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VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => The VCE Journey Journal => Topic started by: vehura on January 19, 2021, 05:28:09 pm

Title: vehura's vce journal
Post by: vehura on January 19, 2021, 05:28:09 pm
Hey everyone! I'm vehura. I've been lurking on ATARnotes for a few years but only recently decided to start my own journal now that I'm in year 12 as I love reading others' (even if I don't make myself known being the creepy lurker that I am) and thought it would be cool to have my own relic of the most stressful year of my life so far! I completed one year 12 subject in year 11, which was psychology, and I was shocked to receive a study score of 50!! I never thought this was possible, but I worked my ass off and I'm so happy with the result. I loved psychology so much, it was my favourite subject, so if anyone needs any help or guidance this year I would be so happy to help.

This year the subjects I'm doing are:

I am not the best at maths, like at all (definitely more of an English student) but I hope this year to surpass my own expectations with chemistry and methods. I didn't put like any effort into year 11 chem and I honestly found it super boring, but I'm gonna change that this year!! Hopefully. (cue 60 posts talking about how much chemistry is kicking my ass).

About me:

I love movies, especially independent and foreign films. That makes me sound like a prat but they're soo good. My favourites right now are Parasite (hopefully you guys have seen this!!), Shoplifters, and basically all of Tarantino's movies.

I have studied Japanese since year 7 but I gave it up for year 12 as I didn't feel like I would perform my best. But I love the language and Japanese media so much and my love for it will be hard to erase!! Somehow I have currently gotten into Danganronpa and have spent most of my holidays playing it instead of actually doing my holiday homework... but we'll just ignore that. I also love Ace Attorney, any sort of crime-solving virtual novel games are super fun to me even though they make me rage sometimes.

 I work in customer service, which takes up like 54985898547459% of my time. I don't want to quit my job for year 12 though. the customers will just have to deal with a grumpy year 12 student ;D


Future aspirations:

Ever since like, year 9, I have always found psychiatry super interesting. Both the medicinal and pharmaceutical, and the psychological side. I know this takes lots of work, though, and a difficult pathway. I'm going to give the UCAT a shot - but I don't have my entire life banking on it as I know it's super competitive and I don't want to disappoint myself. But I'm going to stick to my plan and if I have to take another pathway I will do it!!

I'm really excited to meet you guys and interact with the members of this community, as you are all lovely. I'm excited to see what 2021 will bring us!!
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: SmartWorker on January 19, 2021, 05:39:28 pm
Hey Vehura!

Looking forward to reading your journal! Congrats on acing Psychology 8) What texts are you doing for English?
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: Evolio on January 19, 2021, 06:33:05 pm
Hey vehura!  :D

Congratulations on the 50 in psych!! I loved Psychology so much too and I'm definitely going to miss it.

I find psychiatry really interesting too! In fact one of my favourite parts of Psychology was the mental health portion - I was super sad when they cut out a huge chunk of it though :'( What do you specifically like about psychiatry?

I'm really excited to follow along on your VCE Journey!! All the best with Year 12!
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: mang0 on January 19, 2021, 07:44:15 pm
Hi Vehura!
Nice to see another new VCE journal! Congratulations on the 50 in psych! 
I totally get how you feel about Chem and Methods- I feel the same way. Hopefully, we're both able to do super well in it this year!
I've heard a lot about Danganrompa. Do you recommend watching it? I haven't got anything to play it on, so the only other option is to watch it (if it's good?)
I'm super excited to read your VCE journal and best of luck for 2021!  ;D
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: wingdings2791 on January 19, 2021, 08:50:39 pm
Hi Vehura! Happy to see you starting a new journal. Congrats on doing so phenomenal in psych! Completely relate when it comes to Chem- it just seems so vast sometimes, doesn't it? Anyways, you'll doubtlessly be able to pick it right up this year : D

It's so cool that you love independent and art films! Personally, I'm a big fan too, and I totally agree that Parasite is an absolutely amazing film. Haven't seen too many of Tarantino's movies apart from Pulp Fiction, Once Upon a Time etc., but would love to get into them! Do you have any recommendations?

So excited to hear about your VCE journey! :)
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: bluebird on January 19, 2021, 09:30:35 pm
Hey Vehura!
Congratulations with your amazing psych score and good luck with year 12 this year I'm you'll do great! I genuinely can't wait to read more of your journal and see how much you will grow in 2021.  :D
- bluebird
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: vehura on January 19, 2021, 09:52:02 pm
Hey Vehura!

Looking forward to reading your journal! Congrats on acing Psychology 8) What texts are you doing for English?

Hi SmartWorker!! It's nice to meet you! I see you did amazing at bio also ;D

We're studying Like a House on Fire, Ransom, and The Lieutenant this year. Which texts are you studying?

snip


Hey Evolio!! I have been following your journal and saw your 50 in psych too so congratulations for that ;)!! It's an amazing subject isn't it?? I'm sad I don't get to do it again this year. I think the way that mental disorders change the structure of the brain and behaviour is really interesting and quite personal to me, I have and have had people close to me who have diagnosable disorders which has significantly changed their lives and so that has also propelled me closer to the study. Will you look at psychiatry in the future?

snip

Hi mang0! I'm looking forward to reading your journal as the year progresses also! Chem and methods suck bad but hopefully we will smash it out. ;D
Danganronpa is really good - I didn't watch the anime but it pretty much follows the game. The only thing is that the second game doesn't have an anime for it, and I personally think the investigation and trial portion of the game is super interesting. I would recommend watching lets plays of it on YouTube if you're into that!! You wouldn't miss out on much not playing it as a lot of it is story-based. But I play it on my Mac as the first 2 games are compatible!!

snip

Hey!! It's good to meet you. Chemistry honestly seems so daunting and the calculations go right over my head  ??? But thank you!! If you haven't seen the 2 volumes of Kill Bill PLEASE do!! It's a bit violent (as to be expected from Tarantino) but it's my favourite of his movies. Which are your favourite movies?

snip

Thanks so much bluebird!! I'll definitely be watching your journal too throughout the year  ;D you'll do awesome
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on January 20, 2021, 09:25:52 am
This seems interesting; I'll probably keep an eye on it. :)
-And, by Ransom, do you mean the comparative pair Ransom/The Queen? (I did it and if you want help I can help.)
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: SmartWorker on January 20, 2021, 01:05:32 pm
Hi SmartWorker!! It's nice to meet you! I see you did amazing at bio also ;D

We're studying Like a House on Fire, Ransom, and The Lieutenant this year. Which texts are you studying?

Thanks:) I'm doing Persepolis (A graphic novel, given that makes it more interesting), Nine Days, Namesake/Reckoning, if you want to talk anything about english, chem or methods or anything else!  :D
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on January 20, 2021, 01:14:58 pm
Hi vehura,
Nice to meet you! This seems like an awesome journal. I also worked in customer service throughout year 12 (not during the harsh lockdowns though) and I definitely say it's worth your time. The skills that you learn from a part time job (especially those interacting with customers) will certainly be useful in your future career. Moreover, having extracurriculars and activities outside of school really helped me with time management.

Last year I was in a similar position to you with the UCAT so stick it out, you never know what might happen  ;D. I really like your attitude towards your future though. It's best not to put all your eggs in one basket and I'm sure there are many pathways into psychiatry. In the end you'll most likely end up somewhere which suits you.

Congrats on your psych score and good luck with the rest of 2021  8)
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: cmati on January 20, 2021, 01:33:47 pm
This is awesome to hear! :) Thank you Vehura for sharing the beginning of your Year 12 journey with us, can't wait to follow and hear all about it.
Massive congrats on the 50 in psych !!  ;D
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: wingdings2791 on January 20, 2021, 02:05:53 pm
Hey!! It's good to meet you. Chemistry honestly seems so daunting and the calculations go right over my head  ??? But thank you!! If you haven't seen the 2 volumes of Kill Bill PLEASE do!! It's a bit violent (as to be expected from Tarantino) but it's my favourite of his movies. Which are your favourite movies?

Hehe thanks, haven't seen Kill Bill before but I'll definitely check it out! I've heard lots of good things about it. Right now I'm really loving Rear Window, Charade, and The Imitation Game (although I won't lie about watching Shrek again a week ago xd). I think you might enjoy those, if you haven't watched them already! : )
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: dedformed on January 20, 2021, 02:11:23 pm
hello fellow bean and welcome to the journal community!

be prepared to see my inconsistent meanderings around people's journals (trust me I read everyone's journals front to back, it's my favourite toilet past time but I just don't reply cos haha confidence).  can't wait to see your journey to med! congrats on that delicious psych score btw

penelope
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: vehura on March 05, 2021, 03:22:21 pm
Hello everyone! Long time no see ;D School has certainly kicked off and I am totally feeling the effects! Many classes have thus been spent with my eyelids slowly closing 8)

Just a really embarrassing and kind of funny thing that happened that I just need to share (and if you were there you will certainly know who I am now): We have a VCE awards ceremony for the dux, high ATARS, 40+ study scores at the start of each year etc, and I was super excited for this assembly because I get to flex on everyone (lol). Anyways, so they called my name for psych, I walked up to the stage to get my little certificate, and then I stood to the back of the stage (like 5 steps up off the ground). But, for some like, unanswerable reason, I decided I was going to step even further back (?????) and fell off the back of the stage. In front of the entire school. And it was incredibly embarrassing. I didn't get physically hurt that badly (I had a pretty impressive bruise all down my leg though) but my pride definitely took a hit.

Anyways, I might as well jump in to how some of my classes are going!

Health

So, I like health. My teacher is really fun, she's just this hilarious lady who talks the whole lesson about health and wellbeing and little personal anecdotes and stories. I got 100% for my first SAC which was pretty awesome!! It seems really straightforward and really relatable to real life and that's mainly the reason I like it.

Chemistry

Okay, I REALLY hated chemistry last year, because I didn't put any effort into it and did no work. But I am actually liking it right now! It doesn't feel too overwhelming, oxidation numbers and redox seems pretty engaging (way better than last year??) and maybe the fact that I am the ONLY girl in a class full of boys and no friends probably helps the fact (because I am actually doing work and not just talking the whole time about how much I hate chemistry lol).

Methods

METHODS. Oh how I hate you. I will do lots of textbook questions and then we will get a TSSM topic test and the questions will be so convoluted and different that I cannot answer them. I don't know how to approach this issue. It will definitely be in my bottom 2. My brain just doesn't work that way. Ahh!!! Hopefully I will find functions easier to grasp than trig (oh how I hate you).

ANYWAYS, I will see you guys in another 3 months if this post schedule continues. I hope you guys are well!
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: vehura on June 17, 2021, 05:27:53 pm
Soooooo…. Long time no see!!! It has been a pretty long time since I’ve posted, mostly because I think about posting and go… hmm. Not really sure what to write since my life isn’t really that interesting lol ;D but still, I decided to update today finally to prevent this journal from slipping into complete oblivion.

So, I’ll sort of update about my subjects and life etc etc if anyone’s even reading! Not sure if you are or want to but welcome back if you are.

So English: I’m doing pretty well in this subject, mostly because my teacher is pretty awesome; her criticism is pretty extensive but when she does give feedback they are always things you can work on to improve your writing. I am just starting on unit 4 now - the comparative task. We’re doing Ransom/The Queen, which I initially hated the idea of, but after reading The Song of Achilles I am now in a much better place regarding my feelings to this book than I was before ;D

Literature is also okay - I am finding this subject pretty hard to stay completely motivated for as there is not much homework. Luckily my super generous boyfriend attends Melbourne uni and has given me access to the library, so finding critical readings and journals is way easier now. But still, I feel like I’m sooo inadequate compared to other people doing lit - I’m not sure if my writing is up to standard as my literature teacher is smart, but his feedback is veryyyy, well…. short? I’ll get a 15/20 and it’ll be sort of like “well done, need to expand your ideas outside the passages”. And that’s it. Not sure how to approach this issue, I sort of hate the idea of approaching other English teachers as they already have enough work.

For methods…. HAHAHAHA. It’s definitely going in my bottom 2!!!!! It’s so bad. Like the applications SAC was so difficult - my school isn’t exactly above the curve in our methods ability (even my teacher said our methods ability was way below than kids in his last school) but still, the SAC was pretty hard for most people. I sort of gave up by the third part after realising I seriously wrote the discriminant formula as the turning point formula for one of the easiest questions in part one. Not sure what happened there but I wasn’t very impressed :D

Also, the UCAT is a thing. I am pretty happy with the amount of practice I have done so far; I will have done my 15th mock on Medify by Friday. I’m not sure how difficult/easy Medify is compared to the actual test though, which adds sort of an element of anxiety, but all I know is that all I can do is my best. UCAT is one of those things where it is so difficult not to compare yourself to other people who are getting way higher scores - but, if anyone else is feeling this way just know that your pace is the only pace that matters, and if you go into your test knowing you have put your absolute best effort in then there is nothing more or nothing better you could have done. Testing season is starting in a couple of weeks; so I wish those who are doing it the best.

Also, I’m just wondering if anyone knows regarding VTAC applications if there are three different Monash medicine course codes? Because on the VTAC website it has three different codes for school leaver entry, bonded school leaver entry, and extended rural cohort entry, but then I saw someone on AN say you don’t need to add in the bonded code - they will just give you a bonded place? Not sure if anyone would know but it would be good information to have by august. Thanks so much!! I’ll see you guys next year  ;D
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on June 17, 2021, 06:51:49 pm
Soooooo…. Long time no see!!! It has been a pretty long time since I’ve posted, mostly because I think about posting and go… hmm. Not really sure what to write since my life isn’t really that interesting lol ;D but still, I decided to update today finally to prevent this journal from slipping into complete oblivion.

So, I’ll sort of update about my subjects and life etc etc if anyone’s even reading! Not sure if you are or want to but welcome back if you are.

So English: I’m doing pretty well in this subject, mostly because my teacher is pretty awesome; her criticism is pretty extensive but when she does give feedback they are always things you can work on to improve your writing. I am just starting on unit 4 now - the comparative task. We’re doing Ransom/The Queen, which I initially hated the idea of, but after reading The Song of Achilles I am now in a much better place regarding my feelings to this book than I was before ;D

Literature is also okay - I am finding this subject pretty hard to stay completely motivated for as there is not much homework. Luckily my super generous boyfriend attends Melbourne uni and has given me access to the library, so finding critical readings and journals is way easier now. But still, I feel like I’m sooo inadequate compared to other people doing lit - I’m not sure if my writing is up to standard as my literature teacher is smart, but his feedback is veryyyy, well…. short? I’ll get a 15/20 and it’ll be sort of like “well done, need to expand your ideas outside the passages”. And that’s it. Not sure how to approach this issue, I sort of hate the idea of approaching other English teachers as they already have enough work.

For methods…. HAHAHAHA. It’s definitely going in my bottom 2!!!!! It’s so bad. Like the applications SAC was so difficult - my school isn’t exactly above the curve in our methods ability (even my teacher said our methods ability was way below than kids in his last school) but still, the SAC was pretty hard for most people. I sort of gave up by the third part after realising I seriously wrote the discriminant formula as the turning point formula for one of the easiest questions in part one. Not sure what happened there but I wasn’t very impressed :D

Also, the UCAT is a thing. I am pretty happy with the amount of practice I have done so far; I will have done my 15th mock on Medify by Friday. I’m not sure how difficult/easy Medify is compared to the actual test though, which adds sort of an element of anxiety, but all I know is that all I can do is my best. UCAT is one of those things where it is so difficult not to compare yourself to other people who are getting way higher scores - but, if anyone else is feeling this way just know that your pace is the only pace that matters, and if you go into your test knowing you have put your absolute best effort in then there is nothing more or nothing better you could have done. Testing season is starting in a couple of weeks; so I wish those who are doing it the best.

Also, I’m just wondering if anyone knows regarding VTAC applications if there are three different Monash medicine course codes? Because on the VTAC website it has three different codes for school leaver entry, bonded school leaver entry, and extended rural cohort entry, but then I saw someone on AN say you don’t need to add in the bonded code - they will just give you a bonded place? Not sure if anyone would know but it would be good information to have by august. Thanks so much!! I’ll see you guys next year  ;D
Hey, I did Ransom/The Queen last year! I enjoyed the film although the book left me cold. I liked writing the essays, though. Hopefully you enjoy it - have you watched the film yet?
Methods has the useful thing of being comparatively easy to pick up marks even if you did badly in the SACs - if you do well in the exams, the marks jump up, so SACs aren't as important.
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on June 17, 2021, 11:04:05 pm
Hi Vehura, nice to see an update!
Also, I’m just wondering if anyone knows regarding VTAC applications if there are three different Monash medicine course codes? Because on the VTAC website it has three different codes for school leaver entry, bonded school leaver entry, and extended rural cohort entry, but then I saw someone on AN say you don’t need to add in the bonded code - they will just give you a bonded place? Not sure if anyone would know but it would be good information to have by august. Thanks so much!! I’ll see you guys next year  ;D
So the three Monash medicine codes are essentially for the same course but there are different "agreements" you make by accepting certain offers. See below for a general overview...

- Monash Medicine School Leaver entry (unbonded): basically you do the 5 year course (typically the most desirable).

- Monash Medicine Bonded: so exactly the same 5 year course as the above but you sign an agreement with the government to spend three years (after your degree) working rurally (see more specific info here.) And to answer your question NO, Monash won't give you a bonded place UNLESS you put it in your VTAC preferences. I'd suggest preferencing it as it increases your chances of getting into Medicine. i.e. if you don't have high enough scores to to get an unbonded place but you are very close, you might be able to get bonded! However, obviously you have to be aware of the terms you are signing to and be willing to follow through on the agreement after completing the course.

- Monash Medicine Extended Rural Cohort (ERC): so again, same course as the above but 2.5 out of 3 of your clinical years (DURING the course) are done in rural Victoria. This is actually the cohort that I'm in! The first two years of the course (preclinical, 1-2) are still at the Clayton Campus. Then when you get to clinical years (3-5) the majority of your placement isn't in Melbourne (you'll be placed at places like Bendigo, Mildura, Sale, etc). There are no ties to work rurally after you've finished the course (unlike bonded).

Hope this helps to explain it a little! In summary, school leaver = no ties, ERC = ties to work rurally DURING course, Bonded = ties to work rurally 3 yrs AFTER course. I would say people tend to preference school leaver first then ERC and then bonded! But ultimately it's up to you  (and of course, you don't have to preference all of them if you don't want to!) 8) All the best for the UCAT!
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: vehura on June 18, 2021, 09:29:22 am
All the best for the UCAT!

Thanks so much Chocolatemilkshake! I was vaguely familiar with what each entry entails but you clarified it really well for me. Someone here wrote that you didn't need to preference CSP bonded, but I wasn't sure on why as there were different VTAC codes. Thanks so much, you have really cleared it up. ;D

Since you're doing the ERC, do you know if you are living where your placement is during your clinical years? I read on MSO that you can't leave until like the weekend? Thanks so much again!
Title: Re: vehura's vce journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on June 18, 2021, 04:37:46 pm
Since you're doing the ERC, do you know if you are living where your placement is during your clinical years? I read on MSO that you can't leave until like the weekend? Thanks so much again!
Yeah so you do move to where your placement is during semester. I can't speak from experience because I'm only preclinical years although I do know that Monash provides cheap accommodation near your placement.