ATAR Notes user Joseph41 graduated with a 99+ ATAR. This article is based purely on their experiences and opinions, comparing Mario Kart and studying.

You may be familiar with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - one of the most popular iterations of the iconic Mario Kart line. The game can be frustrating, and winning ultimately requires a combination of skill, persistence, and luck. That is also true of high school study - so what comparisons can we draw, and what lessons can we take?

 

You can catch up, but it’s hard

If you have a bad start in Mario Kart, it’s typically pretty hard to get back to the pack. Even if you keep pace for the last two laps of the race, a poor first lap means you’re at a disadvantage. It’s possible to catch up, but requires a lot of factors to go your way, and will probably be pretty taxing. And that’s even considering the ‘rubber-band’ philosophy that Mario Kart employs, which helps out racers toward the back of the pack.

"... a poor first lap means you're at a disadvantage."

In the same way, a slow start to the year or a slow start to exam preparation can put you behind the eight ball before things have even begun. Whilst it’s true that you can catch up if you put in the hours, doing this will require other sacrifices. For example, perhaps your sleep suffers, or your social life. On the other side of the coin, consistency is what typically wins out. You can be lucky or unlucky in any given race, or perform well or not so well on any given exam, but over time, consistency in preparation will be reflected by consistency in results.

 

Practice makes perfect

As with most things, practice helps performance in Mario Kart. You get used to what to do, and you get better at both planning and execution. You can use time trials to hone specific skills you want to focus on.

Similarly - and this is a factor I think often gets overlooked - studying is a skill. You can get better at studying through practice. Practising study techniques makes them easier. You get used to different factors, and you can hone specific skills.

If you’re trying a study technique for the very first time, it’s unreasonable to expect it to work perfectly, in the same way that you’re learning which way to turn when driving around corners in a new racetrack. It sometimes takes a bit of time and effort to get the results you’re looking for, and it’s important to have this perspective when trying new things. Don’t throw study techniques in the bin immediately just because they didn’t work for you on the very first attempt!

"If you're trying a study technique for the very first time, it's unreasonable to expect it to work perfectly..."

 

Some courses are easier than others

The reality is that you’ll probably have some tracks you prefer playing than others. Maybe they better suit your strengths, or there are aspects that just make them more enjoyable for you. That means you’ll probably default to them if given the option - they’re more enjoyable, after all!

But whilst that means you’ll hone your skills further in that specific course, you might not be as prepared when it comes to other courses. And if you do the same thing when you’re studying - if you study way more for the subjects you’re interested in or good at - you’re likely to neglect some of your other subjects. If you’re looking for subject consistency, that might not be the way to go!

 

Sometimes, a different route is needed

Mario Kart is an unpredictable game. You might look on track to win before you hit an inconvenient banana, or a red shell might seemingly appear out of nowhere. These disruptions are pretty unavoidable insofar as, most of the time, they’re completely out of your control. What really matters, then, is how you deal with those disruptions. You could just give up entirely, or you could adapt to a new path. Perhaps it’s frustrating at the time, but you can still get to your destination with a little bit of flexibility.

"... you can still get to your destination with a little bit of flexibility."

And in study - in school in general - there will always be disruptions to overcome. These could be academic or things happening in your personal life, but there will always be alternatives - different routes to take. This type of flexibility can be hard to develop, but will put you in good stead in what may be a fairly unpredictable journey.

 

Knowing your optimal setup matters

For those unfamiliar with the game, you can select custom aspects of your racing vehicle, including the body of the vehicle, its tyres, and its ‘glider’ (for when you’re flying through the air). Each option for each aspect of the vehicle changes overall stats, including acceleration, speed, and handling - so your choices at the start of the game matter. That is, how you set up your game will likely impact how you perform.

If you think about it, the same is true for studying. You have options - study location, the people with whom you study (if any), whether or not you study with music, and so on. Each study session actually comes with a lot of decisions built into it, and each of these will impact how you perform.

"Each study session actually comes with a lot of decisions built into it..."

If you know that you typically study effectively with music, but that it stresses you out closer to exams, that’s really important information to know. Knowing those details means you can select and manipulate your environment accordingly, in the same way you wouldn’t choose Petey Piranha as a character if you wanted excellent handling!

 

The comparisons in this article might have been a bit tenuous at times, but I hope the article has demonstrated my main points. There’s a lot that goes into study, and results are ultimately a combination of skill, persistence, and luck, but there are choices you can make to give yourself the best possible chance of success.

Best of luck with your study!