Getting a 99+ ATAR: Tips from a 99.80 Student

[jamonwindeyer]

Just curious, when you mean my band 3u mark in the half yearlies..what do you exactly mean?

To be honest, I forget the exact numerical value. I passed, but not by much, and I came either second (or maybe third?) last in the class

[Rathin]

To be honest, I forget the exact numerical value. I passed, but not by much, and I came either second (or maybe third?) last in the class

Better than what I am doing LEL
but life motto "comeback gaming"

Sorry another useless question..
What were your internal ranks? If you still remember it that is

Mod edit: Posts merged. Please don't double post unless there is a reason for doing so.

[jamonwindeyer]

Sorry another useless question..
What were your internal ranks? If you still remember it that is

Useless question? No such thing! all my internal ranks were 1st, except for Legal Studies, where I was a close 2nd

[Rathin]

Useless question? No such thing! all my internal ranks were 1st, except for Legal Studies, where I was a close 2nd

And you still managed a state rank in legal..props to you my friend

[jamonwindeyer]

And you still managed a state rank in legal..props to you my friend

The person who came 1st is a really good friend of mine, but she was less than pleased on the plus side, the high mark I got in the exam to get that state rank pushed her up as well, so we both got 98

[Neilab]

This was really interesting! How much study did you do every night in terms 1 - 3 of the HSC? and did you ever dedicate a specific day where you did "no work" as a way of cleansing?

Mod Edit: Just removed the huge quote

[jamonwindeyer]

This was really interesting! How much study did you do every night in terms 1 - 3 of the HSC? and did you ever dedicate a specific day where you did "no work" as a way of cleansing?

Glad you enjoyed the read! For just regular weeks I wouldn't do a heap of study - I'd do my homework, work on my assessments, study for any class tests coming up, and work on study notes, with little bits of extra study here and there. My homework was my study - I had great teachers and their homework was really all I needed to get extra practice and revise, at least until we got close to an exam block

All up, all of that probably came together to about 20, maybe even 25 at a stretch, hours a week of extra work at home, on average it was like 2-3 hours a night then extra on weekends, so that sounds about right

I always gave myself Saturday night off to hang out with my girlfriend. That was my cleanser (and if I needed a day off elsewhere I took it). I did a lot of extra stuff; part time work and similar; that kept the variety and kept me refreshed

[Diala]

Hey there, you absolute legend!
My gosh your tips are one of a kind😁 I'm curious as to when you're doing past papers, particularly with essays, how do you mark them? I know there's sample responses but I was advised that they're actually pretty terrible - worth about a band 4. I know I can send them through here only if I get the point thingys (sorry I forgot what it's called😂) is there also another way? I definitely want to submit some of my sample responses here seeing how it has boosted so many people's marks, but I also want to try different methods.
I'm not sure if this is relevant but I'm currently doing Advanced English, Legal Studies, Modern History, Ancient History and Biology and they are quite content-heavy so I know I need to start getting my shit together Any tips?

Thank you!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey there, you absolute legend!
My gosh your tips are one of a kind😁 I'm curious as to when you're doing past papers, particularly with essays, how do you mark them? I know there's sample responses but I was advised that they're actually pretty terrible - worth about a band 4. I know I can send them through here only if I get the point thingys (sorry I forgot what it's called😂) is there also another way? I definitely want to submit some of my sample responses here seeing how it has boosted so many people's marks, but I also want to try different methods.
I'm not sure if this is relevant but I'm currently doing Advanced English, Legal Studies, Modern History, Ancient History and Biology and they are quite content-heavy so I know I need to start getting my shit together Any tips?

Thank you!

Hey! Thanks for your kind words

No doubt that essays are a little tougher to mark. It's hard to know whether you've fulfilled criteria correctly, semi-correctly, or otherwise. I did self mark my essays, and I used the criteria that a HSC marker would use. Obviously I would never know for sure, but often if you are honest with yourself, you can give a solid estimate based on the requirements for certain mark ranges. This does come from getting feedback from more knowledgeable people in conjunction - Us, teachers, tutors, etc etc once you've gotten feedback for a subject a few times, you start to know what a 20/20 essay looks/feels like, what an 18/20 feels like, and so on. This comes from lots of practice - It might not be something you can do right now, but down the track it definitely will be

Definitely would be keen to read some of your responses as you get more posts and start to qualify for feedback!

Damn, sounds like some really content heavy subjects. Make sure you are writing your notes as you go so you don't have a big scramble to get them done in the lead up to an exam block (or alternatively, just use notes from some other source, writing your own does help a lot of people but not necessarily everyone) if you do write notes, keep them succinct - 150 pages of notes for 5 subjects is rough reading - Think shortcuts like posters and palm cards! Beyond that, do lots of practice - I know it is probably all you hear but practice is really that important

[Mary_a]

Hey Jamon,

This was so helpful and I will definitely use this advice!!
As someone who suffers from severe anxiety, I have been granted permission to sit exams with special provisions. Do you happen to have any tips on approaching exams in the least stressful way whilst still completing really effective studying?

Thank you so much,

Mary

[elysepopplewell]

Hey Jamon,

This was so helpful and I will definitely use this advice!!
As someone who suffers from severe anxiety, I have been granted permission to sit exams with special provisions. Do you happen to have any tips on approaching exams in the least stressful way whilst still completing really effective studying?

Thank you so much,

Mary

My friend was in a very similar situation to you, and I asked him around the HSC time what it was like for him. He said that planning was everything, because then he had a structure to work with and when he studied he'd just have to go through the motions, but he had to learn to become forgiving of himself when he couldn't stick to the structure. Instead of worrying so much that he slacked off, got behind on something, he spent all year trying to forgive himself and learn to listen to when he needed breaks. By the time of the HSC, he became far better at this than he was at the start of the year. And I think there's a lesson for everyone in there! Always be keen and plan, but forgive yourself when it doesn't always work out the exact way you'd intend!

When it comes to the exams - know the provisions! Know when you get breaks, for how long, etc. Use them wisely by planning in advance, otherwise it can be very stressful in an exam situation to be told to take a break when you didn't realise you had one so soon, etc. Basically: Planning anything in life will take an element of surprise out. But, it doesn't mean that everything will run according to plan, and that's when flexibility and forgiveness comes into play. I experienced my worst anxiety in Year 9 and learned coping mechanisms by the HSC, so I won't act like I experienced the same thing as you, but I can share my own coping mechanisms! And that is so much about listening to yourself - easier said than done. There's no use pushing on when you're so tired that nothing stays in your head: it wastes time, you get frustrated with yourself, you try to cram the knowledge in harder, it isn't penetrating your memory, you grow a poor attitude for studying, and it's a toxic cycle. I learned to listen to my body not being able to study any more, and then I learned to forgive it. In my mind, these are two very different but important steps.

Hopefully this gives you some insight

[Mary_a]

My friend was in a very similar situation to you, and I asked him around the HSC time what it was like for him. He said that planning was everything, because then he had a structure to work with and when he studied he'd just have to go through the motions, but he had to learn to become forgiving of himself when he couldn't stick to the structure. Instead of worrying so much that he slacked off, got behind on something, he spent all year trying to forgive himself and learn to listen to when he needed breaks. By the time of the HSC, he became far better at this than he was at the start of the year. And I think there's a lesson for everyone in there! Always be keen and plan, but forgive yourself when it doesn't always work out the exact way you'd intend!

When it comes to the exams - know the provisions! Know when you get breaks, for how long, etc. Use them wisely by planning in advance, otherwise it can be very stressful in an exam situation to be told to take a break when you didn't realise you had one so soon, etc. Basically: Planning anything in life will take an element of surprise out. But, it doesn't mean that everything will run according to plan, and that's when flexibility and forgiveness comes into play. I experienced my worst anxiety in Year 9 and learned coping mechanisms by the HSC, so I won't act like I experienced the same thing as you, but I can share my own coping mechanisms! And that is so much about listening to yourself - easier said than done. There's no use pushing on when you're so tired that nothing stays in your head: it wastes time, you get frustrated with yourself, you try to cram the knowledge in harder, it isn't penetrating your memory, you grow a poor attitude for studying, and it's a toxic cycle. I learned to listen to my body not being able to study any more, and then I learned to forgive it. In my mind, these are two very different but important steps.

Hopefully this gives you some insight

Hi Elyse, thank you so much! This was awesome! In fact, it was exactly what I needed to hear right now. On this note, I am going to pack up and finish studying for the night and get myself to bed, I was pushing myself to cram and study, but as you said it is kind of pointless in this state of mind.

Thank you so much,

Mary x