Candid account of Lessons learnt from doing two 3-4s in year 11

[nerd123456]

Candid account of Lessons learnt from doing two 3-4s in year 11:

Don’t get sucked into the statistics trap:

Believe it or not despite being an enthusiastic newbie in VCE I discovered the magic of the studyscore/atar calculators pretty quickly.From day one I was sucked into the trap of statistics(grade distributions,atarcalculators(not one but many ),facebook posts (will I get a 45 +))and had come up with  many different combinations to get that golden number “99.95”.Trust me,its good to step up your game and have a gist of what scores you are aiming for BUT breathing statistics like me will get you nowhere.I became a living calculator myself and if you threw numbers at me I could tell you what Atar you will approximately get.Did it advantage me in any way?Was I awarded extra points for doing this?The answer is NO and neither will you.Instead the constant number calculations kept me anxious 24-7.Lost a mark on my sac OMG.That 99 atar just slipped away.Instead of focusing on what I got wrong and concentrating on how I could improve you could find me in a dark gloomy corner with google home as my only companion shouting out sad songs upon my request.Because according to my calculations I just couldn’t get a 50 anymore ‘cringes’

The atarnotes calculator link: https://vce.atarcalc.com
Mao's amazing study score calculator : https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=6688.0
Paulsterios study calculator guide: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=138592.0

Learn from your mistakes instead of dwelling on them:

First sac results come out and I can see that 70 glaring at me.I freaked out.I message my teacher and express my concerns.a 70.70.is the 45+ still possible?She tells me to concentrate on the big picture and understand where I went wrong.But being me,I just went into my blank space.I refused to look directly in the eye of my teacher for weeks and refused to ask questions.I was so ashamed of myself and I thought so were my teachers.The 90+ student just landed a 70(mind you 70 is not a bad mark,but I expectated more).I refused to study and dwelled on that ONE SAC.Next sac comes up and I get a much more lower mark.WHY? because I studied the night before just for the sake of getting it done.What was the purpose of doing vce if you couldn’t even get a 45?The cycle continued affecting my performance drastically.No one could understand what was happening.It took so long to come to terms with it that the year was about to be done and dusted.What could I have done instead;I could have sat down with my teacher,asked her what I was doing wrong and just moved on.One poor Sac mark was better than Four poor sac marks,no?
 
Lauren's guide for recovering from bad sac marks https://atarnotes.com/bouncing-back-from-bad-sac-marks/
This article that helped me get through so many times : https://atarnotes.com/sac-results/

Do not get overwhelmed by the smart kids

So there is that one kid in your class,who can recite those biology definitions perfectly without even blinking once,or the other kid who carries a stack of 50 trial exams in term one?And you are just sitting in class thinking about your next meal,already bookmarking the shows you have to binge by tonight.You refuse to do any work,those teenage hormones taking over you as you contemplate what is the point of studying when someone else is going to steal your sac rank anyways.Half a year passes and you get the wakeup call.You walk up to your smart friends asking them how to study.They smirk at you and go into a detailed account of the intense planning(colour coded notes,minute by minute timetables and the thousands of study notes they refer to).You get sooo overwhelmed that you retreat back into your shell thinking you can never be at the same level.
Well it is important to understand that finding your own study style is the key to success.Maybe those colour codings work for others but you are more of the audio type.It is important to understand the limit of one’s capabilities and comparing yourself with others will get you nowhere.It is good to be inspired by the smart kids and view them as someone who you look up to but being overwhelmed and giving up entirely is just not the solution.Hardwork can conquer all obstacles in the end.

Some helpful tips and tricks : https://atarnotes.com/ways-to-study/

Procrastination and memorisation is death of your scores

Both of the traits that I developed in year 11.Just one more minute or I will do it tomorrow are the common symptoms.It’s good to take breaks otherwise you will burn out but scrolling down your Instagram feed,preffering the pimple popping videos over your upcoming sac is silly.You need a game plan.If you don’t have a clear game plan than you are going to suffer.By suffering I mean you will memorise and memorising is not understanding.Most of the VCAA exams are designed to test your understanding not your perfectly memorised definitions.You may get through that one SAC but it will eventually catch up to you during your exam time.

Need more tips : https://atarnotes.com/beating-procrastination/

Trial hoarding is actually a thing

I managed to lay hands on 462 trials in total each for the two subjects I am sitting this year.Name any company that exists on this planet and I could produce an exam paper.Did I actually end up doing them all.The answer is NO. One week to go and I have barely done like 30 each?I don’t know who knocked the sense into me but I realized Quality is better than Quantity.I am confident that the 30 exams I have done are well enough attempted to get though. If I had done all of them..462 trials..I woud have surely rushed through them…mayn you don’t even have that many days in a year ..rushing through means not entirely understanding what I was doing  which means it is just wasting time.

Free practice exams: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=132863.0

Be confident in your abilities and have a support network

The schooling environment especially VCE can get competitive but faith in your abilities is important.A poor sac score or that snide comment that someone just passed on your abilities DOES NOT define you.It is okay to feel let down for a day or two  but letting it affect your true abilities is NOT OKAY.Seek help if you feel like you are sinking into the pit of despair.Your parents,friends,teachers and even the school counsellor is a great place to start.Remember there is always a person to help you out in those dark times.

There is always hope where there is hard work : https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=33709.0

This is all the stuff I learnt the hard way this year and al the links mentioned above are collected from the atarnotes forum itself(thank you to all the wonderful authors).Hopefully it helps all the upcoming Vce students.Remember a single number does not define who you are but you need to work hard to achieve the dream.It is important not to have regrets when you look back to these years as you know you did everything in your limit to get through.I wish everyone the very best of luck for their upcoming exams.

Cheers