HSC Class of 2016 Discussion Thread

[jamonwindeyer]

Just out of curioisty but did any of you guys cram your prelim yearlies?

I feel like I need to do multiple allnighters in order to catch up on work and write essays

I crammed pretty hard for my Legal studies Prelim exam, but that was till about 1:30am, and I seriously regret that now prelim exams aren't worth losing sleep over!! And frequent all nighters are, as Joseph said, definitely not healthy, how many hours of study do you get done during the day? Is it that you have too much on to study of an afternoon or?

[conic curve]

That is not a good idea. You need sleep.

Yeah I know that but I have 2 upcoming assignments I need to complete and then essays to write and then feedback and then reediting my essays, oh god there's so much for me to do

Need to do heaps of study as well and practice exam papers when I only have 3 weeks until the exam block

[Joseph41]

Yeah I know that but I have 2 upcoming assignments I need to complete and then essays to write and then feedback and then reediting my essays, oh god there's so much for me to do

Need to do heaps of study as well and practice exam papers when I only have 3 weeks until the exam block

Just imagine how poorly you'll do on all of that if you don't get enough sleep! All-nighters are counter-productive.

[jamonwindeyer]

Yeah I know that but I have 2 upcoming assignments I need to complete and then essays to write and then feedback and then reediting my essays, oh god there's so much for me to do

Need to do heaps of study as well and practice exam papers when I only have 3 weeks until the exam block

I feel you, it can get really busy, but still you shouldn't be pulling all nighters on any sort of consistent basis! It won't be your best quality work anyway seriously, it is Prelim, it counts towards absolutely nothing in the long run! Don't let it stress you!

How many hours do you study a day? Even in the busiest times 4 hours a day for prelim is absolutely heaps

[conic curve]

I feel you, it can get really busy, but still you shouldn't be pulling all nighters on any sort of consistent basis! It won't be your best quality work anyway seriously, it is Prelim, it counts towards absolutely nothing in the long run! Don't let it stress you!

How many hours do you study a day? Even in the busiest times 4 hours a day for prelim is absolutely heaps

Although prelim counts to absolutely nothing, I'd rather walk in the doors of the HSC competition with some sort of confidence that since I did well in prelim, I'll be doing well in the HSC 

Uh...2? Right now I got 2 assignments to do and they're both due next week

[RuiAce]

Although prelim counts to absolutely nothing, I'd rather walk in the doors of the HSC competition with some sort of confidence that since I did well in prelim, I'll be doing well in the HSC 

Uh...2? Right now I got 2 assignments to do and they're both due next week

Yeah nah. I have a friend that flunked Yr 11 but then got 94.65 ATAR

And then I have other friends that did well in Yr 11 but fell in Yr 12

[conic curve]

Yeah nah. I have a friend that flunked Yr 11 but then got 94.65 ATAR

And then I have other friends that did well in Yr 11 but fell in Yr 12

Why do you think that was?

Study technique, a lot of time wasting and procrastination?

[jamonwindeyer]

Why do you think that was?

Study technique, a lot of time wasting and procrastination?

I've seen the same, mix of the above

I agree that doing well in Prelim helps, but that's no reason to lose sleep over it!!

Instead of pulling all nighters, why don't you increase your study time to 3 or 4 hours a day?

[RuiAce]

Why do you think that was?

Study technique, a lot of time wasting and procrastination?

Because some people that lazed through Yr 11 pulled their game up out of nowhere. A lot of the original top-end spectrum people got dragged down not necessarily because they became less capable themselves, but because others overtook them.

Your performance in Yr 11, whilst useful for a confidence boost, has the potential of being completely distinct from what happens in Yr 12.

[conic curve]

Because some people that lazed through Yr 11 pulled their game up out of nowhere. A lot of the original top-end spectrum people got dragged down not necessarily because they became less capable themselves, but because others overtook them.

Your performance in Yr 11, whilst useful for a confidence boost, has the potential of being completely distinct from what happens in Yr 12.

lol I thought that if people had bad study/procrastination habits in yr 11, then it'd be hard for them to change bad habits and hence they're not going to do well in the HSC

How would other people overtake them all of a sudden? Logic doesn't really seem to make sense to me lol

[RuiAce]

lol I thought that if people had bad study/procrastination habits in yr 11, then it'd be hard for them to change bad habits and hence they're not going to do well in the HSC

How would other people overtake them all of a sudden? Logic doesn't really seem to make sense to me lol

It's called getting your shit together.

During Yr 11 it was like oh hey I know you from primary mate. (Remember: I changed schools after Yr 10)

Who did I spend most time with helping each other in Yr 12? Him. Obviously someone pulled their A-game up in the ultimate year.

It's called Yr 11 is Yr 11 and Yr 12 is Yr 12. One year doesn't count; the other does. People who do the best in Year TWELVE are the people who get the better final results.

I had at least 5 people I predicted to get 98+ ATAR, myself not included. Only two of those five did.
__________________

If you want to know WHERE he got the determination from you would have to ask him.

[ssarahj]

Although prelim counts to absolutely nothing, I'd rather walk in the doors of the HSC competition with some sort of confidence that since I did well in prelim, I'll be doing well in the HSC 

Uh...2? Right now I got 2 assignments to do and they're both due next week

Just to add my two cents: I personally got into really good habits during Prelim which I was able to carry through into the HSC e.g. doing my summaries and practise essays etc.
But I can clearly remember this one afternoon in the lead up to my Yearlies when I had a  kind of epiphany and I realised that there was only so much I was willing to do for an exam that didn't actually count. So I did an average amount of study, no all-nighters or anything crazy like that, and I ended up really happy with how I went.
Moral of the story is:
1. Don't lose any sleep over Prelims. Seriously. Just don't. (Hopefully this has already been reiterated enough)
2. Finish your assignments to the best of your ability and fit in extra study when you can. 3 weeks is more than enough time!
3. Decide your breaking point/maximum effort and stick by it no matter what e.g. no studying after 10pm
3. Don't have a break down over Prelims its honestly not worth any of the stress/tears/anger/anxiety. You're going to have way more important things to worry about next year.

The main lesson you should be learning from Year 11 is what study techniques/patterns work best for YOU so that you can implement them when it counts.
And most importantly, start by taking the advice from all these people who have come before you 

[aoife98]

Trials are over and hsc study is slowly starting to kick in. There's talk in some classes about forming smaller study groups but no one is too sure what would actually be effective to do in them. What's worked for you guys?

[conic curve]

Just to add my two cents: I personally got into really good habits during Prelim which I was able to carry through into the HSC e.g. doing my summaries and practise essays etc.
But I can clearly remember this one afternoon in the lead up to my Yearlies when I had a  kind of epiphany and I realised that there was only so much I was willing to do for an exam that didn't actually count. So I did an average amount of study, no all-nighters or anything crazy like that, and I ended up really happy without I went.
Moral of the story is:
1. Don't lose any sleep over Prelims. Seriously. Just don't. (Hopefully this has already been reiterated enough)
2. Finish your assignments to the best of your ability and fit in extra study when you can. 3 weeks is more than enough time!
3. Decide your breaking point/maximum effort and stick by it no matter what e.g. no studying after 10pm
3. Don't have a break down over Prelims its honestly not worth any of the stress/tears/anger/anxiety. You're going to have way more important things to worry about next year.

The main lesson you should be learning from Year 11 is what study techniques/patterns work best for YOU so that you can implement them when it counts.
And most importantly, start by taking the advice from all these people who have come before you 

Thanks for the advice ssarahj

Also did any of you guys seem to realise the swift change from prelim to hsc?

[RuiAce]

Trials are over and hsc study is slowly starting to kick in. There's talk in some classes about forming smaller study groups but no one is too sure what would actually be effective to do in them. What's worked for you guys?

During my trials, I just stayed in my room and studied.

But during the HSC stuvac period I got bored of my room. So I just went to the library.
I dare say that my productivity DID decrease* from making this decision. But studying stopped being as boring by doing this. Every now and then a bit of conversation would appear, but then we'd get back to studying again sooner or later.

What did we do for study? To be honest, we did whatever we individually wanted to do. It just so happened if we could help each other out we asked for it. Although we did have lunch together.

* - My raw marks for my final exams were still higher than that for the trials regardless.