Stress After SACs and Before Getting Results

[geminii]

Hi everyone,

I am currently so stressed out right now because I did my chemistry SAC and I'm getting the results tomorrow and I hope I didn't do badly, I'm just so worried I might have and I can't do anything, I can't eat or sleep or anything, please help because I don't know how to deal with this and I'm literally crying with stress...I'm so worried I can't deal with this... Please help!!

 

[Joseph41]

Hi everyone,

I am currently so stressed out right now because I did my chemistry SAC and I'm getting the results tomorrow and I hope I didn't do badly, I'm just so worried I might have and I can't do anything, I can't eat or sleep or anything, please help because I don't know how to deal with this and I'm literally crying with stress...I'm so worried I can't deal with this... Please help!!

 

Hey geminii.

I'm sorry to hear about the stress sitch - that's pretty shit, and rn I'm sending all of the positive vibes I can possibly muster.

I felt this post pretty hard, because I was the same in Year 12 - and uni, I guess. I'm sure a lot of people are in a similar boat, which doesn't speak wonders for the system, and also probably isn't that helpful in this very instant.

So what I'll say is this:

The stress sucks - no doubt about it. There are some general things that you could try, like getting out and going for a walk, or perhaps practising some mindfulness if you're that way inclined. Otherwise, take solace in the fact (not opinion - fact) that no one SAC will make or break your ATAR, or even your study score (do you think this is where the stress is coming from primarily?).

Otherwise, I really encourage speaking to somebody for assistance. Sometimes venting about it can really help - and if it doesn't, it might be best to speak with a professional better suited to providing advice.

You're not alone, though. And it will pass.

[geminii]

Hey geminii.

I'm sorry to hear about the stress sitch - that's pretty shit, and rn I'm sending all of the positive vibes I can possibly muster.

I felt this post pretty hard, because I was the same in Year 12 - and uni, I guess. I'm sure a lot of people are in a similar boat, which doesn't speak wonders for the system, and also probably isn't that helpful in this very instant.

So what I'll say is this:

The stress sucks - no doubt about it. There are some general things that you could try, like getting out and going for a walk, or perhaps practising some mindfulness if you're that way inclined. Otherwise, take solace in the fact (not opinion - fact) that no one SAC will make or break your ATAR, or even your study score (do you think this is where the stress is coming from primarily?).

Otherwise, I really encourage speaking to somebody for assistance. Sometimes venting about it can really help - and if it doesn't, it might be best to speak with a professional better suited to providing advice.

You're not alone, though. And it will pass.

Thank you Joseph!
I've emailed my school counselor so hopefully getting to talk to her period 1 tomorrow, because i get my mark back period 2 tomorrow.
Yes I feel like my stress is coming from whether or not I will be able to get my aim of a 40+ study score. Also even bigger than that, which I know it shouldn't be bigger, is telling my parents my score because I don't want them to be mad at me or disappointed. I do so well in checkpoints questions and then just stuff up on tests and exams. idk what to do...the wait is horrible. 

[Quantum44]

Hi everyone,

I am currently so stressed out right now because I did my chemistry SAC and I'm getting the results tomorrow and I hope I didn't do badly, I'm just so worried I might have and I can't do anything, I can't eat or sleep or anything, please help because I don't know how to deal with this and I'm literally crying with stress...I'm so worried I can't deal with this... Please help!!

 

If you worked your hardest to prepare for the SAC then there is nothing you could have done better and your mark is representative of you achieving to the best of your ability. It doesn't matter if someone beats you, what matters is your score and your achievement.

There is no use in you hypothesising or stressing about your grade, it won't do anything to help you. In the end SACs don't really matter a lot. Last year I got 50% in one of my bio SACs and I still got a 45 SS. The real test of whether it's worth stressing about is how much you will care in a year's time.

Is one SAC (a small percentage of your chemistry SS that is completely dependent on exam performance) really going to matter to you next year? The answer is no, so stop crying and make sure you destroy the next SAC!

[Joseph41]

Hey again, geminii.

Firstly, well freakin' done for contacting the school counsellor; that's really, really great. And I hope it goes well.

Good luck for your SAC mark today. I feel like linking this article might be pertinent (as a general guide for anybody reading this thread):

Upset About SAC Marks? Read This.

[lyoko]

If you worked your hardest to prepare for the SAC then there is nothing you could have done better and your mark is representative of you achieving to the best of your ability. It doesn't matter if someone beats you, what matters is your score and your achievement.

There is no use in you hypothesising or stressing about your grade, it won't do anything to help you. In the end SACs don't really matter a lot. Last year I got 50% in one of my bio SACs and I still got a 45 SS. The real test of whether it's worth stressing about is how much you will care in a year's time.

Is one SAC (a small percentage of your chemistry SS that is completely dependent on exam performance) really going to matter to you next year? The answer is no, so stop crying and make sure you destroy the next SAC!

This is a really great piece of advice. I also just recently had a sac in R&S and was worried about not scoring high since I need to score a 40+ in the subject, yet after reading this I realise that you are right. In one year time, will I really care about it? No, so I've just got to learn from any mistakes I make on the sac and work harder for the next one.

[geminii]

Thank you so much for all the replies!!

Turns out my teacher didn't get to me in the lesson, since I'm around the end of the roll, so I have a meeting with her tomorrow, period 4. I hope it goes well!!

[Quantum44]

Thank you so much for all the replies!!

Turns out my teacher didn't get to me in the lesson, since I'm around the end of the roll, so I have a meeting with her tomorrow, period 4. I hope it goes well!!

It wasn't worth stressing about after all. Good luck for tomorrow!

[geminii]

Thanks so much everyone!!! Got my results today and I got a B+, OMG, never thought this would happen! Gonna keep working til I get an A and then an A+!!
Now I know not to stress out so much, it was so not worthwhile!

Thanks again!

[Joseph41]

Thanks so much everyone!!! Got my results today and I got a B+, OMG, never thought this would happen! Gonna keep working til I get an A and then an A+!!
Now I know not to stress out so much, it was so not worthwhile!

Thanks again!

Great result - well done!

[Quantum44]

Thanks so much everyone!!! Got my results today and I got a B+, OMG, never thought this would happen! Gonna keep working til I get an A and then an A+!!
Now I know not to stress out so much, it was so not worthwhile!

Thanks again!

That's awesome! I'm glad to see that you are using it as motivation to drive you towards your goal of 40+.

[evandowsett]

Hey geminii,

Awesome result and congratulations on the B+! Looks like it wasn't worth stressing about, which is the point I'm about to make here. Obviously I'm too late for this SAC, but judging by your original post you're generally a stressy person (which is fine, but can really suck especially leading into end-of-year exams) and will hopefully help with SACs later in the year. Something I've found works really well with my students is this:

Instead of setting yourself an expectation, set yourself a standard.

What I mean by that is this:
An expectation is saying to yourself "I want to get a 90% in this SAC because I need that to get a 40 study score".
A standard is saying to yourself "I'm going to put 100% of my effort into this SAC and whatever the outcome is, I'll be happy with it because it was my absolute best and I physically couldn't have done better".

What you want to do is take control of your stress by basing your success off your input rather than the outcome. If you base success off your effort and input, you've already succeeded before you even do the SAC. It's a really effective technique for dealing with stress. Obviously this is easier said than done and requires a bit of mental training and strength, but it's sooooooo much better in the long run, even in the 'real world' once school is finished - I still use this technique in social and career life now that I've been graduated for a few years.

The last thing I'll ask you is this: Why would you create an expectation for yourself when it simply sets you up to lose? If you have an expectation, you stand to lose at three different points in time.
1. You don’t reach your expectation and are disappointed in yourself.
2. Your expectations are reached, but inevitably think that you could have done better, and are disappointed in yourself.
3. You stress out before the SAC, worrying that you won’t reach your own expectation and you anticipate the disappointment in yourself.

Try and start the process of altering your attitude towards success and what that means for you.

Just my two cents

[heids]

Man, a really excellent reply above, you're teaching me ways to deal with my own high expectations evandowsett haha.  Focus on input of effort rather than output.

Upvote him

[evandowsett]

Man, a really excellent reply above, you're teaching me ways to deal with my own high expectations evandowsett haha.  Focus on input of effort rather than output.

Upvote him

Thanks heids, I'm glad it's helped out haha