-- Colline’s Battle Through VCE --
Hey hey hey!! :)) I thought I’d jump on board the VCE Journal bandwagon! School starts in just over a week, so I think now is a good time to start!
Through this journal I hope to record all the details of my final year of high school, and of course, my final triumph over the dictatorial regime VCAA has over my life. VCE is a battle, and a long one too, so I thought this would be an appropriate name for my journal.
The journey so far:
I have already completed two VCE subjects, Literature and Dance. Coming from a performing background, I've always planned on doing Dance - unfortunately I couldn't do VET Dance (the more vocational option), so I had to do VCE. The theory aspects of VCE Dance were really challenging for me, and I gradually lost interest and motivation as the year wore on. In the end, I got a 31 study score, which scales to 29.
My other subject, Literature, was an accident. I meant to do 1/2 Lit, but there weren't enough people so the subject got cancelled. I didn't want to go through DECV, neither did I want to do Mainstream or English Language, so after a series of incredibly long emails and "fights"with the school, I was allowed into the 3/4 class. Throughout the year, I forfeited everything to work on lit, as I wanted to show the school they made the right choice letting me in the class. It paid off and I got a 50 (yippee!).
I have also done a VET subject - music industry (performance). It was honestly a bit of a fluke - I didn't even realise VET studies could count towards the ATAR until after results came out. I thoroughly enjoyed the subject though, and it came with a nice certificate which VCE Music doesn't give you. ;)
What’s to come:
We’ve finally reached year 12 – 2019! This year I am doing 4 subjects, which are further maths, methods, biology, and chemistry. Chemistry will definitely be my biggest challenge as I didn’t do 1/2 (I did 1/2 psychology). I had worked through most of the 1/2 textbook, especially all those stoichiometry stuff (which still really confuses me), so I hope it doesn’t put me at too much of a disadvantage.
I thoroughly enjoyed general last year, although methods 1/2 was a pain. However, I have a better teacher this year, and transition went well, so I’m looking forward to it. Biology… *urgh* - I nearly dropped out last year because of how much I hated it. I actually loved psychology 1/2 but ended up picking biology over it as it would have more overlapping content with chemistry.
Aims and goals:
VCE: Further: 47+ | Methods: 45+ | Biology: 40+ | Chemistry: ??? I don’t really have an idea of what I should aim for.
ATAR: I usually say 99+, but my dream is >99.90 (Melbourne Chancellors) fat chance lol. I think chemistry will definitely drag down my ATAR
Uni: Bachelor of Science / Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Melbourne Uni. (98.50 ATAR guarantee).
I’ve considered med, but let’s be realistic, I’ll never get in. Still, I’ll be sitting the UCAT (after months and months of being plagued by UMAT-related nightmares), just don’t bank on too much hope. Also, I just happen to like animals better than humans.
A little bit more about me:
I just realised that I’ve been going on and on about my subjects and it sounds like I have no life lol!
So uh, bit more about me – I’m from the Eastern suburbs, I have an unhealthy obsession with halal food (no matter how VCE and uni turns out, I plan on opening my very own kebab shop in the future), I have two younger siblings, one who’s in year 10 and is also doing biology 3/4 (I hope I beat him lmao), my MBTI is INFP according to BuzzFeed, and I have zero hours on my Ls! :)
My biggest hobby is learning about military tactics, battle strategies, and weaponry, especially those from ancient times. (All for *cough* academic purposes, I swear). I’ve read ”The Art of War” by Sun Tzu about twenty times, and hopefully one day I’ll learn Chinese so I can read the original. I also have a collection of works by Barry Strauss, who’s a military and naval historian. I actually considered doing history for VCE, but I heard that history subjects mainly focus on society and politics rather than the more interesting wars and battles, so no thanks!
My username comes from Battle of Porta Collina, also known as the Battle of the Colline Gates, an ancient battle in Rome.
That’s all from me today, folks! See you all soon <3
Colline xx
01 / 03 / 2019 – Friday, Week 5 Term 1
Hey everyone!! I’m excited to be back for another update – a much more optimistic one than last time!
Biology is still the bane of my existence (yes I promised an optimistic update, I just wanna get this out of the way first! Pls bear with me). Our SAC has been moved to an earlier date, so at least now I can have a relatively stress-free birthday.
Also idk if this is concerning or not, but I STILL can’t remember the equation for photosynthesis and this is about as basic as you can get in biology!
Chemistry – we had our very first SAC! I feel obligated describe this unforgettable experience:
Spoiler
Obviously it wasn’t my first time doing a SAC, but it WAS my first time doing it with a large cohort. At my school, subjects with large cohorts (English, bio, chem, psych, methods, further, HHD, and legal) do all their SACs together in a professionally conducted exam setting in the gym afterschool, as opposed to smaller cohorts who do SACs in individual classrooms during class time supervised by one teacher. As you can probably imagine, the atmosphere of a large-cohort SAC is a lot more intense.
I had double methods before the SAC, except NO ONE did anything maths related. Our poor teacher spent the entire double confiscating everyone’s chemistry notebooks, textbooks, and eventually laptops and phones as we desperately tried to find new ways to revise. During lunch I couldn’t eat at all. I was just SO nervous. When last period ended and the announcement rang for all 3/4 chemistry students to make our way to the gym and line up in alphabetical order, I just felt nauseous. It was the same feeling last year, walking into my final literature exam, except this was just a SAC!
Looking back now, I was probably being overdramatic. In my defense, EVERYONE was tense. It honestly felt like a real VCAA exam.
Methods is really starting to grow on me. Maybe it’s cos of my teacher - the only teacher in the entire school who I’m comfortable with.
My biggest problem right now is learning how to use the CAS efficiently. I know there are many shortcuts and functions but I’m so used to doing everything by hand – sadly not an option when questions look like “Sketch 5.829t^2 + 0.084t - 3.51”
Further is still going great! I got a 96% on my most recent practice SAC on data analysis! Mostly marks were lost over silly mistakes like copying numbers in the wrong order.
I’m hoping to tackle a full exam soon!
Final thing – UCAT – registration opened this morning. Of course the actual test is still MONTHS away but I can already feel stress levels rising. I don’t even need the UCAT lmao, since medicine isn’t my aim, but how different is treating animals? Surely my UCAT performance would also be an indicator of whether or not I’d make a good vet.
I haven't done a single UCAT practice paper yet, unless you count the couple of past UMAT questions I've done in my free time. As I don't really need it, I'm planning to not spend that much energy on this test (though I do get stressed whenever somebody brings it up!)
Pretty short update. There'll be more to write on once I get all my SACs done for this term (~shudders~).
Also OMG I was so excited to see my music performance tips post in the post of the months list! Thanks AN so much for such a lovely shout out <3 it really made my day! I honestly didn't think anyone would find it helpful since it's such an unpopular subject! :)
Love you guys!
Colline <3
Heck yeah, the queen colline is backkk!!!! Whos bright idea was it to create atars?? My tutor says they'll be abolishing it in the next few years dang....
Chem is actually fun right now!! Congrats on smashing out your sacs, many many more to go but we can do it!!
Awwww mango you're the sweetest <3 <3 thanks for the (much needed!!) encouragement! Good luck with your studies too (and keep us posted on your journal!), we're halfway there!!! xx
Ok this really isn't an "update" (no updates actually, still waiting on bio and methods scores... Why do teachers have to be so SLOW) but I only had ONE class today in the morning, the rest of the day being either free periods or cancelled classes. So after class I went to the city to meet up with a friend who goes to Melbourne Uni. He was giving me a tour around the campus and LOOK WHAT I SAW!!
Spoiler
(https://i.imgur.com/oK19l4a.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/7wEwqCt.jpg)
ASDFGHJKLKJHGF IS THIS WHAT UNI IS LIKE OMG THIS IS ABSOLUTE HEAVEN.
ALSO ALSO ALSO there was a random barbecue going on, and on the other side of the campus, there was a club handing out free hot chocolate?? I'm sorry but university sounds like my idea of paradise!
Maybe by this time next year I'll read back on this and laugh my head off but tertiary education seems pretty damn good to me!
Hey colline,
How's Yr 12 been going?
Hey Snow Leopard! Oh my goodness, thanks for bumping this for me, I’ve been seriously neglecting this! Everything has been quite busy recently, with exams looming close and all, and I simply haven’t had the time to update.
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07 / 10 / 2019 - Monday Term 4 Week 1
I am now in my final term of high school! (*screams*) With less than one month to go, I thought I’d do a rather long update today as I don’t think I’ll be around much for the next month or so.
Trial Exams (and rankings...?)
We sat our official trial exams at the end of last term. For the most part, they went exactly as I imagined. Best was further, worst was chem. No surprises there. I didn’t even manage to get 50%, which was frustrating.
My trial exam scores were as follows:
Further: 95% (exam 1), 98.3% (exam 2)
Methods: 95% (exam 1), 87.5% (exam 2)
Biology: 73.3%
Chemistry: 44.2%
O chemistry thou heartless villain!
I don't exactly know my rankings for each subject. (How do some people know their exact rankings? Do some schools give them out?) If I had to take a wild guess, I'm ASSUMING top 3 for further (more details below), top 15 for methods, and average for both bio and chem.
Holidays
Such a misleading name, there was really nothing relaxing about my last ever school holidays. They were definitely productive though. I managed to:
• Attend optional trial exams my school held for further and chem
• Go to AN’s chem and bio revision lectures
• Knock out 10 trial exams in my own time - 6 chem, 2 methods, one each for further and bio.
Aside from that I also tried to give myself a break with a friend’s 18th and a Troye Sivan concert. But otherwise, most of the holidays were spent in the most boring fashion at my desk.
Speech Night
My last ever speech night is coming up, held at Docklands. I have three performances on the night, two with the school band, one with the band my friends and I put together. We’re doing a mashup of Adele!
Apart from that though, there’s not much I’m looking forward to. This morning, I was dismayed to find out that despite all my efforts this year, I won’t be getting the subject prize for further. It really came as a shock, as I was certain I had the highest SAC average among the cohort. I really don’t understand why I wasn’t given the subject prize — the student who got it has lower SAC marks than me, and AFAIK I did better than her on the trial exam as well.
I know the subject prize shouldn’t be a big deal, but I really thought I had it in the bag and I am so, so disappointed to find out that all my efforts this year went unrecognised. I mean, it’s not my ultimate goal, but some acknowledgement would've been nice. I know this is such a trivial thing to upset over, but I had been working towards it all year. It was just so crushing to me, and I know I am overreacting but gosh I really thought I had it, and I’m just so disappointed to find out I wasn’t successful.
(Please excuse my pettiness)
I didn’t get the award for methods either, though that was expected since I did badly on the U3 AOS1 SAC. And I never had a chance in bio and chem anyway.
I know the main thing is the exam. If I do well I can certainly still dux further, prove my teachers wrong, but I’m just feeling so unmotivated to study for it right now.
Sorry for such a depressing and overly dramatic rant. We shall now take a slightly more cheery turn for the rest of this post.
What’s coming
Graduation is coming, and I am having mixed feelings. On one hand, I am so glad I can finally be one step closer to freedom; on the other hand, I know I will still absolutely bawl my eyes out. Next, there is SWOTVAC, then finally, the long-awaited exams shall greet us with open arms.
My main plan is to work on maths, as I’m confident further and methods will both be in my top 4 along with music and literature. Bio and chem are guaranteed bottom 2, but still I don’t want to do too badly on them either. So here’s my exam prep checklist:
- Do the 2019 NHT papers under exam conditions
- Do CAS exercises every day
- Redo all the questions I got wrong in past papers and trial exams
- Write my own exam for further and methods
My methods teacher has challenged me to write my own exam 1 paper as revision. She said that there is no better way to improve than to see if I understand the concepts enough to come up with my own questions. I found that it really helped, so now I’m working on a methods exam 2 paper as well! (Though I’m only doing short answer questions as I think MCQ is a bit redundant).
I might post my exams in the coming weeks, after I get my methods teacher to check it over.
Reflection
Yeah that’s right, cheesy reflection questions a-coming! I stole the questions from a previous VCE journal (specifically this post).
Spoiler
What was your greatest accomplishment in high school?
I would say surviving. Nothing can possibly top that.
Aside from that, proving my lit teacher and the school wrong. I wasn't among the strongest English students from year 7 to year 10 so the school refused to let me do literature as my early 3/4, and after tons of emails, meetings with English teachers, and eventually even the principal, I was allowed in last-minute. It was a nice feeling when I finally smashed their low expectations of me ;D
What was your most memorable event in high school?
Year 12 musical! We did Wicked and I loved every single second of it.
Our 2019 inter house chorals competition was also memorable for all the wrong reasons. My house had won chorals 4 years in a row and this year we had our strongest ever music cohort (including a student who was once a finalist on the Voice), so everybody expected us to win. Then we stuffed up majorly on stage and came second last, ruining our streak and our reputation. And yes I am petty enough to forever remember that day.
What was your favourite / least favourite extracurricular activity?
Favourite(s): Orchestra! I’ve been in the school orchestra since year 7 and I’ve grown emotionally attached to everything about it.
Least favourite: Can’t really think of one. After all, I only did extracurricular that I liked. If I had to answer I’d say the school frisbee team, which I was unofficially a part of in year 9
What was one class you’ve always looked forward to / dreaded going to?
Looked forward to: Music! This year it’s probably methods because I refuse to say further (yes I am still cut)
Dreaded: Certain parts of chem and bio. Though I wouldn’t say dreaded. I just liked them less.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Our biology teacher this year is a recent uni graduate with a baby face. At the start of the year, I mistook him for a student on exchange and asked him what year he was in.
To this day, I cannot look at him in the eye.
Do you have any regrets about high school?
Yes. So many. I wish I was more involved with sport and other extracurriculars, as well as leadership. And there are so many people who I’ve hardly talked to throughout the 6 years of high school (especially int’l students) who I wish I got to know more.
I also wish I did physics instead of biology. And doing 7 subjects was really unnecessary lmao.
If you could give one advice to the younger year levels, what would it be?
Do not be afraid to take risks and do things which seems difficult. If you want to study a subject, but don't think you'd be able to handle the workload, just do it anyway. If you want to try out for a leadership position but think your resume isn't as impressive as the other students trying out, don't back out. If your school isn't running a subject you dream of doing, challenge it. You never know how things could work out.
I might update again just before exams just to vent out my feelings and whatnot, or I might see you after November 12th. Either way, we’re approaching the end of the tunnel. To the class of 2019, you’ve all worked so, so hard this year. So hold on - just a bit more - the end is near!
Colline xx
31 / 10 / 2019 - Thursday
The beginning of the end.
My exams start in LESS THAN 24 HOURS!
But guess what? Your girl is gonna update this journal instead of doing some last minute study. I might regret this tomorrow.
By now I honestly do not think I can possibly cram in any more content. I've read the same things over and over, done past exams one too many times, and I've seen the VCAA logo more than I'd ever wish to. As nervous as I am, I'm also just glad exams are finally here.
For SWOTVAC, it's been rather relaxed (too much 'VAC' and not enough 'SWOT', if you get what I mean). I went to two 18th's, binged HBO Chernobyl, did extra shifts at work, and visited the NGV on Sunday.
Last night, I had a dream of sitting in my further exam, rushing through each page (and was for some reason using one of those ancient brick-like calculators instead of a CAS) when a voice yelled pens down. I then proceeded to engage in a furious tug-of-war over the exam paper with the supervisor, who bore a strange resemblance to Big Mama from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, one of my literature texts last year. VCE has taken a toll on my sanity. Looking at my journal title (which I had made on a whim back in January), I feel a twinge of irony.
~ Looking back ~
The past few weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster. We had Speech Night, and my house won the house cup for the first time in 12 years! Subject prizes were announced, I sat in the audience and clapped as someone else went up for further. We had our performances, and my band played our hearts out during the final number of Rolling in the Deep.
Then it was muck up celebration day / graduation. My group dressed up as The Matrix characters. When we said our goodbyes, I hid behind those sunglasses, sobbing my eyes out. Everyone was emotional. In our final assembly, we sang the school song and it sounded like a funeral march despite the cheery melody.
In a comedic twist, SWOTVAC soon began, so after all of our tearful farewells, we saw everyone the following day. It felt weird going to school in jeans and runners. My methods teacher, the most wonderful being on this planet, jokingly asked for a uniform pass when she saw me.
This morning I was looking at my AN profile and realised that I made an account exactly one year and one day ago! Scrolling through my early post, it's shocking how times have changed! One of my first posts was me being lowkey terrified of jumping into 3/4 chem without 1/2. One year later, while I'm still hopeless at chem, I'm glad I gave myself that challenge.
~ Looking forward ~
For exams, my plan of attack is simple: do the questions in order (because if I don't I WILL miss some), and take everything slow and steady to avoid silly mistakes.
My first exams are tomorrow - bio in the morning, further 1 in the afternoon, then it's further 2, methods 1, methods 2, and chem on 12/11. When freedom finally arrives, I shall head to Ocean Grove with some friends for a few days, followed by a trip to Busan, South Korea, which I am really looking forward to! Oh, and of course find out (dun dun DUNNN) my ATAR.
BTW, I really want to use this space to flex my methods bound ref. It took me a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make it look ~this~ artistic.
(https://i.imgur.com/qe2BLQ7.jpg)
can you even call this a BOUND reference
(OK in all seriousness, I think too much info will only confuse me, so I resorted to 1 page. On the top left I have CAS commands, below is kinematics, my worst topic. On the right are reminders of silly errors I tend to make, and honestly I think this is enough.)
Anyway, I feel like I should probably do the responsible thing and look over my bio notes. I'll see y'all after exams! To the class of 2019, and anyone else doing a 3/4, good luck! I hope we all come out victorious!
Colline xx
OH AND FINAL THING:
As promised in my last update, here's some methods revision questions I've written! If you are doing methods and want some more practice, feel free to download and have a crack! (Also do let me know if I made mistakes). :D
12 / 11 / 2019 - Tuesday
FREEDOM!
I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED ALL MY EXAMS!!! OH MY GAWD I thought this day would never come!
Before I let myself get carried away I thought I'd better talk about exams.
Biology
This was a tragic episode. I was so worried about making silly mistakes that I took about double the time with SA. In the end I ran out of time and blindly threw away 3 entire questions.
I talked to my teacher afterwards, who said that as my SAC scores were decent, I may still have a chance at a 30+ SS if I did REALLY well on the MCQ and the first half of SA. But I think that is pushing it a little. A 30 is impossible.
I still can't believe I made such a horrible mistake. To make matters worse, I was sitting right under the clock too.
SS Prediction: Doesn't even matter anymore. Below 30 that's for sure.
Further
The first exam went okay. Even though I felt close to tears after the horrific bio exam only a few hours prior, I managed to keep myself together and sit through without letting my emotions get the better of me. I did still make a stupid mistake due to sheer carelessness of not reading the question properly. I made a mistake on exam 2 as well, so I guess the highest SS I can possibly get is 48, 49 if I am lucky. I am pretty upset about that, since further was the only subject I had a chance of getting that 50 in, and I blew it.
SS Prediction: 47 - 49
Methods
I think the Methods Tech-Free exam was the best I have ever done! From comparing my answers to the solutions, I think I got... dare I say it... 40/40?!? It sounds too good to be true!!
I'm not too sure what I got for exam 2, since I cannot remember my MCQ answers. BUT, I know I got all answers from SA right as well!! My only worry is that I could lose marks for having some dodgy working out.
SS Prediction: 43 - 45, maybe even higher?? I don't want to be too hopeful though.
Chemistry
Chem was today, and it went SO MUCH BETTER than I imagined! Of course, as your girl has been barely scraping a pass all year, expectations are low. I thought the exam felt pretty long (maybe as it was my last exam I was just counting down the minutes till freedom) but I'm pretty sure I got over half correct on the exam, which by my standards is insanely good. All in all, I'm glad exams finished on a good note despite the rocky start!
SS Prediction: 33 - 35
Overall ATAR prediction
Worst case scenario: 99.05
Best case scenario: 99.55
Thoughts: Not too sure. First, my predictions could be way off. Second, each ATAR Calculator gives me a different number. Finally, it feels almost too good to be true that even my worst case scenario is above what I need for DVM, especially when I know I stuffed up bio and further. Maybe I had overestimated my exam performance in methods.
I think my biggest disappointment is biology. As I have 7 subjects, one would not count towards my ATAR, and all this time I expected it to be DANCE (scaled 29). But I guess now I've got to face the facts that I probably worked my ass off in bio for nothing. I'm really upset in that aspect.
_________________________
So now that exams are DONE, I can't wait to get some much needed rest! Next week, a couple of friends and I are going to Ocean Grove to celebrate, but doing ~wholesome~ stuff instead of partying and getting drunk. After that, I want to take on extra shifts at work, and do a HECK TON of driving to get 120 hours so I can get RED P'S when I turn 18 next year! Oh and did I mention I'm going to South Korea during December? I'M SO KEEN.
Good luck to everyone who still has exams left, and if you have finished, I hope you all have a restful and well deserved break! :) :)
:)
Sorry for my late reply, thanks Ionic Doc! Well done on psych, and all the best for year 12!
How'd you go, Colline?!? Have been reading your journal from day dot, and am so excited to hear about your success!!!!
Hey Ist1103, sorry for my very tardy update! ;D Thank you so much for following my journal, it really put a smile on my face <3 <3
_______________________________
13 / 12 / 2019 - Friday
This episode - ATAR Day
I didn't get any ATAR nightmares the night before, mainly because I got not one ounce of sleep. At 11pm a friend and I went to a 24-hr Maccas and sat there eating McNuggets and contemplating life. At 1am, we left and drove around the block while contemplating life some more. At 4am, we went home after my dad got worried. With 3 hours to go, I tried to watch one of Vanessa Hudgens's bad Christmas movies, but couldn't concentrate at all.
At 6:40, I got a text from an unknown number which apparently had my results, but one look at them told me they were a prank (according to said text, I got 49 in bio and 17 in further and methods... If that didn't already give it away, the "final ATAR" of 42.0 definitely did). Only a few minutes later, an email from VASS popped up, but I dismissed it as a prank, again, since in previous years the email always came around 7. I straight up deleted that email without even checking because I was not in the mood for pranks - who knew it was legit? Finally, just before 7am hit, I turned on my camera, having promised my family and friends to do a reaction video. Except the website crashed and for about 20 minutes, while my messages and group chats were all exploding, I sat there nervously refreshing until it finally loaded.
My Results
At the very top was biology. Seeing my GA's, I was reminded of how horrifically I screwed up the exam. I had gotten A/A+/C, with a final score of 33. While I was relieved it was higher than how I went in dance, it was disheartening nonetheless as I was on track for high 30s the entire year until I massacred my exam.
Next up - chemistry. My GA's were A/A+/A+! I was getting C's and B's in my SACs - and how did I get an A+ on the exam?? But the biggest surprise was my study score of 40!! I was mind blown.
Further, on the other hand, was sadly just as expected. I got right on my prediction of 48. So all those urban myths about -1 exam mark is -1 study score must be true.
And finally... Methods was by far the biggest (and best) surprise of them all. While I knew I did well on the exam, I would've never expected that somehow, I did well enough to get 50?? But I did! That's right! Your girl got 50 in methods!! It felt like I was dreaming!
My final ATAR was 99.75!! Absolutely over the moon. Never ever in my wildest dreams could I have imagined getting so high.
Complete results
1. Literature - 50
2. Methods - 50
3. Further - 48
4. VET Music - 48
5. Chem - 40 (10%)
6. Bio - 33 (10%)
7. Dance - 31 (didn't count)
Aggregate: 203.56
ATAR: 99.75
My classmates and friends' results all started trickling in while I was checking my scores. Our school dux had a 99.80 and I cannot think of anyone who deserved the title more than they did. My goal of duxing further was ultimately not achieved - someone got 50. While it did leave me with some regrets, I'm overjoyed for our dux. The further dux and I had known each other since year 7 but we've never really talked until year 12. We were in the same further class and had our free periods together. Both of us were fighting to dux, and both of us KNEW the other was fighting to dux, yet we still became great friends. If I hopped in a time machine, went back to term 1, and told myself that I didn't dux further, my younger self would probably throw a fit. It's funny how times change.
After the initial excitement, lack of sleep finally caught up to me and by noon I had passed out on the couch where I didn't budge till dinner. At night, a bunch of friends and I went to a Karaoke bar at the Crown to celebrate, until we were promptly kicked out after I got ID'd. :P We walked around the city some more, I got drunk for the first time in my life, and our group eventually made our way to Melbourne Uni, where we played a wild game of Sardines (reverse hide-and-seek) until 3am.
This morning, I got up early and made breakfast and lunch for my dad and youngest brother (middle brother is away on school camp), as a small thank-you for all the support they've given me. I'm not the best at cooking, but I tried my best and here's my final product:
brekky
(https://i.imgur.com/702UtQ3.jpg)
lunch
(https://i.imgur.com/W8z4uIj.jpg)
So that's my ATAR story. It was a restless night and now I can finally relax. I think I will do one more update for when I get my VTAC offer (which should hopefully be the December round), so I'll see you all then!
Congratulations to the class of 2019, and everyone who did an early 3/4 this year!!
-- Colline vs VCAA: The Final Chapter --
19 / 12 / 2019 - Thursday
Hey friends! With the release of December round VTAC offers yesterday, I am at last released from VCAA's tyrannical reign of terror - my journey through VCE has officially come to an end.
Even though I knew what offer was coming, the wait for my email from VTAC was still somewhat nerve wracking. From as early as 8am, my friends started reporting their offers from ACU, Deakin, La Trobe, etc. My Facebook feed was all of a sudden crowded with updates, all my group chats were going insane, yet no email came for me... until 1:57pm.
I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been offered a Commonwealth Supported Place to Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, with guarantee CSP entrance into the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, accelerated pathway!
(https://i.imgur.com/4LEVFUw.jpg)
The journey to this email has been an absolute killer! But I'm also incredibly thankful that it was bumpier than originally planned. From the first week of year 9 to 1:57 yesterday afternoon... It has sure been a long trek!
On AN, I had recorded my journey from the moment I set my eyes on becoming a veterinarian, to the day I received my offer. But the truth is, the journey has been much, much more. From my very first unscored VET in year 9 - when I barely knew what an ATAR was let alone what I wanted to do in the future - to telling my school's career advisor I wanted to become a music therapist in year 10 - to reluctantly swapping out of drama into methods because my head-of-house "forced" me to keep my options open - to checking out animal health courses out of boredom one day and slowly realising music therapy was not for me - until I finally left psychology for chemistry at the end of year 11, which was the moment I knew my goal for uni - not music therapy, but veterinary medicine.
I am seriously looking forward to university!!! Don't know whether I'll do a uni journal on AN, as a BSc isn't exactly the most ~unique~ degree. But I'll see.
This year has been a hell of a year. Was it stressful? Yes. But the stress has been one of the best parts of this year. Controversial opinion, but I don't think stress is a bad thing - it was this stress that pushed me to do my very best, and without it, I couldn't have gotten the results I did. If there is one piece of advice I can give to the next cohort, it's this: You will get stressed in year 12, but don't try to take things easy, hold yourself accountable and be harsh with yourself if you need. Push yourself to go beyond your limits, and you'll be amazed at the results.
With that, it is time to wrap up this thread. Congratulations to my fellow 2019 graduates, and absolute best of luck to the VCE Class of 2020!
-- Colline vs VCAA: The Final Chapter --
19 / 12 / 2019 - Thursday
Hey friends! With the release of December round VTAC offers yesterday, I am at last released from VCAA's tyrannical reign of terror - my journey through VCE has officially come to an end.
Even though I knew what offer was coming, the wait for my email from VTAC was still somewhat nerve wracking. From as early as 8am, my friends started reporting their offers from ACU, Deakin, La Trobe, etc. My Facebook feed was all of a sudden crowded with updates, all my group chats were going insane, yet no email came for me... until 1:57pm.
I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been offered a Commonwealth Supported Place to Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, with guarantee CSP entrance into the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, accelerated pathway!
(https://i.imgur.com/4LEVFUw.jpg)
The journey to this email has been an absolute killer! But I'm also incredibly thankful that it was bumpier than originally planned. From the first week of year 9 to 1:57 yesterday afternoon... It has sure been a long trek!
On AN, I had recorded my journey from the moment I set my eyes on becoming a veterinarian, to the day I received my offer. But the truth is, the journey has been much, much more. From my very first unscored VET in year 9 - when I barely knew what an ATAR was let alone what I wanted to do in the future - to telling my school's career advisor I wanted to become a music therapist in year 10 - to reluctantly swapping out of drama into methods because my head-of-house "forced" me to keep my options open - to checking out animal health courses out of boredom one day and slowly realising music therapy was not for me - until I finally left psychology for chemistry at the end of year 11, which was the moment I knew my goal for uni - not music therapy, but veterinary medicine.
I am seriously looking forward to university!!! Don't know whether I'll do a uni journal on AN, as a BSc isn't exactly the most ~unique~ degree. But I'll see.
This year has been a hell of a year. Was it stressful? Yes. But the stress has been one of the best parts of this year. Controversial opinion, but I don't think stress is a bad thing - it was this stress that pushed me to do my very best, and without it, I couldn't have gotten the results I did. If there is one piece of advice I can give to the next cohort, it's this: You will get stressed in year 12, but don't try to take things easy, hold yourself accountable and be harsh with yourself if you need. Push yourself to go beyond your limits, and you'll be amazed at the results.
With that, it is time to wrap up this thread. Congratulations to my fellow 2019 graduates, and absolute best of luck to the VCE Class of 2020!
CONGRATULATIONS Colline best of luck for uni