I messed up my half-yearly exams

[hi.itsjessi]

So basically, I致e just received my marks from my half-yearly exams and I am in a state of utter panic. The first term of hsc my marks were decent but this time around, I did horrendous! I知 actually devistated- especially because my rankings have dropped down so much because of it and I知 hoping that someone could give me some insight as to what I can / should do now.

First and foremost, is there still any hope for me to get a 90+ atar? I知 honestly so scared as to how badly this will affect my atar, especially since I知 looking at doing medicine in uni.

More importantly, how do I come back from a bad exam mark and optimise my marks in the future? what do I do now? What CAN I do now? I知 honestly not sure what to do from this point forward- I知 terrified if anything 

Thank you!

[beeangkah]

Hey fellow HSCer!
I haven't had my half-yearlies yet, but they're approaching soon. I still relate to you though, I performed terribly for my first set of exams and I was hella depressed for ages... especially with English, I was well below the average of the cohort for advanced, and I do extension (ironic right lol)

What helped for me during that stage was to constantly remind myself that it's almost impossible that your HSC year is linear - it's more like a crazy rollercoaster ride (cliche, I know, sorry) - without knowing mistakes you make now, you would end up making the same mistakes in other exams which are worth more!

It's better to not do so well now rather than at the final HSC exam, right? You still have plenty of time to boost your marks in upcoming exams, trials, and HSC - there are so many stories I have read of students who have persevered against disappointing marks, instead using them as a learning curve to become better as the year goes on.

The only thing you can do is your best. Use your mistakes as a platform to become better and better - you don't stop learning until the last minutes before the HSC exam, from what people have told me.

Good luck, I hope this made you feel slightly better. Don't use these marks to define who you are. One of my teachers told me recently that 25% of undergraduates actually use their ATAR to get into uni (there are so many other pathways!)   

You got this! You are not alone. Just think, if you feel that this is rock bottom, then the only way to go is up

[StudyBuddyKJ]

Hi,

First and foremost, I can completely understand how you are feeling right now (having had that feeling several times). In terms of scaling and rankings, I don't really know too much about them unfortunately so I can't really give you reassurance in terms of how much it will impact on your ATAR, but I can give you some practical advice on what you should do.

1. You really need to calm yourself down. Breathe deeply a few times, and think about your recent failures logically. It seems hard to realise this, but doing bad in a few exams does NOT mean your life is over. Therefore, you shouldn't be so panicked that you feel as if you are trapped and you don't know what to do.
2. Re-examine your study techniques and really analyse your failures. Where did you go wrong? Did you actually study ahead of time or did you procrastinate and decide to watch game of thrones instead? Did you lose time in the exam? Did you stress out in the midst of your exam and experience a mind blank? And once you figure out what you did wrong, try and find some strategies to prevent you from having the same problem again.
3. Recognise that the HSC is not the be-all and end all of life and that if you don't get the required marks, you still can achieve your career goals. You are just going to have to find a different way. At this moment, as I told you before, I don't know whether you can achieve your goal ATAR, but all I can say is this. You are just going to have to muster some resilience and build your confidence and self esteem up, so that you can last your whole HSC. That is honestly the most important. Work as hard as you can, be positive, and don't give up no matter what. These skills are the ones that are going to help you the most, particular if you want to become a doctor
4. Once you have this perspective, you should be able to relax and calm your mind, so that you don't feel scared. Once you are in this state of calm, I honestly recommend you seek help. And by that I mean, get tutors, ask your teachers to help you out, and just work towards improving. Write as many essays as you possibly can and get feedback on all of them, if your worst subject is English. Do as many practice papers as humanly possible. Work hard with as much positive energy and determination as you can. Become obsessed with improving your exam results. It is hard, but I promise, even if you don't get the result you wanted, at least you will have the satisfaction of saying "I did my best." And honestly speaking, you will be fine no matter what. If you really want to do medicine, you will find a way to achieve your dream. Just keep your passion for med alive, and honestly start UMAT prep (cause that counts more than your ATAR).
5. Believe in yourself no matter what. Stay positive! You can do this! 70 000 students sit the HSC every year. You are not alone. Everyone (even the dux) will be panicking about exams at some point or another. The important thing is, you stay balanced, stay positive, work as hard as you possibly can, and do your best. The mark you get will be a result of that. And even if you don't get the mark, find a different way. Try medical science as a degree, and then transfer into med later on in uni.

Hope this helps!!!

[dcesaona]

It's all going to be good! I've been in your boat before. What re-assures me is this: (and it's true)

- You have the trials to pull yourself up in your internal marks! It's not all over yet. You have another chance. You may even have another internal assessment before the trials (even better! more chances!)
- Depending on how you go in the HSC exam, it will pull your internal marks up, especially those ones where you dropped those marks.

The moral of the story: you have more chances so just re-examine your study techniques, work out what went wrong (what always happens to me is I run out of time to actually put my knowledge to the test e.g. prac papers), use these new techniques moving forward and hold your head up!