I received a 99+ ATAR and a perfect GPA - ask me anything.

[Joseph41]

Hi there, any idea what is the student demographics for the Monash Sociology degree programme? I will be enrolling into the programme from the 2nd year onwards and would like to know if you have any tips/advice with regards to the units i should take. Thanks a lot for the help

Hey food4life,

Thanks for your question (and welcome to ATAR Notes!).

I flirted with Sociology units a little bit, but actually never ended up taking one (although, looking at the list of units, I reckon some of my units would probably qualify under Sociology).

What units are you thinking at the moment?

[abhi223]

Hey dude, so right now we are having a SAC for unit 3 methods which is broken up into 4 sections. I completely bombed my first section expecting a 10/30 for that section but for the rest of the sections i m very confident that i only lost 1 mark maximum on each of the last 3. I dont know why but my brain just stopped working for the 1st section causing me to make such a rookie 'over thinking' mistake. the whole thing is out of 77 marks btw. My question is if i get above 90% on the end of year exams and stay top 5 out of 30 in my cohort (top 10 are strong), what is approximately the highest SS still possible? thank you

[hdxx]

When did you start studying for exams? If you did it as you were going when would you fit this into your week while studying for upcoming sacs

[Joseph41]

Hey dude, so right now we are having a SAC for unit 3 methods which is broken up into 4 sections. I completely bombed my first section expecting a 10/30 for that section but for the rest of the sections i m very confident that i only lost 1 mark maximum on each of the last 3. I dont know why but my brain just stopped working for the 1st section causing me to make such a rookie 'over thinking' mistake. the whole thing is out of 77 marks btw. My question is if i get above 90% on the end of year exams and stay top 5 out of 30 in my cohort (top 10 are strong), what is approximately the highest SS still possible? thank you

Hey abhi223!

A four-part SAC is pretty hectic - I'm not sure I've ever heard of that before!

A few points:

* Nice work on the last three parts of the SAC!
* Raw marks don't really mean much - that 10/30 might be very impactful, or not impactful or all. I'd try not to worry about it if I were you.
* What's more important is your ranking, as you've alluded to later in your post.

* I'm not a fan of predicting study scores, but nothing in this post is going to rule you out of a very high study score still. One part of one SAC is realistically a very small part of your study score - and that's before SAC moderation etc. If my memory is correct, SACs are only worth like 1/3 of your total study score, too - so the exams are collectively pretty important.

I haven't given a study score estimation for a few reasons. Firstly, I'm not good at it. Secondly, it's only ever going to be an estimate, anyway. And thirdly, I don't think there's really a limit to what you can score based on the information presented.

My main advice here is to take confidence from the fact that you smashed the last three parts of the SAC. You're clearly capable, and if you take that "form" (if you will) into your remaining SACs and exams, you'll achieve great things. 👌

When did you start studying for exams? If you did it as you were going when would you fit this into your week while studying for upcoming sacs

Hey hdxx.

The way I like to look at it, the moment I started Year 12 content! Whether you realise it or not, you're actually revising for end-of-year exams from the very start of the year.

But on a more conscious level, I honestly can't remember exactly. I reckon I started practice exams (open book, not time-bound) in the July holidays, but it was realistically more like August-September.

To answer your second question, I focused mostly on SACs. During the year (until those times above), most of my revision of other stuff I did at school, I reckon. So like, before school, during class - that sort of thing.

[anhb]

I do a science degree with a finance breadth, I thought it would be interesting but didn't enjoy it and am doing quite bad. If at the end of exams I get an overall P or H3 (if I am lucky) how would that reflect jobs? Seeing a P on my results wouldn't be great especially if I'm planning to do further medical studies or something along those lines would it?

[Joseph41]

I do a science degree with a finance breadth, I thought it would be interesting but didn't enjoy it and am doing quite bad. If at the end of exams I get an overall P or H3 (if I am lucky) how would that reflect jobs? Seeing a P on my results wouldn't be great especially if I'm planning to do further medical studies or something along those lines would it?

I mean, it's all relative (and I'm not an expert on this).

What type of jobs? Would you be applying after this semester, or after your degree?

[emsulliv]

Hi!

This is my first year taking Literature and am uncertain about the best way to study!!
Should I be memorising themes/conventions/ideas or writing practice essays or what?!

[Joseph41]

Hi!

This is my first year taking Literature and am uncertain about the best way to study!!
Should I be memorising themes/conventions/ideas or writing practice essays or what?!

Hey, thanks for your question!

I'm afraid I didn't study Lit myself, so I'm not really in a great position to comment. I'm sure somebody else can jump in here - but if not, the Literature board will be your best place to ask.

Good luck!

[MissSmiley]

Hey Nick!

Firstly, I love this thread!! I really appreciate the concept behind it in that you're helping stressed Year 12s!! 

Could I please ask you about what you did when you had oceans of work coming to you, SACs one after the other from every subject and tonnes of memorising associated with all of this?
I use to-do lists, but the things just keep adding and adding and...
The pressure's just firing at me right now!
(I know I'm no one special or anything, every Year 12 has the same thing, but you know, just asking for some expert opinion! 

Also, what's happening is that for content subjects, our teacher's powerpoints are already so comprehensive (but the teachers always say they're summaries), so do you think it will be sufficient to use just these powerpoints or literally go through the textbook page by page and study?
And so when I study my notes, it just gets extremely tiring and long to study the powerpoints + textbook. What do you suggest (with my question above)
Obviously for chapter review questions and things like that you need to look into the textbook, but about for memorising content?

Thanks for being so thoughtful with this question thread Nick!
Definitely in my bookmarked sites 

[Joseph41]

Hey Nick!

Firstly, I love this thread!! I really appreciate the concept behind it in that you're helping stressed Year 12s!! 

Could I please ask you about what you did when you had oceans of work coming to you, SACs one after the other from every subject and tonnes of memorising associated with all of this?
I use to-do lists, but the things just keep adding and adding and...
The pressure's just firing at me right now!
(I know I'm no one special or anything, every Year 12 has the same thing, but you know, just asking for some expert opinion! 

Also, what's happening is that for content subjects, our teacher's powerpoints are already so comprehensive (but the teachers always say they're summaries), so do you think it will be sufficient to use just these powerpoints or literally go through the textbook page by page and study?
And so when I study my notes, it just gets extremely tiring and long to study the powerpoints + textbook. What do you suggest (with my question above)
Obviously for chapter review questions and things like that you need to look into the textbook, but about for memorising content?

Thanks for being so thoughtful with this question thread Nick!
Definitely in my bookmarked sites 

Hey MissSmiley,

Thanks for your kind words.

Could I please ask you about what you did when you had oceans of work coming to you, SACs one after the other from every subject and tonnes of memorising associated with all of this?

It's tough, innit? I think to-do lists (which you already use) is a pretty great start. But if at all possible, I tried to get on top of stuff early. So like, I basically adopted a "work now, play later" type of attitude.

Easier said than done, and when you have SACs coming at you from everywhere, it might just never be pleasant, no matter what you do. The thing to remember I guess is that balance is important. The natural thing to think is probably more SACs = more study, but I'm not convinced that's necessarily always the case (would have to think more about this tbh). What I'm trying to get at (not well) is that even if you feel like you're getting absolutely smashed, you still need to take time for yourself.

If you don't, it'll be counter-productive later on. Are you sleeping well?

(I know I'm no one special or anything, every Year 12 has the same thing, but you know, just asking for some expert opinion! 

Honestly, no better expert than you right now! It's pretty easy for me to sit back a few years out of the system and be like, "do this, do that - this is what worked for me," but honestly, you're the one going through it right now. I'd trust your own instinct.

Also, what's happening is that for content subjects, our teacher's powerpoints are already so comprehensive (but the teachers always say they're summaries), so do you think it will be sufficient to use just these powerpoints or literally go through the textbook page by page and study?

I'm not 100% I follow the question. Are you asking if you should bother using the textbook at all, given the PowerPoint slides are so comprehensive as is?

If so, I think it's still probably worthwhile. You don't need to go through the textbook literally page by page, but I also don't think it's great to rely so heavily on one particular resource (in this case, your teacher's PowerPoint slides). They might be very good and comprehensive, but other resources will explain things in different ways, provide a different point of view etc. A more holistic approach, I think, will put you in a better position than just trying to learn the slides.

And so when I study my notes, it just gets extremely tiring and long to study the powerpoints + textbook. What do you suggest (with my question above)

If it's all getting a bit mundane, it seems like a perfect time to mix up your study a bit. Summaries and the like are great (and something I advocate pretty strongly), but they're not the only way to study.

Try to explain something verbally to a friend, dot point what you know, literally draw pictures representing what you're learning. Record yourself explaining information as though you're teaching it yourself. Stuff like this can really do wonders for consolidating knowledge, and also for keeping things fresh.


Honestly not really sure if I answered those questions very well, so please feel free to ask follow-ups!

[MissSmiley]

Honestly not really sure if I answered those questions very well, so please feel free to ask follow-ups!

Yeah, you did answer my questions
And they are pretty common questions that have a common answer I guess,
like prioritising important and upcoming things first, like you said, changing your study methods, etc

But did you do a bit of every subject every day? So you wouldn't fall behind on particular things?
I've tried doing this, but when I do another subject that I know for which I don't have a SAC too soon (like a week ahead), I keep feeling bad that I'm not doing stuff for my upcoming SAC.
I know I shouldn't feel this way, coz it's study after all, but yeah, I guess I should just prioritise and memorise/understand each subject's content very quickly so I get to catch up on my other subjects.

Yes, I do agree that there's a risk in just following the ppts. So I'll continue to do the tiring thing now! Looking at my textbook + ppts! 
(all good!)

Sorry this is just a stream of consciousness coming out, but once again, I think you've answered everything!

Thanks so much! 

[Joseph41]

Yeah, you did answer my questions
And they are pretty common questions that have a common answer I guess,
like prioritising important and upcoming things first, like you said, changing your study methods, etc

But did you do a bit of every subject every day? So you wouldn't fall behind on particular things?
I've tried doing this, but when I do another subject that I know for which I don't have a SAC too soon (like a week ahead), I keep feeling bad that I'm not doing stuff for my upcoming SAC.
I know I shouldn't feel this way, coz it's study after all, but yeah, I guess I should just prioritise and memorise/understand each subject's content very quickly so I get to catch up on my other subjects.

Yes, I do agree that there's a risk in just following the ppts. So I'll continue to do the tiring thing now! Looking at my textbook + ppts! 
(all good!)

Sorry this is just a stream of consciousness coming out, but once again, I think you've answered everything!

Thanks so much! 

But did you do a bit of every subject every day? So you wouldn't fall behind on particular things?

Nah, definitely not. I felt I could only properly focus on a couple of subjects per day. Some subjects would suffer, but then I'd make up for it later on. Doing bits and pieces of all of my subjects every day wouldn't have worked for me, I don't think.

I've tried doing this, but when I do another subject that I know for which I don't have a SAC too soon (like a week ahead), I keep feeling bad that I'm not doing stuff for my upcoming SAC.

And that's the thing. I don't like study timetables for a similar reason - they unnecessarily lock you into doing certain things at certain times. I've just trust your instinct and study whatever subject you feel is most pertinent at the time.

I know I shouldn't feel this way, coz it's study after all, but yeah

There's no right way to feel! Your feelings are your feelings.

[Joseph41]

Happy to field more questions on this one!

[SChMurpel]

My mainstream teacher says further maths is really hard and not a bludge subject. (Evidence cause she teaches VCE Further Maths)
Is this true??? (I have no intentions doing further xd)

[Google123]

Thanks for this thread! That's an incredible Atar! 

It's August now and I have a million SACs before term ends (not a million but you know just really intense emotions coming out!  ), what I can I do to revise Unit 3 for exams?
Also, I feel like I've forgotten heaps and heaps of Unit 3 content for all my subjects! They're just so content heavy!! 
What can I do to catch up with exam revision and content so that I don't feel guilty while at the same time being really confident in my preparation for upcoming SACs?

Basically, what was your study routine in August? 

Thank you! Congratulations!