ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => The VCE Journey Journal => Topic started by: whys on February 16, 2019, 10:56:43 pm

Title: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on February 16, 2019, 10:56:43 pm
✳  DIFFICULT DOES NOT MEAN IMPOSSIBLE  ✳

Hey, it's whys! I'm graduating as part of the class of 2020 (this year is all about learning to focus on your vision and look ahead! haha get it? sorry I'll stop now). I've changed the name of my journal and the contents of this first post since 2019 to better reflect who I am and who I want to be (well, also the formatting on this was a tad bit cringey and I wanted to make the name of my journal shorter haha). My overall goals haven't changed from last year - I still want to get into medicine (how original!), aim for a 99+ ATAR and do well on the UCAT (95+ percentile, i'm looking at you). In year 11, I did 3/4 psych and food studies, which gave me a pretty good insight on how VCE works and what I should be doing to do well in year twelve, the big year. I'm super nervous for chem and english the most, since you have no choice but to do well in english, and chem is a whole other story (basically, I suck at chem). I was slightly disappointed with my performance in year 11 as I felt I did poorly in food studies, however I've moved on from that I want to do the best that I can in year 12 - no slacking off like year 11! I'd like to document my journey on here so I have somewhere to look back and reflect on my personal VCE journey and what I went through (we stan highschool nostalgia, amiright) and somewhere to put my goals so I feel motivated to drive through and pursue them.

year 11, 2019
In year 11, I completed two 3/4s - psychology and food studies. At the beginning of the year, I set myself a goal of achieving in the high 40s for both of these subjects. However, due to my neglect and lack of dedication, I only achieved a 42 in food studies. Psychology was a better outcome, in which I got a raw 50. I know now that having no motivation, slacking off in studies and procrastinating can lead to detrimental outcomes. I feel better prepared to tackle year 12 with an unwavering mindset of determination.

2020 goals~
(these are just the overall ones, I have a whole page of small and big goals on my table that I wrote on the 1st of jan)
1. 99+ ATAR
2. 95+ percentile UCAT
3. 50 hours of volunteering for St John
4. Exercise everyday and eat healthy (we all know this isn't happening anyways LOL)
5. 120 hours on L's

I hope you guys achieve your goals for this year - I hope I do and I'm super pumped for the journey yet to come.
Make 2020 YOUR year!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: smamsmo22 on February 16, 2019, 11:15:52 pm
Hey! I look forward to reading your journal :)

And setting goals for your study via your last post is a pretty studious "procrastination" activity (and its a Saturday night) so don't be too hard on yourself. You're only starting your 3/4 'journey' now and it'll take some adjusting.. doing 1 or 2 3/4 subjects in year 11 is a really great learning experience IMO, regardless of what scores you achieve, and (for me at least) will make next year a lot less daunting.. so make the most of it! (And don't put too much pressure on yourself!!)
I studied pretty similar subjects to you but something I didn't get exposed to much was food studies. Do you have a passion/talent in cooking? What's the subject like?
Also, what interests you about med? It's great that you're aiming high.

Anyway, best of luck and if you have any questions, feel free to ask :D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Bri MT on February 17, 2019, 08:28:18 am
Hey!

Why med?
Do you have any extracurricular activities, work etc?

Seriously wouldn't stress about some mild procrastinate this early in the year. It took me a while to get into the rigorous study I had by the end of year 11 (and I still scored within your goals for this year).
On a sidenote: I like the creative way you've styled your quote :)

Anyway, best of luck for this year and your VCE journey - it'll surely have its ups and downs and I hope you weather them well :)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on February 17, 2019, 11:12:03 am
I studied pretty similar subjects to you but something I didn't get exposed to much was food studies. Do you have a passion/talent in cooking? What's the subject like?
I can totally understand! It's not a common subject I've heard of people doing, and at my school the 1/2 class and 3/4 class has to be put together because of the low numbers in each (there's probably 15 altogether, in 1/2 and 3/4). I guess I'm just a massive foodie and I've always liked cooking too. I'm more of a baker but I can cook savoury too. :) I actually had no idea what to expect about the subject, and over the holidays I made the mistake of learning the all the content in the textbook, which seemed like a great idea at the time, but I've forgotten everything and it was such a waste of the holidays. I'm still a bit nervous because we have pracs often (cooking), and a lot of the content has to be self-learned. The good thing is it's not hard to understand and it's very straight-forward. The only problem is there are no resources for the subject that I've found as it's not commonly chosen, which sucks. There's only one textbook for the study design, and it doesn't match it well. But the content is enjoyable, and overall I'm glad I did it. Although it does have some boring stuff (for me), I like most the content and it seems easy enough (for now).

Also, what interests you about med?
Why med?
Actually, my interest in the medical field began when I was around 6 (young, right?!). We had a family friend who was a doctor, whom I vaguely remember now, but I do clearly have the memory of her being a role model to me. She was a practicing GP, and I recall this one time when we (me and my parents) went to her clinic to visit her. On that day, she gave me one of those moving cube things (I found the exact one I have online here!). I was only 6 at the time, so most of the words on there were like a foreign language to me. Despite there being complex words that I had no idea about, I was intrigued by the actual images (and the prospect of moving the cubes around, because it was fun). As I grew, I began slowly understanding what the words all meant. It's actually on my table right now, and I can't thank the doctor that gave it to me enough, because it's something that has sentimental value to me and sparked my interest. Obviously, my 'dream career' changed often in primary school; I remember once I wanted to be jockey, and firefighter, and a vet. But there was always something about that cube that brought me back to it.

Now, I have much more knowledge about what a doctor actually is and what they do, and I definitely know now that it's my dream career. I think most people now overlook the trust between a doctor and their patient, as it's such a normal thing to go to the doctor if you have a fever, or a cold. I think it's amazing that an individual is able to go to someone they don't know at a very vulnerable point of time in their life, and trust that person to help them get better. It might sound silly, but that trust has earned my respect for doctors. To be able to trust in someone like that really means something, and I'd like that someone to be me one day. Work experience only intrigued and inspired me even more, as for one of the days I was lucky enough to be with the surgeon and nurses in the surgery room and got to see a few surgeries myself (plus I was wearing spuds!). The surgeon was also kind enough to explain what exactly he was doing and the apparatus he used. Just being with the patients at work experience was amazing, and visiting them and talking to them was super fun. I reckon my favourite department was the emergency department, as it was pretty busy and so many different people came in with very different cases (and there was lots of running around to do!)

I know undergrad med is tough, but I want to give it a shot and see where I can go. One day, I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and know that I've helped so many lives as a doctor, no matter how small that help may have been  :D

Do you have any extracurricular activities, work etc?
Yeah! I've been dancing for (I think?) around 11-ish years. Maybe 12. I can't remember (oops). I've also been a junior member of St John Ambulance for just over a year, and I hope to continue learning + volunteering there as an adult too. I used to work for around a year at a tuition centre last year, but I unfortunately quit. I used to do a lot of other stuff too, like violin, but I guess I couldn't be bothered practising. Maybe I'll pick it up again later.

EDIT; Does stuff at school count? If so, I'm a member of the creative writing club, our school's charity fundraising team and our school's environmental sustainability team.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: w0lfqu33n89 on February 17, 2019, 12:13:52 pm
Reading all this so far makes me excited for your journey ahead. I too have a passion for this sort of area and it would be amazing to see someone else experience and journey. Good on ya for making a journal, I started mine not long ago but already love it! Cant wait to see more why's! Wishing you luck xx
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Evolio on February 17, 2019, 12:17:01 pm
Quote
My ultimate goal in VCE is to get an ATAR
above 99 and get into undergrad med at monash.
This is so cool! We have the same goal!
Can't wait to follow your progress across this year and the next!
Looking forward to reading your journal.
 ;D ;D

EDIT:
You go to St John! Me too! (Excuse my excitement. I get excited very easily.)  ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Lear on February 17, 2019, 01:16:40 pm
It’s excellent that you have already had experience with doctors and surgeons. Many kids go into medicine with a super romanticised view about what doctors do, what their lifestyle is like and how much they earn. Your passion for Medicine is lovely to hear.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions that I may be able to answer.

Good luck for VCE and beyond :)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on February 17, 2019, 02:56:48 pm
I too have a passion for this sort of area and it would be amazing to see someone else experience and journey.
Hello there! It's nice to meet someone with a similar passion. I'll probably be reading your journal whenever I get the time too as well, it's interesting to see others' experiences.

You go to St John! Me too! (Excuse my excitement. I get excited very easily.)  ;D
Another fellow St John member! Nice to meet you. And no worries, I'm pretty excited I've met someone who goes there too. It's a great place. Unfortunately I haven't gone on any duties yet (despite going there for over a year, rip) so I hope to go on a lot this year and the next.

It’s excellent that you have already had experience with doctors and surgeons. Many kids go into medicine with a super romanticised view about what doctors do, what their lifestyle is like and how much they earn. Your passion for Medicine is lovely to hear.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions that I may be able to answer.
I was actually worried at the beginning that doctor 'lifestyles' would dissuade me from the career, but luckily I didn't and instead found the job quite intriguing. Thanks so much, I'll keep that in mind if I ever have any doubts about anything!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on February 18, 2019, 09:55:13 pm
────────────────────── MONDAY ──────────────────────
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It's just another mundane monday... For starters I woke up early this morning to study for
my methods test today. Ended up just making my reference sheet. I didn't study for it, and
neither did I do any provided practice tests on it. My bad  ;D. Anyways, in the morning, I had
psych, so it was a great start to the day subject-wise. We also had an assembly later in the
day. Our guest speaker was Dr Susan Carland, which was awesome. She had a super duper
inspiring speech and that I got something out of. I later had my methods test. Didn't find it
difficult or anything; it was surprisingly easy. I feel like it's because it's only the first test, and
the content was just expanding on content we already know. Hopefully my result isn't too
bad despite not studying for it, although I should have. I guess I was just neglecting it in
favour of my 3/4's, which I maybe shouldn't have done. In the evening, I went to St John. It
was cool, we learnt about the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest (which I
somehow always end up forgetting) and how to treat an unconscious patient who isn't
breathing. It's stuff we've already done, and we're just doing it again to remember it from
last year. I guess the day was pretty good for a monday. I felt good after the maths test -
it was something I could finally tick off. I also kinda just realised that my formatting would
probably look horrible when viewing from a phone, but oh well, you always gotta sacrifice
something for something good. After writing this post, I'm probably going to go to sleep
and try wake up at at least 6 tomorrow. Let's see how that goes! Oh, and I'm gonna read
my flashcards for psych and food studies; hopefully some of the information is absorbed
by my brain and ends up being info I can actually recall. I heard somewhere that stuff
you read just before bed will be remembered better than stuff you learn throughout the
day. I should probably also stick up my psych posters somewhere I can actually see them,
not on a wall that I never look at  :P. Anyways, goodnight for now! Maybe I'll write tomorrow.

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on February 19, 2019, 08:11:00 pm
────────────────────── TUESDAY ──────────────────────
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Woke up kinda early - at 5:20am, but I only got out of bed at like 7am because I was too
lazy to get out of my warm, cozy bed. I was nervous the whole day because our teacher
had sent a message to the whole class saying that he had marked our maths tests already
(I know right?! It's only been a day since we did it) and that we would get our results back.
I was really scared and was convinced I did really bad and was dreading period 4 the whole
day because of that. Ended up somehow getting the highest mark in the class. I thought he
was joking when he told me my score. I know I could have done way better because I
had a mind blank in the middle of the test and forgot the distance of a line formula. Ugh...
If I got those marks I would have gotten full marks, but I'm pretty happy with my score
otherwise. I also exercised when I came home from school at around 7pm, so that was
really refreshing for my mind.

I read here on AN that so many people stayed back at school to study and came home
a little late. I decided to try it out today, and ended up being much more productive. I
guess it was mainly because after around 4:30pm, most people are out of the school and
it gets really quiet, which is ideal for me to do my work. I did more work than I would have
done if I went home, but I still feel like it wasn't enough. I feel like I should be getting so much
more done in 3 hours of time, but I don't know how much I should be getting done. I feel
like I'm a really slow worker, but maybe I'm not. I was just wondering - what do you guys do
/did do when you did your VCE after school? What was your study routine, and how much
could you get done in the time you studied? For me, I was only able to complete one maths
exercise for methods and a psych chapter test (and that was in 2 and a half hours). If I keep
working at this rate, I'll probably fail my sacs. Maybe I'm a little pessimistic, but I have no
idea how much work I should be getting done/how much is a good amount for the day.
I also attempted waking up early (5:30-6am-ish) and doing at least an hour of work in the
morning, but I still don't feel like I'm doing much and everyone else seems to be cruising
through their work really quickly. I'm not sure on how I should maximise my study time
outside of school, and I know I really need to improve to get the scores I'm aiming for.

Your thoughts on this?

P.S. My parents are coming home with pizza for dinner today  :)

EDIT; I thought keeping a journal would be hard, but boy was I wrong.

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: smamsmo22 on February 19, 2019, 08:50:38 pm
I was just wondering - what do you guys do
/did do when you did your VCE after school? What was your study routine, and how much
could you get done in the time you studied? For me, I was only able to complete one maths
exercise for methods and a psych chapter test (and that was in 2 and a half hours). If I keep
working at this rate, I'll probably fail my sacs. Maybe I'm a little pessimistic, but I have no
idea how much work I should be getting done/how much is a good amount for the day.

Hey, I studied at school after school pretty much every night; we had a silent study room which was definitely more conducive to productivity as opposed to my house full of people and distractions!!
For me, every night was different and was based on what needed to be done; I didn't have a planned subject-based timetable or anything, I did what was most important. Generally this meant getting homework/unfinished tasks done which were assigned and to be checked, as well as studying for whatever assessments were the fastest approaching.
In saying that, some nights were definitely not as simple as it seems and I can assure you there were plenty of times where I had similar concerns to you. Some tasks I'd expected to be simple would end up taking me forever and I'd end up completing 1 out of the 5 things I had planned and wonder why I was so slow and incompetent  ::) In retrospect, I can safely say everything turned out okay and some things just take longer than others.. putting yourself down about it and/or stressing is never gonna help. I can certainly say a couple of slower days are a reason to think you're going to fail your SACs!! If you're consistently finding you're not getting the work done that you have to get done then perhaps reassess how productive you're being, but since it's so early on I wouldn't be too concerned. Some nights you may have to prioritise/rearrange/rush and that's just how it is :)
I don't know if that's very helpful but I could definitely relate to those thoughts about productivity and I managed okay in the end working at my own pace for the most part. Keep me updated though ;D ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: w0lfqu33n89 on February 19, 2019, 09:34:46 pm
────────────────────── TUESDAY ──────────────────────
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Woke up kinda early - at 5:20am, but I only got out of bed at like 7am because I was too
lazy to get out of my warm, cozy bed. I was nervous the whole day because our teacher
had sent a message to the whole class saying that he had marked our maths tests already
(I know right?! It's only been a day since we did it) and that we would get our results back.
I was really scared and was convinced I did really bad and was dreading period 4 the whole
day because of that. Ended up somehow getting the highest mark in the class. I thought he
was joking when he told me my score. I know I could have done way better because I
had a mind blank in the middle of the test and forgot the distance of a line formula. Ugh...
If I got those marks I would have gotten full marks, but I'm pretty happy with my score
otherwise. I also exercised when I came home from school at around 7pm, so that was
really refreshing for my mind.

I read here on AN that so many people stayed back at school to study and came home
a little late. I decided to try it out today, and ended up being much more productive. I
guess it was mainly because after around 4:30pm, most people are out of the school and
it gets really quiet, which is ideal for me to do my work. I did more work than I would have
done if I went home, but I still feel like it wasn't enough. I feel like I should be getting so much
more done in 3 hours of time, but I don't know how much I should be getting done. I feel
like I'm a really slow worker, but maybe I'm not. I was just wondering - what do you guys do
/did do when you did your VCE after school? What was your study routine, and how much
could you get done in the time you studied? For me, I was only able to complete one maths
exercise for methods and a psych chapter test (and that was in 2 and a half hours). If I keep
working at this rate, I'll probably fail my sacs. Maybe I'm a little pessimistic, but I have no
idea how much work I should be getting done/how much is a good amount for the day.
I also attempted waking up early (5:30-6am-ish) and doing at least an hour of work in the
morning, but I still don't feel like I'm doing much and everyone else seems to be cruising
through their work really quickly. I'm not sure on how I should maximise my study time
outside of school, and I know I really need to improve to get the scores I'm aiming for.

Your thoughts on this?

P.S. My parents are coming home with pizza for dinner today  :)

EDIT; I thought keeping a journal would be hard, but boy was I wrong.

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First off, OMG WELL DONE! I for one suck at math and I am so proud of you why's! don't be too hard on yourself about the full marks and the mind blank. sometimes these things happen. You did your best and look where that got you! from ANer to ANer, I am proud! your so whysssss!  ;D.

With studying, don't push yourself too hard, prioritise your homework and take breaks every now and then, a few people have given me advice and I hope it ok that I share it onto you! Take frequent breaks, chewing gum while studying helps concentrate (idk why...it works for me), zone out, maybe listen to some slow music, go for a walk and find a place to study like a park bench.

Pizza! I had a salad! I am jealous! you enjoy that bud! xx

Ikr! I started my journal not too long ago and I cant stop wanting to post!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on February 20, 2019, 05:25:51 pm
Hey, I studied at school after school pretty much every night; we had a silent study room which was definitely more conducive to productivity as opposed to my house full of people and distractions!!
If you don't mind me asking and don't mind answering, how long did you stay at school after school for?

You did your best and look where that got you! from ANer to ANer, I am proud! your so whysssss!  ;D.
Heh... I've had that pun a few times  :D

With studying, don't push yourself too hard, prioritise your homework and take breaks every now and then, a few people have given me advice and I hope it ok that I share it onto you! Take frequent breaks, chewing gum while studying helps concentrate (idk why...it works for me), zone out, maybe listen to some slow music, go for a walk and find a place to study like a park bench.
Thanks for the advice!

Pizza! I had a salad! I am jealous! you enjoy that bud! xx
Haha.. well at least salad is healthier.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on February 23, 2019, 09:53:34 pm
────────────────────── SATURDAY ──────────────────────
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2 days ago, I officially had my first official VCE breakdown! I had no idea why I was so emotional
but I was what I was, and I knew it was going to happen sometime. Just didn't realise it would be
this soon :-\. I guess it was mainly me being scared of my sacs and I was so nervous and scared
that I'd somehow fail both (as in, fail my expectations/aims). Now, I'm focusing my time on actual
study, not fretting about not studying. I remember that day (thursday) I left my laptop charger
at school and when I realised it wasn't at home and my laptop was on 0%, that's when I sort of
broke down, I guess (at our school everything is laptop-based and we do 90% of our work on it).
I learnt two important things from that day - you can either live with what you got and sulk about
it, or you can take what you have, change it, and run with it. I know from now on, I'll definitely be
doing the latter ;D. I'm actually glad I did breakdown, because I learnt an important lesson from it.

Anyways, today was pretty alright. Woke up, had dance in the morning. Came home in time for
lunch, then played a video game for about an hour. I studied until I think around 6:30pm, then
I had chem tuition at night, so I went there. Pretty normal saturday - nothing particularly great
happened today. Oh wait - I started having an annoying headache since like 7pm and it hasn't
gone yet; guess it wants to keep annoying me for the rest of the night. Hopefully I can wake up
early tomorrow, maybe around 6, so I can get some quality study done when the house is quiet
and I don't have my mum yelling for no apparent reason like mums do, or my sister crying in
one room, or shouting in another, or laughing very loudly and annoyingly in another, or my dad
talking very obnoxiously loudly on the phone to some random friend. This is exactly why I tried
out studying at school - because it's noise-free and practically distraction-free too. I'm so glad
I started studying at school, because even if my pace is much slower, it feels like I'm so much
more productive than at home and the information actually sinks in. Now, I'll probably jam out
to some Cardi B or Kehlani before catching some zzz's. Have a good night everyone! I'm out x

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: w0lfqu33n89 on February 23, 2019, 11:14:47 pm
2 days ago, I officially had my first official VCE breakdown! I had no idea why I was so emotional
but I was what I was, and I knew it was going to happen sometime. Just didn't realise it would be
this soon :-\. I guess it was mainly me being scared of my sacs and I was so nervous and scared
that I'd somehow fail both (as in, fail my expectations/aims). Now, I'm focusing my time on actual
study, not fretting about not studying.

Anyways, today was pretty alright. Woke up, had dance in the morning. Came home in time for
lunch, then played a video game for about an hour.

 Now, I'll probably jam out
to some Cardi B or Kehlani before catching some zzz's. Have a good night everyone! I'm out x[/size]
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Hey Whys! completely understand how its like to be stressed about SAC's, I literally started shaking before mine. turns out its not even that bad, teachers just make it seem like a big deal, as long as you study and are confident about the content there is no need to stress, besides, like you said, you are studying more which is great! If you are like me and get stressed in SAC's take your bottle of water and when you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, or feel the urge to look at the clock, take a sip, take a few seconds to yourself and then continue. you've got this! x

Your a dancer? nice! what type of dance/s do you do? I am intrigued!

Party with Cardiiiiii! Yass! no better way to spend a Saturday!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on February 25, 2019, 09:30:49 pm
Hey Whys! completely understand how its like to be stressed about SAC's, I literally started shaking before mine. turns out its not even that bad, teachers just make it seem like a big deal, as long as you study and are confident about the content there is no need to stress, besides, like you said, you are studying more which is great! If you are like me and get stressed in SAC's take your bottle of water and when you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, or feel the urge to look at the clock, take a sip, take a few seconds to yourself and then continue. you've got this! x

Your a dancer? nice! what type of dance/s do you do? I am intrigued!

Party with Cardiiiiii! Yass! no better way to spend a Saturday!

Indian classical dancing :)
(Yes, I am Indian :P)

I'm pretty happy with my study routine now - I get at least an hour (sometimes 2) of study in the morning as I wake up early, and I stay at school till about 6, and my study from 3:20pm to 6pm is very productive. Hopefully I can keep this up!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: w0lfqu33n89 on February 25, 2019, 09:41:18 pm
Indian classical dancing :)
(Yes, I am Indian :P)

I'm pretty happy with my study routine now - I get at least an hour (sometimes 2) of study in the morning as I wake up early, and I stay at school till about 6, and my study from 3:20pm to 6pm is very productive. Hopefully I can keep this up!

nice, not sure what that style is! I will look it up!

Sounds like a great routine! But don't wear yourself out too much! x
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Joseph41 on February 26, 2019, 05:39:28 pm
Just want to take a moment to appreciate how you're formatting your posts. You have my vote for most aesthetic journal! ;D

Hope you had a nice day - looking forward to your next entry. :)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on February 26, 2019, 10:00:14 pm
────────────────────── TUESDAY ──────────────────────
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Hi friends! It's another tuesday. For some reason, I came home EXTREMELY TIRED and I slept till
around like 6pm. I tried to wake up early too but I was too tired and lazy to get out of bed... aaahh rip.
Anyways, that meant I got like max 2 hours of study today - I'm going to have to wake up super early
tomorrow morning to get my psych homework done (my bad for putting it off though). My teacher for
psych is extremey strict - not doing even a small part of your homework results in a lunch time
detention, even for unit 1/2 people. I had her in unit 1/2 though - so it's all good. Although she's pretty
strict, she knows what she is doing (long-time VCAA assessor) and is super smart and passionate
about psych. I am scared for my psych sac though because everyone in the two clases are very
smart (we do love a competitive cohort -_-). BUT on the other hand, I'm super happy because my
food studies teacher decided to push our sac back to week 7 (in two weeks time!) instead of week
6, which is next week, and when my psych sac, bio outcome, chem outcome and bio prac report
is due. If I'm not dead by the end of next week, I'll be surprised. Sorry for the short entry - I am
tired and I want to get to bed asap so I can wake up at 5 tomorrow and finish my homework :)
Adios!!!

Also thanks Joseph41 - glad you like the formatting; I tried  ;D

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─────────────────────26.02.19 ────────────────────
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on March 06, 2019, 09:28:33 pm
──────────────────── WEDNESDAY ────────────────────
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Alright, so I did my psych sac today. My first ever VCE sac, over and done with! Now I just have one
more next week for food studies. The questions were okay, luckily I had already encountered them
all due to the extensive practice I did. So hopefully, with god's grace, I only lost a few marks here
and there due to silly mistakes eee. I'm really excited + nervous to get results back. Despite being
happy with my first sac, I'm super stressed because I have an english assessment tomorrow that
I have done basically nothing for, a maths test and a chem test next week that I have also done
nothing for, plus my sac next week. So currently, I'm panic-studying for english. I'm scared I won't
memorise quotes in time. Luckily I have english last period tomrrow, so I have lunch to do some
work on it in case I need to. I'm just scared because you never know what prompt the teacher will
decide to choose. I guess that's the beauty of english. And that reminds me - two days ago we got
back our english diagnostics. It was the worst score I had ever seen for an english essay, and I
completely broke down and was so upset about it for the whole day. I was so used to getting only
highs and very highs, that I wasn't used to getting a few mediums. I was super upset, because
that was probably my worst score on english throughout my Nossal history. Many people I know
would think my score was really good, however it didn't make it past my expectations at all. I have
no idea why my score was so bad. Usually, I wing most of my english essays and get really good
scores on them. For the diagnostic, I prepared for it at lunchtime (so for 1 hour), which is lot for
english by my standards  :-\.

I was, and still am, really upset about the score I received for my diagnostic. I guess it just made
me realise that maybe I'm not good at english anymore, despite it being one of my most, if not my
most, favourite subject (even though I am known for doing no work for it; I remember I wrote only
one practice essay last year and that was because the teacher forced me to). Anyways, the point
is I'm really stressed for tomorrow. I had no time to prepare for my english assessment because I
was solely focusing on my psych sac, as it is my 3/4, and I wanted to do really well for the first
sac. I guess that really backfired, because it's already half past 9 and I've done barely anything for
english. You might ask why I didn't work on it earlier - I came home, slept till 6 because at the time
I thought I deserved it for completing my first sac and was really tired, and ate dinner and helped
my parents out (we are moving houses over the weekend! Super excited, but sad because I have
so many memories in my current house eep). I just want to do the best I can for VCE, but it looks
like I'm already failing in terms of english. So, watch me come home tomorrow and document how
badly I wrote my english essay and how disappointed the teacher will be in me! Luckily I haven't
had her before though, so she wouldn't hold high expectations for me like the other teachers. I
remember last year my teacher was so disappointed that I only got highs for the end of year exam,
and it honestly was the worst feeling in the world. But, overall the diagnostic I did last week was the
worst, because even my friends know I'm good at english. The con of moving houses is I have a lot
of tests + a sac next week I won't be able to study for over the weekend, go me! Anyways, I'm going
to go study now so I don't fail english. Cyaz!

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─────────────────────06.03.19 ────────────────────
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on March 11, 2019, 05:19:28 pm
────────────────────── MONDAY ──────────────────────
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Guess who has two tests tomorrow for methods and chem and hasn't studied for them at all? Guess
who has a sac for their 3/4 on friday and hasn't studied for it at all? That's right, me! I tried my best
to study but last week was a complete blur, we had this massive as party for buying the new house,
then we started moving in. This whole weekend was taken up moving houses, and yeah it's great,
but it's not so great when you have vce stuff coming up the following week :-\. I'm honestly so sad I
wasn't able to study as much as I usually do, especially since I had to go to extra dance practice as
I'm performing next month so.. . yeah, there's that. The more I think about everything I haven't done,
the more I procrastinate. I mean, I did play a video game for like 2 hourse today, which I regret now.
I wish I could disappear in a poof! and abandon this week, and return for the next. My worries are
growing each second, yet I'm not able to study. There's just so much to do, that I don't want to do
it. This whole week I know I'll be busy helping to move furniture and that sort of stuff around, and I
feel like I will barely be able to study for my sac on friday, let alone my tests that are ToMoRrOw.
I regret everything already, and I told myself I'd enter vce with no regrets. I just wanted to let all
my anxiety off, which is why I decided to come here and make another journal post. I don't want
to fail anything (not fail fail, but yknow, do bad) and I can't afford to fail anything, especially with
my aspirations. I wanted to be rank 1 for food studies, but I guess that's not happening now, right?
Hahahaha1!!!!111111! Time to go make my reference sheet for maths, do my psych homework,
do the chem practice tests, do the methods practice tests, finish notes for food studies, finish my
food studies quizlet, read the chem textbook, do the questions from the food studies textbook,
do food studies practice tests AND learn the dance I was supposed to learn 2 hours ago. I know I
won't finish, like 3/4's of my to-do list, but hey, that's okay! I've already accepted my future failure
for tomorrow and for friday. :)

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─────────────────────11.03.19 ────────────────────
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on March 15, 2019, 06:18:33 pm
────────────────────── FRIDAY ──────────────────────
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OKAYYY so I did my food studies sac today. I had it last period, so the whole day I was stressing,
studying and thinking about how I didn't want to do the sac. In the end, it wasn't too bad I guess?
I finished 20 minutes before time, which was good, because I checked my answers thrice before
leaving (school finishes at 3:20, but the sac was scheduled to finish at 3:30, so I left at 3:20 as I
had finished the sac). I was a little worried I should have stayed back to check over it a few more
times, but I know there is nothing in my answers I would have changed. I was also kinda annoyed
at the fact that like 3/4 of the things I studied weren't even on the sac! None of the complex stuff I
spent so much time trying to remember was even on the sac. I guess learning all that stuff would
help in the exam at the end of the year, though. I really need to keep reminding myself that food
studies sacs contribute 60% to the study score, not 40% like most other stubjects. So I guess I
gotta get my shit together and focus on doing really well in my sacs. I'm also super excited to get
my psych sac back on monday!! Currently, I'm stressing over learning my dance in time, as I was
supposed to come to class last monday but I didn't, so the rest of the group learnt the dance  :(.
Now, I gotta spend time on learning the WHOLE dance before tomorrow morning so I don't get
in trouble for not learning the dance. I guess it's just a relief my sacs and tests are over, for now.

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on March 21, 2019, 07:56:50 pm
────────────────────── THURSDAY ──────────────────────
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Okay, I can officially say I have not studied for almost a week. I didn't study last weekend (2 days),
nor did I study this monday, tuesday, wednesday or thursday. That's 6 days! And by no studying, I
literally mean, no studying. As in, I didn't so much as glance at my books. This week is full of
activities for us at school, so no classes. I think that made me sort of, idk, slack off and only play
computer games and read and draw for the whole time, whoopsies. It was fun though. Tomorrow,
I'm definitely going to resume studying and slowly cutting off games and the other stuff. I need to,
as I have a lot of school-related stuff next week like homework and assessments for my 1/2's. Oh,
and I also got my results back for my psych sac! AAAHHHHH I WAS SO NERVOUS FOR THIS.
I remember I couldn't even flip over the test (she handed it to us face-down on monday) for a solid
2 minutes. I could literally hear and feel my heart leaping out of my chest, and I was really scared
to get my results back for my first ever 3/4 sac!!! Anyways, I ended up doing sort of bad. When I
mean 'sort of', I mean everyone else thinks I should be happy with my score, but I'm just not. When
I saw my result, I knew I could have done so much better and gotten the top mark of my cohort,
instead of falling short by 2 marks :(. Anyways, it was a good experience, but 11/10 would rather
not experience that sort of nervous anticipation again. I think I'll get my food studies sac back later
next week, which I am both dreading but am excited for!

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─────────────────────21.03.19 ────────────────────
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on March 27, 2019, 09:01:20 pm
──────────────────── WEDNESDAY ────────────────────
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So, today I went on an excursion for bio.I got home at like 3 something, then I slept till 7 something,
and had a shower and then it was 8. Then, I basically procrastinated and asked my 3/4 bio friends
how their sac went (it was today). But yeh, this entry is going to be short because I have a load of
psych homework due tomorrow that I haven't really started, plus I have to write notes for psych and
do this thing for bio related to the excursion. It's also hard to type because my spacebar is playing
up again (I broke it like last year, but then somehow forced it into place) and I have to press it really
hard if I want it to make a space or my writing lookslikethisand thisishowmymessages havebeenfor
the past fewdays. Anyways, cy@

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─────────────────────27.03.19 ────────────────────
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Joseph41 on March 28, 2019, 04:04:18 pm
^Where'd you go for the excursion/what to you have to do for it post-excursion?

AndIhopeyoucanfixyourspacebarsoon! Haha.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on March 28, 2019, 04:17:44 pm
^Where'd you go for the excursion/what to you have to do for it post-excursion?

AndIhopeyoucanfixyourspacebarsoon! Haha.

We went to the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens (sounds boring, I know) and surprisingly it wasn't as boring as I expected, mostly because I was with friends. Post-excursion, we had two assignments to do, one due immediately (as in, next bio lesson) and the other, more longer one due next friday. I'm not stressed about it though, because I already took down notes on exactly what I was going to include during the excursion.

IhopeIcanfixitsoontoo!haharip
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on April 08, 2019, 02:36:41 pm
──────────────────── MONDAY ────────────────────
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It’s officially the first day of the school holidays!! I set myself a goal to study for around 3 hours a
day, which I think isn’t too harsh on myself and is a realistic goal, as I still have time for other stuff
too. Can’t wait to binge watch Jane the Virgin + others on netflix lol. But anyways, I really want to
get ahead in my two 3/4s - they’re obviously my current priority and I feel that I’m going well in all
my other subjects. My ultimate goal for this year is to try make the average of all above 90% for all
my subjects. A good foundation in 1/2 builds towards great performance in 3/4 after all! I also can’t
wait to go to my atarnotes lectures, another thing I’m looking forward to this holidays. Most of my
pressure now is from finishing all that holiday homework - I’ve gotten so much, I doubt I’d be able
to finish it all within a few days even if I worked on it religiously. I’ve had massive amounts of
dance practice too, now that it’s the school holidays, plus a performance this friday. So far, life
has been good to me. Hopefully I can finish all my holiday homework and start studying ahead
for my subjects :)

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─────────────────────08.04.19 ────────────────────
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Joseph41 on April 09, 2019, 05:17:00 pm
Never heard of Jane the Virgin - what's it about?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on April 11, 2019, 02:52:42 pm
Never heard of Jane the Virgin - what's it about?

In a sentence, it's basically about a girl called Jane who wants to remain a virgin until marriage. Then... things obviously go wrong.
I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, it's really popular. Or maybe it's just popular amongst people our age. Either way, it's overrated, but also really good :)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Joseph41 on April 11, 2019, 03:01:02 pm
In a sentence, it's basically about a girl called Jane who wants to remain a virgin until marriage. Then... things obviously go wrong.
I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, it's really popular. Or maybe it's just popular amongst people our age. Either way, it's overrated, but also really good :)

If it's popular, that explains why I haven't heard of it haha. My pop culture knowledge is absurdly poor.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on May 12, 2019, 09:56:24 am
──────────────────── SUNDAY ────────────────────
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Woah! It's been a month since I posted on atarnotes! Sorry for my unexplained absence  :(.
Things just got really really busy and I sort of forgot about all of this. Since I've been gone for so
long here's a little run down of what has happened so far and future stuff:
- Moved into my new house
- Went to the atarnotes lectures
- Finished my methods test, english assessment and chem test
- Have a psych sac in less than two weeks (time to study!)

Hopefully I won't leave this site for a loooooong period of time again. Anyways, I need to start my
sac-mode study that I've been procrastinating for so long. Oh - and I almost forgot: today is also
mothers day! One of the best days because I can cook whatever I want for mum and that's my
excuse to eat junk the whole day :). I'll be making cookies and cream cupcakes soon, so there's
that to look forward to. School-wise, everything is going pretty okay - I think I did well in all of my
tests so far. I don't remember if I mentioned this earlier but my secondary goal for the year is to
try ensure the average for my tests in each subject is over 90%. We're also doing organic chem
in chemistry now - one of my favourite topics. Methods is methods, always enjoyable. Same with
psych, food studies and bio. With english, I know I need to improve, but so far I'm not doing bad.

Sorry for the super erratic post - I know it's really messy as I've just thrown a random bunch of
stuff in here, but oh well. Hopefully I can post again soon with more interesting news.

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on May 20, 2019, 07:31:03 pm
──────────────────── MONDAY ────────────────────
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I have a psych sac in exactly a week oooo
Plus methods test coming up, english essay next week, food sac in 20 days, bio assignment due in
a month and chem research report due this friday. fun times ! ugh

sooo i'm basically busy revising, studying and dying over the workload lol. It's maneageable, but at
times it feels like a lot, mostly because all the tests are situated at around the same time (which no
one likes). no other current updates  :)

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on May 26, 2019, 01:45:18 pm
26/05
OMG OMG OMG RED ALERT

psych sac tomorrow!!!!!!
my brain is literally going crazy eugh
plus methods test tomorrow and first english drafting lesson for creative response
GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS? IT'S PANIC TIME!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: NomotivationF on May 26, 2019, 02:25:54 pm
26/05
OMG OMG OMG RED ALERT

psych sac tomorrow!!!!!!
my brain is literally going crazy eugh
plus methods test tomorrow and first english drafting lesson for creative response
GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS? IT'S PANIC TIME!

I believe in you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure you're prepared, just make sure to get a good nights sleep.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Joseph41 on May 27, 2019, 02:13:34 pm
26/05
OMG OMG OMG RED ALERT

psych sac tomorrow!!!!!!
my brain is literally going crazy eugh
plus methods test tomorrow and first english drafting lesson for creative response
GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS? IT'S PANIC TIME!

Hope it all went, or is currently going, or goes well when it comes. Please update us when you can! :)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on May 27, 2019, 05:21:53 pm
Hope it all went, or is currently going, or goes well when it comes. Please update us when you can! :)
Hmm.. there was a 2 mark question on the methods test that I know I lost a mark for, but other than that I think I should’ve gotten all the marks - it wasn’t difficult at all!! As of english, that went fine, I guess I was just super nervous for no reason about that. AND for psych, well that’s a whole other story :).

Basically, we had 50 minutes for 50 marks, and although there were 20 multiple choicE questions, they were harder than expected and therefore took more time. Soo basically it was very time consuming and I had less than a minute to check my answers, so I barely got to. I think I lost a mark for a multiple choice question and another mark for not explicitly stating an example. Other than that, it was okay. I’m really upset about psych because I wanted to get 100% on this sac haha, but what’s done is done so now i’m eagerly awaiting test scores from my subjects.
I believe in you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure you're prepared, just make sure to get a good nights sleep.
Thank you!! And yes, I did get a good nights sleep haha.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on May 30, 2019, 10:05:13 pm
30/05
This is just a lil update to mention that YES exam timetables came out a little while ago, and although I'm not in year 12 yet, its got me stressing  :(
I realise that this is probably nothing compared to those completing more 3/4's, but I guess this has just made me realise how quickly this year has progressed and we barely have a semester to go before exams. Psych is on the 31st of October (halloween!) and food is on the 11th of November. I'm grateful that they're 11 days apart, as it gives me a bit of time to relax and perhaps study a bit for the food exam. As of now, I'm just a massive bundle of nervousness and will continue to be a massive bundle of nervousness until exams probably finish haha 8)

Yeahh today was a busy day and I feel sleepy. I started yawning when it was barely 7pm, so I guess I should sleep soon. I also have an annoying cold that has been there for like 2 weeks, and I'm willing it to somehow go away (I don't want to be sniffling in the middle of my sac next week; neither can I be bothered bringing a great handful of tissues to school everyday). I guess I should start taking an umbrella in my school bag so I don't have to walk in the rain. Early this week, I felt super relieved as I relaxed with the knowledge that I had no sacs or tests coming up. What a better way to surprise me than my psych teacher's smiling face as she said our sacs would be next week on wednesday; enjoying the dread written on our faces. Nah, I'm only kidding, she ain't that cruel, but we literally did our sac on monday and I don't feel mentally prepared for another sac already. PLUS chem test coming up (covalent bonding; intermolecular forces), bio assignment due, english creative response... I could go on foreverrrrrr. Oh wait - can't forget the upcoming methods test!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on June 05, 2019, 04:09:40 pm
──────────────────── WEDNESDAY ────────────────────
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Today was pretty okay - by the end of the day my hand hurt though haha.
Third period we had our psych sac, which is basically a prac report write-up. We get 1 and a half
hours to write up the discussion and results, and the rest was handed in today before the sac. I only
wrote around 4 pages, but I still get another 30 minutes tomorrow to finish it off, as does everyone
else. My teacher decided to extend the time from an hour to 90 minutes because no one from the
other class finished haha - wouldn't be great if she had to mark a bunch of unfinished discussions.
The fourth and last period of the day today, I had my last drafting lesson for our english creative
response. I wrote my written explanation today - and it ended up going from good to worse. I started
off pretty well, then slowly began to care less and less until finally I didn't care at all, and I was just
writing to get it done. The rest of the day was pretty normal, up until now. I really want to experience
a day where I don't have the stress of any upcoming tests, sacs or assignment due dates burdening
me :(. I'd give anything for a bit of free time where I don't feel guilty for not studying. I guess it's
pretty close to the holidays anyway, though.

I have my food studies sac on tuesday, as well as my chem test + a ton of other things I can't be
stuffed typing up. Not to mention the GAT! I haven't dont any preperation for the GAT so far, and I
really need to. I think I'll go over some past papers this long weekend, which I can't wait for. It's
been ages since I've had a long weekend. It's a great way to catch up or get ahead in work and
make sure you've got everything done.

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: mango8 on June 06, 2019, 08:14:00 pm
Today was pretty okay - by the end of the day my hand hurt though haha.

Me too! I had my lit sac and my hand was aching by the end haha. And last year when I did psych, gosh the amount I had to write, especially when practice exam time rolled around, it was not good. Is this the poster you're doing? What's your topic on?

Ohh I feel you on that, I often start with motivation and a positive mindset and as the time goes on, I just write to get it over and done with. And every time I'm not studying, there's a niggling voice reminding me, even if I've done everything, the voice that echoes: you can always do more, do as much as you can now you wouldn't want to regret it later ....

I have lots to do over this weekend too! And I should take a look at some GAT papers, it's been at the back of my mind, but not a priority amidst the million sacs. I would've loved to do food studies!! What kind of things do you make?

Enjoying your journal, especially the layout!!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on June 07, 2019, 12:13:39 pm
snip-

Yeah, it was the poster sac. We were testing the three types of recall. It was really simple, just got the participants to study a list of words and get them to write them down after using a particular recall method. I guess there are benefits to doing an easy topic, but I wish we did something a tad more interesting. And practice exams - I think my hand will be dead before the exam even comes around. :(

The GAT... I wish we didn't have to do it. But I mean it's good to get it over and done with now anyway (not like we had a choice, but yknow). And about food studies - it's super fun. It's my 'relaxing' subject where I just go and chill. And you think it's hard at the start, until you really go through the content and realise everything is straightforward. But the thing is you can't afford to lose even one mark on the exam if you're aiming for a 50. I reckon there's a 50/50 split between actual theory and cooking. We cook a lot :). So far we've made lots, e.g. choux pastry (eclairs), noodles, curries, pasta, meat dishes, cakes, etc. We also have the best teacher. Apart from giving us chocolate and other stuff all the time, she was also a past VCAA assessor for food studies, so she knows what she's doing.

Thank you ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on June 23, 2019, 07:43:26 pm
──────────────────── SUNDAY ────────────────────
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Ooh boy, I'm getting the results for my psych sac tomorrow! I've been paranoid about it ever since.
The highest mark was 43/50, and our teacher was a bit disappointed in us, considering the highest
score last sac only dropped a mark. She said people got below 50%, but that's not surprising if you
consider the highest mark is only 86%. So I'm super scared to get results back. I think I might also
be getting my sac scores for my food studies sac sometime this week as well. I'm not too concerned
that, considering I think I answered all the questions pretty okay. I think I might lose a mark due to
my noodles sticking together though (we had like ten minutes left so I just rolled the dough through
as fast as I could and chucked it into the pot so yeah rip). I also have my methods test tomorrow! I am
preparing for that right now. My friends who have already done the methods test said that it was super
hard, so I'm currently scared. The teacher who wrote the test also writes the 3/4 methods exams, and
is known for hard questions (he took 1 week to write one question for our test). It intrigues me the way
he thinks about maths questions - I hope one day I'll be able to think like him too. I've been compiling
my reference book and I'm trying to include as many questions as I can that I got wrong or had trouble
with. Methods is probably one of my most enjoyable subjects, and I hope I can really do well this test
despite how hard it is. I don't think I have any more updates, so that's all folks! Have a great night ;D

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on July 04, 2019, 04:48:38 pm
──────────────────── THURSDAY ────────────────────
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Alrightyyyyy where do I start... I've just wasted the entire school holidays so far, and I'm starting to
become super stressed about school. It's sort of just hit my how actually difficult it is to get into a
uni like Monash for under-grad medicine, or any uni for that matter. In less than 4 months I'll be
in an examination room, writing my VCE exams for two subjects that I hardly feel prepared for at
all. It feels like I know nothing. Not to mention all my other subjects too - I was supposed to post on
atarnotes' argument analysis club page and start practising for English but I forgot and now I'm not
sure if I can even do all my VCE subjects well anymore. I wanted to study really hard this holidays
and revise and get ahead. I have no idea how I was so optimistic at the start of the year when I used
to think I could get a 50 in both my 3/4 subjects this year. Little did I know how difficult it actually is.
I got my psych sac result back before term ended last week, and I ended up getting the highest mark.
It's not very comforting to know you lost 7 marks on it, no matter where you're ranked in the cohort. I
want to do super well in psych and I was aiming for a 50 but I don't think I can anymore. It's not like
I'm good at any of my other subjects either.

Medicine seems like such a far away goal I'll never be able to achieve no matter how hard I try.
You don't just need to get a 99+ atar, but you need a UCAT score that's amazing as well as smash
the interview to even be considered. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore and honestly I
feel so alone and lost. Everything seems too hard and I've wasted 6 days of my holidays playing
video games and sleeping and going out with friends that I haven't even studied at ALL. Like 0%
studying. I don't know where to start to improve and I feel like I'm just doing so bad and come exam
time I'll just end up failing. Call this catastrophic thinking (for those who do 3/4 psych, you'll get this)
but I know it's a very possible outcome. Holidays aren't supposed to be for playing around, they're
supposed to be for studying and I've done none of that. I have friends who have studied so much
this holidays and it makes me feel so guilty but I can't seem to sit down and get ahead in everything.
I don't know what's wrong with me but nothing seems possible right now and I don't know what I'm
doing and I think I've said that a billion times in this post and everything is just falling apart but I don't
want to fail and I want to do really well but I don't think I can and thank you for listening to my rant.

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Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: brothanathan on July 04, 2019, 05:26:27 pm
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Alrightyyyyy where do I start... I've just wasted the entire school holidays so far, and I'm starting to
become super stressed about school. It's sort of just hit my how actually difficult it is to get into a
uni like Monash for under-grad medicine, or any uni for that matter. In less than 4 months I'll be
in an examination room, writing my VCE exams for two subjects that I hardly feel prepared for at
all. It feels like I know nothing. Not to mention all my other subjects too - I was supposed to post on
atarnotes' argument analysis club page and start practising for English but I forgot and now I'm not
sure if I can even do all my VCE subjects well anymore. I wanted to study really hard this holidays
and revise and get ahead. I have no idea how I was so optimistic at the start of the year when I used
to think I could get a 50 in both my 3/4 subjects this year. Little did I know how difficult it actually is.
I got my psych sac result back before term ended last week, and I ended up getting the highest mark.
It's not very comforting to know you lost 7 marks on it, no matter where you're ranked in the cohort. I
want to do super well in psych and I was aiming for a 50 but I don't think I can anymore. It's not like
I'm good at any of my other subjects either.

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Really needed a reality check like this. School Holidays connotatively mean Extended Study. 100% feel you bud.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Evolio on July 04, 2019, 06:08:28 pm
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Alrightyyyyy where do I start... I've just wasted the entire school holidays so far, and I'm starting to
become super stressed about school. It's sort of just hit my how actually difficult it is to get into a
uni like Monash for under-grad medicine, or any uni for that matter. In less than 4 months I'll be
in an examination room, writing my VCE exams for two subjects that I hardly feel prepared for at
all. It feels like I know nothing. Not to mention all my other subjects too - I was supposed to post on
atarnotes' argument analysis club page and start practising for English but I forgot and now I'm not
sure if I can even do all my VCE subjects well anymore. I wanted to study really hard this holidays
and revise and get ahead. I have no idea how I was so optimistic at the start of the year when I used
to think I could get a 50 in both my 3/4 subjects this year. Little did I know how difficult it actually is.
I got my psych sac result back before term ended last week, and I ended up getting the highest mark.
It's not very comforting to know you lost 7 marks on it, no matter where you're ranked in the cohort. I
want to do super well in psych and I was aiming for a 50 but I don't think I can anymore. It's not like
I'm good at any of my other subjects either.

Medicine seems like such a far away goal I'll never be able to achieve no matter how hard I try.
You don't just need to get a 99+ atar, but you need a UCAT score that's amazing as well as smash
the interview to even be considered. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore and honestly I
feel so alone and lost. Everything seems too hard and I've wasted 6 days of my holidays playing
video games and sleeping and going out with friends that I haven't even studied at ALL. Like 0%
studying. I don't know where to start to improve and I feel like I'm just doing so bad and come exam
time I'll just end up failing. Call this catastrophic thinking (for those who do 3/4 psych, you'll get this)
but I know it's a very possible outcome. Holidays aren't supposed to be for playing around, they're
supposed to be for studying and I've done none of that. I have friends who have studied so much
this holidays and it makes me feel so guilty but I can't seem to sit down and get ahead in everything.
I don't know what's wrong with me but nothing seems possible right now and I don't know what I'm
doing and I think I've said that a billion times in this post and everything is just falling apart but I don't
want to fail and I want to do really well but I don't think I can and thank you for listening to my rant.

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Hey whys!
I'm sorry that you're feeling this way but hopefully you can get out of it soon! I feel this a lot as well and it just makes me so depressed that I don't feel like doing anything.
I totally feel you when you say that nothing feels possible anymore. I got my Methods SAC back and it was so bad, I cried. It was a horrifying result. It was not the goal I was trying to achieve. Sometimes, I think that I won't even get above 40, as my goal is that raw 50.

You are doing so well in Psychology! A massive congratulations for getting the highest score in the cohort! ;D Your SAC ranking matters, not your score, so you have nothing to panic/worry/be sad about! It's an amazing achievement since you go to a selective school!

It IS okay have some rest in the holidays and it's completely fine to be hanging out with friends and just having fun. You need a break from all that hard work you did in the term so that you are refreshed and ready to tackle term 3! Holidays are like a refuelling station.

Ah, undergrad Medicine at Monash seems so faraway. But look, just focus on doing the best you can and believing in yourself, not giving up and getting back when you fall down. That's what matters and that's what will put you on the correct path to achieve your goals.

See you around.  :D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on July 12, 2019, 12:16:25 pm
12/07
Slowly getting on track! Finished all my homework, just a few more bits and pieces to go.
I'm also planning on spending more time on preparing for the UCAT - around a year to go before I do it myself! I've also decided to dedicate a certain number of hours per week just practising English by writing, planning essays, etc. as it is one of the most important subjects I don't want to neglect! Also starting to look at unit 3/4 chem stuff as we go along 1/2 to broaden my understanding and knowledge. That's pretty much it school-wise. I miss the snow though! We went last weekend and I had the best time skiing down the snow mountains haha. Skiing has to be one of my top ten hobbies of all time - it's amazing and almost feels like you're flying when you're. going super fast. Speaking of hobbies - I plan to draw today. It's pretty sad how nowadays I have to set aside time to draw and paint and animate, whereas in year 7 and 8 I'd literally be drawing 24/7. My maths book those days had more doodles than actual maths. I got a new Winsor and Newton ink bottle, so I'm super excited to use that as well. I can't wait for the summer holidays where I know for sure I'll be drawing a lot :D. If only it snowed in summer - I could go skiing too!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on July 18, 2019, 06:22:04 pm
18/07
This is a very quick update I'm making because I'm in a super good mood and I want to share it! I got my english outcome back (our creative essay) and I got full marks on it! I mean I was TOTALLY not expecting this and I'm super happy and I told my mum and she was super happy too! Usually she's not as enthusiastic, getting a good score and telling her would usually yield something like 'oh, that's good' and that's all, but this time round she was very proud. I even made brownies to celebrate :D. Apart from that, I still have to get my psych sac back that I did last term. It was the poster sac. I really hope our teacher has marked them and will give them to us soon! I'm very nervous (and eager!) to get it back, and I really hope I did well. That's all folks! Have a great night :)

EDIT; I FORGOT TO MENTION I WATCHED THE LION KING LIVE ACTION YESTERDAY OH MY GOD
I cried throughout the whole thing - it was my childhood oh man, and seeing it brought to life was so nostalgic and literally everyone burst into tears when Mufasa died.I do have a few things I was disappointed with in the movie, but I can definitely ignore that because it brought me back to my childhood (even though it didn't beat the cartoon haha, the cartoon is the og). It was 100% worth it, and I'm so glad they made a live action of the lion king. I can't wait to buy it on DVD so I can watch it 24/7 like I used to do with the cartoon when I was younger. I literally have every dialogue memorised and the original lion king will always be my favourite movie of all time.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 18, 2019, 07:12:04 pm
Fantastic to hear! Earned through lots of hard work, I'm sure! Also, yum, BROWNIES!!!!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on July 28, 2019, 02:30:41 pm
28/07
Slowly but surely getting through all that homework. I have a psych sac in just over a week (8 days) and I still haven't made notes for any of the assessable topics haha whoops. I'll get to that today, though. I also forgot to mention this earlier, but I've been working through unit 4 chem work. This is partially because we just did organic chemistry and polymers at school, and it's my favourite topic in chem. I literally leapt for joy when I realised basically all of unit 4 is organic chemistry. I've been finding the unit super enjoyable, and I've mostly been doing it to extend my learning and spice up the boring limitations of 1/2 chem. Hmmmm, what else.... we still haven't gotten back our poster sac for psych which we did LAST TERM. The teacher said someone still hasn't done the sac. We've all been frustrated because everyone wants it back, and the suspense has been killing us so much. I also need to collect my food studies sac from my teacher, so probably on monday. I really hope I did well. The next sac is just an essay, so that won't be too bad (hopefully). Just 4 more sacs to go for the year, and then obviously the outcomes from my 1/2 subjects. Methods has been weirdly enjoyable, and english is the only one that's boring me the most. I can't wait for next year where we get to study more interesting texts.

I need to start looking at some practice ucat questions, but procrastination seems to be on to me today. I also played quite a bit of video games this weekend which needs to stop. I shouldn't be wasting precious study time playing video games. I restricted myself to only play on the holidays and long weekends, but guess who broke that restriction. Aside from my horrible procrastinating habits, I've baked a lot these weeks and it's been super fun. This is totally unrelated, but I can't wait for next year because I get 20 studies a fortnight (including in-class studies). That's basically 20 free hours of study per fortnight that I'm not doing at home (realistically around 17 hours, I know I'll probably waste some :-[). Imagine having that many studies. I could leave school early or go to school late depending on when in the day they are. I should probably stop rambling and get back to some study.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on July 31, 2019, 12:08:15 pm
31/07
I don't have school today. I'm hoping to finalise my subject selections and submit them today (year 11's do them online).
What I need to get done today:
- Finish writing all my notes for chapter 8,9 and 10 (psych)
- Prepare for the chem test
- Look at some ucat questions
- Research for food studies sac
- Make quizlets for ch8, 9 and 10 (psych)
- Clean my room
- Read minefields and miniskirts
- Catch up in methods

I hope I can finish everything because I won't have much time tomorrow to do any work, so I gotta be ready for the chem test on friday :o. I'm aiming for 100% on my psych sac and my food studies sac, and I really hope I can achieve that. I'm so glad we have a day off today so I can catch up on all my work and get on track. Our bio test is in 3 weeks, so I have ages to prep for that. I hope I can take a look at some ucat questions to familiarise myself with the structure and stuff. Also hoping to read the atarnotes guide to the ucat, which I bought during the term 2 holidays. If I finish all my set work today, I'm going to reward myself by playing a video game for half an hour :D. Hopefully, all goes well!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on August 04, 2019, 02:40:30 pm
4/08
I just came back from the monash open day! I guess I went there to see the info sesh on medicine (which I did), but my friend and I got sidetracked and just went looking around for all the free food after. We also had a bit of trouble finding our way around the university, but were helped by my prior knowledge of the uni's layout and the helpers there. All in all, it was a great time, especially because we had ice cream at the end. I met a lot of my friends there too, which was really great, and made new friends. But now, I really have to sit myself down and get to work, because I have my psych sac tomorrow on consciousness, sleep and sleep disturbances. I think this is the topic I'm the worst at out of all the topics we have done so far, which sucks for me. I'm super nervous for the sac and I really hope I can do well. This sac will be the death of me :'(

P.S. we won a bio quiz at monash and got chocolate and an 'i love biology' pin which is now on my school blazer, along with my 'i love science' pin haha.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on August 04, 2019, 05:08:29 pm
4/08
I just came back from the monash open day! I guess I went there to see the info sesh on medicine (which I did), but my friend and I got sidetracked and just went looking around for all the free food after. We also had a bit of trouble finding our way around the university, but were helped by my prior knowledge of the uni's layout and the helpers there. All in all, it was a great time, especially because we had ice cream at the end. I met a lot of my friends there too, which was really great, and made new friends. But now, I really have to sit myself down and get to work, because I have my psych sac tomorrow on consciousness, sleep and sleep disturbances. I think this is the topic I'm the worst at out of all the topics we have done so far, which sucks for me. I'm super nervous for the sac and I really hope I can do well. This sac will be the death of me :'(

P.S. we won a bio quiz at monash and got chocolate and an 'i love biology' pin which is now on my school blazer, along with my 'i love science' pin haha.

Sounds like you had fun! I too, went to an Open Day today. I was looking for one thing but ended up following the free food!

I won a LaTrobe beanie and some headphones for doing some quizzes. Free things, amirite!

What did they talk about at the med session? Did you find it useful?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on August 05, 2019, 10:22:02 pm
Sounds like you had fun! I too, went to an Open Day today. I was looking for one thing but ended up following the free food!

I won a LaTrobe beanie and some headphones for doing some quizzes. Free things, amirite!

What did they talk about at the med session? Did you find it useful?

Free things are the best always! The med sesh was alright, most of the stuff they said was stuff I already knew, like prerequisites and what scores you need to get in. They had med students talk to us about their experiences as well, but there wasn't any new info I got from it. It was a good refresher on how hard I need to work though!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on August 07, 2019, 05:22:42 pm
7/08
Hmm... today was an interesting day. I had a mental breakdown at school because we got our psych sacs back from last term and I didn't do well on it, like AT ALL and other people got full marks on it and it was just very sad lol because I tried really hard for that sac. Oh well, goodbye 45+ study score. I couldn't even focus during my english assessment today because I was just thinking about how bad I did for that sac and yeah I basically wasted away like 20 minutes of the period in english. I also have the continuation of the assessment tomorrow, and we have to finish it by tomorrow, so I guess I'm just going to bs it and hope it turns out decent. I also have a sac for food studies on friday, which is an essay. I just don't think there's any point anymore, I haven't been able to concentrate at all at home. I'm just going to try to get psych and food studies done, and maybe I'll do methods and chem and bio another day. Everything has been going downhill so I hope I can get 100% on the food studies sac and get at least 90% on the methods test.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on August 07, 2019, 05:53:04 pm
7/08
Hmm... today was an interesting day. I had a mental breakdown at school because we got our psych sacs back from last term and I didn't do well on it, like AT ALL and other people got full marks on it
Getting a bad mark sucks. Especially when you've put your heart and your soul into studying for it. You probably still feel bitter about your mark but you shouldn't compare yourself to others. You should focus on doing YOUR best, not being the best. Although I'm not the most expereinced person to give advice, I think it's definitely possible for you to still get a 45+. One mark on one Sac isn't going to make or break your study score. You can pick yourself up and fuel this dissapointment into working harder for the next Sac. Maybe ask your teacher to go through your Sac with you to see where you lost marks so you don't make the same mistakes for next time.

As to not being able to concentrate in your assessment becuase you were so disappointed about your Psych score, don't worry. That happened to me after I had a LOTE speech and I was not prepared at all. Like 30 mins after, I had another Exam and let's just say I spent a fair bit of time during that exam thinking about the LOTE speech.
Life happens.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on August 08, 2019, 05:04:40 pm
Getting a bad mark sucks. Especially when you've put your heart and your soul into studying for it. You probably still feel bitter about your mark but you shouldn't compare yourself to others. You should focus on doing YOUR best, not being the best. Although I'm not the most expereinced person to give advice, I think it's definitely possible for you to still get a 45+. One mark on one Sac isn't going to make or break your study score. You can pick yourself up and fuel this dissapointment into working harder for the next Sac. Maybe ask your teacher to go through your Sac with you to see where you lost marks so you don't make the same mistakes for next time.

As to not being able to concentrate in your assessment becuase you were so disappointed about your Psych score, don't worry. That happened to me after I had a LOTE speech and I was not prepared at all. Like 30 mins after, I had another Exam and let's just say I spent a fair bit of time during that exam thinking about the LOTE speech.
Life happens.

Thanks for this. I feel so much better about it and I've regained my confidence. Life does happen.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on August 09, 2019, 05:17:32 pm
Hellooo friends :D
Today was pretty empty because more than half of my friends were away at the psych 1/2 excursion, so yeah the school felt pretty empty overall. I had my food studies sac last period, which was scary. We had it in the sac room, which is supervised by a chosen teacher. The teacher was someone almost everyone is scared of, so all throughout writing the essay for my sac, I really wanted to know how much time I had left because I was scared I wouldn't finish in time. I never ended up asking him but I finished a few minutes before he said '5 minutes left' so I had time to quickly read over my essay. My hand felt like it would break after though haha, I'm always the person that writes so fast it feels like my hand is flying on paper. It's great to write that fast, but my handwriting gets pretty messy (at least it's legible).
What I've really been wanting to say is, ONLY 2 SACS LEFT FOR THE YEAR!!!!! woo! I'm so so so glad I only have 2 more, one for psych and one for food studies. I guess that means exams are getting closer but I'm going to keep exams at the very back of my mind until I actually have to start preparing full-on. Our next sac for psych is the one on mental health and phobias, so that's pretty interesting. I've already got a pretty good understanding because I went to the atarnotes psych lecture, so I'm ahead 8). Feels like a weight has been taken off my back after the sac today.

Other things
I've always wanted a dog ever since I was young. My dream came true when we fostered a little black labrador puppy, Punter. He was the sweetest and good-est boy ever. I miss him though :'(. He's now in the Northern Territory doing some great sniffer dog stuff so I'm very very proud to call him my dog! I know this is pretty irrelevant but I've really been missing my boy lately. Hopefully after VCE I can get another dog, this time one I can keep forever! I would love a miniature poodle! I mean LOOK at this cutie.

I also want to set myself a goal of writing a story a day in my native language. This isn't very VCE related so I've included it in the spoiler. I think culture is very important and it is something I never want to lose, especially my mother tongue. I need to keep in touch with the language before I forget it completely. I think the last time I read a book in my language was like a year ago. So my goal for the year is to write a story a week, or even just something shorter. I remember there used to be a time where I was more proficient in my native tongue than English. I mean I can speak it very well, but I think my reading and writing definitely needs to improve.

I've also been writing my psych notes, and I'm almost done for wherever we are up to right now :P. I have the entire weekend to finish them though. It feels great to have the entire weekend NOT dedicated to studying mostly for a sac or test. Oh wait, the methods test and bio test is coming up. That's alright, I still have time and I'm definitely going to procrastinate for as long as I can! I've also been spending an unhealthy amount of time on the atar calculator, but I guess that was bound to happen some day. I've been plugging in study scores and seeing what I need to get my dream atar. One of my overall goals is to get a 50 in at least one subject, and I know that's a very bold goal that's hard to achieve but I really want to try - I would be so happy if I ended up ever getting a 50 in anything because it just seems so impossible lately. Maybe if I can get 100% on my next food studies sac and IF I get 100% on the food sac I just did, I might have a chance at a 50 if I also ace the exam. Buttttttttt that's very unlikely, so I guess I'll just have to see what my study scores turn out to be at the end of the year. I'm super nervous even thinking about it, but instead of studying even harder I still procrastinate by watching video game gameplays on youtube. Riperoni.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on August 12, 2019, 05:24:57 pm
Posting again because we LOVE procrastination, don't we?
I basically had all studies today because half the teachers were away. lol. I am also currently dying inside from the stress of exams coming up, which I try my best to ignore whenever I get the chance.
This is me @ exams right now:
(http://68.media.tumblr.com/5f3530a1ceb3ec49026ff927bdbcfb04/tumblr_onplqnTJyA1s2wio8o1_1280.gif)

The point is, EXAMS ARE COMING and I'm having my little freak moment. Other than that, I'm very worried about my study habits, which are slowly declining due to slowly burning out (already?!) so I need to keep everything together (and I'm not even in year 12 yet :o). I have St John today so that's always something to look forward to. I have a ton of English homework, so that's great, but I'm also ahead in psych which I'm happy about. I feel like going ahead isn't always the best bet for me though, because when I'm ahead I have nothing to do in class so I just sit there and waste time because I've already done all the work. So I need to get on top of English, then focus on methods because we have our circular functions test next week(!). I'm honestly going to cry with joy when this year ends so I finally have summer holidays to get myself together and ready for the year ahead. So other than thinking about exams, I have also purchased my first ucat resource. Can we get a hip hip hooray for my productivity! I'm hopefully going to start looking at it today. I have exactly one hour before I have to be in the car and on my way to St John, so today's question is: "Can whys finish her English homework, complete some ucat practice questions, AND finish exercise 14K for methods within an hour?" I guess we'll find out on the next episode of 'The Adventures of VCE'!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on August 21, 2019, 08:46:21 pm
It has been a week and a bit since I posted, so I figured now might not be a bad time to update this. How's life? A mess. How's school? Eh.
I've decided to do a couple of subject updates here and there, which might help better document my VCE journey.

English
This one is always a big ehhh. We have a comparative poetry analysis coming up soon, which I sort of don't want to do. We seem to have another assessment right after completing one. Luckily we only have 5 sacs in year 12, not nearly as much as the amount we have now... but anyways I enjoy analysing poetry so the things we have been doing in class is interesting. Only down is I don't actually have the book that we are comparing the poetry to. I accidentally bought the wrong book (three hundred and something pages) when I was only supposed to buy a 36-page version that's a play. Whoops, that was a big mistake on my part. I'm debating whether I should actually buy the book or not... maybe I'll just memorise some quotes from a friend's book and hope for the best come exam time lol. Seems pretty lazy but I guess it's almost the end of the year anyways.

Methods
This one is a bit up and down. We got our marks back for the circular functions test. It's sad to realise all the marks I lost were to stupid rounding errors and accidentally giving answers in decimal form rather than as an exact value. At least next year, I'll always remember to give answers as exact values due to this costly mistake I made now! Our topic now is logarithms + exponentials, which is one of the topics I don't really enjoy that much. Good thing is our topic after that is calculus, which I'm excited for! I should do some pre-reading so I actually know what it is before doing it in class. We seem to have a test every 2 weeks for methods, considering we go through the content pretty fast.

Biology
We have a rat dissection coming up. I love dissections! Can't wait for this one. Unfortunately, on the day of our rat dissection, we have our bio research draft due, which I'm pretty stuffed for considering I haven't even started research, and the draft is due this friday. Mine is on pre-natal diagnosis of blood disorders (mainly thalassemia). Ughh. I'm planning to do all the research today then put it together tomorrow. So much research, and so little time :(. It's not exactly a test so I'm not too worried about getting/not getting 100% on this one. Overall, this subject has been a little tedious but it's enjoyable.

Chemistry
Oh boy. Our teacher was away for a week so I don't even know what we're meant to know. The topic is pretty dry as well. I really miss organic chemistry. I delight in the knowledge that next year, all of Unit 4 is basically organic chemistry. Yay! But for now, getting through all this boring content on water and concentration bores me and in all honesty, can't wait for 3/4 chemistry. There isn't much to say about this other than the fact that I'm dreading the upcoming test because it's so difficult to sit down and study for a topic you don't even find interesting. We get into redox reactions soon I think, so that'll be good fun. :)

Psychology
This has always been an enjoyable subject for me, and that hasn't changed. However, I can say with certainty that I personally liked unit 3 content better than unit 4 content. Overall, this is a subject I wouldn't hesitate to pick again. We're learning about specific phobia now. Thinking back to all the content we've covered, I can just imagine how long it will take to revise for the exam. Hopefully everything works out in the end though. Our last sac is early next month, which is relieving. Still a little while to go.

Food studies
Not much to say here, it's just been going how it's always been going. Last lesson we cooked middle eastern chicken and almond, chocolate and pear cake. Wasn't a fan of the cake because I don't like almonds or dark chocolate, but the middle eastern chicken is something I would definitely make again. We seem to be cooking a little too often though - I'd rather have lessons where we go over the content and go through exam questions. Last lesson, we did go through exam questions and I felt good that day because my teacher applauded my answer for one of the questions, and if I maintained that level in my answers, I'm well on my way to a premier's. Not getting any hopes up, for this subject I'm only expecting around a 40 study score because of a lack of effort near the start of the year - a mistake on my part. Plus my answer for that exam question was definitely a fluke.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on August 28, 2019, 09:49:12 pm
Hello. I had my bio test on Friday. So happy that is finally over, so I can focus more on my 3/4's for my upcoming sacs. Methods is always a nuisance; we have tests like every day ::). We had our rat dissection last Tuesday I think (I don't remember, oops). Our group got to dissect the pregnant rat, and after we moved onto a normal rat. It was super fun - I LOVE dissections so much. I wish we had more though, this is like the second actual dissection I've done since year 9 (in year 9 I think we dissected a flower but that doesn't count. In year 10, we dissected an eye). I'm trying to remember what I've done since my last update... We ended up talking about school and uni for like 30 minutes at St John on Monday, which was great fun. Also I woke up at 8:30 today, so that was probably the highlight of the day. Forgot to mention, today was a day where we get to have our classes at home, so we can study in our PJ's! We have like a video conference type meeting with our teachers and classmates for each class. We have one of those days once a term.

Not academic-related AT ALL
We had HPAF yesterday (House Performing Arts Festival). It's honestly my favourite day of the year, same with others too. It's held at Robert Blackwood hall annually and is a big part of our school's culture. I completely lost my voice last night from all the screaming honestly. It's definitely a day I'll never forget once I leave school. It's basically like a super-sized production, where each house coordinates a performance. What's special about this is that every single student is involved in some way, including, but not exclusively restricted to, prop-making, backstage crew, instrumental group, dance, acting, singing and whole house singing (this is the category most people fall into - you could be in multiple though, if the plot allowed it). It's crazy. You'd never think a bunch of teenagers could pull off such spectacular performances that teachers have nothing to do with at all. And, above all, MY HOUSE WON! (That's why I lost my voice haha, we screamed so much when we found out we won). But it honestly brings the whole school together and I know the teachers love the day as well. Gives them a break from answering the questions we send them at like 10pm the day before our sacs and tests or just normally too (and they still reply! so grateful for teachers honestly). So many people cried (in our house, and others). It's not easy to be music captain, or dance captain, or small group captain and pull off something as amazing as this that requires hard work for a term or so. Being in year 11 or 12, I can say it's super difficult to manage HPAF and school and do well in both. Especially when you have to get so many students to listen to you. I'm so proud of every house, everyone came up with such amazing performances. The theme for this year was twisted fairytales, and all the songs and orchestra had to be 80s music. Our house was given Jack and the Beanstalk. Honestly, our plot and script were a little cheesy but it was amazing on stage. The other fairytales given to the other houses were The Ugly Duckling, Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel. You'd think it would be easy to twist a fairytale - but it's not! Next year, I really want to be a part of dance or act as one of the main characters. I know acting is always competitive to get into, as there are only like 3-5 characters for the whole performance anyway, and so is dance (we have too many good dancers!). I really hope our house can win next year too!

I've never heard of any school that hosts an event where EVERYONE must take part as a compulsory school event, but I'm so glad our school does. If HPAF wasn't compulsory, we'd probably only have like 15 people do it. Obviously, our school has production as well, but only like 20 people do that. HPAF is amazing, and we have all the alumni from the school come in and support their past house, as well as the judges that decide which house comes first, second, third and fourth. Not to mention the plethora of parents who attend too. I was so shocked when I found out my house came first. And so happy! I know I've said this a billion times but HPAF really brings everyone together (and apart! The other houses are all so salty our house won, smh. I was just having a heated argument with my friend about how my house rightfully deserved to win >:(. It's all fun and games though, just a bit of amusing banter). On this amazing night, you actually realise how talented the whole school is (I'm pretty sure like half my school plays a musical instrument like really well) and we have such amazing singers! I remember hearing a guy sing in one of the other house's act and he was amazing, I honestly thought he could win if he went on The Voice or something. But yeah anyways, when they announced the house that came fourth (last) we started cheering so much because we knew we wouldn't come last. Then, when the judges announced third place, we literally started roaring because we would be second or first. Then, when second place was announced, WE STARTED SCREAMING AND YELLING AND IT WAS SO LOUD and literally, everyone from my house lost their voices that night. FIRST PLACE! A dream come true for everyone, I'm sure. Not to mention, our house leaders were probably crying, and rightly so!

800+ kids performing in 4 unique well-coordinated acts that display amazing talent, from the details of the props and costumes to the dance choreography, to the melodies and harmonies in each voice, to the wonderful orchestra and to the narrating and acting: that's something you don't see every day! And since HPAF goes till 9:30, and most of us get home at around 10:30, we get a late start the next morning, so we miss first period. I know I've gone on for ages about how GREAT hpaf is, but I'm not exaggerating. I wanted to include this so later on, I can look back and remember these surreal moments I definitely never want to forget. This is always the best night of the year, hands down. I miss it already :'(. Waiting for next year's HPAF, and I'm already in anticipation for what the theme will be!

(probably so many typos in this but I can't be bothered rereading and fixing)

Also, me @ exams:
(https://media1.tenor.com/images/4562b0cf4b102af3dc427d5d6c9ba3f4/tenor.gif?itemid=8356137)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on September 04, 2019, 06:15:27 pm
Hi.
As of today, we finished all the psych content at school. We have learnt everything we need for the exam. There are 8 more days until my psych sac, and 56 more days until the psych exam. I haven't started revision.

Can I yeet out of this world for a moment, please
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Bri MT on September 04, 2019, 06:26:38 pm
56 days is almost 2 months. You've got this.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Ionic Doc on September 04, 2019, 06:34:43 pm
Hi.
As of today, we finished all the psych content at school. We have learnt everything we need for the exam. There are 8 more days until my psych sac, and 56 more days until the psych exam. I haven't started revision.

Can I yeet out of this world for a moment, please


saamme finished all the content today!

have a sac next Friday

and also haven't started exam preparation . . .  :-[
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 04, 2019, 06:43:45 pm
exam preparation . . .  :-[

we don't speak about the dreaded exam prep, im trying not to think about it for now... :o
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Geoo on September 04, 2019, 08:06:04 pm
I think we all feel that for exam prep at the moment........nothing.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on September 04, 2019, 08:37:53 pm
The dreaded e-word... how could you say it?! :o
2 months. Hopefully I can do as many practice exams as I can!
And oh boy... I'm going to get 2 study scores at the end of the year. Wow. I still feel like a 10 year old sometimes
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 04, 2019, 08:55:08 pm
The dreaded e-word... how could you say it?! :o

I still feel like a 10 year old sometimes

too relatable
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on September 09, 2019, 07:43:11 pm
So in 3 days I have a psych sac... (including today)
And I'm in panic mode! Wow I just started learning the content today and it has been wild. I knew I should have started earlier, and that's what I say every single time I start preparing for sac. Actually, not preparing, more like cramming. I mean, I guess it works for sacs? Hnng preparing for the exam will be a wild ride for me. And here I am looking for ways to procrastinate when I still need to learn the content (procrastination at its finest, folks).

On another note, 2 weeks till school ends! Am I excited? Yes, and no. Yes for holidays, but no because I'll be spending all the holidays studying anyway because the dreaded exams are looming. I'm honestly excited to get the year over and done with, I just really need a fresh start with everything. Everyone keeps reminding me that exams are so close by but I just! don't! want! to! know! Is that too much to ask for?

Anyways, I think this will be the second most unprepared sac I've done because yeah... still learning the content... and slowly dying... so much to remember

When I look back I panic because I realise how much knowledge and understanding I will need to have in me to write my exams. I never realised psych and food studies were that content heavy.

This is a pretty redundant update but I needed to make it to procrastinate so, it's a win-win situation (I get to procrastinate AND update my journal! Maybe not a very win situation for my sac though)

Like they say... hakuna matata ;)
(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/TartTeemingGossamerwingedbutterfly-max-1mb.gif)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 10, 2019, 06:46:38 am
Like they say... hakuna matata ;)
(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/TartTeemingGossamerwingedbutterfly-max-1mb.gif)
How did you get a picture of me and my friends right before we go into our assessment, knowing we haven't studied nearly enough... Rude?!

Also, good luck! Hoepfully the content will begin to come back to you as you revise...🤞
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on September 10, 2019, 08:16:32 pm
How did you get a picture of me and my friends right before we go into our assessment, knowing we haven't studied nearly enough... Rude?!

Also, good luck! Hoepfully the content will begin to come back to you as you revise...🤞

If you look close enough, you can see me in the picture too... the little one dozing off on the right :D

It hasn't really come back to me because I never properly learnt it in the first place, but we'll see how I go when I get results back :P
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on September 14, 2019, 09:09:33 pm
Hey, it's me again.

I've basically been sick for the past 3-4 days and it kinda sucks.
I couldn't come to school on the say of my psych sac (which I had postponed by a day already because I had an excursion on the day of the actual sac) because I was sick so I had to have it postponed to next Tuesday, which I'm pretty mad about. Why did I have to be sick?! I absolutely hate having tests or sacs postponed. Mine has been moved almost a week further than the original date. I do much better when I sit the sac on the day of the sac and I prefer getting it over and done with so I can focus on other things and have a free mind. But this time, I've been plagued about thoughts of sac for ages after everyone else has already done it. If I practised any more for the sac it would be overlearning - I've finished everything I possibly could have to revise. Overlearning isn't bad, but what's the point? I just hate this, I hate being sick.

On a more positive note, next week is the last week of term, and I'm excited for the long-awaited holidays. It would be nice to not go to school for a while, and I think we all deserve a break. Hands down I cannot wait till the year is over and I can start on a clean slate. But if it's any consolation to myself, we all make new years resolutions that we weren't going to keep in the first place so I doubt much will change. And I also only have like 10 hours on my L's - yikes. I really want to get my P's once I turn 18, so I really need to get cracking on driving a lot more over the term holidays and summer holidays.

Now, back to revising for tests and sacs.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 16, 2019, 05:03:48 pm
Feeling any better? <3 Best of luck with that sac tomorrow!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on September 16, 2019, 06:10:21 pm
Feeling any better? <3 Best of luck with that sac tomorrow!

Yep, much better :D
Also, thank you!

On a side note, I found out my last sac is next term (gasp!) so I'm currently salty over that lol
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Joseph41 on September 16, 2019, 07:06:14 pm
On a side note, I found out my last sac is next term (gasp!) so I'm currently salty over that lol

This was the case for me, too. I actually found it kinda good in a weird sort of way, because it helped me focus on something through the last portion of the holidays!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on September 20, 2019, 01:42:03 pm
This was the case for me, too. I actually found it kinda good in a weird sort of way, because it helped me focus on something through the last portion of the holidays!

Yeah, I guess. But I would much rather prefer to have finished all my sacs before term 4 :(

Today is officially the first day of the holidays for me! It was great - I woke up at 11am! I'm aiming to complete 9 practice exams for psychology, and maybe around 1-2 for food studies this holidays. Mainly because I still haven't learnt any of the food studies content haha... I still need to write notes for each chapter then remember the info. As you can tell, I spent so much time studying throughout the year if I haven't even learnt the content yet. As for how I did my sacs... it was a lot of cramming the day before. And now I sort of regret playing crossy road and watching youtube during class because I need to memorise and understand so much. Oh well, at least food studies isn't as content heavy as psych.

I was also going to go to the atarnotes lecture this Saturday but then my friend said she booked for another day because the spots for Saturday ran out. Then I started booking for the other day so I could go with her and then the spots ran out there, so now we both aren't going haha. But another friend and I are going to the psyched lecture; I can't remember the exact date but it's soon. I also want to book a food studies lecture at I think it was TSSM because there are literally NO resources for this subject because no one does it. Tbh, I can't remember the reason I chose to do it either, but here I am.

I really want to draw these holidays. Draw, and play league, because I'm a gamer like that. But I mostly hope I can invest enough time into drawing that I haven't been investing throughout the year because I was so busy. Partly my fault though, I could have made time for it but I was just too lazy playing video games and watching youtube. I've also been planning what I'm going to do over the summer holidays for each of my subjects in year 12 when I'm just sitting around doing nothing, and the fun, non-studying stuff I'm going to do. The time between doing exams and waiting for study scores will be the weirdest time I think - I'll be happy because no one knows my study scores and my parents won't look at me with their disappointed faces knowing I did badly or whatever, but I'll also have a bit of anticipatory anxiety as I wait it out. Let's just hope I don't do too bad...
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Geoo on October 02, 2019, 11:35:09 pm
How are your holidays going? Did you get to do much study for food studies?

Seeing as I am doing 3/4 food studies next year, how would you say you found the subject overall?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 03, 2019, 09:44:04 pm
How are your holidays going? Did you get to do much study for food studies?

Seeing as I am doing 3/4 food studies next year, how would you say you found the subject overall?

I've done 5 practice exams for psych so far and none for food studies. That's because I haven't started learning the content yet. I need to finish writing my notes, memorise everything, then do prac exams. So I would say I'm going really badly, considering the exam is in little over a month. SO my holidays are also going badly because I'm stressing over everything. I will be so grateful if I can just disappear into black and shadows and become nothing LOL. Overall, food was my least favourite subject (content-wise). Cooking is always fun though, and that was the only part I like about it. For me, all the content sucks. This is most likely because I didn't put any effort into this subject and took this whole year really chill. I don't have much hope for food studies, I'm expecting something like a 30-35 study score for it. Unfortunately a 30 scales down to like 23, so I think I'm dead. Just don't neglect it next year and you'll be fine! I made the mistake of neglecting it and look where it has taken me :(. The content in unit 3 area of study 1 is interesting. I found everything else boring because I stopped paying attention after the first few weeks of school. DO NOT be like me. I suggest learning the content thoroughly and starting prac exams on the holidays. Don't waste time finishing notes on the holidays like me. I still have the whole of unit 4 to finish, as well as 3 prac records and a sac on monday to study for. Sorry if there were any typos in this haha, I'm a bit tired after a whole day of dance. This whole holidays for me has been a whole lot of dancing so I haven't has much time for anything else. The content for food studies isn't exactly hard, but it is quite content heavy (especially when you are trying to desperately memorise everything in a few weeks). I'm currently dying, so if you take anything away from this, know that you should never neglect food studies, or any subject, and pay attention even in the most boring parts of the subject. It will be worth it in the end. Good luck!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on October 05, 2019, 10:28:18 pm
Overall, food was my least favourite subject (content-wise). Cooking is always fun though, and that was the only part I like about it. For me, all the content sucks. This is most likely because I didn't put any effort into this subject and took this whole year really chill. I don't have much hope for food studies, I'm expecting something like a 30-35 study score for it.
Didn't you do well on the SACs though for food?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 06, 2019, 04:02:40 pm
Didn't you do well on the SACs though for food?

Yeah, I did. I don't know how to explain it, but I'm just not prepared for the exam at all haha. I don't remember anything from previous chapters, let alone this area of study. But hopefully, I can do well enough on the exam to scrape a 35-40, even though I'm expecting lower. I don't know how I managed to do well on the SACs when I never really cared, but yeah.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on October 06, 2019, 09:55:49 pm
Yeah, I did. I don't know how to explain it, but I'm just not prepared for the exam at all haha. I don't remember anything from previous chapters, let alone this area of study. But hopefully, I can do well enough on the exam to scrape a 35-40, even though I'm expecting lower. I don't know how I managed to do well on the SACs when I never really cared, but yeah.
Don't give up now, you've come so far! Give it your all so that you can leave that food exam with no regrets.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 09, 2019, 08:24:55 pm
Don't give up now, you've come so far! Give it your all so that you can leave that food exam with no regrets.

Thanks ;D

UPDATE:
I did the VCAA 2018 exam for psychology and got 85%.

Hopefully I can do better on the exam haha. I remember starting practice exams and getting high seventies to low eighties, so I wasn't expecting some miraculous 99% on the VCAA 2018 one, but also keeping in mind I always mark extremely harshly, I don't think I did too bad? I don't want to get my hopes up or anything but hopefully with some more practice I can be much better. It scares me how little time I have to improve - I only have 22 days till the psych exam and I haven't even done 10 full practice exams yet. To think I could complete 30 at the start of the year when I was a hopeful, innocent butterfly fluttering in my own world of paradise where I got raw 50's... lol. If I complete even 20 practice exams for one subject, it will be a miracle. Doing even one in timed conditions is so time-consuming and mentally draining, not to mention my hand kills at the end. Especially with that pesky extended response. I have no idea what I'm doing to revise for exams other than spamming practice exams, but at least next year I'll have a clearer idea for what I need to do to get the study scores I want.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 14, 2019, 09:45:45 pm
Is spamming practice exams the only way to study for exams? Especially for psych. I have no idea how people get 50's in this subject. I can never get above 90% on a practice exam and this doesn't feel great. At all. I feel like my hard work throughout the year has amounted to nothing and I have no idea how people write such perfect responses on the exam. What magic potion are you using? Can I have some?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: angrybiscuit on October 15, 2019, 08:25:36 am
Is spamming practice exams the only way to study for exams? Especially for psych. I have no idea how people get 50's in this subject. I can never get above 90% on a practice exam and this doesn't feel great. At all. I feel like my hard work throughout the year has amounted to nothing and I have no idea how people write such perfect responses on the exam. What magic potion are you using? Can I have some?

Hi!
I don't do 3/4 Psych (only 1/2) but doing practice exams is definitely not the only way to revise! It's up to you how you'd want to revise. If you find doing practice exams is too draining, take a break from it! There's nothing worse than being so unmotivated at this time because exams are so close! Maybe you like writing notes or doing flashcards better than doing exams.

Perhaps don't do full exams, do two questions at a time. If those two questions are worth 14 marks (for example), then set up a timer for 14 minutes to get your timing right. Then you gradually increase the number of questions.

If Psych has a lot of extended response maybe try planning for what they may be and what your response will be (this may be irrelevant for pysch I'm sorry but this works for english!).

You'll of course feel horrible for not getting above 90%, as anyone would. But on the plus side, you're making those mistakes now and not on the final exam. Those mistakes are a chance to learn, pick up on the mistakes you're making and track them to make sure you don't do them again.

Your hard work has definitely not amounted to nothing. You have worked tremendously hard for this and at the end of the day it's up to you to interpret your study score and how you feel about it.

All the best!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 16, 2019, 08:47:20 pm
-snip
Thanks so much for the reply, it means a lot ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 20, 2019, 05:27:54 pm
Whys' Very Important Breakthroughtm
Finally, I have gotten 90% on a psychology practice exam! I had chocolate to party *throws confetti*
On a more serious note, only gotten my first 90% when there's like 10 days till exams ???
Anyhow, hopefully this means that on the exam I will get above 90% too. I can say I'm very surprised by the effect of practice exams though. I mean, I never thought improvement could be achieved this drastically via prac exams, but looks like I've been proven wrong again. Honestly didn't expect that much improvement when I started. With more practice, it'll get better and better. I can only hope. And study, of course. ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 20, 2019, 05:30:52 pm
Whys' Very Important Breakthroughtm
Finally, I have gotten 90% on a psychology practice exam! I had chocolate to party *throws confetti*
On a more serious note, only gotten my first 90% when there's like 10 days till exams ???
Anyhow, hopefully this means that on the exam I will get above 90% too. I can say I'm very surprised by the effect of practice exams though. I mean, I never thought improvement could be achieved this drastically via prac exams, but looks like I've been proven wrong again. Honestly didn't expect that much improvement when I started. With more practice, it'll get better and better. I can only hope. And study, of course. ;D
That's amazing!! (What kind of chocolate?) Best of luck in continuing to improve! It sounds as though you are doing really, really well!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: chopsticks on October 22, 2019, 01:59:13 pm
Whys' Very Important Breakthroughtm
Finally, I have gotten 90% on a psychology practice exam! I had chocolate to party *throws confetti*
On a more serious note, only gotten my first 90% when there's like 10 days till exams ???
Anyhow, hopefully this means that on the exam I will get above 90% too. I can say I'm very surprised by the effect of practice exams though. I mean, I never thought improvement could be achieved this drastically via prac exams, but looks like I've been proven wrong again. Honestly didn't expect that much improvement when I started. With more practice, it'll get better and better. I can only hope. And study, of course. ;D

Yeah, the power of prac exams are amazing, I wish I knew earlier but hey, better late than never
Even if there are only 10 days until the exam, you will definitely do great, keep working hard!
Good luck!!!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 22, 2019, 05:21:57 pm
That's amazing!! (What kind of chocolate?) Best of luck in continuing to improve! It sounds as though you are doing really, really well!
A little mars bar!

Yeah, the power of prac exams are amazing, I wish I knew earlier but hey, better late than never
Even if there are only 10 days until the exam, you will definitely do great, keep working hard!
Good luck!!!
It's alright, I remember in year 10 I did no practice exams and studied for all my exams like 2 days before it. (Not psych because it was my 1/2 subject and I was a tryhard back then.)

Thanks for the encouragement guys! With basically a week to go - I don't know how to feel. I'll be glad to get the exam over and done with but will miss the class, teacher, and learning the content. I remember my friends and I were reminiscing about the fun times we'd had since 1/2 during our last psych class. I'll miss psych so much :'(.

Also, the funniest thing happened today. I went downstairs and it was just another morning before school until my family started singing happy birthday. I had totally forgotten it was my birthday; probably because 17 is a sort of irrelevant age and there's nothing special about it. I was even reminded yesterday that it was my birthday but I totally forgot - whoops! But we had cake at school so that was great, and for once my friends were actually being nice to me ::), but the whole class sang to me in methods and I was basically dying. I hate it when a whole crowd of people sing happy birthday because it's so awkward - what am I supposed to do? Smile and sit through it? It totally sucks, and it's probably the worst thing about birthdays for me.

Hopefully today I can get a practice exam done, finish an extended response I started today in one of my study periods, finish my food studies recipe evaluations, and continue writing my food studies notes (no, I have not started practice exams for food studies and no I still haven't finished my notes). Hopefully tomorrow I can catch my psych teacher somewhere and ask her the billions of questions I've accumulated over the past week haha and hopefully she doesn't kill me for it.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: chopsticks on October 22, 2019, 06:52:31 pm
Also, the funniest thing happened today. I went downstairs and it was just another morning before school until my family started singing happy birthday. I had totally forgotten it was my birthday; probably because 17 is a sort of irrelevant age and there's nothing special about it. I was even reminded yesterday that it was my birthday but I totally forgot - whoops! But we had cake at school so that was great, and for once my friends were actually being nice to me ::), but the whole class sang to me in methods and I was basically dying. I hate it when a whole crowd of people sing happy birthday because it's so awkward - what am I supposed to do? Smile and sit through it? It totally sucks, and it's probably the worst thing about birthdays for me.

Hopefully today I can get a practice exam done, finish an extended response I started today in one of my study periods, finish my food studies recipe evaluations, and continue writing my food studies notes (no, I have not started practice exams for food studies and no I still haven't finished my notes). Hopefully tomorrow I can catch my psych teacher somewhere and ask her the billions of questions I've accumulated over the past week haha and hopefully she doesn't kill me for it.

Happy Birthday!!! Good luck to ur studies and all the best
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Geoo on October 24, 2019, 10:35:24 am
Happy birthday!
Congratulations on your breakthrough! Good luck on your psych exam!!!!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 27, 2019, 10:47:21 am
Happy birthday!
Congratulations on your breakthrough! Good luck on your psych exam!!!!
Happy Birthday!!! Good luck to ur studies and all the best

Thanks so much guys!

I made this post to say:
HAPPY DIWALI EVERYONE! ❤︎
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Ionic Doc on October 27, 2019, 01:20:57 pm
I made this post to say:
HAPPY DIWALI EVERYONE! ❤︎

Happy Diwali to you to!  🥳
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on October 31, 2019, 12:55:57 pm
Gosh. rant ahead, sorry

I just don’t know where to start. My first VCAA exam?! gone horribly wrong...
i never thought it would ever end up like this but now it looks like I’m going to end up with a study score much lower than i expected and wanted and i can’t believe i was stupid enough to think I could ever get above 40?? The exam was so much harder than any of the practice exams I’ve done and I doubt I even got above 70%... the more I think about it the more it feels like I got everything wrong and all that work throughout the year to end up at one exam that I just know I did horribly in,,, I can’t believe I’d end up like this and I just don’t see the point anymore. I never thought the exam would be like this slkdjjfjskkd

The extended response was so generalised and I’d be lucky to even get a 5/10 for that... not to mention the multiple choice was really hard and i’d never seen questions like it before. some of the options seemed like they were both right and i just didn’t know which one to pick and i cant believe i could mess up this badly and i feel like i’ve let myself and everyone around me down and that’s my biggest fear of all

i can’t believe it would all end up like this i feel useless
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Ionic Doc on October 31, 2019, 12:58:31 pm
Gosh. rant ahead, sorry


The extended response was so generalised and I’d be lucky to even get a 5/10 for that... not to mention the multiple choice was really hard and i’d never seen questions like it before. some of the options seemed like they were both right and i just didn’t know which one to pick and i cant believe i could mess up this badly and i feel like i’ve let myself and everyone around me down and that’s my biggest fear of all

i can’t believe it would all end up like this i feel useless

I genuinely feel the same way.
But hey you've done your best, it's important to learn from this.

Edit: Don't feel useless. You're a whole world away from being useless.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 01, 2019, 06:53:43 am
As hard as it was, I'm sure yu did your best. And no matter what score you get, the skills you learnt by doing a 3/4 early will be super valuable next year.

And like IonicDoc said, you're a whole world away from being useless.

<3 <3
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: NomotivationF on November 02, 2019, 02:41:08 pm
Gosh. rant ahead, sorry

I just don’t know where to start. My first VCAA exam?! gone horribly wrong...
i never thought it would ever end up like this but now it looks like I’m going to end up with a study score much lower than i expected and wanted and i can’t believe i was stupid enough to think I could ever get above 40?? The exam was so much harder than any of the practice exams I’ve done and I doubt I even got above 70%... the more I think about it the more it feels like I got everything wrong and all that work throughout the year to end up at one exam that I just know I did horribly in,,, I can’t believe I’d end up like this and I just don’t see the point anymore. I never thought the exam would be like this slkdjjfjskkd

The extended response was so generalised and I’d be lucky to even get a 5/10 for that... not to mention the multiple choice was really hard and i’d never seen questions like it before. some of the options seemed like they were both right and i just didn’t know which one to pick and i cant believe i could mess up this badly and i feel like i’ve let myself and everyone around me down and that’s my biggest fear of all

i can’t believe it would all end up like this i feel useless

Think about it this way, everyone in the state found the exam hard. Even though I was super negative and disappointed about all the hard work that was wasted, realistically there's still a very good chance you'll get a score above 40 because literally everyone I've talked to so far found that exam hard, meaning the score you need for a 40 may be significantly below what you usually need. Even if not, as laura and doc said, you got an entire year ahead of you!!!! As one of my mates loves saying, chin up, you still got another exam to go :). Good luck
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Bri MT on November 02, 2019, 02:49:44 pm
Gosh. rant ahead, sorry

I just don't know where to start. My first VCAA exam?! gone horribly wrong...
i never thought it would ever end up like this but now it looks like I'm going to end up with a study score much lower than i expected and wanted and i can’t believe i was stupid enough to think I could ever get above 40?? The exam was so much harder than any of the practice exams I’ve done and I doubt I even got above 70%... the more I think about it the more it feels like I got everything wrong and all that work throughout the year to end up at one exam that I just know I did horribly in,,, I can’t believe I’d end up like this and I just don’t see the point anymore. I never thought the exam would be like this slkdjjfjskkd

The extended response was so generalised and I'd be lucky to even get a 5/10 for that... not to mention the multiple choice was really hard and i'd never seen questions like it before. some of the options seemed like they were both right and i just didn't know which one to pick and i cant believe i could mess up this badly and i feel like i've let myself and everyone around me down and that's my biggest fear of all

i can't believe it would all end up like this i feel useless


Nothing to apologise for - you're allowed to feel strongly about your exam. It sucks to go through that but it If you do end up with a score you aren't happy with it doesn't make you foolish for not knowing that would be the case - predicting scores is always hard. More than that, screwing up one test doesn't define your intelligence, usefulness or future performance. The more you think about it the easier it is for you to misremember your performance, misremember the questions & integrate your feelings of confusion and stress into the memory. It's hard to push forwards and distract yourself but for the next few weeks that's your best option.

Best of luck
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on November 04, 2019, 09:53:04 am
Thanks everyone for your comments, I feel a little better.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 04, 2019, 10:56:54 am
Are you doing anything fun with your long weekend? ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on November 05, 2019, 08:42:16 am
Are you doing anything fun with your long weekend? ;D

Nah, not really. I've been really sick this week so I've just been in bed. What about you?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 05, 2019, 08:45:34 am
Nah, not really. I've been really sick this week so I've just been in bed. What about you?
Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. :'( Are you busy at school this week or do you think you might take some more time off?

I've been doing a lot of study and a lot of reading. Our exams start next week so Wednesday to Friday are assessment hell. (Coupled with coaching junior debaters who are speaking on Wednesday night, a communnity project I'm involved in with a Saturday deadline and a drama performance I'm involved in on Sunday.)

I've also been stress baking which has included raspberry brownies, lemon teacakes and choc chip cookies. Thankfully my family has gone to see friends for lunch/dinner a couple of times over the long weekend so we could give it all away before we consumed them all.

I got up early to study today, but I'll go to the city this afternoon to meet some friends. ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on November 05, 2019, 08:03:28 pm
Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. :'( Are you busy at school this week or do you think you might take some more time off?

I've been doing a lot of study and a lot of reading. Our exams start next week so Wednesday to Friday are assessment hell. (Coupled with coaching junior debaters who are speaking on Wednesday night, a communnity project I'm involved in with a Saturday deadline and a drama performance I'm involved in on Sunday.)

I've also been stress baking which has included raspberry brownies, lemon teacakes and choc chip cookies. Thankfully my family has gone to see friends for lunch/dinner a couple of times over the long weekend so we could give it all away before we consumed them all.

I got up early to study today, but I'll go to the city this afternoon to meet some friends. ;D

Good luck for your exams!
I can't afford to take any more days off, I basically took all of last week and the week before off.
And that sounds yummy, I love choc chip cookies!
Hope you had fun at the city!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Geoo on November 07, 2019, 10:57:07 pm
That sucks that you were sick this past week, definitely bad timing! I hope you feel better! The weather at the moment probably isn't helping that much either.

Do you feel prepared for food studies next week? Done many practice exams?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on November 08, 2019, 05:33:05 pm
That sucks that you were sick this past week, definitely bad timing! I hope you feel better! The weather at the moment probably isn't helping that much either.

Do you feel prepared for food studies next week? Done many practice exams?

No I don't feel prepared at all and I'm cramming everything right this moment. No, I have not started practice exams - I guess it's time to die!
I wish I could have dont practice exams over the long weekend, but I was, as you know, sick. Luckily I'm no longer sick, just in time for my exam! I hope the exam this year is easy haha :(
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Geoo on November 11, 2019, 06:41:19 pm
Yay, no more exams (3/4s) for the year! Sooo, how was food studies?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on November 11, 2019, 10:19:32 pm
Yay, no more exams (3/4s) for the year! Sooo, how was food studies?

AHHHH YES i just went home and played video games after my exam before going to St. john haha. In all honesty it was alright, there was this one mark short answer question I didn’t really know the answer to so I guessed. Other than that, it was pretty alright considering I probably only studied for like 5 hours in total for the exam (regrets). I’m so glad it’s all over and I literally don’t feel stressed anymore! (neck minute, watch me stress out over my english exam THIS friday). I hate how our chem exam and methods exam 1 is on the same day, like everyone does chem and methods so couldn’t they have had the exams on different days!!! We all damn mad about that. Monday will be a very long day with both those exams, especially because I think we have a 2 hour gap in the middle so it’s like alright, i’ll chill out for a while and try to not to stress about the next exam for 2 hours. I think the same thing happened last year with 2 different exams, can’t remember which ones. It’s a pretty sad life for those who did bio and further 3/4 though, imagine having both on the same day!

I’ll never need to know what Maillard reaction is ever again! (unless my career is food related, which is unlikely because although i love food i can’t see my whole career revolving around it.) All this happiness will disappear and it would be like I never felt it as 1/2 exams approach, but no one is nearly as stressed because they literally don’t matter. I’m really excited for commencement (already dreading exam feedback, i’ll probably never open my exam booklet as the teacher goes through the answers). I’m excited to start my subjects for next year and looking forward to the summer holidays. i’m NOT looking forward to december the 12th. Probably the day when my parents will skin me alive and hang my organs from the ceiling when they see my study scores, oh boy. But that’s still a while off and I like to think that day will never come :)

P.S. i really like your profile picture, cake is great
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 13, 2019, 05:16:57 pm
AHHHH YES i just went home and played video games after my exam before going to St. john haha. I
That sounds like a great way to unwind!

I hate how our chem exam and methods exam 1 is on the same day, like everyone does chem and methods so couldn’t they have had the exams on different days!!! We all damn mad about that. Monday will be a very long day with both those exams, especially because I think we have a 2 hour gap in the middle so it’s like alright, i’ll chill out for a while and try to not to stress about the next exam for 2 hours. I think the same thing happened last year with 2 different exams, can’t remember which ones. It’s a pretty sad life for those who did bio and further 3/4 though, imagine having both on the same day!
That's frustrating but it's good you have a break in the middle.

i’m NOT looking forward to december the 12th. Probably the day when my parents will skin me alive and hang my organs from the ceiling when they see my study scores, oh boy. But that’s still a while off and I like to think that day will never come :)
MOOD

P.S. i really like your profile picture, cake is great
What's your favourite kind of cake? ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on November 13, 2019, 05:46:14 pm
What's your favourite kind of cake? ;D
Hmm... that's an extremely hard question because I love almost all cake. I would say I love caramel mud cake but I've had that so many times recently I don't think I could have anymore. The classic chocolate cake is always great, but not my favourite. OH I almost forgot to mention I love cheesecake! Black forest is another classic I can eat any day. I like my mum's banana or carrot cake on days I'm feeling healthy (I know technically it's not healthy, but it makes me feel healthier than eating other types of cake). And the quick cake mixes you use when you don't have much time but you're craving cake - they're pretty good considering they aren't homemade. Honestly, anything from the cheesecake shop is great. I remember when I was younger I would have the cakes with pictures of My Little Pony and other stuff printed onto it (this was like when I was 3). I don't think I could ever choose a favourite cake!

I KNOW I posted 2 days ago, but I'd like to post again. Hope everyone's day has been good so far!

English
We have a double tomorrow, but our teacher is going to be away. Plus, I think English is a subject where you can basically make up your essay and still get, at the bare minimum, 5/10. I just need to memorise some quotes, then I can make up whatever in the exam. I don't think I'm really going to practice for this exam, I just want to pass all my exams (at least 70%) except chem, which I reckon I'll likely fail if I don't start studying. The English exam is this Friday, so in two days, and I haven't actually started doing anything for the exam, or any of my exams, for that matter. Oops. Maybe I'll stop procrastinating and start some revision today. I also forgot the plot of the book we're doing for text response, so SparkNotes is coming to the rescue!

Methods
We had our last lesson today, and I can't say I'm sad, but I'm not that happy either. I'm a little nervous for next year, I hope the maths doesn't get too difficult. Our teacher gave us the 3/4 methods exam 1 paper to look through. From my perspective, it certainly looked doable and there were some questions on there that our class could have done (1/2 methods stuff). Apparently, the answer to the last question was 1 and my teacher was complaining because there was complex maths involved with getting to the answer but people could have just guessed 1 and got a/the mark. I'm worried since this year's methods exam wasn't that hard, next year's exam will be hard. Big yikes!

Chem
We had our last chem lesson yesterday, finally! Chem has been such a drag and I'm glad it's finally over. Phew! I really don't like 1/2 chem and a lot of the content is really bland, besides organic chem, which is quite fun. I'm actually convinced I'll fail the chem exam (I mean fail fail, <50%) because of my lack of interest and consequent lack of paying attention in class. Our teacher set questions from the textbook for homework each lesson, but no one really does them because he never really checks anyway and no one can be bothered. I'm aiming for 50% on the chem exam (me being hopeful) and I can't wait for next year where the content is better. Of course, apart from the first area of study, where you have to learn about all the fuel stuff, which seems like the only bland part of the chem course in 3/4.

Bio
Today we went over our tests for gene stuff/pedigrees (I don't know the name of the AOS whoops). It wasn't bad - I wasn't really expecting anything because at the time I did the test it was a week before the psychology exam so I didn't really care about my other subjects. It had a group part to it and an independent test. We also got back our body systems assignments (I think I did cystic fibrosis? I have bad memory and I can't be bothered finding the assignment and checking what disease I did it on). It was a really fun task - we got to draw the body systems and I coloured mine in. Labelling wasn't as fun, since they were supposed to be super detailed and took up like 1 and a half pages, but it was fun to learn about it. Although I can't remember much of what I learnt ;D

Honestly, I feel so tired right now and I want to sleep. I think I might just do that after I memorise some quotes for English. Plus, my head hurts :'(. The legal 3/4 teacher at our school brought in her dog on the day of the legal exam, so we all got to pat her! Dogs are precious and deserve the world. Today, one of the physics teachers brought in his dog. He was massive, literally a bear. An Irish Wolfhound, if I recall correctly. I patted him too. Such a docile dog. The legal teacher's dog was more lively in that she wanted to sniff everyone and everything. The legal kids even bought her a costume and took photos and videos of the dog in it. It was adorable! Honestly, teachers bringing in their dogs for the whole day on the day of their subject's exam should be a rule - it's so therapeutic and plus everyone gets to play with them in the end. I wish my psych teacher had brought in one of her three dogs on the day of the psych exam. All three is always preferred, though :D.

Shower thought #1
I've been thinking, does VCAA not proofread the exams? To all methods students, they were lucky they found that mistake before the exam started, but if they hadn't, that would have wasted precious time during the exam, right? I don't understand how they can make such obvious mistakes in exam questions. I thought they'd proofread questions like at least twice, as well as going through answers for each question together so there aren't any multiple choice questions with 2 or more answers. I know the chief assessor/whoever does the exam while we do the exam, but it doesn't hurt to get some other people to go through the exam before the exam is sat by students. I mean, it wastes precious time in the exam if there's 2 correct answers for mcqs and you've been sitting there for 5 minutes trying to come up with which one is the right answer when both were right anyway. I'm just curious as to how exams are proofread if such mistakes occur almost every year for so many subjects haha.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 13, 2019, 05:53:59 pm
Doggos and caramel mudcake. You're my kind of person whys. ;D

Also, all your bio stuff sounds so interesting. Such a shame that none of the good content (cough cough genetics) is in 3/4.

Good luck memorising your English quotes!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on November 24, 2019, 12:47:56 pm
Doggos and caramel mudcake. You're my kind of person whys. ;D
Who doesn't like dogs and caramel mudcake? :D

How'd the Yr 11 exams go, Whys?
Just putting this out there, I didn't study for my bio and methods tech able exams at all - I was too lazy and watching Grey's Anatomy. I studied for the others, meaning I did 1 practice exam and read my notes the day before the exam. So, as you can tell, I really didn't care. However, I finished all my exams at least 45 minutes early. Our english exam, which is 3 essays in 3 hours, I finished an hour early! I was really confused because I expected to be pushed for time. I was so bored I started highlighting my page. The chem and bio exams were sort of hard, and I'm glad a lot of the stuff doesn't carry over to 3/4. The methods exams were easy (for me). There's not much to say about them, but I'll be curiously waiting until exam feedback time for my scores because I genuinely don't know an estimate for my scores for bio and chem. I know in methods tech free I only lost 1 mark, and it was a silly mistake too :(. I was so frustrated after the exam when I realised what I had done, so rip me. Hopefully, I don't do the same thing next year! I'm just really glad everything is over and I'm excited for the break before year 12.

I'm super excited for next year because I love all my subjects a lot, and I definitely will try hard next year and WILL study more haha. The only reason I neglected my subjects so much this year was because they were 1/2s and I didn't care about them (hence I played crossy road in all my chem classes oops, can't blame me because chem 1/2 was so dry). I know it's not an excuse but it's a good enough excuse for me!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on December 14, 2019, 09:56:01 pm
Hi friends, long time no see! I wanted to get an update in before christmas. I went to the iCanMed free session today and honestly I zoned out a lot and and was super bored at times. Overall it was ehh, and nothing they said was new to me and it was just general stuff about the UCAT.

I was super tired when I got home, around 7, but I still ended up playing video games for 2 hours haha. Feels bad because I didn’t study the last few days, but to be fair results did come out and my grandma came to Australia from overseas.

I hope everyone has a merry christmas and a great new year!!!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on December 14, 2019, 11:09:11 pm
Congrats on your 50 in Psych!!!
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: tigerclouds on December 15, 2019, 12:31:57 am
Is spamming practice exams the only way to study for exams? Especially for psych. I have no idea how people get 50's in this subject. I can never get above 90% on a practice exam and this doesn't feel great. At all. I feel like my hard work throughout the year has amounted to nothing and I have no idea how people write such perfect responses on the exam. What magic potion are you using? Can I have some?
Call me a creep or whatever but I love looking back at other people's journal entries and seeing how far they've come. I just wanted to remind you of this post. Guess what! You're now one of those people! Please teach us your ways! You've come so far and you should be sooooooooooo proud. Thank you for being real in your journal, it's very motivating :)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on December 15, 2019, 01:48:57 pm
Congrats on your 50 in Psych!!!
Thank you! :D

Call me a creep or whatever but I love looking back at other people's journal entries and seeing how far they've come. I just wanted to remind you of this post. Guess what! You're now one of those people! Please teach us your ways! You've come so far and you should be sooooooooooo proud. Thank you for being real in your journal, it's very motivating :)
Oh yes - I remember making that post and feeling hopeless - still can’t believe I’m one of those people! I can definitely say you don’t need to take any magic potion and don’t need to get 100% in practice exams to ace the real thing. I’m glad you enjoy my journal!!! ;D
p.s. you aren’t a creep hahaha
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: NomotivationF on December 16, 2019, 04:51:05 pm
Goddamn. Congrats on ur 50, you worked hard for it and 100% deserved it. Well done and good luck for yr 12
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on December 16, 2019, 05:30:53 pm
Goddamn. Congrats on ur 50, you worked hard for it and 100% deserved it. Well done and good luck for yr 12
Thank you so much! Gratz on your 44 in psych and 48 in eco - they are amazing scores!! And congrats on your atar!  Good luck for uni!

P.S. does anyone feel over possessive of past sacs, notes, practice exams and more of subjects they have completed and don’t want to throw them out but at the same time they don’t really serve much of a purpose anymore anyway?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on December 16, 2019, 06:13:14 pm
P.S. does anyone feel over possessive of past sacs, notes, practice exams and more of subjects they have completed and don’t want to throw them out but at the same time they don’t really serve much of a purpose anymore anyway?

Yes! I still have 20 completed bio practise exams sitting under my bed, but I don't have the heart to throw them out. I will eventually but I think I will keep my SACS  :) :)
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on December 16, 2019, 06:15:57 pm

P.S. does anyone feel over possessive of past sacs, notes, practice exams and more of subjects they have completed and don’t want to throw them out but at the same time they don’t really serve much of a purpose anymore anyway?

I was dyinggggg to throw out my methods practise exams after my exams, I had SO many! I just had to get rid of them!
But in terms of SACs and notes, I keep them all  :D

And congrats on your amazing psych score! Good luck for next year  ;D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Mudasser.abb on December 17, 2019, 09:05:39 pm
Do you have any tips for completing bio 3/4 in yr 11
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on December 18, 2019, 11:24:05 am
Yes! I still have 20 completed bio practise exams sitting under my bed, but I don't have the heart to throw them out. I will eventually but I think I will keep my SACS  :) :)
I juuust threw away my practice exams, and it was hard. Goodbye old pals :(. And yeah I’m definitely keeping my SACs, even though I have no use for them!!

I was dyinggggg to throw out my methods practise exams after my exams, I had SO many! I just had to get rid of them!
But in terms of SACs and notes, I keep them all  :D

And congrats on your amazing psych score! Good luck for next year  ;D
Omg really?? I found it super hard throw away basically anything related to my 3/4s. Good on you for being able to throw away practice exams as soon as the exam was over haha. Thank you! Good luck to you too :)

Do you have any tips for completing bio 3/4 in yr 11
Hey! I didn’t do bio 3/4 in year 11, but I did do psych. Make sure you know the content inside out and do tons of practice questions! You can never go wrong with them. Also try to make your own notes - it’s a great way to consolidate knowledge. Some people don’t and they do fine - whatever works for you! I think it’s also a good idea to create a study group with a few people who you work well with and study together in the lead up to SACs and exams. I did this for both my 3/4s and it worked really well!! Ask your teacher or peers if you have any doubts as it’s important to get them cleared up early. Sometimes I’d go ahead of the class - just a bit - so I could use class time to consolidate and work more productively. I wasn’t ahead all the time, just sometimes when I could be bothered doing more work. Remember to keep a balance too. Eat healthy, exercise (neither of which I did and I should have done this whoops), and do other things aside from studying. I go to dance classes and participated in dance events, went to St John and I was a member of quite a few clubs at my school. Not everything in VCE is about studying! Good luck for year 11, I hope you smash the ball out the park.
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Bri MT on December 18, 2019, 11:26:46 am
P.S. does anyone feel over possessive of past sacs, notes, practice exams and more of subjects they have completed and don’t want to throw them out but at the same time they don’t really serve much of a purpose anymore anyway?

I've kept mine so I can use them as inspiration for making resources for students
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on January 02, 2020, 05:28:54 pm
I've kept mine so I can use them as inspiration for making resources for students
That seems like a good idea!

Happy New Year everyone!! (a day late but oh well)
2020 is going to be THE year! All the best movies are releasing too - I can’t wait for Wonder Woman 1984 and A Quiet Place Part II, plus a bunch more. Not to mention it’s year 12: the big year!! I’m super nervous but excited. Nervous about scores and ATARs, but excited for the journey. I can’t believe I’ll be in uni in a year, sometimes I still feel like i’m 12 and I wish I could go back to being a carefree kid who didn’t have any responsibility haha. I hope that’s not just me! I’ve done no holiday homework and have wasted away the first month of the holidays doing random things and going out. My plans for finishing holiday homework and doing some intense studying in the first month certainly didn’t work out, like always. Hopefully this year I don’t end up trying to do all my holiday homework at school right before class like last year :(. One more month to go! Maybe, by luck, I’ll be able to finish my holiday homework AND get to do some extra study (highly unlikely but I like to hope). I hope your holidays have been good so far and that you got to rest up before 2020!!!!  :D
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on January 03, 2020, 06:59:56 pm
That seems like a good idea!

I’ve done no holiday homework and have wasted away the first month of the holidays doing random things and going out.
Lol, same
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on January 04, 2020, 05:58:49 pm
────────────────────── SATURDAY ──────────────────────
┏xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx┓
2 This is exactly why I tried
out studying at school - because it's noise-free and practically distraction-free too. I'm so glad
I started studying at school, because even if my pace is much slower, it feels like I'm so much
more productive than at home and the information actually sinks in.
┖xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx┚
─────────────────────23.02.19 ────────────────────
Hey whys,
I was wondering how long you stayed back at the library after school and if you maintained that throughout Exam Season?
Title: Re: The Adventures of VCE | whys' journal
Post by: whys on January 05, 2020, 11:38:17 am
Hey whys,
I was wondering how long you stayed back at the library after school and if you maintained that throughout Exam Season?

I did it during some of term 1 and some of term 2 then stopped. I’d get picked up from school at 6 so I’d be home at around 6:15. So basically I stayed at school for 3 hours and 40 minutes, which at the start felt productive because I felt motivated to study for the whole 3 hours and 40 minutes. As days went by I spent more time watching youtube and playing games on my laptop than studying at school. This was because my concentration was decreasing and I couldn’t study for that long straight after school, so in reality I studied for like an hour, maybe 2, and spent the rest of my time not studying. I found going home right after school was better because travelling home was like a break in between studying at school then at home. At home it was easier for me to take breaks, because I could get up, eat something, stretch my legs and do something else. It’s subjective though - if staying at school is productive for you then you should go ahead. It just didn’t work for me I guess.

EDIT; changed my first post and title of the journal (hopefully it's better now)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 09, 2020, 10:37:28 pm
Please tell me I am not the only one falling victim to Tik Tok... I could spend 24 hours on that app and still not get bored, plus it's super addicting. I didn't download it for ages because I thought it was cringey (it is) but now I literally can't get off it and I spend all my time on it (rip) which might be a problem once school starts.
Tik Tok has changed the way I view songs literally

ANYWAYS I've done nothing academic so far except UCAT (I do like 20 questions on days I feel like doing it, which is not much) so I've been feeling pretty bleh and unmotivated. I feel like swimming to the middle of the ocean and floating there for the rest of my life in peace, or listening to music while sitting on my bed doing nothing. I usually feel so motivated for the first month of a new year but I've lost my motivation pretty quickly this year, oops. Plus I've made efforts to achieve 0 of my new years resolutions. Hopefully when I check back I can write about doing something productive...
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Jimmmy on January 09, 2020, 11:57:11 pm
Please tell me I am not the only one falling victim to Tik Tok... I could spend 24 hours on that app and still not get bored, plus it's super addicting. I didn't download it for ages because I thought it was cringey (it is) but now I literally can't get off it and I spend all my time on it (rip) which might be a problem once school starts.
Tik Tok has changed the way I view songs literally

ANYWAYS I've done nothing academic so far except UCAT (I do like 20 questions on days I feel like doing it, which is not much) so I've been feeling pretty bleh and unmotivated. I feel like swimming to the middle of the ocean and floating there for the rest of my life in peace, or listening to music while sitting on my bed doing nothing. I usually feel so motivated for the first month of a new year but I've lost my motivation pretty quickly this year, oops. Plus I've made efforts to achieve 0 of my new years resolutions. Hopefully when I check back I can write about doing something productive...
Delete it! That's what I did. Easy fix.

I'd suggest giving yourself a bit of a break on the 'feeling bleh' front. You still have a solid 3 weeks before school starts, and I presume you've done a little bit of study/homework before the Christmas break. You want to spend that last week before school starts as a rev-up (I basically treated it like school days), so it really ensures you start the year running.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on January 10, 2020, 08:41:37 am
ANYWAYS I've done nothing academic so far except UCAT (I do like 20 questions on days I feel like doing it, which is not much) so I've been feeling pretty bleh and unmotivated. I feel like swimming to the middle of the ocean and floating there for the rest of my life in peace, or listening to music while sitting on my bed doing nothing. I usually feel so motivated for the first month of a new year but I've lost my motivation pretty quickly this year, oops. Plus I've made efforts to achieve 0 of my new years resolutions. Hopefully when I check back I can write about doing something productive...
I was feeling exactly like that at the end of December. I worked so hard all year and then I spent the entire first month of my holidays doing things every single day and suddenly I had no energy to begin ploughing through the mountain of homework from school, let alone the other study I wanted to do to get ahead. I found that the first couple of days I tried to do things I wasn't very productive, but each day after that I got a little bit more done and my brain was trained a little bit more on my schoolwork. Hope you can find the motivation again soon!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on January 10, 2020, 09:38:20 am
Please tell me I am not the only one falling victim to Tik Tok... I could spend 24 hours on that app and still not get bored, plus it's super addicting. I didn't download it for ages because I thought it was cringey (it is) but now I literally can't get off it and I spend all my time on it (rip) which might be a problem once school starts.
Tik Tok has changed the way I view songs literally

ANYWAYS I've done nothing academic so far except UCAT (I do like 20 questions on days I feel like doing it, which is not much) so I've been feeling pretty bleh and unmotivated. I feel like swimming to the middle of the ocean and floating there for the rest of my life in peace, or listening to music while sitting on my bed doing nothing. I usually feel so motivated for the first month of a new year but I've lost my motivation pretty quickly this year, oops. Plus I've made efforts to achieve 0 of my new years resolutions. Hopefully when I check back I can write about doing something productive...
No, you're not the only one. I mean, I haven't downloaded the app or anything but the last week or so, I was watching random tiktok compilations on YouTube. Procrastination at its finest.

Yeah, I've been doing the same as you for UCAT. Trying to finish a test a day but it's not working so far. I'm so slow at answering the questions! Like it took me an hour ( probably more) to do 40 verbal reasoning questions. It's really bad. I have so much work to do. Are you doing UCAT preparation with a company?

At least you have new years resolutions! There's still like a year left to achieve them so you're fine!

As Jimmmy said, you should relax before school hits. You should give yourself some time to relax so that you're fresh and rejuvenated for Year 12. Don't be too hard on yourself.
 :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on January 10, 2020, 11:40:28 am
ANYWAYS I've done nothing academic so far except UCAT (I do like 20 questions on days I feel like doing it, which is not much) so I've been feeling pretty bleh and unmotivated. I feel like swimming to the middle of the ocean and floating there for the rest of my life in peace, or listening to music while sitting on my bed doing nothing. I usually feel so motivated for the first month of a new year but I've lost my motivation pretty quickly this year, oops. Plus I've made efforts to achieve 0 of my new years resolutions. Hopefully when I check back I can write about doing something productive...
Don't worry, your not the only one. I haven't done anything either, and for the past 2 months I have had off, I feel the excat same as you. Super unmotivated and just meh.. Know that your not alone, and who knows, you may wake up one day and find your motivation.  Good luck though, and be happy that you have been able to do something (UCAT Questions). One thing I keep in mind too, is that it is going to be a really long and hard year. So don't be so hard on yourself that you haven't done much, and you will be doing alot throughout the year.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 10, 2020, 01:24:32 pm
Delete it! That's what I did. Easy fix.
Good idea, lol. Why did I not think of that?!

I found that the first couple of days I tried to do things I wasn't very productive, but each day after that I got a little bit more done and my brain was trained a little bit more on my schoolwork. Hope you can find the motivation again soon!
Thanks laura! I hope I can find my motivation too ;D

Yeah, I've been doing the same as you for UCAT. Trying to finish a test a day but it's not working so far. I'm so slow at answering the questions! Like it took me an hour ( probably more) to do 40 verbal reasoning questions. It's really bad. I have so much work to do. Are you doing UCAT preparation with a company?
Same! I'm good with the decision making section (I always have time left over) but for verbal reasoning I take like a minute per question and you're only supposed to take 30 seconds. I bought medify and medentry, and I'm starting with doing the medify questions. What about you?

Know that your not alone, and who knows, you may wake up one day and find your motivation.  Good luck though, and be happy that you have been able to do something (UCAT Questions). One thing I keep in mind too, is that it is going to be a really long and hard year. So don't be so hard on yourself that you haven't done much, and you will be doing alot throughout the year.
Thanks Geoo!

I was feeling exactly like that at the end of December.
No, you're not the only one.
Don't worry, your not the only one.
#unmotivatedfor2020 gang
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on January 10, 2020, 01:56:44 pm
Quote
Same! I'm good with the decision making section (I always have time left over) but for verbal reasoning I take like a minute per question and you're only supposed to take 30 seconds. I bought medify and medentry, and I'm starting with doing the medify questions. What about you?
WOW! That's so good! I haven't bought any commercial stuff yet. I've just been doing the practice questions on the UCAT website. How are you finding medify?

Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 10, 2020, 02:04:47 pm
WOW! That's so good! I haven't bought any commercial stuff yet. I've just been doing the practice questions on the UCAT website. How are you finding medify?

Medify is really good! It's affordable compared to other options and it offers a really good question bank. I highly recommend it, and it's something that people who did the UCAT in 2019 also recommend. They also have mock exams and timed/untimed practice and give you strategies for each question type.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 13, 2020, 07:01:28 pm
No, this update is not to tell you I've started holiday homework, because I haven't.

BUT I'm excited for getting all my back-to-school stuff together (stationary + books). Also I feel like these holidays have unfortunately gone much quicker than anticipated... I'm a nervous wreck for next year! I'm posting my expectations below (note that I'm not aiming for these scores, they are just what I expect I'll get. I always say that you should aim for 50 and try your best!):

English (expectation: 43)
I think I can do really well in English if I can get to know my texts at a high standard and actually have a unique analysis of each of my texts, and don't bludge the oral sac. The only thing I need to improve on is my actual writing style, which needs to be more specific, clear and concise. Hopefully I can maintain A+ for my SACs and the exam. I want to focus on English more than my other subjects because a little difference in my study score can mean a big change for my ATAR. I want to dedicate one study period each week to just writing - a paragraph, an essay - anything. I think practice is key, and coupled with an effective feedback loop with my tutor and teacher can help me hopefully get higher than a 43, but we'll have to see!

Chemistry (expectation: 38)
This is the subject I like the least out of all my subjects. I definitely don't hate it, but it gets very tedious at times and there are many parts I don't enjoy. I really like organic chemistry though, so hopefully it won't feel like a chore to study unit 4. Food chemistry is the most appealing area of study for me: I LOVE FOOD. And it seems really interesting too - I'm so glad it's in the study design. I want to get as much knowledge as possible by delving deep into concepts so I feel I fully understand anything and don't have gaps in my knowledge, which is frightening come sac time. Hopefully youtube and khan academy help with this!

Methods (expectation: 46)
Maths is something I love doing, mostly because I feel I can pick up concepts very easily. However, I also forget them easily! I think for me to succeed in methods, I need constant practice, not practising for one week and doing no methods the next week. I breezed through unit 1/2 methods (excluding transformations, which I got 64% in) and ended up doing really well in the end of year exams. For 3/4, I just need to make sure I don't neglect this subject and actually try in it, which I completely failed to do in previous years. Also, I need to look into ways of minimising silly mistakes, because I always lose at least one mark each test for the dumbest things, which is so frustrating, especially when it keeps me from getting 100%.

Biology (expectation: 45)
I'm hoping bio will be similar to psych in terms of methods to write notes and ways to practice the content. I have a good bio teacher so I hope we can establish a good relationship that I can get the most out of - I asked so many questions in psych and I feel like it will be the same for bio. I think I'll enjoy this subject a lot with regards to the study design, but I'll have to wait and see to be sure. A lot of my friends did 3/4 bio in year 11 so I've got them for advice too, and I'll finally be able to understand all the bio references and jokes they made! (and made fun of me for not being able to understand any of them :()

All this lands me an ATAR of 99.30, but these expectations are really stretching what I think I can achieve. Hopefully when results come out I'll be pleasantly surprised, not disappointed. A lot comes down to luck too - how you feel on the day of the exam and if you're sick or not (I was sick during the food studies exam rip). My goal from the start has always been an ATAR in the high 99s, but I think this is quite difficult considering my bad relationship with chemistry and my lack of English skills. If I can push my English score to the high 40s, and take a proactive approach to chemistry, maybe I'll have a chance! To be fair, I just want an ATAR that's competitive for monash med - in the end, that's the ultimate goal.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on January 13, 2020, 07:55:51 pm
Quote
Food chemistry is the most appealing area of study for me: I LOVE FOOD
SAME! I think it looks to be one of the most interesting parts of the course. It will also be interesting to see if food studies plays in a small amount. I don't expect much but who knows. But yes, unit four looks the most exciting, and I don't understand why people hate on organic chem, its great. Maybe i'm just too much of a nerd.

I'm like you with English, lets hope we both get better than expected! What books are you required to read?
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Seamus Wong on January 13, 2020, 07:56:44 pm

English (expectation: 43)
I want to dedicate one study period each week to just writing - a paragraph, an essay - anything. I think practice is key, and coupled with an effective feedback loop with my tutor and teacher can help me hopefully get higher than a 43, but we'll have to see!


It's really really good that you understand what you need to do to succeed with English. I was pretty shit at English (got a B on year 11 exam  :-[ ) but I legit did exactly what you said you're planning on doing and I managed to actually get reasonably good at essay writing. And if you don't mess up any sacs throughout the year I reckon you can easily get 45+!
It'll be cool to look back on ur journal when the marks are released and see how your results varied to your expectations.
Good luck!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 13, 2020, 08:28:04 pm
SAME! I think it looks to be one of the most interesting parts of the course. It will also be interesting to see if food studies plays in a small amount. I don't expect much but who knows. But yes, unit four looks the most exciting, and I don't understand why people hate on organic chem, its great. Maybe i'm just too much of a nerd.

I'm like you with English, lets hope we both get better than expected! What books are you required to read?

Yes! I'm pumped for food chemistry and organic chemistry. For me, unit 3 is the driest part of chem I'll have to push myself through. Food studies knowledge may help with general background info and better context, but as I expect we'll be going into the organic chemistry of food, there won't be much overlap between the two subjects other than general info.

I believe in us for English, we can do this! :D I'm doing Much Ado About Nothing, Old/New World, and the Penelopiad and Photograph 51 for comparative. What books are you doing?

It's really really good that you understand what you need to do to succeed with English. I was pretty shit at English (got a B on year 11 exam  :-[ ) but I legit did exactly what you said you're planning on doing and I managed to actually get reasonably good at essay writing. And if you don't mess up any sacs throughout the year I reckon you can easily get 45+!
It'll be cool to look back on ur journal when the marks are released and see how your results varied to your expectations.
Good luck!!
Yay! Proof that my plan works (if I stick to it). Yeah, I'm really hoping I don't mess up on any of my sacs since English is 50/50 sacs and exam and I've been told by a lot of people to keep up your ranking if you want a high score in English. And don't hold me to that 45+, but I'll try my best! Yeah, it's always fun comparing predictions to your actual scores and seeing how much better/worse you've done. Congrats on your 42 in eng lang - that's an amazing achievement! Good luck for uni :P
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on January 13, 2020, 08:44:32 pm
Great to see some awesome expectations whys! And also glad we are doing the same comparative books for english (I will definitely need someone to stress out with and compare notes with towards the period of comparative essays!).

Can't wait to see you work through your subjects this year, especially since I'm doing the same subjects you are this year (well excluding bio which I did last year)  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 13, 2020, 08:55:32 pm
Great to see some awesome expectations whys! And also glad we are doing the same comparative books for english (I will definitely need someone to stress out with and compare notes with towards the period of comparative essays!).

Can't wait to see you work through your subjects this year, especially since I'm doing the same subjects you are this year (well excluding bio which I did last year)  ;D

Thank god I'm not the only one doing those comparative texts! We should definitely help each other out and freak out together - that'll be fun for sure. Good luck for year 12 - let's hope we both smash it! I'm looking forward to seeing your journey on your journal too :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 20, 2020, 11:47:24 am
EXTREMELY important update:

I have started my holiday homework! :D
I only have a little more to go for methods and english! (Still haven't started chem or bio, but that's okay, I still have time!)
(https://ildertonlions.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lionanimation-17.gif)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on January 20, 2020, 12:07:20 pm
EXTREMELY important update:

I have started my holiday homework! :D
I only have a little more to go for methods and english! (Still haven't started chem or bio, but that's okay, I still have time!)

Go whys!!! Starting holiday homework is definitely a massive achievement! ;D (I'm so proud that you have beaten procrastination)
You have plenty of time to do the homework so don't worry too much. What type of homework did you have set to do during these holidays?
Keep us updated when you have defeated the homework beast 🤣
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on January 20, 2020, 12:51:05 pm
EXTREMELY important update:

I have started my holiday homework! :D
I only have a little more to go for methods and english! (Still haven't started chem or bio, but that's okay, I still have time!)
(https://ildertonlions.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lionanimation-17.gif)

YESSS!! Congrats whys, and you still have ten days left so you’ll smash it  ;D ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on January 20, 2020, 01:47:22 pm
EXTREMELY important update:

I have started my holiday homework! :D
I only have a little more to go for methods and english! (Still haven't started chem or bio, but that's okay, I still have time!)

Woohoo!
That's awesome that you have beaten your procrastination and started to do some homework! Please tell me your secrets!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 20, 2020, 02:22:11 pm
Go whys!!! Starting holiday homework is definitely a massive achievement! ;D (I'm so proud that you have beaten procrastination)
You have plenty of time to do the homework so don't worry too much. What type of homework did you have set to do during these holidays?
Keep us updated when you have defeated the homework beast 🤣

THANK YOU!
English - read the texts (obviously), analyse a bunch of poems, create a poster for one of the texts
Maths - complete a certain set of exercises from the textbook from ch1 and ch2
Chem - complete all questions from ch 4 & 5 and complete given redox test
Bio - complete all questions from ch1, 2 & 3

YESSS!! Congrats whys, and you still have ten days left so you’ll smash it  ;D ;D
Thank you! (time to grind)

Woohoo!
That's awesome that you have beaten your procrastination and started to do some homework! Please tell me your secrets!
My secrets? Well, it mainly involved thinking about how much trouble I'd get in by my teachers if I didn't finish my homework ;). Also, I want to do well in year 12, not just slack off like in year 11 and younger year levels.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on January 20, 2020, 05:15:48 pm
EXTREMELY important update:

I have started my holiday homework! :D
I only have a little more to go for methods and english! (Still haven't started chem or bio, but that's okay, I still have time!)
(https://ildertonlions.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lionanimation-17.gif)
Great job whys! Super proud of you! You still have heaps of time, so don't even worry about it. All that matters is that you've started and got your motivation back. Yay!
 ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 21, 2020, 11:43:53 am
Great job whys! Super proud of you! You still have heaps of time, so don't even worry about it. All that matters is that you've started and got your motivation back. Yay!
 ;D
Thanks so much Evolio! <3
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 22, 2020, 09:49:13 pm
Okay, this update is even more important than the last! (To me, at least).
My younger sibling saw a smudge of yellow/green outside the window (we were all inside the house) in the backyard. Then she yelled out that there was a lorikeet outside in our backyard. I rushed to the window and saw a BUDGIE (not lorikeet lol) crouching behind one of our plant pots (it was raining). We managed to get the poor thing inside our garage and that's where the lil guy is now. We gave him/her food and water in the garage and just left the bird in there. It looked really tired, supposedly from flying in the rain. He/she was probably really scared, but he/she let me touch him/her and it perched on my arm momentarily. We decided to sort it out in the morning haha. For now, we named the bird Baby and are probably going to take Baby to the vet tomorrow to get it checked for disease/microchips to search for the owner. I'll keep you guys posted if anything happens!

*P.S. not a very academic-related post, sorry ???
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: NomotivationF on January 24, 2020, 12:10:36 pm
Quote
Yay! Proof that my plan works (if I stick to it). Yeah, I'm really hoping I don't mess up on any of my sacs since English is 50/50 sacs and exam and I've been told by a lot of people to keep up your ranking if you want a high score in English. And don't hold me to that 45+, but I'll try my best! Yeah, it's always fun comparing predictions to your actual scores and seeing how much better/worse you've done.

Sacs are 100% important for English. I completely bombed my end of year exam (if I got one mark less I would've gotten a B), but my sac scores genuinely saved me and helped me get the study score that I did.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: lm21074 on January 28, 2020, 05:02:10 pm
Okay, this update is even more important than the last! (To me, at least).
My younger sibling saw a smudge of yellow/green outside the window (we were all inside the house) in the backyard. Then she yelled out that there was a lorikeet outside in our backyard. I rushed to the window and saw a BUDGIE (not lorikeet lol) crouching behind one of our plant pots (it was raining). We managed to get the poor thing inside our garage and that's where the lil guy is now. We gave him/her food and water in the garage and just left the bird in there. It looked really tired, supposedly from flying in the rain. He/she was probably really scared, but he/she let me touch him/her and it perched on my arm momentarily. We decided to sort it out in the morning haha. For now, we named the bird Baby and are probably going to take Baby to the vet tomorrow to get it checked for disease/microchips to search for the owner. I'll keep you guys posted if anything happens!

*P.S. not a very academic-related post, sorry ???

How's Baby the Bird doing? :)

Fun fact about budgies: they have a coloured thing above their beak called a cere. If it's blue, the budgie is male, and if it's pinky brown, it's female!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 28, 2020, 05:10:34 pm
How's Baby the Bird doing? :)

Fun fact about budgies: they have a coloured thing above their beak called a cere. If it's blue, the budgie is male, and if it's pinky brown, it's female!

Yes, Baby was a female, as she had a brownish cere! She got more accustomed to us and felt comfortable enough to sit on me after a day haha. A day and a half after we found her, when my dad was going to the garage she found her dead. We have no idea why - perhaps it was since she was weak when she arrived, but her behaviour seemed very normal. And it was just as we were going to take her to the vet, and we had just arrived home with proper budgie feed. I was really upset, and it was really unexpected and out of nowhere. She was really sweet and I wish she could have lived a little longer so the vet could have found out what was wrong and helped her. I hope she's in bird heaven now
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: lm21074 on January 28, 2020, 05:42:50 pm
I'm so sorry to hear that :(
Hope you and your family are doing okay.



Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 29, 2020, 04:07:58 pm
I'm so sorry to hear that :(
Hope you and your family are doing okay.
Thank you.

First day of school today. Presented with our year twelve badges, met the new year 9 cohort, marvelled at the fact that we are already in year twelve yet feel we are growing too fast for ourselves to adjust and consequently still feel like we were in year 9, entering the school for the first time. Sometimes I feel like I was born yesterday, and it's crazy to think I have all these memories from only 17 years of existence. I've really been thinking hard these holidays, and I've realised that even though life is short and has no purpose, surely there's some point to it? It's taken me a while to wrap my head around the fact that everything changes and everything is temporary, and nothing is always as it is. Alright, I'll stop rambling on about useless things and cut to the point here. To be honest? Right now I feel tired and my feet could fall off at any second (I did no exercise on the holidays so I wasn't used to the walk to and from the bus stop haha). I'm also honestly having an existential crisis too lol, and I feel like life is so short - too short :o

I hope everyone had a good day today and that you have a great first day at uni/school!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on January 29, 2020, 07:13:30 pm
Quote
Presented with our year twelve badges,
Woah, you guys get year twelve badges? That's so cool! I'm definitely jealous right now lol.

Quote
marvelled at the fact that we are already in year twelve yet feel we are growing too fast for ourselves to adjust and consequently still feel like we were in year 9, entering the school for the first time.
Yep, I still remember my first day of Year 9 and meeting everyone for the first time. It DOES NOT feel like 3 years have gone by. Time's quickly slipping away.

Quote
Right now I feel tired and my feet could fall off at any second (I did no exercise on the holidays so I wasn't used to the walk to and from the bus stop haha).
Glad I'm not the only one! I was running to catch a train the other day and when I arrived just in time, I was huffing and puffing. I really need to do some exercise and get fit.  :P

I have existential crises all the time! Ever since I was in prep ( I was a weird kid, don't judge). I think it's important to reflect on the purpose of life and such but I also have a feeling that there's not one answer, if you know what I mean. I think there are multiple aims and right now, there might not be answers but as we progress through life, hopefully they will become clear of at least we get an inkling of what life might be about and why we're here.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your first day of school! Let's smash this final year and go out in style!  8)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 30, 2020, 02:58:25 pm
I have existential crises all the time! Ever since I was in prep ( I was a weird kid, don't judge). I think it's important to reflect on the purpose of life and such but I also have a feeling that there's not one answer, if you know what I mean. I think there are multiple aims and right now, there might not be answers but as we progress through life, hopefully they will become clear of at least we get an inkling of what life might be about and why we're here.
Glad to know I'm not the only one :D

On a random side note, I'd like to add that I'm super excited and ready to face this year! Sometimes I wish I could stay in school forever. I think we all take this valuable time for granted before it's too late and you realise you can never get your highschool years back again. I want to make the most out of this year - do my best in everything, try new things and embrace opportunities I know I won't be offered again. There's so much I want to do this year, and I hope I'll be able to keep in touch with my teachers after school as well. It will be exciting to see where all this leads in the end! I'm happy that I enjoy all my subjects, even though I have a very pronounced love-hate relationship with *ahem* chemistry, so I hope that's a big bonus since I'll actually enjoy studying. This was like psych for me - I loved the subject so much that studying never felt like studying for me, it felt like I was actually learning and discovering new, intriguing ideas. Hopefully 'studying' for my 4 subjects this year will be similar. Another big thing I want to do is start drawing and writing again. I miss this so much. Many people today know me as someone academically oriented, and although I might be, I never want to lose the creative side of me that used to be such a big part of my life. I don't want to ever give it up just to suffocate under the burden of pure academics. It's important to have balance, so maybe sometime this year I'll find time to be myself again and learn to make time for hobbies and things I love doing.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on January 30, 2020, 03:17:29 pm

I have existential crises all the time! Ever since I was in prep ( I was a weird kid, don't judge). I think it's important to reflect on the purpose of life and such but I also have a feeling that there's not one answer, if you know what I mean. I think there are multiple aims and right now, there might not be answers but as we progress through life, hopefully they will become clear of at least we get an inkling of what life might be about and why we're here.


This literally describes me so much!! I had these feelings from the time I was young....still do....but still trying to enjoy life as much!!
Glad I'm not alone  ;D

Glad to know I'm not the only one :D

On a random side note, I'd like to add that I'm super excited and ready to face this year! Sometimes I wish I could stay in school forever. I think we all take this valuable time for granted before it's too late and you realise you can never get your highschool years back again. I want to make the most out of this year - do my best in everything, try new things and embrace opportunities I know I won't be offered again. There's so much I want to do this year, and I hope I'll be able to keep in touch with my teachers after school as well. It will be exciting to see where all this leads in the end! I'm happy that I enjoy all my subjects, even though I have a very pronounced love-hate relationship with *ahem* chemistry, so I hope that's a big bonus since I'll actually enjoy studying. This was like psych for me - I loved the subject so much that studying never felt like studying for me, it felt like I was actually learning and discovering new, intriguing ideas. Hopefully 'studying' for my 4 subjects this year will be similar. Another big thing I want to do is start drawing and writing again. I miss this so much. Many people today know me as someone academically oriented, and although I might be, I never want to lose the creative side of me that used to be such a big part of my life. I don't want to ever give it up just to suffocate under the burden of pure academics. It's important to have balance, so maybe sometime this year I'll find time to be myself again and learn to make time for hobbies and things I love doing.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

You've got this whys!!! Enjoy the year, it will go past so quickly. Treasure every moment, and make the most of it, and dont forget to look after yourself. Good luck for the year, I'm excited to see where the year will take you  :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on February 01, 2020, 06:15:26 pm
You've got this whys!!! Enjoy the year, it will go past so quickly. Treasure every moment, and make the most of it, and dont forget to look after yourself. Good luck for the year, I'm excited to see where the year will take you  :)

Thank you so much ArtyDreams! <3
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: J_Rho on February 01, 2020, 06:24:09 pm
I'd like to add that I'm super excited and ready to face this year! Sometimes I wish I could stay in school forever. I think we all take this valuable time for granted before it's too late and you realise you can never get your highschool years back again. I want to make the most out of this year - do my best in everything, try new things and embrace opportunities I know I won't be offered again. There's so much I want to do this year, and I hope I'll be able to keep in touch with my teachers after school as well. It will be exciting to see where all this leads in the end! I'm happy that I enjoy all my subjects, even though I have a very pronounced love-hate relationship with *ahem* chemistry, so I hope that's a big bonus since I'll actually enjoy studying. This was like psych for me - I loved the subject so much that studying never felt like studying for me, it felt like I was actually learning and discovering new, intriguing ideas. Hopefully 'studying' for my 4 subjects this year will be similar. Another big thing I want to do is start drawing and writing again. I miss this so much. Many people today know me as someone academically oriented, and although I might be, I never want to lose the creative side of me that used to be such a big part of my life. I don't want to ever give it up just to suffocate under the burden of pure academics. It's important to have balance, so maybe sometime this year I'll find time to be myself again and learn to make time for hobbies and things I love doing.


Hey whys!
I can absolutely relate to taking most of high school for granted and not realizing how valuable it is! I wish I had really understood VCE in like year 9 or 10, and not wasted my years of english cause now i cant write an essay to save my life! It's so good that you want to continue your passion for creativity you are actually inspiring!
It's awesome that you love your subjects and I cant wait to see your journey, you'll do amazing!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on February 23, 2020, 12:15:56 pm
Hey whys!  ;D
How are you doing?
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on February 23, 2020, 01:10:16 pm
Hey whys!  ;D
How are you doing?
Thanks for checking in :). It's been a while, so at least I'll have quite a bit to say in this update.

Hey whys!
I can absolutely relate to taking most of high school for granted and not realizing how valuable it is! I wish I had really understood VCE in like year 9 or 10, and not wasted my years of english cause now i cant write an essay to save my life! It's so good that you want to continue your passion for creativity you are actually inspiring!
It's awesome that you love your subjects and I cant wait to see your journey, you'll do amazing!
Thank you J_Rho for the reply! We have a year to go, might as well make the most out of it! I'm a big sayer of not letting go of what you love no matter how much you have to study :P.

Hello folks, sorry for the lack of updates. I've been really busy!

I'd like to start off by saying that (almost) a month of school has gone by so quickly and I feel like I'm struggling to catch up with all my subjects despite only doing 4. Chemistry is my first sac, and although it is my worst subject, I am quite confident I can score highly as it is just a prac write-up - no complicated content to know except galvanic cells and redox reactions, which is pretty easy anyway. I'm most nervous for the English sac. I feel like I've forgotten how to write - my sentences are disjointed, my writing isn't specific, and I have no idea how I'm going to pull through in the actual sac, which is coming too soon than I would like. But, the most I can do is try my best and hope for a good outcome. I want to feel satisfied I did the most I could and tried my absolute best rather than mope about it and regretting not studying.

On a more positive note, my ucat game has been going quite strong and I feel that I'm steadily improving. I've been doing approximately an hour a day for the past week, but I still have so much to improve on. It's unusually relaxing to practice ucat questions after a long, tiring day, despite it being a timed exam and having to do timed practice. My worst section is abstract reasoning, but I've been told that it's the easiest section to improve on so I'm crossing my fingers for the best. I love vr and dm - the sections I lose the least marks in. Perhaps I'm more of an English student than I like to admit. I've always considered myself a stronger maths/science student but I guess we'll have to see.

Methods is very therapeutic too, perhaps due to the repetitive nature of the textbook questions. Instead of thinking "wow, these are boring" I've slowly shifted my mindset to "this is relaxing, it's satisfying when I know what I'm doing and get it right". It's sort of like mindful colouring, except you have to put in slightly more effort to be able to understand the concepts during a more difficult question. Chapter reviews are different - not very calming and relaxing; more challenging, which is fun nonetheless. I'm excited to see how the year will unfold in terms of maths. We don't have our methods sac till term 2, similar to majority of schools in Victoria. I hope this will allow me ample time to perfect my maths skills and learn how to apply simple concepts to difficult application questions (our sacs are notorious for a handful of extremely difficult questions, courtesy of one of the maths teachers who helps write the 3/4 methods exam). I feel like the maths teachers at my school are super willing to help. They won't hesitate to spend their lunchtime or time after/before school to help you out. They seem the most enthusiastic about their subject when compared to other teachers ;D.

I've slowly been falling behind in biology. My bio sac isn't for another 5 weeks, but I need to get on top of my game before the frantically-studying-before-chem-and-english-sacs period comes around, because I know during that time my focus will be anywhere but bio. The content is fairly interesting and hasn't been difficult so far, which is good. It feels more content-heavy than psych - perhaps because I enjoyed psych so much it didn't feel content-heavy at all. I hope I can enjoy bio at least half the amount I enjoyed psych - that will aid immensely in studying for the subject. There's not much else to say about bio - it's been pretty neutral and I'm looking forward to learning about immunity later on.

I don't actually think I have much else to say in this update (pfft... so much for thinking I had lots to write about) that is related to academics. On a side note, I am looking to reread my favourite book series soon. It's about time I reread it - 10 billion times is obviously not enough ;D. I also still haven't watched Parasite, which I desperately need to see. Maybe soon? I can't seem to find time to fit into my schedule to watch a movie, so it might have to wait till the school holidays. I also got a new calendar so I can finally keep myself organised with regards to sac dates and other important events.

See you guys later!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Ionic Doc on February 23, 2020, 02:03:11 pm
Great work whys.

Good luck with your Chem and English SAC. Is your English SAC the creative?
Good to see that you have a proper schedule for the UCAT, when will the testing take place btw?
Bio is a lotta work but I'm sure you'll be able to catch up with your class, how you finding the content?

Maybe soon? I can't seem to find time to fit into my schedule to watch a movie, so it might have to wait till the school holidays.

 :o :o :o
(meanwhile, I just finished watching a season of 'Locke & Key' on Netflix  :-[)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on February 23, 2020, 02:13:37 pm
Great work whys.

Good luck with your Chem and English SAC. Is your English SAC the creative?
Good to see that you have a proper schedule for the UCAT, when will the testing take place btw?
Bio is a lotta work but I'm sure you'll be able to catch up with your class, how you finding the content?

 :o :o :o
(meanwhile, I just finished watching a season of 'Locke & Key' on Netflix  :-[)

Nope, my english sac is the text response. Testing for the ucat occurs in the july period, so not long to go! Lowkey nervous haha, it sucks that Monash weights the 2-hour ucat exam and years of hard work put into vce equally. The content for bio is pretty easy, and it's pretty interesting, so I don't think I'll have difficulty catching up.

Haha, I don't have Netflix, which is probably a big reason why I don't currently watch any tv shows/movies. I only have Amazon Prime, which I don't use anyway. Not having access to any movies/tv shows makes my life a whole lot easier, but it's always good to have a break. I'm just the type of person to binge watch tv shows non-stop, so it's probably better if I didn't have access to tv shows.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Ionic Doc on February 24, 2020, 08:00:58 am
I'm just the type of person to binge watch tv shows non-stop, so it's probably better if I didn't have access to tv shows.

I should get onto this . . .
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on February 29, 2020, 11:30:13 pm
Tonight, I am falling.
Through the blurriness of my surroundings, I make out figures.
Figures of people. Figures of people smiling, laughing. Dancing. As if the only element in this world was the purity of joy.
Tonight, I cannot join them.
My fingers reach out to grip the edges of reality, but I stumble further and rays of greyness slip past. They are calling, they are shouting my name, but I cannot hear. I am blinded by my mistakes; deafened by my cynicism; still trying to hold on to yesterday.

Loneliness is a thief; he steals your laughter for himself. Doubt is a composer; he plays notes of silence upon the fragility of your life. Inability is the weight of the sun on your back; it is the feeling of warmth that turns into burden. It burns you. The red of fire burns you; acid peels away your skin and now you are the epitome of your flaws; of your unprotected self that is yet to see the world. Now you are exposed; you are no longer an actor who braves the day with the false security of a smile that hides the melancholy within. You are not free… no, you are shackled to the ground by their caustic words, and you are the puppet they control. Who are you?

In your eyes
Hopeless and broken
I see tomorrow
But tomorrow is a hope; never a promise.
In your smile
You hide the longing for oxygen your corrupted lungs forbid
What is your heart's desire?

A thousand worthless fragments of the moon now lay in her palm; no longer shimmering. A million pieces of her heart have been shattered, where are they now? She said she would fly to the moon; promised to fulfill her heart's desires. The darkness consumes her; it belongs with her; it is her. Her thoughts were once a tidal wave of ideas, but they no longer exist. They are not remembered, because they were not worthy of care. She is a skeleton built by emotions that no longer exist. The sea she walks upon is an endless pool of soothing calmness; a death that mere life cannot provide. The serenity of the ocean's gaping mouth she embraces willingly as she goes under; no longer hidden by shadows. No longer guilted by her failures. Tonight, she dreams of nothingness. A fellow traveller no more. Scars erased. A lost soul put to rest.

Sorry
I just realised how this post might come across. I do consider myself a very optimistic person, but today I feel hopeless and unable to succeed; burdened by failures. For the first time since forever, I admit that I am not fine. I hope you can understand my need to document such lowly moments. I want this journal to be a true reflection of what I am going through, not a rose-coloured story of my last years in highschool.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on March 01, 2020, 06:49:19 am
I think it’s beautiful that you can express your true feeling on here whys, your writing is very pretty.

All the best I hope you have a better day today  :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on March 01, 2020, 08:39:26 am
Hey whys.

There is absolutely no need to apologise about what you are feeling. This is your outlet to express your truest emotions.  :)

Sending strength your way.
By the way, your writing is very beautiful!

I hope you overcome your difficulties soon.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on March 01, 2020, 08:52:06 am
Hi whys,

It is totally fine to express yourself like this in your journal and it is fine to let yourself go. We are all with you and supporting you every step of the way, no matter how tough things get, we will always be there for you. Always remember that you are not alone.
Thank you for being honest and your writing is so enchanting to read.

Hope you have a wonderful day today.
~Sending love ~💕💕

Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: J_Rho on March 01, 2020, 10:00:52 am
Hey whys,

I hope you're doing better, and there is no need to apologise for expressing how you feel, and can honestly relate to feeling unable to succeed and being burdened by failure -  and in time you will flourish and look back on moments like these and realise they helped you grow. also, your writing is absolutely mesmerising. 💕
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on March 01, 2020, 10:16:42 am
The writing is so pretty and lovely to read whys - take care of yourself, its totally okay to rant here! We are here to support you  ;D

I'm sure whatever you're feeling will pass, you've got this  :)

Sending lots of good vibes your way, hope you have a lovely day  :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 01, 2020, 10:29:44 am
To Chocolatemilkshake, Evolio, ashmi, J_Rho and ArtyDreams - thank you so much for the overwhelmingly positive support not only now, but regarding previous journal entries too. I really, really appreciate it ❤️

I feel better now, thanks to all having an anonymous outlet to express myself, as well as you guys. Thank you for taking the time to not only read, but also type up a response. I hope I can reflect upon my experiences and pick myself up, as we all should when we feel like we're in the dumps.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 07, 2020, 05:59:24 pm
Hi folks!

I have an English sac on Wednesday, which is a text response. "I am scared" is a severe understatement...
Why does English have to be in our top 4 again?

I have a bio sac in the last week of term, but the subject is pretty chill and it's a while away. Meanwhile, English is neither of those things. My teacher gives horrible feedback and argh I could vent about my teacher for ages (but I'm not going to).

Also, methods is really chill. I'm so glad the chem sac is over because now I'm not going to focus on chem until next term (hello bottom 2!). I don't want to come back to English but I'm very stressed about it because how am I supposed to know if what I'm writing is good or bad or 3/10 level or 10/10 level with horrible feedback and NO feedback. I submitted an essay on wednesday and still haven't gotten feedback on it, and monday is a public holiday so what am I going to do if my teacher gives me my feedback on tuesday, the day before the sac?! (even though this is unlikely and when prompted my teacher will probably be like oh! I left your essay at home sorry! because she probably didn't mark it. my other friends in my class have this same problem.) Other teachers give feedback on essays the next lesson, which is usually a day. Wow, am I unlucky.

I'm going to try focus on improving as much as I can in this short timespan and try to memorise lots of quotes and write practice body paras even though I have no idea what I'm doing and if I'm doing it correctly. I gotta be positive! I got the teacher I have and I'm going to accept it and move on and try do the best I can. That's all I can do. I just hope I'm not disappointed in the end.

I'll probably update this after the English sac (in tears of joy or sadness, let's see).
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on March 07, 2020, 06:45:30 pm
Hey, I feel you! I had a mini meltdown over my english SAC that is also next week, so I will join you in the sacred club.
Have you thought about publishing some of your essay on the forum?

It will be over soon, so I wish you luck, i'm sure you will do fine! Enjoy the long weekend.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: J_Rho on March 07, 2020, 07:13:41 pm
I have an English SAC coming up also, which I am terrified for and I totally understand how you are feeling! I wish you the best of luck, I'm sure you will do great :)

I also know how teachers can be with being a little bit lazy in helping the students who are doing 'the extra 5%' and I know there are so many people on these forums that would be willing to look over and give feedback on your essays, body paragraphs etc. which i definitely think you should consider doing in the future cause 2 pairs of eyes are better than one!

Hang in there, and we are always here fo you
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on March 09, 2020, 10:28:41 am
Hey whys!

I totally feel for you on a spiritual level (same boat bro). You can do it!! ;D
If you need someone to read your essays, I'm sure people on the forums will be able to help out. (Send me your essays/essay-plans and I can help you out if need be! Happy to give feedback too).

Make sure you rest up this weekend and come into the SAC with a fresh mind. You will be fine, and I'm sure you will do amazing! Keep up the amazing work, we are all in this together with you.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 09, 2020, 01:38:45 pm
Thanks guys!
 
I'll definitely consider posting some work up later on!
Let's all consider having mental breakdowns over our upcoming sacs and rejoice when they are over! ;D But, in all seriousness, I'm sure we'll all do well, and if not, there is always time to improve before the exam.
For now, I think I'll head to the kitchen and binge-eat to make myself feel better. (It works for real ::))
(https://media.giphy.com/media/xQ2uodN464o8M/giphy.gif)
Hope you guys have enjoyed your long weekend so far. Term 1 holidays aren't far off too - can't wait for the break. I'll try update this after the english sac so I can talk about how (horribly?) I went.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on March 09, 2020, 02:35:37 pm
Haha, yes! I've been eating way too much chocolate in the past days. Oops.  :P Oh well...

I'm sure you'll do fantastic for your English SAC! Both our SACs are on the Wednesday, lol. Can't wait to see how you went!  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on March 09, 2020, 02:48:38 pm
whys, you are speaking my language👏 ;D

It's that time of year that we need to indulge in a whole binge-eating food spree!
Good luck on your English SAC whys! (And also Evolio good luck on your Lit SAC!)

We can all party once it's done and dusted ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on March 09, 2020, 02:51:18 pm
I'm here and joining the English SAC on Wednesday club  ;D

Good luck whys!! I'm sure you'll do great!
I can literally imagine all us maths/science kids after the English Exam, being so relieved lol. We can literally have a MASSIVE binge eat then.

Have a good week!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 11, 2020, 04:22:25 pm
English SAC
Where do I start... I felt at least somewhat prepared to write this. I thought I’d be able to pull off at least 25/30. As soon as I saw the prompts, my brain froze. It was like I’d never read and analysed the text - like I never put any effort. That’s exactly what my essay was like. I forgot everything - I forgot quotes, I forgot to include metalanguage, my introduction was horrible, I wrote the shortest body paragraphs I’ve ever written in an essay ever. I also did the dumbest thing ever. I picked the harder prompt that I had no idea about instead of the other one that I knew I could write well on. My essay wasn’t even relevant to the prompt I chose, and it wasn’t coherent at all. Even the practise essays I wrote were 10x better than this one. I genuinely went in feeling hopeful. I picked the wrong prompt I knew nothing about, and I think I’m going to fail. I think I’m going to fail my first English SAC. I tried so hard for nothing. I could feel the tears of frustration as I crossed out line after line; trying to come up with ideas I knew I had but couldn’t remember. I could feel tears when I was walking to the bus stop from school. All I wanted to do was sit in a corner and cry. Any time I try to vent, I am shut down. Apparently I’m good at English. Apparently I don’t have the right to complain because once upon a time a very lenient marker gave me good marks for my essays. Today I lived up to no ones expectations. Today, I failed my first ever SAC. I realise now that I am doomed for a 40+. I have sabotaged my atar with this one stupid essay. When in the workforce will I ever be asked to analyse stupid Shakespeare and write a verbose response to a stupid prompt that makes no sense in one hour? Maybe an English teacher needs those skills. Maybe those people with literature PhD’s need those skills. Just because I fail a stupid text response essay doesn’t mean I can’t write a good report, or communicate well. I can. I just can’t do VCE English. The system is so unfair to maths and science students who would get amazing ATARs if English could just be a bottom 2 subject.

It hurts to think that because I messed up this one SAC, I have no chance at a 40+ unless I miraculously full mark all the other sacs (not happening). I guess I should just say goodbye to that 99 ATAR and try for some other achievable course that needs a lower ATAR than the most competitive course (or one of the most competitive courses). I finally understand the work that goes into a 99 ATAR. I understand how much of a genius you have to be. Because it’s not easy. Its very very hard and is not achievable. I don’t understand. How can they expect me to write some godly essay when my teacher sucks and I’ve never been taught English properly at all my whole life? I want to change this. But I can’t. My SAC score is fixed, and it’s established that I’m bad at English forever. I hate this. I hate English.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on March 11, 2020, 04:42:45 pm
Hey look, I know this is cliche, but everything will work out. Yeah it sucks that this has happen, but you still have the entire year to make for it. I still think you will do fine, and keep in mind that one bad SAC score won't screw up everything, there are still two other SACs left for english this unit.

Honestly go celebrate that it is over, it is done now and out of the way. Take the rest of the day off, watch a movie, go for a walk, do something you enjoy, and put it behind you. And yes, it is terrible how VCAA can do this to science based students, but unfortunately we don't have much control over that. Accept this as a lost, and try better for the next one. Just remember that this year is probably the last time you will do english, so keep that in mind.

Congratulations on completing your SAC, you should be proud of yourself!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on March 11, 2020, 04:46:10 pm
Hey whys,
Just wanted to say that you totally have the right to vent and I know how much it sucks to come out of a sac feeling that all your hard work was for nothing. It's hard now but we all know you won't give up and of course, you can still hit that 99 atar  ;D I know you already know, but it's worth just a small tiny amount of the entire study score. Have some relaxing time and don't beat yourself up too much.

That probably doesn't help in the slightest, but remember how hard last year's subjects were (aka psych) and you did incredible anyway  ;D

Spoiler
(plus you never know until you get it back)

All the best for the last two weeks,
CM
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on March 11, 2020, 04:57:36 pm
Hey there whys.
Yeah, I agree with everyone above.

I know that whatever I say may not help, but I'll try anyway. Your goal of a 40+ study score is not gone! It's only one SAC and it's only March and you still have time to improve for your next SACs. Also, the 99 ATAR goal is not ruined! Just because you think you did bad in this SAC, it DOES NOT mean you've failed in that goal! By the way, you've set yourself up really well for getting that 99 ATAR, that is your excellent and amazing Psychology score, so don't even worry about it! And you still have your other subjects to make up for English if it does get really bad later on.

It's normal to feel how you're feeling and yeah, I totally get what you mean with English with it being in our top 4. It also probably won't be useful at all in our life but VCAA has made it compulsory to study and we can't really change and control VCAA and their systems, so it's way better to try do our best even if we passionately hate the subject. Also, about the teacher thing, you should try approach other teachers and they can mark your essay. This way you'll be getting constructive feedback.

It really sucks when we do all the hard work and we come into the SAC and everything just goes wrong but that's just how life is (as cliche as that sounds) and as we go through these painful experiences, we will get stronger and become more persistent and this will ultimately help us achieve what we want! AKA that 40+ English study score.
Nothing is ruined so keep your chin up and look to the sky because anything's possible if you really want to achieve something. No matter how EXTREMELY TERRIFYINGLY hard it is.  :)

Also, congratulations on completing your first English SAC!  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on March 11, 2020, 05:52:01 pm
Hey whys,

It's alright to feel the way you do and I do agree with Choco, Evolio and Geoo.

Everything will be alright. There is no such thing as anything being set in stone till you do the final exam. You can DO IT! You can of course get that 40+! The one thing about the VCAA system is that even if you slip up here and there, it still let's you do well in the end.

You have set yourself out really well already so don't let one thing bring you down. We all know that feeling when you try desperately hard and don't even get a score that's marginally close to what your effort shows.

Keep looking forward. Whatever you do, don't look down. We believe in you. We always will, no matter what happens. Tonight, try to minimise work, fill up on food and get an early night's sleep. 💕

You will be fine and if you ever need a hand, AN here will help you out anyday ❤
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 12, 2020, 03:38:28 pm
Hey guys,

Thanks for the motivation and encouragement! I feel much better and I'm ready to fight English (and win). There's always time to improve! It's important to be positive and optimistic, because you don't achieve anything from crying about things that have already happened. On another note, I really hope our year twelve camp isn't cancelled because of the coronavirus. So far it isn't, but the future is pretty unpredictable.

I don't think I've said this on my journal (or anywhere, for that matter), but I'm a fan of organic chemistry and I despise inorganic chemistry. Which means thermochemistry and electrochemistry can literally leave, thanks. BUT, my amazing chemistry teacher has changed everything! I think chemistry is really interesting now (even the inorganic bits) and I'm really interested in what we are currently learning (thermochem). When we did electrochem at the start of the year, I knew I wouldn't like it. But as classes went by, I found myself more and more intrigued by chemistry. It was originally my least favourite subject, but let's take a look at the stand now:

EDIT; I'll add the positions of the subjects I did last year!
1. Psychology
2. Biology
3. Chemistry
4. Methods
5. Food Studies
6. -
...
100. English

I don't think any subject will overtake biology at any point of time this year. Methods and chem will probably interchange throughout the year. English will always be where it belongs, at the very bottom. I didn't expect to love chem this much! But I guess teachers change everything. A really intelligent teacher who loves what they do AND are amazing at teaching are very rare to come by these days, but these are the types of teachers I have for bio and chem, and I'm very grateful for that. They make classes worth going to (not that I skip other classes, but you know what I mean). I don't think having an amazing teacher in methods would have changed anything for me, apart from the fact that I would have probably been better at the subject. I always will like maths and no teacher can change that for me. I liked English last year; I really did. But now... let's just say that teachers can really change your perspective and your interest in a particular subject!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on March 12, 2020, 04:15:48 pm
Glad to see you're already feeling more positive whys and YES Biology is the BEST!! (curious to see how you'd rate the subjects you did last year against this years subjects?)
I hope your camp goes ahead!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 18, 2020, 04:15:35 pm
small update~

I feel really anxious about all this coronavirus jazz and what that means for VCE students, especially since ScoMo said:
Mr Morrison said if a school was to close today, it would likely not reopen until September at the earliest.
"That means the disruption that would occur from the closure of schools around this country, make no mistake, would be severe."

This just makes me even more worried, because what would that mean for us? Would we end up graduating with the class of 2021 or just suck it up and complete VCE as normal? Because I highly doubt VCAA will do anything substantial about this. I feel scared and alone. I know there are thousands of students out there in the same boat as me, and thousands more who are affected even more. It's such bad timing and luck that the virus comes down the year we're graduating. I understand why school closure is important and will be implemented in the near future, but it makes me worried seeing as it's so unpredictable and no one has any back-up plans. Medicine seems like a goal too far to reach now. Everything seems like a goal too far to reach now.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on March 18, 2020, 04:36:32 pm
I feel really anxious about all this coronavirus jazz and what that means for VCE students, especially since ScoMo said:
Mr Morrison said if a school was to close today, it would likely not reopen until September at the earliest.
"That means the disruption that would occur from the closure of schools around this country, make no mistake, would be severe."

This just makes me even more worried, because what would that mean for us? Would we end up graduating with the class of 2021 or just suck it up and complete VCE as normal? Because I highly doubt VCAA will do anything substantial about this. I feel scared and alone. I know there are thousands of students out there in the same boat as me, and thousands more who are affected even more. It's such bad timing and luck that the virus comes down the year we're graduating. I understand why school closure is important and will be implemented in the near future, but it makes me worried seeing as it's so unpredictable and no one has any back-up plans. Medicine seems like a goal too far to reach now. Everything seems like a goal too far to reach now.
It is 100% okay to feel like this, it's a very scary time. The uncertainty of it all combined with it being our last year really is a cause for anxiety, so your not alone. I already know my school is being affect, but i'm lucky that I am already online. The best thing to do it just keep open communication with your school, and be prepared for anything. They may shut down schools to everyone except year 11's and 12's. Who knows. It will definitely be an odd year but it will work out in the end. I do know that we won't be going to 2021 unless some people would like to repeat year 12, VCAA still hasn't said much so we won't know until then.

Try not to jump to conclusions about medicine yet, there are going to be many people in the same boat as you! I'm sure you will get there. Enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to wash your hands :)!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on March 18, 2020, 05:32:56 pm
I 100% share (like many of us) your anxiety whys! Its totally normal to feel like this. Its a new sitaution we are all in, and unfortunately, we need to adapt to this 'new normal'

Please look after yourself and stay focused. Its so hard not knowing what the future holds, but know that I'm sure we will all be supported somehow, and will get through our final year of school. (eventually)

And stick with your goals! You never know whats going to happen.

 :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: TigerMum on March 18, 2020, 06:30:14 pm
Hey whys,

As a few people have already said, it is totally OK to feel anxious or nervous about the current state of things, I've been feeling the same way as you!
Try to keep in contact with your teachers and email them as much as you need to, I'm sure they'd love to assist you seeing as they aren't teaching at school.
Finally, I have a lot of confidence that you will be able to achieve your goals this year if you stick at it. Your absolutely amazing result last year says you are not only capable but an extremely persistent worker.
Best of luck for the rest of the term, we're all in this together!  :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 21, 2020, 02:14:34 pm
Best of luck for the rest of the term, we're all in this together!  :)
Thank you TigerMum ;D. We'll get through this together.

Please look after yourself and stay focused. Its so hard not knowing what the future holds, but know that I'm sure we will all be supported somehow, and will get through our final year of school. (eventually)
Haha, love the 'eventually'. Who knows when we will graduate? 8)

Try not to jump to conclusions about medicine yet, there are going to be many people in the same boat as you! I'm sure you will get there. Enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to wash your hands :)!
Thanks Geoo! Remember to wash your hands too!

I have a bio SAC on Wednesday! I'm sort of excited, sort of nervous? I still need to get through checkpoints and practice SACs. I hope I can do really well on this SAC! On the negative side, I am so behind in methods and I need to catch up like a whole chapter before Monday since my methods teacher checks homework every week (which really sucks). I also have to write an argument analysis essay for homework, as well as an extra body paragraph. I hope I can get all this done while also studying sufficiently for bio. I'm also curious to see how the next week and term 2 will pan out.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 22, 2020, 11:56:56 am
Hi everyone! There was a really short gap between the previous update and this one, but I'm quite annoyed so I want to type this out haha. In the hypothetical situation that term 2 won't run due to lockdown, my school is letting people do SACs they miss next week at home. This means people aren't going to come to school this week so they can just do the SAC at home and cheat. I'm really really annoyed about this. I understand the people who are staying home as they are sick, etc, but to those who stay home on purpose so they can cheat? That's so unfair. The rankings will be completely messed up. Even though its the exam that matters more, it's still a horrible idea because rankings DO matter. They DO affect your study score. Why can't they just make the people who miss the SAC come to school and do it? There's not going to be like 100+ students so it's easy to distance them, and you only need to supervise them for an hour. I mean, this is all just in the hypothetical situation that schools go into lockdown and term 2 runs online, but I'm still. So. Pissed.

Okay, on a slightly more positive note, I'm feeling quite prepared for the bio SAC! Just gotta catch up on methods and do the English homework. The content in bio is super enjoyable, just like in psych! I think they're almost equal in terms of how much I like the content (but psych trumps bio by just a little bit, haha sorry bio). I'm really keen to start cell signalling and immunity! (We've already started it, but what I mean is properly study it after the SAC is over). DNA manipulation/nucleic acid stuff is cool too, which we'll be doing in term 3, so still gotta wait a while! I haven't even looked at chemistry for over a week, however. I promise I won't neglect you, chem, in the school holidays! :).

Let's get to the UCAT. My practice calendar looks very much like a mosaic (on Medify it shades in the days you've done lots of practice, some practice, little practice and no practice differently) as it's been really on and off. I'll probably end up grinding in the holidays, since the maximum amount of practice I can do for UCAT on school days is around an hour. Any more, and it eats up too much of my time and I fall behind in my other subjects (I'm already behind anyway though). I really want to do a few mock exams in the holidays, so I need to get as much practice as possible to improve! I suck at AR, as always, but all the other sections are going great. 14 seconds per question is just not enough for me, I need a minimum of a minute to fully work out the pattern, which really sucks, so I'm only really expecting like a 400-500 scaled score for that section (which is really bad, but what can I do?) :'(. I'll keep trying my best and hope that I can magically improve in AR.

I hope everyone has a great week, and hang in there, the school holidays are almost here!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on March 22, 2020, 12:49:22 pm
Hey whys! ;D

In the hypothetical situation that term 2 won't run due to lockdown, my school is letting people do SACs they miss next week at home. This means people aren't going to come to school this week so they can just do the SAC at home and cheat. I'm really really annoyed about this. I understand the people who are staying home as they are sick, etc, but to those who stay home on purpose so they can cheat? That's so unfair. The rankings will be completely messed up.

This is seriously messed up! How on earth are they going to do authentication checks and 100% make sure that no one is cheating? Doesn't that just ruin the whole point of a SAC in the first place? I would be annoyed with this too because they mean so much, even when it comes to the final exam. They might have to change the SACs to instead of being a test like SAC to an assignment based type because there is no way they can make sure everyone is being honest.

On the other hand, it's amazing to hear you feel confident for your Bio SAC!! ;D  Good luck and I'm sure you will do an amazing job!
Also, love the progress you are making with your UCAT practise~ You are doing a beautiful job already and everything will pay off.

Thanks for updating whys and I hope to see another one soon~ ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on March 22, 2020, 01:35:45 pm
Hi whys,
I agree with Ash, that's actually ridiculous and defeats the purpose of SACs. Hopefully it doesn't have to come to that but if it does, I'm sure you can bring it up with your school, surely they realise people will cheat.

I'm glad you are enjoying bio and I'm sure you'll smash the sac! Also, I always feel inspired when I hear the work that you are putting into the UCAT and I promise that it will totally be worth it in the end!!
Enjoy the final week  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on March 22, 2020, 01:45:13 pm
Ok, so I am going to go against the grain and say that doing the SACs at home isn't really that bad. I have been doing my SACs at home for years at VSV, and it is quite a common practice with Distance ed students and other types of online schools all over Australia. I mean, there is this guy in my English class who is doing his VCE via VSV in south Africa, where he gets his SAC sent to him via email (his parents get it).
There are certain measures in place, such as the SAC is given or emailed to their supervisor (generally a parent), and it is there responsibility to ensure that the SAC is done correctly. It gets two authentication signatures and then that's it.

I am not saying that there won't be any cheating, there are always going to be those people that do it, but it is a system that has been done for many years, and it all really comes down to the exam. I like to think of it as even if you cheated and looked at your textbook or got extra time, you still need to know what you are doing in order to do well in the SACs, so I really don't think it is that big of a deal.

This is just my two cents though, and your frustration is valid.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 25, 2020, 06:24:24 pm
Thanks ashmi and CM! Also, thanks for the input Geoo. I'm not as mad anymore - I guess the school really has no other option except for doing those SACs at home. People could cheat, but it's beyond our control.

Howdy, friends! It's day 2 of quarantine holidays and I really needed the break! I basically have done nothing the past few days, and I'm not sorry (despite that pile of schoolwork that's getting bigger and bigger...). I also have some good news: I seem to be improving (slowly) at AR! Maybe I can bring my score up to at least a scaled 600-700 by exam time (if the UCAT even happens this year). I've been pretty slack with everything, but I guess that's to be expected during the holidays? At least I'm not playing hours of video games like I was last year :o.

I'm going to continue preparing for the bio SAC throughout the holidays, as well as work on my argument analysis skills for the next SAC. I also need to catch up with chemistry, which is the worst at the moment because it's the subject I'm most behind in. I really want to get ahead in all my subjects before term 2 because I hate being behind. Since I can't really go out, unless it's for groceries or something like that, I'm trying to make the most out of each day. I've been going walking every day around the lake in front of my house and hopefully, I can keep doing this and not be a lazy potato like I usually am. I also tried to be healthy, but I gave up on that because it's never going to work haha.

I started drawing today! I made some swatches with ink washes (I use Winsor and Newton) and started experimenting. I didn't start a piece yet - I'm still getting into the groove since it's been so long since I've drawn anything. I'm a bit rusty! I hope I'll have a piece finished by the end of this week. I'm also planning a painting on this really big canvas we have at home that my mum's been telling me to paint on for ages so she can hang it in the living room. So, these holidays I'll finally get to that! One more productive thing I did today - I cleaned my study! It was super messy before, with papers flying everywhere and stationary scattered around the room. I didn't have anything organised so I couldn't find anything. Now, it's so much better! I can actually go and get my chem databook if I need it, since I now know where it is!

How are everyone's holidays going?
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: J_Rho on March 25, 2020, 06:33:46 pm
Thanks ashmi and CM! Also, thanks for the input Geoo. I'm not as mad anymore - I guess the school really has no other option except for doing those SACs at home. People could cheat, but it's beyond our control.

Howdy, friends! It's day 2 of quarantine holidays and I really needed the break! I basically have done nothing the past few days, and I'm not sorry (despite that pile of schoolwork that's getting bigger and bigger...). I also have some good news: I seem to be improving (slowly) at AR! Maybe I can bring my score up to at least a scaled 600-700 by exam time (if the UCAT even happens this year). I've been pretty slack with everything, but I guess that's to be expected during the holidays? At least I'm not playing hours of video games like I was last year :o.

I'm going to continue preparing for the bio SAC throughout the holidays, as well as work on my argument analysis skills for the next SAC. I also need to catch up with chemistry, which is the worst at the moment because it's the subject I'm most behind in. I really want to get ahead in all my subjects before term 2 because I hate being behind. Since I can't really go out, unless it's for groceries or something like that, I'm trying to make the most out of each day. I've been going walking every day around the lake in front of my house and hopefully, I can keep doing this and not be a lazy potato like I usually am. I also tried to be healthy, but I gave up on that because it's never going to work haha.

I started drawing today! I made some swatches with ink washes (I use Winsor and Newton) and started experimenting. I didn't start a piece yet - I'm still getting into the groove since it's been so long since I've drawn anything. I'm a bit rusty! I hope I'll have a piece finished by the end of this week. I'm also planning a painting on this really big canvas we have at home that my mum's been telling me to paint on for ages so she can hang it in the living room. So, these holidays I'll finally get to that! One more productive thing I did today - I cleaned my study! It was super messy before, with papers flying everywhere and stationary scattered around the room. I didn't have anything organised so I couldn't find anything. Now, it's so much better! I can actually go and get my chem databook if I need it, since I now know where it is!

How are everyone's holidays going?

It sounds like you've had a real good start to the holidays! I've been the same, I haven't done like anything yet but unlike you, I don't want to be on holidays although it's a great chance to make sure you've done everything you need to and get ahead! Do you have any tips for Psych????
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 25, 2020, 06:53:33 pm
It sounds like you've had a real good start to the holidays! I've been the same, I haven't done like anything yet but unlike you, I don't want to be on holidays although it's a great chance to make sure you've done everything you need to and get ahead! Do you have any tips for Psych????

Ahh,,, the good old days of psych! I really miss those days :'(. Psych is a really enjoyable subject, especially because you can apply all the content you learn to everything happening around you! Sometimes, I'd just be sitting on the couch with my hot chocolate when my mind would wander off to think about the sensory receptors in my fingers sensing the warm mug, and sending it to my brain via afferent pathways! Yes - I am weird like that. But I really encourage you to apply psych to real life! You're so much more likely to remember the content this way as well. Another tip is to learn to write concisely - I'd often ramble on about things I didn't need to, which caused my answer to go up to 4 lines, when all I needed was 2 lines for the marks. Your examiner doesn't want to sit there sifting through the crap you wrote to find where the actual answer is, so simplify it for them. I even recommend underlining certain words/phrases, which I didn't do on the exam, but I did it on my SACs to make it easier for my teacher to identify that I'd included everything I needed for the marks. I also don't recommend you write in dot points, because students often forget simple things like a comparison word between two statements (e.g. whereas). If the question asks to 'compare' or 'differentiate', then you won't get full marks if you don't include this word despite including all the other information you need. I also went to the ATAR Notes lectures for revision, which was a much more productive way to use my time than sleeping at home. I'd also recommend giving your teacher multiple 10 markers in the lead up to the exam for them to mark. I only gave my teacher a few throughout the whole year (my bad!) but I was really effective in marking my own anyway, and I'd send them to my friends so we could mark each others' response.

This leads to my other tip: study groups! I had two different study groups for psych and it was really useful. Before each SAC, I'd go through all the content with one of my study groups by asking each other questions from the content. It's really important to apply the content in scenarios, rather than simple questions like 'what is the role of myelin?', because these don't test your ability to apply information to a certain question. I also recommend that you make your own notes. I did buy the A+ notes, but I didn't use them at all because I believe notes are pretty much useless. The whole point of making notes is the process of compiling all that information, which helps you remember the info. I never really looked at my notes after making them, except if I needed to check something for clarification. I typed all my notes, but this was a personal preference. Some people like typing them, and some people like writing them out. It's really up to you!

Psych is all about practice. Input = output. Do as many practice questions as you can, and mark them. Mark them really harshly. It doesn't matter if you get only x% on your first practice SAC. If you neglect marking your SACs harshly, then you aren't learning from them and there was no point in doing the practice SAC anyways. I kept an excel document of all my practice SACs, exams and actual SACs. I'd have the marks I got, and all the mistakes I made. I'd look over them many times before an assessment/the exam was coming up so I wouldn't make the same mistakes again. My last piece of advice is to compile all the questions you got wrong/didn't know the answer to. For me, this included questions from the textbook (I did all of them), the workbook, practice SACs, SACs, any additional question books you may have, practice exams and any questions you asked your teacher. This is a really neat way to ensure you know everything you didn't know before. I don't think I could have gotten a 50 without this one tip! Also, please, please ask your teacher lots of questions! I'd ask my teacher at least 5 questions per lesson. It doesn't have to be this extreme, but asking questions is a great way to consolidate anything you don't know or need extra clarification for. It also helps solidify your knowledge. If you don't have any questions to ask, it's because you haven't gone into the content deep enough!

I really hoped the above dump of words helps in some way haha. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask away!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on March 25, 2020, 06:57:11 pm
Glad your enjoying the holidays whys! Seems like you've had a great start  :D

Ooooo some drawing! Would love to see some pics soon if you're willing to share!

Enjoy the rest of your week .
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on March 25, 2020, 07:23:57 pm
Hey whys!  ;D
That's really good that you're improving in Abstract Reasoning! Good for you!  :D I really need to be doing more UCAT practise and timed as well. Do you have any tips with timed?

Oh cool about the drawing! What do you usually draw?

Have a great holidays!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 25, 2020, 07:39:22 pm
Ooooo some drawing! Would love to see some pics soon if you're willing to share!
I'll definitely send some once I finish something!

Hey whys!  ;D
That's really good that you're improving in Abstract Reasoning! Good for you!  :D I really need to be doing more UCAT practise and timed as well. Do you have any tips with timed?

Oh cool about the drawing! What do you usually draw?
My biggest tip for timed is probably to not do timed. I think it's important to build on accuracy first. Once you are consistently getting questions right, then start on timed. Usually what happens is people start trying to build up their speed before working on accuracy, which I don't think is as effective as nailing accuracy first and working on speed second. I think this really helped me get more questions right, rather than jumping into timed, only doing 90% of the questions, and only getting 60% of those questions correct.

I like drawing animals! Their anatomy, movement and behaviour are very interesting and fun to replicate on paper. I also suck at drawing humans :P.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: JR_StudyEd on March 26, 2020, 01:34:11 am
How's it going, whys?

I'm a former VCE psych student (and a current uni psych student haha), and I have to congratulate you on your impressive scores from last year! A quick look at your subjects, and I've just found out your subject selection is very similar to mine. Love your tips, and your passion for the subject! I do have a question that may benefit the current psych students in the room, have you got any pointers/tips for the research methods portion of the VCE psych course? I don't know if you found it really dry or actually somehow tolerated it. I ask because I found research methods to be almost certainly the most tedious part of the VCE course, and now that I'm in uni, with a LOT (and I mean a LOT) more readings to complete, the dryness of research methods isn't going away, sadly. It would be nice to get some perspective from someone who loved VCE psych even more than I did!

I know it's weird being on a Year 12 student's journal as a first-year uni student, but I still think research methods is a part of the course that is slightly more neglected, which may explain its dryness (to me, at least).
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 26, 2020, 02:17:23 am
How's it going, whys?

I'm a former VCE psych student (and a current uni psych student haha), and I have to congratulate you on your impressive scores from last year! A quick look at your subjects, and I've just found out your subject selection is very similar to mine. Love your tips, and your passion for the subject! I do have a question that may benefit the current psych students in the room, have you got any pointers/tips for the research methods portion of the VCE psych course? I don't know if you found it really dry or actually somehow tolerated it. I ask because I found research methods to be almost certainly the most tedious part of the VCE course, and now that I'm in uni, with a LOT (and I mean a LOT) more readings to complete, the dryness of research methods isn't going away, sadly. It would be nice to get some perspective from someone who loved VCE psych even more than I did!

I know it's weird being on a Year 12 student's journal as a first-year uni student, but I still think research methods is a part of the course that is slightly more neglected, which may explain its dryness (to me, at least).
Hi~
Yay, another psych lover! And it's not weird haha, I really appreciate that you took some time to read my journal - uni students bring a whole different perspective! I hope uni psych is treating you well.

I definitely agree that research methods is one of the least interesting parts of the VCE course, and I can imagine there's even more of it in uni. I think that because students often neglect research methods (I can't blame them!), there's a higher likelihood of doing 'worse' on the exam/on SACs, since VCAA makes scientific research/research methods a pretty large part of all science subjects. Even if you have a sound understanding of all the other dot points on the study design, it's still really important to understand research methods - this is to all the VCE psych students out there! When I did 1/2 psych, I didn't really pay much attention to research methods. I put effort into making notes and whatnot, but stopped there. I had a really superficial understanding of RM and refused to do any practice questions because I like to set myself up for procrastination :P. Fast forward to 3/4 psych, I realised that I really needed to work on RM if I wanted to do well. My teacher gave us a lot of practice for RM at the start of the year (about 1-2 weeks for only RM) but then we never touched it again. I never did any 'extra' work for RM, but I tried not to neglect it. Doing practice questions is one of the most beneficial ways to get around RM, since there's an emphasis on wording and phrasing to get full marks.

I never found RM particularly interesting, but I didn't exactly hate it either. I just got it over and done with so I could focus on the content, then solidified my knowledge with practice questions before each SAC. RM was integrated into many questions, so by exposing yourself to many practice questions, you will have the upper hand in knowing how to answer those questions. I don't really think there's a short way around learning RM thoroughly. I don't really think this applies to uni though, since I'm under the impression that you guys don't get many practice exams/questions as VCE? Is research methods a big part of uni psych? In VCE, I just got it done and closed the book so I could spend time on actual content, but I doubt that's possible in uni, since it seems like research methods is ~everywhere~ there. However, I guess everyone hates/likes aspects of a certain subject/course, and the only thing we can do is get through it.

I also find that many people who don't like RM haven't really gone into learning it thoroughly. This is exactly how I felt before I went out of my way to learn about research methods. I contacted an Australian researcher with my friend in 1/2 psych who had done an experiment with mice with induced schizophrenia symptoms and something to do with NMDA receptors (I can't remember what exactly it was). Learning about their process was really insightful for me - I really appreciate those who do hours of research so we can learn the things we do today! I guess you could say I sort of learnt to respect the part of psych that is RM - it may be boring, but it's an essential part of learning new and interesting theories and models, or testing ones that already exist. Seeing it in this way helped me appreciate RM more, which helped me push through that part of the course. I understand why many students take one look at RM, go 'nope' and don't look at it ever again. However, approaching RM in a new light may help you get into the groove, which puts you miles ahead in VCE since many people neglect RM severely (not sure about uni, does everyone there hate RM too?).

RM was the most tedious part of the course for me, but changing the way I approached it made it more tolerable, and by the end of the year I didn't mind it at all. You could almost say that I started enjoying it. :D

I really hope my insight helped a little, and to all the VCE psych students out there: don't despair! Get RM done and dusted so you can get to the more interesting content! ;)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: J_Rho on March 29, 2020, 10:34:18 am
I really hoped the above dump of words helps in some way haha. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask away!

Yes! It was helpful!
How did you study for it? How did you take notes, did you use flashcards etc?
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on March 29, 2020, 02:08:58 pm
Yes! It was helpful!
How did you study for it? How did you take notes, did you use flashcards etc?

I type my notes on onenote, but it might not work for everyone. I suggest experimenting to find the notetaking style that works for you. I made around 100-ish flashcards with all the questions I got wrong, and went through them before SACs.

EDIT: I'll add a little update in here.
We got our chem SACs back a while ago, and when I saw my score I went like
(https://media3.giphy.com/media/U4XP86hPyfy29A9tbl/giphy.gif)

So yeah, that was a nice surprise. I really did not expect to do well, I honestly don't know what I was writing and still ended up with apparently the highest score (I say apparently because this is speculation from all the scores we know so far). I'm not really fussed with chem, I'll be really happy if I'm in the top 15 in terms of ranking, since everyone is (un)fortunately smart. I'm aiming for top 3 for bio though, which would be nice. I don't know what rank I was for psych, but I think I was in the top 10 somewhere (I know I wasn't rank 1, since my friend was rank 1, and I think the other person who got 50 was also higher in rank than me) so I know you don't need to be in the highest rankings to do well, but I've still got my fingers crossed for bio. The only thing I'm dreading right now is getting back my English SAC... I hope it never comes.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on March 29, 2020, 04:28:13 pm
Congratulations whys! That's amazing!  ;D  ;D
So happy for you!   ;D Yay!

Also, about your english sac, don't worry about it! Enjoy your achievement for now and don't dwell on what could be!


Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on March 29, 2020, 05:08:27 pm
YES whys, congratulations! You deserved it (it's always such a nice surprise to do better than you thought you did!)

Enjoy the holidays and all the best for bio and english  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: TigerMum on March 29, 2020, 06:04:43 pm
Congrats whys!! I'm so happy for you!  :)

Don't worry too much about your English SAC, I'm sure you did better than you think, but even if it isn't exactly what you're looking for, remember it isn't the be all and end all; you'll have plenty of other opportunities to do well in the future.

Hope you have a relaxing break!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on March 29, 2020, 07:53:28 pm
whys I'm so so proud of you!! ;D ;D Literally just reread the new updated post and my LORD SO PROUD OF YOU

Congrats for doing so well! All your effort is paying off nicely and go give yourself a pat on the back. It's an amazing feeling knowing that you did much better than expected :D.

Don't worry too much about the English SAC, rather try think of the future!! ;) Take a nice deserved break these holidays~
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on April 03, 2020, 01:35:09 pm
Thank you everyone! ;D

Holiday update!
Stuff that has happened in the past week:
- I finally finished The Good Place
- I cooked stuff (churros and Asian sesame chicken and others)
- I have officially started to use a 2020 dairy so I can write down what I need to do
- I have completed over 3000 UCAT practice questions!

Goals for the end of the holidays:
- Reread + annotate comparative texts for English
- Use all resources for AOS 1 for bio
- Get up to date with chem
- Get ahead in methods
- Write at least 5 AA essays
- Complete 5000 UCAT practice questions
^I know I won't finish all this but it's nice to have goals anyway haha

I currently have the worst sleep schedule where I sleep at like 1-3am and wake up at ~12pm, which really sucks since I waste the entire morning sleeping and the entire night on Netflix or Youtube. Is it just me or do these holidays feel like the long summer holidays? No? Just me maybe 8)

Looking at everyone else and all the productive stuff they do makes me feel guilty for not studying, because I know I should be but I can't push myself to (which is not a good thing!). I need to learn to take year 12 more seriously. That started when I uninstalled league from my laptop at the end of last year. That game cost me so much... I used to play it for hours over the weekends and on the holidays in year 11, which compromised my scores, so I vowed to never play it again (for this year). I guess that's a first step? Sometimes I really don't feel like studying and just end up lying on my bed and doing nothing. I can't go out either (no one can) which feels really confining. I'm a people person and seeing no one except family can get claustrophobic, if that makes sense! I spend lots of time with my family to ease that feeling, but it's not the same as going outside.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on April 04, 2020, 12:19:02 pm
Yes, the Good Place is amazing!  :) Did you like it?

WOWOW! 3000 questions! That's amazing whys! I've only completed like 1000 or so, so you're giving me motivation to do way more questions every day!  ;D


Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on April 04, 2020, 12:48:32 pm
Yes, the Good Place is amazing!  :) Did you like it?

WOWOW! 3000 questions! That's amazing whys! I've only completed like 1000 or so, so you're giving me motivation to do way more questions every day!  ;D

YES! It was really funny and a light-hearted time-pass during the holidays. I'm glad I chose to watch it (despite being like 3 months late oops).

I'm glad I could motivate you! :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on April 12, 2020, 02:38:53 pm
Happy Easter everyone! I hope everyone has had a restful and rejuvenating holiday so far. I don't celebrate Easter, but we do hold an annual Easter egg hunt. We didn't have eggs and my parents didn't want to go out to get them, so we made do with hiding normal chocolates instead. As always, I won, but we always split the chocolates in the end anyway haha (otherwise my sister would be mad because she always finds less than me). Anyways, onto subject updates:

English
Okay, so I really, really enjoy argument analysis! I still have so much to improve on, but I can see the improvement with every essay I write. It's definitely so much more fun than the dreadful text response, which I can confidently say is my least favourite, along with comparative (which is bad because they make up 2/3 of our exam score). I haven't done too much for English, and I've only written 4 essays over the holidays and done nothing else. I want to finish off my text response notes and argument analysis notes before term starts. Luckily, English doesn't have pages and pages of content to write about, so my notes are very selective and include things I want to use in my essays. Our principal released a notice that confirmed there will be fewer SACs this year though, which is very worrying to me because I did horribly in the first SAC and was relying on the other SACs to save my study score... I can't help overthinking this and it really sucks that the coronavirus just had to come now.

Chemistry
Okay, I'm really, very, super behind for chem (NOT an exaggeration). I have so much to do, which I idealistically hope I'll finish within the following week. The concepts aren't necessarily difficult, but I haven't practised any of them at all, apart from the time we used in class to practise. I'm looking at the optimistic side of online school - I'll have no travel time at all, so I'll have so much more time to study than usual. I want to use this time to spam practice questions and do as much as I can, not just for chem, but all my subjects. With our exams also being pushed back, we have even more time. Hopefully, I can bring up my productivity level to at least 50% haha, while I battle with procrastination on the side.

Biology
I think biology is the only subject going remotely well. I'm so ready to do the SAC but I don't even know if the SAC will happen or we're just going to have SAC after SAC when we get back to normal school. I'm kind of bored over constantly revising AOS 1, but I'm afraid I'll forget it all before the SAC so I force myself to do it anyways. I need to get a start on writing notes and doing questions for AOS 2, which we have already partially covered at school last term. Biology is really fun and a good break from my other subjects, and it reminds me of psych (a little bit). I want to try my best and get that raw 50 get at least 45.

Methods
There really isn't anything to say about methods. I'm not wanting an amazing study score in this subject - I'd be alright with 39-42-ish. The content is pretty straightforward, but sometimes I struggle to get my head around some of the harder application questions, but with more practice I'm sure this will improve. I just need to get around to practising... I've finished all my methods holiday homework - I just need to mark my tech-free and tech-able practice SACs and get ahead of the class. I want to finish the textbook questions as soon as possible so I can just focus on checkpoints/practice SACs/exams earlier in the year, since it sort of sucks doing textbook questions when I know I could be doing interesting exam questions.

Oh yeah, the UCAT is a thing. I don't think it will be affected by the coronavirus because you can easily implement social distancing measures (I think), since there's probably only ~15 students at a testing centre at a particular time. Remember when I said abstract reasoning was going to my worst score on the UCAT, and I hated it so much? Well, that has changed. It's now my favourite section and I usually finish with a few minutes to spare so I can go through any patterns I couldn't figure out in the ~40 seconds I allocate to each pattern. I haven't practised VR in a loooong time, but I consistently score in the 30s for that like always and I have no idea how to get into the 40s. I would cry with joy if I ever got 40-44/44 on that subsection in the actual exam. I used to be really good at decision making and I'd usually get like 23-25/29 questions right with some partially correct, but because I haven't practised DM in a long time too, my scores have dropped (rip whys). I think with some more consistent practice I'd probably regain my footing, but I don't know. SJT is always the same, it's not a hard section and it barely counts when they select you for interviews anyway so I'm not fussed about it. Let's go to QR, though. I've never been bad at maths, in fact, I'd go so far as to say I'm pretty good at maths. But this subsection destroys me every time. I can't get the calculations done in time, and the annoying simplicity of the calculator makes me want to bang my head into the wall. It takes me way too long to do the questions, and I don't even get all of them correct anyway, which puts me smack-bang at a scaled score of 650. I don't even know what to do anymore haha. Do I just keep practising and hope I get better..? I don't know, but if I somehow magically do really well in the other subsections then QR won't matter as much if I get an average score in the real thing.

Quote from: The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: w0lfqu33n89 on April 13, 2020, 06:55:27 pm
Happy Easter to you to whys!
hope your doing well and don't worry I'm sure procrastination is the other virus going around atm! (im suffering from it too mines a common case of NETFLIX!)

We are opposites when it comes to English I can happily do a text response and comparative, but if language analysis was a person we would be quite big enemies! haha

With biology (im doing year 12 bio as well!) We aren't doing a SAC I dont think, but luckily enough most of the content we cover for term 2 can be easily done and learnt at home. Just gotta remember the inputs and outputs of cellular respiration which I very much need to conquer quickly! haha

Dont do or understand methods and Chem but all the best with everything. Im sure when Wednesday comes around and we get the hang of online school our routines and drive for school will come back!

- Lex :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on April 17, 2020, 04:46:28 pm
-
Yes procrastination is definitely the other virus! Good luck with bio, English and your other subjects :)

Okay so 2 days of online school is over and I'm so glad! I already need a break. There are pros and cons to this new learning style, but overall I have to say I much prefer actually going to school. I really miss the social aspect and I find it easier to learn at school than at home, but I've adapted to online learning and I'm finding I have so much more time on my hands. As there's no travel time, I have the leisure to do whatever I want (study or not study-related) without it eating a big chunk of my time.

The horror of VCAA potentially shortening the study designs and making fewer SACs for unit 4 is stressing me out, contrary to what they wanted (less stress). This is because removing SACs means each SAC is worth more and contributes more to your study score, so it's so much more difficult to redeem yourself from a bad SAC. I guess there's nothing I can do except plough forward, do my best, and hope it all pays off in the end. I wish I was younger when this happened haha then I wouldn't have to worry about the impact on my VCE, etc.

My school is still doing SACs, except they aren't called SACs anymore (the school refuses to since they aren't technically SACs, even though they do contribute towards our study score in probably the same way). They are strictly timed through the features of teams and I'm SO glad we are finally doing the bio SAC! I have been waiting for ages to do this SAC, I am so excited because I love bio haha. My friends think I'm crazy for being excited to do a SAC, but honestly bio is my favourite subject (equivalent to psych!!!) and I wouldn't mind doing anything for this subject. Everything is basically progressing like normal, and we are still following our normal SAC calendars. My school is very communicative, even more so with this online stuff, so I keep getting bombarded by VCAA's updates on how they will be running stuff, advice for VCE students, and general advice if you're stressed/need help. All my teachers have been very supportive and have asked us to reach out if we are feeling stressed so they can talk to us to help us out :). I love having video calls with my teachers because we get to see their pets! And their kids haha. All in all, for me the transition has been quite smooth but the stress of SACs is always at the back of my mind.

We still have parent-teacher interviews (online). I've tried establishing some sense of normalcy during these times by video calling my friends during lunch and recess, and I've been in contact with many people using online methods in these times, which I am very grateful for. I'm glad exams have been pushed back till December - the one decision I wholly agree with. With all my subjects, teaching has been going on as normal except biology, where we have a focus on more self-directed learning methods without the teachers constantly talking at us, which I really appreciate. We're all still in call during bio periods, so if we have any questions we can just shout out and the teachers will answer them. It's obviously no substitute for the classroom, but it does still feel like school, which I like. We tried to have our routine ANZAC assembly - didn't work because there was a limit to the number of people that could enter the call (our principal couldn't enter the call because it was full lol). We're running it again next week and the school wisely decided to unlock call features that allow a large number of people in one meeting, which is good because we can still have whole school assemblies.

I was going to do subject updates but the update is already getting a bit long, so I'll stop here.

I hope everyone is transitioning well and that you're staying safe :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on April 22, 2020, 05:03:54 pm
Biology SAC
My first online SAC! First of all, I would like to say that I am so, so glad that we finally got this done and out of the way. This SAC was for AOS 1 and was scheduled to be in term 1 (but then due to coronavirus, they gave us early holidays) but then was cancelled. Don't get me wrong - biology is great and I love the subject, but I'm not kidding when I say that my dreams for the last few weeks have sometimes been of megacities ruled by giant chloroplasts and mitochondria, or me being stuck in a channel protein in the plasma membrane. I am so glad I can stop thinking about this area of study and completely move on.

With regards to the online thing, the start was delayed a little because it took ~10 minutes for the SAC to upload. We did the SAC on teams. It was given to us an assignment with a certain time limit (if you submitted it after the time limit, it would be labelled as late and you'd get 0 because you went overtime). It was just the normal test format - short answer questions that needed to be answered within a certain time limit. There was no video call, no need for parents to 'supervise' us - and I am very grateful that our teachers trust us with this. There is a meme in my school that's like 'you're in an adult learning environment' - something all the teachers + the principal say since year 9. I think I've just made my school very identifiable to anyone who goes to my school or knows about it well, so I hope I can still remain anonymous. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that they always put the onus on us and they trust us a lot - thank you teachers!

But what about cheating? Well, of the small portion of students that would have cheated, I barely think it matters. They can cheat all they want but at the end of the day, I doubt they still would have done well since the SAC was mostly based on application of skills and there were no questions where you could just directly quote a definition or explanation. You needed to have actually studied to have done well! ;D. And anyway, who'll be in the better position come exam time - the people who made mistakes and learnt from their SACs, or the people who cheated their way through? When we go back to school and their SAC scores plummet down during in-school SACs, the teachers will know something is up and follow up the authenticity of their work on the online SAC(s). Also, we have to sign an authentication form, as do our parents, that we completed the SAC honestly and all work was our own with no external assistance - I would feel extremely horrible about myself if I lied on that haha. Just the very aspect of cheating makes me feel horrible.

OKAY onto the actual SAC! I didn't expect the questions on there - they were very different from the ones I had seen previously from practice questions, but that just means I get to learn from this experience! Altogether, I think I went alright, although I think I lost a couple of marks for making silly mistakes (which I am SO mad about omg). Making silly mistakes is the worst feeling in the world because you know you could have avoided them. For example, I forgot to write that oxygen is a by-product of the light-dependent stage even though this is a very obvious thing and a basic fact that anyone doing bio would know. I'll try not to dwell on these negative aspects, but yeah. I know I could have done better, but it's not like I did bad, if that makes sense. I also had a nap right after the SAC, and I woke up to a dream where I opened the results for my study scores and it said I got a 0 study score for bio... I totally freaked out haha. Is it just me, or do you guys think your dreams are real for the first 10 minutes after waking up? I feel like it's just me - it takes me a while to realise that the dream was not a part of reality (no matter how crazy and fantastical they are). But yeah, quite a disheartening dream to have after a SAC :(

I did not want to make this update only about my biology SAC, but I just realised that I have nothing else to say. I hope everyone is adjusting to online school/uni/life. Have a nice evening! 8)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Stormbreaker-X on April 22, 2020, 05:23:31 pm
Hey guys how are you?
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on April 22, 2020, 05:31:18 pm
Biology SAC
My first online SAC! First of all, I would like to say that I am so, so glad that we finally got this done and out of the way. This SAC was for AOS 1 and was scheduled to be in term 1 (but then due to coronavirus, they gave us early holidays) but then was cancelled. Don't get me wrong - biology is great and I love the subject, but I'm not kidding when I say that my dreams for the last few weeks have sometimes been of megacities ruled by giant chloroplasts and mitochondria, or me being stuck in a channel protein in the plasma membrane. I am so glad I can stop thinking about this area of study and completely move on.

Haha this made me laugh!

Biology SAC
With regards to the online thing, the start was delayed a little because it took ~10 minutes for the SAC to upload. We did the SAC on teams. It was given to us an assignment with a certain time limit (if you submitted it after the time limit, it would be labelled as late and you'd get 0 because you went overtime). It was just the normal test format - short answer questions that needed to be answered within a certain time limit. There was no video call, no need for parents to 'supervise' us - and I am very grateful that our teachers trust us with this. There is a meme in my school that's like 'you're in an adult learning environment' - something all the teachers + the principal say since year 9. I think I've just made my school very identifiable to anyone who goes to my school or knows about it well, so I hope I can still remain anonymous. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that they always put the onus on us and they trust us a lot - thank you teachers!

But what about cheating? Well, of the small portion of students that would have cheated, I barely think it matters. They can cheat all they want but at the end of the day, I doubt they still would have done well since the SAC was mostly based on application of skills and there were no questions where you could just directly quote a definition or explanation. You needed to have actually studied to have done well! ;D. And anyway, who'll be in the better position come exam time - the people who made mistakes and learnt from their SACs, or the people who cheated their way through? When we go back to school and their SAC scores plummet down during in-school SACs, the teachers will know something is up and follow up the authenticity of their work on the online SAC(s). Also, we have to sign an authentication form, as do our parents, that we completed the SAC honestly and all work was our own with no external assistance - I would feel extremely horrible about myself if I lied on that haha. Just the very aspect of cheating makes me feel horrible.

It's really good that you have a cohort that you trust whys and I love your attitude towards this :)

OKAY onto the actual SAC! I didn't expect the questions on there - they were very different from the ones I had seen previously from practice questions, but that just means I get to learn from this experience! Altogether, I think I went alright, although I think I lost a couple of marks for making silly mistakes (which I am SO mad about omg). Making silly mistakes is the worst feeling in the world because you know you could have avoided them. For example, I forgot to write that oxygen is a by-product of the light-dependent stage even though this is a very obvious thing and a basic fact that anyone doing bio would know. I'll try not to dwell on these negative aspects, but yeah. I know I could have done better, but it's not like I did bad, if that makes sense. I also had a nap right after the SAC, and I woke up to a dream where I opened the results for my study scores and it said I got a 0 study score for bio... I totally freaked out haha. Is it just me, or do you guys think your dreams are real for the first 10 minutes after waking up? I feel like it's just me - it takes me a while to realise that the dream was not a part of reality (no matter how crazy and fantastical they are). But yeah, quite a disheartening dream to have after a SAC :(

I did not want to make this update only about my biology SAC, but I just realised that I have nothing else to say. I hope everyone is adjusting to online school/uni/life. Have a nice evening! 8)

I feel you about silly mistakes in test conditions, but don't worry, they will have little impact on your final result.

Also yes, dreams feel so real once you wake up, like you can feel the emotions weighing you down even though you know it's not real! But believe me, you are going to ace bio and you certainly won't get a 0 (I'm not sure if this is even possible haha).

Anyway CONGRATS on finishing your first online sac (you definitely deserved that nap)! We're all proud of you!

EDIT: Congrats on reaching 400 respect too! You're a valuable member of this community and I love reading your entries  8)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ThunderDragon on April 22, 2020, 05:42:57 pm
Biology SAC
My first online SAC! First of all, I would like to say that I am so, so glad that we finally got this done and out of the way. This SAC was for AOS 1 and was scheduled to be in term 1 (but then due to coronavirus, they gave us early holidays) but then was cancelled. Don't get me wrong - biology is great and I love the subject, but I'm not kidding when I say that my dreams for the last few weeks have sometimes been of megacities ruled by giant chloroplasts and mitochondria, or me being stuck in a channel protein in the plasma membrane. I am so glad I can stop thinking about this area of study and completely move on.

With regards to the online thing, the start was delayed a little because it took ~10 minutes for the SAC to upload. We did the SAC on teams. It was given to us an assignment with a certain time limit (if you submitted it after the time limit, it would be labelled as late and you'd get 0 because you went overtime). It was just the normal test format - short answer questions that needed to be answered within a certain time limit. There was no video call, no need for parents to 'supervise' us - and I am very grateful that our teachers trust us with this. There is a meme in my school that's like 'you're in an adult learning environment' - something all the teachers + the principal say since year 9. I think I've just made my school very identifiable to anyone who goes to my school or knows about it well, so I hope I can still remain anonymous. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that they always put the onus on us and they trust us a lot - thank you teachers!

But what about cheating? Well, of the small portion of students that would have cheated, I barely think it matters. They can cheat all they want but at the end of the day, I doubt they still would have done well since the SAC was mostly based on application of skills and there were no questions where you could just directly quote a definition or explanation. You needed to have actually studied to have done well! ;D. And anyway, who'll be in the better position come exam time - the people who made mistakes and learnt from their SACs, or the people who cheated their way through? When we go back to school and their SAC scores plummet down during in-school SACs, the teachers will know something is up and follow up the authenticity of their work on the online SAC(s). Also, we have to sign an authentication form, as do our parents, that we completed the SAC honestly and all work was our own with no external assistance - I would feel extremely horrible about myself if I lied on that haha. Just the very aspect of cheating makes me feel horrible.

OKAY onto the actual SAC! I didn't expect the questions on there - they were very different from the ones I had seen previously from practice questions, but that just means I get to learn from this experience! Altogether, I think I went alright, although I think I lost a couple of marks for making silly mistakes (which I am SO mad about omg). Making silly mistakes is the worst feeling in the world because you know you could have avoided them. For example, I forgot to write that oxygen is a by-product of the light-dependent stage even though this is a very obvious thing and a basic fact that anyone doing bio would know. I'll try not to dwell on these negative aspects, but yeah. I know I could have done better, but it's not like I did bad, if that makes sense. I also had a nap right after the SAC, and I woke up to a dream where I opened the results for my study scores and it said I got a 0 study score for bio... I totally freaked out haha. Is it just me, or do you guys think your dreams are real for the first 10 minutes after waking up? I feel like it's just me - it takes me a while to realise that the dream was not a part of reality (no matter how crazy and fantastical they are). But yeah, quite a disheartening dream to have after a SAC :(

I did not want to make this update only about my biology SAC, but I just realised that I have nothing else to say. I hope everyone is adjusting to online school/uni/life. Have a nice evening! 8)
You guys are still doing Sacs online? Our school has just decided to postpone Sacs until we come back. Not sure what VCAA is doing lmao
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on April 22, 2020, 06:13:43 pm
Hey hey whys!! ;D

Oh YES IT'S ANOTHER UPDATE

I'm so glad to hear that you went pretty well in the Bio SAC! Give yourself a pat on the back and congrats for finishing your very first online SAC :D. It's also super good to see that your school has trust in you guys and letting you complete the sac without the video calling feature.
Altogether, I think I went alright, although I think I lost a couple of marks for making silly mistakes (which I am SO mad about omg). Making silly mistakes is the worst feeling in the world because you know you could have avoided them. For example, I forgot to write that oxygen is a by-product of the light-dependent stage even though this is a very obvious thing and a basic fact that anyone doing bio would know. I'll try not to dwell on these negative aspects, but yeah. I know I could have done better, but it's not like I did bad, if that makes sense. I also had a nap right after the SAC, and I woke up to a dream where I opened the results for my study scores and it said I got a 0 study score for bio... I totally freaked out haha. Is it just me, or do you guys think your dreams are real for the first 10 minutes after waking up? I feel like it's just me - it takes me a while to realise that the dream was not a part of reality (no matter how crazy and fantastical they are).

If there is one thing we both have in common it's the pain you get once you know you made a whole pack of mistakes that could have been avoided in the first place. And second, for that dream, is it even possible to get a study score of 0?🤣I totally have dreams like these where I wake up and actually believe that it happened till someone snaps me back into reality.
Its fantastic you are going great whys and I hope you enjoy the rest of your week! ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on April 22, 2020, 08:39:55 pm
Hey guys how are you?
Hi Stormbreaker-X! I'm going pretty alright, how are you?

It's really good that you have a cohort that you trust whys and I love your attitude towards this :)
Thanks CM! I'm glad I can trust my cohort (to an extent!) too.

I feel you about silly mistakes in test conditions, but don't worry, they will have little impact on your final result.

Also yes, dreams feel so real once you wake up, like you can feel the emotions weighing you down even though you know it's not real! But believe me, you are going to ace bio and you certainly won't get a 0 (I'm not sure if this is even possible haha). 

EDIT: Congrats on reaching 400 respect too! You're a valuable member of this community and I love reading your entries  8)
Yeah - silly mistakes annoy the crap out of me though and I can't help but feel a little downhearted, but at least there were no questions that I didn't know the answer to - which would be worse. I certainly hope I don't get a 0, and I doubt anyone could get a 0, but dreams don't exactly correlate with reality, do they :o. Also - thank you for the motivation, it means a lot coming from you! (raw 50 bio is only a dream for now!) I'm glad you enjoy reading my (sometimes trashy) entries, and thank you for being a part of my journey ;D

You guys are still doing Sacs online? Our school has just decided to postpone Sacs until we come back. Not sure what VCAA is doing lmao
Unfortunately, VCAA has released no information and have given schools 100% autonomy on the decisions relating to the conduction of SACs, so it depends on your school whether or not you do SACs. Maybe that fact that I called it a 'biology SAC' is misleading though, because my school now calls them assessment tasks as they are not 'SACs' (since they are done at home). I'm just so used to calling anything that counts towards my study score as a SAC! The negative to completely postponing all SACs in term 2 is that when you go back to school, you will be overloaded with SACs (don't stress though - you have plenty of time to study) and there are pros and cons to going either way.

Hey hey whys!! ;D

Oh YES IT'S ANOTHER UPDATE
Hey hey ashmi! ;D

OH YES ASHMI REPLIED AGAIN

If there is one thing we both have in common it's the pain you get once you know you made a whole pack of mistakes that could have been avoided in the first place. And second, for that dream, is it even possible to get a study score of 0?🤣I totally have dreams like these where I wake up and actually believe that it happened till someone snaps me back into reality.
Its fantastic you are going great whys and I hope you enjoy the rest of your week! ;D
Yepp - that pain is the worst pain. Also - no idea! I think it's impossible to get 0, but my dreams are often very weird lol. Yes - that period after a dream when I'm not quite in reality is honestly not a very good time if I had a bad dream. Have a nice week!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ThunderDragon on April 22, 2020, 08:56:41 pm
Unfortunately, VCAA has released no information and have given schools 100% autonomy on the decisions relating to the conduction of SACs, so it depends on your school whether or not you do SACs. Maybe that fact that I called it a 'biology SAC' is misleading though, because my school now calls them assessment tasks as they are not 'SACs' (since they are done at home). I'm just so used to calling anything that counts towards my study score as a SAC! The negative to completely postponing all SACs in term 2 is that when you go back to school, you will be overloaded with SACs (don't stress though - you have plenty of time to study) and there are pros and cons to going either way.
Ah I see. I hope VCAA releases something official cause diff schools doing things differently could be unfair for ppl.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on April 29, 2020, 05:43:53 pm
Ah I see. I hope VCAA releases something official cause diff schools doing things differently could be unfair for ppl.
Agreed.

Hello friends! It's time for a short update :)

Things I have realised in the past week:
- Online schooling isn't good (my eyes hurt at the end of the day, I miss everyone and I feel like I'm not learning anything)
- Online SACs are not as good as they seem
- Despite having more time, I still seem to be behind
- English is bad and I suck at it (this is more of an acknowledgement of how I feel, not a realisation)
- UCAT is meh
- Bio is good
- Chem is good
- Methods is good

I have so many SACs coming up and I want a break already :(. I know English is going to be the bane of my existence this year but I need to keep at it. I got my very ugly SAC mark back from my first English SAC and let's just say that if I don't magically improve in the next few SACs, my ATAR is basically doomed. I need to do so much for this subject. Our teachers aren't marking any of our argument analysis essays until mid-May (if you ask me, this is horrible because I WANT my essays to be marked - how else am I going to know how to improve?!). I feel so alone in this struggle and I've definitely hit a block with English; I could rant about this subject all day. Also, I feel like I haven't learnt ANYTHING. I feel so confined at home despite going outside to exercise, and no matter how long I study for I still feel like I've done nowhere near enough. I don't know about you guys, but my eyes actually hurt haha. What makes this worse is the UCAT since it's a computer-based test, so all my practice for it is online too. I hate staring at the screen for such a long time (i.e. doing a 2 hour mock exam) and I can't help looking away and closing my eyes for a few seconds every now and then. I really hope we can go back to school soon.

Because I don't want this update to be entirely depressing, I'm going to try talk about some of the positives. Bio, chem and methods are going okay and I'm enjoying the content in all of them. I'm really excited for unit 4 chem when we get up to it, and I really love learning about immunity. Maths is always a very welcomed break from my other subjects and I enjoy its monotonous nature. I can't wait to get to the harder exam questions (which will hopefully be soon in preparation for my SAC!).

I hope everyone has a good week and stays safe!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: brothanathan on April 29, 2020, 05:59:15 pm
Agreed.

Hello friends! It's time for a short update :)

Things I have realised in the past week:
- Online schooling isn't good (my eyes hurt at the end of the day, I miss everyone and I feel like I'm not learning anything)
- Online SACs are not as good as they seem

I hope everyone has a good week and stays safe!

Soon enough we'll be doing mini exams set by VCAA to actually test our ability. There's news that Online SACs may just be like Year 11 S or N assessments. Which I will regurgitate as something you can take with a grain of salt or mentally prepare for.

You've got this whys, I believe in you, we all do.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Coolgalbornin03Lo on April 29, 2020, 06:02:16 pm
Your totally not rubbish at English!!!! The advise you gave me the other day totally saved me! Maybe your at a high level but you just need to refine a few things? If so you have plenty of time (at least 6 full months till exams). You defiantly know what is required to do well. STORY TIME. So you talked about nominalisation and I asked my teacher if she recommends it ( just cause she’s such a picky marker) and she said that’s exactly why I set that task! (It was a basic task but at page 10 there was a whole thing I didn’t see smh). I owe you credit for whatever grade I get today lol. I’m also super excited for unit 4  Chem! Fuels and stuff felt kinda dry but I love organic Chem so much!!! And I’ve looked at it a bit and it looks a lot like AOS1 U3 Bio (proteins)!!!!

P.S idk how to quote exactly wha you said in small chunks do you know how? And I’m the person whose essay you read on Sunday :)

Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on April 29, 2020, 06:34:53 pm
Hey hey whys! ;D

Totally understand the pain of looking at the computer all day. By the end of this remote learning, my eyes are going to be non-existent🤣.

I have so many SACs coming up and I want a break already :(.
Me too whys, me too. :'(

I know English is going to be the bane of my existence this year but I need to keep at it. I got my very ugly SAC mark back from my first English SAC and let's just say that if I don't magically improve in the next few SACs, my ATAR is basically doomed. I need to do so much for this subject. Our teachers aren't marking any of our argument analysis essays until mid-May (if you ask me, this is horrible because I WANT my essays to be marked - how else am I going to know how to improve?!). I feel so alone in this struggle and I've definitely hit a block with English; I could rant about this subject all day. Also, I feel like I haven't learnt ANYTHING.
Don't worry whys, I'm 100% sure you will get the ATAR you need! ;D
Your English is my equivalent of Physics, and I definitely understand the pain of the subject (I literally have an Argument Analysis tomorrow hahaha) and it's so hard to get feedback when no one wants to read your essays. I'm hitting English block to bro so we are in it together😂. You are never alone and I can say I'm stuck in that English boat with you (why must you be a primary 4 subject).

Maths is always a very welcomed break from my other subjects and I enjoy its monotonous nature. I can't wait to get to the harder exam questions (which will hopefully be soon in preparation for my SAC!).
Methods is currently the saviour subject when you compare it too wordy subjects like English and Chem. The hard exam questions are definitely a lot of fun (and when you get to use your CAS oh boy that's an amazing feeling)

Thank you for the update whys and have a beautiful week! :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on April 29, 2020, 08:57:36 pm
Soon enough we'll be doing mini exams set by VCAA to actually test our ability. There's news that Online SACs may just be like Year 11 S or N assessments. Which I will regurgitate as something you can take with a grain of salt or mentally prepare for.

You've got this whys, I believe in you, we all do.
I wonder when VCAA will release some more info and what they will release...
Thank you brothanathan :)

Your totally not rubbish at English!!!! The advise you gave me the other day totally saved me! Maybe your at a high level but you just need to refine a few things? If so you have plenty of time (at least 6 full months till exams). You defiantly know what is required to do well. STORY TIME. So you talked about nominalisation and I asked my teacher if she recommends it ( just cause she’s such a picky marker) and she said that’s exactly why I set that task! (It was a basic task but at page 10 there was a whole thing I didn’t see smh). I owe you credit for whatever grade I get today lol. I’m also super excited for unit 4  Chem! Fuels and stuff felt kinda dry but I love organic Chem so much!!! And I’ve looked at it a bit and it looks a lot like AOS1 U3 Bio (proteins)!!!!

P.S idk how to quote exactly wha you said in small chunks do you know how? And I’m the person whose essay you read on Sunday :)
Hey! I'm glad that what I said helped you! I'm determined not to give up regarding English, and I'm going to continue persisting and hope that it will somehow pay off in the end. Also, I definitely agree - fuels was quite dry and organic chem is honestly awesome!

If you want to quote in small chunks, then you need to manually remove all the parts of the message you don't want to include in the quote (according to my knowledge of the website). Then just use the [ quote ] function around it. (Also I definitely remember you haha!)

Totally understand the pain of looking at the computer all day. By the end of this remote learning, my eyes are going to be non-existent🤣.
Me too whys, me too. :'(
Don't worry whys, I'm 100% sure you will get the ATAR you need! ;D
Your English is my equivalent of Physics, and I definitely understand the pain of the subject (I literally have an Argument Analysis tomorrow hahaha) and it's so hard to get feedback when no one wants to read your essays. I'm hitting English block to bro so we are in it together😂. You are never alone and I can say I'm stuck in that English boat with you (why must you be a primary 4 subject).
Methods is currently the saviour subject when you compare it too wordy subjects like English and Chem. The hard exam questions are definitely a lot of fun (and when you get to use your CAS oh boy that's an amazing feeling)

Thank you for the update whys and have a beautiful week! :D
Yeah, I won't be surprised when my eyes fall off at the end of all this. Good luck for your argument analysis SAC tomorrow! I'm sure you'll ace it ;). I definitely wish English wasn't a primary 4 subject :(. Then we'd be in the clear... and I have to agree that maths is amazing amidst the verbosity of all other subjects.

I hope that you too have a beautiful week :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on May 08, 2020, 04:26:41 pm
I think we are due in for another update! ;)

English
Nothing to say here. Our SAC is in a week, though. It's a creative, so nothing to worry about. I'm way more concerned about the upcoming CAA SAC that will probably be soon after our creative. I really can't wait until this year is done and I never have to write another text response essay ever again. Wow, that sounds like heaven!

Bio
Nothing to say here, either. Everything is going well and I'm just consistently revising. I've been teaching my family everything that I'm learning in class to solidify my own understanding, which is really fun! Made me realise how much I love teaching others. I also teach my soft toys whenever I get the chance (you guys should too! It seriously helps with revision so much). I love learning about immunity - it's slightly content-heavy but I'll get through it. :)

Chem
We have our SAC coming up soon on equilibrium and rates of reaction, so I'm pretty excited! This topic is probably the chillest topic in the entire study design and I'm grateful for its simplicity. Thank you chemistry. You are a saviour in disguise. Isn't that funny? Chemistry was my worst subject in 1/2 (I got 50 something percent on the exam in year 11 ;D) and I put NO effort into it and despised it with all my heart ('m being serious - I played crossy road in class instead of taking notes), but now it's one of my best (I hope). I can't wait to make a move to organic chemistry. It's basically bio + chem combined and I LOVE the sound of that. Well, it's still 95% chem, but with biology applications.

Methods
We have our SAC coming up sooner than I would like. There's not much to say for methods either (what a BORING update, whys). We are finishing off applications of calculus, then will be moving onto integration, which is exciting. The good thing about this subject is that you don't really need 'help' like science or English - it's pretty self-learnable and perfect in times like this where you're on your own.

UCAT
Okay, I need to talk about this for a sec. I have been putting off doing mock exams for a long time, and it sort of just hit me how close the exam is? The 2-hour exam that has a weighting EQUAL to my ATAR?! Like, it's seriously not hitting me at the moment. I need someone to bash my head into a wall to act as a reality check! Anyways, I woke up at 5:30am today to do a mock exam. All you early birds, stop sneering at me - 5:30 is VERY early for me because I normally wake up much, much later (even for school). Literally, my dad looks at me like I'm a peasant when I complain about waking up early because he used to wake up at 4:30am every morning to go to work. So anyways, what I'm trying to say is that this was VERY early for me. Throughout the exam I could feel my eyelids involuntary closing (see the psych in this? droopy eyelids ---> an effect of sleep deprivation! you psych kids will learn it soon :D) and I took a nap after because I could not function. In the middle of the exam my dad thought it would be a great idea to open the blinds in the most obnoxiously loud way, and slurp his coffee even louder. I got distracted so many times throughout the exam and ended up getting only half the QR questions correct. It was safe to say I was more than a little mad. That's okay - I'm pretty bad at being angry so it only lasted for a little while. I was hoping to get at least 95+ percentile in this mock but fell a bit short. I'm mad because I underperformed in AR. Which is supposed to be my best section! AR! Where are you when I need you!? I think the only way I could ever complete ALL the mock exams I have is by waking up early at least 2-3 mornings a week to do it, since I don't want to leave any incomplete and waste them. pls pls pls give me a 95+ in the real thing UCAT gods

Misc?!?
So, we had Isoletics today! AKA Athletics in isolation! Our actual athletics was supposed to be today, but I guess House Isoletics makes up for it... anyways it was great to see all the teachers + students dressed up in their house colours. We had a lot of different events we could enter in, but I just did a 40 minute walk to contribute some points to my house :D. There were a lot of weird things you could do for points (such as do the blinding lights challenge on Tik Tok, which is just cringey but whatever, I think the teachers had way more fun with this, or do the handstand track pants challenge) but most of them were normal sport things, like walking, running, cycling, dressing up in house colours, house chants, etc. It's definitely not as good as the real thing but something is better than nothing and I'm grateful they still decided to keep athletics.

This is slightly random, but does anyone else feel like no matter how much they study, it's not enough? I feel like I need to put in way more effort to do as well as I used to because online learning basically equals independent learning and self-teaching. It's really difficult to remain up to date, and I'm confused as to how some people are even a little bit ahead of what we're doing. I really hope we can go back to school soon! It feels like everyone's back at school except Victoria. :( I really miss the little things about school, and now I realise how much I took my teachers, and school in general, for granted. It made me realise that humans are social bees and we thrive when we are with others - I am more of an introvert than an extrovert, so that revelation took me by surprise. I thought I would be happier to stay at home all day but in reality I hate it so much. I love that I can sleep in every day though! (Although I have taken it upon myself NOT to sleep in and force myself to wake up at least somewhat early). I also have so much more time to spend with my family, which is great. I guess there are always positives to a situation if you look hard enough ;D

Hope you all have a good week!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on May 08, 2020, 05:00:33 pm
Yay an update!
English
I really can't wait until this year is done and I never have to write another text response essay ever again. Wow, that sounds like heaven!
I can relate to this so much! My english text response is in a week and I can't stand writing an essays. The thought of writing three at the end of the year just makes me want to cry. Anyway, I read a paragraph of your english AA you put on atarnotes though and it was IN-CRE-DI-BLE! You shouldn't underestimate yourself. We'll get through it (you'll smash it) and then we'll never have to write another english essay again.

Chem
 I can't wait to make a move to organic chemistry. It's basically bio + chem combined and I LOVE the sound of that. Well, it's still 95% chem, but with biology applications.
YES I feel you, bio + chem = happiness (english =  :'( :'() Also, congrats on waking up early to do the UCAT mock exam, that's a fantastic achievement (I'm very proud) and I'm sure you'll be able to hit that 95 percentile (you put in so much work and persistance that I'm sure it will pay off!)

This is slightly random, but does anyone else feel like no matter how much they study, it's not enough? I feel like I need to put in way more effort to do as well as I used to because online learning basically equals independent learning and self-teaching. It's really difficult to remain up to date, and I'm confused as to how some people are even a little bit ahead of what we're doing.
I feel exactly the same so you are not alone! I almost feel like I should be studying more but everyday, when I wake up with the aim of being productive, I can never get as much done as I want. It's like I can SEE productivity but it just slips through my fingers.

Anyway, thanks for the update whys, I hope you have an awesome weekend  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on May 08, 2020, 06:56:45 pm
You know things are gonna be good when you see whys has a journal update

Can I just say, that me and you are 99.9% alike when it comes to 1/2 Chem. I despised 1/2 Chem with all my being and was also my worst subject so I can totally understand how 3/4 Chem is so much better!

UCAT
Okay, I need to talk about this for a sec. I have been putting off doing mock exams for a long time, and it sort of just hit me how close the exam is? The 2-hour exam that has a weighting EQUAL to my ATAR?! Like, it's seriously not hitting me at the moment. I need someone to bash my head into a wall to act as a reality check! Anyways, I woke up at 5:30am today to do a mock exam.

Ok first off, HOW? How on EARTH did you wake up that early??? (Please give me your tips) That is like a massive achievement alone so give yourself a pat on the back! That's some insane determination there and I know you will do amazing!!! Keep up the great work whys and it will pay off trust me ;D.
The Isolation Athletics day sounds super fun too! Glad you enjoyed yourself and it's always nice to have a break every once in a while for some fun.

Thank you for updating whys and have a great weekend! :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: angrybiscuit on May 08, 2020, 07:13:37 pm
Hi whys!

I really can't wait until this year is done and I never have to write another text response essay ever again. Wow, that sounds like heaven!
I despise text responses (or anything English related for that matter) so we're on the same boat here. I feel like the best thing about finishing the English exam is realising that I'll never have to write those types of essays ever again  ;D

I also teach my soft toys whenever I get the chance (you guys should too! It seriously helps with revision so much)
My family always think I'm insane when they hear me teach my plushies. Everyone who I give this advice to think I'm nuts as well! It is a weird advice but a very effective one especially if no-one around you is nowhere near interested about what you're learning about haha!

Best of luck in your upcoming SACs! Hope everything goes smoothly next week  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on May 08, 2020, 08:45:07 pm
Yay an update! Great to see that things are going well in your subjects whys!

Quote
I really can't wait until this year is done and I never have to write another text response essay ever again. Wow, that sounds like heaven!
Honestly mood. I despise english very much too - imagine the relief we'll feel after that english exam! I'm the complete opposite when it comes to english - I despise language analysis with all my heart and would write a text reponse any day - well not really. English is a pain lol.

Quote
I also teach my soft toys whenever I get the chance (you guys should too! It seriously helps with revision so much)
Soft toys are our biggest supporters  ;D

Anyway - I really enjoy reading your update whys! Have a lovely weekend!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on May 09, 2020, 10:50:48 am
I can relate to this so much! My english text response is in a week and I can't stand writing an essays. The thought of writing three at the end of the year just makes me want to cry. Anyway, I read a paragraph of your english AA you put on atarnotes though and it was IN-CRE-DI-BLE! You shouldn't underestimate yourself. We'll get through it (you'll smash it) and then we'll never have to write another english essay again.
I despise text responses (or anything English related for that matter) so we're on the same boat here. I feel like the best thing about finishing the English exam is realising that I'll never have to write those types of essays ever again  ;D
Honestly mood. I despise english very much too - imagine the relief we'll feel after that english exam! I'm the complete opposite when it comes to english - I despise language analysis with all my heart and would write a text reponse any day - well not really. English is a pain lol.
Yes - imagine not having to write another essay! The moment I put my pen down on the English exam, you bet I'll be smiling. ;) Good luck for your text response choco - I'm sure you'll absolutely smash it! Thanks choco (but honestly I don't know what I was writing and was making half of it up). Yep - English really is a pain in general.

Quote
YES I feel you, bio + chem = happiness (english =  :'( :'()
I could not agree with this more.

Quote
Also, congrats on waking up early to do the UCAT mock exam, that's a fantastic achievement (I'm very proud) and I'm sure you'll be able to hit that 95 percentile (you put in so much work and persistance that I'm sure it will pay off!)
Quote
Ok first off, HOW? How on EARTH did you wake up that early??? (Please give me your tips) That is like a massive achievement alone so give yourself a pat on the back! That's some insane determination there and I know you will do amazing!!! Keep up the great work whys and it will pay off trust me ;D.
Thank you! It took a lot of effort to wake up that early. :'(

Can I just say, that me and you are 99.9% alike when it comes to 1/2 Chem. I despised 1/2 Chem with all my being and was also my worst subject so I can totally understand how 3/4 Chem is so much better!
YES! 1/2 chem sucked tbh. I don't even know how I got through 1/2, now that I think about it.

Quote
The Isolation Athletics day sounds super fun too! Glad you enjoyed yourself and it's always nice to have a break every once in a while for some fun.
Yes, we all need some fun once in a while!

Quote
My family always think I'm insane when they hear me teach my plushies. Everyone who I give this advice to think I'm nuts as well! It is a weird advice but a very effective one especially if no-one around you is nowhere near interested about what you're learning about haha!
Quote
Soft toys are our biggest supporters  ;D
Yes - soft toys are always there for us and I love them. :D They listen when no one else will. And definitely agree - it's a very effective way to learn yourself!

Thanks everyone for the replies - have an awesome week and happy studying! ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on June 06, 2020, 01:09:17 pm
As you may or may not know, I'm STILL freaking mad that I deleted my journal update and I'm not typing that up again, so here's a very basic rundown of things that have happened (that I can remember):

- Smooth transition back to school, no one follows social distancing because it's impossible at school and we have 10000 hand sanitiser bottles ever 1 metre now
- Failing english but crossing my fingers I did well on the creative bc that's the only thing I'm good at
- Comparative argument analysis is coming up, so hopefully, I can do decent in that to push up my ranking
- I was selected to do an English podcast for the comparative texts (basically a bunch of English nerds from the mainstream cohort get selected to talk about the themes in the texts and the entire cohort can listen to our interpretation of it and blah blah blah)
- Failing chem because I play crossy road in class and have no idea wth thermochem and electrochem even is, but whatever we're halfway through unit 4 aos something (I don't remember what number) and that's what matters
- I regret not paying attention to my 1/2s because I did no work for them last year
- Chem sac on Wednesday but I forgot to bring my scientific calculator home so time to die
- Rank 1 for bio in a competitive cohort so I am shocked (this is a bad thing because now my teacher expects me to maintain that and I can handle expectations from anyone except teachers, I just feel horrible if I ever disappoint my teachers)
- Methods is going good, I got 37/40 for the tf sac which probably puts me in the top 15 students because we have too many smarty pants at our school
- I wanted to pull out all my hair because I lost 3 marks on one question on the methods sac because I was being dumb, as soon as they said 'pens down' I realised what I needed to do to get the answer so currently hating myself for that
- Kuwtk is on Netflix and that is bad, time to procrastinate even more (as if youtube and money heist wasn't enough)
- What's UCAT? I've never heard of that before...
- What does being productive mean? I've never heard of that word before either
- I've been doing no work for the past whatever weeks which is bad but I can't help it, I'm lazy and sad and don't feel like studying
- I don't pay attention in class for maths because 2 hours listening to how to graph a tan graph and finding general solutions puts me to sleep
- Therefore I suffer because when I get home I have no idea what I'm doing so I skip three quarters of all the questions in the exercises
- Basically I'm dying not because of the pressure, but because I'm being dumb by not doing any schoolwork so life's good otherwise

Expectations
English - 25 43
Bio - 50
Chem - 38-40 haha this subject is a mess
Methods - 44
As always you should aim for 50 even if you expect something way lower! But yeah the 50 for bio includes me jumping to conclusions, and deep down I have a feeling a 50 is pretty out of reach for me because a) being rank 1 means nothing, you can get a 50 without being rank 1 b) it's not even the end of the year c) if I stuff up one sac I could easily drop to rank 200 d) I'm lazy and I procrastinate and I do nothing to fix that e) 50 is based on luck f) getting a 50 means you gotta be mad smart. I guess expecting a 50 is a bad idea because then I'll just be disappointed in myself if I don't get it, but whatever it's not like I have much to lose anyway.

As you can tell, my academic life is currently a mess, so let's move away from that and get to the non-academic stuff. Dance is good, we've been having zoom lessons each week so it's not like we've missed out on learning new things. St John is also online and we've been doing stuff like treating burns, patient assessment, fractures and asthma. I'm probably going to wait a while for coronavirus to die down before going on duty again because I'm still a little nervous to go out.

My other journal update was way more interesting but this will just have to do. Can't believe I deleted the entire thing, it took me ages to write too :(

I hope everyone has a good long weekend, and remember to take breaks when you need it! <3

EDIT: is it just me or is 2020 literally a mess
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on June 25, 2020, 11:17:18 pm
Hello good people,

I wanted to write another update before the UCAT, so the next time you see me on this journal will be after the UCAT :'(. Can't believe this exam is going to make or break my chance of getting into med. My exam is on the 6th of July (wish me luck, I'll need it).

We had our sac on immunity/cell signalling stuff quite recently - I definitely know I lost a mark on one of the diagram questions because I did a stupid thing, and I think I might have lost a couple of other marks for other silly mistakes, who knows. On the bright side, I got 16/17 on the validation task for bio, which my teacher said puts me right at the top! I don't think that task counts that much though, it was more to identify people who cheated on the sac we did during online school and the teachers have been vague about how they'll be combing the scores/if they will be combining our scores for the sac and the task we did at school. Chemistry is.... not so good. I'm so lost in class, so I just end up zoning out and end up being even more behind, and the more I think about the sac we did a few weeks ago, the more marks I think I've lost (yikes). So, probably shouldn't be thinking about that.... English is alright, I haven't really written any essays though because I've only been focusing on UCAT since my exam is so close. Same with methods - I'm really behind but I'll catch up over the holidays. Term 3 is literally a sac fest, with sacs one after the other after the other, so catch me at my funeral that will be held during term 3 if I'm not already buried after the UCAT haha. Especially because our entire schedules got pushed back because of covid - so we have even more sacs during term 3 than we normally would. Oh well, let's hope I can get through it. Right now, the only thought in my mind is UCAT - it's in my dreams, nightmares, every waking moment of my life, and if I'm not doing UCAT, I feel really guilty. I really hope I can do well, if not, goodbye to my dreams. :'(

goals
As you know, this is my last update until the UCAT, in which I'll probably have a lot to write about haha. The percentiles for my mocks have been all over the place - on Medentry, my highest is only 95th percentile, but I sometimes get mid-80s which makes me sad. I'm just holding onto the fact that the real exam isn't as hard as Medentry. Medify is not that bad - I can do pretty well on Medify, with my highest being 99th and lowest being my first mock (rip to that bad mock score). The official exams are so much harder than Medify though, which is pretty sad. If only the real exam was like Medify.... I hope I can do really well on the real thing, because I don't really have any other choice. My absolute dream would be 95th+ percentile, but I think an 85-90 is probably more achievable and realistic for me. Just anything to get me into Monash. It scares me that my UCAT is in 11 days. As of tomorrow, it will be in 10 days. Oh. My. God. I'm so scared. UCAT was kind of also my happy place haha - anytime I felt sick of doing schoolwork I'd do some UCAT practice to take my mind off things (yes, I'm that person ::)). It's safe to say that I will actually miss UCAT once it's over (unless I don't get into med, then I'll be repeating it) because it's actually quite fun, except for the times when you do bad and want to smash your head into the wall and melt into nothingness. I'm crossing my fingers I can do well though, and there's a small spark of hope in my heart that I will do well (despite the odds glaring back at me). All my friends are finishing their UCAT early which is good so we can virtually celebrate together on the holidays when we're all done. ;D

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and safe holidays.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on June 26, 2020, 07:27:01 am
Hello whys!  ;D

Congratulations on your amazing mark for bio!

Haha, same whys same. I'll actually die next term with all those assessments.

Best of luck with the UCAT! You have been putting in so much effort and have been working super hard so I know you can achieve that 95 percentile score! You can do it! I know you can!

Have a great holidays whys!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on June 26, 2020, 08:23:21 am
Hey whys! :D

WHOOP WHOOP congrats for the amazing mark in Bio! I absolutely love seeing your enthusiasm for this subject and it definitely shines through in this journal.

Term 3 is literally a sac fest, with sacs one after the other after the other, so catch me at my funeral that will be held during term 3 if I'm not already buried after the UCAT haha.
Haha, same whys same. I'll actually die next term with all those assessments.
Hey whys and Evolio, let me come join that boat you guys are on with your SACs being so packed together in Term 3. I don't know if we are going to survive the wave.

I believe in you that you will do great on the UCAT! You are such a determined and hard-working person that I'm pretty sure your efforts are going to pay off. As Evolio has said above, YOU CAN DO IT!💖
Best of luck or the upcoming few days and make sure you take some time out for yourself. Make the most of your holidays whys and I'm really looking forward to a future update soon~
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: blueycan on June 26, 2020, 07:29:01 pm
congrats on biology!!! and i wish you the best of luck for ucat!! make sure you're taking breaks and taking care of yourself, i'm more than sure that your efforts will pay off and you can celebrate to your heart's content afterwards (:
enjoy your holidays, whys  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 06, 2020, 05:41:43 pm
Thanks so much for the kind replies jeyda, ash and Evolio!!!! Your support means so much.

THE UCAT
Prepare yourselves. This might be a bit of a long update ;).
Before I talk about my experience, I'd like to express my MASSIVE gratitude to everyone: family, friends, relatives, fellow AN buddies, 'random girl on the internet' (you know who you are) and just AN in general for being awesome. This test has been a pivotal point in my life and honestly, couldn't have done it without all the support and kind words from everyone in my life. <3

I bet half of youse are going to skip straight to where I'm gonna post my results, so I'm just going to post my results right here ;D:
Verbal Reasoning - 700
Decision Making - 670
Quantitative Reasoning - 880
Abstract Reasoning - 870
TOTAL - 3120
Situational Judgement - 643

I was (and still am) completely SHOCKED. Never in a MILLION, BILLION, heck even TRILLION years did I ever think I would get this high. Honestly, walking out of the exam I thought I was going to get borderline 90th percentile, but would you look at that!!! I actually did extremely well!!!! For those of you who don't know how UCAT scoring works, basically I did really well! According to last year, this score would be a 98th percentile. Hopefully this year, it's the same (or a 99th percentile - I definitely wouldn't complain if I got a higher percentile hah).

VENUE
Did my exam at Airport West and at 11am. You might be thinking why the hell I did my test here if there were centres at Boxhill, Footscray, Melbourne CBD and I think there was one at Footscray West/East/North/South (I can't remember which one it was 😅). I wanted to do my UCAT in approx. the middle of term 2 holidays so I still had time to study for assessments at school that are taking place the first week back, and I wanted a morning session (I did mine at 11am) because I was scared I'd be too tired to do it during any evening time. So yeah, chose this testing centre because of date + time. OKAY ANYWAYS, I actually visited this testing centre last Sunday, because I'd never been around Airport West before and I didn't want everything to be foreign on the day of the test - having SOME familiarity with the place seemed like a good idea.

After my first visit, I expected the testing centre to have crusty old computers with extremely archaic Pearson software and creaky floorboards (you get the idea). Wasn't really like that though haha. Before the test I was highkey freaking out because all the other testing centres seemed so professional and yeah, don't do what I did because it doesn't matter where you do the UCAT, just give it your best shot. It took around a 1 and a half hour drive there, so I just chilled out to the radio, read a magazine and read some random Wikipedia articles in preparation for VR (following 2019's highest UCAT scorer's awesome tip: don't let VR be the first thing you read on the day!).

The registration process was very quick and easy, just had to fill in this form thingo and give in my ID, then gave the camera my biggest smile. I was taken into the testing room, where there were already candidates doing the test. Basically, everyone was from the 11am timeslot, except they had started really early because they got there early (which is funny, because I thought I walked in really early at 10:20am). Airport West was actually one of the places that DIDN'T provide earplugs, but funnily they had earplugs so I had to use those. They were really similar to the disposable earplugs I took to the testing centre myself, so no issues there. The centre also provided a cute lil drink bottle so thank god I didn't die from thirst during the test!!! We were given a bunch of yellow laminated sheets (bigger than A4) with grids that were spiral-bound together - there was more than enough of these (I only used 2 - one for DM and 1 for QR). I also had to wear a facemask during my test - luckily I had done a few practice mocks with a mask so it wasn't too bad, but it was very uncomfortable! I kept having to hold the mask out so I could actually breathe, which was weird because I never felt like that during my practice mocks (maybe I wore it wrong or something, idk). My reading glasses also kept fogging up so that was annoying, because I had learnt a way to position my glasses/mask so they wouldn't fog up during practice but that didn't work in the actual test.

Overall a pretty smooth experience!

TEST EXPERIENCE
NOTES: I do not divulge any specifics of each test or any particular questions - that would be called cheating haha, this is just general info on how I found everything!!! Also, there are multiple tests in circulation and different people find different things hard - take my experience with a grain of salt if you are also doing the UCAT later on, because ymmv.
VR:
I think VR was the exact same feel as the official resources. Before the test, I thought I'd at least be able to snag a 750 (especially considering VR would sometimes be my best section during practice), but I'm pretty happy with the 700. I was super nervous during VR and my hands were shaking because I just kept thinking over and over about how this 2-hour test would be weighted the same as my ATAR and yikes! Why did my brain decide to do that! We'd already been through this brain - no panicking! I finished with time left over, which I used to go over a passage I had skipped and go over other questions which I guesstimated. I didn't get to go over all the flagged questions I had guessed though, I hate that VR is so inference-y and implication-y.

DM:
Ok, YIKES. I'm no good at DM, but I was never expecting a score this low! I found DM quite hard - I was spending too long on those syllogisms and I kept trying to hurry up and just put an answer down and keep going because I didn't want to run out of time. Because of that, I have a feeling I lost marks on those pesky syllogisms. The logic puzzles were... not too bad I think. I think I still stuffed up a few though :(. Some of the probability questions were wack iirc, but overall I actually think it was sorta similar to the official resources, I think I just panicked throughout this section because of my poor VR performance and kept worrying about the next section (QR). I finished early and went through the questions I sorta guesstimated and wasn't sure about.

QR:
My biggest surprise! Once I finished the test, I felt like this score would miraculously be my best, and I was correct! I felt QR to be really easy - MUCH easier than the official mocks to say the least. I was really surprising myself as I cruised through the questions - I always got an answer that was one of the answer options (looks like I stuffed up somewhere though, considering my score!). You won't believe this, but I finished 7 whole minutes early. I took like 3 minutes to answer 2 questions that I had skipped and flagged, so had 4 minutes to just go through the rest of the section. I went to the start of the subsection and started redoing the questions in order to confirm if they were correct. Retrospectively, it would have been a better idea if I redid some of the questions I was a bit iffy about (coulda gotten a better score maybe!), but whatever that's not something my puny brain would have thought to do in a stressful test situation. 😂

AR:
Ok so after doing this section I was expecting like a ~600-700, didn't expect 870 even in my wildest dreams!!!!!! There was one entire pattern I couldn't get AT ALL - I came back to it a couple of times and still couldn't get it haha. I feel like if I had more time I would have gotten it, but I mean 13 minutes for 55 questions isn't exactly generous, is it? AR was sorta similar to the official mocks but sorta not - I feel like the official mocks had a greater proportion of qns with much harder conditional rules. There was also one pattern that I was SUPER iffy about, like I knew the pattern I'd formulated in my head wasn't the right pattern, or wasn't fully right, but I went with it anyway and looks like I got it correct! AR was like a blur, it went so fast!

SJT
Alrightio, this one was a bit weird. There were some scenarios I had never come across in my practice - I was expecting SJT to be more like how I felt during my practice, but it wasn't too bad I guess. Had a very similar feel to the official resources, except for some of the scenarios which I'd never come across. Overall it wasn't too bad, I obviously finished with loads of time left over. I decided to go over the entire of SJT again (changed quite a few answers in the process). It was weird to be going through my answers for SJT since that's something I never did during mock exams - I just got through SJT as quick as I could and would end the test haha. After doing SJT twice I still had time left and honestly could not be bothered so I just ended the test and left.

If those of you sitting the UCAT want to know the scores I got on my mock exams and mini-mocks (I used Medify, MedEntry and the official resources provided by Pearson), then of course you can!!! You can find them in this post here.

If you actually read even SOME of this massive journal update, I'll be grateful! <3 For those reading this post who are yet to do the UCAT, I want you guys to believe in yourself. Do NOT panic and stress yourself out (haha I'm a hypocrite, literally had a mental breakdown last night thinking about what would happen if I didn't score well on the UCAT). Good luck you guys!

I'm super proud of what I achieved - something I didn't think I could achieve in the first place. I just hope that this UCAT score takes me one step closer to my dream, Monash Med.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: eloisegrace on July 06, 2020, 06:03:10 pm
THE UCAT
Prepare yourselves. This might be a bit of a long update ;).
Before I talk about my experience, I'd like to express my MASSIVE gratitude to everyone: family, friends, relatives, fellow AN buddies, 'random girl on the internet' (you know who you are) and just AN in general for being awesome. This test has been a pivotal point in my life and honestly, couldn't have done it without all the support and kind words from everyone in my life. <3

I bet half of youse are going to skip straight to where I'm gonna post my results, so I'm just going to post my results right here ;D:
Verbal Reasoning - 700
Decision Making - 690
Quantitative Reasoning - 880
Abstract Reasoning - 870
TOTAL - 3120
Situational Judgement - 643

I was (and still am) completely SHOCKED. Never in a MILLION, BILLION, heck even TRILLION years did I ever think I would get this high. Honestly, walking out of the exam I thought I was going to get borderline 90th percentile, but would you look at that!!! I actually did extremely well!!!! For those of you who don't know how UCAT scoring works, basically I did really well! According to last year, this score would be a 98th percentile. Hopefully this year, it's the same (or a 99th percentile - I definitely wouldn't complain if I got a higher percentile hah).
Omg, that sounds so good! I am very proud of you and it is clear that your hard work has paid off!  :) :)

Quick question - do you get your results straight away? i wouldn't expect that hahaha but it seems like you do

Good job on your INCREDIBLE ucat score and good luck for term 3  ;)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on July 06, 2020, 06:07:08 pm
Hey whys! ;D

I SCREAMED MORE IN THIS JOURNAL UPDATE THAN I HAVE EVER BEFORE

For those of you who don't know how UCAT scoring works, basically I did really well!
This is literally the only thing my non-intelligent UCAT brain understands and let me say I don't think I've ever been so happy for some random anonymous person on the internet.❤️

I'm so glad to hear about your amazing scores!!😉 Even better, I'm so happy to hear everything went really well and you have done such an awesome job every step of the way. This is definitely one of the biggest achievements I've seen you accomplish and please celebrate more!! (I think it's time you invested in a large chocolate fountain for yourself). All that organisation and preparation has paid off and make sure you take a long relaxing break (and please get your sleep schedule under control no 2am AN browsing)

I absolutely love reading every detail of this journal update (like woah the dedication to write about the test centre is out of this world) and let me tell you, that dream of Monash Med for you just got 1000000% closer!

Thank you so much whys for writing this up and have a great week!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: MoonChild1234 on July 06, 2020, 06:26:06 pm
hey whys!

wow that score is actually incredible! well done :)

when did you start preparing? and did you notice anything in particular that you did that helped you improve?

also, WOW that abstract score! did you always find abstract easy or did you work on it a lot?

and you are so on the way to monash med!  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Coolgalbornin03Lo on July 06, 2020, 06:51:07 pm
Ahhhhhh why’s! You legend! I’ve actually secretly been waiting for this update because I knew you’d do amazing!!!! You totally inspire me!!!! My test is in a few weeks and I could only dream of those scores but you’ve inspired me to keep trying. Your definitely getting into monash med :)))))) can’t wait to read the rest of your VCE journal!!!!!!!!!

P.S how does it feel to have the UCAT officially out of your life? I almost regret scheduling mine on the last day and dragging this into term 3. I can’t imagine just being free of it.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Einstein_Reborn_97 on July 06, 2020, 07:26:57 pm
Massive congratulations, whys! Reading your journal is honestly one of the highlights of using AN for me. I'm glad to see you've done really well. I've got mine coming up on the 14th and your own success gives me lots of motivation in my final stages of prep! Well done!!! ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Ionic Doc on July 06, 2020, 09:39:57 pm
Congrats Whys, you're an absolute trooper, always challenging yourself and succeeding.  I wish you the very best for the remainder of this year and I'm super happy for you! Monash Med is waiting for u  :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on July 06, 2020, 11:33:32 pm
Hey whys,

Congrats on the amazing UCAT score! I was just wondering if you think that you could've gotten the same score without buying Medify. Also, how much did Medify help you? Did it just give you more practice to do or did it include like strategies for each subsection as well?

Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 07, 2020, 11:44:16 am
Firstly, I was NOT expecting this many replies! Which is why I left replying to these a day later haha, my brain was lowkey fried after doing the UCAT.

Omg, that sounds so good! I am very proud of you and it is clear that your hard work has paid off!  :) :)

Quick question - do you get your results straight away? i wouldn't expect that hahaha but it seems like you do

Good job on your INCREDIBLE ucat score and good luck for term 3  ;)
Thank you eloise! ;D We get our results emailed to us at a random time, usually a few hours after doing the test. Since it is entirely computer-based, the computer can calculate results almost instantaneously. I actually got my results around 30 mins after doing my test, but I only checked my inbox a few hours after doing it.

Good luck for term 3!

Hey whys! ;D

I SCREAMED MORE IN THIS JOURNAL UPDATE THAN I HAVE EVER BEFORE
This is literally the only thing my non-intelligent UCAT brain understands and let me say I don't think I've ever been so happy for some random anonymous person on the internet.❤️

I'm so glad to hear about your amazing scores!!😉 Even better, I'm so happy to hear everything went really well and you have done such an awesome job every step of the way. This is definitely one of the biggest achievements I've seen you accomplish and please celebrate more!! (I think it's time you invested in a large chocolate fountain for yourself). All that organisation and preparation has paid off and make sure you take a long relaxing break (and please get your sleep schedule under control no 2am AN browsing)

I absolutely love reading every detail of this journal update (like woah the dedication to write about the test centre is out of this world) and let me tell you, that dream of Monash Med for you just got 1000000% closer!

Thank you so much whys for writing this up and have a great week!
Hey Ash! HAHA maybe I should have used less UCAT jargon. (You bet I'm getting a massive chocolate fountain in my backyard ;)). Alright fine, no 2am AN browsing :'(, but you need to get your sleep schedule in check too! And thank you for all your support and kind words in the lead up to the UCAT, it made this kind of anonymous girl (me) feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Yep, and this time I wrote every section on a word doc so I wouldn't accidentally delete it or close the tab like I did last time, then pasted it onto here. ;D

Whew, I hope it got closer!

hey whys!

wow that score is actually incredible! well done :)

when did you start preparing? and did you notice anything in particular that you did that helped you improve?

also, WOW that abstract score! did you always find abstract easy or did you work on it a lot?

and you are so on the way to monash med!  ;D
Hi MoonChild1234!!! To be completely honest, I actually started preparing November last year. However, the reason I say this is because I bought my first UCAT resource last year, and did about 20 questions last year and never touched anything UCAT-related until about the end of Jan this year. So yeah, technically started this year. When I first started though, it was extremely random prep and I don't really think I got anything out of it (it was more like studying for the sake of studying), especially because of the spontaneity of it - one day I'd do 40 questions, and then I wouldn't do anything for a week. My prep became a bit more consistent 3 months before my test, where I would try to do at least 100 questions a day, but missed some days due to SACs and the like. I started doing mock exams about 2 months before my test (I did about 1 every fortnight, until I started getting closer to my test date and frantically tried to fit everything in by doing a mock exam every day, and I still ended up with 7 incomplete exams :'(). Since the UCAT is an aptitude test, I think it is important to develop the skills they test in the UCAT. After practising, note down the things you repeatedly get wrong and work on them, not only by doing UCAT questions, but also in isolation to the UCAT. If you suck at speedreading, practise that. If you suck at speed/time/distance questions, google some questions on those concepts and practise that. This is something I seriously regret - I mindlessly spammed questions and never actually targetted what I was weak in. But yeah, overall, practising is the way to go - there's no better way to improve. ;)

Thank you! Honestly, I don't think anyone starts off being good at AR (unless they have exceptional pattern recognition abilities, which not many people will have at the start of UCAT prep. If you do - you're one lucky bean). With AR, it's all about exposing yourself to as many patterns as possible. I completed all the AR questions on Medify and many on MedEntry. I also went through the AR questions from the official resources multiple times. Getting good at AR is an extremely long, demotivating road. You will fail, and fail again. You will keep failing. I honestly felt like quitting when my AR scores would never improve and my test date was getting closer. DO NOT give up. You gotta keep pushing through, and you WILL improve. It just takes time! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Ahhhhhh why’s! You legend! I’ve actually secretly been waiting for this update because I knew you’d do amazing!!!! You totally inspire me!!!! My test is in a few weeks and I could only dream of those scores but you’ve inspired me to keep trying. Your definitely getting into monash med :)))))) can’t wait to read the rest of your VCE journal!!!!!!!!!

P.S how does it feel to have the UCAT officially out of your life? I almost regret scheduling mine on the last day and dragging this into term 3. I can’t imagine just being free of it.
Hey Elle! Glad I could inspire you haha, I'm flattered. Thank you for the kind words too! <3 Oh, it feels great - I no longer have this massive shadow looking down on me and waiting to crush me. And don't worry - you'll do great! You've got more time to practise, so use it wisely! You will honestly DIE from happiness after you finish your test! (Tbh, I think I might slightly miss doing UCAT questions. It was fun while it lasted, I guess)

Massive congratulations, whys! Reading your journal is honestly one of the highlights of using AN for me. I'm glad to see you've done really well. I've got mine coming up on the 14th and your own success gives me lots of motivation in my final stages of prep! Well done!!! ;D
Hey Einstein_Reborn_97!! I'm flattered you enjoy reading these updates :D. Good luck for your test, I'm sure you'll SMASH it! Thank you so much for your reply!

Congrats Whys, you're an absolute trooper, always challenging yourself and succeeding.  I wish you the very best for the remainder of this year and I'm super happy for you! Monash Med is waiting for u  :D
Heya Ionic Doc! Aww, thank you :D, life isn't fun if it isn't a challenge! Hope this year treats you well too, and I know you'll find success at the end of the year. And thank you, hopefully I can make it.

Hey whys,

Congrats on the amazing UCAT score! I was just wondering if you think that you could've gotten the same score without buying Medify. Also, how much did Medify help you? Did it just give you more practice to do or did it include like strategies for each subsection as well?
Hi Snow Leopard. Thank you so much! Tbh I don't think I could've gotten this score without Medify. Medify was the main reason I improved in AR and QR, especially in the time nearing my test. Nothing beats the official resources though - they're really good (apart from the fact that their QR is insanely hard to do in the time limit! If you do badly, then don't worry, the question writers for their resources did a horrible job and I think they should rewrite the QR sections in the mock exams. The official question bank QR questions were much more decent though). The main reason why Medify helped me is just the added practise. It has over 10,000 questions, and I did almost 10,000 questions including mock exams and mini-mocks, yet I still was nowhere near finishing all the questions they provided. I doubt most people actually finish everything haha. Medify also includes a 'learn' section where they go through different question types and how to approach each section, which was helpful at the very beginning when I didn't know what I was doing. UCAT is honestly just practice. Keep practising and you'll no doubt improve.

Once again, I'm overwhelmed by the number of kind responses I've gotten in regard to this journal update! Thanks everyone. :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on July 07, 2020, 05:55:12 pm
Quote
Hi Snow Leopard. Thank you so much! Tbh I don't think I could've gotten this score without Medify. Medify was the main reason I improved in AR and QR, especially in the time nearing my test. Nothing beats the official resources though - they're really good (apart from the fact that their QR is insanely hard to do in the time limit! If you do badly, then don't worry, the question writers for their resources did a horrible job and I think they should rewrite the QR sections in the mock exams. The official question bank QR questions were much more decent though). The main reason why Medify helped me is just the added practise. It has over 10,000 questions, and I did almost 10,000 questions including mock exams and mini-mocks, yet I still was nowhere near finishing all the questions they provided. I doubt most people actually finish everything haha. Medify also includes a 'learn' section where they go through different question types and how to approach each section, which was helpful at the very beginning when I didn't know what I was doing. UCAT is honestly just practice. Keep practising and you'll no doubt improve.
Thanks for the reply whys :). I was also wondering, was it the same thing with medentry? Was it useful for you in the sense that it provided both more practice and some explanations of strategies for subsections as well? Do you think it would be possible to get 90+ percentile with just the resources from the official UCAT website and YouTube videos? Also when do you reckon would be the best time to start UCAT prep? Also, were the free icanmed or even ATARNOTES (if you went to them) UCAT lectures worthwhile for you? Or did they become repetitive? Are there any free resources/lectures that  you would recommend? sorry for all the questions!

Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 07, 2020, 08:32:43 pm
Thanks for the reply whys :). I was also wondering, was it the same thing with medentry? Was it useful for you in the sense that it provided both more practice and some explanations of strategies for subsections as well? Do you think it would be possible to get 90+ percentile with just the resources from the official UCAT website and YouTube videos? Also when do you reckon would be the best time to start UCAT prep? Also, were the free icanmed or even ATARNOTES (if you went to them) UCAT lectures worthwhile for you? Or did they become repetitive? Are there any free resources/lectures that  you would recommend? sorry for all the questions!
You definitely don't need prep companies to do well, and many people have gotten awesome scores just going off the official resources/using any other free resources from scrounging the internet. I used MedEntry mainly for the extra mocks - I didn't really 'practise' on it. I only used some of their AR drills (you can never get enough of AR!) but that's about all I used their resources for + mock exams. I really liked their explanations for each subsection, they were pretty nifty and I thought they were quite helpful. It's not necessary though. I said I couldn't have gotten the score I did without Medify because that was my individual experience - I really needed the extra practice to be able to do well, but there are people who might not need that much extra practice.

I recommend you have a go at a few UCAT questions to see exactly where you stand. Since you're still in year 11 (iirc), you definitely don't need to be worrying about UCAT prep as of now - if I were you I'd start next year. Free icanmed lecture - not very useful. Free ATARNotes lecture - I don't really remember it, but I went to it in year 11 when I didn't know anything about the UCAT (and consequently found it informative). Once you've started UCAT prep, 99% of free lectures become useless to you though, because lectures essentially reiterate the same things (practise doing questions in timed conditions! do mocks! this is what this section is!) - all this is well and good when you're just starting out but if I were to repeat my UCAT prep I don't think I would go to any lectures. Of course, they are free, so you aren't going to lose anything by attending them. Ultimately, someone else's strategies are not going to help you at all. You need to figure out the way you approach questions - this will be unique to you. Some people use X method, some use Y method, but both may reach the same outcome or receive vastly different results. You have to remember that UCAT is an aptitude test, and different people develop and put their skills to use in different ways.

As for free resources, I would definitely recommend MedicMind and KharmaMedic videos on youtube. There are probably other great videos on youtube too, but these are the ones I watched. Also, you might have heard of Shanaka (a very controversial figure) who is a UCAT tutor and runs a prep company as well. He also has a youtube channel, and I watched his run-through of a Medify mock after completing the same mock myself to see how he approached it. Might be useful for you too (but, if you end up using Medify next year, then I suggest you do the mock before looking at this video, otherwise it'll ruin the questions for you!).

Don't be sorry haha, you've nothing to be sorry about. I don't mind answering questions at all. ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: MoonChild1234 on July 08, 2020, 11:41:41 am
thanks for the reply whys!  ;D

that's good to hear, i feel like i have decent pattern recognition but sometimes i just get super stumped and then i get frustrated (its defs my least fav section!)

it's super motivating to see how hard you worked and honestly so inspiring!

again, congrats on your results and good luck for the next term, i'm sure you will smash it <3

Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: J_Rho on July 08, 2020, 12:03:32 pm
HOLY SHIT WHYS! CONGRATS ON YOUR SCORE!!! Idk how i only just saw this now but like omggggg im so happy for you
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 08, 2020, 12:13:03 pm
thanks for the reply whys!  ;D

that's good to hear, i feel like i have decent pattern recognition but sometimes i just get super stumped and then i get frustrated (its defs my least fav section!)

it's super motivating to see how hard you worked and honestly so inspiring!

again, congrats on your results and good luck for the next term, i'm sure you will smash it <3
Yeah, don't worry too much. AR just keeps getting better the more you practise. Whenever I looked at the answers after, I'd always go 'wow! can't believe I didn't get that!' haha. AR used to be my least fave section, but I really started enjoying when I started being able to recognise the patterns quickly. Good luck for next term to you as well!

HOLY SHIT WHYS! CONGRATS ON YOUR SCORE!!! Idk how i only just saw this now but like omggggg im so happy for you
Thank you so much J_Rho! ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on July 08, 2020, 05:11:47 pm
//
Thank you so much whys for all the useful info :)! I wish you all the best for the rest of Yr 12 and I'm sure that you'll do amazingly!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Jimmmy on July 11, 2020, 07:04:32 pm
Huge congrats on the UCAT score whys! Don't get complacent though, excel the rest of your results and prepare some mock interviews to give yourself the best shot at your goal of Monash Med!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on July 11, 2020, 09:16:59 pm
I am so late to this amazing achievement, but a huge congratulations to you and your epic mark! I'm so proud of you, and from reading your journal throughout the year, I know how much work you put into achieving this. So once again, i'm so happy for you, that's a fantastic achievement worth celebrating (which I hope you did because wow!).
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 11, 2020, 10:27:37 pm
Thank you so much whys for all the useful info :)! I wish you all the best for the rest of Yr 12 and I'm sure that you'll do amazingly!
All the best to you too Snow Leopard!

Huge congrats on the UCAT score whys! Don't get complacent though, excel the rest of your results and prepare some mock interviews to give yourself the best shot at your goal of Monash Med!
Thanks Jimmy! I’ll definitely be taking this advice on board - I cannot afford to become complacent with my ATAR haha, and it seems like something I’ll inevitably end up doing. I’ll try my best! :)

I am so late to this amazing achievement, but a huge congratulations to you and your epic mark! I'm so proud of you, and from reading your journal throughout the year, I know how much work you put into achieving this. So once again, i'm so happy for you, that's a fantastic achievement worth celebrating (which I hope you did because wow!).
Thank you for your reply and your kind words. Yep, I celebrated by doing no school work for 5 whole days (well that’s the half truth, I actually just spent my days sitting at my desk doing nothing because I couldn’t bring myself to do any work because I was so burnt out). :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 15, 2020, 06:32:13 pm
It [is] a dark and stormy [wednesday]

Only half a week into term 3 and I already feel burnt out and dead on the inside. I basically have at least one sac every week this term, which is horrible but it's just life, I guess. Oh yeah, and I had my english sac today, but save the worst for last, yknow??

This update is sort of like a check-in thing, because my last update was about the UCAT, not about school.

Bio
Life is good. I got a different answer to most other people on the immunity sac we did last term, and my friend told me that her bio teacher said their answer was correct. Prepared to argue to the grave justifying my answer to my teacher if need be, because I know for a fact that my answer was right + have so much evidence that my answer is right so they have to accept it (I hope). Other than my anxiety about that sac, bio is pretty good. We're just going through the content, ploughing through unit 4 at a slow and steady rate.

Methods
Sac next week! This sac is worth 80% of our unit 3 mark/grade so I'm determined to do well. There are 3 sacs that contribute to our unit 3 mark overall, and I think I mentioned on this journal that I got 37/40 for one of them. Well, I'm extremely mad because I got 44/45 for the other part. Do you know why I lost one mark? Because I copied my answer down wrong. I found the equation the question was asking for and wrote it as y= blah blah, and the equation had a square root sign. I had to define it as f*(x) because the question asked to find f*(x), but instead of writing f*(x)=blah blah I stupidly forgot to write the square root sign. I had the answer and all but NoPe, I, of course, had to copy it down incorrectly and forget the square root sign. I'm so mad. So many people got full marks for this too. Ahhhhh. So annoyed.

Chem
Completely clueless in class, as always. We're moving at an alarmingly fast rate, so we'll be done with all the content before term 3 ends. Wowiee. I have no idea why the chem department is trying to move through the content as quick as possible.

English
Okay, so we're up to the eng sac. What can I say.... prepared quite a bit but still walked out disappointed. I don't think I did bad, but I definitely didn't do my best ahhhh. Firstly, the issue the main article was based on was quite complicated, especially because the actual situation the background info was referring to was so out of the blue. Then, the actual article itself was quite difficult to analyse, and there were very minimal things that could directly be compared to the 2 comments that were written in response to the article. I also only spent like 3 sentences analysing the image and I don't think that's enough. There were some really good things to analyse and I consciously made sure I analysed them in depth, but I had to skip over a lot of stuff because I was pressured for time. Now that I look back, I definitely could have gone into more depth for some things and I also missed out on some very juicy analysis but whatever. It's done, it's over, and I don't want to think about what I could have written.

I'm really upset because I was hoping to do well on this sac to offset my poor text response score, but I don't think I'll be doing that. I think I also saw people walking out of the sac crying, and basically everyone I talked to found it hard and/or didn't finish. I doubt anyone will get full marks on it, especially because our teachers think it's funny to mark harsher than VCAA and give us articles that are completely different to the usually straightforward articles on the real exam (I mean, I appreciate that you sit down and pour over each word and sentence we write, but that sac was quite hard and I don't think anyone was happy with their performance). I know I didn't do abysmally (the Waleed Aly and Clementine Ford articles I've analysed previously did set me up for this) but I didn't exactly do well. My last paragraph and conclusion were really rushed (and almost illegible!) because I only had ~15 minutes left and I finished right on the dot (aka didn't get to proofread so there are probably a bunch of typos). At first glance the article didn't look to complex, but as I ploughed on with my essay I found it difficult to relate what I was analysing back to the main argument(s).

Oh yeah, did I mention - I also had my 'oral' sac today, which was run in conjunction with the argument analysis. I think my school just put them together because we don't have time to do the 'oral' separately. Our oral was changed to writing a pretty short letter to the editor, so that wasn't too bad. I can't help thinking back to the essay and all the stuff I could have included and analysed in detail. As wise Rafiki says,
(https://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljtig7C2RN1qd0b3wo1_640.jpg)
So all I have to do is kill the final exam. That's all, whys, take a deep breath. I really hope that I (miraculously) do really well on the end of year exam so I can at least get a 40.

The good news is I've figured out why I do so poorly on eng sacs. I'm not inherently bad at writing essays (trust me, I know you think I'm a complete idiot when it comes to English but I can somehow string together sentences that somewhat make sense) but I do this thing where I completely space out during a sac. My mental blanks mean that any prep I've done goes down the drain and it feels like I'm writing this type of essay for the first time. This is good, I know why I suck so much. The bad news is I don't know how to fix this.... This never happens with any of my other subjects either. Sure, I often make silly mistakes and lose marks I normally wouldn't in sac conditions for other subjects, but I can still score decently well. But my good friend english over here refuses to cooperate and I feel like I complete newbie in the sac. Then, once the sac is over, everything comes flooding back to me again, makes me feel dumb, and will probably haunt me till the day I die. Life is not fair. I wish I didn't go through these horrible mental blanks during eng sacs. >:(

Anyways, I realised this update very intensely radiates negative energy. So, I'm just going to remind myself that I can do this. Think of the positive things, whys! Bio over here is your best buddy. If you're feeling bored, go read some psych articles about the newest experimentations on Alzheimer's or something. Maths is a soothing remedy - not evil and sinister like english, but fun and light-hearted. Chem is... not very good but it certainly is miles better than english.

I think I'm going to go watch my favourite movie (oh wow, I bet you can't guess what that is!) and do some methods to cheer myself up.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 16, 2020, 09:12:32 am
I think I'm going to go watch my favourite movie (oh wow, I bet you can't guess what that is!) and do some methods to cheer myself up.
Hmmm... no clue. Real tough one there.  ;)

ps. I reckon that's a great thing to do when you're feeling a bit burnout. Hope you're feeling great this morning! ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Joseph41 on July 16, 2020, 09:27:10 am
Well done on your UCAT progress, whys. :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: brothanathan on July 16, 2020, 10:41:00 am
Anyways, I realised this update very intensely radiates negative energy. So, I'm just going to remind myself that I can do this. Think of the positive things, whys! Bio over here is your best buddy. If you're feeling bored, go read some psych articles about the newest experimentations on Alzheimer's or something. Maths is a soothing remedy - not evil and sinister like english, but fun and light-hearted. Chem is... not very good but it certainly is miles better than english.

I think I'm going to go watch my favourite movie (oh wow, I bet you can't guess what that is!) and do some methods to cheer myself up.

That's 700+ situational judgement right there. Congrats Whys :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 24, 2020, 07:50:10 pm
Hmmm... no clue. Real tough one there.  ;)

ps. I reckon that's a great thing to do when you're feeling a bit burnout. Hope you're feeling great this morning! ;D
Yeah, knew it was going to be hard to guess. ;) Thanks for the reply laura! Hope you've been well too, it's been a while since I've seen you around!

Well done on your UCAT progress, whys. :)
Thank you Joseph41. :)

That's 700+ situational judgement right there. Congrats Whys :D
If only I got 700+ in the real thing... oh well. ;D Thank you brothanathan!

whys, you JUST updated your journal! Another update already?

I know. And I'm sorry, but I just can't help myself. I've also refined/redefined some of my subject expectations and a few other VCE tings in general. I promise this one will be a real short read compared to the long UCAT one! (if there's still anyone reading at this point, heh). Oh, and I've started giving my updates little titles. I can definitely say this journal has evolved so much from when I first started it.

Running beside the Lord of the North on evergreen paths
Sarah J. Maas fans will understand this reference

I'm so determined to do well. I've kinda realised that if I don't pull it together now, then I'll be struggling come exam time. I really want to start studying more intensely, like 2-3 hours per day. I feel like my puny 1-2 hours a day just won't cut it anymore, since I end up cramming for ~4 hours the day before a sac and we all know how well that usually turns out! I find it really hard to study for a long time after school, because, well, YouTube and Netflix and Disney+ and video games and you get the gist... So I've decided that as soon as I enter my study, I'm not going to do anything but study. I'll study for at least an hour before having a break, then come back to study some more until the end of the day. Right now, my schedule looks more like come home ---> have a shower ---> eat ---> procrastinate, maybe study a little ---> eat dinner ---> study ---> sleep. Hopefully, it'll start to look like come home ---> have a shower ---> eat ---> study ---> eat dinner ---> study ---> sleep. I feel like I'll get so much more done this way. Kinda sucks that I'm only making these changes when I should have made them ages ago, but oh well, it is what it is.
(https://dumkethoughts.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/squirtle-pusheen.gif?w=371&h=371)
Okay, so as I mentioned earlier, these are my new expectations:
English - 44
Biology - 47
Methods - 45
Chemistry - 40

Woah, did you just jump to a 44 in English? Yes, yes I did. It's because I feel really motivated to do well. I actually really enjoy Photograph 51 and The Penelopiad - there's so much to discuss about them and so much to analyse! Each writer's every word feels infinitely precious and loaded with meaning I have yet to explore. What really prompted this change was probably something I heard yesterday though. A 2019 graduate from my school said she got a 45 in English having absolutely bombed a sac (60%). I could literally feel a kernel of hope bloom within me. She said that in the end, nothing is stopping you from smashing that exam and bumping up your score. As she was someone who (ostensibly!) wasn't that strong in the subject but still went on to achieve a phenomenal ATAR, I was in awe. Hopefully, I'll be able to do something quite similar and still get a decent score in the subject... (I can dream, right? At least let me hold on to this motivation however temporary it may be ;D).

Biology went down. I don't know why, it just feels more accurate at around a 47. I really hope I can get a 47+ for bio. I'm really enjoying the content right now - genetic engineering is so cool. 8) I'm very mad because all the previous bio cohorts got to go on a really cool excursion where they got to see PCR and got to do gel electrophoresis themselves (plus some other stuff). Not to mention they also got bubble tea after (my friends who did bio last year find endless fun in teasing me about what I've missed). Obviously, we couldn't go on the excursion because of the COVID situation, so we had an 'online incursion' and the scientists from the place were nice enough to record themselves doing PCR and gel electrophoresis, but it still isn't the same as doing it yourself. :'( We had a live call talking about the content which was just reinforcing what we already learnt in the classroom and providing real-life examples. All in all, bio is fun. I like. I like very much.

Methodsssssssss my buddyyyyyy. Or not my buddy. It felt like all the odds were NOT in my favour during the methods sac. You know, 80 marks in 2 hours isn't as easy as it seems (especially because so many 1-mark questions are 'show that' questions so you have to spend so much time working it out by hand to actually get the mark). I finished with 20 minutes to spare and spent 15 of those minutes staring at a stupidly easy 1-mark question that I skipped. When my one remaining brain cell decided to bump against my skull like the bouncing Windows screen saver, my brain went ping! and I realised what I had to do. Started writing. A growing smile on my face. A smile that instantly vanished when I heard 'time's up'. Looking at my paper, that extremely simple question left unfinished as my pencil falls out of my hand. A disgusting, horrible feeling. It wasn't even a hard question. It was so easy. My brain just wasn't working... Anyways, I'm hoping I can somehow get 90%. Hey, you might think. I thought you wanted a 45, but only 90%? Yeah nah, no way I'm getting any higher when the sac was harder than the VCAA exams. Last year the highest was 96%, so I will jump with joy if I get 90%. If not, that's okay, I have other sacs. Well, one unit 4 sac split into tech-free and tech-able.

Chem. Haha. Hahahahaha. Alright, so we got our Equilibrium/ROR sac back a gazillion years after doing the sac. We don't get our marks because the chem teachers like to torture us. Well, it's actually because they want us to focus on their feedback before getting caught up with the marks, because people tend to be like 'ok whateva I got like 90% yeee boiz I'm done' and never look at the sac again. I'm really confused. Looking at all the corrections I got, I thought I got around 22/28 (a horrible result, considering multiple people decided it would be a great idea to get 100% so no one's sac could scale up). But, I got a really good report for term 2 which indicated that I got at least 24/28. Anyways, I'll see if I actually decide to ask for my mark. Which as of now, I'm not brave enough to do.

Woah, so quite a short update, huh? I really didn't mean for this to get as long as it did, I wanted it to be short and sweet. It just feels like every time I sit down to type this out, there's stuff I need to say that I wasn't originally going to say. Oops, I'm sorry. I don't even know if my journal is interesting to read anymore, because it's just boring subject stuff.... hopefully things get spicy near exam time.

I'll see you guys in another update, and hopefully, I'm still prancing with the almighty snow-white Stag amongst viridescent foilage.

Adios! <3
(https://64.media.tumblr.com/c301b9960af83fba645ec217ffb15239/tumblr_moe7s0SpIU1stvk0eo1_r3_400.gif)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Coolgalbornin03Lo on July 24, 2020, 08:38:54 pm

Woah, did you just jump to a 44 in English? Yes, yes I did. It's because I feel really motivated to do well.


This happened to me the other day also!!! Despite doing just above average on SACs I’m still gonna aim for the 45 in English and hope it happens! That girl sounds like an anomaly, but if she can do it then why can’t you? :)and maybe me but ehhh
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on July 25, 2020, 10:16:40 am
I'm super proud of everything you've achieved whys! I can't wait to see what this term brings you!

And you make me so motivated for english ah ha.

Keep at it!!  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Bri MT on July 26, 2020, 11:50:52 am
There's certainly no need to apologise for journal updates, people likereading these. It's not like you're forcing anyone to read or interact with it, people do it because they want to and connect with your experiences :)


Congrats on everything you've achieved so far (yes smashing the 95+ UCAT goal expectations but also the growth you've had and how you keep on pushing on).

I don't have heaps to say but I wanted to join in the chorus of people celebrating with you and it's been great to see you pass a major milestone from back in your first post!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 26, 2020, 03:40:30 pm
This happened to me the other day also!!! Despite doing just above average on SACs I’m still gonna aim for the 45 in English and hope it happens! That girl sounds like an anomaly, but if she can do it then why can’t you? :)and maybe me but ehhh
You go girl! Good on you for not being dragged down by a sac score, it's really hard not to feel disappointed over sacs. Exactly my reasoning, I mean someone has to get 40+, so why can't it be us?

I'm super proud of everything you've achieved whys! I can't wait to see what this term brings you!

And you make me so motivated for english ah ha.

Keep at it!!  ;D
Thanks Arty! It means a lot. :) You can do this, go on and conquer English!

There's certainly no need to apologise for journal updates, people likereading these. It's not like you're forcing anyone to read or interact with it, people do it because they want to and connect with your experiences :)

Congrats on everything you've achieved so far (yes smashing the 95+ UCAT goal expectations but also the growth you've had and how you keep on pushing on).

I don't have heaps to say but I wanted to join in the chorus of people celebrating with you and it's been great to see you pass a major milestone from back in your first post!
Yes, that's true, I just felt a bit guilty that people would have to read through a whole heap of fluff for some updates. You're right, if people want to read, then they will (and I'll forever be glad!). Thank you for the encouraging words, that's one goal down, and many more to go, haha!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on July 26, 2020, 06:21:28 pm
Hey hey whys😊 (I'm so late to this journal update oh no)

First of all, I LOVE these gifs! (Ahhhh they are all so so cute!!)

Running beside the Lord of the North on evergreen paths
Sarah J. Maas fans will understand this reference
I understand this 😉

Ok moving on to the actual journal update, I absolutely LOVE reading your updates so there is no such thing as updating too much! It's never too late to change any habits at all (haha I'm so addicted to youtube too. I should learn from you). The new expectations for your subjects look super good and I believe that you are definitely going to make it! (Even for English. Your determination is super inspiring I don't know where you are getting it from but it's working!!🤣).

Thank you so much for the update whys (and for adding the adorable pics in) and I'm looking forward to a future update soon!❤️
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: angrybiscuit on July 26, 2020, 08:13:32 pm
Keep aiming high whys, you got this, I believe in you 💪🏻💪🏻
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: w0lfqu33n89 on July 27, 2020, 03:01:20 pm
Hey Whys! Sorry its been so long, I swear the more I read this the more we are the same!

I don't get the reference but Sarah J Maas' series "Throne of Glass" is one I am yet too read, I read the first book and then realized there is more now I am collecting the series and will read it all.

Im the same atm, after quarantine my study habits have dropped so much, I have no motivation and the fact that I am half way through reading TVD does NOT help!

I SWARE THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER STUDIED IN SCHOOL TO THIS MOMENT is the Penelopiad! Best book I think I have ever read Margret Atwoods style in that whole novel was just MUAH! ive even bought her novel "The Testaments."

I missed that Bio excursion too :( Super cut about that I was so excited to go to that with school. Always sad when a bubble tea change is missed :(

Hope you are doing well :) - Lex -xx-
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on July 31, 2020, 06:44:10 pm
I understand this 😉
I bet you do. 8)

Ok moving on to the actual journal update, I absolutely LOVE reading your updates so there is no such thing as updating too much! It's never too late to change any habits at all (haha I'm so addicted to youtube too. I should learn from you). The new expectations for your subjects look super good and I believe that you are definitely going to make it! (Even for English. Your determination is super inspiring I don't know where you are getting it from but it's working!!🤣).
Thank you so much - that means a lot!!! (You really shouldn't learn from me, I spend more time on youtube than I spend studying. I also don't know where I'm getting my determination from.) Thanks for the motivating words!

Keep aiming high whys, you got this, I believe in you 💪🏻💪🏻
Thanks angrybiscuit, and the same to you!

I don't get the reference but Sarah J Maas' series "Throne of Glass" is one I am yet too read, I read the first book and then realized there is more now I am collecting the series and will read it all.
Hi Lex! Omg yes, you absolutely have to read the whole thing, it's honestly the best! My favourite book series ever.

I SWARE THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER STUDIED IN SCHOOL TO THIS MOMENT is the Penelopiad! Best book I think I have ever read Margret Atwoods style in that whole novel was just MUAH! ive even bought her novel "The Testaments."
I missed that Bio excursion too :( Super cut about that I was so excited to go to that with school. Always sad when a bubble tea change is missed :(
Hope you are doing well :) - Lex -xx-
The Penelopiad is one of my favourite novellas (well, probably my favourite, because I don't even read novellas, I usually read novels haha). I've been rereading Photo 51 and I find that I enjoy it just as much as The Penelopiad - I cried at the end of the play (it was such a poignant end and I'm quite sensitive when it comes to book/movie/tv show characters, and Rosalind Franklin was a real person too). Oh no... that sucks! We can share our grief. :(
I hope you're well too and the rest of the year goes well for you!

Keeping myself accountable
I don't know if it's just me, but I've been feeling extremely tired lately... waking up is such a drag! Apart from the fatigue, I don't know why but I've been feeling a massive surge of motivation. Usually, this is the time people begin to lose motivation and slack off, but I feel so ready to conquer the rest of the year! (well, that's how I feel, don't know if it will happen!) I went to see my chem teacher after school since I had some questions I was unsure about and was expecting to leave in like 5-10 minutes, but we ended up going through everything for like an hour! I was very grateful, and I don't know why, but it made me feel really motivated to do well in chem. I know I really suck at the subject but I want to try and push for a 40 (unlikely, I know ::) but I can dream, right?). I know I'll need to put effort into this subject and start studying for it, but better late than never, right?
(https://cdn.lowgif.com/medium/44273d5e5e0ef70e-i-only-draw-freestyle.gif)
A list of things I want to get done before the holidays
- Finish the entire course for all of my subjects
- Have finished at least 1 practice exam for each subject except English
- Have finished 2 unit 3 exams for every subject except English
- Write an hour timed essay for test response and comparative
- Write at least 3 practice AA essays, timed
- Collated a list of my options interstate + backup options
- Start interview prep

This is a whole lot for me. Writing things down makes the goal more tangible + more reachable. I know myself well and I really don't expect to get everything done - I'll be glad if I can complete at least half of the list! My goal to study for 2-3 hours a day also hasn't worked so far. I always end up wasting time and procrastinating, then studying at like night. By that point, I tell myself there's no point in studying anymore since it's almost time to go to sleep, so I end up getting nothing done. It doesn't help that I always feel guilty when I'm not studying but I can't help not studying. It's like I'm stuck in this endless cycle of being unable to study, and it sucks. I feel motivated but I can never actually do it. It feels like everyone around me is studying like crazy while I just fluke all my assessments. And I want to get into medicine and be a doctor. It's really quite a funny joke.

I just want this to be a mini-update to get down a list of everything I need to do to keep myself accountable, and I'm glad it's stayed that way - no extremely long rants or unnecessary rambling this time. 🤠😌

I hope you all stay happy, healthy and safe! Remember to be supportive of each other in these times, and remember to give your friends a (virtual!) hug!
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/64/6b/a8/646ba88428abfb2ddbc85ef9b39d89aa.gif)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: w0lfqu33n89 on July 31, 2020, 07:46:08 pm
Hey whys!

I totally get your struggle with motivation. Its so hard to focus on homework after a long day at school especially when all you want to do is relax. Have you maybe considered changing your sleep schedule? Ive read that the best time to study is 4-6am. Not saying to get up that early but maybe go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, get some homework done in the morning and then just have the evenings for games? Or even if you are allowed stay back at school some days until a solid amount is done? So your in an environment thats more studious and motivating then at home in comfort?
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on August 01, 2020, 05:27:07 pm
Hello whys!!  ;D
Can I just say, I absolutely LOVE reading your journal! It's so inspiring to see you achieve your goals and it's motivating me to achieve mine, and achieve even higher ones, especially since we're both aiming for the same course! You're soo close so keep at it!!

Quote
I don't know if it's just me, but I've been feeling extremely tired lately... waking up is such a drag!
Yeah, I've been feeling the same way, unfortunately. As a result, I'm waking up later and later everyday when I should be studying.  :( Yeah, gotta fix that, fast.

Quote
I know I really suck at the subject but I want to try and push for a 40 (unlikely, I know ::) but I can dream, right?).
With the hard work you're putting in, I'm sure you can achieve that!

Quote
By that point, I tell myself there's no point in studying anymore since it's almost time to go to sleep, so I end up getting nothing done. It doesn't help that I always feel guilty when I'm not studying but I can't help not studying. It's like I'm stuck in this endless cycle of being unable to study, and it sucks. I feel motivated but I can never actually do it. It feels like everyone around me is studying like crazy while I just fluke all my assessments. And I want to get into medicine and be a doctor. It's really quite a funny joke.
Omg, I experience the exact same thing! I tell myself I'm going to study so much and get so much stuff done but I end up procrastinating on Youtube at my study table, watching useless videos because I don't want to study. And at school, I see so many kids in the library, even younger than me, studying diligently during recess and lunch, while I'm the complete opposite. Hopefully we get out of this slump soon!

I love your cute gifs and hope you stay safe as well!! Have a great weekend!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on August 03, 2020, 10:49:00 pm
Hey whys!

I totally get your struggle with motivation. Its so hard to focus on homework after a long day at school especially when all you want to do is relax. Have you maybe considered changing your sleep schedule? Ive read that the best time to study is 4-6am. Not saying to get up that early but maybe go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, get some homework done in the morning and then just have the evenings for games? Or even if you are allowed stay back at school some days until a solid amount is done? So your in an environment thats more studious and motivating then at home in comfort?
I knowww. I should change my sleep schedule, you're right. :( I just... well... youtube... it's right there... I've actually tried waking up early to study but it doesn't work for me at all haha. But yeah, I should definitely get my sleep schedule together so I'm more productive during the day (thanks for the reminder). And no, not allowed to stay back at school since schools are shutting down now heh. Thanks for the suggestions! <3
Take care during these uncertain times!

Can I just say, I absolutely LOVE reading your journal! It's so inspiring to see you achieve your goals and it's motivating me to achieve mine, and achieve even higher ones, especially since we're both aiming for the same course! You're soo close so keep at it!!
Yeah, I've been feeling the same way, unfortunately. As a result, I'm waking up later and later everyday when I should be studying.  :( Yeah, gotta fix that, fast.
With the hard work you're putting in, I'm sure you can achieve that!
Omg, I experience the exact same thing! I tell myself I'm going to study so much and get so much stuff done but I end up procrastinating on Youtube at my study table, watching useless videos because I don't want to study. And at school, I see so many kids in the library, even younger than me, studying diligently during recess and lunch, while I'm the complete opposite. Hopefully we get out of this slump soon!

I love your cute gifs and hope you stay safe as well!! Have a great weekend!
This comment made me so happy! It makes me happy that people enjoy reading this. Yeah same, I used to see all the year 9s and 10s studying in the library and I'd feel bad for not studying myself. Honestly, the younger year levels try so much harder and make me feel like I do nothing in comparison lol.

*not an update*
just getting my thoughts out
It's cold outside, but I'm warm and toasty under the covers, my hands shakily typing out the letters and numbers, waiting and waiting as it loads and loads... somehow, there's still a bit of hope in me. It crackles and burns, and whispers of the wind blur the boundary between reality and illusion. A little flame. The bright red of new beginnings, of passion, of hope. I wait. Even the little flame seems to pause, running back to the depths of its origin. Waiting. I hold my breath as the clock ticks and my heart thuds against its cage. I close my eyes and dive under the covers. My fingers reach out to grip the edge, peeking out from the darkness underneath. It stares at me, like the weight of stone on my shoulders. Crushes me. I cannot stare back. It's not a dream, not a dream, not a dream, it's real, it's real, it's real. The little flame laughs at me, dancing inside. Bursting into embers of black and red and orange and yellow. Filling me, wrapping around my heart, running alongside the blood in my veins, scraping against bone. Its laughter is in my head, there's red everywhere and I can't see. Throat too dry to cry out, to breathe, arms flailing and fingers pulling at skin. Suddenly, it's gone. Vanishes. Escapes. No fire, no laughter, and no more waiting. All that's left is a number, and that bitter, bitter feeling of disappointment.

And it replays in my head, again, again, again.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: kat05 on August 04, 2020, 12:09:37 am
Wow! I love reading your VCE journal :) I have briefly read it and tbh it's very inspiring, especially the goals you've written down :D
And about the fatigue, I can relate 100% - I feel so tired all the time, but I really want to get work done!! Hope you accomplish your tasks and maybe try breaking them up into little chunks, that could help?
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on August 04, 2020, 04:12:38 pm
Hey whys! Your vce journal is so damn inspiring and reading it always makes me so motivated to study. Keep up your AMAZING work and I'm sure you'll go above and beyond your expectations. Also about the early mornings not working maybe try sleeping a lot earlier for a few days and you will automatically wake up early. I'm a morning person now (9pm-5am sleep) but I used to sleep at 11pm and wake up at like 10am lol
Keep being incredible and I'm looking forward to more updates  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on August 23, 2020, 01:16:32 pm
kat05 and homeworkisapotato
Wow! I love reading your VCE journal :) I have briefly read it and tbh it's very inspiring, especially the goals you've written down :D
And about the fatigue, I can relate 100% - I feel so tired all the time, but I really want to get work done!! Hope you accomplish your tasks and maybe try breaking them up into little chunks, that could help?
Thank you so much. :) That's how I'm trying to approach it - little steps that will hopefully go a long way!

Hey whys! Your vce journal is so damn inspiring and reading it always makes me so motivated to study. Keep up your AMAZING work and I'm sure you'll go above and beyond your expectations. Also about the early mornings not working maybe try sleeping a lot earlier for a few days and you will automatically wake up early. I'm a morning person now (9pm-5am sleep) but I used to sleep at 11pm and wake up at like 10am lol
Keep being incredible and I'm looking forward to more updates  ;D
Thanks for the reply! I need to get my sleep schedule in check, I usually sleep around 1am which is probably not very good. I'll take your advice and try to apply it to real life, it would be much nicer to wake up earlier!
Just another day
Everyone else is updating their journals and I'm going to join the bandwagon. I don't want to make this too long, and I don't have too many positive things to say anyway because I've gone through a lot of negative things and I don't want that to reflect in my journal. I'll start with the bad stuff and get that out of the way. I have a lot of SACs coming up and I've barely started studying for them. For the last 3-4 weeks, I didn't really do much studying - I just slept and watched TV after school. I couldn't bring myself to do anything, so the work has piled up a lot for me and I'm really behind for all my subjects. I don't think I'll be able to do any practice exams this term because I'm just so over school and over everything, and I need to catch up first as well. My mental health has not been great but I'm starting to try out this meditation thing which has really helped.

Let's move onto the good stuff. I got my English SAC back (comparative argument analysis) and I actually didn't do badly. As someone who sucks at English, I took one look at that score and started celebrating. Obviously I'm going to butcher the comparative SAC coming up but whatever, I'll take the little wins along the way. We had our bio SAC recently and it was pretty easy, so I'm hoping for full marks (or maybe I lost a few because of silly mistakes). I didn't do too well on the methods tech-able SAC but I didn't do too bad either, so I think if I start working harder I'd be on track to a 40+. The chemistry SAC we had recently also wasn't too bad. I know I lost 2 marks though so I'm expecting something like 35+/40. My grades have slowly been dropping, and I don't think I'll make it into my desired course anyway. I say I'm so desperate to get in but I still continue to procrastinate and waste away my time. I'm hoping at least one uni in Australia takes me (I'm applying to all of them that offer med). I'd really prefer to stay in Victoria but I'm not opposed to moving interstate if that's what it takes to study medicine, although it may be hard. Applications are more stressful than I expected because so many unis require all sorts of different forms and separate applications that aren't via the TACs, and keeping track of it all is proving to be quite difficult! My family is very supportive though so they're helping me along the way, especially with deciding which uni I'd prefer over the others in the different states. What's a little more stressful is that interviews are just around the corner, and so are exams. I'll have no rest after exams and will move straight onto full-blown interview prep. I just hope it's enough, because I know what I'm currently doing isn't enough but I can't bring myself to do anymore and I just feel so burnt out.

VTAC preferences:

6/8 are at Monash, unsurprisingly
1. Medicine - School Leaver Entry (Monash University, Clayton)          
2. Medicine - CSP Extended Rural Cohort School Leaver Entry (Monash University, Clayton)         
3. Medicine - CSP Bonded School Leaver Entry (Monash University, Clayton)         
4. Biomedical Science (Monash University, Clayton)         
5. Science (Monash University, Clayton)         
6. Psychology (Honours) (Monash University, Clayton)         
7. Dental Science (Honours) (La Trobe University, Bendigo)         
8. Science/Veterinary Medicine (University Of Melbourne (The), Parkville)
A lot of my friends put down degrees to do with radiography, medical imaging and physio, but to be completely honest I don't think those courses interest me as much as the ones above. I know I'll probably still move around the order of some of my lower preferences, or maybe even add and remove a few, but for now, I'm happy with the above. I know if I don't get into med in Vic or any other state I'll definitely get into biomed or science, so my backup plans are a pretty solid foundation for non-standard entry into medicine or graduate entry into medicine later down the road. Honestly, my preferences lower down are just fillers for my own peace of mind since I wouldn't want to leave any spots empty.

I saw this on sarangiya's journal, and am deciding to steal it for myself. :P An order of things I wanted to pursue as a career:

A definitive list of everyone I have wanted to be
4 years old - A dragon trainer. I vehemently believed they still existed somewhere and that I'd secretly raise my own dragons.
7 years old - A vet, an astronaut and a pilot for helicopters. How do I know? My mum showed me videos when I was younger talking about my dreams to open up my own vet clinic where I'd have a helicopter landing pad to transport sick animals from far away. I think lots of kids wanted to be an astronaut because the idea of exploring outer space seems super fun at that age. I very distinctly remember wanting to be a vet for the longest period of time when I was younger (due do my love for animals).
10 years old - Marine biologist AND the person that would cure cancer and win a Nobel Prize for it. I wish I still had some of that fiery ambition today!
12 years old - An animator for Disney, an author and a vet. I really love drawing - in my early high school years you'd never find maths in my maths books. Only pages and pages of drawings and characters and stories. I'd tried my hand at animating too.
15 years old - When I seriously started considering medicine as a potential option. I was still really stuck between having a career to do with animals or with humans. I still held on to the belief that I'd grow up to be an author too.
Now - I know I want to do medicine after school, and if I don't get in, perhaps I'll have the choice to explore other career options while still trying for med. I want to publish some writing too, so I guess the part of me that wanted to be an author hadn't died out at least. I've wanted to start an art account on Instagram but have procrastinating making it too.

The more I think about this, the more I realise it's true. When I look back at previous highschool years, I never remember the times when I got the highest score in the cohort, or got 90% on that exam, or got this study score or that study score. These are all obviously very important things to me and I'd be lying if I was saying that doing well in school wasn't my primary focus this year. But I never remember these memories very fondly. What I do remember is the times we picked up rubbish on the beach for the whole day, played frisbee on the beach and ate ice cream afterwards, and the time we volunteered at The Salvation Army on that sweltering, burning day and were reminded of the good people in the world. I remember the times when we dissected that rat together and had so much fun doing it, and when we were shivering in our tents playing cards in the Northern Territory. Because it's these memories you take with you, and the friends you make along the way that make it all worth it. You can worry about grades all you want, but if that's the only thing you do then you aren't going to look back over highschool and remember a lot of good things. It's the times you spent doing fun things and silly things, not the time you spent studying for that SAC or exam or test. Grades do matter, but they aren't the only thing that does matter. To anyone reading this journal, I know it's been tough with everything going on this year. Take a break - go on a walk, call your friends, watch a movie or play a board game with your family. I've been doing all these things and it doesn't feel like I've been staring at my computer screen all day anymore. We're social creatures and no matter how much you enjoy being alone, you should reach out and keep in touch with the people you love.

I hope everyone stays safe and has a great week. :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Marylen on August 23, 2020, 01:31:59 pm
Hey whys,
I love to read your journals. It just sparks joy within me and the way you write is just so... touching and sentimental. Your journals inspire me to also reflect upon my own self and how far I've come as a student.
Yeah, I agree with what you've said as well - school isn't just about academia, but also cherishing the memories you hold with your friends. Looking back, I honestly wished I had been a bit more brave and made some more memories during year 7.
Congratulations on your English SAC score! I'm sure you've worked so hard on it and irrespective of your percentage, you should be proud of your results.
Touching on what homeworkisapotato wrote, I also read your journals to gain motivation to study. You're truly an icon for myself and for many others. And I cannot thank you enough for your contributions on the psych forum and taking your time to assist others for their studies.

I can't wait for another journal update soon! Best of luck for your end of year exams.
-Mary
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on August 23, 2020, 03:02:15 pm
Hi whys,
Everyone will feel demotivated at some point in the year and it's totally normal (especially with the online schooling and lack of face to face interactions). I know this won't help (and this is very hypocritical of me) but please don't beat yourself up about it! I promise that you are probably doing more than you think you are and sometimes, giving yourself a rest will help you academically in the long run. It's good to have a bit of a slow period now so that you don't burn out when exams come along. Of course, good work on the chem, bio and especially english SACs!

Also, continue to stay positive for med because you have an incredibly high chance of getting in given your passion and not to mention that awesome UCAT score (a BIG congratulations by the way  8)) I totally believe and am gunning for you to get a place in med, you've got this! At the end of the day you will get where you are meant to be in the medical field and I can't wait to see where your uni course will take you.

Finally, that last paragraph really made my day. You are totally right, as much as we all want to focus on our academics this year it is ultimately our memories and the beautiful people that have made us laugh that actually mean everything. I think we all need to be reminded of this more especially during confinement.
8) - Choco
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on August 23, 2020, 03:33:26 pm
Hey whys!

Quote
My grades have slowly been dropping, and I don't think I'll make it into my desired course anyway.
Please don't say this. You've proven your dedication and determination countless times, such as achieving an amazing UCAT score with so much hard work. You have a very very high chance of getting in so keep going, until you get there. It's really tough but if you just push through, I believe you can make it in the end. Your hard work WILL be paid off. You're so strong and I know that you've got this!
It's normal to be feeling this way. I'm feeling it as well. But, it's good to just have this time to rejuvenate as Choco said so that you have enough energy to make it through to exams and the interview. YOU CAN DO IT!!

It's great meditation is working for you! I really should try it sometime soon as well as my stress levels are peaking.

Amazing job on your english mark and on completing your sacs! Super proud of you!  ;D

Now that I think about it, that last part is true save for the one mark or two.  :P In 10 years time, I'll be cherishing those jubilant memories of hanging out with my family and friends. I mean, sacs and exams are just there to get us to where we want in life, they themselves aren't that important (in my opinion anyway). That last part hit home because I'm not an extremely extroverted person but I'm always bugging my family to talk.  :P

Thank you for the update whys and have an awesome week!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on August 23, 2020, 03:43:42 pm
Haiii whys! I really truly love your reading your updates, they are so enjoyable to read!

First off, congrats on your english mark! It is definetely something you should be proud of!
It is so normal to feel demotivated! Year 12 is such a tough year and I think its important to take a break too.

I'm positive that you will achieve your goals, just keep at it! You've got this.

Also, that last paragraph really really made me smile! I think we all forget this, but the memories made are so much more important in the long run than the numbers we always get so caught up in. Lets hope that we will be back at school soon and able to create even more memories to look back on!

Have an awesome week whys!  :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on September 03, 2020, 07:22:56 am
Hey whys! Really late reply but I just wanted to say that you're so resilient and dedicated to your goals and I know it seems like there's no time for rest but you can do it! It's completely normal to feel demotivated in these times but there's only a few more weeks until school hopefully reopens again.

Your paragraph about treasuring your friends was so inspiring (honestly just become a motivational speaker fam you've got it in you) and you're absolutely right that it's about the memories you make with your loved ones, not all about the marks.

I hope you're doing well now and I was wondering how's your sleep schedule going?
Have a great week!

Edit: DUDE I read your language journal and we're both Tamil!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on September 11, 2020, 11:26:18 pm
I'm so sorry everyone! I've forgotten to reply to these so I'm doing it now. I just want to say, I read over all of your replies multiple times and they've made me so much more happy on the inside. Your replies mean a lot and I value your support and kindness. Thank you for taking the time, all of you, to comment on my journal - they've been very uplifting and inspiring to read, and it's something I appreciate a lot.

Hey whys,
I love to read your journals. It just sparks joy within me and the way you write is just so... touching and sentimental. Your journals inspire me to also reflect upon my own self and how far I've come as a student.
Yeah, I agree with what you've said as well - school isn't just about academia, but also cherishing the memories you hold with your friends. Looking back, I honestly wished I had been a bit more brave and made some more memories during year 7.
Congratulations on your English SAC score! I'm sure you've worked so hard on it and irrespective of your percentage, you should be proud of your results.
Touching on what homeworkisapotato wrote, I also read your journals to gain motivation to study. You're truly an icon for myself and for many others. And I cannot thank you enough for your contributions on the psych forum and taking your time to assist others for their studies.

I can't wait for another journal update soon! Best of luck for your end of year exams.
-Mary
Hi Marylen, this means so much to me! Thank you for your kind words - THEY sparked joy in me! ;D I'm so, so glad I could be of help and that you enjoy reading my updates, but more importantly, that they're a source of motivation. That's okay - you can definitely make more memories and have fun no matter when in your life you're at. I hope you have a wonderful week and all the best for upcoming exam preparation!

Hi whys,
Everyone will feel demotivated at some point in the year and it's totally normal (especially with the online schooling and lack of face to face interactions). I know this won't help (and this is very hypocritical of me) but please don't beat yourself up about it! I promise that you are probably doing more than you think you are and sometimes, giving yourself a rest will help you academically in the long run. It's good to have a bit of a slow period now so that you don't burn out when exams come along. Of course, good work on the chem, bio and especially english SACs!

Also, continue to stay positive for med because you have an incredibly high chance of getting in given your passion and not to mention that awesome UCAT score (a BIG congratulations by the way  8)) I totally believe and am gunning for you to get a place in med, you've got this! At the end of the day you will get where you are meant to be in the medical field and I can't wait to see where your uni course will take you.

Finally, that last paragraph really made my day. You are totally right, as much as we all want to focus on our academics this year it is ultimately our memories and the beautiful people that have made us laugh that actually mean everything. I think we all need to be reminded of this more especially during confinement.
8) - Choco
Thanks for stopping by and for the encouragement Choco, it means a lot. :D Haha, I guess we both need to stop worrying about demotivation and not meeting expectations. Thanks for believing in me (some random girl on the internet!) - you put a smile on my face. I can't wait to see where uni takes you as well, you are honestly so hardworking and determined and I know you'll go places. I hope you had a great day today and have a great day every day after this one.

Hey whys!
Please don't say this. You've proven your dedication and determination countless times, such as achieving an amazing UCAT score with so much hard work. You have a very very high chance of getting in so keep going, until you get there. It's really tough but if you just push through, I believe you can make it in the end. Your hard work WILL be paid off. You're so strong and I know that you've got this!
It's normal to be feeling this way. I'm feeling it as well. But, it's good to just have this time to rejuvenate as Choco said so that you have enough energy to make it through to exams and the interview. YOU CAN DO IT!!

It's great meditation is working for you! I really should try it sometime soon as well as my stress levels are peaking.

Amazing job on your english mark and on completing your sacs! Super proud of you!  ;D

Now that I think about it, that last part is true save for the one mark or two.  :P In 10 years time, I'll be cherishing those jubilant memories of hanging out with my family and friends. I mean, sacs and exams are just there to get us to where we want in life, they themselves aren't that important (in my opinion anyway). That last part hit home because I'm not an extremely extroverted person but I'm always bugging my family to talk.  :P

Thank you for the update whys and have an awesome week!
Thank you so much Evolio! That was especially motivating to read for me, just hearing that someone believes in me can go a long way. I know we share that same passion for medicine and I believe in you too - I know you can make it to wherever you want to and I believe in you too. Yes - definitely try out meditation! It's much more helpful than I expected and gets me into the mood to do some focused study too. I share that opinion. :P You can't get back these times so might as well spend most of it having fun (while of course spending time studying haha!) and no matter who you are interaction can be really rejuvenating.

Haiii whys! I really truly love your reading your updates, they are so enjoyable to read!

First off, congrats on your english mark! It is definetely something you should be proud of!
It is so normal to feel demotivated! Year 12 is such a tough year and I think its important to take a break too.

I'm positive that you will achieve your goals, just keep at it! You've got this.

Also, that last paragraph really really made me smile! I think we all forget this, but the memories made are so much more important in the long run than the numbers we always get so caught up in. Lets hope that we will be back at school soon and able to create even more memories to look back on!

Have an awesome week whys!  :D
Thanks ArtyDreams! I love reading your journal too. You all are so very kind for believing in me, gives me that warm fuzzy feeling on the inside even though I don't even know you. Yep - hopefully we can go back to school in term 4 and cases don't surge up again. I know you'll reach your goals too, so keep at it Arty! I hope you have a wonderful week and remember to take breaks as well.

Hey whys! Really late reply but I just wanted to say that you're so resilient and dedicated to your goals and I know it seems like there's no time for rest but you can do it! It's completely normal to feel demotivated in these times but there's only a few more weeks until school hopefully reopens again.

Your paragraph about treasuring your friends was so inspiring (honestly just become a motivational speaker fam you've got it in you) and you're absolutely right that it's about the memories you make with your loved ones, not all about the marks.

I hope you're doing well now and I was wondering how's your sleep schedule going?
Have a great week!

Edit: DUDE I read your language journal and we're both Tamil!
Thanks for the reply homeworkisapotato. I don't think I'm very resilient but I like to believe I am sometimes, haha. :P A motivational speaker, I don't know about that, but why not give it a try now that I think about it? Marks matter but memories and people matter more. My sleep schedule is better now because it's consistent! I don't exactly sleep more but it's much better since I'm not fluctuating even if I still sleep relatively late. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to try and sleep earlier so I can wake up earlier. Small steps, right? ;)
And wow, we share more in common than I thought! Have a wonderful week fellow Tamilian.

Once again, thank you for your replies! I can't thank you guys enough, they were really something to read when I was feeling extremely down and every time after that when I've felt similarly.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on September 18, 2020, 01:08:47 pm
Quick update
Hey everyone! I just wanted to make a short journal entry because I don't know/don't think I'll make one over the holidays. I've done my English trial exam and I have 2 more SACs to go for the year, which will both be next term. Not really thinking of studying for the GAT, I think I'll just walk into the exam hall and hope for the best. :P Something I've definitely noticed is the workload of having multiple 3/4 subjects compared to only 2 last year. I felt like I had so much more time to do stuff and I could take my time in revising, but this year it feels like there's no time at all! I really need to get a start on practice exams. I think I'll do my first few when holidays officially start on Monday, and take this weekend to revise the content and chill out a bit. I still can't believe exams are coming up already! This year honestly went by in the blink of an eye. With regards to exam preparation, I don't really have a set number of practice exams I want to do for each subject. I think I'm just going to do at least 10 for each (except English, God knows I won't be sitting through a 3 hour 15 minute exam 10 times). I feel a bit disorganised with everything but I think I'm just going to roll with it. I made myself a checklist of everything I want to get done, but looking at it is daunting because there's just so much stuff on it and I really don't think I'll be able to finish everything. Not to mention I have to start looking at interview preparation… which I haven't started and have been neglecting. Oh, reminds me, I still have to do uni applications, which is looming over me too. I think that's what I'll do over the weekend so I can get all those pesky forms done and won't have to worry about them later on.

I honestly can't wait till lockdown is over. I just want to see all my friends again, it's never the same over call. Once the vaccine for COVID is out and everyone is vaccinated I'm literally going to go on holiday and never come back haha, I just want to get out somewhere away from the house, meet my friends, and be able to go outside without the fear of catching the virus. Once exams are over I think I'll just curl up in a massive ball on the couch and read. I absolutely love reading but I haven't gotten to do much of it, and reading for a certain amount every day is never as fun as finishing an entire book/series in one sitting. I think there's a lot of stuff I'm going to do once exams are over, and thinking about has got me all excited, but I still need to survive exams first. I've got my fingers crossed that uni next year won't be online and we won't miss out on all the fun stuff at the start of the year.

I hope everyone stays safe over the holidays and gets some much-needed rest and rejuvenation.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Coolgalbornin03Lo on September 18, 2020, 03:01:19 pm
An update yayyyy!

I hope you enjoy your holidays Whys. Your right revsion feels so tight! My bio teacher set an exam every day (except 2 days) of the holidays as a guide since most people doing bio are year 11s  :P it’d be bliss to have all that time. I honestly wish I could sit around and continue doing Chem and bio exams but psych, methods and English (which I haven’t even touched) will come back to bite me :(

But your a pro so I’m sure you’ll do amazing even if you only did one exam  ;) unlike me who will fail with 50 lol
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on September 18, 2020, 05:11:50 pm
Hi whys!!
I think I'll do my first few when holidays officially start on Monday, and take this weekend to revise the content and chill out a bit. I still can't believe exams are coming up already! This year honestly went by in the blink of an eye. With regards to exam preparation, I don't really have a set number of practice exams I want to do for each subject. I think I'm just going to do at least 10 for each (except English, God knows I won't be sitting through a 3 hour 15 minute exam 10 times). I feel a bit disorganised with everything but I think I'm just going to roll with it. I made myself a checklist of everything I want to get done, but looking at it is daunting because there's just so much stuff on it and I really don't think I'll be able to finish everything. Not to mention I have to start looking at interview preparation… which I haven't started and have been neglecting. Oh, reminds me, I still have to do uni applications, which is looming over me too. I think that's what I'll do over the weekend so I can get all those pesky forms done and won't have to worry about them later on.
That's a great plan! I understand that you're feeling disorganised but I think it's great that you're not a paranoid planner like me and you just start instead of just planning all the time. I also think it's great that you're taking the weekend mostly off to rejuvenate! All the best with uni applications and all them practice exams, I know you'll do great!!

I absolutely love reading but I haven't gotten to do much of it, and reading for a certain amount every day is never as fun as finishing an entire book/series in one sitting.
Same!! What are your favourite books?

I hope you have an amazing holiday and come back to Term 4 all fresh and happy <3
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on October 01, 2020, 05:01:10 pm
An update yayyyy!

I hope you enjoy your holidays Whys. Your right revsion feels so tight! My bio teacher set an exam every day (except 2 days) of the holidays as a guide since most people doing bio are year 11s  :P it’d be bliss to have all that time. I honestly wish I could sit around and continue doing Chem and bio exams but psych, methods and English (which I haven’t even touched) will come back to bite me :(

But your a pro so I’m sure you’ll do amazing even if you only did one exam  ;) unlike me who will fail with 50 lol
Thank you! And wowie, an exam every day, definitely for the year 11s! I wish I had the time for that! And please don't say that - you're a hardworking person and with all the revision you're doing, I'm sure you'll be fine. Keep at it Elle. :)

Hi whys!!That's a great plan! I understand that you're feeling disorganised but I think it's great that you're not a paranoid planner like me and you just start instead of just planning all the time. I also think it's great that you're taking the weekend mostly off to rejuvenate! All the best with uni applications and all them practice exams, I know you'll do great!!
Same!! What are your favourite books?

I hope you have an amazing holiday and come back to Term 4 all fresh and happy <3
Thank you! I love Sarah J Maas' books, not sure if you've heard of her but if you like reading things in the fantasy genre then I recommend reading some of her series. What books do you enjoy?? All the best for exam revision.

Thanks homeworkisapotato and Elle for the replies. ;D

1st Oct
The days are going by really quickly, and it feels like holidays just started yesterday. Some days I sit around for a while and it's already dinnertime, some days I get to squeeze in some study. I don't know how it came to be this way, but I hope going back to school will help motivate me to study more. I honestly can't wait to see my teachers face-to-face, but most importantly I miss my friends and I miss the light-hearted environment at school. Other than that, there's not much to update with; life is just moving along at a snail's pace and I'm going along with it. Feels quite surreal that I'll be graduating this year, I don't think my mind has processed that yet. This is an update but it isn't, I just wanted to jot down some of my thoughts before I left. I hope everyone stays safe, and remember not to study too hard!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on October 03, 2020, 06:02:00 pm
Hey whys!
Quote
Thank you! I love Sarah J Maas' books, not sure if you've heard of her but if you like reading things in the fantasy genre then I recommend reading some of her series. What books do you enjoy?? All the best for exam revision.
I love Sarah J Maas' books! We have a lot in common  ;D
I love her Throne of Glass series and ACOTAR series, but I'm kinda meh with her Crescent City book. I also love urban fantasy books (especially the Kate Daniels series it's sooo good). Thank you!! All the best for your exam revision, you're so hardworking you'll succeed in meeting your goals for sure <3
Stay safe!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on October 16, 2020, 04:45:25 pm
Hey whys! I love Sarah J Maas' books! We have a lot in common  ;D
I love her Throne of Glass series and ACOTAR series, but I'm kinda meh with her Crescent City book. I also love urban fantasy books (especially the Kate Daniels series it's sooo good). Thank you!! All the best for your exam revision, you're so hardworking you'll succeed in meeting your goals for sure <3
Stay safe!
Throne of Glass is by far my favourite! ACOTAR is alright in my opinion, and I much prefer TOG. I do love Rhysand though. I haven't read Crescent City yet because I want to read it when a few books are out (I hate being left on a cliffhanger). I've never heard of that series before - I'll add that to my to-read list! Thanks potato, and the same can be said about you as well. I have full faith that you'll do amazingly. Thank you for the reply, and stay safe!!

Sunshine she's here, you can take a break
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/55/f5/fd/55f5fdc9455989f8caf7fca7f93bd96a.gif)
Hi guys! I'm almost 18 so I wanted to make a celebratory update. Of course, I've got a whole lot of depressing news to share, but I want this update to be lighthearted and fun, rather than documenting all my misery (which I've been doing for basically all my past updates). Maybe my next update can talk about how unprepared, unconfident and scared I feel with exams coming up!

We got our English trial exam scores back that we did on the holidays, and I got 52/60. I'm really happy with this because English is my second-worst subject (second-worst to none other than the wonderful chemistry) and it was apparently marked with the same harshness VCAA marks with, as it was marked by the Chief Examiner (or ex-chief examiner, I'm not too sure). I was absolutely shocked when I saw a 10/10 for section A, because it is by far my worst section and I'm very used to the way my teachers mark. I was really disappointed with my performances in section B and C though because I actually thought I was doing decently well in them but apparently not. :-[ Oh wait, I forgot - this is an update of positivity! Well, all I can say is that I'm going to work really hard on all sections so that by exam time I can feel confident in my writing abilities. I also got my comparative SAC back, and I also did well on that (surprisingly). So, I'm really happy to say that I've improved a ton in this subject.

Now, to biology. I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but I've been more and more upset with my performance in this subject. I've been dropping so many silly marks in all my SACs, and I could sense the disappointment within the way my teacher spoke to me. I did talk to her about it and she helped me feel a bit better and gave me advice though, so that's a plus! I enjoy biology and I'm going to try my very best to relearn all the content and all the little details in the content in time for the exam. There are just so many details, it feels so overwhelming. Especially plant defence and plant hormone stuff, I can never remember the information about auxins and gibberellins and all the other plant hormones.

Chemistry. Ah, my old friend. Now, I don't particularly enjoy chemistry. I do like unit 4, though. However, I'm going to get through practice exams and questions to identify everything I don't know so I can go and learn it. I need to get a grip on this subject, and I want to actually know what's going on in unit 3. Otherwise, I'm just sitting there, clueless all the time, while everyone else knows what's going on. This is my worst subject so I'm not expecting to do well, especially since I've slacked off during the year, but I want to do my best now so I'm somewhat prepared for the exam.

There really isn't much to say about methods. I've only done a few practice exams, and for maths, it's all about practice. Honestly, the only thing I'm going to be doing for methods is adding to my bound reference and doing practice exams. I keep making silly mistakes in exam 1, which is preventing me from getting the marks I want to, so I definitely need to somehow stop making silly mistakes. There isn't much content to this subject, which is very reassuring, but I know there's still a lot I need to revise for me.

Overall, I think I need to start studying for longer and stop procrastinating (though, I'm not sure I can ever stop procrastinating, which is the problem here). I'm not aiming for any specific ATAR anymore, I just want to try my very best now and give my best performance on the exam. That being said, I still have a specific ATAR and study score goals in my mind, something I don't think I can get rid of, but I'm trying to ignore these expectations so I can focus on quality study. Right now, it feels so overwhelming thinking of everything I don't know, but I'm going to work towards fixing the holes in my knowledge and perfect my exam technique for each subject. I also encourage all of you guys to look at the positives in your life. Sometimes, our pessimistic outlook can preclude us from realising how far we've come - something we should all definitely celebrate!

Predicting study scores is super fun (even if they make me sad), so here are my predictions:
English - 42
Biology - 45
Methods - 43
Chemistry - 37
I still remember last year when my predictions were wayyy off my actual study scores, and I ended up underestimating the score of one subject and overestimating the score of my other subject. Anyways, I want to see how accurate my guesses will be this year. Predicting is fun but I think it's important to always aim for the best study score so that you can do as well as you possibly can, and sometimes predictions prevent you from doing that.

I hope everyone is going well with exam prep, and remember, it's never too late to improve!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Coolgalbornin03Lo on October 16, 2020, 05:25:21 pm
Awww happy birthday! (For soon).

And 52/60 on an English exam?!?! You. Are. Amazing!!!!! That’s like a 45 study score equivalent!!!!! Especially with your amazing SACs throughout the year  ;)

And a 10/10 *jaw drops to ground* Section A is also my worse but mine is EXTREMLEY BAD! But I feel in my trial exam it may have been my best......

Predicting scores makes me sad also but I love it too!!! We differ in that you can DEFINITLEY achieve yours 😊😊 don’t stop believing music 🎶

Good luck why’s! I’m 110% sure you underestimating yourself and we’ll look back on this post and say woah!

Empathising with English Struggles
Also it’s really really good to hear you feel you’ve improved in English! You inspired me to do the same a few months back and although I’m probably nowhere near your 52/60 my teacher said my comparative sac is the best I’ve done all year!!! And that I’ve generally improved a lot! I really wonder how we will do..... 
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on October 16, 2020, 05:50:24 pm
Hey whys!
Spoiler
Quote
Throne of Glass is by far my favourite! ACOTAR is alright in my opinion, and I much prefer TOG. I do love Rhysand though.
I LOVE the plot and characters of TOG, but I don't love the plot of ACOTAR. The characters are amazing though. I love Cassian ahaha, and I remember loving Dorian too. Especially Empire of Storms and after. Maas did the character development AMAZINGLY well in TOG. 

Quote
I've never heard of that series before - I'll add that to my to-read list!
YES it's so good!! The first book can be confusing but it gets so good and Kate is soo funny. Let me know when you read it!
Buttt Harry Potter forever <3
Quote
Thanks potato, and the same can be said about you as well. I have full faith that you'll do amazingly. Thank you for the reply, and stay safe!!
Thank you sooo much! That means the world to me (I swear I've said this to every nice thing you've said but honestly it's true!)

Literally AMAZING job in English, I can't even imagine doing that well. I also had a lot of trouble remembering plant stuff in Bio so I started using Anki a while ago and it's been great, so I highly recommend it for that and remembering minute details.

Quote
Sometimes, our pessimistic outlook can preclude us from realising how far we've come - something we should all definitely celebrate!
Wowza this is so true and something I struggle with everyday, thank you for reminding us to be more loving to ourselves<3

All the best for studies and I'm sure you'll exceed your predictions  ;D
Stay safe!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on October 16, 2020, 06:06:22 pm
Hey Whys, great to read an update from you!

Completely get you with just the whole negative life stuff at the moment, but it's great to see that even though it's not the easiest thing to get through, you're still pushing through it and getting stuff done.

That's an amazing english score, i'm so proud of you! I know you've really struggled throughout the year with good old english, and to hear that it's actually going well is amazing to hear! I'm so happy for you, you absolutely deserve this after all the hard work you've put in!

I 100% relate to the procrastination stuff, i've been finding it hard to motivate myself these past few weeks, but on the positive side you're still getting stuff done, and whilst it's fast approaching, there's still plenty of time to get study done. Anyway, always nice to read an update from you, and best of luck with the exam study!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on October 17, 2020, 04:10:01 pm
Awww happy birthday! (For soon).

And 52/60 on an English exam?!?! You. Are. Amazing!!!!! That’s like a 45 study score equivalent!!!!! Especially with your amazing SACs throughout the year  ;)

And a 10/10 *jaw drops to ground* Section A is also my worse but mine is EXTREMLEY BAD! But I feel in my trial exam it may have been my best......

Predicting scores makes me sad also but I love it too!!! We differ in that you can DEFINITLEY achieve yours 😊😊 don’t stop believing music 🎶

Good luck why’s! I’m 110% sure you underestimating yourself and we’ll look back on this post and say woah!

Empathising with English Struggles
Also it’s really really good to hear you feel you’ve improved in English! You inspired me to do the same a few months back and although I’m probably nowhere near your 52/60 my teacher said my comparative sac is the best I’ve done all year!!! And that I’ve generally improved a lot! I really wonder how we will do..... 
Thanks Elle!

My SACs are far from amazing, but thank you for the encouragement! Don't worry, with practice you'll definitely improve! I believe in your ability to do well in Section A, and I think you're underestimating yourself!

Thanks for your kind words, and I similarly think you're underestimating yourself too. Hopefully we'll both do satisfactorily on the end of year exams.

Spoiler
I'm glad I could! It's great to hear you've improved and without a doubt, you'll do well on the exam as you keep improving! English can be such a painful subject but I'm trying to take a different approach to maximise my scores. My love/hate relationship with this subject is slowly drawing to an end, and the same can be said for all others who just can't wait till the English exam is over.

Hey whys!
Spoiler
I LOVE the plot and characters of TOG, but I don't love the plot of ACOTAR. The characters are amazing though. I love Cassian ahaha, and I remember loving Dorian too. Especially Empire of Storms and after. Maas did the character development AMAZINGLY well in TOG. 
YES it's so good!! The first book can be confusing but it gets so good and Kate is soo funny. Let me know when you read it!
Buttt Harry Potter forever <3Thank you sooo much! That means the world to me (I swear I've said this to every nice thing you've said but honestly it's true!)

Literally AMAZING job in English, I can't even imagine doing that well. I also had a lot of trouble remembering plant stuff in Bio so I started using Anki a while ago and it's been great, so I highly recommend it for that and remembering minute details.
Wowza this is so true and something I struggle with everyday, thank you for reminding us to be more loving to ourselves<3

All the best for studies and I'm sure you'll exceed your predictions  ;D
Stay safe!
Spoiler
I LOVE Dorian, honestly one of the best characters. I love Manon's character arc too, and the end of the last book broke my heart for her sake! Cassian was a character I liked too, but not as much as I liked Rhysand. I've never actually been a Harry Potter fan and I've gotten a lot of crap from it from my friends who are diehard fans of the books/movies haha. I've seen quite a few of the movies and read 1-2 books but unfortunately I just couldn't get into it.

Don't worry, you've got ages to improve. English is definitely one of those subjects you can make short-term improvements in if you know what you're doing and focus on a few key things to improve in for each essay. Thanks for the recommendation! I should definitely get onto going back to the flashcards I made throughout the year to help me remember the info haha. :P

All the best to you too potato!

Hey Whys, great to read an update from you!

Completely get you with just the whole negative life stuff at the moment, but it's great to see that even though it's not the easiest thing to get through, you're still pushing through it and getting stuff done.

That's an amazing english score, i'm so proud of you! I know you've really struggled throughout the year with good old english, and to hear that it's actually going well is amazing to hear! I'm so happy for you, you absolutely deserve this after all the hard work you've put in!

I 100% relate to the procrastination stuff, i've been finding it hard to motivate myself these past few weeks, but on the positive side you're still getting stuff done, and whilst it's fast approaching, there's still plenty of time to get study done. Anyway, always nice to read an update from you, and best of luck with the exam study!
Thanks for the reply, and I've been following along your journal and love seeing a new update!

Thank you so much Geoo, your encouragement is honestly making me motivated to go write an essay now! It did take a lot of hard work and demotivating scores, but in the end we can all improve if we put our minds to it, which is what matters in the end. <3 Procrastination is definitely one of the things I struggle with and I know most people find it similarly difficult to overcome, so I guess we're all in a similar boat, drowning in procrastination! I can definitely empathise with the losing motivation bit, and what works for me is reminding myself that it'll soon be over, and that I need to work hard now if I'm to achieve my goals.

Best of luck to you as well.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on November 10, 2020, 01:41:16 pm
I know I said I wouldn’t update until after exams are done (but I lied and here I am). I feel like giving some sort of warrior speech celebrating a victory after war. But I mean, it’s funny, because I know I didn’t win. But it still felt like a victory when I ran through the house and tore quotes off the wall, when I finally filed my English books away - no longer plaguing my study table. English is over. It’s done. It’s gone. I never have to analyse another book again, memorise a quote, stress about what I think the author is trying to convey. I don’t have to think ‘hmm... I wonder what Shakespeare is trying to tell me here?’ or ‘what metalanguage should I use?’ or ‘don’t forget to write about the images in my argument analysis essay!’ ever again. That’s it. It’s the end. And - it really is crazy.

Crazy because I never have to write a stupid text response, comparative essay or argument analysis essay again. No more mental breakdowns, no more ‘secluded weeping’ and ‘falling down on thresholds’, just calm and quiet and peace.

Walking into that exam, I felt so out of place. A wolf among sheep, an imposter among crewmates. One brain that cannot understand English amidst the intelligence of my cohort. But still, I walked in with a smile, with my chin up, and my eyes shining with faked confidence. I really did. That meditation really helped, I guess. I felt ready to conquer whatever VCAA was about to throw at me, whatever curve ball. Then - section B. Those prompts. Those horrid prompts. I knew they were going to be utterly difficult this year, but...

It was okay, though. I didn’t panic. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, forgot that I was in the middle of the exam, and calmed down. Writing started and my hand flew across the page. Write like the wind, I told myself before the exam. And I did.

It was quite unfortaunte that somewhere in the middle of my exam, before I started section B, I started feeling a little weird. My head a little too light, my face a little too hot and a little too red. A twisting knot grew in my stomach. So I sat there, for 15 minutes, in silence, swallowing the pain. Of course I could’ve gone on a toilet break or told a supervisor that I wasn’t feeling too good, but I knew the outcome of that. A horrible derived study score. So I kept going, filling in the empty pages with lines of nonsense - one by one, minute after minute. More and more pages of nothings. Stuff that didn’t make sense, stuff that was irrelevant, stuff that wasn’t backed by evidence. I was too tired, too sick to care. I just kept going, and going, and going.

I did finish the exam, perhaps not with enough time to proofread, but with enough time to take a deep breath, close my eyes and tell myself it would be okay. English wasn’t the end of the world, unless I decided it to be. And in that moment, I decided that it never would be. I have more exams to prove my worth, more opportunities after high school to show people I’m worth more than a study score and more than an ATAR. That VCE English would not stain my declared victory.

It is impossible to escape that dread, though - that I’ll never be enough, that my teacher will look at me with disappointment glimmering in her eyes, that my parents will regard me with that silent, disapproving look of theirs. I promised myself I would not dwell on the possibilities, that I wouldn’t say... ‘but what if?’ and instead accept whatever is given to me. Of course I wanted a 40+, of course I wanted medicine, but can I really? Is it even for me?

At this point, I’m just glad I survived. I’m never looking back at English, because now, ‘there [is] only one way everything [will] go.’ I know that only in time I will come to accept it.

And that’s okay.

EDIT: And with that, I’ll probably be staying far away from atarnotes and other exam discussion spaces to prevent triggering any anxiety and feeling upset about my performance, perhaps popping into the biology question thread but nothing more. I wish everyone luck for their exams. We are so close.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: lm21074 on November 10, 2020, 02:00:27 pm
Congratulations on completing English, whys!

You're an amazing person that will make an amazing doctor. How you do on these exams won't change that.

Wishing you the best for the rest of your exams :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: dedformed on November 10, 2020, 02:11:04 pm
congrats whys!
 
Quote
because I know I didn’t win

you did. Your victory was real. Regardless of your performance, you deserve to feel proud of everything that has lead you to this point.

Also did I ever tell you you write beautifully? Your entries are smooth and engaging to read through (I'm a bit addicted to reading them ngl) and I'm sure your talent reflected through your essays as well. You're a really inspiring and amazing person and an English exam that only spans three hours of your existence can't speak for what kind of doctor you'll be.

Also good on you for staying away from things that make you feel nervous. Make sure you're taking care of yourself, and good luck with Bio.

*curtsey*
Penelope
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on November 10, 2020, 04:55:53 pm
Hey whys,
First off, I completely agree the section B prompts for our texts were absolutely horrible so don't feel you are alone in feeling as though you wrote "irrelevant" stuff (I can definitely relate, I don't even know what happened towards the end...).
Next, a big congratulations for pushing through despite feeling sick during the exam. That would NOT have been easy and honestly says a lot more about your work ethic and determination than your study score  8)
Finally, you probably did a lot better than you thought I wouldn't completely ride off that 40+ . And even if you didn't, your UCAT puts you in a very good place regardless (anyway, medicine is your dream and you're a hard worker, intelligent and diligent. I have no doubt you'll get there in the end!)

Thank you for this entry, it was beautifully honest to read. All the best for the rest of your exams which I'm certain you'll do incredible in!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on November 10, 2020, 05:46:54 pm
I know I said I wouldn’t update until after exams are done (but I lied and here I am). I feel like giving some sort of warrior speech celebrating a victory after war. But I mean, it’s funny, because I know I didn’t win. But it still felt like a victory when I ran through the house and tore quotes off the wall, when I finally filed my English books away - no longer plaguing my study table. English is over. It’s done. It’s gone. I never have to analyse another book again, memorise a quote, stress about what I think the author is trying to convey. I don’t have to think ‘hmm... I wonder what Shakespeare is trying to tell me here?’ or ‘what metalanguage should I use?’ or ‘don’t forget to write about the images in my argument analysis essay!’ ever again. That’s it. It’s the end. And - it really is crazy.

Crazy because I never have to write a stupid text response, comparative essay or argument analysis essay again. No more mental breakdowns, no more ‘secluded weeping’ and ‘falling down on thresholds’, just calm and quiet and peace.

Walking into that exam, I felt so out of place. A wolf among sheep, an imposter among crewmates. One brain that cannot understand English amidst the intelligence of my cohort. But still, I walked in with a smile, with my chin up, and my eyes shining with faked confidence. I really did. That meditation really helped, I guess. I felt ready to conquer whatever VCAA was about to throw at me, whatever curve ball. Then - section B. Those prompts. Those horrid prompts. I knew they were going to be utterly difficult this year, but...

It was okay, though. I didn’t panic. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, forgot that I was in the middle of the exam, and calmed down. Writing started and my hand flew across the page. Write like the wind, I told myself before the exam. And I did.

It was quite unfortaunte that somewhere in the middle of my exam, before I started section B, I started feeling a little weird. My head a little too light, my face a little too hot and a little too red. A twisting knot grew in my stomach. So I sat there, for 15 minutes, in silence, swallowing the pain. Of course I could’ve gone on a toilet break or told a supervisor that I wasn’t feeling too good, but I knew the outcome of that. A horrible derived study score. So I kept going, filling in the empty pages with lines of nonsense - one by one, minute after minute. More and more pages of nothings. Stuff that didn’t make sense, stuff that was irrelevant, stuff that wasn’t backed by evidence. I was too tired, too sick to care. I just kept going, and going, and going.

I did finish the exam, perhaps not with enough time to proofread, but with enough time to take a deep breath, close my eyes and tell myself it would be okay. English wasn’t the end of the world, unless I decided it to be. And in that moment, I decided that it never would be. I have more exams to prove my worth, more opportunities after high school to show people I’m worth more than a study score and more than an ATAR. That VCE English would not stain my declared victory.

It is impossible to escape that dread, though - that I’ll never be enough, that my teacher will look at me with disappointment glimmering in her eyes, that my parents will regard me with that silent, disapproving look of theirs. I promised myself I would not dwell on the possibilities, that I wouldn’t say... ‘but what if?’ and instead accept whatever is given to me. Of course I wanted a 40+, of course I wanted medicine, but can I really? Is it even for me?

At this point, I’m just glad I survived. I’m never looking back at English, because now, ‘there [is] only one way everything [will] go.’ I know that only in time I will come to accept it.

And that’s okay.

EDIT: And with that, I’ll probably be staying far away from atarnotes and other exam discussion spaces to prevent triggering any anxiety and feeling upset about my performance, perhaps popping into the biology question thread but nothing more. I wish everyone luck for their exams. We are so close.
Good on you! At least it's done! :) And you obviously did your best, which is all you can do. Hopefully you did better than you thought! :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on November 10, 2020, 06:50:31 pm
Hey whys! Congratulations on finishing English! Your entry was beautiful and no matter what happens I hope you are proud of the amazing work you've done all year!! All the best for Bio this Friday and stay safe <3
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: angrybiscuit on November 10, 2020, 09:26:27 pm
congrats whys :) we truly won when we could FINALLY get rid of piles and piles of english notes and close of the 10000 tabs dedicated to english. We NEVER have to do that again

I share your lament over Section B, it was not okay. But let’s not dwell on something we can’t change. Remember, from one english hater to another, we came out of it as winners ;)

The others above me speak the truth. Your suitability for medicine is not dictated by how well you compare texts or by how well you analyse arguments. Don't let this deter your overwhelming passion.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: 99.95_goal on November 11, 2020, 09:06:25 pm
I know I said I wouldn’t update until after exams are done (but I lied and here I am). I feel like giving some sort of warrior speech celebrating a victory after war. But I mean, it’s funny, because I know I didn’t win. But it still felt like a victory when I ran through the house and tore quotes off the wall, when I finally filed my English books away - no longer plaguing my study table. English is over. It’s done. It’s gone. I never have to analyse another book again, memorise a quote, stress about what I think the author is trying to convey. I don’t have to think ‘hmm... I wonder what Shakespeare is trying to tell me here?’ or ‘what metalanguage should I use?’ or ‘don’t forget to write about the images in my argument analysis essay!’ ever again. That’s it. It’s the end. And - it really is crazy.

Crazy because I never have to write a stupid text response, comparative essay or argument analysis essay again. No more mental breakdowns, no more ‘secluded weeping’ and ‘falling down on thresholds’, just calm and quiet and peace.

Walking into that exam, I felt so out of place. A wolf among sheep, an imposter among crewmates. One brain that cannot understand English amidst the intelligence of my cohort. But still, I walked in with a smile, with my chin up, and my eyes shining with faked confidence. I really did. That meditation really helped, I guess. I felt ready to conquer whatever VCAA was about to throw at me, whatever curve ball. Then - section B. Those prompts. Those horrid prompts. I knew they were going to be utterly difficult this year, but...

It was okay, though. I didn’t panic. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, forgot that I was in the middle of the exam, and calmed down. Writing started and my hand flew across the page. Write like the wind, I told myself before the exam. And I did.

It was quite unfortaunte that somewhere in the middle of my exam, before I started section B, I started feeling a little weird. My head a little too light, my face a little too hot and a little too red. A twisting knot grew in my stomach. So I sat there, for 15 minutes, in silence, swallowing the pain. Of course I could’ve gone on a toilet break or told a supervisor that I wasn’t feeling too good, but I knew the outcome of that. A horrible derived study score. So I kept going, filling in the empty pages with lines of nonsense - one by one, minute after minute. More and more pages of nothings. Stuff that didn’t make sense, stuff that was irrelevant, stuff that wasn’t backed by evidence. I was too tired, too sick to care. I just kept going, and going, and going.

I did finish the exam, perhaps not with enough time to proofread, but with enough time to take a deep breath, close my eyes and tell myself it would be okay. English wasn’t the end of the world, unless I decided it to be. And in that moment, I decided that it never would be. I have more exams to prove my worth, more opportunities after high school to show people I’m worth more than a study score and more than an ATAR. That VCE English would not stain my declared victory.

It is impossible to escape that dread, though - that I’ll never be enough, that my teacher will look at me with disappointment glimmering in her eyes, that my parents will regard me with that silent, disapproving look of theirs. I promised myself I would not dwell on the possibilities, that I wouldn’t say... ‘but what if?’ and instead accept whatever is given to me. Of course I wanted a 40+, of course I wanted medicine, but can I really? Is it even for me?

At this point, I’m just glad I survived. I’m never looking back at English, because now, ‘there [is] only one way everything [will] go.’ I know that only in time I will come to accept it.

And that’s okay.

EDIT: And with that, I’ll probably be staying far away from atarnotes and other exam discussion spaces to prevent triggering any anxiety and feeling upset about my performance, perhaps popping into the biology question thread but nothing more. I wish everyone luck for their exams. We are so close.
Hey there, I just wanna say wow - you've really thought this through, and by the looks of it, you are quite the writer ;)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: w0lfqu33n89 on November 12, 2020, 10:57:29 am
The was one of your most inspiring and admirable posts EVER!!! <3
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on November 14, 2020, 10:26:51 am
Hi everyone, I’m always overwhelmed by the number of positive responses I get on here - they’re so heartwarming to read. I love reading them and I’ll probably edit this entry later replying to each one of you, but for now there’s just some stuff I want to get out.

Firstly, everyone walked out of that bio exam saying it was easy. And of course, I agree with them. I found it much easier than other years - deceptively easy, even. But the more I think about my answers, the more wrong they are. I keep thinking about how I just wasn’t specific enough for so many questions. And, I’m getting a DES for bio. My best subject this year. The easiest exam, but now I’m going to get the worst possible study score. I could barely read the questions, the words were all blurry on the pages, I didn’t know what bullshit I was writing - I just wrote. I’m pretty sure I just shaded in some random bubbles for multiple choice. Not once did I take my highlighter out, not once did I underline anything from the question stem. My entire exam plan went down the drain and now two subjects that would make or break my ATAR, I have failed so badly. Even with the emergency rest breaks I got it wasn’t enough, I kept telling myself it would be okay but I knew it wasn’t. Everyone around me was on like the last page of the exam and I had barely started short answer. I kept trying to understand the questions but it took me so long. My hand was just writing random words and I know most my answers didn’t make sense. It’s going to take me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to get an ATAR anywhere near what I was aiming for. It just feels like all those hours practising for the UCAT, doing well in year 11, studying this year, doing interview prep, has all gone out the window. All that hard work, for what? To get an ATAR that’s nowhere near competitive for med, to read a hundred different rejection letters from every uni, to see everything go down the drain because of something I couldn’t control. But still, it feels like it was my fault, and I wish I could go back in time to change something, anything. I can’t believe I did all that hard work for nothing. It just makes you feel worthless. I never thought I’d get a derived score, but here I am, my dreams of getting above 45 crushed, left with the numbness that I probably won’t even get 40. The world is just depressing right now. I just want to keep crying and never do my chemistry and methods exams. It just feels like - what’s the point? you know. I don’t know how to feel, it just feels like everything is spiralling out of control and I’m desperately trying to piece my life back together, but it’s not working. It’s just so hard to accept it, and I don’t know when I will. I don’t know if I can. I know what it’s going to feel like when I open my ATAR, and I don’t ever want to. I don’t want to see sympathy on people’s faces, I don’t want them to say ‘Oh, I’m so sorry this happened to you. It’s not your fault, you know?’ but nothing is inevitable, everything could have been changed. But most importantly, I don’t want to see the disappointment. From my teachers, who always knew I’d do well, but I’ve now failed them and their expectations. From my parents, who saw me work so hard this year but it’s all gone, just like that, in a second. From myself, because I expected so much from myself, but it’s just a waste now. 13 year of schooling, wasted, because now I can never get an ATAR I’m happy with. Every time I use the ATAR calculator I can’t help but cry, because now it’s impossible to do well and impossible to get into medicine. I am trying to push myself back up in time for the rest of my exams but I don’t think I can.

Anyways, that’s my word vomit done. I don’t have anything positive to say so I’ll leave it here. I wish everyone the very best for the rest of your exams. Keep pushing, I know you can do well. 
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: dedformed on November 14, 2020, 11:16:07 am
Hey it's me.

I read your journal after posting mine and I can't pretend to be all flowery about it and say it's going to be okay because I'm feeling the same about yesterday's exam. It sucks to have to come at terms with it.

I know it's a bit hypocritical of me to try to make you feel better when I kept telling my parents to let me be miserable for a while but something my mum said to me yesterday stuck with me: "Don't create a frameshift mutation". You still have 2 more exams to go. It feels so hard to push out of Biology, but try to focus on Methods and Chemistry. You haven't received your study score yet so  you never know where it will take you. And you still have the UCAT under your belt.

My Biology teacher said this and I found it somewhat comforting.

"Don't beat yourself up over the exam. It's not an uncommon feeling to walk out as you have. It's a different feeling to a SAC. More questions, more variability, can't recall all responses etc.

There's an incredibly small chance that you score that low. It's done, and you've got other responsibilities to focus on. Immerse yourself in that world now.

When you get your score, we can revisit the realities of the year rather than what might be. "

If things don't turn out the way you wished, there'll be other pathways for med. You're such a conscientious person you'll find your own way into the career that best suits you and makes you happy. Remember not to judge your self worth based on one exam because it's such a weird system. How can 2.5 hours determine how much your aptitude is worth? aTAR is  jUsT a NumbEr. The system downright sucks, and I'm not saying this out of sympathy but pure agitation about it. Try your best for Chem and Methods, and if you feel prepared enough, also give yourself a break. Go out for a walk. Listen to something calm. Dress up, even. It helps. Have chocolate.

*virtual hugs* because I kind of know how this feels.
Don't leave any regrets for other subjects. Be kind to yourself
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Geoo on November 14, 2020, 11:58:37 am
Hey Whys,

I already know you've got tones of responses to reply to, but I just wanted to let you know you're not alone, and that your feelings are perfectly valid. I was in the exact same position with bio last year. I didn't get a DES as for me it's chronic which doesn't count :/, however my own heatlh condition severely interfered with my exam performance. I ended up passing out for around 15 minutes and just had no clue what I even wrote for the rest of it. I can 100% relate to that feeling of seeing all of that hard work down the drain. All those practice exams, your SAC scores, all the time you spend revising, I think that's what hurts the most. Just knowing that because that day didn't go to well, when all other factors were controllable, it's just that pesky unpredictability of health.

Time does heal the frustration, although i'm still a bit bitter about it, but your not alone in those feelings. I really do hope that you'll do fantastic on your remaining exams, and fingers crossed it doesn't happen again or to that extent. Remembering how the ATAR is just a score reflecting a period time, and that time wasn't the best unfortunately. Don't be too hard on yourself, I know the pressures we all place on ourselves make that difficult, but hopefully you can be happy knowing that it's all over and done with now. Good luck, you're almost done!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Marylen on November 14, 2020, 12:14:56 pm
Heya Whys,
I'm really sorry to hear that your exam didn't go as planned. Dw, this exactly happened to me - during the psych exam, I was going 'alright alright this looks okay' and that 10 marker came out of no where so I decided to speed through section B and section A but I spent so long on section B, so much longer than on my prac exams (something was just not right on the exam day) and I only had 5 minutes left to finish section C so my goals for psych this year was absolutely demolished which really hurts me considering I spent so much time on this subject and it was my favourite. I also made 2 small mistakes on my further exam which kills me and now I'm freaking out that I won't get a 40+. Try not to beat yourself up, you're the most hardworking person I've met virtually. I just want you to know that even though bio might have not gone to plan, I'm sure you will have done so well in your other subjects to hit that Med goal. This year has been a tumultuous year and you've made it through, which is all that matters.

Love,
Mary
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: -Lilac- on November 14, 2020, 01:15:27 pm
Hey Whys,

I just wanted to let you know that it is still possible to get a good study score despite needing a DES. You seem like a really smart and hardworking individual, and I am sure you have done well in your sacs throughout the year- not all hope is lost. I needed two DES' back when I did VCE and I ended up with a 40 & 45 ss for those subjects (one which was bio).

I know how awful it is to have exams not go to plan due to things out of our control, take some time for yourself (I know it's hard in exam season), and try not to worry too much right now about what has happened.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on November 14, 2020, 04:38:05 pm
Hey it's me.

I read your journal after posting mine and I can't pretend to be all flowery about it and say it's going to be okay because I'm feeling the same about yesterday's exam. It sucks to have to come at terms with it.

I know it's a bit hypocritical of me to try to make you feel better when I kept telling my parents to let me be miserable for a while but something my mum said to me yesterday stuck with me: "Don't create a frameshift mutation". You still have 2 more exams to go. It feels so hard to push out of Biology, but try to focus on Methods and Chemistry. You haven't received your study score yet so  you never know where it will take you. And you still have the UCAT under your belt.

My Biology teacher said this and I found it somewhat comforting.

"Don't beat yourself up over the exam. It's not an uncommon feeling to walk out as you have. It's a different feeling to a SAC. More questions, more variability, can't recall all responses etc.

There's an incredibly small chance that you score that low. It's done, and you've got other responsibilities to focus on. Immerse yourself in that world now.

When you get your score, we can revisit the realities of the year rather than what might be. "

If things don't turn out the way you wished, there'll be other pathways for med. You're such a conscientious person you'll find your own way into the career that best suits you and makes you happy. Remember not to judge your self worth based on one exam because it's such a weird system. How can 2.5 hours determine how much your aptitude is worth? aTAR is  jUsT a NumbEr. The system downright sucks, and I'm not saying this out of sympathy but pure agitation about it. Try your best for Chem and Methods, and if you feel prepared enough, also give yourself a break. Go out for a walk. Listen to something calm. Dress up, even. It helps. Have chocolate.

*virtual hugs* because I kind of know how this feels.
Don't leave any regrets for other subjects. Be kind to yourself
This was really sweet to read, thank you. I love that analogy - probably something I'll use later on in life as well. I'm going to try my best to make sure it doesn't end up as a frameshift mutation, just keep working, studying and looking after my health. You're right - I need to focus on methods and chemistry, and I can think about my other bad exam performances after ATARs come out.

I had never really thought too deeply about it before, this system of ours. And I guess that's the disadvantage with all standardised testing systems. They can never truly determine your knowledge, skills, hard work and determination. Because it's only a few hours. A few hours with too many variables that are going to impact your performance no matter how hard you work. I think I've learnt that the hard way.

You too are a hard worker. From your journal, I can see that you've worked so hard, and it has not gone down the drain, although it may seem like it. We all make mistakes - on SACs, exams, and whatnot, and we shouldn't beat ourselves up about it, because it's only normal. You have worked so well and like you said - it's over. Time to focus on other things that demand our attention, rather than waste time worrying or crying about something in the past that we cannot change.

Now I'm going to use your advice as an excuse to eat lots of chocolate. :P
*virtual hug* right back at you.

Hey Whys,

I already know you've got tones of responses to reply to, but I just wanted to let you know you're not alone, and that your feelings are perfectly valid. I was in the exact same position with bio last year. I didn't get a DES as for me it's chronic which doesn't count :/, however my own heatlh condition severely interfered with my exam performance. I ended up passing out for around 15 minutes and just had no clue what I even wrote for the rest of it. I can 100% relate to that feeling of seeing all of that hard work down the drain. All those practice exams, your SAC scores, all the time you spend revising, I think that's what hurts the most. Just knowing that because that day didn't go to well, when all other factors were controllable, it's just that pesky unpredictability of health.

Time does heal the frustration, although i'm still a bit bitter about it, but your not alone in those feelings. I really do hope that you'll do fantastic on your remaining exams, and fingers crossed it doesn't happen again or to that extent. Remembering how the ATAR is just a score reflecting a period time, and that time wasn't the best unfortunately. Don't be too hard on yourself, I know the pressures we all place on ourselves make that difficult, but hopefully you can be happy knowing that it's all over and done with now. Good luck, you're almost done!
Thank you for the reply, it means a lot. Although I cannot relate to the struggles of dealing with a chronic health issue, I feel you, to some extent. I am so so proud of you for persisting through that exam. It is not easy when you are in pain - the words are blurry, your knowledge is out the window and it feels so impossible. But you did it. Not everyone could've done that. And yes, it is what hurts the most. I know that if I didn't put any effort it wouldn't have mattered so much, but those hours and hours spent doing practice exam after practice exam, and the hours spent correcting those exams, studying throughout the year - looking back, it makes me feel useless, because I could not put any of my knowledge to use. It hurts.

Time is a funny thing, isn't it? I think I'll learn to accept that sometimes, things don't always go to plan. And it's okay. That's what I've got to keep telling myself. Forget about how other people are going to see me (I mean, I can't wait for family gatherings when everyone's going to ask for my ATAR, then look at me like I'm a turtle when I tell them) and just accept it and move on. There'll be more opportunities in the future, it is not the end.

I like how you put that - the ATAR is just a score reflecting a period time, and that time wasn't the best. It's absolutely true. When we have high expectations, it's because we care, and that's always a good thing. We should just be careful that they don't take over. You know, just taking a step back, a deep breath in, and telling yourself that it's okay.

Best of luck to you for your exams Geoo - you are so inspirational and a hardworker. You will definitely go places.

Heya Whys,
I'm really sorry to hear that your exam didn't go as planned. Dw, this exactly happened to me - during the psych exam, I was going 'alright alright this looks okay' and that 10 marker came out of no where so I decided to speed through section B and section A but I spent so long on section B, so much longer than on my prac exams (something was just not right on the exam day) and I only had 5 minutes left to finish section C so my goals for psych this year was absolutely demolished which really hurts me considering I spent so much time on this subject and it was my favourite. I also made 2 small mistakes on my further exam which kills me and now I'm freaking out that I won't get a 40+. Try not to beat yourself up, you're the most hardworking person I've met virtually. I just want you to know that even though bio might have not gone to plan, I'm sure you will have done so well in your other subjects to hit that Med goal. This year has been a tumultuous year and you've made it through, which is all that matters.

Love,
Mary
To start with, congrats for finishing the psych exam! So proud of you, and it's time to celebrate now it's over! Timing can definitely go all wack on you in the exam, and sometimes you don't realise until it's too late. But don't worry - extended response isn't everything, and year 11 is definitely a year of learning what works and what doesn't. I would not be destroying hope for above 40 for both psych and further - it is extremely likely that you are exaggerating what went wrong in your mind (EVERYONE does this, it's very normal!), and I, for one, know you are a talented and hardworking (okay, how many times have I used this word in this post?!) student.

Your confidence in me is making me smile - thank you, truly, thank you. You are always so full of praise and I can never understand why, but thank you for your belief in me. It means a lot.

Hey Whys,

I just wanted to let you know that it is still possible to get a good study score despite needing a DES. You seem like a really smart and hardworking individual, and I am sure you have done well in your sacs throughout the year- not all hope is lost. I needed two DES' back when I did VCE and I ended up with a 40 & 45 ss for those subjects (one which was bio).

I know how awful it is to have exams not go to plan due to things out of our control, take some time for yourself (I know it's hard in exam season), and try not to worry too much right now about what has happened.
Thank you for the reply Lilac! I never realised a DES could be that high - for some reason I've always been under the impression that DES's can never be over 40... (I'm not sure where I got that from but yeah). Thank you for the reassurance - it made me feel a bit better. Maybe not all hope is lost. I'll definitely take a break and chill out. Now, the only thing I can do is focus on trying my best for my upcoming exams, and forget about what's happened. It's not in my hands anymore. Thank you for your advice, and for stopping by to write this out.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: fish12 on November 14, 2020, 05:30:05 pm
hi whys- i have been reading ur journal for a while now and i just wanted tot say a few things.

you are incredibly strong, hardworking and a general inspiration. I'm not just saying this to make you feel better (although i hope it will), I'm saying this because its true. all the hard work u put in towards the ucat, interviews, and ur atar, it wont be disregarded, and u will experience the benefits. I'm very sorry to hear about your difficulties in the bio exam, but a couple of my friends who received DES got very high scores (47 for English, 43 for Methods), that were even higher than their Mock exam results.

Power through the next week(s), i know u got this. its hard, but remember, so many ppl on AN, and in real life support you.

Wishing you the best xx
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on November 14, 2020, 05:44:31 pm
hi whys- i have been reading ur journal for a while now and i just wanted tot say a few things.

you are incredibly strong, hardworking and a general inspiration. I'm not just saying this to make you feel better (although i hope it will), I'm saying this because its true. all the hard work u put in towards the ucat, interviews, and ur atar, it wont be disregarded, and u will experience the benefits. I'm very sorry to hear about your difficulties in the bio exam, but a couple of my friends who received DES got very high scores (47 for English, 43 for Methods), that were even higher than their Mock exam results.

Power through the next week(s), i know u got this. its hard, but remember, so many ppl on AN, and in real life support you.

Wishing you the best xx
Hey Nemo,

I've been a silent reader of your journal, and I can say the same about you (I mean, I feel like basically everyone on AN is so talented and hardworking!). Thank you for your kind words, they mean a lot to me. This is giving me hope that perhaps not everything is lost - those are very high DES's and reading your reply and Lilac's reply has made me feel a bit better. The ATAR may be flawed, but it does have things in place to help out during difficult times - I'll give the system that (even if this 'compensation' may not always be aligned with what some students go through, but that's something for another day!). You are right. I feel like I was being so dramatic and my emotions got the better of me, but I guess hard work never really goes to waste if you've learnt something from it.

Thank you for your support Nemo, it's so comforting to hear that people care, and I'm so grateful for each person who dropped by to offer their advice/support/love. All the best to you too - you're almost at the end!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on November 15, 2020, 07:58:58 am
Hi whys,
you've got a lot of responses but I still wanted to reach out. You're definitely not alone with the feeling of disappointment as the more days that pass from the exam the more I cringe at some of my answers. I tend to usually have a lot of panic attacks during assessment tasks and that also makes me not be able to read the words on the paper, write random stuff and cross fingers it's okay, and then when I come home I feel numb and cry because of such hard work wasted. I just want to let you know that you can do this! You can put the Bio exam aside and continue smashing all the other exams! If you feel that you may have another panic attack sorta in the next exams I recommend when reading time starts before opening the booklet to just close your eyes and take deep breaths for a minute. You can do this fam! You're so hardworking, I know you can do this!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on November 15, 2020, 08:31:00 am
Hi whys,
you've got a lot of responses but I still wanted to reach out. You're definitely not alone with the feeling of disappointment as the more days that pass from the exam the more I cringe at some of my answers. I tend to usually have a lot of panic attacks during assessment tasks and that also makes me not be able to read the words on the paper, write random stuff and cross fingers it's okay, and then when I come home I feel numb and cry because of such hard work wasted. I just want to let you know that you can do this! You can put the Bio exam aside and continue smashing all the other exams! If you feel that you may have another panic attack sorta in the next exams I recommend when reading time starts before opening the booklet to just close your eyes and take deep breaths for a minute. You can do this fam! You're so hardworking, I know you can do this!
Thank you for your motivation potato! And for stopping by - I love reading all replies I get and it makes me excited when I see people want to connect with me. Thank you for the advice - deep breathing really can do wonders, can’t it? Definitely something I’m going to use more in the actual exam, not just before or after. Now it’s time to forget about bio and look at how I can do well in the future, and the same goes to you as well.

Thank you for the reply!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ThunderDragon on November 15, 2020, 09:28:46 am
Hey whys I just wanted to tell you that you're really talented and I'm actually jealous of your work ethic, interview prep and dedication. Smash the methods and chem exams!!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on November 17, 2020, 11:23:03 am
Hey whys I just wanted to tell you that you're really talented and I'm actually jealous of your work ethic, interview prep and dedication. Smash the methods and chem exams!!!
Thank you ThunderDragon!! I needed that motivation 💪 and let’s both smash our methods and chem exams!!! We can do this! 8)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on November 23, 2020, 01:12:55 pm
IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE!

Oh my god. 13 years of schooling are officially over. OVER. I never have to do a stupid SAC or VCE exam ever again in my life. I have a few months of absolute bliss before uni starts. This is crazy, and it feels like a dream. I’ve literally been waiting for this moment since 2 years ago haha!! That feeling when the supervisor said ‘pens down!’ at the end of the chem exam, my last exam, was indescribable.

Anyways, I’ve got a whole list of things I’m going to do, no longer burdened by any need to sit down and study.

Here is a (not comprehensive) list of those things.
1. Cry. And rip off all the study posters from my wall and watch those practice exams burn. Sell those textbooks asap. I want my house to be VCE free. Maybe I’ll keep a few things for the memories.
2. Play loads of video games.
3. Help renovate the backyard.
4. Watch movies.
5. READ. I have an extremely long list of books that would be impossible to finish even if I read 2 books a day, but I’m going to read as much as possible - I’ve missed it so much!!
6. Go out. Get out of the house with my family, as well as with my friends. My friends and I have an entire list of stuff we want to do together. Realistically, let’s hope we get to do at least half of them!! ;D
7. Prepare gifts for my teachers, which I’ve procrastinated doing.
8. Prepare gifts for my friends!! I have so many things I want to make them, so it’s time to get crafty and relive all our memories together!
9. I want to spend way more time with my family.
10. Eat a lot, cook a lot, bake a lot.
11. I’ve absolutely got to clean everything. How could I forget this one?! There’s so much to clean out.
12. Shopping. Although, this does go under going out with friends and family.
13. Sleep. And not just sleep - sleep in. I love sleeping in.

Interview prep is a thing. I’m going to try do it often. Even though I’ve no hope of getting in after my horrible performance on all the exams, it’s still not an opportunity to waste, especially since it’s good practice for non-standard/post-grad interviews when I try out for med in the future. I’ve got 2 interviews coming up in the near future (too close for comfort) so I’m excited to do them. Interviews really are quite fun - I enjoy them a lot, especially the ethical scenarios they give us.

~Predictions~
So this is the juicy part. Since I’ve done all my exams I’m really keen to predict my scores (well, not keen, but I do want to). I don’t want to overestimate, and I want to see how close I can get to my actual scores. Here goes nothing!!
English - 38
Bio - 43
Methods - 39
Chem - 40

Chem feels like an overestimation but I felt the exam was extremely standard. VCAA didn’t deviate from their normal level of difficulty, but it was quite time consuming, and I finished pretty late. Considering chem is my worst subject, I was surprised by how I (think) I did on the exam. There were some hiccups, obviously (it isn’t my worst subject for nothing) so I think I did as expected. Methods was a whole other story. I did decently in tech free, losing around 3 marks when I compared answers. I don’t know what it was. Was I in the wrong mindset? Do I just suck at maths? But for some reason, I did terrible in tech able. As in I literally left stuff blank. And I’ve never left questions blank for anything in my entire life. I felt horrible. I felt like I guessed all of mcq as well, and apparently tech able wasn’t even too difficult. I don’t know why, but again, all my hard work - down the drain. I can’t believe I ruined my entire methods study score with that one exam, it really feels sucky, especially since I’ve always been above average at maths and it’s a subject I’ve come to appreciate over time. Oh well. At this point I’m just glad I’m done with school, especially because I feel so burnt out. I think if I had to study or do more exams after today, I literally would not be able to.

So tired, but it’s a happy sort of tired. So glad exams are over, but I will very dearly miss going to school.

Sometimes I still can’t believe it’s over.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: angrybiscuit on November 23, 2020, 05:32:48 pm
Congrats whys! Hope you enjoy your well-deserved break :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: dedformed on November 23, 2020, 06:02:12 pm
congrats whys! So inspired by you and look forward to reading every entry.

Hope you have a fun break, you deserve it!

Also the cleaning thing, so relatable lol. I had to play archaeologist to bring my room back into its normal shape.
Good luck with cleaning :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: 99.95_goal on November 23, 2020, 06:43:31 pm
Congrats whys - I've been reading your journal since exams started and I wanna say that you are an incredibly intelligent individual, and your insightful posts have helped me cope with exam stress and disappointments where I was able to move on and focus on other exams/tasks. Well done on completing your exams!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on November 23, 2020, 06:50:27 pm
Congrats whys! ;D All the best for your interviews and 30 december!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on November 23, 2020, 07:40:37 pm
CONGRATS WHYS!! I'm soosososo proud of you, you're so smart and hardworking, you'll definitely do amazing beyond VCE. Your list of things to do sounds positively delightful, I'm looking forward to relaxing as well! Are you planning to have a uni journal?
All the best for interview prep, you've got this <3
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: zoharreznik on November 23, 2020, 07:44:53 pm
IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE!

Oh my god. 13 years of schooling are officially over. OVER. I never have to do a stupid SAC or VCE exam ever again in my life. I have a few months of absolute bliss before uni starts. This is crazy, and it feels like a dream. I’ve literally been waiting for this moment since 2 years ago haha!! That feeling when the supervisor said ‘pens down!’ at the end of the chem exam, my last exam, was indescribable.

Anyways, I’ve got a whole list of things I’m going to do, no longer burdened by any need to sit down and study.

Here is a (not comprehensive) list of those things.
1. Cry. And rip off all the study posters from my wall and watch those practice exams burn. Sell those textbooks asap. I want my house to be VCE free. Maybe I’ll keep a few things for the memories.
2. Play loads of video games.
3. Help renovate the backyard.
4. Watch movies.
5. READ. I have an extremely long list of books that would be impossible to finish even if I read 2 books a day, but I’m going to read as much as possible - I’ve missed it so much!!
6. Go out. Get out of the house with my family, as well as with my friends. My friends and I have an entire list of stuff we want to do together. Realistically, let’s hope we get to do at least half of them!! ;D
7. Prepare gifts for my teachers, which I’ve procrastinated doing.
8. Prepare gifts for my friends!! I have so many things I want to make them, so it’s time to get crafty and relive all our memories together!
9. I want to spend way more time with my family.
10. Eat a lot, cook a lot, bake a lot.
11. I’ve absolutely got to clean everything. How could I forget this one?! There’s so much to clean out.
12. Shopping. Although, this does go under going out with friends and family.
13. Sleep. And not just sleep - sleep in. I love sleeping in.

Interview prep is a thing. I’m going to try do it often. Even though I’ve no hope of getting in after my horrible performance on all the exams, it’s still not an opportunity to waste, especially since it’s good practice for non-standard/post-grad interviews when I try out for med in the future. I’ve got 2 interviews coming up in the near future (too close for comfort) so I’m excited to do them. Interviews really are quite fun - I enjoy them a lot, especially the ethical scenarios they give us.

~Predictions~
So this is the juicy part. Since I’ve done all my exams I’m really keen to predict my scores (well, not keen, but I do want to). I don’t want to overestimate, and I want to see how close I can get to my actual scores. Here goes nothing!!
English - 38
Bio - 43
Methods - 39
Chem - 40

Chem feels like an overestimation but I felt the exam was extremely standard. VCAA didn’t deviate from their normal level of difficulty, but it was quite time consuming, and I finished pretty late. Considering chem is my worst subject, I was surprised by how I (think) I did on the exam. There were some hiccups, obviously (it isn’t my worst subject for nothing) so I think I did as expected. Methods was a whole other story. I did decently in tech free, losing around 3 marks when I compared answers. I don’t know what it was. Was I in the wrong mindset? Do I just suck at maths? But for some reason, I did terrible in tech able. As in I literally left stuff blank. And I’ve never left questions blank for anything in my entire life. I felt horrible. I felt like I guessed all of mcq as well, and apparently tech able wasn’t even too difficult. I don’t know why, but again, all my hard work - down the drain. I can’t believe I ruined my entire methods study score with that one exam, it really feels sucky, especially since I’ve always been above average at maths and it’s a subject I’ve come to appreciate over time. Oh well. At this point I’m just glad I’m done with school, especially because I feel so burnt out. I think if I had to study or do more exams after today, I literally would not be able to.

So tired, but it’s a happy sort of tired. So glad exams are over, but I will very dearly miss going to school.

Sometimes I still can’t believe it’s over.

Hey!
With Methods, I know my score might be high, but I still feel your pain- the exact same thing happened to me in tech able! Not to mention I’m in the same boat with not getting into med coz of exams  ::) regardless though, at least for me, I’ve found I might enjoy transferring in later since I’m not even too sure what I wanna do! So definitely don’t worry too much about it (if you are)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on November 23, 2020, 07:52:27 pm
CONGRATS on finishing whys!! Enjoy your well deserved break ~ its been amazing and lovely to follow your journal posts through this journey  :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on November 23, 2020, 08:26:47 pm
Congrats on finishing whys! Enjoy your well deserved break!

Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on November 30, 2020, 08:21:11 pm
Congrats whys! Hope you enjoy your well-deserved break :)
Thank you, and same goes to you!

congrats whys! So inspired by you and look forward to reading every entry.

Hope you have a fun break, you deserve it!

Also the cleaning thing, so relatable lol. I had to play archaeologist to bring my room back into its normal shape.
Good luck with cleaning :)
I hope you also have a wonderful break - remember to rest up before the big year next year!

Haha I'm still not done with cleaning and it's been, what, an entire week since exams?!?! This place is a complete mess, hopefully, I'll finish soon!

Congrats whys - I've been reading your journal since exams started and I wanna say that you are an incredibly intelligent individual, and your insightful posts have helped me cope with exam stress and disappointments where I was able to move on and focus on other exams/tasks. Well done on completing your exams!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I've seen a few of your posts around the forums, you've been a great contributor and this reply made me smile. Congrats for finishing exams to you as well, and enjoy your well-deserved break.

Congrats whys! ;D All the best for your interviews and 30 december!
Thanks Snow Leopard! Your support throughout this journal means a lot. Good luck for next year (although it is quite a while away!) and mainly enjoy your holidays and get some well-deserved rest.

CONGRATS WHYS!! I'm soosososo proud of you, you're so smart and hardworking, you'll definitely do amazing beyond VCE. Your list of things to do sounds positively delightful, I'm looking forward to relaxing as well! Are you planning to have a uni journal?
All the best for interview prep, you've got this <3
THANK YOU POTATO! I haven't really thought of having a uni journal, but it's something I'll definitely consider if I feel I have the time to keep up with one, plus I love AN's supportive community. Rest up these holidays and all the best for year 12 and beyond. <3

Hey!
With Methods, I know my score might be high, but I still feel your pain- the exact same thing happened to me in tech able! Not to mention I’m in the same boat with not getting into med coz of exams  ::) regardless though, at least for me, I’ve found I might enjoy transferring in later since I’m not even too sure what I wanna do! So definitely don’t worry too much about it (if you are)
Thank you for your reply! It sucks when you really stuff and up and know you could've done better, but I guess it's all over now so you're absolutely right - I shouldn't worry and should try and enjoy my time haha. Exams really ruined my entire plans but I'm like you - thinking of pursuing medicine through the non-standard or graduate pathways. Enjoy the long summer holidays!

CONGRATS on finishing whys!! Enjoy your well deserved break ~ its been amazing and lovely to follow your journal posts through this journey  :)
Thanks so much ArtyDreams! Can definitely say the same about your journal, and all the best with the future. Most importantly, enjoy your break!!

Congrats on finishing whys! Enjoy your well deserved break!
Thank you Ev, and same goes to you as well. Have a wonderful break and get some rest!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 01, 2021, 05:05:23 pm
New beginnings
I used to wonder for weeks how I'd begin the (very important) journal entry after VCE results have been released. Well, I'd like to begin by stating that this year was nothing like how I imagined it would be. 2020 was supposed to be the year. A year of growth and success. I thought long and hard about this, and I still think it was a year of growth and success - just in a different way. The problems that have arisen this year aren't going to magically die as soon as the clock ticks to 2021, but I think we all deserve to celebrate what we've achieved in this difficult year. Ladies and gentlemen, we have survived bushfires, online learning, a pandemic (the list is never-ending so I'll stop here) and I'm so proud of everyone for their persistence and determination in a year when it mattered the most. I'm making up the structure of this journal entry as I write, but I think I'm going to talk a bit about how it felt when I opened my ATAR, then reflect on what I think of it (a big mess, I'll tell you now) because I have quite a lot to say. This will be my second last update, the last one focusing on what I'll be doing in 2021 (i.e. tertiary education). This one is going to be quite a lengthy, wordy one - totally understandable if you want to skip most of it!

I'd be lying if I said I woke up at 6:15am, because I didn't sleep the whole night in the first place. (Mind you, I actually really wanted to sleep, but ended up pulling an accidental all-nighter as I lay awake in bed). Instead, I'll say I got out of bed at 6:15am. I was super tired, after not sleeping and all, and I'm pretty proud that I woke up that early (for reference, I've been waking up at 11am-2pm on the holidays haha).

(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8f/ff/41/8fff418d51cacc0961557d66da5dafba.jpg)

I walked out, got my laptop and phone, then went back to my room and shut the door. The time passed, slowly but steadily. I made a cringey decision that moment - to make an ATAR reaction video. Don't get too excited, I'm definitely not keen on revealing my real identity on here. It's a personal video that no one except me has seen, and I plan to keep it that way! It'll just be something I can look at in 10 years and laugh at what a stressed drama queen I was back in year 12. Time passed, and I was nervously messaging my friends. Then, I check my inbox. I knew the email always came out early, but I didn't expect it to come out that early. 6:37am - the email arrived. I held my breath, and resisted clicking on it. I didn't want to open the email first, I wanted to wait until 7am to see the real deal on the website. Anyways, stuff happened, I forgot my password and had to reset it, blah blah, just the usual.

I decided to log into the website at 6:59am just so I could take a minute to compose myself, but the website had other ideas. Straight away, four study scores popped up onto the screen. I was in complete shock (I wasn't expecting it to be that sudden). I was also in a very groggy state being extremely tired and all, which is something I'm glad of because it meant I wasn't overthinking and actually processing my results (I have all the time in the world afterwards to worry about my results anyway). The first thing I said was 'omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg.' The next thing I said was 'wow, that's so bad' while I had this stupid, goofy grin on my face (I mean come on, you can't blame me. The cognitive impairments of having a BAC of 0.10 is equivalent to that of 24 hours of wakefulness, remember that psych kids?). I stayed on the study score page for a short while, then clicked on 'view ATAR'. When my ATAR popped up, big and bold, I started…. well, I don't want to say crying. It really wasn't crying, it was more like some water coming out of my eyes and me wiping the water off my face. I wasn't exactly hysterically sobbing, if you know what I mean. Then, I screamed 'WHAT? IT CAN'T BE????????!!!!!!?!?!??!'

Then, I descended into a texting frenzy where I was trying to read and process all my closest friends' ATARs and study scores, typing out my results, and reading all the information they knew about the study scores/ATARs of other students at my school (news spreads like wildfire, especially if it's good news!). I am very proud and happy to say that all my closest friends got ATARs they were happy with. Of course, disappointment is inevitable - there will always be something you could've done better in, something you wished you did, a study score that was a complete disappointment, but on the whole, they all did amazing. A friend who got 99.95, multiple who got above 99, many more in the high 90s. I think I was dying of happiness for my wonderful friends as much as I was freaking out about my own results (my school did better than it usually does too). I think in the moment we got our scores, we were all pretty satisfied. But not all ATAR stories are rainbows and unicorns - friends who wished they just got a little bit higher to make it into a course, friends who were upset about needing to take a backdoor method rather than getting straight into the course they wanted to get in. And you know what? It's okay. Because no matter what ATAR a student gets, it can never stop themselves from being successful in the future. I think no matter what, finishing year 12 will ALWAYS be a success. It is never a failure unless you make it out to be.

Then, I ran to my parents and told them what I got, and they were happy. My parents being happy makes me happy, and I've always wanted them to be proud of me. Well bois, we did it. My parents were surprisingly alright with my results, making no comments like 'but why didn’t you get higher?' Make no mistake, they ~did~ make those comments, but it was only later on and despite that, they’re still happy.

I know you all probably want to see what my results were. I'd like to delay that a little more and instead briefly touch on my goals. All throughout year 10, 11 and the start of year 12, a 99.70+ had been my dream. I won't lie - it had always been my dream even throughout year 12, the only difference being an acceptance that I'd never get that high realistically. Don't ask me why it was that specific number and above, it was arbitrarily decided and I thought it was quite a nice number.

People always thought I got above 90% on every single SAC, but that couldn't be far from the truth. Take English, for example. 67% on my first SAC, 80s for the rest of my SACs, then 95% on my last SAC with a bit of help from the god of luck. So, there was this kind of hype around me, even though as the year passed, my failures dug myself into a hole that was labelled 'below my dream ATAR' until it was too deep to climb out of. I know what every single reader is thinking. 99.70? You wanted THAT?!?! An ATAR that high? But I have been surrounded by high achievers my whole life. And, I'd like to clarify that 99.70 was my dream, not my expectations! A girl can dream, right? My expectations were much lower. At the start of year 12, I was thinking I could maybe achieve 98-99 and was quite happy with this range, but that dropped to around 96-97 by the end of year 12 and after exams (and after being sick for the entire exam period, BLEH).

From my dumb ATAR reaction video, my predictions just before opening my study scores were as listed below:
English: 38
Biology: 40
Chemistry: 38
Methods: 38 (but then I changed to 39 when I realised that my SACs might be able to bump up my score a little more)
I also said in my video that I hoped for higher, even though I knew it wasn't possible. Also, my predictions seem to have an affinity for the number 38, it was my prediction for psych last year too. I think it's just the magic number!!

my vce results
My actual (raw) scores
English: 45 (WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT???)
Biology: 50 (??!**#$*&#^$*#!UI!#!?!??!?!@??@!$$&U#@)
Methods: 40 (aka I'm a complete disappointment to myself and my family)
Chemistry: 41 (my most-hated subject, but I'm way better at maths but I got a better study score in chem than methods? VCAA what?)
Psychology: 50 (2019)
Food studies: 42 (2019)
my ATAR
99.50
So, I got higher than I thought I’d get, especially because of not being able to write my exams to my best ability, but in the end I did okay! Maths was the only disappointment. I'm no prodigy, but I am above average at maths and even though I didn't expect high, before my exams, I was secretly hoping for 43-45. I was around that level for my SACs and for exam 1, but oh boy. Exam 2 was a complete disaster for me. I think I went into that exam with the wrong mindset, and completely stuffed it up. I deserve nothing higher than what I got, but it doesn't stop me from wishing I did better in exam 2. I just realised I should have put a disclaimer at the start of this update, but I'll say it now: when I say I did 'bad', or I'm 'disappointed' in what I got, it doesn't mean my score is objectively bad. All I mean is that I got below what I aimed for and what I expected, and I got less than I know I'm capable of. For each person, a disappointing score will be different, and I think it's important to remember that no matter what the score is (high or low), people are allowed to feel disappointed if they didn't meet their expectations. That was the case for me for methods. Chem, I honestly couldn't care. Sure, it would've been nice to score higher, but I don't deserve any higher for learning unit 3 the week before the exam and not paying attention in class… (and instead frantically cramming and leeching off my friends for their knowledge of the subject - they saved me!).

(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c6/22/61/c622617947b5a8b5969be29e19a0d11e.jpg)

I don’t even know what to say about bio and English (thank you god of luck and thank you to the kind-hearted VCAA assessors who were on drugs when marking my exams). I feel like writing an inspirational guide on how I went from 67% on my first SAC in year 12 to a 45 at the end of the year haha! I think everyone on here knows how much I struggled with English and my English teacher, but in the end, I worked hard and I did it!!! It also feels super nice to see my hard work and passion for bio has paid off. I had always been aiming for a 50 throughout the year, and I did it. Even though I thought I'd get 40, I got what I originally dreamed of and it felt real good to have 50s in the subjects I'm most passionate about (psych and bio). Food studies scaled down to a 37 as expected, but it's in my bottom 2 anyway. My bottom 2 was exactly as predicted - chem and food studies. Thank the lords for methods scaling up though, otherwise I think I'd be dead. I was especially glad I could make my bio teacher, who had always believed in me from the start, proud. I was really worried I'd have to tell her some bad news and use sickness on exam day as an excuse, but thankfully not.

I feel as though the hype surrounding study scores and ATARs is over now. I also feel that the ATAR is quite an underwhelming thing. Like, I imagined it would be the pinnacle moment of my life when I saw my ATAR, but it literally felt like staring at some number on a screen after the initial excitement and shock. It was a bit like last year - I was like yay, I got my results! Then it was like okay, whatever, I got my results, so what?

I saw an analogy on AN I really, really liked. The ATAR is just a key - a key that opens a door. Once that door is open, you don't need the key anymore. You could try to desperately to give that number the meaning you thought it would have, but frankly, it's an impossible task, because it's not true. An exam score doesn't necessarily define your passion or knowledge for any subject. An ATAR doesn't necessarily define your intelligence - you shouldn't allow it. It's hard for me to let go of something I have cared so much about. One of the things which my entire life revolved around for the past 2 years. But I need to move on and accept that there's better things I can focus my energy on, rather than resent the past and wish I did better.

I say this because despite my initial joy, the more time that passes, the more disappointed I feel with my ATAR. It's not a bad one by any means, but I keep thinking of the what ifs. What if I didn't do bad in exam 2 and got just a bit higher? What if I did well in unit 3 so instead of 45, I'd have gotten 47? What if I tried harder? What if I don't deserve this ATAR and I'm not good enough? What if I got a better ATAR? What if this isn't high enough for medicine?

It sounds stupid but it has been taking over my mind all day, and I wish it would stop. Sometimes I have a bad case of imposter syndrome, because why would I, out of all the smart and hardworking people I know, get these scores? And sometimes, I bash myself up for not doing better, just that little bit better, to reach my dream. It's over, I know, but I can't help it. It's like a wave of sadness that hit me late, after being happy about my ATAR. I know I should be feeling joyful and grateful, but I don't feel like that. It's not that I'm comparing my scores to others - it's more like me being angry at and hating myself for not being able to get higher like others. But the point is I'm trying to push those feelings away and ignore them, so I hope I feel better in a while. Don't get me wrong, I'm not wallowing in sadness or hate my score or anything - it's just that I wish I did better.

A year of wasting hours and hours on ATAR calculators, of stressing over SACs and exams, of doing 3 practice exams in one day (YES I actually did this once and I completely died no thank you I am sticking to 1 practice exam a day). A year that is finally over. I never have to write a (stupid) text response essay again (although I will admit, my hate for English did turn into love over time. No more a subject I intensely despise, but one with its ups and downs. There are definitely good things in English that I will cherish - things I enjoyed, but it was equally annoying to study for lol).

Congratulations to the classes of 2020 and 2021, we did our exams and got through this year. It’s a new day, and a new year. A blank slate to rewrite another chapter of our lives. The ATAR may be a (pretty bad) souvenir of the end of schooling, but there is a whole new world awaiting us - a new beginning.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: eloisegrace on January 01, 2021, 05:13:01 pm
Congratulations whys!! Those scores and that ATAR is simply INCREDIBLE and I hope that you are proud of yourself.

I wish you luck going into the future and have a great 2021 ❤️
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Sine on January 01, 2021, 05:22:49 pm
congratulations! everything was very well deserved  :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Snow Leopard on January 01, 2021, 05:25:13 pm
I don’t even know what to say about bio and English (thank you god of luck and thank you to the kind-hearted VCAA assessors who were on drugs when marking my exams). I feel like writing an inspirational guide on how I went from 67% on my first SAC in year 12 to a 45 at the end of the year haha!
Yes please!

Congrats whys, these are amazing scores and you totally deserve it!  :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatepistachio on January 01, 2021, 05:30:00 pm
Congratulations whys!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: waterangel82 on January 01, 2021, 05:45:58 pm
Congratulations whys!

I'm very happy to see you achieve those incredible scores! I've been reading your journals from a long time, and I'm glad that all of your hard work really paid off! Also, massive congrats on Bio and English! I remember reading how you were disappointed with your Bio exam performance and the difficulties you had with English this year, but deep down, I knew you'd 100% smashed them! I've always believed in you - I knew ever since when you started your journal you'd get a decent 99+ ATAR and an impressive UCAT score! You definitely deserved it - hard work never goes unrewarded! As you once wisely said, 'Difficult does not mean impossible', and this is definitely true!

I wish you the best of luck for 2021, uni and the future (and I'm excited to see the many awesome things you achieve) :)!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: dedformed on January 01, 2021, 06:16:35 pm
I HAVE been waiting so impatiently for your update because you've been my role model this whole year. I've actually subscribed to this thread and as soon as I got an email that you've posted my fingers literally somersaulted to your journal and clicked respect.

I know we don't know each other but I am SO proud of your results! Look at that Biology score! Of course, the more the merrier but all your scores reflect how hard you've worked and the effort you've put in. I hope you can rest well after this long, meticulous journey and wish you luck to segue smoothly into your tertiary education.

I said this before but I keep coming back to this journal to inspire myself because of how much I look up to you. Anyway I'll keep repeating myself if I keep typing.

Cheers!
Penelope
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ashmi on January 01, 2021, 06:17:47 pm
Congratulations whys!!!💕

I am so proud of everything you were able to accomplish in 2020 and all the work you have done this year paid off! Give yourself a massive pat on the back for everything that you have done and you are such a big inspiration to many people on the forums. You are someone that doesn't give up and because of your sheer determination, you were able to accomplish many things.

Also, can I just say your meme incorporation in this journal update was seriously the cherry on top? (I was laughing hysterically from the first pic). I absolutely love reading your journal throughout the year and being able to follow your journey both physically and emotionally. You did it mamma bean!!! Go treat yourself to some good old chocolate and make sure to catch up on some sleep Shortie!

I'm very excited to see what the future holds for you and good luck for 2021!💕
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: angrybiscuit on January 01, 2021, 06:34:41 pm
Whys,
Massive congrats, so well deserved! Your scores are nothing short of amazing ;D

You did it!!! You bet English (our shared enemy). Nothing brought me more joy than seeing your bio ss knowing how much you love the subject (and how much you stressed about it before!)

PS: truly loved the ATLA memes  ;D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on January 01, 2021, 06:34:59 pm
CONGRATS! Just a repeat of all the above but I'm so proud! Thanks for letting us follow you on your journal I know you will do amazing things in the future!!

Spoiler
Also a RAW 50 IN BIO, this was DEFINITELY well deserved!!! I'm so proud  8) 8)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 03, 2021, 12:05:05 pm
Congratulations whys!! Those scores and that ATAR is simply INCREDIBLE and I hope that you are proud of yourself.

I wish you luck going into the future and have a great 2021 ❤️
Thanks El, and back at you!  All the best for your year 12 journey, I know you'll do great. ♥

congratulations! everything was very well deserved  :D
Thank you Sine!!!! ♥

Yes please!

Congrats whys, these are amazing scores and you totally deserve it!  :)
(If I can even remember anything about VCE English, that is. 🤣
Thank you Snow Leopard, and all the best for year 12. :)

Congratulations whys!
Thank you Chocolatepistachio! All the best next year and for bio - I always see you on the bio threads. :)

Congratulations whys!

I'm very happy to see you achieve those incredible scores! I've been reading your journals from a long time, and I'm glad that all of your hard work really paid off! Also, massive congrats on Bio and English! I remember reading how you were disappointed with your Bio exam performance and the difficulties you had with English this year, but deep down, I knew you'd 100% smashed them! I've always believed in you - I knew ever since when you started your journal you'd get a decent 99+ ATAR and an impressive UCAT score! You definitely deserved it - hard work never goes unrewarded! As you once wisely said, 'Difficult does not mean impossible', and this is definitely true!

I wish you the best of luck for 2021, uni and the future (and I'm excited to see the many awesome things you achieve) :)!
Hey waterangel! After a year of strife, I finally got through VCE English! It's an honour to hear you've been reading my journal, it means a lot. It also means a lot to hear you believed in me - thank you for the kind words. ♥ Oh yes, I can never forget that quote - it is the forefront of my entire journal after all. Once again, thank you for all your support and advice earlier in the year. I wish you all the best for uni in 2021 and beyond as well!

I HAVE been waiting so impatiently for your update because you've been my role model this whole year. I've actually subscribed to this thread and as soon as I got an email that you've posted my fingers literally somersaulted to your journal and clicked respect.

I know we don't know each other but I am SO proud of your results! Look at that Biology score! Of course, the more the merrier but all your scores reflect how hard you've worked and the effort you've put in. I hope you can rest well after this long, meticulous journey and wish you luck to segue smoothly into your tertiary education.

I said this before but I keep coming back to this journal to inspire myself because of how much I look up to you. Anyway I'll keep repeating myself if I keep typing.

Cheers!
Penelope
Hey Penelope! It means a lot to hear you've subscribed to this thread - email notifications are something I find hella annoying so you must be pretty invested to voluntarily be annoyed with emails for this journal! It honestly brightened my day a whole lot and put a massive smile on my face when I read how much you liked the journal, thank you. ♥ I'm glad my procrastinating, unorganised self could inspire you in some way. You are a determined student and 2021 has good things in store for you. Good luck for year 12, and remember to rest up these holidays!

Congratulations whys!!!💕

I am so proud of everything you were able to accomplish in 2020 and all the work you have done this year paid off! Give yourself a massive pat on the back for everything that you have done and you are such a big inspiration to many people on the forums. You are someone that doesn't give up and because of your sheer determination, you were able to accomplish many things.

Also, can I just say your meme incorporation in this journal update was seriously the cherry on top? (I was laughing hysterically from the first pic). I absolutely love reading your journal throughout the year and being able to follow your journey both physically and emotionally. You did it mamma bean!!! Go treat yourself to some good old chocolate and make sure to catch up on some sleep Shortie!

I'm very excited to see what the future holds for you and good luck for 2021!💕
HELLO DAUGHTER. I am just as proud and happy for you, we did it!!! We finally got through the year! Oh, and thanks. 😎 I honestly couldn't resist adding some ATLA memes since I was recently watching the show!

Back at you - your journal was super fun to read and I looked forward to every update. I think you'll be surprised to hear I've been getting 10-12 hours of sleep every night because I wake up so late everyday. 🤣
i regret telling you my height 😡 i'm not even thaaaaaat shorter than you anyway 😭

All the best for uni this year!

Whys,
Massive congrats, so well deserved! Your scores are nothing short of amazing ;D

You did it!!! You bet English (our shared enemy). Nothing brought me more joy than seeing your bio ss knowing how much you love the subject (and how much you stressed about it before!)

PS: truly loved the ATLA memes  ;D

Hey angrybiscuit! Back at you - I was so happy for you when I read your journal update! I can't believe we did it - we got through English, and we did well too. 😎 So glad the wait is over and we have nothing more to stress about. VCE is over!!

(Hehe thanks, makes me happy to hear you liked the memes!)

CONGRATS! Just a repeat of all the above but I'm so proud! Thanks for letting us follow you on your journal I know you will do amazing things in the future!!

Spoiler
Also a RAW 50 IN BIO, this was DEFINITELY well deserved!!! I'm so proud  8) 8)
Heya Choco! I'm so proud of you too - you did amazing! 2021 sure has some wonderful things in store for you.

Spoiler
I AM HIGHKEY STILL SHOCKED ABOUT THAT RAW 50. ALSO, THAT MEANS A LOT COMING FROM THE BIO QUEEN HERSELF!!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on January 03, 2021, 05:20:42 pm
Great job on your ATAR and SS's! :)
Now I feel intimidated or something that you asked me for English help and proceeded to get a much higher score than me.... Great job though!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 05, 2021, 01:02:19 pm
Great job on your ATAR and SS's! :)
Now I feel intimidated or something that you asked me for English help and proceeded to get a much higher score than me.... Great job though!!
Thank you, and congrats to you too! I know you love English and know what you're doing, which is why I wanted your help - always remember that study scores don't define your knowledge or passion for a subject. It's just a number, and means nothing more. You also did incredibly well, so well done!

All the best for the future!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: SmartWorker on January 05, 2021, 01:42:06 pm
Hey whys, sorry i am late to congratulating party, but you did PHENOMENAL!!!🥳🎉. All the best for 2021!!  :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: ArtyDreams on January 05, 2021, 10:33:52 pm
AMAZING JOB WHYS!
Those study scores are beautifullllll  :)

So proud of you and all your work this year, it’s been so incredibly insightful and inspiring to follow your journal this year, I’m so happy your efforts paid off!

I’m excited to see what the future has in store for you!  :D
Best of luck for 2021 x
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on January 08, 2021, 04:03:24 pm
CONGRATULATIONS WHYS!!! Those scores and dat ATAR is SOOOO MAGNIFICENTLY BEAUTIFUL!! Your work ethic and mindset this year has been so positive and resilient and I'm so happy for you that your hard work has paid off into such beautiful scores. I hope you truly are proud of yourself because what you have achieved is no simple feat. You ARE super smart and you ARE hardworking! Extra congratulations on Bio (a very spicy 50) and ENGLISH- a subject which has been a rocky road in terms of passion yet you scored so well because you are sooo hardworking. All the best for 2021! You're gonna rock it!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Evolio on January 08, 2021, 04:36:14 pm
WHYS!

A MASSIVE CONGRATS!! Those results are amazing and very well deserved! You've worked so hard and put in so much effort and have achieved so much!! I'm so happy for you!!

You're a very big inspiration to not only me but other people as well, and I know that you are going to continue to achieve big things in the future! Although it was a rocky road, you made it!!

All the best for this year and beyond! I know you're going to smash it!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: fish12 on January 10, 2021, 06:11:42 am
Aaaaa whys congrats on such amazing scores ! I’m so proud of you !

I understand how you feel with imposter syndrome, but just remember, we always tend to underestimate ourselves and our abilities. And, as for med, I’m sure all the work you’ve put in will pay off ❤️
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on January 16, 2021, 12:36:42 pm
Hey whys, sorry i am late to congratulating party, but you did PHENOMENAL!!!🥳🎉. All the best for 2021!!  :D
Thank you so much SmartWorker!!!! All the best for 2021 to you too!

AMAZING JOB WHYS!
Those study scores are beautifullllll  :)

So proud of you and all your work this year, it’s been so incredibly insightful and inspiring to follow your journal this year, I’m so happy your efforts paid off!

I’m excited to see what the future has in store for you!  :D
Best of luck for 2021 x
Thank you Arty! I'm so proud of you too for getting through this hell of a year - it wasn't easy and you made it! I can say the same about your journal - was definitely an inspiring read. Congratulations and all the best for 2021.

CONGRATULATIONS WHYS!!! Those scores and dat ATAR is SOOOO MAGNIFICENTLY BEAUTIFUL!! Your work ethic and mindset this year has been so positive and resilient and I'm so happy for you that your hard work has paid off into such beautiful scores. I hope you truly are proud of yourself because what you have achieved is no simple feat. You ARE super smart and you ARE hardworking! Extra congratulations on Bio (a very spicy 50) and ENGLISH- a subject which has been a rocky road in terms of passion yet you scored so well because you are sooo hardworking. All the best for 2021! You're gonna rock it!
Heya Potato! You did super well yourself - a great end to year 11 and a great start to year 12. Year 12 ain't easy but I know you've got it in you to do well. All the best for 2021 to you as well!

WHYS!

A MASSIVE CONGRATS!! Those results are amazing and very well deserved! You've worked so hard and put in so much effort and have achieved so much!! I'm so happy for you!!

You're a very big inspiration to not only me but other people as well, and I know that you are going to continue to achieve big things in the future! Although it was a rocky road, you made it!!

All the best for this year and beyond! I know you're going to smash it!!
EVOLIO!
Congratulations to you as well! Wasn't an easy year but we did it! Aww I'm so happy to hear that - and I can confidently say your journal has been a great source of inspiration on AN as well.

Good luck for 2021!

Aaaaa whys congrats on such amazing scores ! I’m so proud of you !

I understand how you feel with imposter syndrome, but just remember, we always tend to underestimate ourselves and our abilities. And, as for med, I’m sure all the work you’ve put in will pay off ❤️
Hey Nemo! I'm super proud of everything you have achieved this year as well. You did so incredibly well - congrats! Med is a distant dream but - we'll see!

The conclusion
My last ever journal update. :P Didn't think I'd get here, but here I am! I was invited to attend multiple medicine interviews from unis around Australia, but I don't think I'm going to go too in-depth into all of them. I'll mainly focus on Monash, since that has been my dream. I will be declining any interviews if I get them in later in the month, hopefully another med hopeful will be able to get one then!
P.S. I'll try to keep this update short and simple.

The interview
So, the Monash interview. It was obviously online, which was both a good and bad thing (good because you're in your comfort zone, bad because it's so hard to convey emotion and body language on a computer screen!). I won't say much because I am wary of the NDA, but I will say that I felt like I did really well in 2 stations, mediocre in 1 station and absolutely horrible in 3 stations. I honestly had not encountered those scenarios in practice and had no idea what to say - it felt like I completely flunked them. In all honesty, I don't think my interview went too great. I was disappointed in myself after. I had practiced... but for it to end like this?! I would keep thinking about the scenarios and questions in my head everyday after the interview and think of really good answers. Why couldn't I come up with them in the actual interview?? The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I did really, really bad. And thinking about all the other smart interviewees, I felt like I had no real chance. I was also worried about my ATAR - was it really enough for med? I kept feeling like my scores weren't good enough, especially comparing them to my friends' scores (in hindsight, this was NOT healthy).

Anyways, that's the 3 components done and reflected over. ATAR, UCAT, and interview.

14th Jan - offers day
Oh boy. The night before, I couldn't sleep at all! I kept thinking about what I'd do when I opened that email and found out I'd gotten into my second preference. I felt so angry at myself. I wish I'd tried harder, practiced more, took things more seriously. Bad thoughts, but they were there and real - weighing me down. My final VTAC preference list was something like this:
1. medicine (CSP unbonded) @ monash
2. medicine (ERC) @ monash
3. medicine (BMP) @ monash
4. biomed scholars program @ monash
5. biomed @ monash @ monash
6. the list goes on...

I knew I had the ATAR for preferences 4 and 5, so I wasn't worrying too much about the rest of my preferences. I was worried about if I'd like biomed, if I'd be able to get into non-standard or graduate-entry med, if biomed would be too hard, if I maybe should've put down biomed at Melbourne uni instead. Lots of thinking... and lots of confusion about what I really wanted to do if I didn't get into med. I'd heard that second-round offers for med were pretty much non-existent for Victorian applicants, which made me feel worse. By the way, if you can't tell, I overthink things. A lot. I kept having dreams of everyone I know getting in, and me being rejected (dramatic, I know). Then, there were the regrets. I wish I did this, did that, and because I didn't, I'm not going to get in. So, I didn't get any sleep that night, just like before ATAR release day. Wonderful.

I knew that 2pm was the official time, but I'd also heard that they can come a bit early, like around 11ish. I did NOT expect an email at around to be in my inbox at around 7:30am. It was around 8am that I decided that it couldn't hurt to check just in case, and I was shocked when I saw the email already there! My closest friends had already checked, and almost all of them got their first preferences. 2 got into Monash med too, and I was super happy for them. I was so scared of checking. I didn't want to check. Anyways, I reminded myself that med was super competitive and that it's okay if I don't get in, there are so many other avenues to get in, and I was pretty satisfied with that thinking. Then, I shut my eyes and clicked the email. For a few seconds, I was surrounded by the calmness of the dark. I slowly opened my eyes. I remember my hands were shaking. I looked to where it said what offer I'd gotten.

I just collapsed on my bed and buried my head in my hands. Sounds pretty dramatic, but I couldn't stop crying and shaking. My dad rushed into the room (I was very loud, mind you) and he tried to comfort me. I was trying to tell him not to, that it was fine, I wasn't crying because I was upset, but it's hard to talk through tears. Because there, in that one single email, all my dreams came true.

the email
VTAC would like to congratulate you on receiving the following offer:

Course: 2800311231
Monash University - Clayton
Medicine - School Leaver Entry


My first preference, and my goal for the last 3 years. It felt like a fever dream, honestly. It still does. I just couldn't believe it. I logged onto the Monash website and checked just to make sure that it was real. I can't wait to start uni, meet the med cohort, and have fun next year. The next 5 years are going to be an exciting, long ride (in a good way, of course!) and at the moment it feels so surreal.

I don't think I'll be creating a uni journal, but you can still catch me on the forums and on MSO if you just want to chat or ask any questions. If you've already PM'd me, my replies are going to be slow because I've been busy with getting everything ready for uni (ngl, enrollment felt harder than getting into uni in itself 🤣) and enjoying my holidays (my sincere apologies, I will get to you as soon as I can!). It took forever to actually get around to writing this, and I wanted to do it quickly to finish off this journal and tie everything together.

Thank you to all my readers for supporting me throughout the last two years. I loved contributing to the forums and updating my journal - AN has been amazing to me in so many ways. I wish everyone the best of luck. To the class of 2020, all the best for the future and for tertiary education (if you wish to pursue it in 2021). To the class of 2021, I wish you all the best for year 12. You guys are going to smash it out of the park!

whys is over and out!
(https://media1.giphy.com/media/zeoxV7uCUCqt2/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on January 16, 2021, 12:49:00 pm
Congratulations whys!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Mkiryo on January 16, 2021, 01:30:30 pm
whys I've been silently following your journal all along and I just want to say I'm so happy for you. We got to see some of the ups and downs throughout the journal and I know nothing feels better than finally achieving the goal you've been thinking, overthinking and dreaming about. You so incredibly deserve it and I hope this made all the hassle worth it. Thank you also for being of such great help around the forum. Wishing you all the best, your future looks very bright!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: dedformed on January 16, 2021, 01:33:26 pm
YESSS YOU DID IT BEAN!!!


Well deserved and your journal is a brilliant artefact of how hard you've worked to get there. Congratulations!


also I just realised "whys" is read "wise", noice.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: tiredandstressed on January 16, 2021, 02:03:40 pm
CONGRATULATIONS WHYS!!!!!
This is an amazing achievement, well done!
You worked hard to get where you, this is only the start of a very exciting but also challenging journey.
I wish you all the best
-T&S
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Bri MT on January 16, 2021, 02:05:30 pm
AHHHH!!!!!

This is incredible! See you around campus :D

I'm not sure if you remember writing this (below) but yeah, you've gotten to this point and that has taken a lot. Congratulations :) 
long quote
Actually, my interest in the medical field began when I was around 6 (young, right?!). We had a family friend who was a doctor, whom I vaguely remember now, but I do clearly have the memory of her being a role model to me. She was a practicing GP, and I recall this one time when we (me and my parents) went to her clinic to visit her. On that day, she gave me one of those moving cube things (I found the exact one I have online here!). I was only 6 at the time, so most of the words on there were like a foreign language to me. Despite there being complex words that I had no idea about, I was intrigued by the actual images (and the prospect of moving the cubes around, because it was fun). As I grew, I began slowly understanding what the words all meant. It's actually on my table right now, and I can't thank the doctor that gave it to me enough, because it's something that has sentimental value to me and sparked my interest. Obviously, my 'dream career' changed often in primary school; I remember once I wanted to be jockey, and firefighter, and a vet. But there was always something about that cube that brought me back to it.

Now, I have much more knowledge about what a doctor actually is and what they do, and I definitely know now that it's my dream career. I think most people now overlook the trust between a doctor and their patient, as it's such a normal thing to go to the doctor if you have a fever, or a cold. I think it's amazing that an individual is able to go to someone they don't know at a very vulnerable point of time in their life, and trust that person to help them get better. It might sound silly, but that trust has earned my respect for doctors. To be able to trust in someone like that really means something, and I'd like that someone to be me one day. Work experience only intrigued and inspired me even more, as for one of the days I was lucky enough to be with the surgeon and nurses in the surgery room and got to see a few surgeries myself (plus I was wearing spuds!). The surgeon was also kind enough to explain what exactly he was doing and the apparatus he used. Just being with the patients at work experience was amazing, and visiting them and talking to them was super fun. I reckon my favourite department was the emergency department, as it was pretty busy and so many different people came in with very different cases (and there was lots of running around to do!)

I know undergrad med is tough, but I want to give it a shot and see where I can go. One day, I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and know that I've helped so many lives as a doctor, no matter how small that help may have been  :D

When med school is tough and difficult I hope you come back to this post and remember how you felt receiving that offer. Btw if you're struggling with Monash admin remember that a bunch of us are from Monash - feel free to ask a question in the Monash (or broader uni) part of the forum. The admin side does get easier and less overwhelming :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: homeworkisapotato on January 18, 2021, 11:02:19 am
CONGRATULATIONS WHYS!!!
You've put in so much dedication and hard work and you've gotten what you absolutely deserve!! You've been such an inspiration to me and I am DEFINITELY gonna be annoyingly PM'ing you throughout the year asking for help and advice and just to keep in touch and see how amazing your life is now! Super excited for you!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: MoonChild1234 on January 18, 2021, 11:38:08 am
WHYS omg!! i have been silently following your journal for ages and I am so bloody happy for you!! I might just be in an emotional mood but the way you wrote your last entry kinda made me wanna tear up, I'm gonna miss your journal so much!!

You absolutely deserve this so so much and I wish you all the best for the coming years, hopefully its everything you have dreamt of and more <33

this may sound weird but reading your journal I was so invested and I am so glad that after all the downs, you have achieved your goal!

CONGRATS!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: Ionic Doc on January 19, 2021, 11:58:01 am
Congrats on getting into med Whys!
You definitely deserve it after the hard work you've put it.
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: cmati on January 19, 2021, 04:53:05 pm
Whys I've just read this whole journal of yours!! Congratulations, that is so well deserved and I am so proud of you  :D
Have fun you smart cookie!!
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: mang0 on January 19, 2021, 07:50:51 pm
Hi Whys!
I've been following your journal for a while now and I just wanted to say congrats! You motivate people like me to aim higher and to keep our hopes up, even when things seem tough and the odds seem impossible. You really deserve this and I hope you enjoy the new year! All the best for 2021!  :D
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: wingdings2791 on January 19, 2021, 08:59:45 pm
Hello Whys! I've been lurking for a long time now but I just wanted to say a very belated CONGRATS!! You've done absolutely phenomenal and deserve every bit of that success. I really hope you'll enjoy med and I'll miss your journal updates. All the best!! :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: eloisegrace on January 19, 2021, 09:23:37 pm
Congratulations whys! I have seen your passion for med in your journal and I am so so happy for you :) I wish you the best of luck this year ❤️❤️
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: bluebird on January 19, 2021, 09:24:43 pm
Hey asm Whys! I have to say I too have been a silent reader of your amazing journey and want to wish another very belated congratulations of not only your scores and med school offer but also for your amazing growth and positivity you spread. You've inspired a lot of people and I hope that you achieve everything you hope for and more in med!  :)
Title: Re: whys' VCE journal
Post by: whys on February 15, 2021, 04:47:07 pm
I’m super duper sorry for replying so late, I got busy with things and forgot about the fact that I still hadn’t replied to all these lovely posts! Thank you everyone once again. <3

Congratulations whys!!
Thanks Cat, and congrats to you too!!

whys I've been silently following your journal all along and I just want to say I'm so happy for you. We got to see some of the ups and downs throughout the journal and I know nothing feels better than finally achieving the goal you've been thinking, overthinking and dreaming about. You so incredibly deserve it and I hope this made all the hassle worth it. Thank you also for being of such great help around the forum. Wishing you all the best, your future looks very bright!
Hey Mkiryo! Happy to see another reader. A massive congratulations to you on that amazing ATAR, and all the best for the future! Thank you for your kind words and for replying to my journal.

YESSS YOU DID IT BEAN!!!


Well deserved and your journal is a brilliant artefact of how hard you've worked to get there. Congratulations!


also I just realised "whys" is read "wise", noice.
From one bean to another, THANK YOU! Good luck for year 12 and beyond.

P.S. It doesn’t really matter how you read it, whatever floats your boat!

CONGRATULATIONS WHYS!!!!!
This is an amazing achievement, well done!
You worked hard to get where you, this is only the start of a very exciting but also challenging journey.
I wish you all the best
-T&S
Thank you so much T&S, your advice last year was invaluable. All the best for the rest of uni and beyond.

AHHHH!!!!!

This is incredible! See you around campus :D

I'm not sure if you remember writing this (below) but yeah, you've gotten to this point and that has taken a lot. Congratulations :) 
long quote

When med school is tough and difficult I hope you come back to this post and remember how you felt receiving that offer. Btw if you're struggling with Monash admin remember that a bunch of us are from Monash - feel free to ask a question in the Monash (or broader uni) part of the forum. The admin side does get easier and less overwhelming :)
Thanks Bri! And definitely, can’t wait to explore Monash’s campus. And yes indeed, it’s always great to look back at my (cringey) self in the past and think about how I actually achieved what I wanted from the start.

Thank you for your warm welcome, I look forward to uni life and the ups and downs that come with it.

CONGRATULATIONS WHYS!!!
You've put in so much dedication and hard work and you've gotten what you absolutely deserve!! You've been such an inspiration to me and I am DEFINITELY gonna be annoyingly PM'ing you throughout the year asking for help and advice and just to keep in touch and see how amazing your life is now! Super excited for you!
Thank you Potato! I’m excited to follow your year 12 journey this year - it truly is a crazy but fun year. Any and all PMs are always welcome.

WHYS omg!! i have been silently following your journal for ages and I am so bloody happy for you!! I might just be in an emotional mood but the way you wrote your last entry kinda made me wanna tear up, I'm gonna miss your journal so much!!

You absolutely deserve this so so much and I wish you all the best for the coming years, hopefully its everything you have dreamt of and more <33

this may sound weird but reading your journal I was so invested and I am so glad that after all the downs, you have achieved your goal!

CONGRATS!!
Hey Moonchild! Firstly, congrats on your phenomenal scores! It means so much to hear you enjoyed reading that update (and so sorry for making it super emotional, didn’t realise till I read it back to myself later on haha).

That’s definitely not weird, in fact, I’m flattered to hear you enjoyed reading this sloppy journal. All the best for the roller coaster that is year 12. Go out there and smash it!

Congrats on getting into med Whys!
You definitely deserve it after the hard work you've put it.
Thanks Doc! Congratulations to you too, we’ve finally finished that crazy year and can have a good laugh about it now.

Whys I've just read this whole journal of yours!! Congratulations, that is so well deserved and I am so proud of you  :D
Have fun you smart cookie!!
I’m honoured, thank you dear dedicated reader! All the best for the future you smart cookie!

Hi Whys!
I've been following your journal for a while now and I just wanted to say congrats! You motivate people like me to aim higher and to keep our hopes up, even when things seem tough and the odds seem impossible. You really deserve this and I hope you enjoy the new year! All the best for 2021!  :D
Heya Mang0, thank you. It means so much to read replies like yours. I’m so happy you enjoyed reading this erratic journey! All the best for 2021 and beyond to you as well.

Hello Whys! I've been lurking for a long time now but I just wanted to say a very belated CONGRATS!! You've done absolutely phenomenal and deserve every bit of that success. I really hope you'll enjoy med and I'll miss your journal updates. All the best!! :)
Hey Wingdings! Thank you so much, your kind words mean a lot. Although the updates are gone, I’ll still be lurking around on the forums and hopefully continue to post. Good luck for this year and wherever the future takes you!

Congratulations whys! I have seen your passion for med in your journal and I am so so happy for you :) I wish you the best of luck this year ❤️❤️
Hey Eloise! Thank you so much, and best of luck for year 12 this year. You did so well in year 11, keep up the good work!

Hey asm Whys! I have to say I too have been a silent reader of your amazing journey and want to wish another very belated congratulations of not only your scores and med school offer but also for your amazing growth and positivity you spread. You've inspired a lot of people and I hope that you achieve everything you hope for and more in med!  :)
Hi Bluebird! So many new readers I’m hearing from for the first time - I’m thrilled! Thank you for your sweet reply (it means a lot to me!), and all the best for 2021.