_b19 on July 15, 2017, 05:04:49 pm
I am currently doing Chemistry and Methods (which I find to be very difficult!)
I was wondering if you had any tips regarding how to study for Chemistry and Methods.
When I try to study for a maths test, I don't know where to start (apart from doing practice questions!) and I was hoping you could give me some tips?
Thank you
Post by: geek123456 on July 15, 2017, 05:20:54 pm
First of all congratulations on such an amazing result,and thank you for doing this :)
Just some quick questions that I really want you to address are :
1. What do you mean by "studying smarter and not harder" in terms of VCE,and how did this understanding help you in achieving your goal of a 99.95 ATAR ?
2.Do you think tutoring is directly proportional to a good ATAR ?
Did you get any kind of tutoring for your subjects?If yes ,then from where?
3. I am not doing spesh ,instead I chose to do methods!Do you think not doing spesh,will have a negative impact on my chances of getting into medicine?
4.How did you manage Uni Maths in schools with other year twelve subjects? Did your timings sometimes clash and resulted you to miss some classes of school?
5.How early do you think one should start revising for the VCE 3-4 units exams?
6.Did you attempt the UMAT?If yes,when did you start preparing for it and how?
7.Do you think GAT should be taken seriously and it DOES have an impact on your ATAR?Did you prepare anything for it before hand(e.g looking over past exams etc)?
8.What are your tips for getting a good score in methods?
9.How many hours did you study a day ? Were you a "nerd" in school?
10.How to STOP procrastinating?
11.Do you think a bad cohort lessens your chances of getting a good ATAR,even if you perform well?
12.Do you think extra curricular go hand in hand with a good result for getting a good place in uni ?If yes,what kind of extra curricular should one consider doing to get into a science field?
13.Can you state some of the things you wish you knew in year 12?
14.What was your reaction when you received your result? :)
Sorry for so many questions! Thanking you in advance :)
Post by: fardina.ahmareen on July 15, 2017, 05:32:05 pm
How can I practice remembering the rules and contexts for Chem? Easy method on doing this?
Thank you :)
Post by: locklan2 on July 15, 2017, 05:37:06 pm
What do you think, in each of your subjects, is the difference between a score of 40-45, and 45-50?
Thanks for the AMA.
Post by: lazaward on July 15, 2017, 05:54:39 pm
1. With an ATAR like that why didn't you decide to go into something like medicine?
2. Do you have any advice for a struggling methods student?
3. How were you doing prior to year 12 (what kind of marks were you getting in year 11)?
4. How did you get a 99.95 because that is amazing
Post by: v1shnu on July 15, 2017, 05:57:55 pm
Post by: joe.harbott on July 15, 2017, 06:27:21 pm
My question is... What are the most useful resources for studying methods that you found most effective? Or even more useful, for a struggling student of the subject what should I be looking to get my hands on?
Cheers.
Thanks, Joel
Post by: Angela Jia on July 15, 2017, 07:59:22 pm
1. What're your top three tips for score a 99.95 ATAR
2. I am not really good at English, so do you think only reading will help me or are there any other ways?
3. Do you do any other co-curricular activities besides studying in year 12?
4. What's your dream during your life spam? :)
Thank you so much and hope you enjoy your Uni life!!
Post by: captkirk on July 15, 2017, 08:56:41 pm
Would you recommend someone to do a summer class?
Post by: TheCommando on July 15, 2017, 09:01:24 pm
Post by: Anonymous_ on July 15, 2017, 10:02:35 pm
That's all assuming you have done the HSC papers or tried it out at least, if you haven't, you should definitely have a look at the Extension 1 and 2 Math papers (also the Phys, Chem and Bio papers) and see which one is harder: VCE or HSC.
Post by: Hiea on July 15, 2017, 10:05:20 pm
What did you feel you could improve on during VCE (if any, haha)? And what did you feel were the things you did well during VCE?
Thank you again!
Post by: forbiddensoulxx on July 16, 2017, 12:04:12 am
Post by: atar.notes.user on July 16, 2017, 12:24:33 am
What's your advice for someone who completely flunked (not completely but sorta) unit 1and2 chemistry, hence has a weak foundation, and is now getting super stressed about their performance in year 12?
If it isn't obvious enough, I'm talking about myself 😂
How should I prepare myself to get a scaled 38+ as my SS?
Thanks! :))
Post by: Benji414 on July 16, 2017, 11:26:41 am
How did you STUDY FOR SPANISH? and What advice could you give me for learning italian quick within 3 Months!
Thank you soooo much!!
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 01:18:01 pm
Why did you choose English Language over I suppose the 'normal' English?
Kind of two reasons - I sort of enjoyed the idea of an English subject that focused more on the mechanics of language and how/why we use it to express identity and our view of the world, and also because I wasn't super-enthusiastic about the texts offered for English :P.
Overall, I reckon I enjoyed EngLang more than English (or what English I did in Units 1&2), despite EngLang being several orders of magnitude more tricky than English (as far as I know, of course! I only did mainstream English in Year 11)
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 01:26:51 pm
How did you study for English Language?See earlier response :) https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg961970#msg961970
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How many hours did you spend on it (rough week guide)?LOL I don't remember. Compared to my other maths/science subjects, it was definitely my weak spot. It fluctuated from minimal (4ish hours) to crazy (10+ hours/week). I think a major issue for English Language was that I didn't really "know" how to study for it, at least for the first half of the year. Towards the end of the year I think I established a study habit that worked for EngLang (I mean, the study skills I developed for sciences definitely didn't work for humanities haha)
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How hard did you find it?Pretty damn hard :P
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Why did you choose English Language over regular English or literature?See previous response :) Didn't really consider Lit as I wasn't really into it at the time.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 01:31:14 pm
Hey zsteve,
Thanks for answering all these questions! :)
Did you continually have confidence in your own abilities? If so, how did you maintain this?
Hey :) ahh I think I was quite confident for the sciences as the year wore on. I guess I did a lot of practice questions for those subjects, and the fact that I found most questions (e.g. those in textbooks or Checkpoints) doable/straightforward helped me develop a certain level of confidence. English Language, on the other hand, I wasn't really confident in throughout the year (even until after the exam really) - I guess it was simply because of its unpredictable nature (i.e. you don't know what prompts are going to turn up, and essay marking can be subjective, albeit less so than for mainstream English). I just didn't know what to expect!
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 01:35:37 pm
How much did u study in yr12 and how?
Hey! I think a previous response answers some of your questions: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg961970#msg961970
How I studied varied with the subject, but in general for the sciences I made study notes as I progressively went through each topic. I found that writing out notes enabled me to capture my level of understanding of the topic in question on paper, as well as assess exactly how much I understood of each topic. If I had a gap in my understanding or knowledge, I might not pick that up from simply reading the textbook. However, the moment I try to write out a dot-point outline of what I learned, I would notice that I lacked understanding (then, of course, I would do some more reading or googling until I understood it.... or gave up, which happened now and then)
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 01:43:28 pm
What was your typical 'school day' like?
Hmm... well I on busy days I liked to get up early (like 6-6:30am), go for a run, have breakfast, then get down to study nice and early (like 7am or 7:30am). I'm definitely an early morning person (sleeping in has very bad effects on me, like headaches and so on LOL). Then I'd study till like 10 or 11 at which I'd take a break, get some exercise, etc. Study some more, have lunch, then study some more HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
To be honest, it depended on how busy I was. Really busy days (like 4 SACs next week and stuff) meant I pretty much studied non-stop, whilst more relaxed days were well... more relaxed.
It needs to be mentioned that my current lifestyle is nothing like the above :P
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 01:44:49 pm
Are you single? ;)
My goodness you cheeky :P yes. but don't get any ideas. ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 01:54:55 pm
Hey my questions are the following:I tended to take my time with study throughout year 12. My philosophy was, no point rushing to finish but neglecting the details, as this would only result in half-baked understanding of the course (and probably half-baked results). Rather, I felt it was better to take my time and go into full detail the first time around. I formally started my exam preparation for my subjects in roughly late August (I finished some subjects earlier than others). Trust me, the months between August and October were some of the most boring months of my life, grinding away at the practice exam mill. Don't make it longer than you have to :P
1. How far ahead did you go with each study (like were you done with the book exercises by end of unit 3? )
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2. How many exams did you do for each subject?Methods/Spesh: 40 (=~20 sets), Chem: ~40, Physics: ~15 (lol), EngLang: wrote a lot of essays (40+)
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4. How did you start working for atarnotes?ATAR Notes contacted me at the beginning of first year uni (in 2016), offering an opportunity to author the VCE Chemistry Topic Tests. So it took off from there I guess :)
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5. How many tutors did you have for year 12?Pretty much only got tutoring for Specialist Maths (because I was told it was super hard), and English Language (because I needed someone to mark my essays).
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6. How (was) uni maths?Really good - I wrote a really detailed review last year here: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=166384.msg888327#msg888327
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 01:58:28 pm
Did you accelerate subjects in Year 11?No - I would have liked to but for a bunch of reasons it didn't happen. I did a TAFE course (Business Admin) instead, that counted as a VET subject :)
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Did you work ahead on the holidays?Yep I did :) I took the holidays as a very precious 2 weeks to get ahead on course material. That didn't deter me from spending heaps of time relaxing (aka looking up cool maths on teh interwebs for fun) though ;)
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 02:02:57 pm
Hey Steve!Hey. Nice username. My philosophy was simple - I didn't want to have any regrets when I finished, like not working hard enough/being lazy/procrastinating. So I did my absolute best - to a certain extent, it wasn't exactly about getting marks - it was about me doing my best and pleasing myself.
My question to you is regarding motivation!
In all honesty- what are the few things that kept you motivated- throughout the year? (any motivational quote, or something you would recommend?)
Thanksssssssss!
Annoying things can happen in life, and we generally can't prevent them all. Nothing scared me more than screwing up and only being able to blame myself -- and I resolved not to let that happen.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 02:05:17 pm
How early did start end of year exam study/preperation and what did do. Like how many pratice exams per subject and did u only do pratice exams to prepareHey! See my earlier responses (sorry there seems to be a lot to read through, but I hope it's insightful!) https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg961995#msg961995, and https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg961970#msg961970
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 02:16:42 pm
Hey Steve!See previous response :)
I have a few questions. (I am not sure if any of them have already been answered and if they have, skip them)
1. Did you accelerate any subjects in year 11?
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2. Did you go through any periods when lack of motivation (possibly due to drop in marks?) impacted your results? If so, how did you overcome this?Yes, especially with English Language. See my previous responses :)
https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg962340#msg962340
https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg961972#msg961972
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3. What marks did you get throughout the year (SACS) to achieve a 99.95 ATAR?I won't answer this question in absolute terms because SAC marks are a fickle thing - they differ between different schools (and sometimes even between classes in the same school). However, I believe I was rank 1 except for English Language (I *think* - they don't reveal SAC marks)
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4. Would you say your school was competitive or fairly relaxed?Uhmmm... I'd say it seemed fairly relaxed. Distance Ed you know, can't really tell HAHA. My teachers were really good and super chilled though - they were excellent.
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5. Was your social life impacted because of VCE (friendships, parties, get-togethers, etc.)?Not really - I took time semi-regularly to catch up with existing friends and acquaintances. Actually I made quite a few new friendships during VCE that have endured from then until now, 2 years later. Regarding parties, I wasn't and I still am not a party-type person (went to one last year for uni but wasn't really feelin' it, so yeah cbs lol :P)
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6. What were your study habits like? Did you study everyday and have a set routine or did schedules fluctuate?See previous responses :)
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7. Did you play any sports throughout VCE?Didn't play competitive sports, but I definitely exercised quite a bit (mainly running, which I continue to do). Running is really good - great exercise and helps you air your brain ;)
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Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 02:29:29 pm
Question-Yes and no - we go through a lot of content but subjects usually don't follow the textbook rigorously (lecture notes define the scope and depth of the course). The amount of content we go through in one subject (half year) is definitely equivalent to a whole VCE subject (with more detail) or even 1.5 VCE subjects, but I guess it differs between subjects. Not sure what other uni students would say, though - that's a very rough estimate just coming from me.
1-you know how in vce science subjects you have thick 300-800 page textbooks which you cover in a whole year. eg (biology, physics and chemistry).
In university the textbooks are much thicker. Do you basicly go through the whole textbook in a semester (5-6 months)?
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2-A simple uni question that I've Been thinking for a while.Depends on the lecturer to be honest - some tend to talk a lot whilst others zip through their slides quickly. With notes, you tend to just have to do your best to capture the most important aspects of the lecture - the details are often left to the lecture slides. Simply attending the lecture definitely doesn't finish off your learning - you need to go over each lecture's content yourself afterwards to master the content, so if you missed a bit, you'll need to go over that in your personal study time :) That's at least what I've done!
For science lectures, you know how you have to write notes, does the lecturer person just buzz through the PowerPoints? If they do this how do you write down all the notes? What happens if you missed a fair bit??
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3-Is UoM science any good? I've heard some people say it's not great. I'm just assuming these people are Monash students who try to make UoM look bad.LOL it depends on what aspect. The Melbourne model is quite controversial, but I've found that it's good for my type (didn't know what I wanted to do out of year 12, wanted to have flexibility). If it hadn't been for UniMelb, I don't think I could have crossed over to bio, which is something I've found to be quite interesting.
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4-UoM or Latrobe for scienceUoM of course! HAHA nah, it depends on what you're interested again. LaTrobe might be better for certain fields of science - it depends on what they specialise in and the facilities they have. Same goes for Monash - it's a really personal thing and definitely I don't think that just because I go to UoM that UoM is the best uni for everyone. Do your research and make a decision.
However, the UoM campus is bae <3
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 02:32:53 pm
If i have done badly in my sacs, and i only have 1 left for each subject is it possible if i do well in the exam can i change my scaling?Hey! I'm probably not the best for this question, because despite having done VCE myself I don't have a super good understanding of the VCAA marks/scaling/stat moderation system. I reckon this thread by Orb (who is a guru in this field) will help you out :)
One of my teachers told me i could, while others have said it docent work that way!
what do you think?? :) :D :D :D ;D
https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=160060.0
However, my ten cents is that how you do on your exam will most definitely affect your study score, probably more so than all your SACs combined. There's nothing you can do about what's happened, but you've got everything to gain from this point on. Keep going, and aim to do your best for everything that is within your power :) :) :) :)
Post by: Orb on July 16, 2017, 02:36:43 pm
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 02:46:57 pm
Hey Steve,
Just wondering if you have any tips and tricks for me to revise for my end of year exams.
also what advice would you give me for my Physics SAC's?, finally how did you go about making your summary sheet for physics?
Thank you so much in advance :) :)
Hey :) the main piece of advice would be to focus on learning content well throughout the year and to revise regularly (i.e. say spend a full weekend every months revising subject content, rather than leaving it all to the end. Doing revision progressively will help you consolidate knowledge into long-term memory as well as relieving the stress at the end of the year!
I think this question has been answered in bits and pieces in my previous responses, so I'd recommend reading around on this thread :) sorry it's become a bit messy with so many questions now!
Hmm for Physics, I guess it's really important to understand the concepts (rather than just using formulas and doing questions, because everyone can do that). The real separators are the explanation questions - these show whether a student just learned the formula/procedure or if they actually know the concepts. Practice writing these explanation responses - what I did towards the end of the year was I went through a large number of explanations questions checked my answers, then re-wrote my answers until I was confident.
With the summary sheet for Physics, I made mine in Word and printed it out. I made my own summary sheet mostly as a revision tool, but didn't actually use it in the exam (just as well, I think it had a typo :P)
Post by: TheCommando on July 16, 2017, 03:01:23 pm
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:01:50 pm
Hey got sum questions for uuuu!!!!See my earlier response: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg962003#msg962003
1. On average how many hours did u study vs should study in yr12?
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2. How often do u run and usually how far?When I was a good boy (earlier this year, and before that), I'd try to run regularly (several times per week in the mornings), usually like 3-5 kms. Most I've ever done is like 20km :P. I've not been doing that recently because I stopped and now I'm unfit. Time to pick it up again I guess!
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3. what motivates u? Like what pushed you to keep going through vce and achieve high?See my earlier response: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg961972#msg961972
also
https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg962359#msg962359
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4. What in ur opinion separates the good studnets from the outstanding ones? Esp. In spesh, phy, meth and chemI reckon it's (a) actually having a deep understanding of the concepts, as opposed to a functional understanding of being able to do questions. Maybe this thread would be insightful: http://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=163474.0
Although the thread is written for maths, I think a lot of the points also apply to other sciences.
(b) confidence and familiarity - this is developed from practice again and again. To a certain extent, being a student is similar to being an athlete. Athletes have to train every day, again and again. A sports enthusiast isn't an athlete, even though they might have the same amount of enthusiasm (or more!), and even though they might have a really good understanding of the sport's history, culture, rules, politics, etc. What sets an athlete apart from a sports enthusiast/amateur? It's the amount of dedication and practice. Same applies to study - although you should definitely not let study take over your life! That would be very very sad and make you into a really uninteresting person. Don't do that, but I hope some points may be taken from the athlete analogy :)
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5. Where do u want to be in 5 years time careerwise?I'm not entirely sure, but I'm quite interested in biomedical research such as structural and systems biology, or even bioinformatics. See how we go I guess!
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6. Best parts about uni life?Hmmm... being able to study and do what you love, good times with friends doing stupid crap that you'll not get a chance to do when you're older and have responsibilities, and the great UoM campus :)
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7. What is ur biggest regret looking back at vce?Equally, not doing VCE Biology or VCE Chinese SL. Bit me back big time.
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8. What is the secret ingredient to doing so well
Hmm... there were a heap of factors behind that and definitely many such factors were beyond my control. However, of the decisions and mindsets I chose to have, for what credit I can take, I think motivation, dedication and good technique? Perhaps a good illustration would be the athlete analogy I mentioned earlier.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:05:50 pm
ANother question..Hey :) uni science subjects are often hard, but it differs from subject to subject. You definitely need to remember heaps of information though! Getting a H1 definitely does require a significant amount of effort but from what I've seen it's generally an achievable goal.
1-Are university science exams hard? I'm assuming it would be because you need to know/remember lots of information. But if this is the case, wouldn't it be very hard to get a H1?
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2-what breadth subjects did you do/are you doing? Are these subjects easy or hard?I've done Intro micro and inter micro (microeconomics). These subjects definitely weren't easy, but they weren't super hard either (wanna know what's hard? MAST30021 x_x)
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:10:09 pm
Hey Steve, I have a few questionsI started exam revision in around mid-late August, some subjects earlier (like Methods) but others a bit later (like Chemistry)
1. How early did you begin exam revision?
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2. Did you work ahead in any of your subjects? If so how far ahead?Yes, I did try to work ahead in some of my subjects. In general, I tried to work a few weeks ahead (I got time to do this during the summer holidays as well as time spent studying during term holidays). For some subjects like Methods, I was able to get quite far ahead because of the content being quite conceptual and mostly questions-oriented, whilst for subjects like English Language I wasn't ahead much at all.
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2. Since you were going to the distance education centre, how did they distribute SACs for you?It differed, some SACs like Chemistry or Physics pracs were done at the DECV centre (so I had to travel there to do it in their labs)
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:11:55 pm
Thanks for your reply.Hey! This is for an individual year level :) People generally don't drop out so I don't think the number changes with year level.
When you mean 400-500 students enrolled in Biomed, are you including the whole number of students (i.e the students from first years, second and third)? If so, do you know how many are there ONLY in the third year's batch(i.e the ones which are graduating soon)?
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:13:20 pm
Is there still a chance I'll get a decent ATAR if I did 'eh' in semester one? ;D ;D
Absolutely of course! You've got Unit 4 ahead of you and also exams (which are always at least 60%, probably more). If you can pull up your game now as much as you can, you'll at least be making some difference. Bottom line - doing something is ALWAYS at least better than doing nothing :)
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:18:26 pm
HiI've answered identical questions earlier, so take a look through the (6 page :o :o :o) backlog!
1. How much study you did each night and what it consisted of?
2. How many hours in a week of study?
3. How early did you start working on full practice exams?
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4. What are your tips if i am failing chemistry right now but need to get a decent study score for my uni course?Keep trying - you've got Unit 4 and the exam ahead of you! with Chemistry the scope of questions is really really broad so going through your textbook questions as well as other resources is really important because practice is in my opinion at least 50% of the necessary work behind mastering any topic. If you're really struggling with understanding chemistry concepts, a judiciously selected tutor may be of great help. I can't really give a more detailed response without more info about what you're struggling with though :P
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:27:05 pm
Hi Stephen, Thanks for doing this.Circular functions for sure... my previous response was:
A few quick question:
1. What was the hardest part in Specialist Math
"Circular functions. Because. It. Is. Hell.
Yeah I just wasn't really into it unfortunately - circular functions were too loopy and made my head go round and round. Studying for it was pretty aimless - I'd end up just going in circles :P"
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2. Bachelor of Biomed vs Bachelor of science, is there a lot of differences?Yes there are - Biomed is focused on health sciences (so you don't have the option of doing majors like maths, chem, physics, ...) while science is really broad and you can pick and choose what you like. If you're into bio, though, the same majors are offered in biomed as well as science so the difference is minimal. The Biomed course is a bit more streamlined though (things are organised better and tailored just for bio related majors), albeit at the expense of flexibility.
Thanks.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:31:38 pm
Hey zsteve , Thanks for doing this
Um doing VCE in another 3 months, what tips can you give me for methods and chemistry?
THankyou
I've touched on relevant points in bits and pieces with reasonable detail in past responses, but in general:
- Focus on understanding concepts rather than simply doing questions. Try to get a really good understanding now rather than leaving it to end-of-year.
- Always ask if you're confused or unsure about something
- Write study notes as a learning tool
- Practice makes perfect!
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:35:43 pm
Hi! So I'm currently in year 11 and I really want to study biomed in uni however that requires at least a 25 in methods but I am finding it extremely difficult because maths is not my strongest subject. Do you have any tips or advice on how to pull at least a 25 so I can have the prereq??
Hey! Don't stress - you've got quite a bit of time. I think it's important to pin down exactly what you're struggling with, and then take some time over the next few months leading up to year 12 to patch up gaps in understanding. Getting a tutor might help if you/your parents deem it necessary. I'd say its a really good idea to start working on improving maths now instead of waiting to next year- a few months can make a big difference!
In studying, I guess its also important to note a distinction between 'must-knows' and 'good-to-knows'. If you're really struggling with methods, make sure you have a grasp of the 'must-know' concepts. Don't worry too much about the good-to-know bits - as long as you have a functional understanding of the big ideas in methods, I think getting above the 25 minimum will be an achievable goal.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:37:45 pm
Hello!!
I was just wondering, because I haven't stated any exam prep, How the heck do I start??? I just can't bring myself to doing it!!!
Thanks :)
Hmm... don't start doing practice exams unless you've finished the course. Maybe start doing chapter reviews or summary tests? I'd work on progressively revising what you've done since the start of the year. Below is part of a previous response:
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Hey :) the main piece of advice would be to focus on learning content well throughout the year and to revise regularly (i.e. say spend a full weekend every months revising subject content, rather than leaving it all to the end. Doing revision progressively will help you consolidate knowledge into long-term memory as well as relieving the stress at the end of the year!
Post by: Joseph41 on July 16, 2017, 03:41:24 pm
And to save him, let's also set the cut-off for questions now. :) If you've asked a question, zsteve will get around to it - but otherwise, thank you very much, Stephen! :))
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:44:45 pm
Hey zsteve,VCAA is always the best. MAV and Neap were good as far as I remember, Heffernan is a bit on the easy side. TSSM was really hard, but I did like only one paper from them. Make sure you take company exams with a grain of salt- the styles of questions they have are often not reflective of the actual VCAA exam, and at times they can even be wrong/broken.
Just a few questions :P
1. Which company practice exams do recommend for specialist and methods (ie MAV, TSSM etc...)
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2. Which topic did you struggle the most with in specialist and chemistry?Specialist - circular functions (didn't like that stuff :P)
Chemistry - not sure, probably electrochemistry? That topic was definitely the one that caused the most confusion with concepts for me, some of which I only resolved this year actually (when teaching chemistry classes myself lol)
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 03:52:44 pm
Hi Steve,My notes generally followed the order of topics that I covered in the textbook, and they were pretty much dot-point summaries through which I explained content I learned back to myself. A lot of the time I wrote my notes simultaneously with reading the textbook, so I guess that's as efficient as it gets. It takes time, but it made sure that I really had a good understanding of the content.
- How did you structure and make your notes, and how long did it take you to make them? How can you make notes faster from textbook content?
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- What did you do for the 3-4 months leading up to your exams in terms of revision? How many practise exams did you do?See previous responses :)
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- If you average low scores for one of your subjects in the first semester, is it possible to still get approx 40 raw score if you average 95 and above in your SACs and exam for that subject?I'm not the most qualified to answer unfortunately - I'm not super familiar with the scoring system despite having done VCE. It depends on which subject/your cohort/a lot of things. Maybe ask around in the Study Score estimation thread here? https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=138501.0
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- I also do a uni subject, and I wanted to know how that increment is calculated. Can I calculate my own increment if I have my Sem 1 and 2 overall grades? And if you don't mind me asking, what was your study score increment?My increment was 5.0 (mark of 90+). Might depend on your particular subject/uni, but I think there is a table here:
https://atarnotes.com/uni-extension/
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• The extension subject will count towards your ATAR as a 5th or 6th subject. This is done by way of an aggregate increment. Generally speaking:
90+ average = 5.0 aggregate contribution (equivalent to 50).
80+ average = 4.5 aggregate contribution (equivalent to 45).
70+ average = 4.0 aggregate contribution (equivalent to 40).
… and so on!
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I don't have the prerequisite of Maths Methods, to pursue the Commerce degree I want at either Melbourne or Monash. My teacher has advised me to do an Arts degree at Melbourne and do subjects that will be the equivalent of methods, and then transfer into the Commerce degree in Sem 2. However, the advisor at a Melb uni open day told me that this may not be the safest plan because there may not be any spots opened in the commerce degree subjects in Sem 2, for me to transition into. So could you advise me as to whether or not this is the best way? and any other pathways that could help me overcome this prerequisite issue.Hmm... I'm not sure actually. I think the UniMelb advisors would be best qualified to respond as they are most familiar with the regulations. Try to book an appointment with a course advisor and talk it through with them. They'll be able to give you advice in more detail than the Open Day staff would be able to. Mid-year entry into Commerce is possible and I believe some measures are taken to make that feasible for students, but I think it may be quite competitive mid year due to shortage of places. This is just my intuition, but check with UoM staff :)
Sorry that was a lot but thank you so much!!!
Post by: heids on July 16, 2017, 03:57:50 pm
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 04:03:48 pm
How many trillion words have you written in this thread?! Insane, man.lel im dying halp
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 04:05:16 pm
Hi
I was wondering what marks did u need to average in order to get above 45 as ur study score?
:)
Difficult to answer, because SAC marks differ between schools (due to difficulty of SACs, etc.) however, I think I was rank 1 for most of my subjects.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 04:14:41 pm
Hey Stephen,
What would your advice be for getting a really high study score in chemistry and physics?
Thanks :)
Hey! My previous responses address your question in part:
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Hmm for Physics, I guess it's really important to understand the concepts (rather than just using formulas and doing questions, because everyone can do that). The real separators are the explanation questions - these show whether a student just learned the formula/procedure or if they actually know the concepts. Practice writing these explanation responses - what I did towards the end of the year was I went through a large number of explanations questions checked my answers, then re-wrote my answers until I was confident.
With Chemistry, I think it's really important to practice extensively after making sure you've gained a good grasp of the course content. Some ideas would include writing summary notes (really useful!), making flashcards, and definitely going through as many questions as you deem necessary.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 04:31:21 pm
Hi zsteve!I reckon the hardest part of doing by distance is that you don't get the real-time face to face help from your teacher - so the onus is on the student to make sure they go through topics carefully.
As someone who did Specialist Maths by distance, what tips do you have, and what was the hardest part of doing it by distance?
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I am also doing Specialist by distance and need help!The Distance Ed notes are a really good resource, so I'd recommend you pay attention to their explanations, as well as the Cambridge Textbook - the questions are really good! In previous responses I've also written up some general study advice :)
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Also what did you enjoy most about Physics and Chemistry?
I really enjoyed how Physics and Chem can explain the observations we make in the world around us, and how interesting topics can be (e.g. organic chemistry - so many compounds!!!, as well as physics (think motion)
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 04:33:45 pm
Hi StephenSee my previous responses - I revised regularly throughout the year, and I started doing practice exams (mainly VCAA) by around late August :)
Thank you so much for doing this.
I just have some general questions,
How did you best prepare for your end of year exams?
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Did you break up study? if so how long would you take breaks for?Yep - I tried to study for blocks and take about 15 min breaks between. I'd also study for different subjects in each block, so I'd stay mentally 'fresh'
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 04:37:22 pm
Hi Steve,Hi! I've been asked this quite a few times now, so you'll find my previous responses very useful :)
I am currently doing Chemistry and Methods (which I find to be very difficult!)
I was wondering if you had any tips regarding how to study for Chemistry and Methods.
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When I try to study for a maths test, I don't know where to start (apart from doing practice questions!) and I was hoping you could give me some tips?
I think it might be a good idea to write short summary sheets on relevant topics to consolidate knowledge and understanding, but yeah - doing practice questions is a really really good way to prepare, as long as you've got a good grip on the underlying concepts. Practice problems essential but they should be used in the right way.
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 05:21:12 pm
Hey zsteve!Largely, I mean placing a focus on understanding concepts and facts rather than rote-learning by spamming practice questions. I think the level of understanding of how and why makes a big difference in marks, especially at the top end.
First of all congratulations on such an amazing result,and thank you for doing this :)
Just some quick questions that I really want you to address are :
1. What do you mean by "studying smarter and not harder" in terms of VCE,and how did this understanding help you in achieving your goal of a 99.95 ATAR ?
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2.Do you think tutoring is directly proportional to a good ATAR ?Definitely not. The utility derived from tuition depends very much on the individual (and on the tutor) - for some students, it's really really helpful whereas for others there may be almost no effect at all. (Yet again for others, there could be negative effects :o)
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3. I am not doing spesh ,instead I chose to do methods!Do you think not doing spesh,will have a negative impact on my chances of getting into medicine?
Not necessarily - Specialist does scale a lot and that seems to be why some students choose it. But no, I think that if you put a good amount of effort into your chosen subjects for VCE, you'll not be at any significant disadvantage. Indeed, if Maths is a weak spot for you, not doing Spesh could be a good thing in that you'll have more time to devote to subjects you may enjoy more/be better at.
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4.How did you manage Uni Maths in schools with other year twelve subjects? Did your timings sometimes clash and resulted you to miss some classes of school?Not sure how I survived VCE doing uni maths, but I did :'D
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5.How early do you think one should start revising for the VCE 3-4 units exams?I think August-September is a good idea. As I've repeatedly mentioned, it's really important to revise regularly instead of all at the end of the year (see earlier responses). However, don't start doing practice exams until you've covered the entire course.
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6.Did you attempt the UMAT?If yes,when did you start preparing for it and how?I did sit the UMAT, and I did some preparative work throughout the year. However, as the UMAT is an aptitude test, 'prepping' for the test is of limited use at best (it is rather a test of your raw intellectual ability).
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7.Do you think GAT should be taken seriously and it DOES have an impact on your ATAR?Did you prepare anything for it before hand(e.g looking over past exams etc)?No, I don't think the GAT has a measurable (if any) effect on your ATAR unless you have special circumstances, but YES I do think you should take it seriously. For the GAT I was most concerned about the English section and so I did some practice essay questions. I also did a few of the logic/reasoning sections as well.
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8.What are your tips for getting a good score in methods?See previous answers :)
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9.How many hours did you study a day ? Were you a "nerd" in school?See previous answers :) and yes, I considered myself a nerd in a positive sense in Year 12 and continue to identify with being a nerd. #nerdlife
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10.How to STOP procrastinating?
The answer to this question depends a lot on the individual - but in general, I think it's important to separate work and relaxing. Combining study and distraction is probably a bad idea as far as productivity goes! Rather than studying with music on and facebook open, it may be a better idea to study for an hour and take 15 minutes off doing whatever else you might want to do :)
I think some of my previous responses would have covered some more points.
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11.Do you think a bad cohort lessens your chances of getting a good ATAR,even if you perform well?Whilst I acknowledge that a relatively weak cohort can have an effect on results, it's definitely possible to do well despite that! My cohorts for my subjects were not particularly strong, for example. The bottom line is that you shouldn't let that affect the effort you put in to VCE - after all, there's nothing you can change about it, so put your energy into what you *can* change :)
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12.Do you think extra curricular go hand in hand with a good result for getting a good place in uni ?If yes,what kind of extra curricular should one consider doing to get into a science field?Nope - uni course entry is solely on an ATAR basis (with exception of med/dent which take UMAT + interview in as well). However, extracurriculars are really really good so if you're involved in debating, etc. I'd say keep it up!
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13.Can you state some of the things you wish you knew in year 12?Hmm... I guess one big thing that I didn't realise during VCE was how big life was beyond my experiences to that point. So much more to know, do and love. VCE seemed like the end of the world - towards exams reality seemed to fragment, splinters of consciousness seemed to blur together until I crossed over to the other side -- only to realise that my life had only begun. Regardless of what happens during VCE - regardless of what results you end up with - there's so much more to life beyond that :) VCE isn't the end - it's the beginning ;)
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14.What was your reaction when you received your result? :)
I was definitely not expecting anything of the sort - my reaction was one of disbelief and amazement. I started crying :P
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 05:26:20 pm
Hi Steve I was wondering on,
How can I practice remembering the rules and contexts for Chem? Easy method on doing this?
Thank you :)
(a) Writing summary notes as you go through topics is really useful - see my previous responses :)
(b) Making flashcards for facts (e.g. polarities of anode/cathode, etc.) which you'll need to use. I made a stack of 200+ flashcards (ok this is probably overkill, some cards were redundant), but I guess the point I'm making is that flashcards are a really great way of revising!
Post by: zsteve on July 16, 2017, 05:35:39 pm
Hi,
What do you think, in each of your subjects, is the difference between a score of 40-45, and 45-50?
Thanks for the AMA.
In science subjects, I think the difference between a 40 and a 45 is that between a decent functional understanding of course content (at 40) vs. a very very good, deeper understanding of concepts + good problem solving skills at a 45 (oh, also a lot of practice!)
Difference between 45 and 50 is simply being able to be meticulous, avoiding silly mistakes, and (esp. at the very top end) being in the mood for an exam. Up the top end, it's pretty much up to random chance :P
Post by: geek123456 on July 16, 2017, 05:37:52 pm
Largely, I mean placing a focus on understanding concepts and facts rather than rote-learning by spamming practice questions. I think the level of understanding of how and why makes a big difference in marks, especially at the top end.Definitely not. The utility derived from tuition depends very much on the individual (and on the tutor) - for some students, it's really really helpful whereas for others there may be almost no effect at all. (Yet again for others, there could be negative effects :o)Thank you so much for answering all of my questions! I really appreciate your advice :)
Not necessarily - Specialist does scale a lot and that seems to be why some students choose it. But no, I think that if you put a good amount of effort into your chosen subjects for VCE, you'll not be at any significant disadvantage. Indeed, if Maths is a weak spot for you, not doing Spesh could be a good thing in that you'll have more time to devote to subjects you may enjoy more/be better at.
Not sure how I survived VCE doing uni maths, but I did :'D
I think August-September is a good idea. As I've repeatedly mentioned, it's really important to revise regularly instead of all at the end of the year (see earlier responses). However, don't start doing practice exams until you've covered the entire course.I did sit the UMAT, and I did some preparative work throughout the year. However, as the UMAT is an aptitude test, 'prepping' for the test is of limited use at best (it is rather a test of your raw intellectual ability).
No, I don't think the GAT has a measurable (if any) effect on your ATAR unless you have special circumstances, but YES I do think you should take it seriously. For the GAT I was most concerned about the English section and so I did some practice essay questions. I also did a few of the logic/reasoning sections as well.
See previous answers :)
See previous answers :) and yes, I considered myself a nerd in a positive sense in Year 12 and continue to identify with being a nerd. #nerdlife
The answer to this question depends a lot on the individual - but in general, I think it's important to separate work and relaxing. Combining study and distraction is probably a bad idea as far as productivity goes! Rather than studying with music on and facebook open, it may be a better idea to study for an hour and take 15 minutes off doing whatever else you might want to do :)
I think some of my previous responses would have covered some more points.
Whilst I acknowledge that a relatively weak cohort can have an effect on results, it's definitely possible to do well despite that! My cohorts for my subjects were not particularly strong, for example. The bottom line is that you shouldn't let that affect the effort you put in to VCE - after all, there's nothing you can change about it, so put your energy into what you *can* change :)
Nope - uni course entry is solely on an ATAR basis (with exception of med/dent which take UMAT + interview in as well). However, extracurriculars are really really good so if you're involved in debating, etc. I'd say keep it up!
Hmm... I guess one big thing that I didn't realise during VCE was how big life was beyond my experiences to that point. So much more to know, do and love. VCE seemed like the end of the world - towards exams reality seemed to fragment, splinters of consciousness seemed to blur together until I crossed over to the other side -- only to realise that my life had only begun. Regardless of what happens during VCE - regardless of what results you end up with - there's so much more to life beyond that :) VCE isn't the end - it's the beginning ;)
I was definitely not expecting anything of the sort - my reaction was one of disbelief and amazement. I started crying :P
Post by: qazser on July 16, 2017, 05:45:37 pm
Post by: exit on July 16, 2017, 06:38:43 pm
Post by: TheCommando on July 16, 2017, 07:07:22 pm
Post by: Anonymous_ on July 16, 2017, 07:14:23 pm
Another question I have is: have you ever tried doing the HSC papers with the same subjects you did for your VCE? If so, did you find it much more challenging than the VCE paper? People have told me Extension 2 Mathematics is way harder than VCE Specialist Math and can be comparable to University Mathematics. Would you think that's true? Also, would you say Extension 1 Math would be easier than Methods or similar in difficulty?
That's all assuming you have done the HSC papers or tried it out at least, if you haven't, you should definitely have a look at the Extension 1 and 2 Math papers (also the Phys, Chem and Bio papers) and see which one is harder: VCE or HSC.
Post by: exit on July 16, 2017, 07:20:16 pm
Hey man, i suck at methods, im in yr 12 and kinda wished i dropped it. How do i really improve, i already have a tutor and i struggle and am always behind
You should clarify and give an example of what you are bad at :)
Post by: TheCommando on July 16, 2017, 07:51:33 pm
You should clarify and give an example of what you are bad at :)Hhahah evreything
Evrey aos of unit 3&4
Post by: exit on July 16, 2017, 07:53:52 pm
Hhahah evreything
Evrey aos of unit 3&4
How many hours of Methods outside class are you doing? Can you do the textbook questions, or just the easy ones?
Post by: TheCommando on July 16, 2017, 08:32:43 pm
How many hours of Methods outside class are you doing? Can you do the textbook questions, or just the easy ones?Including tuition probs around 5-6 hours
Just the easy ones generally
Post by: nellieh on July 17, 2017, 03:13:40 pm
What was your best study/revision exercise or thing you did before a SAC? I often wonder whether I'm using my time effectively and efficiently, do you have any tips?
I do Methods, and struggle a bit with the application questions, do you have any tips about how to approach them?
Do you have notes for chemistry?
Thanks
Post by: Calebark on July 17, 2017, 03:27:05 pm
The AMA finished yesterday, so Zsteve will not be answering your questions :) However, he wrote an entire book's worth of text, so if you go and read all his responses, you may find similar questions and answers.
Post by: Tirantbacon on July 17, 2017, 03:38:36 pm
I'm currently in year 11 with mild depression. It's obviously term 3 right now and I'm struggling (even though it's the first day back!). I want to get a considerably good ATAR to get into a physics course, and I wish to apply for a job at CERN when I'm older. This may seem far-fetched but trust me I'm very motivated to do it. I take chem, physics, environmental science, english, computing and biology. I don't consider myself to be a very motivated worker. I get worn out VERY fast. Every bit of study feels like it's pointless because I want to try so hard and I don't know how to absorb information effectively enough :(
The amount of pressure I put on myself is obviously too much for a student to handle. I just want to do my best, and I don't know what to do. I've asked so many people for support but I just can't figure out how I feel. Do you have any advice to how to deal with this pressure? I study back at school every day til six (well except Thursday as it's when I take a break from study) and I try to study ahead as far as I can on good days. Additionally how do you keep motivated? I have only a brief idea on what to persue, and I don't know how I'm going to do it.
Oh the AMA finished? Thats too bad :\
Mod edit: Please refrain from double posting. Modify your first post instead next time :)
Post by: Calebark on July 17, 2017, 04:12:58 pm
You seem like a very inspiring individual zsteve, someone I wish to be like when I enter year 12. Here's my situation, if you don't mind :)
I'm currently in year 11 with mild depression. It's obviously term 3 right now and I'm struggling (even though it's the first day back!). I want to get a considerably good ATAR to get into a physics course, and I wish to apply for a job at CERN when I'm older. This may seem far-fetched but trust me I'm very motivated to do it. I take chem, physics, environmental science, english, computing and biology. I don't consider myself to be a very motivated worker. I get worn out VERY fast. Every bit of study feels like it's pointless because I want to try so hard and I don't know how to absorb information effectively enough :(
The amount of pressure I put on myself is obviously too much for a student to handle. I just want to do my best, and I don't know what to do. I've asked so many people for support but I just can't figure out how I feel. Do you have any advice to how to deal with this pressure? I study back at school every day til six (well except Thursday as it's when I take a break from study) and I try to study ahead as far as I can on good days. Additionally how do you keep motivated? I have only a brief idea on what to persue, and I don't know how I'm going to do it.
Oh the AMA finished? Thats too bad :\
I think Zsteve's answers here and here might be of some use :)
Post by: zsteve on July 18, 2017, 10:56:51 pm
Post by: shezz.iazz on July 20, 2017, 06:12:56 pm
1) how many hours did you study a day for each subject?
2) how many practice exams did you do?
3) what specific techniques can I follow to ace Chemistry?
4) did you take any tuition or have any resources? If so please mention them.
Thanks
Post by: Kaank21 on July 20, 2017, 08:30:29 pm
just wondering
did you expect your score or something close to it or was it like kind of a shock?
Post by: K888 on July 20, 2017, 08:40:08 pm
Hi, got a few questionsSee this response, this one, this one and this one for your answers :)
1) how many hours did you study a day for each subject?
2) how many practice exams did you do?
3) what specific techniques can I follow to ace Chemistry?
4) did you take any tuition or have any resources? If so please mention them.
Thanks
Hello,I believe Steve answered a question like this here :)
just wondering
did you expect your score or something close to it or was it like kind of a shock?
As I believe Steve isn't answering any more questions, please take the time to scroll through this thread to read his awesome answers! He'll most likely have answered a similar question at some stage during this AMA :)
Post by: miguel_1 on July 21, 2017, 07:44:46 pm
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/students/2016VCETipsSpecialistMaths.pdf
Post by: Kapila on July 22, 2017, 11:06:20 pm
btw I'm currently in year 12.
1) How do you stay motivated throughout the whole year of VCE?
2) Any tips on studying for SACs and exams?
3) When did you start preparing for the end of year exams?
Thanks!
Post by: K888 on July 22, 2017, 11:15:41 pm
Hey! Here are just a few questions to ask you:Hi Kapila, zsteve has finished his AMA, however I'm sure if you scroll through this thread, you'll find the answer to your questions :)
btw I'm currently in year 12.
1) How do you stay motivated throughout the whole year of VCE?
2) Any tips on studying for SACs and exams?
3) When did you start preparing for the end of year exams?
Thanks!
Here are some links to some of zsteve's answers that might be most applicable to you:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
:)
Edit: this thread has been locked - if you have any questions, please scroll through the thread as zsteve will probably have answered a very similar question previously! :)