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Author Topic: Trying to get a 90+ Atar  (Read 21591 times)

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Seamus Wong

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Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« on: April 08, 2019, 01:39:08 pm »
+11
Just been reading some other Journals and since my school is filled with dumb-asses who don't give a shit about VCE, I thought it would be wise to surround myself with those who actually have goals, and want to succeed, just like everyone here.

So last year I completed 3&4 methods, and 3&4 Business Management. My performance was quite average due to the fact that I had failed to realise that VCE tested your understanding, not your ability to memorise definitions (BM). I would always put off doing questions, with the excuse that my time would be more wisely spent if I just memorised definitions. This did not prove to be successful and I ended up with a 38 SS. Methods was a little different, in that I was always doing questions and trying to get ahead. However, when I was faced with a difficult question that required actual thinking, I would just skip it. This, I believe, is what let me down, because the SACs are filled with those difficult questions, where you cannot just plug in a formula and pop out an answer. I only got a 31 for MM.

This year is my chance to turn everything around...

The subjects I am undertaking this year, and my reasons for choosing them, are:

Algorithmics: I traded stocks and currencies last year, and so I chose to study algorithmics in hopes of improving my critical thinking skills, as well as understanding how to write proper algorithms, which I could then use to code Algorithmic Trading systems. Although the subject was a little different to what I expected, it is very interesting and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have had one SAC so far, and I performed poorly, with a score of only 35/46. I am doing a lot more reading now to gain a greater depth of understanding. My folio work has been good though, which I am happy about. The subject is rather difficult though, so I am setting a realistic target for a study score of 30+.

English language: Only did it because I needed an English, and it seemed to be the most applicable in the real world. The analytical skills required in the study of English Language seem to be highly valuable in sharpening your ability to think critically, as well as improving your ability to understand social interactions, and act accordingly. I've had two SACs so far. For the short answer questions SAC, I obtained a score of 19/20, which I am very happy with. I only obtained a score of 20/25 for the AC, which I am not happy about. I must improve my Essay and AC writing. I have asked my teacher for all of the power-points for next term so that I can get ahead and have more time to do questions and gain a greater understanding of the topic (formal language). I am aiming for a study score of above 40. But I would be happy with 38+.

Accounting: I chose to study accounting since I knew that understanding financial reports and being able to interpret them would be of great benefit when performing a fundamental analysis of publicly listed companies. Units 1&2 was really boring tbh, and I didn't enjoy it. I somehow managed to top the two classes, with minimum study and focus in class.
I know that units 3&4 will not be the same, so I have greatly improved my focus and level of study. So far, I've had two SACs. On the first, I achieved a score of 9/10. The second I acheived a score of 23/25. I will obtain the highest score out of my cohort in the next SAC for this outcome, since I am aware that it will be testing a lot more theory. This will distinguish those students that have a solid understanding of the topic from those who just know the formula to do journal entries and write reports. I am aiming for a study score of above 40.

Economics: I chose economics because it fits in with my interest for the financial markets, trading and investing. I've completed two SACS so far.
The first SAC has been marked and I topped the class with a score of 37.5/40. The second SAC, focusing on Macroeconomics and the basics of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate supply, was completed on the final day of term. I am feeling relatively confident since I had completed many questions and done a lot of reading. But I guess I just have to wait and see how I went. I am doing pre-reading now during the holidays to fully understand the next outcome, so that during class I can just ask questions and solidify my understanding. I must also complete some exam questions and revise what I have covered during term 1. I am aiming for a study score of above 40.


I shall keep who ever is reading posted probably once every day, just to keep myself motivated and focused on my study.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2019, 01:52:03 pm by Seamus Wong »

Evolio

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2019, 02:27:38 pm »
+3
Hello Seamus Wong!
Nice to meet you!
Looks like you are really interested in the humanities side!
What are you thinking about doing career wise?
Can't wait for your next update!
 ;D


NomotivationF

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2019, 02:33:13 pm »
+4
Ayeee another journal. Look forward to reading more, and good luck on your goals :D
Offering tutoring for Economics, Further Maths and Psychology
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(Mobile - 0435076426)

My journey through VCE

How I got a Raw 48 in Economics


2018 - Accounting [42] Further Maths [44]
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ATAR - 97.5
2020-2023 - Ba Commerce/Science @Monash

Seamus Wong

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2019, 02:41:22 pm »
+1
Hello Seamus Wong!
Nice to meet you!
Looks like you are really interested in the humanities side!
What are you thinking about doing career wise?
Can't wait for your next update!
 ;D

Nice to meet you too.
I'm set on studying commerce at Melbourne Uni, with a major in Economics and Finance. I'm looking to work in an investment bank and from there, either work my way up the ranks or (most likely) start my own Investment fund overseas. 

AngelWings

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2019, 05:21:35 pm »
+3
Nice to meet you too.
I'm set on studying commerce at Melbourne Uni, with a major in Economics and Finance. I'm looking to work in an investment bank and from there, either work my way up the ranks or (most likely) start my own Investment fund overseas. 
Nice! Sounds like you have your future quite well planned. What do you like to do in your spare time currently?
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Seamus Wong

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2019, 07:13:17 pm »
0
Nice! Sounds like you have your future quite well planned. What do you like to do in your spare time currently?

I like to read about new tech startups and keep up with the financial markets, but since I am not good at focusing on many things at once, I've given up both of those and instead, during my free time, I am just thinking about vce and what work needs to get done.

Seamus Wong

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2019, 09:25:43 pm »
+4
I woke up today too late due to going to bed too late. A feeling of regret for staying up too late consumed me, and I felt lethargic, unmotivated, and depressed. This theme carried on throughout the rest of my day today. During my time 'studying' I was constantly zoning out, since I felt quite overwhelmed with the work that I had planned to do today. This resulted in me staring blankly at my books, feeling hopeless, then immediately going onto YouTube in search of anything that would take me away from thinking about my work. I did complete some work though, but not as much as I had planned. I will learn from my mistake and never stay up after 11:00 pm on the holidays. This will ensure that I can easily wake up at 7:30 and start my day early, and work productively for the whole day.

- This seem to be a pattern with me. When I wake up late, I'm just not productive. When I wake up early, I feel as if I'm ahead of everyone and on top of everything, which results in a productive day - LESSON = Go to bed at a reasonable time, wake up early.

I will not be on ATARNotes during the day, since it is quite distracting now reading new posts and journals etc.

I would rate today, in terms of productivity, a very low 2/10.
 

Bri MT

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2019, 06:51:12 am »
+4
Hmm yeah sleep deprivation can be very nasty.

One thing I would say is that single-minded focus on VCE is counterproductive when taken too far. The year is going to get more intense as you progress, and if you don't have anything else you're doing you will burn out quicker, more severely, and more easily.

It seems like you've got pretty good self awareness of your procrastion; one thing that helped me was tell myself I'd do 5 minutes of work & if I didn't want to continue after that I wouldn't. I find that low effort work (eg multiple choice questions) can be an effective way to snap out of the overwheled & self-recriminatory mindset or at least reduce it.

I'm happy with the ATAR I got (and based on your goals you would be too) but I could've done better if I'd taken more care of myself.  It's too late for me to apply that lesson to my VCE, but it's not too late for you

Good luck with your journey :)

Joseph41

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2019, 05:04:00 pm »
+1
Yo! Just catching up on this thread. :)

Re: your first post, honestly I think having the experience of doing two Unit 3&4 subjects last year will put you in a good position to do well in 2019. 👍 Or, more accurately, what you learnt from doing them.

Looking forward to hearing how you're going in your next update, whenever that is. :)

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Seamus Wong

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2019, 08:35:22 pm »
+5
I woke up early today. Good.
I still felt a little overwhelmed with the work that I needed to complete, but I pushed through and completed some accounting revision for roughly 2 hours. I then began planning for my algorithmics assignment, which was difficult, since I had no idea where to start. I managed to construct a solid plan though, so I'll be fine tomorrow to continue working on it productively for as long as I need to - probably 2 hours.
I followed the advice of Bri MT and I went outside and for a ride in the bush for about an hour, just to get my mind off vce.
I then revised the topic of Coherence and Cohesion for English Language for about an hour and a half. I think that I need to do some application of the theory to solidify my understanding. I'll do this tomorrow morning.

I will now go to the gym.

Although I got through less work than I had hoped to, I know that tomorrow will be more productive as I have now sort of established my holiday study routine:
- Wake up at 7:30
- Read an article from The Economist
- Start studying at around 8:30
- Finish study at 10:30
- Eat
- Start studying for another subject for another two hours
- Repeat until its 8:00pm
- Write in this journal, work out, eat again, sleep.

Todays Productivity Rating has risen to a 5/10. Tomorrow will definitely be atleast a 7/10.


NomotivationF

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #10 on: April 10, 2019, 01:05:26 am »
+3
I woke up early today. Good.
I still felt a little overwhelmed with the work that I needed to complete, but I pushed through and completed some accounting revision for roughly 2 hours. I then began planning for my algorithmics assignment, which was difficult, since I had no idea where to start. I managed to construct a solid plan though, so I'll be fine tomorrow to continue working on it productively for as long as I need to - probably 2 hours.
I followed the advice of Bri MT and I went outside and for a ride in the bush for about an hour, just to get my mind off vce.
I then revised the topic of Coherence and Cohesion for English Language for about an hour and a half. I think that I need to do some application of the theory to solidify my understanding. I'll do this tomorrow morning.

I will now go to the gym.

Although I got through less work than I had hoped to, I know that tomorrow will be more productive as I have now sort of established my holiday study routine:
- Wake up at 7:30
- Read an article from The Economist
- Start studying at around 8:30
- Finish study at 10:30
- Eat
- Start studying for another subject for another two hours
- Repeat until its 8:00pm
- Write in this journal, work out, eat again, sleep.

Todays Productivity Rating has risen to a 5/10. Tomorrow will definitely be atleast a 7/10.

Good shit getting your productivity moving, just make sure not to overwork yourself as you may find yourself burning out. Just make sure to give yourself some breaks ya know?
Offering tutoring for Economics, Further Maths and Psychology
(Email [email protected])
(Mobile - 0435076426)

My journey through VCE

How I got a Raw 48 in Economics


2018 - Accounting [42] Further Maths [44]
2019 - English [39] Economics [48] Psychology [44] Maths methods [33]
ATAR - 97.5
2020-2023 - Ba Commerce/Science @Monash

Seamus Wong

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #11 on: April 10, 2019, 08:59:06 pm »
+4
I completed what I had set out to in the morning (English Language). Now that I have established a routine, I spend less time in the morning sitting down and starring blankly at my books and more time actually focusing on the work. I believe this focus will increase day by day.

After two hours of English, I went and got some Maccas. I somewhat regret that decision because I spent 23 dollars on one meal.
 
I then spent another two hours writing up the basic framework for my Algorithmics project, which I feel is under control right now.

I think I spent an hour 'relaxing' which consisted of me just watching YouTube. This did not satisfy me.
The simple reason as to why I regret watching YouTube is because the endless amount of entertainment on the site keeps you hooked and wanting more and more, much like a drug - similar to Facebook and other Social media platforms that I quit using a while ago. I guess another 'goal' for me now is to quit going on YouTube aimlessly.

I finished off my day with two more hours of accounting, and then roughly 40 minutes of solving general algorithmic problems.

I planned to exercise today but I wont because I want to finish off my accounting and then do some revision of some of the topics I covered in Algorithmics.

Today's productivity rating fell short of expectations, but rose nonetheless to a 6/10.
I will use my time between breaks more wisely tomorrow.
 

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #12 on: April 10, 2019, 11:12:51 pm »
+1
Pretty cool thread. I also wanna get 90+ atar . This has been day 3 of my holidays:

I got up at around 3pm. Watched a bunch of anime, looked at my poster of hatsune miku for a couple of minutes and am now writing this post.

Productivity: over 9000
englinguistics 36
mysoftdev 43
methhead 35
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chemotherapy 30
physically hard 31

atar 92.75 somehow
2019 rox

Seamus Wong

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #13 on: April 11, 2019, 08:38:01 pm »
+4
Today was a relatively good day. I woke up and was able to immediately initiate my work with no farting around or feelings of dread and anxiety.

I did roughly 3 hours of accounting in the morning - spent on completing all of the questions from a chapter review (most of them). My productivity in the last hour of those 3 started to dip lower, so I stopped and decided to eat something.

I rode my bike to woolies and got some hot chips to eat with my left-over roast chicken from yesterday. Really salty chips with chicken is probably one of my favourite foods.
After my food comma, I decided to sit on the couch and watch T.V.

I then dug into some English work, completing some questions on the formal language features of a text.
After doing these, I felt a little more confident in my understanding of the concepts. I went through a past exam and read a section of someones essay which helped me in answering some questions. Doing this also helped me understand where to apply metalanguage that I had previously perceived to not be highly relevant or applicable in analysis.
The one thing that I will do tomorrow when going through these questions is to do them under timed pressure, and to not get too demotivated when faced with an unfamiliar question.
That's a problem of mine - when I get stuck on a question, I just sit there, staring at the paper. I then look at the number of other questions that I need to do, which demotivates me even further.
One thing that I did do today to tackle this problem was to have a really good go at the question, and get as much as I can down onto the paper, and then move on to an easier question, which, upon completion, would build my confidence and enable me to do the more difficult ones.

I spent an hour after English looking at Melbourne Uni videos and doing some research. It looks exciting and I'm looking forward to being surrounded with people who are all studying and passionate about Commerce. I probably should've done some more English work though, so I kind of regret watching those videos.

I'll go to the gym now for roughly one hour.

Tomorrows Schedule:
- Finish off the Accounting chapter review, and then start a new topic, doing all of the 'check your understanding' questions and writing posters for key terms that I need to be familiar with.
- Eat something
- Continue writing up my Algorithmics report for about 2 hours probably.
- Eat something else + relax for a bit
- Continue English Language Questions and move through another half of a power-point.
- I really need to do some economics study - I will find time tomorrow hopefully... English and Algo might take a lot of my time so Idk.
- I've got work on the weekend so I'll need to be extra productive tomorrow to get through as much as possible.

Today's productivity rating rose to a 6.8/10, which I'll just round up to 7. If I didn't spend that last hour watching Uni videos then it would have been a solid 7.

Seamus Wong

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Re: Trying to get a 90+ Atar
« Reply #14 on: April 12, 2019, 10:15:03 pm »
+3
Today was good and bad.
I finished off the chapter review last night after working out which got me ahead. I then did some reading for the next chapter. However, my mind was focused on my algo work, and so I decided to not finish off the accounting and to continue with my assignment for algo, which i thought I would have completed today. I received help from a tutor for the assignment, and that really helped me since I learnt so much about some of the fundamental areas of knowledge that I had previously never been taught. That was the only good part of my day. 
I feel bad because once again, I got stuck on one part of the assignment, which, accompanied by the decrease in focus associated with a Friday, lead me to losing focus and wasting literally more than 4 hours.

I do not feel happy at all. I wont let this happen again.
I'll be honest with myself and give myself a 5/10 productivity rating. fuck. At least I did achieve something though. Tomorrow NEEDS to be a 10/10. I WILL STUDY STRAIGHT AFTER WORK FROM 2:00 UNTIL 5:00 (this is when I have to attend my sisters 21st bday)

I will not let myself down again.