Bouncing back from results day

[homeworkisapotato]

Hi! I was wondering, is it possible to do really well and get a 99+ even with an abysmal early 3/4 study score. Theoretically, how can you do well with five 3/4 subjects if you can't do well with one? Especially if you regarded the subject as more than a subject and as a passion?

[SmartWorker]

Hi! I was wondering, is it possible to do really well and get a 99+ even with an abysmal early 3/4 study score. Theoretically, how can you do well with five 3/4 subjects if you can't do well with one? Especially if you regarded the subject as more than a subject and as a passion?

Don't worry, I am sure you did well!

[Orb]

Hi! I was wondering, is it possible to do really well and get a 99+ even with an abysmal early 3/4 study score. Theoretically, how can you do well with five 3/4 subjects if you can't do well with one? Especially if you regarded the subject as more than a subject and as a passion?

Is it possible to get a good ATAR despite low Unit 3/4 study scores?
Absolutely.
I know people (friends + my past students) who have gotten (all real examples and many others):
1. ~35 raw in their Year 11 subject and an end ATAR of 99.75
2. ~25 raw in their Year 11 subject and an end ATAR of 99.20
3.  ~45 raw in one, ~35 in the other and an end ATAR of 99.50

How can you do well in 5 if you can't even do well in 1 subject?
First step is believing in yourself! If you think you're going to fail, you are more likely than not to fail.
Second is realising that your 1st subject is usually subject to high variance. It's your first exam, in a COVID-19 year that's probably once-in-a-lifetime and so this is rarely indicative of what your Year 12 will look like.
Three is a critical need to identify what went wrong (so truly understanding what areas you need to fix) and then backsolving to get to what you need to do to improve - and this often requires really really focused and honest reflection to actually get to the crux of the issue.

Hope this helps! and also you may have not done as poorly as you think you did in the first place

[homeworkisapotato]

Don't worry, I am sure you did well!

Aww thank you sosososo much SmartWorker! Your belief in me is so heartwarming and I'm sososo grateful <333333

Hi Orb! Thank you so much for responding to my post with so much detail!! It means a lot! Thank you for the tips
What did you mean by my first subject is usually subject to high variance?

Three is a critical need to identify what went wrong (so truly understanding what areas you need to fix) and then backsolving to get to what you need to do to improve - and this often requires really really focused and honest reflection to actually get to the crux of the issue.

I've been doing some reflecting and I honestly don't know what could have gone wrong. Almost all of my sac marks have been at the higher tier of the class in a strong cohort. However, my marks began to drop as the amount of pressure I put on myself increased and I began having anxiety attacks during the actual sacs. Can high amounts of stress and pressure decrease performance? What do most Post-Year 11s change when they go into Year 12?

[waterangel82]

I've been doing some reflecting and I honestly don't know what could have gone wrong. Almost all of my sac marks have been at the higher tier of the class in a strong cohort. However, my marks began to drop as the amount of pressure I put on myself increased and I began having anxiety attacks during the actual sacs. Can high amounts of stress and pressure decrease performance? What do most Post-Year 11s change when they go into Year 12?

Hey,

I don't think anything has really gone wrong, but it could be the excess pressure you had put on yourself didn't bring you good quality motivation, so that could be why your marks were beginning to 'drop'. When we have high expectations and we see our performance 'declining', we tend to see ourselves as doing 'worse' and it creates a negative mindset, so we get frustrated. But this is normal for everyone, and I'm sure that you did much, much better than you thought!

Personally, I had a similar experience in one of my uni subjects this semester - my mid semester test average wasn't as high as I wanted it to be, and I felt as though I was performing worse as the semester progressed (felt as though I wasn't learning well). But in reality, I think it was just my mind that was thinking this way, and I ended up achieving 90+ in that subject, which exceeded my expectations by a fair bit.

[homeworkisapotato]

Hi waterangel! Thank you so much for the reassurance and the advice
Congratulations for the amazing marks, that's amazing! Here's hoping my story is similar ahahaha