Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 02, 2020, 09:21:16 pm
I've been reading some of the ATAR notes study journals for a while, finally decided to create my own! This whole online learning thing has really been a challenge, and I've been procrastinating more than ever... :-\
So in the interests of productivity, I hope this journal will keep me accountable and be able to motivate me. Just gotta remember to update it!
A general intro about me
I'm Viktoria, currently doing the HSC, half-way through year 12 (it's gone so fast ahh). I did accelerated IPT last year, so this year I have 9 units:
- Maths 3U
- Eng adv
- Physics
- Chemistry
I also did dance (as a subject) from year 11, but dropped it after term 1 of year 12... It was really fun, but just didn't have the time for it.
I guess I should also mention my plans for after school. I'm planning to do civil engineering at ADFA (the military uni in Canberra, its courses are from UNSW), and my backup is USYD (also civil eng).
So, atm I have SO MUCH work to catch up on, and it just keeps coming in! I know I should just do it, but it feels so demotivating when no matter how much you get done, there's still more... Don't know if anyone's familiar with Parkinson's Law, but it basically says your work expands to fill the time you give it. Lately, when I procrastinate, I end up skipping things like exercise, family commitments etc. to make up for the lost study time. Essentially, my study is 'expanding' to fill my time (by procrastinating). Which is defs not a great situation, so I'm gonna try prioritise exercise+family over study, (hopefully) forcing myself to focus because I have a smaller amount of time.
So that's basically my situation atm, hope you all are well and being more productive than I am aha
Thank you (and congrats) to anyone who has managed to read this far, looking forward to hearing from you :))
Viktoria
Gonna try include a lil quote everyday hopefully to motivate some people (including myself), so here's something on procrastination
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today" - Abraham Lincoln
PS. I've no idea if I've formatted this right, so apologies if its a tad dodgy
Post by: angewina_naguen on May 02, 2020, 10:44:08 pm
A huge and warm welcome to the forums :D I'm super excited to follow your HSC journey in this journal!
What's drawing you towards studying civil engineering? :o
Angelina ;D
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 03, 2020, 02:16:26 pm
Thanks for the welcome :))
I've known I've wanted to do engineering since around year 10, because I did work experience at 2 civil engineering firms, which I really enjoyed! I guess the main things that appeal to me about civil eng is the challenge, I love maths and science (especially physics), so being able to apply them in a job is awesome! Also I love that in civil eng, you can manage an entire project from beginning to end, then actually see the physical result - it's super rewarding.
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 03, 2020, 03:27:06 pm
Soooo I've been procrastinating on the forums again! (It actually started with youtube :-\)
I'm going to update this journal every night or maybe every other night, we'll see how much work I can get done...
Here are some strategies I'm gonna try to stop procrastinating:
- turn wifi off before I study (or use a website blocker)
- put my phone in another room
- keep a distraction log
- Just start!!!
As for the rest of the day, these are my priorities:
English
Got a heap of catchup and general homework to do, so I'm going to get up to speed on that.
My school decided to do Module C before Module B, so that's where we're currently at. I'm definitely more into essay writing + analysis, as oppose to creative... My teacher has set a discursive writing task, and we can choose any topic we want. I have NO IDEA when it comes to discursive, how do I choose a topic? If anyone has any advice on how to structure and write a discursive, that would be really helpful!
Maths
My teacher tends to give out heaps of maths homework, I'll just try to complete as much as possible...
We've just finished the integration topic, and started doing projectile motion. (I thought projectile motion in maths was gonna be the same as in physics, defs wrong there haha)
Chem and Phys
Don't have much work to do with these subjects atm, maybe I'll get on to writing summary notes for what we've learned.
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for a quote.. kinda overused but
"Dreams don't work unless you do"
i.e. its nice to be motivated + have a goal. But you're not gonna get anywhere if you don't put in the work (feels harsh, ik)
Post by: owidjaja on May 03, 2020, 04:32:24 pm
Welcome to the forums! And I'm glad to see another aspiring engineer on this forum!
I'm excited to follow your HSC journey.
Though I'm curious, why did you decide to choose ADFA?
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 03, 2020, 06:07:44 pm
Hey there,
Welcome to the forums! And I'm glad to see another aspiring engineer on this forum!
I'm excited to follow your HSC journey.
Though I'm curious, why did you decide to choose ADFA?
Hey!
That's so cool you're doing eng at UNSW! I gotta say congrats for getting in, heard aerospace is hella hard!!
Originally, I wanted to go to USYD, but then I found out about ADFA through a school careers expo. They essentially pay you to study (this is what first caught my attention haha).
I really want to challenge myself, and I think a military career would be great in terms of physical, mental and personal development. There's also heaps of unique opportunities, which I feel I wouldn't get in the civil world. Also, I really want to have a career that can make an impact, so being able to serve while doing engineering seems really exciting. ;D
How are you enjoying UNSW? How did you find the transition from highschool to uni? (I realised today that I honestly know nothing about uni life / how its different to school aha)
Post by: owidjaja on May 03, 2020, 06:29:44 pm
Haha thanks :) It's not too bad at the moment because I haven't started specialising yet, but I'm finding it really interesting.
That's so cool you're doing eng at UNSW! I gotta say congrats for getting in, heard aerospace is hella hard!!
Originally, I wanted to go to USYD, but then I found out about ADFA through a school careers expo. They essentially pay you to study (this is what first caught my attention haha).The great thing about going to ADFA is that you don't have to worry about finding internships because they automatically put you in the pool of candidates for different projects! The standard pathway for a lot of civil students is to go into consulting, which isn't bad or anything but if you'd like to be out on the field doing "real engineering" then ADFA's great for that. (And by "real engineering", I'm referring to being a technician, doing maintenance etc.)
I really want to challenge myself, and I think a military career would be great in terms of physical, mental and personal development. There's also heaps of unique opportunities, which I feel I wouldn't get in the civil world. Also, I really want to have a career that can make an impact, so being able to serve while doing engineering seems really exciting. ;D
How are you enjoying UNSW? How did you find the transition from highschool to uni? (I realised today that I honestly know nothing about uni life / how its different to school aha)UNSW isn't too bad. I've gotta say, it took a while for me to transition from high school to uni. I knew that in uni, they'll be going through content really fast, but because 2019 was the first time they implemented trimesters, they went through content a lot faster. Because I also quickly jumped into extra-curriculars in Term 1, time management was a big issue for me since I was trying to study and be involved. It's not too bad right now but I did have to reduce my workload so I can still manage society stuff, work and uni. I believe UNSW ADFA is still going through semesters, but don't quote on me.
If you have any other questions about UNSW, engineering or uni life, feel free to drop me a PM :)
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 03, 2020, 10:08:18 pm
If you have any other questions about UNSW, engineering or uni life, feel free to drop me a PM :)
Thankyou! I've just sent you a PM :)
Post by: alice343 on May 04, 2020, 06:10:13 pm
English
Got a heap of catchup and general homework to do, so I'm going to get up to speed on that.
My school decided to do Module C before Module B, so that's where we're currently at. I'm definitely more into essay writing + analysis, as oppose to creative... My teacher has set a discursive writing task, and we can choose any topic we want. I have NO IDEA when it comes to discursive, how do I choose a topic? If anyone has any advice on how to structure and write a discursive, that would be really helpful!
Hello there!
My class hasn't done too much on Mod C either, but I have written a discursive. Our teacher gave us a stimulus (so it was a lot easier to come up with a topic) and helped me with my own idea - I wrote my discursive on my difficulties navigating the disparity between Western conventions of familial affection and my parents' approach to affection in a Chinese household. I developed what my teacher helped me with by looking at articles online. Many blog articles are discursive pieces, TED talks are also useful for coming up with productive themes. Even if you have the faintest, vaguest idea, you can try searching that up to see if anyone's written about it, then go from there.
Hope this helped! :)
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 04, 2020, 09:23:09 pm
Hello there!
My class hasn't done too much on Mod C either, but I have written a discursive. Our teacher gave us a stimulus (so it was a lot easier to come up with a topic) and helped me with my own idea - I wrote my discursive on my difficulties navigating the disparity between Western conventions of familial affection and my parents' approach to affection in a Chinese household. I developed what my teacher helped me with by looking at articles online. Many blog articles are discursive pieces, TED talks are also useful for coming up with productive themes. Even if you have the faintest, vaguest idea, you can try searching that up to see if anyone's written about it, then go from there.
Hope this helped! :)
Hey!
Thankyou for your tips, definitely will look into my ideas more, keen to watch some TED talks haha.
I keep forgetting a discursive is so much more flexible than a persuasive/other essay...
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 06, 2020, 09:00:12 pm
Hi all!
I know I said I'm going to update this every night but I think every week is a more realistic goal 😅
Currently 3 days into week 2, school is only getting more busy...
Maths
As usual, I'm flooded with maths homework. Slowly getting through it though
We also got our Adv assessment notification, this one's a project. Then we'll have an extension test in week 5 (i think?)
English
Still haven't started writing my discursive, been speculating too much on topics lol
But I did catch up on homework, so now I actually know what a discursive is woop
Chem
Sooo we got the 1st part of our depth study. It's basically a whole heap of research, so this should be fine.
I've also gotta finish all my notes and stuff for Mod 5 and 6 (gotta wrap it up quick!).
Phys
Physics is alright - I'm basically teaching myself though, my teacher isn't great normally ngl but now w/ online learning, I don't really learn much in class. I actually don't find it that bad though, I feel when I teach myself a concept, I understand it a lot better and can actually remember it longer. This kinda sounds contradictory, but maybe the extra effort needed to teach yourself goes a long way in understanding it better??
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In regards to my procrastination, I got so sick of getting distracted all the time, so i kinda looked into it more. I figured the underlying reason I was procrastinating was because of a 'fear of failure'. Which sounds silly - There's literally no pressure on me to do well; not from my family, friends, school, etc. Other than from myself. I suppose this pressure to succeed builds up, and then I get scared of not succeeding?? Yeah, being aware of it greatly diffused the actual fear, cos now I can rationalize it with logic lol.
Just a reminder to everyone - there's always gonna be another way! ATAR is not the be-all, end-all... As long as we try our best, that's all we can do :)
Sending lots of motivation and hope everyone's going well! 💖
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Quote of the day (I should probably say quote of the post... seeing as I haven't been posting everyday aha)
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”
― Norman Vincent Peale.
EDIT: Totally forgot to mention this but - we're finally getting our jerseys!! We ordered them beginning/mid term 4 last year, but they kept getting delayed (then corona happened...). From next week, we're going back to school 2 days per week, so we'll get them then! 🎉
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 09, 2020, 09:19:28 pm
9/5/20 -Term 2, Week 2
AHhh I feel like no matter how much study/revision I do, there's still more :'(
I've got so much to get done, kinda overwhelmed. And we've still got 2 terms of year 12! I don't think I've been managing my stress well enough lately - I really need to fix myself into a routine again, especially keeping up with things like exercise and reading cos that helps me relieve stress...
I've kinda slacked off the past week, but today I managed to catch up on class work. Sometimes it's really hard to take online school seriously and be motivated enough to do it... Next week, my school is sending yr 12's back 2 days a week, so that should be better :)
On top of homework, writing notes (I'm aiming to be up to date with all my notes by the end of tomorrow), revising, etc. I've started getting all my exam notifications.
- For English, we have a hand-in task. We have to write a discursive, imaginative and a persuasive. Then pick one of these for the teacher to mark, and write a reflection on it. All in 2 weeks... I don't really know how I'm gonna finish 3 quality writing pieces in that time but we can only try our best aye.
- Also have a chemistry depth study - which I haven't started. Atm, they've only given us the first part, and it's all research. If all goes well, I'll start that tomorrow
*But it's Mother's Day tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much time I will have to study... - We also have a maths assignment for Maths (Advanced), which I haven't looked at yet. I think it's all research based, data analysis stuff.
So that's pretty much where I'm at. Just gotta stay positive I guess.
This was kinda a short update, but its the same general gist, just heaps of work to do lol
Sending motivation + positive vibes to everyone with their studies !
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Quote of the post:
"When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
– Peter Marshall
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 18, 2020, 02:23:26 pm
18/5/20 - Term 2, Week 3
Hey everyone! I was meant to update this last week, but didn't quite manage to.. better late than never right? ;D
So, school's been pretty hectic, I have heaps of assignments! This week we're going back 4 days a week (I'm so keen!!), from Tuesday to Friday. Last week we went for 2 days, and it made such a difference. Being able to see my friends + teachers honestly helps heaps with motivation - good to know we're not struggling thru year 12 alone!
We also got our jerseys last week (already half way thru year 12...), now we actually look like we're in year 12 haha. HSC is getting so real :o
aaand we got our HSC timetables. I've got 3-6 days between each exam, so pretty happy with that! Kinda scary though; how it's so close but we still have so much content to learn. Not sure what the other school's are up to, but we've only just finished Module 6 in physics ahh
Here's an update on my subjects:
Spoiler
ENG
We're still continuing with Mod C, started doing some persuasives in class. We also got an assignment (think I mentioned this last time? idk), and it's due this Friday!! We have to write a persuasive, discursive and imaginative piece based off a given stimulus, then choose one to submit with a reflection. I've got a rough idea for a discursive, so I think that's the one I'm gonna submit for marking. I'll try to start that today, in the hopes of not leaving it to the last minute...
We also got our marks back for the last assessment, which was an essay on Module A. I actually got a good mark! Which is really surprising for me - english is so unpredictable, when I try, I do bad. Sometimes I don't try and it turns out well?? I'm just hoping this next task can keep my rank up!
PHYS
Physics, like i said, is pretty slow. We've just finished module 6, and now we have a depth study task. It's a bunch of research on Module 8 - we have in class time to do it, but I don't think I'll be able to finish it unless I also work on it at home.
MATHS
I have an advanced maths project due on Wednesday, it's using Google Trends, modelling + analysing data with trig functions... It's not a hard assignment, just extremely time-consuming and the way they wrote it is difficult to interpret. But I'm making good progress with it, so it'll get there.
Our extension test is in week 5 - which I'm super scared for! With all these other assignments, I don't see how I'm gonna have enough time to devote to maths :'( Also, I feel like I should spend WAY more time studying for maths tests than for other subjects, because the tests are always so much harder than the homework/class content. And maths only gets easier with heaps of practice...
CHEM
Super happy with chem atm tho! We got our tests back, which we did in week 1 this term (it was on Mod 5 and 6). I got full marks!! Ngl, I have no idea how I actually managed this, I only started really studying about a week before the test, because I was focused with uni stuff in the holidays... The test did feel pretty easy though. :) rn I'm definitely finding Mod 7 more challenging than Mod 5/6...
We've got a depth study on Mod 7, the first part of it is due on Tuesday arvo. I'm making progress - but there's so much content + new things I'm learning for such a small part of the syllabus! The teachers want us to research outside the syllabus as well, but it's really difficult to discern how much they want us to learn. I think I'm making the depth study too complicated and learning a tad too in depth ahh. Everytime something new comes up, I get super curious and start learning about it haha, which is probably why this is taking me wayy longer than its supposed to. Better to research more than not enough though...??
We're still continuing with Mod C, started doing some persuasives in class. We also got an assignment (think I mentioned this last time? idk), and it's due this Friday!! We have to write a persuasive, discursive and imaginative piece based off a given stimulus, then choose one to submit with a reflection. I've got a rough idea for a discursive, so I think that's the one I'm gonna submit for marking. I'll try to start that today, in the hopes of not leaving it to the last minute...
We also got our marks back for the last assessment, which was an essay on Module A. I actually got a good mark! Which is really surprising for me - english is so unpredictable, when I try, I do bad. Sometimes I don't try and it turns out well?? I'm just hoping this next task can keep my rank up!
PHYS
Physics, like i said, is pretty slow. We've just finished module 6, and now we have a depth study task. It's a bunch of research on Module 8 - we have in class time to do it, but I don't think I'll be able to finish it unless I also work on it at home.
MATHS
I have an advanced maths project due on Wednesday, it's using Google Trends, modelling + analysing data with trig functions... It's not a hard assignment, just extremely time-consuming and the way they wrote it is difficult to interpret. But I'm making good progress with it, so it'll get there.
Our extension test is in week 5 - which I'm super scared for! With all these other assignments, I don't see how I'm gonna have enough time to devote to maths :'( Also, I feel like I should spend WAY more time studying for maths tests than for other subjects, because the tests are always so much harder than the homework/class content. And maths only gets easier with heaps of practice...
CHEM
Super happy with chem atm tho! We got our tests back, which we did in week 1 this term (it was on Mod 5 and 6). I got full marks!! Ngl, I have no idea how I actually managed this, I only started really studying about a week before the test, because I was focused with uni stuff in the holidays... The test did feel pretty easy though. :) rn I'm definitely finding Mod 7 more challenging than Mod 5/6...
We've got a depth study on Mod 7, the first part of it is due on Tuesday arvo. I'm making progress - but there's so much content + new things I'm learning for such a small part of the syllabus! The teachers want us to research outside the syllabus as well, but it's really difficult to discern how much they want us to learn. I think I'm making the depth study too complicated and learning a tad too in depth ahh. Everytime something new comes up, I get super curious and start learning about it haha, which is probably why this is taking me wayy longer than its supposed to. Better to research more than not enough though...??
So that's school rn - swimming in assignments lol. But super grateful that we have physical schooling back ;D
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Quote of the post:
"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them."
-Ann Landers
PS To anyone in year 12 reading this--> there's less than 180 days until HSC is over!! You got this 8)
Post by: alice343 on May 18, 2020, 05:30:18 pm
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 24, 2020, 09:47:05 pm
24/5/20 Term 2, Week 4
Ok so I'm just gonna do a super quick update because it's late and I'm tired ahha
Last week was absolutely HECTIC. I had 3 assignments due:
- Chem depth study (part 1): I handed this on just on time, but its also a non-accessible part so that's fine
- Maths ADV assignment: I stayed up until 2am finishing this!! I was happy with it in the end though... but honestly if you stay up that late you'd be happy with anything lol
- English Mod C task: I handed this in on Friday - it was SUPER last minute! I started on Wednesday night, worked on it basically all of Thursday, then finished at 12am woop. Idrk how to feel about this task, I wrote a discursive and a reflection - hopefully the teacher likes it...
This week I have my maths EXT test on Thursday, which I'm going ok for. I've got a good set of notes, and will start practicing Qs tomorrow. I feel like I know the content pretty well, (or at least I will know it after tomorrow) but there's always a curveball Q in our maths tests which throws me off :'( .
I also have a chem depth study and phys depth study going on, they're both huge tasks. Basically a bunch of research, answering questions. Chem also has a group task and presentation. Should be right. Just don't wanna be staying up the night before; 3 times last week was enough haha
Last week was honestly so bad though, just because I forgot to prioritise sleep, exercise and my mental health ahhh. Had a good reset over the weekend, but I'm really nervous for this maths test... Hopefully I'll be confident once I do a heap of practice...
Anyways sorry for my rambly, messy post. I was actually planning to post last Friday but then it never happened.
Goodnight and good luck with your studies/uni/etc. !! :)
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 26, 2020, 05:22:49 pm
So I've got my ext maths test on Thursday currently prepping for that...
We've also just started Mod B (TS Eliot) in english, and I'm actually excited! (excited for english?! :o ;) Ik, crazy)
Not much else going on, but its slowly sinking in just how close we are till HSC - and until yr 12's over.
Here are just some thoughts I've had.
Spoiler
It's already week 5 - trials is next term week 3, and after that is the HSC. It's actually so scary to think that what we've been working towards is so close. I'm not solely talking about the exams/ATAR side, but also the fact that highschool is almost over!
So much pressure is put on to this year, everyone says its gonna be the best year of your life, the most important year, and so on. But I don't just want to finish year 12 with a good ATAR; I want to improve personally and finish high school as a better person. Things like exercise, work ethic, communication skills, learning to deal with stress are all just as important as HSC, or at least I feel they should be.
Because if you finish with a good mark, then what? That will help you get to uni but what are you gonna do once you're there?
I guess these skills, in a sense, are in preparation for the world after school.
Also, I've noticed when I do shift my focus to things like mindfulness and exercise, then studying becomes so much easier because there's less stress and less pressure.
It's all perspective - it's easy to see HSC as the most important thing this year, and yes it is important, but I don't think it should be the absolute priority. It's not the be all end all, and finishing HSC having grown as a person is going to be so much more worthwhile than a good ATAR.
I think it's important to aim for both. So I'm definitely going to be focusing on that more and (trying) to keep perspective.
Also I'm honestly so so excited to go to uni, (I'm hoping to get into ADFA), especially the new challenges and opportunities it will bring! This also really helps with the perspective thing - once I get to uni, I know the HSC won't really matter, but the person you become once you finish will!
Just my meanderings :)
Let me know what yous think!
So much pressure is put on to this year, everyone says its gonna be the best year of your life, the most important year, and so on. But I don't just want to finish year 12 with a good ATAR; I want to improve personally and finish high school as a better person. Things like exercise, work ethic, communication skills, learning to deal with stress are all just as important as HSC, or at least I feel they should be.
Because if you finish with a good mark, then what? That will help you get to uni but what are you gonna do once you're there?
I guess these skills, in a sense, are in preparation for the world after school.
Also, I've noticed when I do shift my focus to things like mindfulness and exercise, then studying becomes so much easier because there's less stress and less pressure.
It's all perspective - it's easy to see HSC as the most important thing this year, and yes it is important, but I don't think it should be the absolute priority. It's not the be all end all, and finishing HSC having grown as a person is going to be so much more worthwhile than a good ATAR.
I think it's important to aim for both. So I'm definitely going to be focusing on that more and (trying) to keep perspective.
Also I'm honestly so so excited to go to uni, (I'm hoping to get into ADFA), especially the new challenges and opportunities it will bring! This also really helps with the perspective thing - once I get to uni, I know the HSC won't really matter, but the person you become once you finish will!
Just my meanderings :)
Let me know what yous think!
and here's a reminder:
"Life is simple. We just have to change our perspective."
Post by: Justin_L on May 26, 2020, 09:26:15 pm
I find this post hella relatable, it's almost unthinkable that in a few months time, we'll all walk out of high school for the last time and into a whole new lifestyle. (Especially if you're moving interstate)
I think your attitude towards the HSC is amazing, this is what school really should be about - becoming a better person, not simply getting a big number at the end of the year. If everyone had that mindset, we wouldn't have cheating and a whole lot of other toxic behavior. I think that the HSC really doesn't encourage this enough and is kinda badly designed for cooperation with rankings and scaling, but that's another thing. It is important to keep things in perspective though, a bad ATAR won't stop you by any means, but it also makes life a whole lot easier.
I have some friends who want to get into ADFA, and from what I've heard, it sounds perfect for you since they combine military training and academics to produce really well rounded officers. But wherever you go, I don't doubt that you'll be fine with that mindset.
Looking forward to hearing more from this journal, it has a lot of potential!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on May 28, 2020, 02:52:47 pm
Hey Viktoriak,Yeah crazyyy!
I find this post hella relatable, it's almost unthinkable that in a few months time, we'll all walk out of high school for the last time and into a whole new lifestyle. (Especially if you're moving interstate)
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I think your attitude towards the HSC is amazing, this is what school really should be about - becoming a better person, not simply getting a big number at the end of the year. If everyone had that mindset, we wouldn't have cheating and a whole lot of other toxic behavior. I think that the HSC really doesn't encourage this enough and is kinda badly designed for cooperation with rankings and scaling, but that's another thing. It is important to keep things in perspective though, a bad ATAR won't stop you by any means, but it also makes life a whole lot easier.
Thank you! I totally agree - there is a huge focus on ranks and competing when we should really be helping each other learn. I guess that's a fault of the whole education system though, not much we can do about it...
And yeah, saying all that I did, it is still important to work hard + stay focused - like you said, a good ATAR will make things easier, and potentially save a lot of time with getting into the uni course you want.
Thank you again for sharing your view and your kind words :))
Best of luck with your HSC journey!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on June 03, 2020, 08:48:31 pm
3/6/20 - Term 2, Week 6
So I haven't updated this for about a week I think. And so much has happened, I'm sorry if this ends up being a mini narrative :-\
I'll chuck my non school stuff in this box:
Spoiler
So this week I finished my physics depth study! Only chem to go now woop.
I'm currently in the middle of my ADFA application (started it in Feb). I have mild asthma, and they had to test me for it because it's a requirement of Defence. Note that I've never had a problem w asthma - never had an asthma attack in my life, never really needed to use my puffer, except in Winter when it's cold or I'm sick.
I did a spirometry for it a while ago (you basically blow into a tube and they measure your lung capacity), and I passed. I also had to do a BPT yesterday which is a (really uncomfortable) asthma test. Basically, they make you inhale increasingly higher dosages of a drug called Mannitol which mimics asthma symptoms. Then you do a bunch of spirometries to see how reactive your airways are. Ngl, it was pretty hard to breathe after like the 3rd/4th dose, and I got wheezy. Also this was the WORST I've ever experienced my asthma, but then again that's what the drug's meant to do I suppose.
The nurse said I have moderate asthma. I got pretty freaked after that because she was all like, "idk if this is the end of the road for you, or if defence has changed their policies...". I would be gutted if after all this I can't get into ADFA because of my lungs. Which don't even affect me much. Anyway, nothing I can do about it, will just have to wait for defence to get back to me. Likely, they will put me on a puffer for 3 months, then I have to do the test again. Fingers crossed...
Yeah so I was pretty upset about that but it also kinda woke me up - I really really need to shift my focus to exercise. Especially if I'm planning to go to the military. I'm gonna start being more strict w my routine - especially with running + swimming (I haven't gone swimming in soooo long, but it would be fun to start again :D) because that's supposed to help with asthma! Yeah, basically I don't have much control over my asthma (and no control over what the adf decides), but I'm gonna try my best in what I can control. Obviously continuing to work hard at school as well ;D Not giving up! Sorry for the rant btw, had to get that out...
I'm currently in the middle of my ADFA application (started it in Feb). I have mild asthma, and they had to test me for it because it's a requirement of Defence. Note that I've never had a problem w asthma - never had an asthma attack in my life, never really needed to use my puffer, except in Winter when it's cold or I'm sick.
I did a spirometry for it a while ago (you basically blow into a tube and they measure your lung capacity), and I passed. I also had to do a BPT yesterday which is a (really uncomfortable) asthma test. Basically, they make you inhale increasingly higher dosages of a drug called Mannitol which mimics asthma symptoms. Then you do a bunch of spirometries to see how reactive your airways are. Ngl, it was pretty hard to breathe after like the 3rd/4th dose, and I got wheezy. Also this was the WORST I've ever experienced my asthma, but then again that's what the drug's meant to do I suppose.
The nurse said I have moderate asthma. I got pretty freaked after that because she was all like, "idk if this is the end of the road for you, or if defence has changed their policies...". I would be gutted if after all this I can't get into ADFA because of my lungs. Which don't even affect me much. Anyway, nothing I can do about it, will just have to wait for defence to get back to me. Likely, they will put me on a puffer for 3 months, then I have to do the test again. Fingers crossed...
Yeah so I was pretty upset about that but it also kinda woke me up - I really really need to shift my focus to exercise. Especially if I'm planning to go to the military. I'm gonna start being more strict w my routine - especially with running + swimming (I haven't gone swimming in soooo long, but it would be fun to start again :D) because that's supposed to help with asthma! Yeah, basically I don't have much control over my asthma (and no control over what the adf decides), but I'm gonna try my best in what I can control. Obviously continuing to work hard at school as well ;D Not giving up! Sorry for the rant btw, had to get that out...
And here's the specific subjects:
Maths
I had my maths ext test last week, it was actually pretty good! I definitely could have done more practice, but content-wise it was fine, I just ran out of time towards the end and couldn't finish the projectile motion question. Which is kinda annoying because I knew how to do it haha. Overall pretty happy tho. Now we're just learning the content for trials!
Physics
Physics... I finished my depth study on Monday, worked on it all weekend, stayed up till 2 am on Sunday, and still handed it in 3 minutes before it was due on Monday morning :o. I think I did ok, but it the instructions + marking criteria were vague, so it depends how the teachers decide to mark it. Now we're doing mod 7, and I'm basically teaching myself again aha. My teacher isn't good at teaching the topic initially, I usually have to teach myself. But once you have a basic understanding, she's really good at answering questions + giving detailed responses.
Chemistry
Currently doing a depth study, it's a group task. My group is good, everyone knows what their doing so we'll get through it. We have to research a heap of stuff then make a presentation which gets a group mark. We each present one slide + our own individual research, and get an individual mark based on communication skills. Hopefully we'll do good - that's the thing I don't like about assignments, you never fully know what the teacher's want. With tests it's easy if you prepare well because it's all content + everything is in the syllabus. It's a lot less vague (unless it's english ahah)
English
We're basically just continuing with T.S. Eliot, not anything too interesting but I'm actually enjoying the poems! :)
Aaand that's all I have for today! Thank you to anyone who got through my post ;D
Quote of the post! "One of the happiest moments in life is when you find the courage to let go of what you can't change."
Post by: kauac on June 05, 2020, 08:43:46 pm
Definitely get your frustration about the asthma testing for the ADF! I applied for their gap year program a few years ago and had similar concerns with childhood asthma and other little picky things. From memory, I think asthma was only an issue if you were applying for a "flying" position (e.g. pilot, flight attendant), so if that's not you, hopefully it will turn out just fine! :)
Post by: Viktoriak_ on June 08, 2020, 07:16:13 pm
Sounds like you've had a busy few weeks! It must feel good to keep ticking off assignments and exams - each one you complete is one step closer to being finished all together!Yep, it's definitely very rewarding to be getting through assessments, actually just handed in my chem depth study too ;D
Quote
Definitely get your frustration about the asthma testing for the ADF! I applied for their gap year program a few years ago and had similar concerns with childhood asthma and other little picky things. From memory, I think asthma was only an issue if you were applying for a "flying" position (e.g. pilot, flight attendant), so if that's not you, hopefully it will turn out just fine! :)
That's so cool you did the gap year program! I'm curious, what did you go for, and how did you find it?
I'm applying for civil engineering (so not a flying position), hopefully they aren't too strict about the asthma...
Post by: kauac on June 08, 2020, 08:04:16 pm
That's so cool you did the gap year program! I'm curious, what did you go for, and how did you find it?
I'm applying for civil engineering (so not a flying position), hopefully they aren't too strict about the asthma...
Hi!
I didn't end up doing the program, because I really wanted to get a flight crew attendant position, but was ruled out for that because of the childhood asthma thing. I thought about continuing as an aircraft technician, but decided that it wasn't really for me.
Civil engineering is cool though! It would be quite cool to be paid to study, and have a guaranteed job at the end!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on June 11, 2020, 08:34:50 pm
Hi!Ahh ok, that's a shame... everything happens for a reason tho hey
I didn't end up doing the program, because I really wanted to get a flight crew attendant position, but was ruled out for that because of the childhood asthma thing. I thought about continuing as an aircraft technician, but decided that it wasn't really for me.
Civil engineering is cool though! It would be quite cool to be paid to study, and have a guaranteed job at the end!
Yeah I'm pretty keen for civil engineering! I actually applied for both airforce and army, but I might not be able to do army anymore. I'm still waiting to hear about the asthma; if they put me on a 3 months trial then that will end around September, but I still have to do the OSB.
The last OSB's for the 2021 intake are in the October holidays. For army, I have to wait until the asthma gets cleared (because there's a physical component in the OSB), meaning it would most likely be too late to apply for 2021 (I would miss the OSB). For airforce, you don't have to wait for the medical. I have airforce as my second preference, but I decided I'm going to try get booked into an airforce OSB as soon as possible, hopefully I can get an offer for airforce 2021. I don't really have a solid back up plan yet (other than applying for USYD/UNSW), because I'm really set on ADFA.
I know I should prepare for the chance I don't get in... Anyway it's important not to give up.
Post by: Viktoriak_ on June 11, 2020, 09:29:01 pm
11/6/20 - Term 2, Week 7
Hey guys, finally got around to updating this journal yay!!
School is alright at the moment - I handed in my chem depth study on Monday, I was pretty happy with it, so we'll see how it goes.
And that's all my term 2 assessments done, now for trials!
To be honest, I'm not super worried about trials (for the moment anyway, this will probably change...), but I've been thinking a lot about my ADFA application. This might be a bit long so I'll chuck it in a box:
Spoiler
So I still haven't heard back about the asthma thing - I called recruiting today, and the nurse said they received the report from the asthma test, so I just have to wait for the doctor's to make a decision... yikes. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but guessing by other people's experiences, they'll put me on a 3 month trial of meds then ask me to redo the test. I didn't really have a problem with this, but last night it occurred to me that 3 months is a LONG time.
Long story short, I still have to do an OSB (a round of interviews in Canberra - these are only held in the school holidays for ADFA so they don't affect your HSC. The last ones for the 2021 intake are in the October holidays, but you have to do a separate one for each service.) I've applied for civil engineering in both the army and the airforce. I had army as my first preference. The army OSB requires the medical things to be cleared - meaning I need to wait until my asthma is cleared. After 3 months, I would miss the last OSB opportunity and it would be too late. However, the air force OSB doesn't require you to have medical cleared prior to sitting it.
Long story short, I'm hoping to get an air force OSB booked asap, so I can secure a spot for ADFA next year. Most likely, I would have to do this OSB during the October holidays (right before HSC ahhhh!!!!). That's ok though.
I guess I'm just worried that what if after all this hard work, time and energy I've put in (and will continue to put in) to my application, what if I don't get accepted. What if they fail my asthma or I don't pass my interviews... I doubt I would fall short of the ATAR (it's only 85), but that's also a possibility.
ahhhh :'(
SO yeah, idk. I know it's out of my control, and all I can do is try hard at school, keep my fitness up, keep contacting DFR and trying to push my application. I'm also scared of what if I go to USYD or another civilian uni, then regret not going to ADFA. Or what if I go to ADFA thru airforce, then regret not going through army?? I've been thinking soooo much about all this. Bottom line is, I can't regret missing out on something which I tried my best to achieve. If I don't get into ADFA knowing that I couldn't have done anything different, then so be it. Aaand this is so much easier said than done! I KNOW I would be devastated if I don't get in, but for now, I will keep my options open and keep trying really really hard and doing everything I can to increase my chances of getting in.
This goes out to anyone else also applying for uni, especially if you have a fixed goal in mind - it's so easy to get set on that one goal (I know I certainly am...), and let it consume your mind. Literally I don't even want to consider other options (I know I will have to, better to plan and be prepared) because it means I have to consider the unwanted possibility of me not getting in to where I want to go. And that's painful, who wants to look at the negative! We just gotta be smart and plan for the worst...
So even though this application process is stressful and uncertain and scary, I'm gonna keep pushing through. Don't give up guys! Feels good to write + reflect on all this :) Just gotta keep pushing on.
Long story short, I still have to do an OSB (a round of interviews in Canberra - these are only held in the school holidays for ADFA so they don't affect your HSC. The last ones for the 2021 intake are in the October holidays, but you have to do a separate one for each service.) I've applied for civil engineering in both the army and the airforce. I had army as my first preference. The army OSB requires the medical things to be cleared - meaning I need to wait until my asthma is cleared. After 3 months, I would miss the last OSB opportunity and it would be too late. However, the air force OSB doesn't require you to have medical cleared prior to sitting it.
Long story short, I'm hoping to get an air force OSB booked asap, so I can secure a spot for ADFA next year. Most likely, I would have to do this OSB during the October holidays (right before HSC ahhhh!!!!). That's ok though.
I guess I'm just worried that what if after all this hard work, time and energy I've put in (and will continue to put in) to my application, what if I don't get accepted. What if they fail my asthma or I don't pass my interviews... I doubt I would fall short of the ATAR (it's only 85), but that's also a possibility.
ahhhh :'(
SO yeah, idk. I know it's out of my control, and all I can do is try hard at school, keep my fitness up, keep contacting DFR and trying to push my application. I'm also scared of what if I go to USYD or another civilian uni, then regret not going to ADFA. Or what if I go to ADFA thru airforce, then regret not going through army?? I've been thinking soooo much about all this. Bottom line is, I can't regret missing out on something which I tried my best to achieve. If I don't get into ADFA knowing that I couldn't have done anything different, then so be it. Aaand this is so much easier said than done! I KNOW I would be devastated if I don't get in, but for now, I will keep my options open and keep trying really really hard and doing everything I can to increase my chances of getting in.
This goes out to anyone else also applying for uni, especially if you have a fixed goal in mind - it's so easy to get set on that one goal (I know I certainly am...), and let it consume your mind. Literally I don't even want to consider other options (I know I will have to, better to plan and be prepared) because it means I have to consider the unwanted possibility of me not getting in to where I want to go. And that's painful, who wants to look at the negative! We just gotta be smart and plan for the worst...
So even though this application process is stressful and uncertain and scary, I'm gonna keep pushing through. Don't give up guys! Feels good to write + reflect on all this :) Just gotta keep pushing on.
And for the rest of my subjects! We also got our rankings so Imma include those.
English
Rank - 9th (how did this happen!! :o)
Still continuing with T.S. Eliot. The poems are pretty good, I'm enjoying them. I will need to read more perspectives though, I feel my understanding is still too basic and superficial - definitely not enough for an the in-depth analysis required in essays. I haven't been putting enough time into english, that's for sure. I know I need to do my homework, but my teacher doesn't give great feedback, and often I end up working on chemistry or physics. I think tomorrow and over the weekend I'm gonna put more time into english - this rank is definitely motivating me (at no point in my life did I expect to be coming 9th in english lol, I know it's not 1st but considering I'm more a science/maths student...). Not keen for the back-to-back paper 1 and paper 2 tho :-\
Maths
Advanced - 14th. Extension - 17th.
In advanced, we've just started statistics. Got heaps to learn. In extension, we've just finished differential equations and will be moving on to extension statistics once the advanced stuff is covered. I know I have to work really hard for both extension and advanced to pull my ranks up - trials are gonna be really important!!
Chem
Rank - 4th (my last test really pulled it up!)
Really enjoying chem at the moment! We're continuing with Mod 7, definitely still heaps of stuff to get through (no way we will finish the syllabus before trials...). I'm hoping to come 1st eventually in chem. My depth study task wasn't actually included in the ranks, so hopefully that pulled it up a bit. Of course, I've got trials to pull the rank up even more.
Physics
Rank - 4th
Physics is also really cool atm because we're learning similar stuff to chem! The chem depth study was about the spectroscopy stuff in Mod 8. The physics mod 7 has a lot of similar concepts, so it's really cool to be able to learn the same thing from two perspectives. Considering I want to be an engineer, I think I should really focus on physics. Hopefully my physics depth study will pull my rank up, but I wasn't super confident with what I handed in, so we'll see I guess. The trial is a good opportunity to boost my rank tho. I don't mind if its physics or chemistry but I want to rank 1st in at least one of them after trials are over ;D
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So yeah that's what's going on atm... I feel this is really relevant:
"Failure is not the opposite of success, it's part of success." - Arianna Huffington.
It's really important to learn from your mistakes and use them to motivate you - keep trying again and don't give up :)
Best of luck to anyone reading this!
Post by: alice343 on June 12, 2020, 10:20:26 am
Post by: Viktoriak_ on June 12, 2020, 03:31:36 pm
Post by: Viktoriak_ on June 22, 2020, 08:07:26 pm
This is gonna be a super quick update...
School has been REALLY busy atm (as expected).
We're really behind in our chem syllabus, so my teacher has been moving at a lightning pace - extra morning classes/lunch classes, we did esterification in TWO lessons ahh. So I've been frantically trying to catch up on chemistry homework haha
We're getting our maths extension test back tomorrow - i get the impression (from the teachers) that it was really poorly done. Expecting a low mark - especially since I didn't finish the test :-\
Haven't been doing nearly as much english as i should. I think last week i only did 1 hour of english outside of school. Ah well. I guess this is why prioritising is important lol
Physics, like chem, (although not to the same extent), is going really fast. We're still doing mod 7. I've been writing notes for trials though, almost finished my mod 6 notes so that's pretty good!
So yeah - trials are coming up and there's heaps of study to do yikes!
I also managed to get my air force OSB (interviews) booked for ADFA . It's via skype which should be interesting. It's in the first week of the holidays, which is really soon (and there's so much content to know and prepare for!!), but I'm glad it's at the start of the holidays because then after I can focus fully on trials ;D
The thing with OSB is they put you on a 'national order of merit' meaning they rank you against everyone else who does an OSB (kinda like ATAR haha), and you don't find out if you got in or not until all the OSB's are over, which is in October. But then again, the ATAR comes in December, so I won't really find out if I got offered a position until then... Just gotta try my best and hope it works out woop
Good luck to anyone reading this - have a good Monday night and rest of the week!!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on July 05, 2020, 07:58:37 am
Holidays - 5/7/20
Haven't updated in over 2 WEEKS. My apologies... But it's finally the holidays!
About my ADFA application:
Spoiler
I've started the 3 month asthma trial (I'm taking a puffer), then after I'll go on a BPT to test if it's well controlled. so that should be fun :-X. Also have my RAAF OSB on Tuesday (interview), which is kinda scary ngl - but doing heaps of prep atm ;D. I will update on how it goes.
School. TRIALS are coming up :o
I'm not super nervous, but I won't be starting any real study until after my interview for ADFA, so after Tuesday... For some reason, I actually perform better when I have a shorter amount of time to study. I jump straight to the more efficient study techniques i.e. summarising, practicing, and really understanding everything. And somehow it sticks in my head better! So hopefully I can pull that off this time haha
We got some assessment marks back so this is how each of my subjects are going:
English
Current rank: 5th
Haven't done any trial prep yet. I know this is highly discouraged - but how many of you memorise your essays? I was thinking of memorising my essays for the modules (my school is only testing us on Mod A and B in the trials :)) ), and then practicing 'tweaking' them to multiple exam questions... I don't trust myself to produce a quality, unmemorised essay to an unseen question :P
Maths
Current ADV rank: 14th EXT: 17th
Ahhh maths. My most neglected subject... I just don't practice enough. I used to enjoy maths heaps (all through primary school, up to year 10), but now I enjoy sciences much more. Maybe it's just because I'm not doing as well. I know the content, but can never finish a paper... Will be doing heaps of timed practice
Physics
Current rank: 1st
Really motivated to study physics now and keep my rank ;D
The teachers said the trial may also have year 11 content in it, so gonna have to revise that too... We're being tested on Mod 5, 6, 7 (first 3 inquiry questions), and 1st inquiry question of mod 8.
I have to teach myself the last bit of mod 7, which should be fine. We haven't learned Mod 8 yet (I taught myself the 1st inquiry question when we did our depth study), I think the teachers are planning to teach it during the first week when we go back to school - right before trials. Talk about last minute :-\
Chemistry
Current rank: 4th
So I thought I would do better in chemistry ranking wise. But we haven't gotten our depth study marks back yet, so we'll see how that affects it. I actually enjoy physics more, just because there's less content. **This is probably a good thing considering I want to do engineering haha. Gotta do heaps of chemistry work though, I'm behind in the content. Anyone else feel like mod 7 just draaags on? It's so so much content and so much memorising. Got 2 weeks to get it sorted...
So overall I'm pretty keen - I keep telling myself "after my ADFA interview, I will be calm", or "after trials, HSC will be a breeze". Truth is, yes it'll be great having accomplished those things, but there's always gonna be something to stress about. Mental health first!! Out of curiosity - how do you all stay calm and cope with stress?
Also mention that last week was my little sister's birthday (she's 2 :o), and today's her party! For some reason, I procrastinate less when I study while people are over. ;D
Sending good vibes and good luck to you all
--> also congrats to anyone who finished reading this, here's a gold star 🌟
Post by: alice343 on July 05, 2020, 11:19:10 am
Post by: Viktoriak_ on July 05, 2020, 02:13:56 pm
Good luck for your interview! I'm sure you'll do great. You seem to be on top of the school game, I wish you the best for Trials! Happy belated birthday to your sister :)
Thank you so much, good luck with your trials too!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on July 15, 2020, 09:05:29 pm
15/7/20 HOLIDAY UPDATE: TRIAL PREP
More than halfway through the holidays! ANd I still haven't done a single practice paper aha.
Update on ADFA application:
Spoiler
I did my interview, and I got recommended!!! So I'm pretty happy with that, but also - that doesn't guarantee a spot at uni :( I have to wait for a letter of offer from ADFA, which could come anytime within the next 2 weeks, up to the DAY BEFORE uni starts. Yikes. I was super stressed about the letter of offer for a few days after my interview - the waiting game is killing me haha. But I guess I'm at peace with it now, there's literally nothing I can do but wait, and hope I'll get a letter of offer...preferably soon ;)
Other than that, gotta keep at my fitness for the fitness test which will happen some time in the future. And ofc keep my grades up...
Other than that, gotta keep at my fitness for the fitness test which will happen some time in the future. And ofc keep my grades up...
But to be honest, it's been an entire year since our last real exam block (prelims....) and I kinda forgot what it's all like. I don't usually make a study timetable unless it's for these big end of year exam blocks, and I didn't even think of making one for TRIALS! Until today...
So now I have a detailed, colour-coded schedule and even though I haven't started the real study yet, that makes me feel better ;D
I am kinda worried about getting through all the content, but I'll just try my best and hopefully it'll be alright!
Keeping this update short and sweet :)
Good luck to anyone else currently prepping for exams!!
Post by: Justin_L on July 15, 2020, 09:28:09 pm
Post by: alice343 on July 15, 2020, 10:42:50 pm
Post by: Viktoriak_ on July 16, 2020, 09:44:02 pm
Sounds like you'll just have to knuckle down for trials, but a lot of people are in the same boat (including me lmao).
I'm just still shocked that Trials is so soon and trying to avoid it (not good).
Haha we all gotta start the study grind :P
Post by: Viktoriak_ on July 28, 2020, 03:58:10 pm
28/7/20 - Term 3, Week 3 (TRIALS!!) update
Hey everyone! Apologies for not updating this for over 2 weeks...
Today was officially our last day of school - from tomorrow, it's study leave for 3 weeks! I'm so excited. For study leave, that is - not for trials :P I know it'll be heaps of studying, but honestly it's so nice to be able to organise my time + study at my own pace during the exam season - not having to worry about homework, assignments etc.
These are my trials dates:
Spoiler
Thursday, Friday (30th, 31st July) --> English Paper 1 and 2
Monday 3rd August --> Physics
Tuesday 4th August --> Maths advanced
Monday 10th August --> Maths extension
Thursday 13th August --> Chemistry
Monday 3rd August --> Physics
Tuesday 4th August --> Maths advanced
Monday 10th August --> Maths extension
Thursday 13th August --> Chemistry
I'm pretty happy with my timetable, especially the huge break between maths advanced and ext/chem (gonna be cramming then!! :o)
English
I've been spending a lot of my time on english lately - too much tbh. This morning I finished my Common mod (1984) quotes table, so now just gotta memorise that and do some practice essays. For Mod A (King Richard 3 + Looking For Richard) I'm using my essay from earlier in the term because I did well + it's relatively easy to adapt to any question I could get. ...and I want to minimise the amount of work I have to do! Mod B (T.S.Eliot) is alright. I've written a practice essay for it, but am yet to compile my quotes + ideas. I'll do that today. Honestly my only goal for english is to FINISH the paper with some decent essays - then I can focus 110% on physics and maths advanced...
Physics
I really really really want to maintain my 1st rank!! That in itself is really motivating me to study physics - I've revised all the theory and done a past paper, still not feeling particularly confident with it all though. I printed out 5ish trial papers today to do during this week so hopefully after that I'll know everything back to front! I don't want to put too much pressure on myself though/let myself down - so I'm just going to try my best, and whatever happens, happens. :)
Maths
Maths is ehhh. I don't think advanced will be that hard - if I get above 80 for both tests that would be great. I'm just going to keep doing practice papers for maths advanced, and that should be enough practice.
The extension content is much harder and I haven't really revised any of it yet. I do have a FIVE DAY break after maths advanced though in which I can cram extension and chemistry. No worries ;D I do enjoy the extension content more just cos its more interesting/challenging. I suppose I'm not as worried about maths because my ranks aren't as high as they are for my other subjects, chances are if I try my best I'll move up (hopefully...). My maths teacher has been really great though, we've been doing revision in class and he's given us heaps of resources. He also said he doesn't mind what score we get as long as we try our best, which is really awesome and helps w the stress :)
Chem
We started doing a past trial paper in chemistry today. Aaand I completely fluked it. I was moving really slowly through the multiple choice, some stuff I genuinely had no idea. I did get a back titration question right though (without revision!) which is nice. Chemistry is the same as maths extension tho - I have a huge gap to study. I've already revised most of the content (i.e. made notes), so if I do some practice here and there this week, then cram next week, I'll be fine.
All in all, I'm trying to stay positive and not stress too much. I feel like so much weight is put on trials - it's only 30% or less. Gonna try my best and hope for the best!
Thank you to anyone who's read this, and if you're also currently doing trials, best of luck!
---
EDIT. Forgot to mention this, but I quit my study schedule pretty much 2 days in. I simply could not keep up with it! I guess it works for some people, and if it does for you, keep at it! But idk because I like structure, but keeping a schedule was too much pressure and not enough flexibility...
Post by: Fluffysama_ on August 02, 2020, 08:39:09 pm
28/7/20 - Term 3, Week 3 (TRIALS!!) update
Hey everyone! Apologies for not updating this for over 2 weeks...
Today was officially our last day of school - from tomorrow, it's study leave for 3 weeks! I'm so excited. For study leave, that is - not for trials :P I know it'll be heaps of studying, but honestly it's so nice to be able to organise my time + study at my own pace during the exam season - not having to worry about homework, assignments etc.
These are my trials dates:SpoilerThursday, Friday (30th, 31st July) --> English Paper 1 and 2
Monday 3rd August --> Physics
Tuesday 4th August --> Maths advanced
Monday 10th August --> Maths extension
Thursday 13th August --> Chemistry
I'm pretty happy with my timetable, especially the huge break between maths advanced and ext/chem (gonna be cramming then!! :o)
English
I've been spending a lot of my time on english lately - too much tbh. This morning I finished my Common mod (1984) quotes table, so now just gotta memorise that and do some practice essays. For Mod A (King Richard 3 + Looking For Richard) I'm using my essay from earlier in the term because I did well + it's relatively easy to adapt to any question I could get. ...and I want to minimise the amount of work I have to do! Mod B (T.S.Eliot) is alright. I've written a practice essay for it, but am yet to compile my quotes + ideas. I'll do that today. Honestly my only goal for english is to FINISH the paper with some decent essays - then I can focus 110% on physics and maths advanced...
Physics
I really really really want to maintain my 1st rank!! That in itself is really motivating me to study physics - I've revised all the theory and done a past paper, still not feeling particularly confident with it all though. I printed out 5ish trial papers today to do during this week so hopefully after that I'll know everything back to front! I don't want to put too much pressure on myself though/let myself down - so I'm just going to try my best, and whatever happens, happens. :)
Maths
Maths is ehhh. I don't think advanced will be that hard - if I get above 80 for both tests that would be great. I'm just going to keep doing practice papers for maths advanced, and that should be enough practice.
The extension content is much harder and I haven't really revised any of it yet. I do have a FIVE DAY break after maths advanced though in which I can cram extension and chemistry. No worries ;D I do enjoy the extension content more just cos its more interesting/challenging. I suppose I'm not as worried about maths because my ranks aren't as high as they are for my other subjects, chances are if I try my best I'll move up (hopefully...). My maths teacher has been really great though, we've been doing revision in class and he's given us heaps of resources. He also said he doesn't mind what score we get as long as we try our best, which is really awesome and helps w the stress :)
Chem
We started doing a past trial paper in chemistry today. Aaand I completely fluked it. I was moving really slowly through the multiple choice, some stuff I genuinely had no idea. I did get a back titration question right though (without revision!) which is nice. Chemistry is the same as maths extension tho - I have a huge gap to study. I've already revised most of the content (i.e. made notes), so if I do some practice here and there this week, then cram next week, I'll be fine.
All in all, I'm trying to stay positive and not stress too much. I feel like so much weight is put on trials - it's only 30% or less. Gonna try my best and hope for the best!
Thank you to anyone who's read this, and if you're also currently doing trials, best of luck!
---
EDIT. Forgot to mention this, but I quit my study schedule pretty much 2 days in. I simply could not keep up with it! I guess it works for some people, and if it does for you, keep at it! But idk because I like structure, but keeping a schedule was too much pressure and not enough flexibility...
gurllll you sound like you're killing it!! hears to hoping you keep rank 1 and get good for all the other subjects!! I am geniunely so stoked to hear you're doing past paperS, like everything for school, i Just avoid, I'm really feeling so so inspired by you!! see you later and keep us updated!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on August 04, 2020, 02:06:05 pm
gurllll you sound like you're killing it!! hears to hoping you keep rank 1 and get good for all the other subjects!! I am geniunely so stoked to hear you're doing past paperS, like everything for school, i Just avoid, I'm really feeling so so inspired by you!! see you later and keep us updated!
ahh thank you so much, this message honestly made my day :))
Good luck with all your trials!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on August 04, 2020, 05:27:26 pm
Just gonna keep this short, but here's how my trials are going...
I had english paper 1 and 2 last thursday/friday.
It was pretty bad to say the least :-\
I studied all Wednesday for paper 1, and was completely drained - english is exhausting!!
Anyway the actual test question was ok - I finished my essay, but left a 5 mark short answer to the last 3 minutes. Wrote something super quickly so probably lost 4 marks there. Ah well.
Paper 2 was pretty much the same - I memorised a King Richard essay, and adapted it to the question which was good. The mod B question was SO OUT THERE it took me legit 7 minutes to understand what it was asking.
I think it was something like "The self as conscious of other possible and impossible selves... Discuss this statement in relation to your prescribed text." Like what....
Yeah so I wrote some stuff (remembered my quotes, which was good...memorised them the night before. Do not recommend), but I only got up to the middle of my second paragraph. Rip.
Then I had physics yesterday - which was honestly alright. There were a lot of dodgy questions. Even if I studied more I don't think I could have answered them, it was applied knowledge. A tad trippy. We had heaps of time to do the questions though, which is good. I tried my best, but honestly have no clue how to feel about it - I could get as low as 60 or as high as 90 ahah.
Maths advanced was pretty damn good today considering I only did 2 past papers (again, do not recommend cramming :-[). We had heaps of time, and most of the questions were straightforward. I think I got around 80%, just cos some of the probability was confusing... Also there was 2 other questions I couldn't solve all the way.
Now I have FIVE DAYS off! ayyeee! Got maths extension on Monday, then Chemistry on Thursday. I'm going to start studying TODAY though, because I know if I relax, I'll take ages to get back into it. Also I haven't done any study for chem or maths ext - and I know there's heaps I don't know...soo better get moving!
Other than trials, life is pretty good! Haven't heard back from ADF yet, but hopefully will soon. It's actually been nice being off school for a bit, I've been out with ma friends a few times which is nice :)
Corona does seem to be coming back though, I know a lot of schools have had their grad and formals cancelled, really hope the situation doesn't get worse!!
Thanks for reading everyone :))
---
EDIT: Looking back, this didn't end up being that short... sorry guys
Post by: alice343 on August 05, 2020, 06:01:26 pm
trials update
hooray and congrats for getting those 4 exams done!! my teacher always says that if you felt the exam was hard, then they'll probably scale it up and you'll end up doing better than you thought you did :D so you probs did way better! regardless, you tried your best which is what matters the most :) good luck for the rest of your exams, and I hope you hear from ADF soon!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on August 06, 2020, 09:59:44 am
hooray and congrats for getting those 4 exams done!! my teacher always says that if you felt the exam was hard, then they'll probably scale it up and you'll end up doing better than you thought you did :D so you probs did way better! regardless, you tried your best which is what matters the most :) good luck for the rest of your exams, and I hope you hear from ADF soon!
Ahh thanks, that makes me feel better about it :))
Good luck for your exams as well, and good job on your jap btw, sounds like your smashing it!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on August 17, 2020, 03:01:28 pm
I had my last exam on Thursday - super stoked trials are over!! :)
Chemistry (my last exam), seemed pretty good. I was looking through 2019 trial papers the day before, and 2 questions I encountered appeared in the test which was very luckyyy
We also got our physics mark back today - I got 77%. Can't say I'm not disappointed, but it was around what I was expecting. Not sure what my final rank is.
So yeah. Heaps of other stuff has happened, just gonna chuck it in a box... sorry for the rant.
Spoiler
So last week we got an email regarding our graduation celebrations. Graduation dinner is cancelled. Only 1 parent is allowed to attend our graduation assembly (i.e. our official graduation), and they have to follow a strict procedure - only come for 15 mins, wear a mask the whole time. Formal was still going ahead but with restricted numbers, max 150 people (even tho our grade has 210 people...).
Today we got an update on all this. No parents to attend the graduation - which will happen in small groups (i.e. w our friends). No formal. Everything's basically cancelled. It just feels so pointless at this stage, like we've been looking forward to it for so long and it's just cancelled.
What gets to me is that we have 1000 people at school, no social distancing, only a few people wear masks. We had a YEAR MEETING today...No social distancing. So if we have all these gatherings at school it seems illogical to say that formal etc. is cancelled because of covid restrictions??
Also the way our principal and deputy were delivering all this info to us during the year meeting was kinda upsetting. They were saying they are doing everything they can to make it good etc., and that this year's graduation celebrations will be EVEN BETTER than any other year. They said the other year's will be jealous of our graduation celebrations. It would've upset me less if they just told us how it is - that it's not gonna be the best, but make the most out of it... But saying that it's gonna be BETTER than previous years feels like they're completely disregarding the situation we're in.
Yeah so everyone was pretty upset today at school.
I don't want to go on complaining though. It is completely out of our control and it's probably safer this way. Also my situation could be a lot worse. I'm sorry if you're reading this from Victoria or elsewhere affected by covid, stay safe and stay strong!
To be honest, I don't really know if I'm upset more about trials (because I don't feel I did that well) or because all our grad stuff has been called off. Either way, I just feel really unmotivated to study...But we still have heaps of content to learn, and I definitely want to start studying for HSC asap (to avoid cramming like I did for trials). I guess I just have to remember that this (i.e. HSC) will all be over soon - literally 8 weeks until HSC starts, then another 3ish weeks of exams then we can chill.
I think it's also important to remember why we're actually doing this. HSC gets us into uni (or whatever you want to pursue in the future), and rn that's the ultimate goal. If we can just keep on track for the next ~2 months then it will make the whole uni thing easier, and I'm sure (despite the official celebrations being cancelled), graduation and finishing exams will still be rewarding.
I'm sorry if this came across as ungrateful or complaining... just needed to get that out.
But yeah not long until the end, just gotta keep working hard and we'll be outta here soon.
Today we got an update on all this. No parents to attend the graduation - which will happen in small groups (i.e. w our friends). No formal. Everything's basically cancelled. It just feels so pointless at this stage, like we've been looking forward to it for so long and it's just cancelled.
What gets to me is that we have 1000 people at school, no social distancing, only a few people wear masks. We had a YEAR MEETING today...No social distancing. So if we have all these gatherings at school it seems illogical to say that formal etc. is cancelled because of covid restrictions??
Also the way our principal and deputy were delivering all this info to us during the year meeting was kinda upsetting. They were saying they are doing everything they can to make it good etc., and that this year's graduation celebrations will be EVEN BETTER than any other year. They said the other year's will be jealous of our graduation celebrations. It would've upset me less if they just told us how it is - that it's not gonna be the best, but make the most out of it... But saying that it's gonna be BETTER than previous years feels like they're completely disregarding the situation we're in.
Yeah so everyone was pretty upset today at school.
I don't want to go on complaining though. It is completely out of our control and it's probably safer this way. Also my situation could be a lot worse. I'm sorry if you're reading this from Victoria or elsewhere affected by covid, stay safe and stay strong!
To be honest, I don't really know if I'm upset more about trials (because I don't feel I did that well) or because all our grad stuff has been called off. Either way, I just feel really unmotivated to study...But we still have heaps of content to learn, and I definitely want to start studying for HSC asap (to avoid cramming like I did for trials). I guess I just have to remember that this (i.e. HSC) will all be over soon - literally 8 weeks until HSC starts, then another 3ish weeks of exams then we can chill.
I think it's also important to remember why we're actually doing this. HSC gets us into uni (or whatever you want to pursue in the future), and rn that's the ultimate goal. If we can just keep on track for the next ~2 months then it will make the whole uni thing easier, and I'm sure (despite the official celebrations being cancelled), graduation and finishing exams will still be rewarding.
I'm sorry if this came across as ungrateful or complaining... just needed to get that out.
But yeah not long until the end, just gotta keep working hard and we'll be outta here soon.
Post by: Justin_L on August 17, 2020, 08:51:10 pm
Congrats on finishing your trials! It really is the endgame now.
Spoiler
re: graduation and formal, don't feel sorry for feeling bad, you're totally justified in everything that you said! Hopefully, things improve and the government changes their stance on gatherings.
As for trials, it's not over til it's over, ranks only make up half your mark and it won't hurt to take a break in light of the momentous effort you must have put in. Good luck for everything, you'll come back stronger than ever after all this!
As for trials, it's not over til it's over, ranks only make up half your mark and it won't hurt to take a break in light of the momentous effort you must have put in. Good luck for everything, you'll come back stronger than ever after all this!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on August 18, 2020, 04:05:28 pm
Hey Viktoria,
Congrats on finishing your trials! It really is the endgame now.Spoilerre: graduation and formal, don't feel sorry for feeling bad, you're totally justified in everything that you said! Hopefully, things improve and the government changes their stance on gatherings.
As for trials, it's not over til it's over, ranks only make up half your mark and it won't hurt to take a break in light of the momentous effort you must have put in. Good luck for everything, you'll come back stronger than ever after all this!
Hi, thank you for your message, it means a lot :)
You're totally right about trials - ranks are only half and there's still chance to improve.
Not sure if the endgame thing was an Avenger's reference but I couldn't help thinking of Doctor Strange's line hahah
Best of luck with your HSC too!!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on August 27, 2020, 02:40:12 pm
I was going to wait to update until I have my ranks but I felt I need to make sense of this somehow...
I don't know if I "burntout" or if I came close to it... Last week (i.e. the week after trials) I was super motivated, productive and generally on top of things. This week is the opposite - I've been getting MINIMAL work done, and feeling kinda down.
We got our maths ranks back yesterday and mine wasn't that good (it dropped about 5 ranks), which I expected anyway. Also got my physics rank back - I dropped one rank. I know neither of these aren't that bad but I feel I had this whole expectation set for myself, that by HSC I will be doing so well, that I'll have everything together etc.
And honestly, with the mindset I was in, I don't think any rank would have made me happy - like EVEN IF I got first, I might be upset because we haven't finished the module yet or because I didn't get 100%. Anyway, you get the idea.
Last week was really awesome because I was enjoying my study, I already knew I wasn't going to be happy with my trial marks, but I just let it go and focused on prepping for the HSC. I'm not really sure what happened now, maybe I got overwhelmed with the workload, or just started doubting myself. I mean, we're only up to RELATIVITY in physics, we have an entire module to learn after that. And for both physics and maths I'm basically teaching myself. I've been doing so all year (and year 11), and it's been working! It would obviously be easier if I didn't have to, but I think now I just have to work with what I have - no matter where I'm up to in the syllabus, what teacher I have, or what my ranks are - and try my best.
I really really want to keep with this mindset for the rest of HSC, I just want to try my best, enjoy study, then be content with the fact I put in my best effort. But I still feel a negative attachment to my marks... I understand it's normal to feel upset/disappointed with yourself after a bad mark, but I need to let go of it. I also need to let go of the expectation of a certain ATAR. I keep thinking "if only I studied harder earlier", "if only I...., then I could get a better ATAR". But tbh I tried my best this year (given the circumstances and everything else I had going on), and that should be enough, no matter what number I end up with.
Ok so this is getting really long, but in essence I think I "burntout" because I'm still holding on to expectations and possibilities which I didn't achieve. I just need to let go and try my best, remember why I'm studying and not worry so much about the results.
Easier said then done.
Thank you to anyone that read this, hopefully it serves as a reminder to not be too hard on yourself :)
**I'll update my ranks/marks when I get them all back.
Post by: alice343 on August 27, 2020, 04:31:50 pm
alice : )
Post by: Viktoriak_ on August 28, 2020, 07:42:41 pm
I'm feeling the same with you on this post trials 'burn out'. Though I don't think I ever studied hard enough to really 'burn out', my motivation is out the window. It just feels like those last week of term 4 (in past years) when everyone would throw class parties and teachers would let us do 'research'...except there's still content to learn and hsc exams! but all we can do is just keep on moving, so best luck to you and the rest of this hsc journey!!!!
alice : )
Ahh thankyou! You're right, all we can do is keep going till the end :))
Best of luck to you too!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on September 08, 2020, 01:13:05 pm
As of now, there are TWELVE days let of school, then we graduate. Crazy!!
Turns out we can have a small graduation, they're splitting up our grade into small groups (but parents can't come), so we can have multiple mini graduations. Also formal is back on - I think there's no partners, no singing/dancing, but it's better than nothing :)
Here are my final marks + ranks post trials:
Physics 80% --> 2nd (out of 43 ish.. I'm not sure)
Chemistry 83% --> 4th
English 73% --> 9/105
Maths ADV 76% --> 21/93
Maths EXT 61% --> 19/49
Overall pre happy, maths could be better but I can work with it...
ALSO I got a call last Friday saying I got an offer from the AIRFORCE (for ADFA), so super pumped about that!!
I haven't gotten the official letter yet, but it should be coming soon! Now I just have to:
- pass my asthma test
- get my P's (it's a requirement... I've almost had my L's for 2 years now, so it's about time haha)
- pass the fitness test
- get a minimum ATAR of 85
Getting the offer was a HUGE relief. I know there's still quite a few things I need to check off before I'm in for sure though. Since I got the offer, I've been less stressed (naturally), and I've had a few days of more chilled study...
I guess I've stopped worrying about HSC so much because "I only need 85...". But I reckon I should try my absolute best regardless. I know I'd regret it if I get my ATAR and know I could've worked harder. Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but my original ATAR aim was 98, so I'm gonna keep aiming for that. Got nothing to lose by working harder, even if I don't need the mark.
So yeah, that's pretty much what's going on. We've still got a heap of content to learn, but I'll take it one day at a time. We'll get through it eventually.
Hope you all are going great, sending positivity to anyone who is perhaps having a bad day!
Thank you for reading this :))
Post by: Justin_L on September 08, 2020, 02:55:18 pm
Post by: Viktoriak_ on September 08, 2020, 03:01:27 pm
CONGRATULATIONS! Amazing work on getting an offer, you must have aced all of the interview and physical tests. Was Airforce Civil Engineering what you wanted? That must feel amazing!
Thank you!! Yep, I applied for civil engineering in both the army and airforce, I don't mind which one I go into, so super happy!!
Post by: alice343 on September 08, 2020, 06:47:17 pm
Post by: Viktoriak_ on September 09, 2020, 08:39:43 am
Congratulations to you!!! That is such an amazing achievement! Keep on doing what you're doing cos it seems like you're going great : D
Thank you so much!! Super grateful for all your support :)
Post by: Viktoriak_ on September 30, 2020, 06:54:08 pm
Ahhh I've kinda neglected this journal !! :'(
Since my last post, we've had our last classes, a muck up day, a picnic day (w theme park rides!), and GRADUATION.
Graduation was COVID-style, our parents couldn't come - which is a shame, but the school did an amazing job! The quad was really nicely decorated, we had mini grad assemblies (in groups to keep it safe...), and at the end the year 11's + teachers lead us out of the school (like an arch, but not lol). It was so, so nice.
Grad was already a week ago, but it still feels hella weird to tell people I've graduated. Kinda feels like in 2 weeks we'll be going straight back to school.
Ngl, I've ignored HSC and studying for a few days after grad. Slowly getting back into it now though - I've finished writing my chem notes, which I'm super happy about. For physics, though, I still have to learn the majority of module 8, which is pre scary.
Then there's english...
Anyway, I'm not gonna go too much into it, just gotta get studying. I've given up on a study timetable, I've (tried) to use one for the past few weeks and during trials, but I couldn't stick to it. So now I'm just doing what feels right and going day by day.
I'll try to update this sometime (hopefully when I'm well into studying !!), but that's all for now.
Thank you for reading this :))
Best of luck with all your studies!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on November 09, 2020, 03:54:43 pm
I'M FREEEEE
Finished chemistry today, which was my last exam!!
Thought I'd do a reflection on how everything went:
English
this feels like an eternity ago. I finished both the papers on time, which I'm very happy with! From memory, my essays were a bit short in Paper 2, but ah well.
Estimated (raw) mark: 75-80%
Maths Advanced
This was pretty good - what I expected. There were definitely some harder questions; I don't think I finished all of them.
Estimated mark: 85%
Maths extension
Extension was HARD. I definitely crammed for this. The majority of my study was done ~2 days before. But I did enjoy the 1st half of the test, it was stuff I'd been practicing. There was also a pigeonhole question which I knew how to do because I saw a similar one in the James Ruse trial the night before woop! ;D The last part of question 13 and the entirety of 14(a) got me though - no clue. I was lucky I could do the trig proofs in the other half of Q14. Yeah, so overall, I enjoyed it, but the end was hard. Ngl, I went in with low expectations anyway.
Estimated mark: 65-70%
Physics
Ahhh. This. I literally learnt the entirety of module 8 in 2 days (from inquiry question 2 to the end). Modules 5 and 6 I already knew pretty well, and module 7 I just needed to learn the special relativity part. I actually really enjoyed studying for physics (not all the time, ofc, but mostly). I was feeling pretty confident the morning of the exam; but it ended up being VERY different to what I expected. There were way more extended responses than calculations, and the overall content examined/style of the questions was different ot the practice papers I did. But it was doable, and I was pre happy with it.
Estimated mark: 84%
Chemistry
I was looking forward to chem the entire STUVAC/HSC period!!! Chem is my favourite subject and honestly I felt I knew the content well, and thought the HSC would be fine. Aaand I was wrong. That exam was possibly the worst chem test I've ever done. I didn't have a heap of time to study for it (because physics was 3 days before), but I still studied everything I would have if I had more time... I went through all the content, memorised the stuff I needed to memorise, did a lot of past papers. Felt pretty good about it. Anyway - long story short, the exam was so, so different to any of the papers I did. Also, I found it hard to concentrate cos I had a fever in the exam (despite having taken a panadol in the morning >:(), which sucked. I left a few questions unanswered, and didn't get to finish as much as I'd wanted to (but if I had more time idk if I would've been able to answer the questions anyway). They also left out a lot of what I studied - there wasn't much polymers, saponification, surfactants...
Yeah. So I'm hoping I still did alright and that it won't drag my ATAR down too much. We'll see.
Estimated mark: 70%
---------------------------------------------
But the day has FINALLY COME!!! I'm free! My birthday is coming up soon, so is formal, and CHRISTMAS! And I'm so excited to start going out heaps cos I have no commitments! I'm also very keen to get back into reading - I haven't read that many books cos of study but now I can :D
I'm going to try not think about the ATAR/HSC much between now and December 18th cos there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sure it'll be alright.
Congrats to anyone else who has finished HSC recently, and happy relaxing! Thanks for reading :))
Post by: alice343 on November 09, 2020, 04:17:09 pm
I'M FREEEEE
Finished chemistry today, which was my last exam!!
Thought I'd do a reflection on how everything went:
English
this feels like an eternity ago. I finished both the papers on time, which I'm very happy with! From memory, my essays were a bit short in Paper 2, but ah well.
Estimated (raw) mark: 75-80%
Maths Advanced
This was pretty good - what I expected. There were definitely some harder questions; I don't think I finished all of them.
Estimated mark: 85%
Maths extension
Extension was HARD. I definitely crammed for this. The majority of my study was done ~2 days before. But I did enjoy the 1st half of the test, it was stuff I'd been practicing. There was also a pigeonhole question which I knew how to do because I saw a similar one in the James Ruse trial the night before woop! ;D The last part of question 13 and the entirety of 14(a) got me though - no clue. I was lucky I could do the trig proofs in the other half of Q14. Yeah, so overall, I enjoyed it, but the end was hard. Ngl, I went in with low expectations anyway.
Estimated mark: 65-70%
Physics
Ahhh. This. I literally learnt the entirety of module 8 in 2 days (from inquiry question 2 to the end). Modules 5 and 6 I already knew pretty well, and module 7 I just needed to learn the special relativity part. I actually really enjoyed studying for physics (not all the time, ofc, but mostly). I was feeling pretty confident the morning of the exam; but it ended up being VERY different to what I expected. There were way more extended responses than calculations, and the overall content examined/style of the questions was different ot the practice papers I did. But it was doable, and I was pre happy with it.
Estimated mark: 84%
Chemistry
I was looking forward to chem the entire STUVAC/HSC period!!! Chem is my favourite subject and honestly I felt I knew the content well, and thought the HSC would be fine. Aaand I was wrong. That exam was possibly the worst chem test I've ever done. I didn't have a heap of time to study for it (because physics was 3 days before), but I still studied everything I would have if I had more time... I went through all the content, memorised the stuff I needed to memorise, did a lot of past papers. Felt pretty good about it. Anyway - long story short, the exam was so, so different to any of the papers I did. Also, I found it hard to concentrate cos I had a fever in the exam (despite having taken a panadol in the morning >:(), which sucked. I left a few questions unanswered, and didn't get to finish as much as I'd wanted to (but if I had more time idk if I would've been able to answer the questions anyway). They also left out a lot of what I studied - there wasn't much polymers, saponification, surfactants...
Yeah. So I'm hoping I still did alright and that it won't drag my ATAR down too much. We'll see.
Estimated mark: 70%
---------------------------------------------
But the day has FINALLY COME!!! I'm free! My birthday is coming up soon, so is formal, and CHRISTMAS! And I'm so excited to start going out heaps cos I have no commitments! I'm also very keen to get back into reading - I haven't read that many books cos of study but now I can :D
I'm going to try not think about the ATAR/HSC much between now and December 18th cos there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sure it'll be alright.
Congrats to anyone else who has finished HSC recently, and happy relaxing! Thanks for reading :))
congrats on finishing!!!
Post by: Viktoriak_ on December 18, 2020, 09:48:48 am
ATAR's ARE OUT!
ATAR's just came out today!!! I thought I'd be heaps more nervous, but I was actually fine. I only need 85 for ADFA, so I suppose that took the pressure off.
Here are my results:
Eng 88 (Band 5)
Maths ADV 91 (Band 6)
Maths EXT 45 (Band E4)
Chem 87 (Band 5)
Phys 88 (Band 5)
--- from 2019, IPT 98 (Band 6)
My overall ATAR is 96.95 !!
I'm extremely surprised by the subject marks - I was honestly expecting an E2 in maths extension. And Chemistry was my worst subject, when I thought it'd be one of my best. :o In the end though, I got a much higher ATAR than I thought I would, so I'm very happy!!
Hope everyone else is happy with their marks and results! And just a reminder that no matter the number, you have worked so hard this year, and should be proud regardless.
Vik
Post by: Joseph41 on December 18, 2020, 09:51:28 am
Post by: Evolio on December 18, 2020, 09:59:04 am
Post by: alice343 on December 18, 2020, 12:44:11 pm
Post by: Viktoriak_ on December 19, 2020, 07:49:47 pm