zsteve (99.95 ATAR): "Ask Me Anything!"

[zsteve]

Hey, thanks for doing this!

1- Do you regret not attending a 'real' (for lack of a better word) secondary school for VCE?

Not really - I guess given my circumstances it was well suited. Having been at uni for a year and a half now, looking back I don't really see much that I actually regret, I mean, I was pretty happy throughout Year 12 so I guess that says I didn't have massive problems

It hasn't impacted me at all at uni - I think I've been able to blend in with the crowd pretty well all the way through (or so I think)
[/quote]

2- What's your favourite joke?

I've heard a good many jokes in my time, but none seem to come to mind (^ actually I do, but a lot of them I fear are politically incorrect so I won't mention them here HAHA).

Here's a good one

"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems" (P. Erdos)
Addendum: American coffee is good for lemmas.

aaaand another one...

Math is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.

I don't have any biology ones But I DO have biology memes

3- Would Melbourne Uni or Monash Uni win in a fight?

UNIMELB (depends on fight for *what* though)

[zsteve]

Hey,

Hope this isn't too many questions

 VCE:
1. I'm wondering if you prioritised your subjects much or at all (spending more time on methods over chem for example)

Initially, I didn't really prioritise too much in VCE, i.e. I tried to devote roughly equal proportions of my time and energy to all my subjects. As the year wore on, however, I gained an idea of the relative difficulties of subjects (e.g. Methods easier than Specialist, Chem is hard, Physics is easy, etc.) as well as an expectation for which subjects I wanted to be in my top four (EngLang, Spec, Meth, Chem). All in all, in terms of amount of effort spent on each subject:

\[\text{specialist maths} \sim \text{chemistry} \sim \text{englang}> \text{methods} > \text{UMEP maths} \sim \text{physics}\]

lol.

2. What, if there are any, specific studying techniques apply for Eng Lang (specifically I would like to know how to improve written responses)

Practice, practice and loads of practice (mainly for analytical commentary and essay). I used Kirsten Fox's Green Book heaps (although I hear it is no longer green). I kept a 'cuttings journal' throughout Units 3 and 4 (it formed part of my SAC assessment) and read up on news and media regularly (few times per week).

I compiled noteworthy examples from my cuttings journal into a document on OneNote and grouped them by topic (e.g. overt/covert norms, national identity, Australian English, ethnicity, etc.) and I tried to memorise key facts (references, who/what/when/where, and so on) that would help me out when trying to build discussion points in my essay responses.

I spent a lot of time planning and writing out essay responses in the second half of the year - in fact there are some very good resources for essay prompts on the English Language section of the forum. I obtained a good deal of practice from those, as well as green book + past exams. Personally, for essays I did them at first un-timed, and then under timed conditions after I had built a certain level of confidence.

Analytical commentary was more straightforward than the essay, but it was challenging to learn how to structure it. I ended up taking the subsystems approach because the contextual approach (going top-down and all subsystems at once) felt too messy and convoluted. Again, practice helped me be able to pick out significant features and provide an adequate discussion.

Englang was a tough subject - I finished the exam with like 3 minutes to go :'D

3. Did you spend practically every-waking-moment focusing on your studies?

NO. I spent a significant portion of my time at my desk throughout the year (shall we say 15-20%) looking at maths/chem/physics for fun (i.e. not studying for VCE) or playing around with other things. Towards the end of the year there were periods when I did, though. You know how it is

4. Did you learn how to be ok with mistakes/how?

I was and still am quite the perfectionist; a big fault of mine which has come back and bitten me in the past (and probably will in the future too). I need to be more lenient with myself/more forgiving of myself at times (what my mum says to me all the time). I've made heaps of mistakes and I'm not sure I'd say I was "ok" with them at the time but definitely I've gotten over all of them.

Personally, I don't think it's necessary (or maybe good?) to be 'okay' with myself making mistakes, I mean, I think it's natural to be annoyed when mistakes happen; but definitely it's something that I get over with in a few minutes/hours/days/weeks ... or years

Science at UniMelb
1. Do people co-operate or is there a vibe of competitive animosity?
2. How long does it take for the science to feel real rather than very simplified?
3. Can you actually enjoy the nature aspects of campus or is it just too chaotic during semester?

Thankyou 

1. Science is pretty much fragmented so I can't really say - it differs depending on *what* in Science. Cooperation is present but it's always on a small scale (like, I've gotten together with 3-4 friends to revise for exams/study), but it's not a big thing that everyone is involved in. People tend to form small clusters and stick to them (much like colonies of cells on an agar plate HAHA)

Not much competition in the areas of Science I've been in; the only really competitive place is with students wanting to do med (GAMSAT preparation so on). Contrast this to biomed which is quite competitive (or at least 80-90% of the students want to get into med, hence some sort of group mentality of 'we all gonna get into med')

2. This is a tough question HAHA - it's always a learning process and it kind of never ends. In Year 12, I felt like uni would be so cool and interesting, like I'd learn all this cool stuff. Sure, uni is like 1000 times more information than what you learn in VCE, but you grow to cope with that. Now that I'm halfway through my degree, I realise that undergrad is only the tip of an iceberg (PhD is where it's at xD).

I guess "Science" becomes real when you apply it to real-world problems though (contrast this to textbook based learning). Depending on your path, this can either be a long time or a short time.

3. The Melb Uni campus is <3. Semester is pretty chaotic though, and I don't get much time to lie around on South Lawn (esp when it's winter and South Lawn = muddy football field lol) but the campus itself has a nice soothing effect

[zsteve]

Hey zsteve!

1. What VCE subject do regret not doing?

Biology OR Chinese (#feels )

2. Which is better- Chemistry or Physics?

C  H  E  M  I  S  T  R  Y

But physics is cool too =)

3. Chocolate milk or coffee?

Coffee. Why ask a question if you already know the answer .
By coffee, I mean long blacks btw, no sugar and no milk
I'll have none of the Coles-brand coffee-flavoured skim milk thank you very much

[zsteve]

Did you have many set backs in year 12 as in, in terms of marks? Any advice for getting over them?

Well done on your incredible result

Yes, I found English Language pretty disappointing in terms of marks (never seemed to do too well on SACs, despite trying really hard. I guess things kind of got better towards the end of the year). Um, the attitude I took towards it was just to make sure I did all I could, so that when VCE was over I wouldn't have any regrets. Even if I got worse than I hoped for at the end of the year, at least I would have the comfort of knowing that I did my best. So in terms of setbacks over marks, I'd just say try to learn from your mistakes and do your personal best. It's normal to feel bad about them, but don't let them take your motivation away.

[zsteve]

Can I please have your autograph? #fanboying

How do I put it on the forums

Oh and...
1. Were you expecting and/or aiming for the score you did?

Definitely not. Throughout Year 12 I never even thought about it - flipping through the UniMelb prospectus I came across the scholarships page; my reaction was like "pffft nah nah nah not relevant lol". I didn't really have a dead-set goal in terms of ATAR or what course I wanted to get into at the beginning of the year, but my general focus was on doing as well as I could.

2. At uni, do you find yourself having the same level of dedication and the same aspiration to do extraordinarily well as (I assume) you had during VCE?

Probably more so than in year 12. I'm working a lot harder overall now than I was two years ago (so, less sleep), but it's also WAYYYYY more fun. Uni is a lot harder (but also more rewarding and fun, don't forget that bit) than VCE, and one step closer to 'real life', whatever that is. I guess a lot of my motivation stems from really enjoying what I do, which in my opinion is really important when one makes choices in life .

[zsteve]

1. How many practice exams did you do for maths?

Methods: roughly 40 (exam 1 + 2 count as two, or roughly 20 complete sets)
Specialist: same as Methods (give or take)

2. Which topic did you find the hardest in spesh and why?

Circular functions. Because. It. Is. Hell.
Yeah I just wasn't really into it unfortunately - circular functions were too loopy and made my head go round and round. Studying for it was pretty aimless - I'd end up just going in circles

3. Did you have a rigid study regime leading up to the exams?

Yes - I kind of made sure I apportioned my time in a well-thought-out way for each of my subjects. The amount of time I spent reflected a combination of subject difficulty, my relative aptitude for the subject, my desired mark for the subject, and so on. Generally, I tried to study regularly for each subject more often rather than sporadically binging on subjects. I did binge study once for English Language, and it did not turn out well.

4. What is your favourite programming language?

Hands down C/C++

[zsteve]

Applied Maths vs Statistics Diploma. Which one to choose?

Understand and be wise my friend

A statistician is someone who is good with numbers but lacks the personality to be an accountant.

[zsteve]

Hey, Steveee! Thanks for taking the time to do this! ;D1/ Are you religious?

Indeed I am, my family is Christian

2/ While completing VCE, did you regularly go to church as well?

Yep, I regularly went (and I still do now that I'm at uni). Something that I've always done.

3/ Did you have a casual job while doing VCE?

Not during VCE, I stopped working in around Feb-ish because I had too much on my hands (5 subjects + UMEP). In the 3 or so years prior to VCE, though, I worked a couple of hours per week doing lawn mowing. Made a fair bit of money and also kept fit LOL. That said, in my opinion having a casual job through VCE is a great thing. If you have a job, I'd strongly recommend keeping it (of course, there are other considerations to be made, but for what it's worth having that work experience is super important once you go into the real world).

4/ Why did you choose to complete your bachelor of science and diploma at UoM?

I feel like the mentality at UoM is a lot more research-focused and relaxed, and there's a lot of flexibility (like my interests have changed since Year 12, and I've not been pigeonholed into a certain major area of study so I've been able to adjust my study plans to match). Because I was in the UMEP program I also copped a lot of UoM propaganda, so here I am.

I guess I wasn't really into professional-jobs stuff like engineering or commerce and so on, hence I wasn't really considering professional qualifications or number of years in a degree.

5/ Is the vibe at UoM as bad as people describe it to be?

You'll have to tell me what people say about UoM first before I can answer. At the moment, I'm going "the vibe? what vibe?"

.. or flashback to The Castle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gls09kO-8DE

6/ Did you take a gap year before going to uni?

Nope, was too keen to get started lol

7/ Favourite scientist? Why?

Ooft hard one. Hmmm... if you can classify mathematicians as scientists, probably Leonhard Euler.

A scientist that amazes me? John von Neumann

8/ Do you believe we are only living in a simulation?

Neil deGrasse Tyson apparently does. I don't

[zsteve]

Hi! I just have 3 simple questions I want to ask.
1. How did you fight procrastination?

Firstly, I enjoyed the subjects I did so that helped a fair bit motivation-wise. Additionally, I felt that a small side-benefit of doing 5 VCE subjects (+UMEP lol) was that I was always busy. In a good way, this meant that I didn't really have time to procrastinate. Of course, there are many undesirable side effects from taking such a work load HAHA, but keeping busy helped.

2. What was your worst subject and how did you get better at it?

Quite honestly English Language was the subject I had the least confidence in, and it was a very very gradual road to improvement throughout the year. I managed to improve quite a bit by consistent practice with analytical commentaries and essays. The key was to keep trying

3. How many hours do I have to study everyday to achieve a 90+ ATAR?

There really isn't an answer to this question - it's not like "input x hours" and "output y ATAR" - it's different for everyone because of what subjects they're taking, their aptitude for those subjects and the amount of background they have, personal circumstances, school, etc. etc. etc.

How much time to spend studying is really something that every student needs to decide on a personal level - start by thinking about how you've performed overall in your studies relative to your goals

[zsteve]

Hey hey sorry I didn't get around to replying with PMs my inbox is a quagmire at the moment lol

I sent you a pm a few days ago, just pasting some of it here since you haven't replied yet:

Hey, Steve:

Thank you- Your Chem lecture was nothing short of excellent. I read that you found EngLang difficult and got a tutor.
- Do you have any tips/tricks to improving in EngLang to stand out ( i guess this is multiturtle's question, but more based on the 'stand out' aspect rather than 'getting good' ) and how did tuition help you in Englang? (was it private or group?)

I ended up getting a tutor for English Language because I needed someone to mark the essays I wrote, so 'tutoring' was pretty much me writing a ton of essays and getting my tutor to read them and offer me feedback. Hmmm... to add on my earlier response, I think practice is really important to standing out as well. Most importantly, I think it's important to read example essays and look at the way arguments are composed and how the entire essay provides a comprehensive and coherent response to the prompt. It's really easy to give a one-sided response in essays that overlooks a major aspect of the question, and that's where I often lost marks - failing to discuss things. Try to look deeper than the bare minimum (like, maybe learn some interesting but less well-known examples, or learn some additional metalanguage). Also, time management in the exam is really important because it's really really tight.

-How many hours did you study a day? And in term 2/3, what was the average hours/day you put into study and how long are your 'study blocks' on average?

Difficult to answer, because I don't think it's a good idea to compare amount of time spent 'studying'. To a certain level, I think the amount of time spent studying should be your business and yours alone - comparisons don't really work (i.e. I might have to spend more (or less?) time than someone else to achieve the same end result). I would, however, encourage you to think critically and broadly about your study habits and optimise for what works for you.

Comparison of study hours is kind of like comparison of how much you sleep... something I engage in unfortunately (very unhealthy but I do it) - the less you sleep, the more glorious....

-Could you do a breakdown of how you allocated your time for each subject you did? (i.e. did find that you needed to study more consistently or more or harder for maths compared to sciences?  How did you allocate your time for studying for Englang?) Sciences, UMEP, Maths, Englang all require different amounts of time and approaches i imagine.

I've responded to a similar question here: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=171910.msg961970#msg961970

-How many quotes and how many examples did you memorise for EngLang?

Umm I can't remember HAHA - I tried to memorise a fairly large bank of examples (i.e. for each topic, e.g. "Aus English" or "Euphemisms" I'd try to have a handful, like 5+ useful ones). In the end, there would be two or three examples for each topic that would be extremely robust in that I could integrate them into a broad variety of arguments. Those were the ones that I tended to know the best, but I always kept extra ones on hand for backup. (some of these backup ones came in handy on the exam I recall)

-What is your opinion on people memorising phrases or paragraphs or even essays (then adapting them) for EngLang?

I found that, from a lot of practice, I ended up remembering quite a few common arguments and examples off by heart (i.e. I would have engrained the structure of the argument, like the skeleton of the paragraph with space for specific examples and quotes), but this was something that happened organically (i.e. not intentionally per se, but just because I was practicing a lot). I wouldn't agree with actually memorising essays because that kind of ruins the fun, and if it's not done right, the fact that a memorised plug-n-play paragraph was used sticks out like a sore thumb.

[Kittocks]

Hey Steve, I have a few questions
1. How early did you begin exam revision?
2. Did you work ahead in any of your subjects? If so how far ahead?
2. Since you were going to the distance education centre, how did they distribute SACs for you?

[Anonymous_]

Well, time to get cracking
Several thousand students in Science but it's a very very broad course, which means just because they do Science too doesn't imply that we have anything in common. I'd say there are a good 200+ people going down a similar path to mine (depending on how you measure similarity), i.e. people doing applied maths OR biochem. People doing applied maths AND biochem? LOL AFAIK I'm the only one #feels :'(There are roughly 400-500 students enrolled in BBiomed at UoM and my guess is that 80-90% of them will apply for MD or Dent. Definitely most of them! Apparently the atmosphere in the biomed cohort is very med-oriented (hence the name I guess).

Thanks for your reply.

When you mean 400-500 students enrolled in Biomed, are you including the whole number of students (i.e the students from first years, second and third)? If so, do you know how many are there ONLY in the third year's batch(i.e the ones which are graduating soon)?

[chelsmansfield]

Is there still a chance I'll get a decent ATAR if I did 'eh' in semester one? 

[christinett_]

Hi
1. How much study you did each night and what it consisted of?
2. How many hours in a week of study?
3. How early did you start working on full practice exams?
4. What are your tips if i am failing chemistry right now but need to get a decent study score for my uni course?

Thanks

[christinett_]

Study tips / techniques for chemistry please!!!!!!?