Year 12 stress...

[EmilyRoseLamb]

I'm in my first week of year 12, and already stressing more than I ever have.
I've always been a very high achieving student, and have never stressed too much about school because it's always worked - I study, I get the desired grade, I'm happy. I got straight A+'s in Global Poltics and Legal Studies last year and my grades in other subjects never dropped below an A. I was confident about my ability and remained to be until Monday this week. I don't know what's changed but this week I've been going insane - I've done nothing but study and feel as though I should already know the entire terms content back to front and have been exhausted. I've also been obsessing over things like increments - I've only taken 5 subjects, and although I'm supposed to be starting a uni extension at the end of Feb, that's stressing me too because of travel - but I'm worried if I drop it my ATAR won't be as high!

I just wonder if anyone has any tips to try and de-stress and relax in year 12. I know that if I'm like this in the first week it's only going to get worse, so I must get on top of it. I mean they rant on so much about rankings and bell-curves and subject scaling that it starts to get in your head like a little gremlin telling you that it's impossible to get your desired results.

Thank you!

[keltingmeith]

I think the best way for you to stress less is that you need to understand that the ATAR doesn't matter. Not always going to work; but just remember that. My ATAR was below the clearly-in for my course - I still got in. And that's why you're going through this hell, yeah? To go to uni?

Another thing is that you don't need to smash every little thing to do well. I got a 25 and a 27 when I did year 12, and I still got a 90+ ATAR.

Finally, don't forget this - if you live to be 60, this year is only 1/60 th of your life. In the grand scheme of things, this year means nothing. But your mental condition is always important. If ever you need to take a break, and taking that break won't stress you out more, just do it. You're more likely to score well on a calm mind than you are in a stressed mind.

[Rishi97]

Hey EmilyRoseLamb

I felt exactly like this when I started year 12! I was soo stressed during the first few weeks and would break into tears everytime someone mentioned yr 12 haha. I think what helped me overcome this was to remember that you still have the year to understand the content. It's ok if you don't understand something in the first go..not many people will. But then you have heaps of time to relearn the topic and also apply it by doing many practise questions. And also, don't worry about your ATAR at this stage, it will just stress you more. Have smaller goals throughout the year like 'I want to get 90+ on the next bio sac' or ' i want to go through this bio topic before the weekend ends' and stuff like that. If you have little achievable goals, then you will also feel good once you are achieving them And I completely agree with DickensFan101 that your mental condition is always important. Your atar is not the end of the world even though it may seem that way now. There are heaps of ways to achieve your chosen career so don't stress too much
PM me if you ever wanna talk xx

[Joseph41]

I'm in my first week of year 12, and already stressing more than I ever have.
I've always been a very high achieving student, and have never stressed too much about school because it's always worked - I study, I get the desired grade, I'm happy. I got straight A+'s in Global Poltics and Legal Studies last year and my grades in other subjects never dropped below an A. I was confident about my ability and remained to be until Monday this week. I don't know what's changed but this week I've been going insane - I've done nothing but study and feel as though I should already know the entire terms content back to front and have been exhausted. I've also been obsessing over things like increments - I've only taken 5 subjects, and although I'm supposed to be starting a uni extension at the end of Feb, that's stressing me too because of travel - but I'm worried if I drop it my ATAR won't be as high!

I just wonder if anyone has any tips to try and de-stress and relax in year 12. I know that if I'm like this in the first week it's only going to get worse, so I must get on top of it. I mean they rant on so much about rankings and bell-curves and subject scaling that it starts to get in your head like a little gremlin telling you that it's impossible to get your desired results.

Thank you!

Hey Emily,

I'm sorry to hear that you have been feeling stressed - it's never a nice feeling!

I can identify with what you have said about being a high achieving student. I never really tried my hardest until VCE because I never really had to, nor did I have any incentive to do so. In one respect, Year 12 was a bit of a change, but I actually enjoyed it. I really loved the feeling of getting the most out of myself, and pushing myself to do better. I hope that you can experience similarly during the year.

Based on your results last year, you obviously have the ability to do well this year. And really, not that much needs to change. Based on those results, you have no reason to not be confident about doing well. Year 12 can be scary and a big unknown, but at the end of the day, it isn't that dissimilar to Year 11, or Year 10, or Year 9. I preferred Year 12 because I actually had something to work toward. Perhaps you could try to shift your mindset a little from seeing Year 12 as something threatening to Year 12 as something challenging; an opportunity to excel.

To do that, of course, some sort of balance is required. At this stage of the year, I really don't think that studying as much as it sounds you have been is necessary. It might even be counter-productive in the long-run. I understand that those words are pretty meaningless. If you're anything like me, you might just sometimes get in these moods where it feels as though no amount of study is enough - that no matter how much you do there is always more to be done. But it is very important to see Year 12 as just a part of your life, and not your life in its entirety.

What Euler said above is true - your ATAR doesn't matter insofar as there are more important things in life. But where you are at the moment - starting Year 12 - it probably won't feel that way. Your ATAR does matter, of course. It largely defines, in many cases, what you might do or study next and beyond. So to think that it doesn't matter at all is probably both unreasonable and, well, inaccurate. But I totally agree with Euler in that your results are not the end. Instead, they are just a means to an end. And if those means take you somewhere else, then so be it. Your end (desired outcome), whatever that might be, can always be found with different means.

Increments and stuff like that are pretty pointless to worry too much about. They're hard to predict, if nothing else. You probably know that already, but I thought it should probably be emphasised. Year 12 is such a great opportunity to actually learn some pretty cool stuff. It would be a waste to spend your time instead worrying about increments.

As for de-stressing, what are your hobbies and interests? Something I'm big on is not replacing entirely what you like doing. If you love reading, don't stop reading for sake of studying. You might have to reduce your time doing it, sure, but don't stop it entirely. If you love baking, the same thing holds. Or sport. Or knitting. Or going to the gym. Or gaming. Or whatever you like doing. We all need a release - a bit of an outlet - especially through Year 12, which is notoriously difficult. Again, I agree with Euler; breaks are important, even for school purposes.

It's not impossible to get your desired results. You are clearly capable. Believe in yourself, and good things will happen.

Best of luck.

[pi]

I think the best way for you to stress less is that you need to understand that the ATAR doesn't matter.

I can't say I agree with this; the ATAR definitely does matter. I think it's perfectly reasonable for someone to have their academic goals at the end of the year in terms of ATARs and study scores, especially when many are unsure of their desired uni course at the start of year 12 (myself included!). Sure, some speak of alternative entries to courses and those are all good pathways, but honestly, why bother doing a couple of extra years at uni if you can smash out a high ATAR in the first place.

I really like this quote from a user a week ago:

Your ATAR gives you keys, keys to open doors, doors that open into courses. Some people will get to choose from a wide range and variety of keys, but we all have at least one. Use that key to get into your course. Once you open the door into your course, do you keep the key? No why would you need it again? You have moved on.

So yes, agreed that the ATAR is meaningless when you're say 60 years old once you've thrown away your proverbial keys, but when you're in year 12, it is important to acquire as many keys as possible, and believing otherwise would be living in blissful ignorance.

I just wonder if anyone has any tips to try and de-stress and relax in year 12. I know that if I'm like this in the first week it's only going to get worse, so I must get on top of it. I mean they rant on so much about rankings and bell-curves and subject scaling that it starts to get in your head like a little gremlin telling you that it's impossible to get your desired results. 

I think Joseph1 gave some pretty sound advice, I'd take his post on board.

Personally I'd try and not get too involved in the statistical side of how your scores are calculated. It does no one any good and only adds to anxiety and stress. If you do your best, the results will reflect that.

[EmilyRoseLamb]

Thank you all so much for the advice, it's helped a lot. I'll be sure to try and balance study with time to keep up with reading and drawing, my two favourite past times. I've always been very much like Joseph in that I feel no study is ever enough. The pressure I was feeling stemmed from how much thought I've put into year 12 over previous years, and all of a sudden it's not all theoretical - it's actually happening. I do see it as a chance to excel, and I'll try to the very best of my ability, whilst attempting to stay sane Thank you all for the responses!