Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 29, 2024, 11:21:33 am

Author Topic: The best way to study for SACS  (Read 1862 times)  Share 

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

whys

  • VIC MVP - 2020
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 722
  • Respect: +916
The best way to study for SACS
« on: February 20, 2019, 08:04:10 pm »
0
I've been nervous about this for the past week or so, so I decided to make a topic to get your advice.
Basically, I have two sacs coming up in less than 2 weeks on the 4th of March and the 6th of March. I'm really nervous for both. We haven't finished the content that will be covered on the sac for both subjects (psych and food), and I'm not sure how to prepare. Ideally, I know I should have begun preparations 2 weeks before the actual sac, but it's become so late and I don't know where to start.
I've been panicking all day, as with the scores I want to achieve, I don't think it'll be possible as I've already neglected study because I didn't realise how close my sacs were.

I don't know if I'll be able to manage my time effectively in the days before my sacs (which is now!) and I don't know how to go about learning/revising the content. For example, for food studies, a lot of the content is self-learnt and class time is usually spent on cooking. I don't know how to memorise or practice the content in this subject. There are no practice questions anywhere on the net, either free or paid. I own the A+ notes, but they aren't much of a help. As for psych, I've done tons of practice questions but I'm really freaking out and I don't know what I should be doing. For both subjects, I feel I don't know the content as well as I should, and it feels like I keep forgetting important information and applying my knowledge in questions.

If anyone has any advice on how to study for sacs and the best way to go about it, it would be really appreciated!
(Also, if anyone could give me an insight into what they do/did after school, that would really help. Today, I 'studied' for 5 and a half hours, but I know I only got around 3 and a half hours worth of quality study done. I feel like I'm wasting a lot of my time studying irrelevant things, and I'm unsure on how to maximise my time effectively and get things done quickly so I can move on to the next.)
psych [50] bio [50]
2021-2025: BMedSci/MD @ Monash

sweetiepi

  • National Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 4767
  • "A Bit of Chaos" (she/they)
  • Respect: +3589
Re: The best way to study for SACS
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2019, 08:14:27 pm »
+3
There's no real one-size-fits-all answer of the best way to study for SACs, however what I do when I study that may give you some ideas are:
*Completing past exam questions (where possible)
*Making mind-maps of content and topics (I found this really helpful when I was doing 1/2 psych many years ago, and I still make them to study at uni!)
*Flashcards (I cannot recommend these enough. Saved my butt in HS and in my first year of uni haha)
*Making your own questions, based on what the study design/outline asks

A couple of other ways of studying are listed in this article, and another useful article on effective study here may help as well! ^-^

When I was in year 12, afterschool (bar Wednesdays when I used to stay back and really utilise my Wednesday afternoon spare and do practice questions and whatnot) usually consisted of chilling until dinner, and then studying after dinner for 3-4 hours and then sleeping. If I didn't get enough done, I use to wake up early to get everything I wanted to do done as well!

Hopefully this helps a little, or even inspires you a bit! ^-^
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

EllingtonFeint

  • Trendsetter
  • **
  • Posts: 153
  • Offering private tutoring ✨
  • Respect: +24
Re: The best way to study for SACS
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2019, 08:26:43 pm »
+5
This is soooo super generic but I found Flashcards REALLY helpful!
So apparently psychology is really content heavy (like bio) so I found making heaps of flashcards really helpful for content based subjects like that. 🤷🏻‍♀️
I actually quite like those A* notes books. I find it’s a TOTAL chore to read through them, but once you actually go through, you kinda come to realise that they summarise everything really well, so I’d dog ear good key pages and go back and read through them every night leading up to a SAC.

If you’re stuck on time management then check out that screen time thing if you’re using an iPhone,
I actually just found out today I’m spending nearly 2 hours on Instagram EVERY DAY! How insane (and inane too I guess) is that?! So I’ve put on a time limit of an hour and I’m gonna cut back more every day.  8) Whatever works, y’know?
Also, LISTS. For really, they are The Most Satisfying thing like ever. I always feel so accomplished ticking off things to do on a list. I utterly despise those study schedules cos they are so RIGID and life gets in the way, yeah? So just use lists!!!
Hope this helps! Good luck for your SACs!!
Biology 🌱 [49] |  English [47]

Surviving and Succeeding in Biology:
https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=187145.msg1129188

vceme

  • Trendsetter
  • **
  • Posts: 133
  • Respect: +20
Re: The best way to study for SACS
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2019, 12:14:50 am »
+4
Hey!
Please don't be nervous for your SACs. I'm sure you'll do great. To be honest, 2 weeks is more than enough time. I've studied for sacs like 2-3 days before and I've done completely fine (don't do that though or else you'll be very stressed ;D )

I agree with everything said above ^^^
I highly recommend looking into Quizlet which is an online flashcard platform. Also, with what EllingtonFeint said, using list is a really good strategy. Write out everything you want to do for your SACS to prepare. Tick them off as you go.

Here's some other study strategies:
-Write everything you know- This is probably going to help you recognise if you have remembered the content you should know. Grab out the study design, and write down the first point under your AOS on a blank piece of paper. Without notes, write down EVERYTHING you know about that point. When you're done, crosscheck with your textbook/notes for missing gaps.
- Write your own questions: This probably would be done after you learn/understand the content. Look at VCAA questions and see how you can create similar questions. I'm not sure how this would apply for psych, but for food you might be able too! Write your answers and get it checked out by your teacher.
-Make your own SAC: For psych, gather the questions you have and basically create a sac. Have a decent amount of questions and then sit down under test-conditions with no notes. This way, you'll know if you truly know your stuff.

My after school routine would be:
-Write a to-do list
-Get straight into school work or else you'll slack off (Better to work and then chill tbh)
-After getting into the groove, make something to eat.
-Keep studying using the Pomodro technique
-Dinner

Aim to accomplish all the task you set for yourself, not if you could study for XYZ hours.


Graduated in 2018. Top 5%.

whys

  • VIC MVP - 2020
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 722
  • Respect: +916
Re: The best way to study for SACS
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2019, 04:31:28 pm »
+1
Thanks guys, I’m feeling a tad bit better. I’ll try implement some of the stuff you have said.
psych [50] bio [50]
2021-2025: BMedSci/MD @ Monash