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VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => The VCE Journey Journal => Topic started by: Remy33 on April 20, 2019, 11:52:53 am

Title: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on April 20, 2019, 11:52:53 am
Nihao, fellow nerds!
(don’t pretend you aren’t a nerd. Why else are you reading about some random dude’s VCE journey on a study forum?)

We’re nearly halfway through the year and I thought I’d arrive fashionably late onto the VCE Journey Journal threads. As the famous saying goes, the early worm gets eaten by the bird, so I do like to put things off. But I figured it’s about time I made this. Hope you appreciate the bad pun in the title - it’s supposed to say ‘delightful’

I guess we should start with a self intro? Hi, my real name is not Remy so of course that made sense for a username. I’m in the final year of my 12-year prison sentence. My school is ranked about 10th in the state if you go from the bottom of the list, and until 5 minutes ago, I was a long-time accountless lurker of ATAR Notes.

Onto VCE now — last year I did a 3/4 early, which was Portuguese. I thought doing a subject early was very smart of me but after coming onto ATARNotes turns out this is apparently the norm.

This year I’m doing another 5:
• Russian
• Chinese SL
• Mainstream english
• Maths methods
• Global politics

I think you might have picked up a theme with my subjects.

I like languages. Luckily for me the scaling for them are also really nice, so of course I made sure to do way too many of them for VCE. Sadly VCAA has a restriction that says you can do at most 3 LOTEs, otherwise I would’ve done another.

I originally planned on doing EAL or Eng Lang, but my school runs neither, and I decided against doing distance as I already have 2 external subjects. Global Politics because, well - I like politics. As for methods, I was initially planning to do French, but due to VCAA’a restrictions I had to withdraw. Didn’t know what else to do, so I chose maths to keep options open.

I got a raw 42 in Portuguese last year, which far exceeded my expectations. My school hasn’t had more than two 40+ study score in YEARS, unfortunately for them I did it through VSL so they got no credit. This year, I’m also doing Russian and Chinese through VSL.

My aims for this year are:

Russian: 35
Chinese: 35
English: 35
Methods: 30
GloPol: 40
ATAR: 90+

My second aim is to become the dux at my school. Our average ATAR is usually 50-something and historically our dux gets around the low to mid-80s. I would love to change that, and maybe inspire the younger year levels to work harder at school too.

As for future aspirations and uni courses, the dream course is Bachelor of Global Studies at Monash, with media communications as the backup plan. The ATAR for global studies is just above 90 and I get a shit ton of SEAS (SEAS calc says I need an 81), but I want to get in without any adjustment factors as it’s kind of cheating, and unfair for other students who don’t get SEAS but have also worked hard.

That’s quite the information dump so I’ll end it here. I’ll try to update weekly, but knowing me monthly would be a more likely estimate.

Thanks for reading :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Evolio on April 20, 2019, 01:03:33 pm
Hi Remy33!
Nice to meet you!
Great that you have specific goals to achieve!
What's your favourite subject and why?
What do you have in mind career wise?
 :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: rani_b on April 20, 2019, 02:42:34 pm
Nihao, fellow nerds!
(don’t pretend you aren’t a nerd. Why else are you reading about some random dude’s VCE journey on a study forum?)

LOL  :P I guess we are all nerds.

I got a raw 42 in Portuguese last year, which far exceeded my expectations. My school hasn’t had more than two 40+ study score in YEARS, unfortunately for them I did it through VSL so they got no credit. This year, I’m also doing Russian and Chinese through VSL.

That's amazing! I dropped French and Chinese as fast as I could, but this is kind of making me wish I kept them.

Good luck this year!!!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on April 20, 2019, 09:03:01 pm
Hi Remy33!
Nice to meet you!
Great that you have specific goals to achieve!
What's your favourite subject and why?
What do you have in mind career wise?
 :)
Oops, sorry for the late response. Hey Evolio :) I love reading your VCE journal btw.
Favourite subject at the moment is probably Chinese. Hard to put my finger on it, but I've always loved the language and the culture. I also have a pretty awesome teacher for it, which is always great.
Career wise, I'm hoping to go into international relations, maybe work at the UN?? I don't actually have anything specific AND achievable in mind presently, but politics is something I aspire to go into.

---

LOL  :P I guess we are all nerds.
That's amazing! I dropped French and Chinese as fast as I could, but this is kind of making me wish I kept them.

Good luck this year!!!

Thanks rani_b :) Yeah, French and Chinese are quite hard too learn (especially Chinese lmao) but they're definitely rewarding. I might be biased though. Well done on your 50 in psych by the way, that's amazing!

Good luck to you too. :D
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Bri MT on April 21, 2019, 10:21:11 am
That sounds a lot like how my school was and then in my year we had 3 95+ ATARs - so don't doubt that you can break the trend :)


 I want to get in without any adjustment factors as it’s kind of cheating, and unfair for other students who don’t get SEAS but have also worked hard.

Let me stop you right there. Given what you've said about your school so far I'm going to assume that everyone at your school gets SEAS due to your school & where you live + most people get SEAS for financial difficulties and/or difficult circumstances. In no way is it unfair for these things to be taken into account. None.  Unis don't just take SEAs into consideration to be charitable - a student who is eligible for SEAS and scored a bit lower than another student often does better in uni than the non-SEAS-higher-ATAR student.

I understand wanting to get in without relying on SEAS but please don't think that using SEAS would be unfair or taking the spot from a more worthy applicant.


Best of luck with your journey!  :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Evolio on April 21, 2019, 12:55:08 pm
Quote
Oops, sorry for the late response. Hey Evolio :) I love reading your VCE journal btw.
Aww, that's so sweet! Thanks!
Can't wait for your next update!

Quote
Favourite subject at the moment is probably Chinese. Hard to put my finger on it, but I've always loved the language and the culture. I also have a pretty awesome teacher for it, which is always great.
Career wise, I'm hoping to go into international relations, maybe work at the UN?? I don't actually have anything specific AND achievable in mind presently, but politics is something I aspire to go into.
Is Chinese hard? Yeah, it's always really good to have an amazing teacher who is always there to answer questions and guide you!




Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: coldairballoon on April 21, 2019, 01:37:00 pm
Hi Remy! It's always nice to see a new journal pop up. I only recently stopped being a lurker too. It's great to see someone do so many languages - I'm pretty jealous, since my only talent when it comes to languages (apart from Latin) is grammar, and occasionally downloading Duolingo for a week (haha, I try).
Looking forward to your updates! Keep up the good humour.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on April 22, 2019, 08:56:57 pm
Quote from: Bri MT
That sounds a lot like how my school was and then in my year we had 3 95+ ATARs - so don't doubt that you can break the trend
Hi Bri MT,
That's really amazing. 95+ ATARs are unheard of at my school, let along THREE. Back in 2012 someone got a 91 and they got in the local paper :o

RE: SEAS - I get what you mean, and I know the intention is to balance things out. But IMO it does a lot more harm than good as kids at my school usually end up slacking bc "the SEAS will carry me" and it ends up backfiring when they miss out even with these bonus points.

Just wondering, since you also went to (I'm assuming) an underrepresented school, did you get any external help with your subjects, like tutoring or buying notes/practice exams? If yes, did you find them helpful at all?

---

Quote from: Evolio
Is Chinese hard? Yeah, it's always really good to have an amazing teacher who is always there to answer questions and guide you!
Yeh, chinese is probably my hardest subject right now. Speaking/listening ain't bad but reading/writing is insane especially when it ain't your native language lmao. Still, it's enjoyable once you get into it.

---

Quote from: coldairballoon
Hi Remy! It's always nice to see a new journal pop up. I only recently stopped being a lurker too. It's great to see someone do so many languages - I'm pretty jealous, since my only talent when it comes to languages (apart from Latin) is grammar, and occasionally downloading Duolingo for a week (haha, I try).
Looking forward to your updates! Keep up the good humour.
Well, hey there, fellow ex-lurker ;)
That's the total opposite of me lmao. Grammar is my worst enemy. (Sorry, what's a clause again?) Do you learn latin btw? That's amazing. I tried latin multiple times but kept giving up. I might pick it up again when duolingo adds latin to their languages.
Also, it's a wonder that pesky owl hasn't murdered me in my sleep yet.

Looking forward to your updates too. Good luck with your VCE journey. :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Bri MT on April 23, 2019, 09:12:59 am
Hi Bri MT,
That's really amazing. 95+ ATARs are unheard of at my school, let along THREE. Back in 2012 someone got a 91 and they got in the local paper :o

RE: SEAS - I get what you mean, and I know the intention is to balance things out. But IMO it does a lot more harm than good as kids at my school usually end up slacking bc "the SEAS will carry me" and it ends up backfiring when they miss out even with these bonus points.

Just wondering, since you also went to (I'm assuming) an underrepresented school, did you get any external help with your subjects, like tutoring or buying notes/practice exams? If yes, did you find them helpful at all?
That's a real shame about people at your school taking that approach.  It would be interesting to run an experiment and see how SEAS impacts attitudes to studying & achievement; I suspect that for some students SEAS gives them motivational hope - I wonder if that's enough to balance out what you've observed.

Yeah the school I went to was underrepresented. I didn't do any tutoring and I got my practice exams from school.  I studied eng lang by distance ed w/o doing units 1&2 so I bought AN notes for that (they were good but what I really needed was feedback on my work) and went to a paid VATE lecture. I also went to the free atarnotes lectures and since TSFX had free-for-charity-donation lectures at the start of the year I tried some of them. I also attended VCESS but that only runs over the summer holidays.

I liked going to lectures as a form of revision and to see a different perspective on the content & found that I had access to enough practice exams through school without buying any.

I hope everything I've written is clear and answers your questions - let me know if you have any more :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on April 23, 2019, 02:23:52 pm
Quote from: Bri MT
That's a real shame about people at your school taking that approach.  It would be interesting to run an experiment and see how SEAS impacts attitudes to studying & achievement; I suspect that for some students SEAS gives them motivational hope - I wonder if that's enough to balance out what you've observed.

I'd be interested to see a study like that done. SEAS can definitley be beneficial to some and it's not simply a black-and-white issue.

Quote from: Bri MT
Yeah the school I went to was underrepresented. I didn't do any tutoring and I got my practice exams from school.  I studied eng lang by distance ed w/o doing units 1&2 so I bought AN notes for that (they were good but what I really needed was feedback on my work) and went to a paid VATE lecture. I also went to the free atarnotes lectures and since TSFX had free-for-charity-donation lectures at the start of the year I tried some of them. I also attended VCESS but that only runs over the summer holidays.

I liked going to lectures as a form of revision and to see a different perspective on the content & found that I had access to enough practice exams through school without buying any.

I hope everything I've written is clear and answers your questions - let me know if you have any more :)

I wasn't aware of the TSFX lectures, so thanks for the info. I went to the ATAR Notes ones for english, glopol and methods during the holidays and that's partly why I made an account - to download the slides ;D Yeah, I found the lecture formats to be quite helpful too, guess I'll just try to make the most of them.

I guess I gotta go digging for some LOTE resources since you don't get much through VSL and I didn't do 1/2 for either Russian or Chinese (did psych and legal in 1/2)

Thanks for all the help, Bri MT. :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Bri MT on April 23, 2019, 04:16:11 pm
I'm personally not a fan of TSFX (really disliked some of their marketing I got in VCE) - so it's kind of ironic that that's what you didn't know about - but I hope that you find the info beneficial anyway.

I'm not sure if there are many LOTE resources on AN but I know that some of our active users studied Chinese so hopefully you're able to find help/advice easily :)

Absolutely no worries :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on April 24, 2019, 10:42:36 pm
Quote from: Bri MT
I'm personally not a fan of TSFX (really disliked some of their marketing I got in VCE) - so it's kind of ironic that that's what you didn't know about - but I hope that you find the info beneficial anyway.

I'm not sure if there are many LOTE resources on AN but I know that some of our active users studied Chinese so hopefully you're able to find help/advice easily

I get what you mean about their marketing. Apparently the old VCE DiscussionSpace shut down last year because of them? I never signed up for any of their stuff so I don't have first hand experience. (Thank god, I guess)

Thanks for the advice about Chinese, guess I'll go around bothering a bunch users then ;)

---

So I guess I should start the very first update? School's started but not much has happened, I'm barely at school most of the time since I get more free periods than I get actual classes (perks of distance ed). For methods, we're getting reading for the massive SAC happening in a couple of weeks. It'll span SIX whole periods, split into three parts. The first two parts are collaborative tasks (essentially designed so that everybody could pass them), and the last part is individual. In glopol, we've started looking at AOS 2 China. Glopol is an interesting class as I'm the only person there actually doing 3/4 - the other 3 students are 1/2s. As for english... I don't even know what's happening. Does anyone get the feeling in english class that nothing ever gets covered and that nothing productive happens?

I've started working on my oral scripts for LOTEs. For general conversation, I'm just recycling the script I used last year for Portuguese (perfecting the art of laziness). I haven't fully decided on either detail study topics yet, but for Russian I'm thinking of doing The Five (I wonder if anyone knows what I'm referring to); and for Chinese I might look at the city of Harbin.

No school tomorrow due to ANZAC day - anybody going to the Dawn Service? I'd love to go, but waking up at 4am isn't far from capital punishment in my opinion. Guess I'll just stay home and work on my scripts then.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: homeworkisapotato on April 28, 2019, 09:29:45 pm
Hi! I'm a bit late to the party but nice to meet you!
Your choice in subjects is really cool :) which one is your favourite at the moment?
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Joseph41 on May 01, 2019, 04:34:25 pm
Hey Remy,

Have really enjoyed this journal. Honestly I think you might be the first person I've come across to study three LOTEs, and I absolutely love it. Do you have any interest in studying Linguistics at all? ;D
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on May 01, 2019, 08:56:10 pm
Hi! I'm a bit late to the party but nice to meet you!
Your choice in subjects is really cool :) which one is your favourite at the moment?
Hey there, I’d say Chinese and GloPol are my favourites atm. Russian is awesome too, and English and maths are slightly shitty 😂

Hey Remy,

Have really enjoyed this journal. Honestly I think you might be the first person I've come across to study three LOTEs, and I absolutely love it. Do you have any interest in studying Linguistics at all? ;D
Hi Joseph, I don’t know too much about linguistics, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to learn more off. My school sadly didn’t run Eng Lang and I thought 4 external subjects was too much so I settled for English. I’d love to maybe learn more at uni. In particular I have an interest in learning about language use in the media, especially around political issues (is that socio linguistics?)

If I fall short of the ATAR needed for global studies or media, I might do arts at Monash with majors in linguistics and either media or int’l relations. I’m just not so sure about job prospects for such a broad degree like arts.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Joseph41 on May 02, 2019, 12:35:37 pm
Hi Joseph, I don’t know too much about linguistics, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to learn more off. My school sadly didn’t run Eng Lang and I thought 4 external subjects was too much so I settled for English. I’d love to maybe learn more at uni. In particular I have an interest in learning about language use in the media, especially around political issues (is that socio linguistics?)

If I fall short of the ATAR needed for global studies or media, I might do arts at Monash with majors in linguistics and either media or int’l relations. I’m just not so sure about job prospects for such a broad degree like arts.

Unffff. Yeah, that'd fall under sociolingustics - and that's pretty much exactly what I looked at through Honours! So, *more* than happy to chat about it further if you're interested. :)

Job prospects - I think it's a valid concern but would be equally valid with a number of other degrees.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Comet striker on May 02, 2019, 01:53:34 pm
Late hi from me,
Seeing as your learning so many languages, I am curious about your strategy to help you learn so many languages. Also:
english... I don't even know what's happening. Does anyone get the feeling in english class that nothing ever gets covered and that nothing productive happens?
Can relate. Mainly bc Literature stuff goes above my head. Hope that changes tho lol
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on May 03, 2019, 12:12:42 am
Quote from: Joseph41
Unffff. Yeah, that'd fall under sociolingustics - and that's pretty much exactly what I looked at through Honours! So, *more* than happy to chat about it further if you're interested. :)

Job prospects - I think it's a valid concern but would be equally valid with a number of other degrees.

It's so cool to hear that you did that for honours! Did you major in linguistics or politics? What exactly was your topic if you don't mind me asking?

Re: job prospects - I do think that each degree has its own problems and it can't just be said for arts. From my understanding arts is more suited for people who wants to pursue post-grad study while the more specific degrees Monash offers are less suitable for research (idk if that's correct, that's the general concensus I get). Thing is, I don't think I would want to do honours/masters at this stage.

Do you have much experience with what Monash arts might be like, by the way? Sorry about all these questions haha.

---

Quote from: Comet striker
Late hi from me,
Seeing as your learning so many languages, I am curious about your strategy to help you learn so many languages. Also:Can relate. Mainly bc Literature stuff goes above my head. Hope that changes tho lol

Hi Comet striker, with my strategy (idk if you can call it strategy lmfao) I mainly just rely on watching the news or movies in the language I'm trying to learn. Or if I want to improve my reading skills I'd use subtitles in that specific language. Sometimes when I'm not feeling socially awkward I'd venture out of my cave and into civilisation to talk to human beings.
Sometimes I also go on duolingo but since tragically losing my 200-day streak I've been feeling very unmotivated

Hope english can change for the better for you too. ;D
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on May 30, 2019, 01:47:36 pm
Get ready for the most  S C A T T E R E D  exam schedule which you most likely do not have the misfortune to have:

October
23: Russian
30: English
November
6: Methods #1
7: Methods #2
18: GloPol
20: Chinese

And this isn't including oral exams for Russian and Chinese which will be even earlier! How great, an exam period which spans from Day 1 to Day 1 if you go from the end.

I don't think my concentration can last that long.

yeet
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Joseph41 on May 30, 2019, 02:12:33 pm
Get ready for the most  S C A T T E R E D  exam schedule which you most likely do not have the misfortune to have:

October
23: Russian
30: English
November
6: Methods #1
7: Methods #2
18: GloPol
20: Chinese

And this isn't including oral exams for Russian and Chinese which will be even earlier! How great, an exam period which spans from Day 1 to Day 1 if you go from the end.

I don't think my concentration can last that long.

yeet

Yikes!

I mean, in one respect, I guess it's kinda good that they're spread out?
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on June 24, 2019, 05:05:34 pm
Yikes!

I mean, in one respect, I guess it's kinda good that they're spread out?
Prolonged suffering for more revision time? Seems like a fair trade.

Monthly update time!

With term 3 approaching I think it's time to start picking up the pace. I've more or less finished my scripts for LOTEs but there's always more to add. Got destroyed in my most recent Russian SAC, but hopefully I'll be able to bounce back for the next one. As for Chinese, I'm going on an exchange to Harbin during the holidays to really work on my oral and listening skills.

Methods is dull, it's hard being motivated for a subject which I see no practical purpose in, at least not for the path I'm hoping to go down I'm more or less only doing it for dat baccalaureate lmao but I guess I gotta know SOME math. GloPol is interesting and spicy as fuck as always. For Unit 4, we're studying people movement & human rights.

English - I've started an "essay-exchange" system with a classmate who also wishes to do well, a rare breed at my school. We started this about a month ago - at the start of each week we each write an essay, then we'd email each other what we wrote, correct the other's response, and send back with our comments, corrections and suggestions.

So far it's working out well and we haven't missed a single week. Hopefully we'll keep this going throughout the holidays. I think it's a great system as it ensures I'm writing at least one essay a week and am getting feedback for it. Also, marking others' work is really conductive in helping yourself improve. Go give it a try yourself, highly recommend ;)

До свидания!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: smallbean on June 24, 2019, 06:28:30 pm
Hey Remy!

I love your subject choices and am so keen to follow your LOTE-filled journey.
 As someone who did Chinese 3/4 last year as a yr 11 subject and had to wait until the very end of the exam period when everyone else had already completed their exams and were rejoicing in holiday mode, I can definitely relate to the struggle of such a scattered exam schedule. On the bright side, you'll have plenty of time to study and prepare for each exam in between.  :)
Chinese exchange sounds like such a wonderful opportunity to improve your vocab and also learn more about the unique culture there. Chinese is such a great subject that's actually applicable to real life, unlike *cough cough* Methods.
The system of collaboration that you have started with your classmate is such an amazing idea, as sometimes in Year 12 it's so easy to get caught up in rankings and to forget that other students can also be helpful teachers as well.

Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 24, 2019, 06:43:34 pm
English - I've started an "essay-exchange" system with a classmate who also wishes to do well, a rare breed at my school. We started this about a month ago - at the start of each week we each write an essay, then we'd email each other what we wrote, correct the other's response, and send back with our comments, corrections and suggestions.

So far it's working out well and we haven't missed a single week. Hopefully we'll keep this going throughout the holidays. I think it's a great system as it ensures I'm writing at least one essay a week and am getting feedback for it. Also, marking others' work is really conductive in helping yourself improve. Go give it a try yourself, highly recommend ;)

What a great idea! Is writing practice essays particularly time-consuming or no more time consuming than other study methods? Also, what criteria do you use when marking?  :D
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: brothanathan on June 24, 2019, 06:53:29 pm
50s for Chinese and Russian?
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on June 24, 2019, 11:00:35 pm
Hey Remy!

I love your subject choices and am so keen to follow your LOTE-filled journey.
 As someone who did Chinese 3/4 last year as a yr 11 subject and had to wait until the very end of the exam period when everyone else had already completed their exams and were rejoicing in holiday mode, I can definitely relate to the struggle of such a scattered exam schedule. On the bright side, you'll have plenty of time to study and prepare for each exam in between.  :)
Chinese exchange sounds like such a wonderful opportunity to improve your vocab and also learn more about the unique culture there. Chinese is such a great subject that's actually applicable to real life, unlike *cough cough* Methods.
The system of collaboration that you have started with your classmate is such an amazing idea, as sometimes in Year 12 it's so easy to get caught up in rankings and to forget that other students can also be helpful teachers as well.
Thanks smallbean! Agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment there about methods ;D Yeah I agree, VCE may be a competition but that doesn't mean you can't work collaboratively with others and help each other improve. Chinese is definitely a great subject. A lot of work, but worth it. Would love to hear any tips if you have some!
Love your journal too, can't wait to read more updates! Good luck with your year 12 journey :)

---

What a great idea! Is writing practice essays particularly time-consuming or no more time consuming than other study methods? Also, what criteria do you use when marking?  :D

I'd say writing practice essays would take a lot more time than say, reading up other people's analysis on Sparknotes (bless sparknotes btw), but it's definitely also the most helpful. Like, definitely the best investment for your time if you want to see improvements. For marking, we mainly just look at stuff like the structure of essays, the content and the analysis, as well as vocab and sentence structure things like that, making sure we go in-depth and also write in a sophisticated manner.

---

50s for Chinese and Russian?

That's the dreeaaam! Gotta aim high ;D
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Snow Leopard on July 04, 2019, 01:00:09 pm
Does the Russian alphabet confuse you?
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on July 04, 2019, 09:33:07 pm
Does the Russian alphabet confuse you?

A little. Definitely incredibly confusing when I first started learning. Their alphabet is really different to the English one (for example, 'B' in Russian is not 'B' in English, but rather 'V'; 'H' in Russian is 'N' in English, 'P' is 'R', 'C' is 'S' et cetera). But I find it interesting and the writing system is actually so fancy so I deal with it lmfao.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on July 15, 2019, 09:11:12 pm
Hi Remy! I just read through all your updates and I love your journal! The way you write is so entertaining. Your essay exchange system sounds like a good idea, I’ll definitely try to implement it among my peers somehow!

3 LOTEs sound very hectic! Did you take scaling into account at all when choosing your subjects? You mentioned that you initially wanted to do Eng Lang or EAL, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your native language?

It’s amazing that despite the not-so-motivating environment you are aiming high and being independent and accountable for yourself. Can’t wait for your next update and good luck with your journey!
Hi, thanks for reading! Glad you find the essay-exchange system useful.

I didn't take scaling into account at all when choosing subjects - I chose based on interest (global politics, Chinese, Russian), what I thought I'd do well on (Portuguese) and also on what could leave me more options with in the future (methods). Had I considered scaling, I would've done French instead of Russian or methods.

My native language is Brazilian Portuguese, though I reckon my english isn't too bad.

---

Just got back from my exchange trip to Harbin. For those who don't know, Harbin is a city in China located on the border of Russia - so what better place to visit for my exchange than a city which beautifully blends the best of Russian and Chinese cultures? I had a productive time perfecting my speaking skills for both languages.

Term 3 is now upon us. Bring. It. On.

加油啊!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on August 06, 2019, 10:40:13 pm
Привет, парни и девушки!


VTAC preferences are upon us. (excuse me how are we at this point already)

The Preferences
   1. Bachelor of Global Studies
   2. Bachelor of Media Communications
   3. Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Business
   4. Bachelor of Arts

All are for Monash. I've had my eyes set on Monash for years and simply cannot imagine myself at another uni. I know I should be "keeping an open mind", as my career counsellor at school never fails to remind me twice a week. But from talking to a lot of current Monash students, as well as from my wonderful experience at Open Day, I think Monash is *the one*. How else can I explain it? It's just love at first sight.

The Plan
The plan I'm almost 100% set on is Bachelor of Global Studies, specialising in International Relations along with a second major in Media Communications, plus a Diploma of Languages in probably either French or Spanish.

Of course, all of this depends on whether or not I actually get in.

Global studies needs an ATAR of >90. With the Monash guarantee plus countless sympathy points adjustment factors I can probably get in with 80. Currently, my ATAR estimate is roughly 90 just. I'm confident that I can get in, though whether or not I can get in without SEAS is a different matter.


谢谢阅读。祝大家学习愉快!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on September 19, 2019, 08:45:48 pm
好久不见啊。Long time no see. Things are picking up the pace now with exams just around the corner, so I'll keep this update short and sweet.

Trial exams finished this week, and SACs have ended too for all my subjects except GloPol. The feeling of walking out of that final English SAC was phenomenal.

Oral exams for both my LOTEs are coming up. Russian is quite early on, so I can get it out of the way immediately, but I have Chinese on Oct 29, the last possible day, which is even later than my Russian written test!

I've also changed around my VTAC preferences, mainly adding a whole new "bachelor of commerce" to my preferences. Legal studies and business management weren't that great in VCE (hence I dropped them for 3/4) but I'm open to giving commerce another go in uni.

LE PREFERENCES
Monash uni for all my preferences:

(1) Bachelor of Global Studies / Bachelor of Commerce
(2) Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Commerce
(3) Bachelor of Global Studies


(4) Bachelor of Media Communication / Bachelor of Business

(5) Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Business
(6) Bachelor of Media Communication
(7) Bachelor of Arts


Pref 1 - 3: I'd need an ATAR of at least 95 to get in comfortably with no SEAS, meaning putting these 3 up there is probably a bit idealistic.

Pref 4 (Media/Business): an ATAR of 85 (no SEAS) should get me in no problem, so I think this is my most realistic preference.

Pref 5 - 7: Back-up plans, just in case I choke on any exam.

There is less than a month to go until my Russian oral exam and I am so fucking ready for it to be over.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Geoo on September 19, 2019, 10:40:20 pm
Only a little more to go, your almost there!

Do you have people to practice Russian with or is is it mainly just your classmates/ teachers. I only know small amounts of Russian/Ukrainian from all my research on history or the soviet union, Chernobyl and a few of the TV shows. I haven't met anyone who speaks the language in Victoria, so I was just wondering were you practiced.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on September 22, 2019, 08:47:49 pm
Only a little more to go, your almost there!

Do you have people to practice Russian with or is is it mainly just your classmates/ teachers. I only know small amounts of Russian/Ukrainian from all my research on history or the soviet union, Chernobyl and a few of the TV shows. I haven't met anyone who speaks the language in Victoria, so I was just wondering were you practiced.

Hey Geoo, sorry for this late reply. Yeah, there aren’t a lot of native Russian speakers in Australia, but they are around if you look for them. I met quite a lot of russian speakers from the people in my class and through a community class I took on Russian. I also have a Russian ‘pen-pal’ (or rather, email-pal) and we email each other regularly to practice reading and writing.

Though ngl, for the most part I practice on Duolingo as I am an introvert who never leaves the house.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Geoo on November 07, 2019, 10:55:08 pm
How did you language exams go? I know the Chinese one is in the last week of exams, but did you find your orals and written to be okay?

How was english and methods?
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on November 07, 2019, 11:38:31 pm
How did you language exams go? I know the Chinese one is in the last week of exams, but did you find your orals and written to be okay?

How was english and methods?
Thanks for reminding me Geoo! Sorry for the hiatus hehe, exams aren't fun.

My first exam was the Russian oral and I think it went okay?? (Fingers crossed). I was really nervous during the general convo and caught myself nearly slipping into Chinese a couple of times. Overall, none of the questions the examiners asked particularly surprised me.

The Russian written exam could've gone better. I'm definitely better at speaking/listening than reading/writing. On the whole I thought it was a pretty bad start to exams and I'm pretty disappointed in my performance.

Chinese oral - this was a great exam! The examiners looked pretty serious but then they laughed at my jokes lmao. I told them about the time I was in China on exchange, and I tried to describe someone as 'teacher-like' only for it to come out as 'naive' (the chinese words for teacher and naive have the same pronunciation, but different tones) and one of the examiners actually bursted out laughing so I think it was a good sign lol.

As always, self-depreciation saves the day.

English - contrary to popular opinion, I found the exam to be quite difficult. The topics seemed a bit TOO straightforward and, after practicing niche topics day after day, week after week, I was at a loss of how to start. Also, I forgot what an EFTPOS machine was lmao, and called it a "card-transaction processor".

Methods tech free - If my memory serves me right I think I got a 32-33/40 on this one. I found the difficulty to be manageable, it was just rather time consuming.

Tech active - I felt kinda numb after this one. Maybe I'm just having a hard time processing the fact that I'll never have to do any maths ever again for the rest of my life. Q5 was an absolute monstrosity though. In the end even my CAS had borderline given up cos it kept freezing on even simple commands.
Probably 50-55/80.

Two more exams left and they're both AAAAGES away so I'm gonna focus on some other things for the time being and dive back into revision next Monday.

I'm feeling ready for Chinese (or rather, ready for it to be over. 3 LOTEs is a bit much, even for me), but I'm really worried about GloPol as my cohort consists of MYSELF so how tf are my SACs gonna scale?????


Final thoughts:
NO MORE MATHS YAY.


Good luck to anyone who still has exams left!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 13, 2019, 09:47:33 pm
Final thoughts:
NO MORE MATHS YAY.
What an exciting prospect! Have you got any plans for the next little while?
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Snow Leopard on November 29, 2019, 08:09:30 pm
Hey Remy,
How'd the last 2 exams go?
Also, any advice for a fellow language student (one LOTE 3/4 and a LOTE 1/2 next year/in Yr 11)?
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on December 04, 2019, 09:30:11 am
Yo! Sorry I missed this.

My final exams were both absolute massacres. The global politics exam didn’t really have any surprising questions, I just found it to be long and almost didn’t finish. The essay prompts for unit 4 were unexpected but I didn’t do much preparation for unit 3, so I just bullshitted my way through an entire essay. For Chinese, listening was my worst enemy. My teacher told us to always make notes in pinyin, but under the stress of the exam I conveniently forgot how pinyin worked and took notes in English. 😬

But at least everything’s now over. I haven’t given my study scores or ATAR much thought, but my goals have changed since my OP. I had set the goals of a 90+ ATAR and to become the school dux. My new goals instead just revolve around study scores:

   Ø 40+ in English and Global Politics
   Ø Do not fall below raw 35 in any subject

And that’s it. The reason I am not making an ATAR goal is because if I can get those study scores, then the ATAR will naturally follow (if I achieve my SS goals, I’d get a 96 ATAR, which is enough to comfortably get me into Global Studies / Commerce at Monash SEAS-free). Finally, I no longer have the goal to dux, because if I did horribly but everyone else did worse, then what’s the point?

Throughout this year, I think the students at my school have become more attentive towards learning and I am so happy. We had more than double the amount of students doing an early 3/4 in year 11 this year, and next year’s early 3/4 enrolment TRIPLED. A year 10 student came up to me a few weeks ago and said that she’s also hoping for Monash University and how much she’s preparing to work to get there. This makes me so happy. Now I just hope that our cohort can do exceptionally well this year to motivate the next year levels even more.

I went back to school yesterday to give presents to all my teachers and to give an assembly speech to the 2020 graduates. I also met up with next year’s school captains to pass on some resources and experience. While kind of unrealistic, I hope that I will be able to visit my school frequently in the future.
___

Quote from: Snow Leopard
any advice for a fellow language student (one LOTE 3/4 and a LOTE 1/2 next year/in Yr 11)?

Awesome to see another language enthusiast. So are you doing one LOTE in year 11 and another in year 12?

My best tip is that for listening questions, always take notes in the language that you’re being tested on. You’re not marked on your notes (on the exam paper there will be a blank space on the side of the page that lets you take notes) but it makes answering the questions so much easier, because if you are taking notes in English then you will miss key words while translating between the two. It’ll be difficult to start off as taking notes in English seems so much more convenient.

Also when writing and essay or answering questions make sure you’re using the words you fully understand. The risk of using a fancy word but not knowing what it fully means is not worth it and will backfire.

Finally get started on your scripts for general conversation EARLY. Decide on your detailed study topic EARLY. Preferably do them at the start of the year in term 1. The scripts should be refined continuously throughout the year and you should be practicing throughout the year so that you can sound more natural on the exam, especially if it’s not your native language.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Snow Leopard on December 04, 2019, 06:26:29 pm
Awesome to see another language enthusiast.
Same!!!

Quote
So are you doing one LOTE in year 11 and another in year 12?
Yep, next year I'm in Yr 11 but doing Units 3/4 of one of my LOTES while simultaneously doing Units 1/2 of another LOTE which I will do the 3/4 of in Yr 12.

Quote
The scripts should be refined continuously throughout the year and you should be practicing throughout the year so that you can sound more natural on the exam, especially if it’s not your native language.
Yeah, I definitely think that I need to sound more natural while I'm doing Orals. For some reason, my intonation is so stuffed up. Either I sound like I'm asking a question (cos my voice goes high at the end of a sentence) or it's all monotone. For my Unit 2 Oral Exam, my teacher said that it sounded too memorised and not natural enough.
 
Neither of these are my native languages either so :-\. Also, do you think that while I'm learning my general convo script, it's okay to like whisper it out loud. I don't know, I find it very awkward to just speak it out loud unless I'm like the only person home! What are your thoughts on this?
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on December 06, 2019, 05:02:04 pm
Same!!!
Yep, next year I'm in Yr 11 but doing Units 3/4 of one of my LOTES while simultaneously doing Units 1/2 of another LOTE which I will do the 3/4 of in Yr 12.
Good choice spreading the two out. :)

Quote
Yeah, I definitely think that I need to sound more natural while I'm doing Orals. For some reason, my intonation is so stuffed up. Either I sound like I'm asking a question (cos my voice goes high at the end of a sentence) or it's all monotone. For my Unit 2 Oral Exam, my teacher said that it sounded too memorised and not natural enough.
From listening to all the other students (mostly native speakers) in my classes doing oral, I can honestly say that 99% of the time, they all sound memorised, even in the weeks leading up to the final exam. I struggled with this a lot throughout the year. It's a common problem and only practice will help.
 
Quote
Neither of these are my native languages either so :-\. Also, do you think that while I'm learning my general convo script, it's okay to like whisper it out loud. I don't know, I find it very awkward to just speak it out loud unless I'm like the only person home! What are your thoughts on this?
Neither Russian nor Chinese are my native languages either.Chinese is slightly easier but most if not all the students doing Russian are native speakers. <yikes>

Maybe when there's still months to go, yeah it's not a problem. But whispering doesn't have the same effect as saying things out loud. It's amazing all the mistakes you can pick up through talking loudly. If you find it uncomfortable, maybe lock yourself in your room and practice. I liked to borrow my school's soundproof music rooms whenever I wanted to practice my scripts.

Oh and here's another tip regarding the oral - film or record yourself saying your scripts out loud then play it EVERYWHERE you go. I had the recordings on my phone and had it playing all the time - when I'm walking to and from school, on the bus/train, jogging in the morning, when I'm alone at work, even in the shower. That way you memorise your script more naturally - kind of like how if you listen to a song on repeat you'll subconsciously remember all the lyrics.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Snow Leopard on December 06, 2019, 05:17:23 pm
Good choice spreading the two out. :)
Thanks. I literally just hope that I never have 2 Sacs for both Languages in the same day!

Quote
From listening to all the other students (mostly native speakers) in my classes doing oral, I can honestly say that 99% of the time, they all sound memorised, even in the weeks leading up to the final exam. I struggled with this a lot throughout the year. It's a common problem and only practice will help.
Yeah, I think that I need to practice a lot more and will definitely go to the LOTE clubs to practice with my teacher or language assistants who are both native speakers.

Quote
Neither Russian nor Chinese are my native languages either.Chinese is slightly easier but most if not all the students doing Russian are native speakers. <yikes>
Best of luck for your LOTEs. I hope that you smash them and get the SS you aimed for in both of them.

Quote
Maybe when there's still months to go, yeah it's not a problem. But whispering doesn't have the same effect as saying things out loud. It's amazing all the mistakes you can pick up through talking loudly. If you find it uncomfortable, maybe lock yourself in your room and practice. I liked to borrow my school's soundproof music rooms whenever I wanted to practice my scripts.
Yeah, I guess I just have to suck it up and start practicing out aloud. I mean eventually I will  get used to it.

Thanks a million for all of your amazing advice. :)
Good luck for Results Day!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on December 06, 2019, 05:28:56 pm
Thanks. I literally just hope that I never have 2 Sacs for both Languages in the same day!
Ahhhh yes. I had that last year when I was doing French and my Portuguese and French SACs were scheduled for the same day. Luckily as Portuguese is my native language there were no slip ups, but this year I often find myself slipping into Chinese during Russian SACs, and Russian during Chinese SACs. :P

Quote
Yeah, I think that I need to practice a lot more and will definitely go to the LOTE clubs to practice with my teacher or language assistants who are both native speakers.
One thing that's even better than LOTE teachers is just your everyday native speaker. I work at a Chinese restaurant which gives me a lot of oral practice for Chinese, and also spend a lot of time talking to Russian immigrants. Talking to them as opposed to teachers make your style of speaking sound much more conversational and less like reciting a rote-learned script.

Thank you and good luck for your 3/4 next year. :D
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on December 12, 2019, 10:31:57 am
And we’ve arrived at my final update!

So — the ATAR. I honestly started crying when I saw it. I’m not usually an emotional guy, but for once I felt so overwhelmed. I had gotten above what I needed for my course, but that wasn’t why. My prediction had been a 96, which is more than enough.

My results:

English:  50  (A+, A+, A+)
Global Politics:  46  (A+, A+, A+)
Methods:  41  (A+, A, A+)
Chinese:  36  (A+, B+, A+)
Russian:  35  (B, A, A+)
Portuguese: 42  (A+, A, A+) - 2018

ATAR: 99.40

My LOTE scores were disappointing. I figured I had a solid chance at high 30s or even low 40s in Russian, I didn't expect a B in my SACs at all as I was averaging A's all year. I was also aiming for a 37 in Chinese so that was a let down too.

Overall, I am really happy with my scores. Never once in my life would I have imagined that getting a 99 ATAR was remotely possible. My biggest surprises were English and Methods. I'm not a maths person at all, frankly I didn't understand half of the content this year! And English... Oh my god!

Also my English buddy, the one I had the essay-exchange system with, got a 43 in English! I don't think our school has ever had more than two 40+ SS in one year before so hopefully our ranking on better education shoots up this year!

I duxed, and also became the first person at my school to get a 90+ ATAR in 7 years! I also duxed English and methods (I would also say GloPol, but I'm also the only person in my cohort). Finally, and most importantly, I got the ATAR needed for my top preference, Global Studies / Commerce at Monash!!!!

All I can say now is, I did it without SEAS. Without tutoring. I did it, as a student at one of the lowest ranking schools in one of the lowest SES suburbs in VIC. I did all that while working 2 jobs with graveyard shifts, while taking care of 4 younger siblings while my single mum works 12 hours a day, everyday. And I did it while being school captain and debating captain. And you know what? I am fucking proud of myself.

I know my opinion on SEAS doesn't sit well with the rest of the community here, but I will say it regardless. I am glad I did not apply for SEAS, even though I qualified for all 4 categories. I'm glad I didn't apply, even though I would've had it so much easier if I did. I am so glad I did not apply, because now I can say I got into Monash on my own accord, because of my own efforts, rather than because some policymaker sitting in an office decided that I cannot possibly score as well as some rich kid from St Kevins.

As this is the final update, I want to end with a word of advice to the class of 2020. Do not believe for one second that you are limited by your situation. Doesn't matter if you go to an elite private school in the eastern suburbs, or a rural public school in the west, your result is a reflection of how hard YOU worked. If anyone reading this is in a situation similar to my own, I hope this is proof that you can certainly do well if you put in the effort. Do not give up hope, have confidence in yourself, and most important of all, be accountable for your own studies. If you do well, be proud of yourself. If you fall short, think how you can improve. Whatever the case, remember that you do not have a disadvantage, unless you choose to see it as such.


Anyway, I'll sign off now. Hope to see some of you at Monash next year!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: brothanathan on December 12, 2019, 10:35:44 am

All I can say now is, I did it without SEAS. Without tutoring. I did it, as a student at one of the lowest ranking schools in one of the lowest SES suburbs in VIC. I did all that while working 2 jobs with graveyard shifts, while taking care of 4 younger siblings while my single mum works 12 hours a day, everyday. And I did it while being school captain and debating captain. And you know what? I am fucking proud of myself.


I have so much respect for that. TWO LOTE SUBJECTS IN YEAR 12
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: smallbean on December 12, 2019, 10:46:49 am
And we’ve arrived at my final update!

So — the ATAR. I honestly started crying when I saw it. I’m not usually an emotional guy, but for once I felt so overwhelmed. I had gotten above what I needed for my course, but that wasn’t why. My prediction had been a 96, which is more than enough.

My results:

English:  50  (A+, A+, A+)
Global Politics:  46  (A+, A+, A+)
Methods:  41  (A+, A, A+)
Chinese:  36  (A+, B+, A+)
Russian:  35  (B, A, A+)
Portuguese: 42  (A+, A, A+) - 2018

ATAR: 99.40

My LOTE scores were disappointing. I figured I had a solid chance at high 30s or even low 40s in Russian, I didn't expect a B in my SACs at all as I was averaging A's all year. I was also aiming for a 37 in Chinese so that was a let down too.

Overall, I am really happy with my scores. Never once in my life would I have imagined that getting a 99 ATAR was remotely possible. My biggest surprises were English and Methods. I'm not a maths person at all, frankly I didn't understand half of the content this year! And English... Oh my god!

Also my English buddy, the one I had the essay-exchange system with, got a 43 in English! I don't think our school has ever had more than two 40+ SS in one year before so hopefully our ranking on better education shoots up this year!

I duxed, and also became the first person at my school to get a 90+ ATAR in 7 years! I also duxed English and methods (I would also say GloPol, but I'm also the only person in my cohort). Finally, and most importantly, I got the ATAR needed for my top preference, Global Studies / Commerce at Monash!!!!

All I can say now is, I did it without SEAS. Without tutoring. I did it, as a student at one of the lowest ranking schools in one of the lowest SES suburbs in VIC. I did all that while working 2 jobs with graveyard shifts, while taking care of 4 younger siblings while my single mum works 12 hours a day, everyday. And I did it while being school captain and debating captain. And you know what? I am fucking proud of myself.

I know my opinion on SEAS doesn't sit well with the rest of the community here, but I will say it regardless. I am glad I did not apply for SEAS, even though I qualified for all 4 categories. I'm glad I didn't apply, even though I would've had it so much easier if I did. I am so glad I did not apply, because now I can say I got into Monash on my own accord, because of my own efforts, rather than because some policymaker sitting in an office decided that I cannot possibly score as well as some rich kid from St Kevins.

As this is the final update, I want to end with a word of advice to the class of 2020. Do not believe for one second that you are limited by your situation. Doesn't matter if you go to an elite private school in the eastern suburbs, or a rural public school in the west, your result is a reflection of how hard YOU worked. If anyone reading this is in a situation similar to my own, I hope this is proof that you can certainly do well if you put in the effort. Do not give up hope, have confidence in yourself, and most important of all, be accountable for your own studies. If you do well, be proud of yourself. If you fall short, think how you can improve. Whatever the case, remember that you do not have a disadvantage, unless you choose to see it as such.


Anyway, I'll sign off now. Hope to see some of you at Monash next year!

Well done Remy! What a fantastic achievement, you should be so so proud of how hard you worked this year. It's so inspiring to see that you have done so well through hard work and perseverance alone whilst overcoming many personal barriers. Chinese is so hard as well, I did it last year and honestly getting a 36 is no easy feat  :) all the best with uni!!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Bri MT on December 12, 2019, 10:57:23 am
Despite our different views on SEAS and the impact of disadvantage on educational achievement, I 100% echo that in difficult circumstances it can be possible to achieve well above what your demographics would predict.

I'm glad you're proud of what you have achieved because you absolutely should be & I'm glad that in the end you're happy with the choices you made about how you want to approach your education. Huge congratulations & I'm glad that you now have the security of knowing you'll easily make it into your first preference.


P.S. Be prepared to receive messages years from now from students in your school (that you never met) wanting advice.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Geoo on December 12, 2019, 11:00:39 am
Awesome results Remy! Super happy for you that all your hard work paid off, and it still amazes me that you manged to do so many languages!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on December 12, 2019, 11:17:04 am
I have so much respect for that. TWO LOTE SUBJECTS IN YEAR 12
Thank you brothanathan! :) Well done to you too for tackling Chinese, all the best for next year!

Well done Remy! What a fantastic achievement, you should be so so proud of how hard you worked this year. It's so inspiring to see that you have done so well through hard work and perseverance alone whilst overcoming many personal barriers. Chinese is so hard as well, I did it last year and honestly getting a 36 is no easy feat  :) all the best with uni!!
Thanks for the encouragement smallbean! Hope you're happy with your results, best of luck next year!! :D

Despite our different views on SEAS and the impact of disadvantage on educational achievement, I 100% echo that in difficult circumstances it can be possible to achieve well above what your demographics would predict.

I'm glad you're proud of what you have achieved because you absolutely should be & I'm glad that in the end you're happy with the choices you made about how you want to approach your education. Huge congratulations & I'm glad that you now have the security of knowing you'll easily make it into your first preference.

P.S. Be prepared to receive messages years from now from students in your school (that you never met) wanting advice.
Thank you so much Bri. You're honestly amazing and your own phenomenal achievements have inspired me so much this year. I'm glad that despite having different views we can find common ground in that we have the same values and goals in helping our community. Thank you for being such an inspiration!

Oh yes, it has already started! I'm kind of surprised but also really glad that this can let future students aspire to work harder.

Awesome results Remy! Super happy for you that all your hard work paid off, and it still amazes me that you manged to do so many languages!
Thank you so much Geoo! :) All the best to you for next year!!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Snow Leopard on December 12, 2019, 04:10:58 pm
Well done, Remy33!!!
That is such a phenomenal ATAR, especially considering all of the challenges that you overcame! :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: eemmaa on December 12, 2019, 05:10:37 pm
Congratulations, that's absolutely insane! I'm honestly in awe of all you've managed to accomplish.
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: Remy33 on December 12, 2019, 06:41:52 pm
Well done, Remy33!!!
That is such a phenomenal ATAR, especially considering all of the challenges that you overcame! :)
Thanks Snow Leopard! Good luck with your LOTEs, my PM's are always open if you have any questions on them :)

Congratulations, that's absolutely insane! I'm honestly in awe of all you've managed to accomplish.
Thank you Emma! :) :)
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: yesh.weerakkody on December 12, 2019, 09:47:18 pm
And we’ve arrived at my final update!

So — the ATAR. I honestly started crying when I saw it. I’m not usually an emotional guy, but for once I felt so overwhelmed. I had gotten above what I needed for my course, but that wasn’t why. My prediction had been a 96, which is more than enough.

My results:

English:  50  (A+, A+, A+)
Global Politics:  46  (A+, A+, A+)
Methods:  41  (A+, A, A+)
Chinese:  36  (A+, B+, A+)
Russian:  35  (B, A, A+)
Portuguese: 42  (A+, A, A+) - 2018

ATAR: 99.40

My LOTE scores were disappointing. I figured I had a solid chance at high 30s or even low 40s in Russian, I didn't expect a B in my SACs at all as I was averaging A's all year. I was also aiming for a 37 in Chinese so that was a let down too.

Overall, I am really happy with my scores. Never once in my life would I have imagined that getting a 99 ATAR was remotely possible. My biggest surprises were English and Methods. I'm not a maths person at all, frankly I didn't understand half of the content this year! And English... Oh my god!

Also my English buddy, the one I had the essay-exchange system with, got a 43 in English! I don't think our school has ever had more than two 40+ SS in one year before so hopefully our ranking on better education shoots up this year!

I duxed, and also became the first person at my school to get a 90+ ATAR in 7 years! I also duxed English and methods (I would also say GloPol, but I'm also the only person in my cohort). Finally, and most importantly, I got the ATAR needed for my top preference, Global Studies / Commerce at Monash!!!!

All I can say now is, I did it without SEAS. Without tutoring. I did it, as a student at one of the lowest ranking schools in one of the lowest SES suburbs in VIC. I did all that while working 2 jobs with graveyard shifts, while taking care of 4 younger siblings while my single mum works 12 hours a day, everyday. And I did it while being school captain and debating captain. And you know what? I am fucking proud of myself.

I know my opinion on SEAS doesn't sit well with the rest of the community here, but I will say it regardless. I am glad I did not apply for SEAS, even though I qualified for all 4 categories. I'm glad I didn't apply, even though I would've had it so much easier if I did. I am so glad I did not apply, because now I can say I got into Monash on my own accord, because of my own efforts, rather than because some policymaker sitting in an office decided that I cannot possibly score as well as some rich kid from St Kevins.

As this is the final update, I want to end with a word of advice to the class of 2020. Do not believe for one second that you are limited by your situation. Doesn't matter if you go to an elite private school in the eastern suburbs, or a rural public school in the west, your result is a reflection of how hard YOU worked. If anyone reading this is in a situation similar to my own, I hope this is proof that you can certainly do well if you put in the effort. Do not give up hope, have confidence in yourself, and most important of all, be accountable for your own studies. If you do well, be proud of yourself. If you fall short, think how you can improve. Whatever the case, remember that you do not have a disadvantage, unless you choose to see it as such.


Anyway, I'll sign off now. Hope to see some of you at Monash next year!
DAMN THAT SPEECH! Could have been a graduation speech!! Congratulations on your results!! I am sure you are a role model for many!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: caffinatedloz on December 12, 2019, 10:04:19 pm
As a long-time follower of your journal, it is so fantastic to hear how well you have done. I cannot think of anyone who deserves such a fantastic score as much as you. I have so much respect for who you are as a person and all that you juggled so fantastically!
Title: Re: Remy’s DeLOTEful VCE Journey
Post by: nanab on January 05, 2020, 01:41:58 pm
And we’ve arrived at my final update!

So — the ATAR. I honestly started crying when I saw it. I’m not usually an emotional guy, but for once I felt so overwhelmed. I had gotten above what I needed for my course, but that wasn’t why. My prediction had been a 96, which is more than enough.

My results:

English:  50  (A+, A+, A+)
Global Politics:  46  (A+, A+, A+)
Methods:  41  (A+, A, A+)
Chinese:  36  (A+, B+, A+)
Russian:  35  (B, A, A+)
Portuguese: 42  (A+, A, A+) - 2018

ATAR: 99.40

My LOTE scores were disappointing. I figured I had a solid chance at high 30s or even low 40s in Russian, I didn't expect a B in my SACs at all as I was averaging A's all year. I was also aiming for a 37 in Chinese so that was a let down too.

Overall, I am really happy with my scores. Never once in my life would I have imagined that getting a 99 ATAR was remotely possible. My biggest surprises were English and Methods. I'm not a maths person at all, frankly I didn't understand half of the content this year! And English... Oh my god!

Also my English buddy, the one I had the essay-exchange system with, got a 43 in English! I don't think our school has ever had more than two 40+ SS in one year before so hopefully our ranking on better education shoots up this year!

I duxed, and also became the first person at my school to get a 90+ ATAR in 7 years! I also duxed English and methods (I would also say GloPol, but I'm also the only person in my cohort). Finally, and most importantly, I got the ATAR needed for my top preference, Global Studies / Commerce at Monash!!!!

All I can say now is, I did it without SEAS. Without tutoring. I did it, as a student at one of the lowest ranking schools in one of the lowest SES suburbs in VIC. I did all that while working 2 jobs with graveyard shifts, while taking care of 4 younger siblings while my single mum works 12 hours a day, everyday. And I did it while being school captain and debating captain. And you know what? I am fucking proud of myself.

I know my opinion on SEAS doesn't sit well with the rest of the community here, but I will say it regardless. I am glad I did not apply for SEAS, even though I qualified for all 4 categories. I'm glad I didn't apply, even though I would've had it so much easier if I did. I am so glad I did not apply, because now I can say I got into Monash on my own accord, because of my own efforts, rather than because some policymaker sitting in an office decided that I cannot possibly score as well as some rich kid from St Kevins.

As this is the final update, I want to end with a word of advice to the class of 2020. Do not believe for one second that you are limited by your situation. Doesn't matter if you go to an elite private school in the eastern suburbs, or a rural public school in the west, your result is a reflection of how hard YOU worked. If anyone reading this is in a situation similar to my own, I hope this is proof that you can certainly do well if you put in the effort. Do not give up hope, have confidence in yourself, and most important of all, be accountable for your own studies. If you do well, be proud of yourself. If you fall short, think how you can improve. Whatever the case, remember that you do not have a disadvantage, unless you choose to see it as such.


Anyway, I'll sign off now. Hope to see some of you at Monash next year!

Hi Remy33. Having found myself in a similar position a few years back, this story felt inspirational...then my sibling's friend told me that in her cohort this year, only 7 people received a 46 in global politics according to the high achievers list (none of which did not provide consent for publication). Linked here: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/40plushighachievers/2019StudyData.pdf
none of of whom attended low SES schools or have received 50 in English and a 41 in methods. It is disheartening that people post whatever they feel like posting under the guise of anonymity. But these posts are not only fuelling confirmation bias that makes others feel like 99+ is the norm, they are particularly disheartening for people that actually go to under-resourced and under-represented schools, where SEAS remains an equaliser.