Starting to study for year 12

[9_7]

I'm just wondering when is a good time to start studying for year 12? As I have nothing else on.. soo.. now?

[vcestudent94]

If you have nothing else on then now, but take it easy. At this stage, only do work if you feel like it, if not then stop. Early-mid January is when you should start consistent preparation for year 12, ideally the first couple of chapters for each subject imo.

[Somye]

I'd probably say earliest would be January?

You don't want to burn yourself out too quickly, and if you do a lot of the subject's course durning the holidays, its easy to become demotivated to do the subject/ you'll have to do the work again...

So even during your holidays, I'd have a summary look over all the courses, and read my texts for english, but not TOO much apart from that..

[Planck's constant]

The short answer to your question is 'now'.
There is a lot of work to go through VCE, some would say an inhumane amount of work, and let's face it, the amount of time available is FINITE. It ends in less than 12 months from now. It stands to reason that you will be better able to complete your preparation if you spread it over the longest time possible.
You will have to make some sacrifices this year. Can't be helped. Just look after yourself. Eat well, sleep well, rest well ... And work well

[Art Vandelay]

Just familiarise yourself with study designs, do some light reading.... It's up to you, dude, just make sure you don't overwork yourself - the last thing you'd want is to be burnt out before Year 12 really starts!

[Shenz0r]

The short answer to your question is 'now'.

I disagree. It's not even the end of 2012 yet.  I didn't start Year 12 work until mid-January.

Take a break, people need a good one before they start studying madly over the course of next year. People will burn out so quickly if they start studying now, it's like using up all of their glycogen supply before the race has even started. (Yeah come on Biology)

The short answer to your question is 'now'.
There is a lot of work to go through VCE, some would say an inhumane amount of work

If VCE is inhumane, then university must be hell.

While Year 12 is stressful, the amount of work will not break people's backs. It's manageable if you study smart, organise your time effectively, and don't procrastinate.

It stands to reason that you will be better able to complete your preparation if you spread it over the longest time possible.

This doesn't help all the time. Sometimes, it may. But be aware that if you attempt to complete the course for subjects like Methods/Spesh/Chem/whatever in the holidays, you risk losing stimulus as the year drags on. There was a kid in my cohort who finished both Methods and Spesh courses and then became disinterested in class and proceeded to sleep and crap.

Additionally, starting practise exams early didn't really help me, I reckon. For the Chem mid-year, I finished the course by April and had 2 months to revise for the exam. In the end, some people who only started to revise for the exams 2 weeks before still did better than me.

[Planck's constant]

I do not recommend that people burn themselves out before Xmas. I am simply making the obvious point that no matter which way you look at it, you ultimately have to climb the VCE mountain. Why not make your task more leisurely, which is something that a longer preparation affords you to do?
Is there any reason, for instance why people should not be buying ALL their textbooks right now? Is there any reason why they should not be hassling their teachers for a rough study plan next year, with likely SAC dates etc? Is there any reason for not knowing how your school is going to run English? Which texts will be studied first, the date for the Oral etc. Is there any reason for not knowing which Further modules your school will do? In what order ? Is there any reason for not hitting those early SACs hard?

[Somye]

There was a kid in my cohort who finished both Methods and Spesh courses and then became disinterested in class and proceeded to sleep and crap.

..Hopefully not at the same time :p

Is there any reason, for instance why people should not be buying ALL their textbooks right now? Is there any reason why they should not be hassling their teachers for a rough study plan next year, with likely SAC dates etc? Is there any reason for not knowing how your school is going to run English? Which texts will be studied first, the date for the Oral etc. Is there any reason for not knowing which Further modules your school will do? In what order ? Is there any reason for not hitting those early SACs hard?

No, but that's a huge difference to doing a large majority of the coursework, which many people invariably do.. Generally, (at least in my case and what I've heard from friends from other schools) you'll find that you have at least 2ish months at school before your first bunch of SACs, which in itself is plenty of time to go through and 'hit those early SACs hard'

[brenden]

Yeah just kick back. If you have nothing on then what the hell are you doing? It's 38 degrees tomorrow. Go to the beach, see movies with your friends, go have picnics, go vandalise the be a moral, upstanding citizen. Make the most of these holidays because they're the last you'll get while you're in highschool and not a weird almost-adult.
Start in January.
I agree with Shenzy. Tbh, if I were to repeat Year 12, I'd do less work (if that's even possible for me) and get a higher result.

[jacknthebeanstalk]

It's okay to read english novels though, right?

[pi]

It's okay to read english novels though, right?

Highly, highly recommended

[brenden]

It's okay to read english novels though, right?

Yeah my bad, I never really considered reading the novels homework. Read them twice.

[Planck's constant]

You will find that many schools do the Oral SAC within the first month.
OK people, I would like to be cool and say all the right things like relax and enjoy etc, but my conscience does not allow me to do that
Let me just remind you that we are all reading a forum which is plastered with ads for tutoring services, study guides and all sorts of educational services (which is GREAT, incidentally). This forum is also read by people who are aspirational and competitive. Rest assured that they will be vying for that #1 rank as hard as you because VCE, like it or not, is a COMPETITION.
Therefore, I will not ask you to do what I am saying, but consider doing what you think your COMPETITION is doing as we speak.
This should clarify your thinking

[charmanderp]

It's okay to read english novels though, right?

Just read them leisurely. Read them for the purpose of reading, etc. Read them thinking 'oh I have to study this book for English next year so I should do it now and then passively think about it' rather than 'ERMAHGERD I MUST READ THIS BOOK AND WRITE COPIOUS NOTES IN IT AND HIGHLIGHT STUFF IN ORDER TO GET THE RAW 50'. If you know what I mean. Like I think the point about 'you must read the English texts' is over exaggerated. Not that you shouldn't do it, but don't do it for the wrong reasons ie. don't study the text, read the text.

[brenden]

consider doing what you think your COMPETITION is doing as we speak.

Ten bucks says Usain Bolt trains differently to other runners. Fuck the competition. Don't get caught up thinking about everyone else, you'll overwhelm yourself.