ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => Topic started by: Yertle the Turtle on November 30, 2017, 09:38:12 am

Title: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: Yertle the Turtle on November 30, 2017, 09:38:12 am
Hi guys,
This is the place were the Class of 2018 can ask questions and receive advice on the coming year from their peers. Any words of wisdom or advice from the Class of '17 is particularly welcome, but I also encourage previous Year 12s to give unto us from their veritable fount of experience and potential knowledge. This space is also available for members of the class of '18 to ask questions of previous Year 12 if they so desire.
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: AngelWings on November 30, 2017, 05:11:04 pm
Good idea, Marvin! It might take a little for this thread to gain traction, but I'll offer you some advice as a VCE graduate of 2014.

1. If you haven't, I'd recommend giving the articles in the Articles tab above a good read. Some of those include "How to Study", "Completing Exams" and so forth.
2. Health first, marks later. School will feel like the most important thing and you'll have points where you head to class without thinking about your health. This is a bad mindset to get into. It is really detrimental. Your marks should never have higher priority compared to your health.
3. Stick motivational quotes on your locker where available or somewhere you'll definitely see it. Really helped between practise exams for me. Also write out your goals. Makes them easier to work towards them.
4. Study smarter, not harder. It's been recited before, I'll say it again because it's true.
5. As much as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is success and accomplishment. Success isn't always a 95+ ATAR to everyone. For some, it's merely to survive the chaos of year 12. Numbers, ultimately, should never dictate your own satisfaction of accomplishment.
6. Enjoy the year. You'll find the year more enjoyable if you, you know, actually enjoy it.
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: manthila2000 on November 30, 2017, 07:29:54 pm
ATAR is a rank but are study scores also ranks?
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: Sine on November 30, 2017, 07:35:05 pm
ATAR is a rank but are study scores also ranks?
yeah
for raw scores
50 = top 0.02%
45 = top 2%
40 = top 9%
35 = top 23%
30 = top 50%
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: Yertle the Turtle on November 30, 2017, 08:52:09 pm
I've got a question: I'm doing 6 subjects next year, you can see which ones in the signature, but what I want to know is any ways of easily dividing the workload so that I am not under-doing some things and overdoing others. Anyone got any good study plans for a 6 subject Year 12 load?
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: zofromuxo on December 01, 2017, 12:34:11 pm
So rather then tell you what to do like everyone else, I'll tell you what not to do instead

Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: AngelWings on December 01, 2017, 02:58:49 pm
I've got a question: I'm doing 6 subjects next year, you can see which ones in the signature, but what I want to know is any ways of easily dividing the workload so that I am not under-doing some things and overdoing others. Anyone got any good study plans for a 6 subject Year 12 load?
This depends on you, your strengths and weaknesses and what you have to do. It also involves prioritising and staying super organised - basically you're going to have to maintain exceptional time management skills to defeat the 6-subject dragon.
 
Because some are better at Physics, whilst others find Methods to be easy and quick, we can't determine what you need to do more of and what to do less. It'll really be up to you and how you like to study. The main part I'd like to emphasise here is balance. While it doesn't appear to make much difference in the long run, overdoing Spesh when you love it and underdoing English when you know you abhor it, won't exactly bode well. I would advise that you look at previous ways that worked out well for you. You may be a study timetable type of person, a to-do list one or a productivity app type of student. You'll know once you try different ways which ones are the best for you.

Sorry that doesn't seem like much of an answer, but it truly is an individual thing and there is no 'right' answer for this question.
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: Yertle the Turtle on December 01, 2017, 04:18:34 pm
This depends on you, your strengths and weaknesses and what you have to do. It also involves prioritising and staying super organised - basically you're going to have to maintain exceptional time management skills to defeat the 6-subject dragon.
 
Because some are better at Physics, whilst others find Methods to be easy and quick, we can't determine what you need to do more of and what to do less. It'll really be up to you and how you like to study. The main part I'd like to emphasise here is balance. While it doesn't appear to make much difference in the long run, overdoing Spesh when you love it and underdoing English when you know you abhor it, won't exactly bode well. I would advise that you look at previous ways that worked out well for you. You may be a study timetable type of person, a to-do list one or a productivity app type of student. You'll know once you try different ways which ones are the best for you.

Sorry that doesn't seem like much of an answer, but it truly is an individual thing and there is no 'right' answer for this question.
Thanks heaps AngelWings,
My main problem is that I procrastinate wwaayy to much. In fact I am procrastinating this very moment, avoiding doing my homework which I probably should do sometime...
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: Syndicate on December 01, 2017, 07:35:25 pm
Just a few tips for future students  :)

- Don't predetermine your 5th and/or 6th subjects before you sit the exams... I thought Methods was going to be my best subjects (and chemistry one of my worst), but it turned out to be the other way around. In essence, don't neglect one or two subjects, and make sure you study hard for them as well!
- Make sure you do complete parts of subjects over the summer holidays (ie. unit 1) in order to keep up with the class (especially for those doing 6 subjects or/ and a lot of sciences). Once you fall behind, it is really hard to catch up (not impossible though).
- For content-heavy subjects such as Biology and Chemistry, write your own notes! Don't just highlight "key phrases" in your textbook.
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: zhen on December 01, 2017, 07:59:57 pm
Just a tip that I think was really helpful for me. If it’s like two month before the exams and you’re starting trial exams, but you’re not really comfortable doing them under timed conditions, treat them as a worksheet rather than as an exam. What I would do is look at a question, attempt it then refer to the answers and correct my work. If I didn’t know how to do a question at all, I’d copy out the answers and try to understand how they did it. This way you’re not just blindly doing practice exams and neglecting the learning and correcting aspect of them. I felt like doing this for the first few practice exams really helped me get the hang of how to do all the basic questions and how to approach certain types of questions. When you’ve got this down, then move onto doing timed practice exams. Also, I recommend having a table or something to list out the marks you’ve gotten in your trial exams and the mistakes you made. This helps slowly eliminate your silly mistakes and allows you to track your progress.
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: Vaike on December 01, 2017, 10:21:06 pm
Here's a few things I wish someone had told me before beginning Year 12:

Year 12 is significantly more difficult than Year 11
I'm sure this varies from person to person, but having already completed 2 3/4 subjects in Year 11, I thought Year 12 would simply be more of the same. Turns out, doing 5 3/4 subjects concurrently is no easy feat, and requires good time management and study habits. This was a bit of a shock to me at the start of the year and I quickly found myself overwhelmed, however had I known I think I would have adequately been able to revise my study techniques to suit a more hectic Year 12 schedule.

Don't just study hard, study smart
I know this gets thrown around a lot, but I think it is really important advice. In Year 11, I studied really hard, but it wasn't exactly smart study. Although I was constantly studying for my 3/4 subjects, I wasted a lot of energy on things that weren't directly improving my marks, such as continually covering content I already knew back to front, and wasting my time doing rubbish company practice exams. In Year 12, you don't have time to do everything, so you have to prioritise; figure out which things will have the greatest positive impacts on your marks, and go from there.

Make sure each and every practice exam you complete has a purpose
This I guess is an important example of the above point. Completing practice exams without thoroughly understanding what you did well and what you did not significantly undermines there value. I found the best way to ensure I was always learning from each exam was to keep a little document for each subject, where I would record my mark, what I did well, what questions I got wrong and had trouble with, and what I could do to ensure I didn't run into similar difficulties in the future. That way, I knew each and every exam what I needed to focus on, and was actively aware of my past mistakes to minimise my chance of making the same mistake twice.

Value the effort, not the outcome
Year 12 is a stressful year, made more stressful worrying about marks and such. Whilst easier said than done, I found that when I did this at the end of the year, it greatly reduced my stress and made me feel more content. Instead of setting only result driven goals, consider setting effort goals, such as 'I will spend the next two days mastering X concept to the best of my ability.' When I began to work towards focusing on my own efforts, instead of my ranking relative to others, I felt significantly less stressed, and by the time exams came, I felt prepared knowing that I had worked hard throughout the year and had little to regret.

Have fun!
Undoubtedly the most important part of this list. Year 12 is an amazing experience if you want it to be; an incredible opportunity to form great relationships with both peers and students, and a unique chance to push yourself and learn more about you, your boundaries, and how you work best. Make sure you get ample rest and look after your mental, physical and emotional health, and make the year as enjoyable and productive as possible, not only on an academic front, but a personal front too.
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: courtney2502 on December 17, 2017, 10:07:33 pm
This sort of goes without saying, and although I am yet to begin Year 12, it is definitely my biggest piece of advice - maintain your social life!

In year 11 I completely neglected my social life and friends (I mean, I still hung out with my friends at school and such, and occassionally went to a couple of parties, but that was it) and boy did I burn out!

I thought I didn't have the time for a social life - but the truth is, you really do, and any reason why you think you don't is really just an excuse.

I'm not saying not to study at all obviously, but don't turn down every single 18th and day out you get invited to. You will be a lot healthier mentally, and your marks will reflect this!
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: pi on December 17, 2017, 10:26:03 pm
A lot of lengthy and useful posts in this thread, take note of them and also take note of previous threads of this nature. Every piece of advice is something to learn from, and as I've said previously, advice from 2009 is as relevant as advice from today.

My advice is simple and hasn't changed over the six or so years I've been giving it: "don't play the numbers game, play the 'do the best you can' game".

That is to say, don't worry about your rankings, or what someone else got for a SAC, or what UMAT is required for this this course or that course, or what your dad's friend's son got for their ATAR in 2010. Don't get sucked into that hype and drivel. Instead, worry about the things you can change, the main being, of course, your own performance and health (mental and physical). Those are your priorities because those are things you control more than anything else.

Don't forget it, and best of luck class of 2018 :)
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: chooby on December 20, 2017, 11:03:57 am
Just asking, what is an effective way to study all my subjects during these summer holidays?
Title: Re: Words of Wisdom and Advice for the Class of '18
Post by: sophomania on December 23, 2017, 01:07:33 am
Just asking, what is an effective way to study all my subjects during these summer holidays?

I would recommend creating a timetable or a to-do list. You could do organise blocks of time which you can dedicate to each of your subjects. So maybe you could create a timetable and decide for example, to do English in the morning and methods in the afternoon.
I am more of a to-do list type of person. So for example, what I did was “during the summer holidays, I will do the first four chapters of methods, the first two chapter of chemistry, read all the texts for English etc”. I made these goals for each subject and that was how I studied for each of my subjects.

I know that it’s important to get a head start for year 12 but don’t forget to relax and have fun during your holidays. Once you start year 12, it will be about 9-10 months of studying. So before all the work comes, take time for your hobbies and spend time with family and friends.