Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 29, 2024, 03:13:00 am

Poll

Which VCE subject would you prefer to do?

English
9 (17.3%)
Maths Methods
16 (30.8%)
Chemistry
13 (25%)
Legal Studies
7 (13.5%)
History Revolutions
7 (13.5%)

Total Members Voted: 50

Author Topic: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey  (Read 12081 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

smallbean

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: +28
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #45 on: July 28, 2019, 08:28:45 pm »
+6
28th July 2019

“Forgive yourself for your faults and mistakes and move on.”
Les Brown


Last week was full of ups-and-downs.

Fortunately, it was a week free from Sacs and started off with a Legal excursion for a full day. Our Legal Class got to visit courts in the city and sat in on a pleading in regards to a murder, which was quite confronting as we saw the accused in person as he walked to his seating position with police officers trailing behind him. A highlight of the excursion was also meeting a judge and being able to interview him to get an insight into what his daily life was like in such a highly regarded occupation. Although I’d never want to be a lawyer (because I’ve barely ever won an argument), being able to see content that we’d been ROTE learning from a textbook simply come to action in the real world was definitely a very valuable experience.

News Update
On Friday, I sat the much dreaded UCAT.  It’d almost felt like an interrogation at first because as soon as I went into the testing centre, they gave me a pat-down to make sure I wasn’t carrying anything suspicious with me. When I went into the testing room, it was dead silent with computers next to each other and others had already started the exam. Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that this wasn’t the be-all and end-all, and that doing my best was all that mattered.
During the exam, I struggled quite a bit with timing and even had to guess some questions but it was due to a lack of timed practise. After the exam was completed, I felt a sense of relief as it’d been lingering in the back of my mind for so long and it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Now it was time to find out how I went.

UCAT Results (warning, disappointment ahead)
I’d been told that I would receive my UCAT results half an hour after taking the exam. I had to wait until I got home to check it as for some reason the website wasn’t working on my phone. I took a deep breath upon seeing the email and shakingly logged in, telling myself that there were other universities that didn’t require a UCAT score for Medicine.

A score of less than 2500 appeared on the screen. My stomach dropped. I didn’t know how to break it to my parents that Monash Med was out of the picture, that I had no chance of applying to universities that would use my UCAT score as an indicator of my abilities. Mustering up the courage, I first told my dad, who was never intent on me getting into Medicine anyway. He just gave me a sympathetic look and told me that Commerce would always be my back-up option. I then told my Mum. She wasn’t sure what to make of my results, as percentiles hadn’t been confirmed yet and reassured me that I could apply to James Cook or other courses instead. I was almost 100% certain that whatever percentile my score was, wasn’t enough to get into Med as some friends had got scores close to 3000. A wave of disappointment washed over me.


 Part of me wants to do Commerce or Computer Science, whilst another part of me can picture myself doing Medicine. I don’t just want to be a doctor because of the money or status, but because I want to help patients and make a positive difference to this world. I’ve only got myself to blame for not trying harder to prepare for the UCAT. Perhaps some paths just aren't for me to tread on.
I’m not going to let this discourage me from doing my best in Year 12.

Productivity rating: 7/10
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

Daweiii

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 11
  • JMSS Grad!
  • Respect: +12
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #46 on: July 28, 2019, 08:40:06 pm »
+4
It's not the end of the world, remember that.
It's great that you have a positive look at what being a doctor requires and needs, and not doing it for the money.

I wish you the best of luck :)

If you have any doubts/rants, please let me know. I'm a med student and have been in the same situation as you.
Medicine, Monash University

Macrophagee

  • Guest
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #47 on: July 28, 2019, 09:33:17 pm »
+3
Hi Smallbean
I too have received terrible UCAT scores so I completely understand how you are feeling right now. Even though there are people who received 3000+ there are plenty of others on the other end of the spectrum.
Keep smashing your VCE and consider applying interstate to universities that don't place much emphasis on the UCAT such as JCU.
Keep your head up and good luck with the final stretch of your journey.

Bri MT

  • VIC MVP - 2018
  • Administrator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 4719
  • invest in wellbeing so it can invest in you
  • Respect: +3677
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #48 on: July 29, 2019, 07:03:12 am »
+4
Med might be for you - I don't know. What I do know is that there are plenty of other ways of helping people & that you shouldn't be pushed into medicine on that basis. There's lots of pros & cons to med (the same being true of other courses too) and it seems like you haven't really decided if med is for you yet.

The pressure to do med can be strong and push you into convincing yourself you would like it so please triple check with yourself if this is really the pathway you want. If it is, you can certainly overcome your UCAT :)

smallbean

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: +28
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #49 on: July 30, 2019, 12:52:10 pm »
+1
It's not the end of the world, remember that.
It's great that you have a positive look at what being a doctor requires and needs, and not doing it for the money.

I wish you the best of luck :)

If you have any doubts/rants, please let me know. I'm a med student and have been in the same situation as you.

Hi Smallbean
I too have received terrible UCAT scores so I completely understand how you are feeling right now. Even though there are people who received 3000+ there are plenty of others on the other end of the spectrum.
Keep smashing your VCE and consider applying interstate to universities that don't place much emphasis on the UCAT such as JCU.
Keep your head up and good luck with the final stretch of your journey.


Med might be for you - I don't know. What I do know is that there are plenty of other ways of helping people & that you shouldn't be pushed into medicine on that basis. There's lots of pros & cons to med (the same being true of other courses too) and it seems like you haven't really decided if med is for you yet.

The pressure to do med can be strong and push you into convincing yourself you would like it so please triple check with yourself if this is really the pathway you want. If it is, you can certainly overcome your UCAT :)

Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement as it means a lot to me.  :)
I'll have a go at applying to JCU and other interstate universities just to give myself a chance to overcome such a terrible UCAT score. Medicine itself requires such a high ATAR regardless of the UCAT score so I should keep on hustling no matter what happens.
At the end of the day, Medicine just may not be for me and I will have to learn to accept that sooner or later. There are plenty of other uni courses that hold my interest and I will always find a backup option.
In the meantime, I'll keep my head up (I can't believe there are only three months till exams begin) and try my best to not let this discourage me from aiming to do my best.
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

caffinatedloz

  • VIC MVP - 2019
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1461
  • Respect: +856
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #50 on: July 30, 2019, 01:26:02 pm »
+1
Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement as it means a lot to me.  :)
I'll have a go at applying to JCU and other interstate universities just to give myself a chance to overcome such a terrible UCAT score. Medicine itself requires such a high ATAR regardless of the UCAT score so I should keep on hustling no matter what happens.
At the end of the day, Medicine just may not be for me and I will have to learn to accept that sooner or later. There are plenty of other uni courses that hold my interest and I will always find a backup option.
In the meantime, I'll keep my head up (I can't believe there are only three months till exams begin) and try my best to not let this discourage me from aiming to do my best.

What a fantastic attitude! Wishing you all the best. ;D

smallbean

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: +28
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #51 on: August 03, 2019, 09:12:36 pm »
+3
3 August 2019

I can't believe it's August already! This week one of my classmates reminded me that we have less than 100 days until the English exam. yikes

General:
At the beginning of this week, I was hit with the flu.  :P Suddenly, studying for my upcoming Methods and Revs SACs became 10 times harder whilst fighting an illness amidst a throbbing headache. I took a day off school to recover which worked wonders as my sore throat disappeared and I instantly found that retaining information wasn't as much of a challenge anymore.

I also had parent teacher interviews this week which went pretty well. I found out from my English teacher that she has faith in me to do well as I have a good ranking in my cohort which takes a huge weight off of my shoulders already. It had hit me that this was the last parent teacher interview that I would ever had to sit through ever. Time to breathe a sigh of relief!

Subject updates:

English: My most chill class at the moment. English is the one class that we don't have a mountain of homework to complete for as we have just started the comparative. I also received my English Oral SAC and Text Response SAC back, both of which I was really happy with as I'd been convinced that I hadn't answered the text response question completely in my essay.

Methods: Due to my illness, I had to reschedule my integration SAC (which was split into two lessons) to do at the end of this week.  I found the first few questions of both parts suspiciously easy, until I got to the end and was instantly hit with a 16 mark question which I had no idea how to answer. My barely legible scribbles may have gotten me some sympathy marks, but hmmm we can't be too sure about that. Fingers crossed that I can get at least a B for this SAC.

Legal: Got my Legal SAC back for which I received an A+ for. I was really surprised, as I'd stayed up late the night before cramming all of the extra case studies that we had to know. The constitutional law unit that the SAC was on was also quite challenging and I'd been expecting lower grades due to the level of difficulty.  I'm so glad that all my work during the holidays paid off.  :)

Chemistry: We've started Chromatography which is definitely one of my most favourite units as it carries over from Year 11. My teacher skimmed over Organic Pathways which is super crucial for the exam and left our class to teach ourselves this unit, to our dismay. I'm starting to feel like a dog holding its own leash in chemistry.

Revolutions: The Chinese revolution is by far one of my most favourite periods of human history to study.  I have my essay SAC in two days time which I feel quite underprepared for due to forgetting most of the content that I'd memorised while I was sick. My only option now is to cram as many dates and statistics into my head that I can hopefully use in my essay.

Uni preferences also open next week! I've written down a meagre outline of the courses that I am considering, with Commerce being one of my top preferences. I'm still not sure whether to put Medicine at Monash as my first preference as I know that the UCAT score is weighted quite importantly. I don't think I'll stand a chance at getting into Medicine in Victoria, but I might apply interstate because I don't have anything to lose.

Productivity rating: 6/10





~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

caffinatedloz

  • VIC MVP - 2019
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1461
  • Respect: +856
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #52 on: August 04, 2019, 05:15:38 pm »
+3
Sounds like you are doing very well. Congratulations! If you want to get into Med at Monash, why not put if first? (Even if you don't think you will get in.) What have you got to lose?

Best of luck!

smallbean

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: +28
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #53 on: September 08, 2019, 08:53:38 pm »
+4
8 September 2019

Hey everyone! I haven't been on here in over a month and it feels so good to be back. With less than 25 school days left, it's officially SAC season as I have four SACs in the next two weeks. A VCE Student's worst enemy is definitely time, which is something that is quickly dwindling away from me. It's crazy that we're at the home stretch now with the short countdown until the start of exams.

General:I've decided on my VTAC preferences after much pondering and am quite satisfied with how they are right now. In terms of applying for Medicine, I've had a chat with my careers counsellor about my UMAT score and have decided to still try for Monash Med as I really have nothing to lose. I can't wait to finish school and to finally see the light at the end of the never-ending tunnel.

Spoiler
My VTAC Preferences:
1. Medicine-Monash
2. Commerce-Melbourne
3. Commerce-Monash
4. Science-Melbourne
5. Computer Science-Monash
6. Science-Monash
7. Commerce-Deakin
8. Arts-Melbourne

Subject updates:

English:
With a comparative SAC (my last SAC) in a week and a half, I feel semi-prepared as I've written a few drafts and will hopefully be ready by the end of this week.

Methods:
This week I received my Calculus SAC and was more than surprised to see that I'd gotten an A, as Methods has always been one of my weakest subjects. The mark gave me the spark of motivation that I needed to work even harder in the coming weeks.

Legal:
I had a Legal SAC tomorrow and on Tuesday (the first worth half of Unit 4 and the next worth only 10 marks). I'm feeling fairly confident in this subject as the case studies are super interesting. The biggest challenge for me is to memorise the sheer amount of laws and dates.

History:
My teacher's absences have meant that our class is slightly behind, but I'm feeling okay for our coming source analysis SAC due to doing a practice SAC at least once a week. At the moment we are doing China, which is definitely my favourite country to study in Revs.

Chemistry:
 Honestly, I have no idea what has gotten into my Chem teacher. She seems to have given up on our class and has left us to fend for ourselves in terms of the food chemistry unit by not teaching us in class. Our class has continually dreaded going to Chemistry class as she will get us to read out our answers to questions and criticise what we've written for everyone to hear. It's almost comforting to know that there are only a few weeks left before I never have to see her ever again.  :-\

General Productivity rating: 6/10
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

smallbean

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: +28
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #54 on: September 28, 2019, 07:32:14 pm »
+6
28 September 2019

Hey guys,
Long-time no see!
Now that I'm on the term 3 holidays, exams are just around the corner. I've successfully managed to survive all of my SACs this year and finished off my English Comparative SAC and last week. I only have one SAC left, which is the Probability SAC for Methods. Yay! It's crazy to think that now the only thing left to determine my study scores left for most of my subjects are the exams.

Life Update
Your girl has finally submitted her VTAC preferences!
On another note, I've got trials next week which I am pretty nervous for, as I feel quite underprepared especially for Methods and Chemistry.
This week I had a lot of lectures at school and even went to a TSFX lecture for Legal which was really helpful but a lot of my time for studying was taken away by travelling to and from the school. Procrastination has decided to hit me like a ton of bricks during the worst time of the year. I haven't been at my upmost in terms of productivity this week and have barely finished any practice exams. I've recently gotten into the group BTS and have fallen into a rabbit hole of watching their videos instead of studying. If you're a fellow Army, feel free to message me   ;)

If anyone has any advice on how to avoid procrastination, it would be very much appreciated! Hopefully, this next week of trial exams will be a more productive one!

Productivity rating: 5/10
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

smallbean

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: +28
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #55 on: November 12, 2019, 09:36:52 pm »
+7
How have you been, smallbean?
Hey Snow Leopard, thank you for reminding me to update this journal as I've taken a hiatus due to exams. I've been pretty stressed these past couple of weeks, but made it through exam season. The light at the end of the tunnel has finally been reached.

12 November 2019

A few hours ago, I walked out of my last exam. Some of my friends who haven't finished exams yet have been asking me how it feels, and honestly it feels surreal. I almost immediately started opening my books and started studying as soon as I got home before realising that I have nothing left to study.  ;D
I'll give a quick run-down on how each of my exams went. Buckle up, because this is going to be a long one haha

English:
I'm quite disappointed with my performance in English. My teacher had told me that I was Rank 1 in my cohort and I'd genuinely believed that I could score over 45 with all the hard work I put in. Even though the Argument Analysis was quite bland and easy and Section A was the exact same topic as one that I'd done a few days before, the Comparative lead to my demise. I just had a complete mind blank when I saw both topics for Section B, one we had never touched in class and the other for which I barely had any quotes for. I scribbled a meagre essay that was definitely lower in standard than my comparative SAC. On the bright side, walking out of the English exam was like coming out unscathed from an obstacle course. Here's to 3 hours of my life that I won't get back.

Methods:
I'd done decently in my Methods SACs this year, but Exam 2 will definitely be dragging down my study score. Exam 1 actually went quite well, as I managed to solve every single problem (don't know how much I got right though) with a few hurdles here and there. Nothing about Exam 1 really surprised me though. Exam 2 should have been better because I had a calc and notes but I just didn't get any of the questions, save for a few of the multiple-choice. It was kind of funny that VCAA misprinted the last question, as the supervisor made us change the question from "horizontal" to "vertical" axis before reading time, giving me a sneaky peak at the questions. Changing the question was no help at all however, as I wouldn't have understood the question anyway. At this stage, I'm honestly hoping for a 25 that will get me into my desired Commerce course.
 
Revolutions:
To be honest, the questions on the Revs exam were quite straightforward and easier than the 2017 monstrosity of an exam. I'm not quite sure how to feel about History, but I feel as though I'll get in the low to mid-30s as I had a mind blank in the exam and couldn't remember any dates for the 20 mark essay which was on a topic I had done in one of my SACs. If only I'd revised that topic before the exam, I would have aced it. My short-term memory loss definitely cost me a lot of marks, but tearing off the pages of Revs notes and dates I had on my wall was the most satisfying feeling ever. 

Chemistry:
Oh Chemistry, the cause of many tears in Year 11 but ended up being one of my most favourite subjects to study in Year 12. Trust me, Chemistry is worth keeping as a 3/4 subject as its quite interesting once you get past the basics. I finished the Chemistry exam this morning with only five seconds to spare to skim over my last answer. All in all, Chem wasn't as bad as I was expecting, just really really long. The multiple choice questions I surprisingly understood, but the short answer questions were quite difficult and I had to skip a few of them. I'm hoping for at least a 25+ in Chemistry, a 30 would be amazing.

Legal:
The Legal exam was absolute butchery. Legal was one of my favourite subjects this year, another in which I was Rank 1. This exam today was by far the most difficult in the last ten years and the long names on the case studies that we had to rewrite in our answers gave me a stroke every time haha. It was also very time-limited, and when the supervisor announced that there was only "5 minutes left", my heart literally jumped out of my chest because I still had a 6-marker left to do. I literally wrote the fastest I've ever written in the entire 17 years of my life, like it was almost as if steam was coming out of my ears. After finishing the exam, two of my classmates walked out in tears because the exam was just so much more difficult than we'd expected. People who would have memorised the content instead of understanding it would have aced last year's exam, but this years exam was the opposite. I'm relieved that I managed to finish at the last second.

So what now?
I've been looking forward to this moment since the start of VCE in year 10. I'm going to catch up with some friends in a while and actually leave the house because I haven't left the house other than to go to school in ages. I'm definitely not going to stay idle and will try and get my Learners to learn how to drive. I'll also try and find a job to keep my mind busy instead of stressing about my ATAR everyday. In exactly a months time, my results will be revealed. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the pure bliss of ignorance.

It'll be a while before I update this journal before results day. See you guys soon!


~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

caffinatedloz

  • VIC MVP - 2019
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1461
  • Respect: +856
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #56 on: November 13, 2019, 06:18:59 am »
+1
How exciting!! Congratulations on completing all of your exams!! Now, all that's left to do is enjoy yourself and relax. ;D

Best of luck getting your Learners and for all the other adventures to come!

smallbean

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: +28
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #57 on: December 13, 2019, 10:49:23 pm »
+8
13 December 2019-Results Day

Yesterday was the big day that I had been working towards for the past few years of my schooling. I'm honestly feeling happy and relieved right now.
This is also a bit bittersweet as it will be my last post on my Year 12 journal.

ATAR Reaction:
The night before results were released I only got 2 hours of sleep, tossing and turning in bed whilst pondering all the ways I could have possibly messed up my exams. At 6am I texted my best friend who was also up and we were both chatting to calm our nerves. My parents had also experienced a sleepless night so at 6.50am they were in their bedroom anxiously waiting with me.

At 7am on the dot, my Dad received the email with my study scores before I had even gotten the results page to load on my laptop. I felt a mix of emotions as my parents read them out to me, whilst pressing "view atar" on my own laptop with a pounding heart.

 The first result that surprised me was Legal studies. After having walked out nearly in tears thinking that I'd butchered the exam, the result exceeded my expectations. English was slightly disappointing as I'd been Rank 1 at my school all year and was aiming for a 50 but I'm still thankful that I got what I did. Revolutions also shocked me, as a 40 seemed way out of my reach after only doing 2 practise exams. For Methods and Chem I wasn't surprised as I would have been happy with anything over 30 in Chem and was relieved that I got over 25 in Methods (my worst subject). My results just go to show that I'm definitely a Humanities kid haha  ;D

Here are my long-awaited results:
English: 45

Legal: 47

History Revolutions: 40

Chemistry: 32

Methods: 27

Completed in Yr 11: Chinese SL: 35

ATAR: 97.95 Wow!!!!

(I thought I'd gotten less than 95 after exams finished. 95 had been my goal this whole year so getting this result literally made my day. I was so so happy.)

Final thoughts:
Everyone of my friends that I talked to seemed happy with their ATAR as well, which the majority getting 90+. I'm slightly disappointed that my Legal score had been so close to a 50 as I'd been hoping for at least one 50. However, I'm still proud of what I've achieved in this subject.
My Atar and study scores are enough to get me into my first preference, Commerce at the University of Melbourne. I'm so excited for uni next year as most of my friends will be going to Melbourne as well.

To the Class of 2020 and beyond: Work hard throughout the year but take breaks when you feel the need to. Burnout and procrastination are both things that almost everyone deals with during Year 12, but having a study schedule and a routine with time for relaxation will help combat that. Do subjects that you enjoy and most importantly, don't forget to enjoy your final year of school! I've made so many memories this year that I will cherish forever which have nothing to do with academics but rather with friendship.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout the ups and downs of my year 12 journey! I'll still be active on Atarnotes so feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the subjects I did or just year 12/study techniques in general.

Signing out, Smallbean  :)


~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

Snow Leopard

  • MOTM: SEP 19
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 574
  • Respect: +196
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #58 on: December 13, 2019, 10:54:34 pm »
+1
Well done on the fanastic scores, smallbean!

caffinatedloz

  • VIC MVP - 2019
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1461
  • Respect: +856
Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #59 on: December 19, 2019, 09:11:49 pm »
+1
I know I'm late, but congratulations smallbean! Those are some really great results, and definitely something to be proud of as they reflect all of the work you've put in this year! Do you know what you're planning to do next year? Are you heading to Uni? ;D