Post by: gemmaruffin on September 08, 2017, 05:36:08 pm
After having bit of a binge on everyone else's VCE journals, I thought it would be a good idea to start my own.
A bit about me -
- At the moment, I am a year 12 student down in Gtown ::)
- Last year, I did Health and HD for my accelerated subject and absolutely loved it. I think my love of the subject (as well as my amazing teacher) was probably the reason why I was able to get a 49.
- This year, I'm studying
- english
- biology
- chemistry
- methods (cas)
- italian
In this thread I would like to inform you guys about my life, but also feel free to ask me any questions! I'd love to reply :P
Let me start by talking about the week thus far -
Monday - had a bio sac, wasn't actually too bad! Worked all night so didn't get any study done, but $$$
Tuesday - probably one of my most productive days in a while! I ended up doing 3 practise SACs for methods, wrote my whole italian oral, and managed to get half an english essay done.
Wednesday - found out that Drake is coming to Australia, which means I will now have to sell my soul for tickets :o worth it though??? Also had a big methods SAC that went over 4 periods, but was pretty happy with it all.
Thursday - Had my italian oral at 8am, was okay, but could have been better (nerves y u do this). Also managed to eat half a chocolate cake because year 12 makes you hungry boi
Today Finally finished the chem coursework, about to finish bio, planned to finish an italian assignment (will do tomorrow) and rang Fox FM about 248 times trying to get Drake tickets. It's been a good, but hectic week, and now I'm pumped for the home stretch - 2 weeks to go of SACs and hell then more hell (exams!!!! 8))
Post by: strawberries on September 08, 2017, 05:48:43 pm
So, pretty much I have no life except VCE. Haha, nah just kidding! Trust me, even when it seems like there is so much VCE to do you can always make time for other things, and my hobbies include photography, working, social media, and most of all, partying and spending time with my friends.it's going to be over soon! :D
always good to have a work-life balance :)
what are your plans for next year? :)
also, congrats on the great HHD score x
Post by: K888 on September 08, 2017, 05:50:24 pm
Was the Italian oral like, a SAC? When's the oral exam? :)
Sounds like a pretty productive week! Hope you get the Drake tickets!
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 08, 2017, 05:56:25 pm
it's going to be over soon! :D
always good to have a work-life balance :)
what are your plans for next year? :)
also, congrats on the great HHD score x
Thanks for reminding me, can't wait to be done :)
Actually just put in my preferences yesterday! My dream course is biomed at Melb. I decided that I didn't wanna do undergrad med because of all the pressure and stress straight out of VCE, and I thought having some time to get used to uni and being able to mature as a student would be better :). If I don't get in, I've got science, or pharm at monash, or biomed and science at deakin as a complete backup if things end up not going as I want them too.
Health and HD wasn't even a subject for me, it was just something I got to do everyday with some tests here and there. I didn't take it that seriously either, so I was pretty lucky I went as well as I did!
Super excited to read your future instalments, Gemma! :D
Was the Italian oral like, a SAC? When's the oral exam? :)
Sounds like a pretty productive week! Hope you get the Drake tickets!
Thanks!
Yeah, it was a SAC and I had to speak for roughly 8-10 minutes, pretending to be a migrant from the 60's doing an interview for SBS. Quirky, haha. My oral's on the 18th of October (SOS)
Let's hope I get to see my boy Drizzy in a few months ;)
Post by: zofromuxo on September 08, 2017, 10:53:16 pm
I hear the genetics section has gotten boring with the emphasis on gene regulation in this study design.
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 09, 2017, 12:01:42 am
How are you finding Biology?
I hear the genetics section has gotten boring with the emphasis on gene regulation in this study design.
Really? There was only a small section on it haha, I actually really enjoy what we're doing atm (DNA techniques and profiling)
Bio is pretty good, but a lot of people in my cohort don't care for it much so the teachers aren't that invested in teaching us as hardcore as they could. I wish they did, because I could definitely up my scores quite easily with that little bit of extra understanding.
Post by: zofromuxo on September 09, 2017, 09:37:29 am
Really? There was only a small section on it haha, I actually really enjoy what we're doing atm (DNA techniques and profiling)Oh that is interesting, those year 12s made it like it was a big deal... :/... I forgot they can be so easily swayed, herp derp.
Bio is pretty good, but a lot of people in my cohort don't care for it much so the teachers aren't that invested in teaching us as hardcore as they could. I wish they did, because I could definitely up my scores quite easily with that little bit of extra understanding.
That does suck that your teachers aren't going full gung-ho, however luck for you ATARNotes has a big biology community, which can be found here
I'm not sponsored, affiliated or paid to insert that link, i'm not a sellout. ATARNotes doesn't give me anything for that link
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 09, 2017, 10:35:48 am
Oh that is interesting, those year 12s made it like it was a big deal... :/... I forgot they can be so easily swayed, herp derp.
That does suck that your teachers aren't going full gung-ho, however luck for you ATARNotes has a big biology community, which can be found here
I'm not sponsored, affiliated or paid to insert that link, i'm not a sellout. ATARNotes doesn't give me anything for that link
I do love the bio forum haha :)
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 10, 2017, 05:10:50 pm
Ayooooooo!!!
So it's the weekend, and as per usual, my big plans < what I actually got up to.
Friday night smashed out a methods exam, and also got some Italian work done. Yesterday was pretty good for me, I finished all my chem content notes and summaries, and managed to finish my summaries in prep for my last ever bio SAC on Thursday (I have chem that day too >:( ). I also headed out to an 18th, had an awesome time, and ended up in a bathtub?? Ah...the things you do when you're 18 :P :P
Anyways, today I had work, and now I'm trying to finish off my English essay that's due tomorrow before I go out for dinner...because I really don't wanna do it when I get home :-[
update - its 10.30 and I'm halfway through. English Gods send me some love pls :-X
At the moment I've been thinking a lot about not just year 12, but my whole schooling so far. It's insane to think that my whole life for the past 4ish years, heading to school 9-3.30, working 3 days a week and studying in-between going to parties and trying to keep up a social life will be coming to an end very soon. I can definitely say that in some context, I will miss school, especially seeing my friends every day. However, I have my whole life ahead of me, and so much to look forward to in the future that I cannot wait to be done!
It's a fun few months ahead. ;D
Post by: Joseph41 on September 10, 2017, 05:16:42 pm
Definitely heaps to look forward to! Looking forward to your next entry. :)
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 10, 2017, 10:24:35 pm
You ended up in a bathtub?! Baths are fkn underrated, but I usually only use them to bathe hahaha.
Let's say I was pretty lit, and when there's a group of you sitting in the bath and then someone turns it on, it becomes pretty funny ;D
Oh yeah, gotta add that I somehow topped my class in the last methods SAC...for the first time in my life, I've done the best in maths class :o
Post by: Joseph41 on September 10, 2017, 10:30:15 pm
... also good to hear about the Methods SAC. ;)
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 11, 2017, 11:31:24 pm
Throwing the question out there - what should be first on my agenda for exam revision???
Post by: K888 on September 11, 2017, 11:58:54 pm
Throwing the question out there - what should be first on my agenda for exam revision???When I started planning what I was gonna do for exam revision, I made big to do lists for each subjects - what I needed to know, etc (study designs can be great, but most of my teachers also made nicely summarised versions of key points we needed to know), what I didn't understand (highlighted).
Then from there, I figured out what needed to be prioritised. Once you have the to do lists, you can start chipping away at points for all your subjects gradually :) Plus, it's really satisfying to be able to cross off stuff on a list.
I think from memory, I first covered stuff I hadn't learnt properly and stuff I didn't understand at all. So for me, this meant getting my methods teacher to reteach me some concepts, and getting my chem teacher to also say, explain how to do a certain type of question. Then once I'd covered that, I started gradually revising stuff I was more familiar with. :)
Maybe try making sure you're on top of concepts before doing practice exams? Not much point in doing a practice exam if you can't answer any of the questions (I found this happened to me in methods lol).
So yeah, I guess make a list of stuff and prioritise it and then do stuff in order based on that :)
In the end, if you don't have a super ordered system, that's fine - just getting the revision done is the main thing!
Post by: zofromuxo on September 12, 2017, 07:54:19 am
Throwing the question out there - what should be first on my agenda for exam revision???Since your goal is a high ATAR, I won't give any advice at all on what to do, since I didn't get a high ATAR. I will however say what not to do .
1. Don't have a plan for the whole study period
-Get a plan, it makes your life easier and also less brainpower & time is spent figuring out your schedule everyday. It doesn't need to be perfect, just have a basic framework to fall back to should you need it.
2. Don't see your teachers for help
-This is depending on your teachers, but they tend to give you leeway for consultations typically so take advantage of them. If any give you their phone number, use it, heck abuse it for help if you want to.
3. Only doing VCCA exams
-Students actually do this, yes VCCA does your exam, but other companies' practice papers are written by assessor; current or past. They also have a good grasp on what is coming on your exam.
4. Treats everything as a priority
-As K888 has mentioned above, you have to prioritize your study. Is studying stuff you know weighted the same as stuff you don't know?
5. Staying up late to maximize study time
-This logic is just plain stupid and follow the whole "Work Harder" . Just don't. What you should do is have No distraction, intense, quiet/minimal sound sessions . That way you maximise your study period because I know some people don't talk about doing x hours, really did y hours on study and z hours on ATARNotes.
6. Rely on memory recognition
-You want Recall . Recognition is like seeing the answer from multiple choice, recall is like remembering something of the top of your head. [Look up a psychology website for more detail on this]
Good luck and if you want more concert advice, check out the study timetable guide by Evan Dowsett , also the Exam tracker and statistic excel file, if you like tracking how your going and EEEEEEP's awesome archive on exams .
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 12, 2017, 08:34:47 am
When I started planning what I was gonna do for exam revision, I made big to do lists for each subjects - what I needed to know, etc (study designs can be great, but most of my teachers also made nicely summarised versions of key points we needed to know), what I didn't understand (highlighted).
Then from there, I figured out what needed to be prioritised. Once you have the to do lists, you can start chipping away at points for all your subjects gradually :) Plus, it's really satisfying to be able to cross off stuff on a list.
I think from memory, I first covered stuff I hadn't learnt properly and stuff I didn't understand at all. So for me, this meant getting my methods teacher to reteach me some concepts, and getting my chem teacher to also say, explain how to do a certain type of question. Then once I'd covered that, I started gradually revising stuff I was more familiar with. :)
Maybe try making sure you're on top of concepts before doing practice exams? Not much point in doing a practice exam if you can't answer any of the questions (I found this happened to me in methods lol).
So yeah, I guess make a list of stuff and prioritise it and then do stuff in order based on that :)
In the end, if you don't have a super ordered system, that's fine - just getting the revision done is the main thing!
Since your goal is a high ATAR, I won't give any advice at all on what to do, since I didn't get a high ATAR. I will however say what not to do .
1. Don't have a plan for the whole study period
-Get a plan, it makes your life easier and also less brainpower & time is spent figuring out your schedule everyday. It doesn't need to be perfect, just have a basic framework to fall back to should you need it.
2. Don't see your teachers for help
-This is depending on your teachers, but they tend to give you leeway for consultations typically so take advantage of them. If any give you their phone number, use it, heck abuse it for help if you want to.
3. Only doing VCCA exams
-Students actually do this, yes VCCA does your exam, but other companies' practice papers are written by assessor; current or past. They also have a good grasp on what is coming on your exam.
4. Treats everything as a priority
-As K888 has mentioned above, you have to prioritize your study. Is studying stuff you know weighted the same as stuff you don't know?
5. Staying up late to maximize study time
-This logic is just plain stupid and follow the whole "Work Harder" . Just don't. What you should do is have No distraction, intense, quiet/minimal sound sessions . That way you maximise your study period because I know some people don't talk about doing x hours, really did y hours on study and z hours on ATARNotes.
6. Rely on memory recognition
-You want Recall . Recognition is like seeing the answer from multiple choice, recall is like remembering something of the top of your head. [Look up a psychology website for more detail on this]
Good luck and if you want more concert advice, check out the study timetable guide by Evan Dowsett , also the Exam tracker and statistic excel file, if you like tracking how your going and EEEEEEP's awesome archive on exams .
Thank you so much guys!
Post by: brenden on September 12, 2017, 02:09:28 pm
Post by: heids on September 12, 2017, 02:29:04 pm
The big question here is, where will Gemma end up this Friday/Saturday night?!
placing bets on her squeezing into the oven
Post by: K888 on September 12, 2017, 03:06:41 pm
The big question here is, where will Gemma end up this Friday/Saturday night?!I'm thinking maybe an al fresco theme, potentially someone's fish pond or swimming pool
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 12, 2017, 05:53:39 pm
Post by: Joseph41 on September 12, 2017, 05:56:23 pm
Let's hope it's not anywhere too cray cray :o
How was your day today? :)
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 13, 2017, 01:15:07 pm
How was your day today? :)
Sorry haha, I was studying :((((
Yesterday, I managed to finish all my summaries for both chem and methods, which I'm super stoked about because now I can really hone in on just practise questions today!
Got some methods practise exams back today that I'm happy with (averaging an A - seeing that it's my 10%, I'm stoked), and in class this morning we did 2011 exam 2 which tbh, was a mess
Planning on studying hardcore this afternoon and tonight for chem and bio, let's see how we go ;)
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 17, 2017, 11:18:53 pm
New week, new me :P :P :P :P
Alas, it's been a hectic past few days!
So I had my chem and bio SACs on Thursday, and boy am I glad they're over, hoping that I did well in both of them because there wasn't anything that threw me off too much (except for that one question in bio about sickle cell anemia testing in America compared to Australia....)
On Friday, we had a music festival between 4 of the schools in the area, and it's all to raise money for East Timor. It's every three years and I was #blessed to get in in year 12! ;)
It was such a fun day, spent most of it at the rave cave and a bit at the chill out stage watching some of my talented friends perform.
This weekend has been pretty good, as I really honed in on some english and bio stuff I really needed to get done, so I felt a bit accomplished from that. Also managed to work Saturday during the day and just got home from an evening shift, and went to an 18th too (unfortunately, didn't end up in a bathtub this time >:()
I'm really excited for this week, I've got Performing Arts Day tomorrow and a Seminar Day (pretty much just a chill day where we talk about our lives), so only 3 days of class and then I'm done :o yeeeeet
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 17, 2017, 11:20:38 pm
guess who's going to Drake!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Post by: K888 on September 17, 2017, 11:27:26 pm
OH MY GOD FORGOT TO ADDEeeeeee! So exciting! :D Hope you enjoy it, Gemma.
guess who's going to Drake!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: gemmaruffin
(except for that one question in bio about sickle cell anemia testing in America compared to Australia....)So, what is the difference? ;)
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 17, 2017, 11:30:57 pm
So, what is the difference? ;)
um...... :(
hhahah nah, we got given a graph pretty much showing that there was a higher proportion of people in America who got it than in Australia, and I just said that in America they would be more likely to screen for it because it affects more people.
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 21, 2017, 10:59:06 pm
I got my last chem and bio SACs back, which I was quite happy with, and turns out I got the sickle cell anaemia question right!
Term 3 is now over, so I'm (sort of?) looking forward to 2 weeks without actual classes to sort out all my revision and get my life together. My first exam is in 25 days, so it's all sort of coming down to the hard stuff now! I did my first Chem unit 3 practise exam today, and I got 67%, so obviously, I've got a bit to do :o
Update on my personal life - I ain't gettin in no bath this weekend, I have to work from 10am-10pm :-[
Post by: gemmaruffin on September 23, 2017, 04:13:32 pm
So I'm currently on my break at work, and I thought bringing my laptop would be useful so that I would study...just logged into the bunnings wifi and now I'm procrastinating heaps :o :o
It's actually the best feeling right now being on school holidays and having all my SACs done, because I've got time to organise myself and get ready for exams. Yesterday, I spent half an hour picking the type of pens I wanted for exams, decided on a 0.5mm uniball pen and legit no regrets, it flows so nicely! Is it weird I get excited over pens?? I also bought and organised my revision folders, and worked out that I only really have to sort out notes for AOS 1 of chem, which is good (thanks past life me for prepping summary notes throughout the year ::))
This week ahead looks really exciting, I've got some days planned just for study, on Wednesday I've got a practise oral with my Italian teacher and I'm going to Bryson Tiller, and on Friday (if I'm not working), I'm planning to come along to the meetup :P
Post by: gemmaruffin on October 01, 2017, 09:40:23 am
New month, new me (lmao nope)
Can’t believe we’ve finally hit October! By the end of this month I’ll have one exam done, finished classes and it’ll be one day before the English exam
So last week was really productive, I got all my notes sorted, and started some intense revision. Currently on my way to good old Atar notes lectures today too, so should be good!
It is a shame that I couldn’t go to the atar notes meetup, I got called into work last minute (not complaining, got double payyyy)
This week is practise exam after practise exam at school, so pretty much my holiday/school without school/torture is over
Post by: gemmaruffin on October 08, 2017, 08:27:43 am
What an insane week this has been fam!
So the ATAR notes lectures were awesome last week that I decided to wake up super early again today and go to two more! Chem and methods today, gonna be hectic lmao
So I had practise exams today, which overall I was quite happy with. I think I need to do the most work on my text response essay for English, and then everything else I should be okay. My first exam is in 10 days!!!!
I’ve also had heaps of time this week to reflect (read: procrastinate reflect) on this year and be thankful to myself for actually putting in the effort all year so that I’m not killing myself to study now. That’s probably my biggest piece of advice - just get all your revision and notes sorted as you go throughout the year, and when you come to the end, all you have to do is collate it into one big folder full of the most important notes, SACs and practice exams. It’s probably the most helpful thing I did for myself last year for health, and now again I think it’ll be quite useful too.
Let’s just hope these two weeks are super productive and I actually get shit done!
Gem
Post by: zofromuxo on October 08, 2017, 01:09:29 pm
Ahh, I miss the days where I was motivated and hyped for doing well in assessment.
Let’s just hope these two weeks are super productive and I actually get shit done!
Gem
Now I just cry and procrastinate before my assessments :(.
#university changes you for the worst...
Post by: gemmaruffin on October 08, 2017, 04:21:02 pm
Ahh, I miss the days where I was motivated and hyped for doing well in assessment.
Now I just cry and procrastinate before my assessments :(.
#university changes you for the worst...
I feel like I'll be the same, the only reason I'm hyped now is because I wanna get into uni