Feeling hopeless - falling behind

[1ne]

I started school very late (due to an operation) and because of this I have to catch up on a lot of work, and it is absolutely so daunting, it makes me so stressed and anxious that it is very hard to even start and learn the material which leads to intense weeping afterwards because it just seems so much. I have two mid-years coming up and I want to get a really good score for both of them but because of the amount of work I have to catch up I'm feeling hopeless. Is it possible to get a good score despite starting so late? I'm so willing to study but because of the huge task before me I just feel that the whole state is ahead of me and are already started to finish the course and doing practice exams while I'm stilling at the middle of Term 1 and therefore I feel studying is going to be a waste of time since they already have the upper hand.. has anyone here achieved a high atar or heard people who achieved a high atar despite starting to study late? I need some hope and motivation because atm it seems like my vce life is over..

my dream is to hopefully one day get into commerce at monash or melb uni

[chiral]

Hey,

I can totally feel your pain although unlike you i had no good excuse for it. Last year during my VCE I left things to the last minute and ended up studying a few days (if that-for unit 4 physics i studied a few hours the night b4 ) b4 my exams. However I still managed to do alright and got a score well above the clearly in BSc @ Melbourne and although this initially was not my first preference i'm glad things turned out that way

There is still 2 months b4 your exams and don't think everyone has started exams papers and what not because although some ppl have a lot have not and will not for another month. If I were you I would make a monthly planner and work on finishing the course content by mid May and perhaps no later. Then you'll have about good 4 weeks to study for the exams which is more then enough time for two subjects. Spend the first 2 weeks revising notes and committing to memory and the last 2 weeks solely on past exam papers and questions. The amount of time you spend on questions and revising notes also depends on the subject, some subjects are very memory based (Psychology) and others require practice with  questions (chemistry).

I hope this helps, don't give up it is never too late to start studying

[killer_bot]

my dream is to hopefully one day get into commerce at monash or melb uni

mind if I ask why you want to get into commerce, lol?
don't worry you can apply for a tonne of seas. no worries.
It's not too late. You can still get A/A+. Don't give up!

[VivaTequila]

if it's as severe as you say, SEA's is your saviour. People with scores as low as 92 got into biomed, which was 99.00 cutoff this year.

Don't stress

[chiral]

if it's as severe as you say, SEA's is your saviour. People with scores as low as 92 got into biomed, which was 99.00 cutoff this year.

Don't stress

some ppl may think that an atar of 92 is pretty high

[Callum]

You'll also get special consideration as well. But I'm sure you have already applied for it Just keep working as hard as you can! You'll get there!

[nubs]

Maybe you could apply for a derived examination score? I know a friend of mine who got a concussion a month or two before the exam period and he was able to apply to apply for a derived examination score using his GAT results

But yeah if you can, definitely take the GAT very seriously I guess

I didn't really do anything during the first term of Biology, as I figured it would be my 7th subject, and therefore it wouldn't count towards my atar, so I hardly even showed up for class, and when I did, I just zoned out of it completely or messed around with a couple of mates

but yeah over last year's easter break (the one we're on now) I was just reading through some of the chapters and I found it kind of interesting, and just in case I choked on one of my other subjects, I thought it would be a good idea to actually do well in Biology. So yeah I pretty much just read all of the unit 3 chapters in my textbook, watched youtube vids etc etc and learnt all of the content during the term break (the teacher had finished the whole unit before the term ended) and in the end I got a mid-high A+

And it wasn't like I was doing 5 hours of biol a day from the start of the holidays to the exam period, I had plenty of time to chill and worry about my other subjects

And I crammed heaps for my chem mid-year as well, like I did my first practice exam a week before the actual exam, but I still ended up with a low A+

You have plenty of time to catch up and even get ahead of the state, just don't waste it. Actually pick up that textbook and start studying now. You may be behind most people in the state at the moment, but there are a lot of drop kicks out there so don't get too stressed
also don't let being behind discourage you at all, use it to motivate you
plus you have the special consideration stuff on your side, chill bruv

[1ne]

Thanks for the reply guys. But honestly the pressure and anxiety is literally going to kill me, no joke. I've been trying so hard to just study and forget the position that I'm in, but it is impossible to study for me - my whole body malfunctions and feel like I'm going to pass out. I stay up all night thinking about it and cry everyday because of it, studying is so freaking hard for me that my parents actually are getting extremely worried for me. Today in Chem I just wanted to leave school and run away.. sorry for being so pessimistic or depressive but I hope people on this forum realize how easy some of them they have it, and how some people have to struggle so much everyday to try and succeed but fail time and time again.

[Eriny]

Okay, aside from all of the advice regarding SEAS and special consideration, which you should look into, it's really not too late.

I'd advise you to get the unit outlines from the VCAA website and just make a list of what you know and another of what you need to know. If you break it up into small steps it will become less overwhelming for you and hopefully you can make some more progress. I'd advise you to focus on the subjects with mid-years first, then work on catching up in your other subjects over the upcoming break.

[thushan]

Thanks for the reply guys. But honestly the pressure and anxiety is literally going to kill me, no joke. I've been trying so hard to just study and forget the position that I'm in, but it is impossible to study for me - my whole body malfunctions and feel like I'm going to pass out. I stay up all night thinking about it and cry everyday because of it, studying is so freaking hard for me that my parents actually are getting extremely worried for me. Today in Chem I just wanted to leave school and run away.. sorry for being so pessimistic or depressive but I hope people on this forum realize how easy some of them they have it, and how some people have to struggle so much everyday to try and succeed but fail time and time again.

Not at all - you don't have to be sorry about being depressive or pessimistic at all. As you can see, people here on ATARnotes care and we really understand your pain. Personally I've went through hell last year myself, and I felt horrible - at times I wanted to scream the house down, throw my things and give up...and I've had a regular VCE, nothing like what you went through. I can barely begin to imagine how this is tearing you apart, but I really understand why you feel like this.

If there's anything useful I can say, it's that you do not have to struggle alone - your friends, family, and us...we WILL support you. Just know that we do care, and that if you wanted to let it all out, we're here. Also, we really hope you do well this year - and we can see that you are trying your utmost hardest, but also remember that we will in no way judge you if you don't do as well as you expected. We will know you as that amazing hard worker.

Do you feel any better now?

[Starlight]

Yes, you don't need to apologize for feeling depressed or anything. I thought I had it tough in yr 12, but you've just put things into perspective.

My advice, is seas and in regards to your midyears they are your priority, you can easily catch up during the mid sem holidays for your other subjects. Also, regularly see your teachers if you're finding the concepts really hard and perhaps make a study group with your friends, it will lower your stress levels trust me