Can people actually hardly try in year 11, then try and do well in yr 12? :/

[Mikayla:P]

I'm in yr 11 and I hear heaps of people saying it. Can people really actually not try in yr 11, then do really well in yr12?? It's kind of unfair :/

[achre]

Well, if you count 3/4s done in year 11 as part of year 11, then the answer is no. Everyone I know who did really well (like, an ATAR of 95+) put a lot of effort into year 11, and then even more effort into year 12. But a few of them neglected their 1/2s to focus on their 3/4s in year 11. They still wound up doing pretty well in their year 12 3/4s, but again, I wouldn't call how they treated their 1/2s "not trying". More like just doing the bare minimum.

I don't see how that's unfair, to be honest. It's a strategy that has worked for people that doesn't disadvantage anyone.

[Russ]

You absolutely can,  excluding 3/4 subjects as mentioned above.
If I had a dollar for every student I've heard say this and then continue to not put in effort the next year, however...

[spectroscopy]

my main friendship group in high school of about 9 of us got atars ranging from 90-94 with a 98 and an 85. the guy who got 85 or so actually peaked in year 11 doing two 3/4s with scores over 40 but then dropped off in year 12. the guy who got 98 studied pretty hard the whole way with a 40+ in year 11 and scores all in the high 30s low 40s in year 12. the rest of us from 90-94 did not do much work in year 11 at all other than for our 3/4s where we all got 40ish (+/- 3).
In general, in year 11 we all failed some sacs and switched subjects around. The thing is though, everyone still studied, except that it was focussed on our 3/4s and math and science subjects, and let other subjects fall to the wayside

year 11 is really good for figuring out which subjects you do and dont like, as your grades arent super important. you can definitely not do so well in year 11 and do well in year 12
BUT big changes in scores and study habits are very hard to happen instantaneously. its all good and well to theoretically talk about going from a D student in year 11 to an A+ student in year 12, but the reality is, generally, big changes in grades only come with big changes in study habits. it is incredibly difficult to go from a bludger in year 11, then waking up in the summer holidays and saying "ok time to study 5 hours a day". every year we get tonnes of people on atarntoes saying "i had a 41% average in my 1/2 can i still get 45+ in 3/4???"  and the answer is technically yes you can, but realistically, something has to change for your mentality to change from "claw at every mark i can find" to "dropping a mark is unacceptable".
 when you look at it from an outsiders perspective, it seems alot more achievable than it really is.
at my school for example (select entry so a bit different to most public schools) you would see HEAPS of students get shitty grades in their 1/2s, in year 11, even fail some subjects, and then get scores in the 40s in their 3/4s. alot of people think "oh they didnt study that much, most of the grades are bad". that is a fallacy, in general there was a shitload of study going on, its just that it was all focussed on 2 or 3(or 1) subject(s)

also, alot of subjects build from 1/2 knowledge, and you really should study for them in year 11. the first one that comes to mind is methods, if you scrape passes in year 11 you will probably get similar/worse scores in year 12.

TL;DR yes, but dont try to do it, start studying now

[Bruzzix]

Short answer: Yes, but not without difficulty.

Long answer:
This is my story. Last year when I was in year 11, I didn't apply myself at all and as a result was failing all my classes with the exception of English. My worst mark I think was around 20% in chemistry. Towards the end of the year, something 'clicked' in me and I became interested in my subjects and decided that it was important for me to do well. I started to get ~60-70% for my subjects. I told myself that in my final year of school I want to give it my all and do the best that I possibly can, not just to prove to myself that I can do it, but to learn as much as I can. On the school holidays I put away the distractions and got my books out. I did all the holiday homework for my subjects, went to the ATAR Notes lectures, then went ahead in chemistry as that's where I felt the weakest in.

From the first day of school, I devoted all my effort to attempting to achieve well. I studied at every spare moment I had - whether it be on the bus on the way to school, spare time in homeroom or even sometimes at assembly (with year level coordinators permission). I started studying during lunch and recess and then began staying back after school everyday until 5 when I was the only person there. Then going home to eat and resume studying. It was straining to say the least but I started to see immediate pay-offs; my SAC marks blew up, I was now ranked with the top 1-3 students for each of my subjects and for once I felt confident walking into tests. Albeit this was not without great difficulty. The most frustrating part is having to go back to last years content because you didn't learn it well enough; having to plaster holes in your fragile foundation. To add onto this, it's time consuming. You tend to get behind when you're learning something the class already knows while they're moving on with current work.

At the moment I've kept up these new study habits and what I can say is, there's only one ingredient for success (in VCE anyway): persistent determination. I can't stress how important this is, I reiterate: persistent determination If you have just that one quality, you'll work hard to get what you want. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life last year, but once I had it figured out, it gave me reason to actually try in school, and that's what drove me.

Take warning that this doesn't necessarily mean that you will do well in year 12 if you struggled through year 11. Such an improvement is only possible if you're dedicated enough to spend the time and effort to get where you want to be.

If you're in year 11 now, find something you want to do after school that will give you motivation and, as Spectroscopy said, start studying now.

Good luck