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Author Topic: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC  (Read 5201 times)

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RuiAce

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Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« on: October 16, 2016, 11:26:59 am »
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The HSC is tiring. It drains you out. You get into Year 12 thinking that you're going to stay chill to the end but you end up chilling out the wrong way. And there's nothing you can do to make life easier from the stress...

...or is there?


Hey everyone! This article is intended to give insight onto life as an accelerated student. Acceleration is not something that everyone can be offered so easily, but for the duration of your schooling life the experience is amazing. It's something I encourage everyone to at least consider, if not take on board. Your last year can become far more relaxed by just one thing!


What is acceleration?
Just like in physics, acceleration is meant to imply that you are speeding something up. Choosing to accelerate your HSC is essentially deciding that you want to complete it more quickly. Rather than have to go through a ton of lameness when you're supposed to be in Year 12, you can push it backwards in time and eliminate some or all of it earlier.

Wait... You can do that?!
Yes! There are two possible ways of getting accelerated.
1. You skipped a whole grade
2. You split your HSC up and did some of it earlier

Unfortunately, if you've made it past Year 9 already that first option is probably out of your reach now. If you managed to skip a grade then that is very impressive, but if you happen to jump from Year 9 straight to Year 11 now that is quite something.

The HSC can be split?
This is something that not everyone is aware of. Your HSC can be completed over a period of five years, not just one if you wish. I'm fairly sure that the main intention of this was to cater for people who have other major commitments or experienced hardship during the HSC, but acceleration has come off as a positive consumption externality.

Some of you may have noticed a renegade 2U mathematics mark under both Jake's signature and my own, yet clearly we did Extension 2 as well. This was basically because we completed 2U before we were actually in Year 12.

Is acceleration the right choice for me?
Speeding things up isn't always easy, and there will definitely be people who see this and think nope I'm not even gonna bother. Fair? Well, from person to person possibly yes and possibly no. Here are some factors you should consider before choosing to accelerate.

I like the subject
This is ultimately the big one (and is also what you should be prioritising for picking a university degree). Although at uni you might need to experiment to find what you like, in the HSC you really should just be doing the things you wanted to do. It doesn't mean you have the be extremely passionate to get accelerated, it just means you need to enjoy the subject quite decently. If you like the subject you plan on/are offered to accelerate then you should give it a thought.

I can handle being given tougher things early
You don't really feel the pay-off with acceleration until your HSC year. Choosing to accelerate means to do things NOW rather than later. There's always a small bunch who seriously prefer to just get everything done at once rather than split things up. Whilst this shouldn't be a massive deal, if this could potentially be a problem then reconsidering may be necessary

I'm pretty good at this subject
Usually complements the first point. In general you like doing what you're good at so essentially the same as mentioned earlier. But of course, you could be good at something and feel indifferent about it with the passion. If you're skilled but at the same time don't care too much then it's just a matter of if you're willing to put in effort or not. Usually you're not good at something you hate but if that's the case then you might want to just ignore acceleration as well.

Becoming an accelerant
So the point of the above is, of course not everyone is ultimately going to walk through this path. Not everyone simply wants to! Essentially, if you're interested in acceleration you're most likely a keen bean; you have a stronger passion for what you're accelerating through. But in a nutshell, if this IS you then you really have no reason to not consider this option. Once the passion for the subject has been developed, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

You can become accelerated through the following ways:

1. Your school directly offers you the acceleration program
If this is you, then 99% of the time you really should just be taking it. It's one thing to apply to become an accelerant, but it's another to be given the opportunity. Generally, this means that your school has acknowledged your capabilities as being significantly beyond the norm and permitting you to increase your learning rate is not likely to cause harm. The last 1% is only if you happen to be really really good at something you hate, which usually doesn't happen. Of course, if you don't like what you're learning then this may be detrimental, but it usually doesn't happen. Just being impartial to the subject is more than sufficient to take it on board.

2. Your school offers an acceleration program, but you have to apply for it
Do consider it if you're capable. Come your actual Year 12, you'll be thankful of the fact you have less of a workload compared to everyone else. All that matters is you make it pay off for you before you get to Year 12.

3. You're interested in becoming accelerated but your school doesn't offer anything
Not every school will have an acceleration program. This can be due to timetabling issues, insufficient resources or many other reasons. You may have to find an alternate source. This can arguably be a hassle, so it is entirely up to you if you want to carry through with it.
Many students complete parts of their HSC externally. Whilst some are simply offered through TAFE, others may be offered by a private tutoring organisation. It is possible to apply to them to complete an accelerated program, but with extra money on the line now you might be rethinking.

3.1. Beg
Some schools do give in. If you're that persuasive, they might let you through with it. The only condition is that you need to be both actually convincing (high performance), and verbally. Actually, that was me for Extension 1, but I didn't have to be as persuasive as I implied just now.

Warning: Some schools that offer acceleration have their programs starting as early as Year 8. Whilst technically you only have to be in Year 10 in general to become accelerated (you have to be taught Year 11 content too!) you might want to get these issues clarified.

I'm in! What now?
Well done! You are now getting rid of Year 11/12 content before you're actually there!

Keep in mind, when you start getting hit with Year 11 content, that it does not count. The jump between Year 10 and Year 11 is, whilst manageable, significant. In general the start is still very easy, however it may escalate more rapidly than you'd expect. (Unless you've already been through worse, that is.)

Your "Year 11" is the same for everyone else. It's a year of practice. Use the three terms to develop your studying techniques and figure out what's best for you. Don't stress over it, but don't waste it either.

Because you're only in Year 9 or 10 or something right now, you should feel somewhat safe in putting your focus into how you perform in your accelerated course. Your Year 10 marks are, for the most part, useless. The only thing that you might want to do is sustain a decently high maths/science mark if you intend to continue studying that in Year 11/12, and trust me, that'll require way less studying than for what you're already in Year 11 for.

Can I chill accelerated Year 11 anyway?
Well, if you're accelerating mathematics then you really shouldn't be too relaxed, because they can reexamine you on prelim content for the mathematics HSC course. But at the end of the day it is still the year that doesn't count. You can flunk Year 11 and still kill Year 12 anyway, so if you really want to relax at times, relax.

There is a condition though: If you're at risk from being expelled out of your accelerated class, then you need to fix something up. You worked your way in to getting there, so don't lose the spot.

Ok I'm done with prelim. Now for Year 12?
Excellent. You made it. Before the bulk of your cohort did.

And thus it begins...

If you made it into a Year 12 class and you're still in Year 10 then extra props to you. It's one thing to be accelerated by one year but it's becoming greater to be accelerated by more. Same goes for if you're accelerating two subjects; you guys become well ahead of everyone else, getting away with only three or so subjects when you're actually in Year 12.

To the select few doing a Year 12 course in Year 10 or below, you will have it much easier than everyone else. Like mentioned above, don't ditch Year 10 to the point that you lose off your opportunity to get into, say, physics. But you don't have the problem of balancing out your workload to the same level as everyone else.

For all of you Year 11's finishing your very first Year 12 subject
It's not going to be easy. But if you play it out properly, it's not going to be as tough as it looks. You need to know what you're doing and be prepared to put in that extra work for this year, so that you can deal with less next year.

Destroying the "Year 11 Brain" syndrome
As you all know, Year 12 starts in what would technically be Term 4 of Year 11. Many students come into the start of Year 12, however still carry the lazier mindset of a Year 11 student. This causes some problems in that many of them have to relearn what was taught this term, come exam time. Basically, all there is to say here is don't be that person, or at least spend the summer break making notes so that you will recall things more quickly when you go through them.

Balancing the workload
Your marks in Year 11 don't count towards anything, but your Year 12 ones do. You're going to want to put a lot more effort into your accelerated subject(s) than everything else. And rightfully so; you probably should be.

But what proportion should I be aiming at? This is entirely up to you - Now that you ARE in Year 11, you can feel more rest assured that your marks really mean nothing at all for those other courses. But you don't want to completely zone out. Paying attention in Year 11 despite accelerating MX1 did make my life in Year 12 a lot easier; I found that concepts made sense to me more quickly. (Except for that impact on society stuff in physics... ew...)

The exact proportions will vary from person to person, but I reckon your HSC course should take up at least 25% of your studying workload. You'll have to figure out your best.

The assessment tasks of Year 11
For most of your tasks, just put in as much effort as you can. If you want to aim for dux of your cohort whilst being accelerated at the same time then, hey, provided you know what you're doing than go for it. But just treat them as ordinary tasks - do the best you can and put in an appropriate amount of effort.

There are two exceptions, however, if you ask me that is.
Firstly, a mathematics subject. If you've included some level of mathematics in your study pattern for Year 11, provided you have an intention on keeping in Year 12 you would probably want to put in a solid amount of work. I'm not being biased when I say this; the reason is because as mentioned, prelim mathematics is examinable in the HSC course. Because 20% of prelim content can be put in, you want to make sure that you have enough foundation so that you won't spend too much time relearning all the content when you actually are in Year 12, thus wasting some of your time bought from acceleration.

And secondly, your prelim exams. I reckon you should utilise this one because whilst you gain experiences from acceleration on exam strategy, this is your first time you're technically required to study for a whole bulk of subjects. Treat these seriously; you may be surprised, but you will still end up having enough time to study for your final HSC exam regardless.

Notes
As a rule of thumb, make them during the year. Don't wait till exam time to have your study notes - do them as you learn the course. You guys aren't like the rest of Year 12; having to make notes for all 5+ subjects all at once and won't be as drained as they could potentially be.

Time to face the HSC exams
Everything's set. Now I have some exams coming up. What do I do?

Half Yearly exams
In general the half yearly exams are regarded as the hardest of the lot. This doesn't mean they're necessarily more difficult than the rest, but there is a key element to factor in.

For most Year 12's, they have to go into the half yearly exam withOUT a study vacation (stuvac). They basically had to study for these upcoming tasks whilst learning new content at the same time. (Of course, moderation will save them in the long run but the mark you receive may not be the most appealing.) It isn't that different for you either, but you have a bonus convenience factor of no other subjects.

Your other courses are all Year 11 work. You guys will be able to devote at least one whole week to studying for that half yearly papers. So get going!

Trial HSC
So, depending on what school you go to, your trials may be either after or before the 2 week school holidays. If it's before then, tbh, just do what you did for the half-yearly. Except with a bit more - you shouldn't feel bad about spending at least two weeks, and you should be completing more papers as well.

Your trials are potentially weighted up to 40% of your final mark. The number itself isn't fixed, but the idea is that these count more than anything you've had thus far*. They are also most likely the most accurate representation of what it'll feel like in the final exam. You could say that it's your first taste of the real deal.

If your trials are after the school holidays, then that's two free weeks right there for you. Plenty of revision/past papers can be done in this block of time - don't forget, the other Year 12s are going to be doing this as well. Make sure you really try to find all of your weaknesses and refining your exam techniques during this lead-up.

And usually the trials are in week 3. So week 1 and 2 are also there for studying purposes. Of course, you do have to juggle classwork a bit as well during that time though.

* - It's probably not weighted 'the most' if you're accelerating a major work subject. If that's you, make sure you devote heaps of time to the major project as well. (I'm not too sure when the due dates for these are...)

Final Exam
Well, this is the end. You made it to the very last step of acceleration. All that awaits you after this is every other subject you do (ouch...)

You should basically start preparing for these no later than the first day of your holidays. Potentially this is basically right after your prelim exams. And, well to be honest, I really don't have much to say here! The way you should be preparing for these is basically the way any Year 12 should be; getting as much as you can done (especially past papers - you should aim to have them done all the way to 2001 since you only do one or two subjects).

During your school holiday period, make sure you have absolutely everything sorted. Get essays marked if need be, ensure you can handle virtually everything the course throws at you and just keep doing those past papers. And honestly, if you run out of questions, unless it's 100% rote-learn you should get some papers from other sources. (Even go back to trial papers if need be.)
« Last Edit: November 26, 2016, 07:12:08 am by RuiAce »

jakesilove

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2016, 11:42:36 am »
+3
> > Still in progress < <

The HSC is tiring. It drains you out. You get into Year 12 thinking that you're going to stay chill to the end but you end up chilling out the wrong way. And there's nothing you can do to make life easier from the stress...

...or is there?


Hey everyone! This article is intended to give insight onto life as an accelerated student. Acceleration is not something that everyone can be offered so easily, but for the duration of your schooling life the experience is amazing. It's something I encourage everyone to at least consider, if not take on board. Your last year can become far more relaxed by just one thing!

Are you a 2016 accelerant? Some tips for you guys are at the bottom!



Awesome idea Rui! Just wanted to share my experience.

I was only accelerated in Maths at the end of Year 10, which meant that we had to learn the whole year 11 curriculum, and then year 12 curriculum, within one term in order to sit the first Year 12 assessment. I found the experience to be a bit stressful, and bit time-consuming, but overall just a great way to make my final years easier. It takes the edge out of your first proper Year 12 exams, because you've sort of done it all before. It gives you a 'safety net' subject to fall back on, and helps you understand the process a bit better. The only downside, in my opinion, is that I stopped focusing on Year 11 work completely, because I felt like it didn't matter. However, as Year 11 really doesn't matter, I guess that was okay. Would love to hear everyone else's experience!
ATAR: 99.80

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Studying a combined Advanced Science/Law degree at UNSW

Dragomistress

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2016, 09:01:00 pm »
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Is this foolproof? I want to accelerate but I am slightly scared of making mistakes (i.e. learning wrong stuff)

RuiAce

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2016, 09:05:37 pm »
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This is on hold right now. I didn't intend to post it cause it was finished and I wanted to delete it but it didn't let me and I couldn't be bothered asking for permission.

However, what do you mean by learning wrong stuff?

Dragomistress

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2016, 07:29:10 am »
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As in wrong stuff. I mean this.
I could go to x textbook and study the whole thing. When I study it, what if some information is incorrect or not complete? Then what? Or if they teach a lot of redundant information because it "could help you".

jamonwindeyer

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2016, 10:41:49 am »
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As in wrong stuff. I mean this.
I could go to x textbook and study the whole thing. When I study it, what if some information is incorrect or not complete? Then what? Or if they teach a lot of redundant information because it "could help you".

Information in any reputable source is unlikely to be incorrect, but you make a good point about learning too much/not enough! Any good acceleration program will make sure the course is still taught properly, but if you are taking a more independent approach:

- Cross reference; be sure to read more than one textbook to make sure gaps are filled
- Use practice exams to determine the sorts of information that can be assessed, and what can't be assessed

If you learn to the syllabus you can minimise excess info while making sure you tick all the boxes! :)

RuiAce

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #6 on: October 28, 2016, 10:45:17 am »
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As in wrong stuff. I mean this.
I could go to x textbook and study the whole thing. When I study it, what if some information is incorrect or not complete? Then what? Or if they teach a lot of redundant information because it "could help you".
Except, aside of Jamon's explanation, I'm not sure how this relates to my post. Unless you're suspecting stuff on here to be incorrect

If there's just some bits and pieces you're unsure of you can always ask for reliability, regarding what is it you're learning off sources/at school
« Last Edit: October 28, 2016, 10:47:42 am by RuiAce »

Dragomistress

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #7 on: October 28, 2016, 05:17:07 pm »
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What are some good acceleration programs for: 4 unit mathematics, english advanced, physics and chemistry?

RuiAce

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2016, 05:39:40 pm »
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When I use the word "program", they all fall into the category of doing the course ahead of time. It doesn't imply that there are specific "WAYS" to accelerate. Because they all have the same goal.

How you accelerate is entirely your call. Personally I chose to do HSC Mathematics in Yr 10, and then do both prelim and HSC Ext 1 Maths in Yr 11. But that's just me.


If by that you mean the decision between tutoring or just doing it with your schools those are not really "programs". They're just methods. Which is what I mean by "program" - it's just a way of getting accelerated. For me, in both cases I did it with my school. And in a way, it was a program because they had to timetable me differently (in both years). But it's still just under the broad category of "acceleration".

There's no such thing as a specific program called, say "ATARnotes maths acceleration" (only cause I don't have a better idea of a made-up name)
______________________________

Unless I completely misinterpreted what you said. To which then please clarify.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2016, 05:56:12 pm by RuiAce »

Dragomistress

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2016, 08:17:55 pm »
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Ha ha, good point. Approximately how many voluntary "accelerants" do you think there are across the cohort of NSW? (Is this common or uncommon)

RuiAce

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #10 on: October 28, 2016, 08:40:05 pm »
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Ha ha, good point. Approximately how many voluntary "accelerants" do you think there are across the cohort of NSW? (Is this common or uncommon)
Oh that's hard to say. Actually not sure on the statistics of those

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2016, 06:42:57 am »
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Hmm, well this is stressful. I have people publicise the fact that they are "accelerating" in my school's cohort and that just kills me inside lol. My advantage. Gone. :/
« Last Edit: October 29, 2016, 08:52:18 am by jamonwindeyer »

RuiAce

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #12 on: October 29, 2016, 08:25:15 am »
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Disagree.

Even if there are 70 accelerated in your cohort you're still at the advantage. It just means that on a relative scale the advantage is no longer prominent, which is not as surprising if you go to JRAHS.

At that school you go to I'm sure that everyone there is actually going to work hard regardless, so it may appear as though against your school cohort you're not advantaged by a great deal. But you still make the HSC way easier on yourself in the long run because of the reduced workload in the future. You get a competitive advantage against the actual HSC itself.

And, whilst admittedly at times I did like to talk about it back then, I don't know about 'publicising' it...

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2016, 08:51:54 am »
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Hmm, well this is stressful. I have people publicise the fact that they are "accelerating" in my school's cohort and that just kills me inside lol (figuratively, please not another warning level). My advantage. Gone. :/

Accelerants have absolutely no advantage over you at all. And them accelerating has no effect on your results either :)

It's just a 'different' way of doing the HSC. Works for some, didn't work for me (and I did consider it, although my school didn't typically offer it). Just focus on working hard yourself and that will get you where you want to be ;D

RuiAce

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Re: Thinking "ZOOM ZOOM"? Accelerating your HSC
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2016, 08:54:58 am »
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Accelerants have absolutely no advantage over you at all. And them accelerating has no effect on your results either :)

It's just a 'different' way of doing the HSC. Works for some, didn't work for me (and I did consider it, although my school didn't typically offer it). Just focus on working hard yourself and that will get you where you want to be ;D
I guess that his paranoia is that he's interested in the idea but the idea itself gives him anxiety over certain things

(Or her, idk)