Class of 2014! :D

[aqple]

The only real problem is that it's sometimes difficult to tell whether or not you will actually do badly in that one subject. The exam mark is extremely influential and if you are able to bump it up to an A/A+ then it's still possible to do better in that subject than another which you might mess up due to doing badly on the exam etc. But yeah in general I think it's a good idea.

Yeah sometimes it is hard to tell. But for those who are certain of their top 4 subjects, then it's really strategic.

[Joseph41]

Again, apologies for intruding into your thread.

How many of you have already chosen your bottom two? Do you reckon this is a good strategical move to focus time on the top 4 subjects?

In theory, perhaps, but I think that this is a (potentially) flawed strategy. I say this through experience, for it is a strategy that I tried to use with little success. I ignored Further during the year for sake of VisCom, even doing my folios during Further classes. I was of the opinion that one high score and one relatively low score (in the bottom 2) would be better for me than two mid-range scores. However, I somehow ended up with a higher study score for Further (the greatest injustice in the history of the world) than VisCom.

At the end of the day, if I divided my effort between the two subjects more equally, I think I would have achieved a superior aggregate score.

Anyway, that's just my experience - it probably differs from person to person - but I thought I'd contribute my two cents just to warm people to at least be wary of putting all of their metaphorical eggs in a few metaphorical baskets.

All the best.


EDIT I: Beaten by the two responses above this one, which basically summarised my thoughts.
EDIT II: And also the response below this one.

[Reus]

My mate who did VCE quite well actually, was like you shouldn't have a subject that you consider 10% and neglect. This is because the exams matter most. You never know what the difficulty of that exam may be like and you may find it easy but necessarily ace it because you are not 100% prepared to get full marks.

Also you never know how bad/hard you can go on a subject you were planning to do well in. Anything can happen! It'd be wise to prepare and study for all subjects equally - prerequisites are priories of course.

[fareseru]

The other thing to consider is the fact that even if you've been sitting on an A in one subject and A+ in your others, if you're ranked first in that subject - and get 100%/whatever on the exam (the highest mark, either way) - your SAC mark will then be made equal to 100%/whatever.

[anna.xo]

My mate who did VCE quite well actually, was like you shouldn't have a subject that you consider 10% and neglect. This is because the exams matter most. You never know what the difficulty of that exam may be like and you may find it easy but necessarily ace it because you are not 100% prepared to get full marks.

Also you never know how bad/hard you can go on a subject you were planning to do well in. Anything can happen! It'd be wise to prepare and study for all subjects equally - prerequisites are priories of course.

The other thing to consider is the fact that even if you've been sitting on an A in one subject and A+ in your others, if you're ranked first in that subject - and get 100%/whatever on the exam (the highest mark, either way) - your SAC mark will then be made equal to 100%/whatever.

I agree with both of these guys. I was tempted to completely neglect methods and chemistry, thinking they would be my bottom two definitely..but because of my tutor, have to be doing methods exams and I realised that this is actually not a good idea. Like Reus has already mentioned, we have no idea what the difficulty of the exam will be..and if it turns out to be ridiculously hard or just goes pear shaped, at least you have your other subjects that can sort of save your ass. But if you neglect some of your subjects, and hope for the best for your 'top 4' and things don't go to plan, you're disadvantaging yourself pretty majorly.

I think if you do go for the 'know my top 4, neglect the bottom 2' strategy, you're relying too heavily on luck and hope, and as anyone can tell you, VCAA are not ones to be relied upon heavily for this ! Whatever, you people decide, good luck with it all and I'm sure your hard work will pay dividends ! 

[walkec]

After a huge week, for both school related and personal reasons I felt quite tired just before.
Decided to set a timer for 15 minutes and have a nap - best decision all week. I feel so refreshed now. Definitely going to use this strategy during swot vac for breaks between study sessions!

[DJA]

After a huge week, for both school related and personal reasons I felt quite tired just before.
Decided to set a timer for 15 minutes and have a nap - best decision all week. I feel so refreshed now. Definitely going to use this strategy during swot vac for breaks between study sessions!

I had the exact same thought today!! - except when my alarm went off I switched it off.

Nek minute slept for TWO hours GG

[mikehepro]

I had the exact same thought today!! - except when my alarm went off I switched it off.

Nek minute slept for TWO hours GG

So jealous, over the last two weeks I've woken up at around 6:30-7:00am everyday. I can't fall asleep after that, it is like a biological alarm clock...Maybe I need some sleeping pills, I really need to sleep more ahha.

[walkec]

So jealous, over the last two weeks I've woken up at around 6:30-7:00am everyday. I can't fall asleep after that, it is like a biological alarm clock...Maybe I need some sleeping pills, I really need to sleep more ahha.

Sleeping pills aren't really a long term solution to be honest. Once you start using them regularly enough, they mess with your body's chemical composition and it is really hard then for your body to get to sleep on its own.

Maybe just try gradually going to bed earlier? Also if you're tired in the long term and have been for a while, consider getting a blood test to test for deficiencies. If you're deficient in certain nutrients (especially B Group vitamins and iron) it can really make you feel tired.

[clıppy]

I had the exact same thought today!! - except when my alarm went off I switched it off.

Nek minute slept for TWO hours GG

This sounds like me for every single nap I've had in the past month.
15 minutes, yep, sure, alright. And then 2 hours later I feel worse than when I started.

[DJA]

This sounds like me for every single nap I've had in the past month.
15 minutes, yep, sure, alright. And then 2 hours later I feel worse than when I started.

Yeah - it's like such guilt. Used up my afternoon sleeping haha

[anna.xo]

Yeah - it's like such guilt. Used up my afternoon sleeping haha

Still better than the way I used my afternoon...procrastinating

[marsbareater12]

I decided to take it easy for the last day of the holidays. I seem to be having similar problems to some and being adequately motivated for some subjects and then tempted to do absolutely nothing for others. How many of you have already chosen your bottom two? Do you reckon this is a good strategical move to focus time on the top 4 subjects?

I've chosen my bottom 3 ;P (I do seven, so one's gonna get dropped off). VET, imo, will get dropped, and VCD will definitely be in the bottom two. That said, I still do a bit of work for VCD, but it's about 2/3s the work I do for my other subjects.

I definitely feel like I've done nothing these holidays though ;;-_- I know some people who would say I've done so much, but I had so much more planned I didn't get to do. On the upside, I'm happy that I worked so much, because money (it's what I just spent my afternoon doing), but I definitely wish I studied more.

[ras]

Apparently how to/whether to prioritise subjects is quite contentious. The one subject I've decided to still work on but not as the others is Revs. It's the day before Chem and the same day (same time) as Spesh Exam 2, and if I put my all into it I'm 100% sure I'd burn out.

I regret not getting a job this year so much. I've had plenty(ish) of spare time and I'm going to be desperate and broke all summer now

[M_BONG]

Are you guys going to go to school in term 4?

I am thinking of going the first week, then taking the other weeks off to study at home since it takes 2 hours for me to get to school and back...