Urgent help needed for the next 2 months

[JeffNLH38]

Hey all,
So year 12 has been really rough towards me in regards to pretty much every aspect. Family deaths + sicknesses, being bullied, living conditions and mental health have really done its damage towards me. I have realised that i have missed a lot of year 12 because of this, and seeing as I don't want to repeat year 12/ do VCE over 2 years or any of that, I still plan on taking the exams which begin in slightly less than 2 months time. But since I have missed a lot of class time, I am very very behind in almost all of my subjects. (Also have been doing very badly in SACs this year, main average of about 40-50% for all subjects)

So, without asking for help with specific topics of subjects (since I clearly don't know what to ask for help for), do you guys have any tips for me as to if there would be a solution for my awful mess that I have put myself in? Are there any specific strategies that could help me catch up on pretty much all of the content and prepping for exams? I am aiming for an ATAR of 90+ but I can definitely understand if this isn't achievable anymore.

I know this is a pretty bad case so I won't feel offended if there is any harsh criticism involved ( Any and all responses are very greatly appreciated (means a lot right now)

[S200]

Hey there! Welcome to ATARNotes!
Hope life is getting better for ya.

I personally think that the best revision you could do would be practice exams. Do a couple just to get to know the style, and then start trying to categorize which questions fall under which units of study. This will prepare you pretty well for the end of year exams, as there are only so many ways that examiners can test you on each unit...
Hopefully this helps you.

Out of interest, which subjects are you doing?

[Bri MT]

Hey,

It sounds like you've had an incredibly demanding year. I would strongly encourage you to fill out a SEAS application and put in the required evidence.  It can be draining to go back through and read/write about what's been going on,  but it's a great first step to make sure that unis can make a more informed choice about selecting you. 

If your school has access to edrolo,  I'd recommend making a plan to get through watching all of the videos by 5 days before the exam.  If not,  you may be able to find other relevant videos for your subjects.

Practice questions are also your friends. Try not to be too fazed if you get many of them wrong at the start - this is to be expected. 

You might be tempted to skip out on sleep to aid your catching up.  If only do this if you have a test within the next couple of days and you don't know the content. Otherwise,  try to protect your sleep as it will aid your learning and wellbeing.

I don't know you well enough to have any kind of guess about whether 90+ is realistic for you.  It could be.

I'd also like to remind you that your ATAR does not determine your future job, it does not determine your quality of life,  it does not determine your worth. It's a useful key,  but there are always other paths onto the room. Once you get into a course no one cares how you got there. 

Some day in the future these difficult times will be reflected on as resilience and empathy building adversity, and although no one should be put through these trials, you'll no longer feel trapped by them.


I believe in you, and future-you believes in you too

[JeffNLH38]

Hey there! Welcome to ATARNotes!
Hope life is getting better for ya.

I personally think that the best revision you could do would be practice exams. Do a couple just to get to know the style, and then start trying to categorize which questions fall under which units of study. This will prepare you pretty well for the end of year exams, as there are only so many ways that examiners can test you on each unit...
Hopefully this helps you.

Out of interest, which subjects are you doing?

Thanks so much for your reply, could you clarify what you mean by style? BTW I'm doing methods, chem, bio, english and further this year

[JeffNLH38]

Hey,

It sounds like you've had an incredibly demanding year. I would strongly encourage you to fill out a SEAS application and put in the required evidence.  It can be draining to go back through and read/write about what's been going on,  but it's a great first step to make sure that unis can make a more informed choice about selecting you. 

If your school has access to edrolo,  I'd recommend making a plan to get through watching all of the videos by 5 days before the exam.  If not,  you may be able to find other relevant videos for your subjects.

Practice questions are also your friends. Try not to be too fazed if you get many of them wrong at the start - this is to be expected. 

You might be tempted to skip out on sleep to aid your catching up.  If only do this if you have a test within the next couple of days and you don't know the content. Otherwise,  try to protect your sleep as it will aid your learning and wellbeing.

I don't know you well enough to have any kind of guess about whether 90+ is realistic for you.  It could be.

I'd also like to remind you that your ATAR does not determine your future job, it does not determine your quality of life,  it does not determine your worth. It's a useful key,  but there are always other paths onto the room. Once you get into a course no one cares how you got there. 

Some day in the future these difficult times will be reflected on as resilience and empathy building adversity, and although no one should be put through these trials, you'll no longer feel trapped by them.


I believe in you, and future-you believes in you too

I'm honestly speechless at this response and I just wanted to say thank you so much for your kind words, they've really meant a lot to me and I really appreciate it Thanks for your tips and I'll be sure to get started on practice exams and catching up on content.

[S200]

Thanks so much for your reply, could you clarify what you mean by style? BTW I'm doing methods, chem, bio, english and further this year

Anytime...
By 'Style' I meant the layout &tc that is commonly used in VCAA exams. After a couple of timed practice exams, you will develop your own methods etc to approaching them.

Wow! Very math and science orientated!
Best of luck!

[JeffNLH38]

Anytime...
By 'Style' I meant the layout &tc that is commonly used in VCAA exams. After a couple of timed practice exams, you will develop your own methods etc to approaching them.

Wow! Very math and science orientated!
Best of luck!

ohhh ok yeah i think i get what you mean now thanks a lot again!

[Bri MT]

I'm honestly speechless at this response and I just wanted to say thank you so much for your kind words, they've really meant a lot to me and I really appreciate it Thanks for your tips and I'll be sure to get started on practice exams and catching up on content.

No problem at all, I'm grateful that I could help

For science and maths in particular there are many resources available - be aware that for biology in particular KhanAcademy videos tend to be at a uni level rather than a vce level. 

I'm currently taking math, bio, and chem units (subjects) at uni and feel confident to say that you can make up for gaps in your VCE knowledge later - this year cannot have caused irreparable damage to your science foundations, and I've never heard about someone caring what a scientists ATAR was.

I'm glad to hear that you're about to build up momentum and make more progress - please feel free to keep us updated with how this goes

Best of luck

[K888]

I think some great advice has already been given so I don't have too much to add. Just wanna let you know that we pride ourselves on our sense of community on the ATAR Notes forums so I hope you feel like you're in a friendly space here and that you always feel welcome

One thing I'd do is go look at the study designs for your subjects and make sure you've covered the key dot points. If you're pressed for time with revision, etc. it can keep you on track and make sure that you don't go off on a tangent!

I also want to add that in the end, the ATAR is just an arbitrary number. It doesn't determine who you are or what you do. If you don't get in to what you want to do through the front door, there's plenty of other doors you can enter through. I've been at uni for 2 years now and honestly I don't think I've ever heard anyone even mention the word ATAR haha.

It sounds like you've had a really tough year and I hope that things improve soon.

[headsup]

Hey JeffNLH38!!!

Sorry to hear about all you are going through... ALL THE VERY BEST with it all.. You can do this.

All great pieces of advice! One thing I would like to stress ---> USE THE FORUMS! There are so many ppl here that can help you through this. Use it and even try to answer questions people post in your related subjects. This will help you research and remember the content. The best way to learn is to teach others~!

All the very best! 
You can do this ---
“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” ~ Zig Ziglar ~

[Miaaa]

Hi

Sounds like you've had a rough year so far and I hope things are getting better for you.

A lot of great advice had already been given but I just thought i'd let you know about this great notes resource that was shared in the Facebook HSC Discussion Group. It's a google docs of all the different notes people have shared and it covers most subjects. There's also some really good bio stuff on there.

Mod Edit: Removed this link because the Drive contains copyrighted materials. We don't allow distribution of copyright materials on ATAR Notes

Good luck with the HSC, I'm sure you will do amazing

[JeffNLH38]

I think some great advice has already been given so I don't have too much to add. Just wanna let you know that we pride ourselves on our sense of community on the ATAR Notes forums so I hope you feel like you're in a friendly space here and that you always feel welcome

One thing I'd do is go look at the study designs for your subjects and make sure you've covered the key dot points. If you're pressed for time with revision, etc. it can keep you on track and make sure that you don't go off on a tangent!

I also want to add that in the end, the ATAR is just an arbitrary number. It doesn't determine who you are or what you do. If you don't get in to what you want to do through the front door, there's plenty of other doors you can enter through. I've been at uni for 2 years now and honestly I don't think I've ever heard anyone even mention the word ATAR haha.

It sounds like you've had a really tough year and I hope that things improve soon.

Thanks for the tips and support means a lot , btw would I have to look at school materials for the study design points or can I grab them off of VCAA?

[S200]

The VCAA website has them.

You can just google your subject followed by the words study design and they should come up...

[JeffNLH38]

Hey JeffNLH38!!!

Sorry to hear about all you are going through... ALL THE VERY BEST with it all.. You can do this.

All great pieces of advice! One thing I would like to stress ---> USE THE FORUMS! There are so many ppl here that can help you through this. Use it and even try to answer questions people post in your related subjects. This will help you research and remember the content. The best way to learn is to teach others~!

All the very best! 
You can do this ---
“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” ~ Zig Ziglar ~

Thank you so much!

[JeffNLH38]

The VCAA website has them.

You can just google your subject followed by the words study design and they should come up...

Ok haha thanks again