Bell's Journal

[Bell9565]

Hello Everyone!

I thought I might jump on the bandwagon and start my own VCE journal despite the fact I only have 2/3ish terms of school yet. I figure it'll be a good way to procrastinate and if I can give anyone any tips on what to do/what not to do well that's just a bonus!

Firstly a bit about myself:
I am currently in year 12 (love/hate relationship with it at the moment) and am completing english, methods, spesh and chem *winces in pain*. Last year I did 3/4 biol and further and 1/2 psych in addition to the 1/2s of those subjects so last year was probably worse in some ways than this year will be.
In my spare time I like to do many things however a lot of it is spent swimming - as I am meant to do it 6 times a week (realistically lately it has been like 3 but I had a bit of a rough term health wise so it should get better) and I also like music. I play 3 instruments across 4 ensembles and also debate, so the fact that I have any other time outside of that may come as a shock but somehow it does exist!

Plans after this year:
It's a bit scary that I have to be making all these decisions very soon but I'm pretty sure I want to do medicine, hopefully undergratuate at Monash! UMAT prep is not fun and I have been neglecting it recently but next term I hope to do a little more as it will be getting closer.

How this year has been so far:
So far (about to start week 8 of term 1) I've luckily only had one SAC because half my subjects I don't have SACs until next term in. It was my english creative and as someone who is inherently terrible at english and hates it, it was the first time I actually put effort into any english assessment as I kinda have to since it's my only subject this year guaranteed to count. I hope it pays off to some degree (top 25% of cohort would be nice hahaha)
Spesh has been by far my heaviest workload, as I haven't really had to do much for chem or methods in comparison (I probably should since I have a chem SAC in 5 days). I don't really mind though as I know that if I put in the effort the scaling should make it pay off.

[Quantum44]

Nice first entry ! Very impressed with the amount of extracurricular activities you can balance and still perform incredibly well academically. Any time management secrets to share? Looking forward to reading future updates and good luck with getting into Monash med!

[cookiedream]

Woahh, it's so awesome that you're able to balance so many extracurriculars on top of your studies! Hahaha, I totally feel your pain regarding UMAT!! Was probably the worst three hours of my life so far ;-; Something which motivated me to do a bit more UMAT prep was talking to other med hopefuls and seeing how they were going with their own prep! Study groups are also good for motivating each other and for getting and giving help too

Best of luck for VCE, UMAT and your medicine journey!! If you have any questions regarding Monash med, or regarding anything else, feel free to shoot me a PM! Always happy to help ^^

[lazaward]

Hello Everyone!

I thought I might jump on the bandwagon and start my own VCE journal despite the fact I only have 2/3ish terms of school yet. I figure it'll be a good way to procrastinate and if I can give anyone any tips on what to do/what not to do well that's just a bonus!

Firstly a bit about myself:
I am currently in year 12 (love/hate relationship with it at the moment) and am completing english, methods, spesh and chem *winces in pain*. Last year I did 3/4 biol and further and 1/2 psych in addition to the 1/2s of those subjects so last year was probably worse in some ways than this year will be.
In my spare time I like to do many things however a lot of it is spent swimming - as I am meant to do it 6 times a week (realistically lately it has been like 3 but I had a bit of a rough term health wise so it should get better) and I also like music. I play 3 instruments across 4 ensembles and also debate, so the fact that I have any other time outside of that may come as a shock but somehow it does exist!

Plans after this year:
It's a bit scary that I have to be making all these decisions very soon but I'm pretty sure I want to do medicine, hopefully undergratuate at Monash! UMAT prep is not fun and I have been neglecting it recently but next term I hope to do a little more as it will be getting closer.

How this year has been so far:
So far (about to start week 8 of term 1) I've luckily only had one SAC because half my subjects I don't have SACs until next term in. It was my english creative and as someone who is inherently terrible at english and hates it, it was the first time I actually put effort into any english assessment as I kinda have to since it's my only subject this year guaranteed to count. I hope it pays off to some degree (top 25% of cohort would be nice hahaha)
Spesh has been by far my heaviest workload, as I haven't really had to do much for chem or methods in comparison (I probably should since I have a chem SAC in 5 days). I don't really mind though as I know that if I put in the effort the scaling should make it pay off.

Can relate with swimming and UMAT prep! I quit swimming around a year ago though, waking up at 4am in the morning for a two hour training session caught up to me haha. It’s definitely very impressive you can keep up with that! I have also been neglecting UMAT prep, so you’re not alone. Hopefully the holidays will be a great time to start buckling down and focusing on it. Good luck with all the sacs coming up

[Bell9565]

Nice first entry ! Very impressed with the amount of extracurricular activities you can balance and still perform incredibly well academically. Any time management secrets to share? Looking forward to reading future updates and good luck with getting into Monash med!

Aw thankyou!! I actually think I have terrible time management but training and having 2 of my bands before school helps a lot, and that I have 2 spares out of 5 subjects a day means that I get a lot of work done at school. I also try and squeeze study in whenever I can if its necessary (aka before exams) even if its 5/10 mins here or there because it all adds up. Thanks I appreciate it!

Woahh, it's so awesome that you're able to balance so many extracurriculars on top of your studies! Hahaha, I totally feel your pain regarding UMAT!! Was probably the worst three hours of my life so far ;-; Something which motivated me to do a bit more UMAT prep was talking to other med hopefuls and seeing how they were going with their own prep! Study groups are also good for motivating each other and for getting and giving help too

Best of luck for VCE, UMAT and your medicine journey!! If you have any questions regarding Monash med, or regarding anything else, feel free to shoot me a PM! Always happy to help ^^

I have a few good friends also doing UMAT so having them to deal with helps so I definitely get what you mean. I'll be sure to ask you if I can think of any questions!

Can relate with swimming and UMAT prep! I quit swimming around a year ago though, waking up at 4am in the morning for a two hour training session caught up to me haha. It’s definitely very impressive you can keep up with that! I have also been neglecting UMAT prep, so you’re not alone. Hopefully the holidays will be a great time to start buckling down and focusing on it. Good luck with all the sacs coming up

Luckily I can get away with waking up at 5.45 for a 1.5 hour session so its not too bad - plus it keeps me sane and in shape which helps. Hopefully holidays will be a good time to catch up, sadly this year I fear that holidays won't be really a break

[Yertle the Turtle]

Great start to your journal, Bell! Great to see so many more people trying this out! Fantastic job on your Further and Bio scores!!!!! Good luck in the rest of your subjects and the UMAT. It's awesome to see so many extra-curricular activities you have, I struggle with 6 subjects and basically none, so kudos to you! Have fun in the rest of the year.

[Bell9565]

So although I have not posted for a very long time, I thought it would be a brilliant time to write another entry since I am severely procrastinating English study for my Text analysis SAC in 2 days!

Pretty much long story short I am loving doing 4 subjects but I've decided that as long as i get above a raw 35 in each subject I'll get a high enough ATAR for all the courses I want so i may be bludging a little too much.

So far I've had a spesh SAC, english and Chem - Spesh and Chem i'm resonably happy with but english well ha lets not talk about that shall we.

Umat prep is going well, just finished my 4th exam and have decided that my section 1 is fine (dropping 5-6 marks over the paper) but my section 2 needs to be pulled up a decent amount if I want any chance at getting into medicine.

I've been missing a lot of sport and music to make time for study/downtime which I think for the sake of my mental health, social life and enjoying year 12 is probably for the best.

I hope everyone else is doing well with their studies and much like myself, I'm sure you're all looking forward to the end of November being over!

[Bell9565]

Okay so it's been a long time again since my last post - I'll be sure to be more active again!

Last time I posted I had done 3 Sacs, now I have 3 to go so times have changed a little bit. Still bludging though a bit more than I should, but I'm doing well enough to be happy.

I'm now aiming for low 40s for english & methods, high 30's for spesh and hopefully high 40's for chem - but come these holidays and swotvac I'm gonna study like I want 4 50's!

As some may know, UMAT results were out. In the lead up I did the Medentry workshop exam, 8 online ones, 1 ACER one and about 50% of the drills online. Coming out of the exam I genuinely thought I'd flopped - as I want to hopefully go to Monash and needed above 50 in each section. I'd been getting around 60th percentile for Section 2 on medentry so I was worried it wouldn't be high enough since I wasn't confident with how I did on the day buttt I ended up getting 100th percentile which I am both very shocked with and happy. To anyone curious that was a 75/65/72 for each section. (okay sorry about bragging a little I'm over now)

I've been working a bit recently after just buying myself a car (cute little volkswaggen polo) and booking 4 grand worth of holidays. I'm enjoying swim teaching and life guarding but trying to fit in it with school work isn't an easy feat. In addition to an attempted social life (I'm very persistent I'm going to enjoy year 12, not just study 24/7) I am struggling a bit - but I know I'm making the right decision (I hope)

I've also made my VTAC preferences, Monash med at the top - if anyone has any info on what ATAR I'll need to confidently secure myself a spot given I interview not horribly that would be great. I've also applied for med at Adelaide Uni as it's still reasonably close to home and I want to do medicine. Now res colleges.... I've applied for Mannix at Monash (relying on getting in as I havent applied anywhere else yet) and I think I'll apply to Lincoln in SA. If anyone wants to share any info on either of these it would be most welcome.

That's most of my life ATM, exams are coming close but I'm keen for the end!

[PhoenixxFire]

Massive congrats on your UMAT results - that’s so awesome

[vcestressed]

OH MY GOD!! Congratulations!! You should be SO SO proud. Everytime I read your journal, I awe in silence because I genuinely don't understand how you do it. So many extracurriculars, yet amazing marks. You're an inspiration. I'd say best of luck but you really don't need it hahaha.

[Bell9565]

Massive congrats on your UMAT results - that’s so awesome

Thanks PhoenixxFire - as I said I was really shocked but pleased so I appreciate the congratulations 

OH MY GOD!! Congratulations!! You should be SO SO proud. Everytime I read your journal, I awe in silence because I genuinely don't understand how you do it. So many extracurriculars, yet amazing marks. You're an inspiration. I'd say best of luck but you really don't need it hahaha.

Thankyou!!! No need to awe in silence haha, I work only a couple of times a week and do a lot of my activities before school so I still do put in the work for school. I have lucked out a few times with my scores I must say (not expecting ANYWHERE near as good at the end of this year) so I probably do need the luck. 

[bingoman2000]

Outstanding performance on the UMAT, very well deserved 

All the best for the rest of the year, keep smashing it

[Joseph41]

Just echoing above sentiments - 100th percentile is a serious achievement. Congrats!

[Bell9565]

Just echoing above sentiments - 100th percentile is a serious achievement. Congrats!

Outstanding performance on the UMAT, very well deserved 

All the best for the rest of the year, keep smashing it

Thank-you guys really appreciate it!

[Bell9565]

Time for another update!

SACs are done!!! I literally am so so happy that I have no SAC's left FOREVER (uni is still to come but shh) and I just feel like that massive burden is gone. Although I did badly on one of my final spesh ones and probably the chem SAC I'm yet to get back - I just don't care because it's over. I'm now bludging completely and have sorta forgotten exams are coming up fast but I may as well enjoy this slight calm before the storm.

Also on another exciting note - I'm turning 18 next week! I am very excited to finally be legal even though I'm at school and work from 7.30am-9.30/10.pm. I'm also going out that weekend with friends after a cute birthday dinner for the first time - I'm not one of those rebellious people who went out underage mostly because literally no one looks like me but shhh. After that, 'holidays' will come, if we can even call it that. I'm going for my driving test some point over the holidays which I'm nervous for but I think (moreso hope) that I'll be okay (gotta think positively). My methods teacher said she wants me to do 16 exams over the break which is a lot considering Ive been told to do just as many for spesh, 8 for chem and 3 essays a week for english. So much for having a break!

Next year, if you haven't read my previous journal entries - I want to study medicine hopefully at Monash or Adelaide. Because I'm considering both right now as genuine places to study, I've applied for res at both (mannix and lincoln respectively). Yesterday I got an offer to stay at Lincoln which was really exciting because it seems like a nice place to live, especially if I'll be moving interstate. I have my interview at Mannix coming up over the holidays so I hope I get a provisional offer there too so I have both options available if I get into medicine at the respective universities. If anyone has anything to say about these colleges (if you've stayed there/know people who have) let me know x