Can I get a perfect score if I start now

[stressedyeareight]

Hi everyone!
I’m still in year eight however I am extremely stressed and anxious about VCE. I’m sad to say this but I am often jealous of others doing better than me and compare myself to them.

I know VCE It is a long way away but most people I know have been preparing since birth. I go to a very competitive private school meaning there is a lot of pressure to achieve. I really want to do a particular course however the minimum entry mark is 99.00.

This often frightens me and I always worry if I’ll be able to improve in time. Do you think its too late to get that mark if I start studying now?

PS- I am thinking of doing Latin, French, Legal Studies, Business Management, English and Literature. 

I would really appreciate if you gave me tips for the above subjects as well that I can start doing now. Thank you so much

[Lear]

Hi all. I’m still in Year 9 but I am very stressed about VCE. I know it’s a long way away but I know a lot of people have literally been preparing from birth. I really need that score for the course I aspire to do. Do you think it’s too late to start preparing?? Also how hard is it to get a perfect score and how can I compensate for the time I have lost. Do I need to work extra hard

Please please relax. You are worrying way to early. Honestly I would recommend you to simply get involved in everything you can at school and outside of school. Whether it be debating, volunteering, sports etc. This may sound like fabrication, but the kids who truly do well in my school are those who are involved in such activities. Not the ones who spend every living minute of their lives studying. And this is from a selective entry school viewpoint.
Simply keeping up with school, maintaining good grades and ensuring you are creating GOOD work habits will set you up very well for VCE. The only advice I would give to someone at your age in regards to VCE is read some sort of book regularly. English is one of the hardest things to instantly improve at and those who are readers often do well in English VCE. It helps many areas including vocab, grammar and syntax.

[Aqualim]

but the kids who truly do well in my school are those who are involved in such activities. Not the ones who spend every living minute of their lives studying. And this is from a selective entry school viewpoint.

Strange how that works.. Doing better with less time to study.

As someone who completed VCE nearly a decade ago (that hurt a little to say), I found that the hardest part of VCE wasn't the content, it was having the time to study for SACs during terms 2 and 3. This is where a lot of people burnt out, myself included. Term 1 and 4 where very manageable as term 1 was easing you into the workload and term 4 was only 2-3 weeks long with no SACs and was essentially revision (well it was for me at least).

I'm not sure what school you go to, but maybe next year pick a Unit 1 & 2 subject in an area you're very confident in i.e. if you're good at English, do an english subject and vice versa, then in year 11, pick 1-2 Unit 3 & 4 subjects. This will boost your confidence a lot as you'll begin to see that VCE isn't the monster you've pictured it as.

Also, pick subjects you want to learn, don't just pick it because it's easy. Trust me on this! It also means when you study you'll actually enjoy what you're learning and won't see it as a massive task. I remember reading a post years ago from a guy who said when he was studying for Methods and Specialist, it wasn't about knowing how to do a specific question, it was about learning Differentiation and the whole purpose of it. So basically fully understanding topics. He went on to do extremely well in VCE and at University.

I learned about physics in physics, rather than learning how to answer textbook questions. I learned about maths in maths class, not about how to answer textbook questions. I learned about networks and security and algorithms and project management in software, I learned about improving my sentences and vocabulary and about ways people use language to convince you of a point and what to call those things they do with their writing that you don't have a name for in english. I spent this year learning. Not stressing or working or memorising, learning. Then the scores sorted themselves out, and that turned out okay.

Just out of curiosity, what subjects are you thinking of doing?

[Lear]

Strange how that works.. Doing better with less time to study.

My theory is that these people who indeed have less time to study learn to use this time to the best of their ability. Instead of spending countless hours doing work they spend those 1-2 hours very efficiently. I also believe there are countless benefits for your mental well being which in turn increase performance. Ultimately such things also look great in the future interviews

[S200]

Can I get a perfect score if I start now?

When I saw this, I thought I had found a kindred spirit that was willing to start actually doing something in Year 12...

But yeah, to re-iterate... Yr 9 is literally a party year. Just enjoy it.

[Aaron]

Yr 9 is literally a party year.

Not the right attitude to have. I agree Year 9 is nothing in comparison to VCE but it still matters as habits are formed and study skills can be developed during these middle years.

Do you think it’s too late to start preparing??

Not at all. I wouldn't start preparing content-related things yet though. Like I said above, completing tests, exams, writing etc under timed conditions is a good place to start. Any good school has a great exam system set up so that you get exposure before they actually matter too much.

Also how hard is it to get a perfect score and how can I compensate for the time I have lost. Do I need to work extra hard

Not going to lie, a perfect score (ss of 50) is actually quite difficult to achieve. You have to be at the top of the state in that subject (or close to it) to get that! Obviously the number one goal when you reach this point is to get into the university course of your dreams... anything else is a bonus!

"Do I need to work extra hard" - well, that really depends on you! Some have the "gifted gene" (meaning they are naturally talented and don't require as much time to study), but most don't. The amount of effort etc. you will need depends entirely on you and your individual circumstances A lot of Year 12 students juggle additional responsibilities such as a part-time job or babysitting to contribute to the family too.... it's all about you and how much you can/will put in.

[studyingg]

You're in year 9 right now, which means you have the time to implement long-term strategies that can assist you in your VCE studies, especially in English. What I mean is, you can start preparing for year 12 English without actually "studying" in the traditional way or tiring and stressing yourself out unnecessarily, you have the time to develop skills that can help you immensely in the future. For example, start by attempting to read for leisure more often, but while doing this endeavour to acquire critical reading skills. Or grow your vocabulary by looking up words you don't know the meaning of . Use this time to develop a good background and understanding of literature, try to read  some modern classics and greek tragedies, watch videos and documentaries that will give you a good understanding of history, culture, morality ,philosophy etc. All of this will allow you to develop a strong foundation so that you are able to think and analyse in depth when studying VCE english in the future. Plus its kinda fun.

[clarke54321]

I definitely agree with the sentiments above and would encourage you to adopt this advice. It's also important to recognise that English is a subject which develops along with your own maturity. The quality of your ideas, and your ability to effectively engage with them, is in my opinion largely contingent upon your own world experience. So definitely take the subject as it comes. Spend your junior years really honing in on the relevant skills taught in class (whether that be integrating quotes, writing an introduction, or developing topic sentences).