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March 30, 2024, 01:46:19 am

Author Topic: Studying for TOP 4 only?  (Read 1741 times)  Share 

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turtlebanana

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Studying for TOP 4 only?
« on: October 14, 2019, 10:33:50 am »
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OKAY, so i'm in a time-crunch as with everyone else completing year 12.

I haven't performed to my expectations this year and i wish i had the willpower/motivation to do everything i said i was going to do.

With a FEW WEEKS until exams, i was thinking to just disregard my bottom 2 and study for my top 4.

I completed a 3/4 last year and managed to get a 44 which i'm almost certain will be in my top 4! So that means i need to only study for 3 out of my 5 subjects for exams this year.

The VCE system is flawed and since the bulk of your atar is determined by your top 4, why not play by the system?

I entered my ATAR predictions into the ATAR calculator and I have two options:

OPTION 1 - STUDY FOR 3 OUT OF 5 SUBJECTS: ***Top 4 are bolded***
English - 37 predicted
Methods - 38 predicted
Chem - 40 predicted
Health - 35 predicted
Further - 36 predicted
Busman (2018) - 44
ATAR (estimated): ~94

OPTION 2 - STUDY FOR ALL 5 SUBJECTS (These 3 will ultimately be TOP 4) ***Top 4 are bolded***
English - 34
Methods - 35
Chem - 37
Health - 40
Further - 42
Busman (2018) - 44
ATAR (estimated): ~92

As you see, what's the point of distributing effort between all subjects if your TOP 4 will make the majority of your ATAR? The bottom 2 contributes hardly anything. So wouldn't it be better to shift focus towards the TOP 4?

I know estimations can be inaccurate, but these are roughly an indication of what i think i will get.

Theoretically, if i evenly study for all my subjects, my ATAR score will be lower. Why? Because my top 4 study scores will be lower than if i just prioritised studying for those top 4 only (instead of distributing effort between all). The top 4 contributes significantly more than the bottom 2. The boost in ATAR from my top 4 (from prioritising them only) will likely make up for the lower study scores in my bottom 2.

PS. I'm almost certain Health will be in my bottom 2.

I'm willing to hear your opinions! Many thanks :)
« Last Edit: October 14, 2019, 10:49:00 am by turtlebanana »
2018: Business Management [44]

jkay__

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Re: Studying for TOP 4 only?
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2019, 10:43:46 am »
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Yep. your bottom 2 barely will make a difference. It's a common tactic to bludge subjects that people are sure will be bottom 2, as studying for other subjects (let's say spesh over health, my friend's doing this) can provide greater reward (spesh just push exams for raw 35-40 for a high scaled 40, while Health to match that you'd need to rote learn a lot of things).

It really just depends on what course you want to get into, I guess. A 2 ATAR difference is a decently sized gap

How do you also expect lower scores for your top 4 if you put more time into them?
Secondary Education (VCE)
2018  | Psychology |
2019  | UCAT [87th %ile] | English | Mathematical Methods | Specialist Maths | Accounting | Chemistry |
ATAR | [95.90] |
2020~2023 | BSci (Computing & Software Systems) / Dip. MathSc (Statistics & Stochastic Processes) @ UoM

turtlebanana

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Re: Studying for TOP 4 only?
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2019, 10:54:14 am »
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How do you also expect lower scores for your top 4 if you put more time into them?

Sorry i think that was a typo - I've fixed it up.

My goal is to get into commerce at uom! Regardless of how much of an ATAR difference it is, i'd love to get as high as i possibly can haha.

Though this seems like an effective strategy, it'd hurt to see a study score of below 40 for further/health for me haha. This is because i've been doing decently well throughout the year, but i just do not see it being top 4 (after scaling).

I know i can achieve 40 for further/health, but i can achieve closer to the mid 40s by studying for chem/methods instead (which will give me higher scores after scaling). ALSO, if i study for all 5, i wont have as much time to study for english which will be top 4.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2019, 10:59:17 am by turtlebanana »
2018: Business Management [44]

sweetcheeks

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Re: Studying for TOP 4 only?
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2019, 11:01:48 am »
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I would strongly advise against it. What if you get to one of the subjects you expect to be in your top 4 and you bomb the exam? What if you are really sick on the day of one of the exams? You certainly can take the risk, I know people who have done this and it worked out well, but for others it was detrimental to their ATAR.

Maybe consider allocating more time to certain subjects and smaller amounts of study to the ones you consider to be less important?

turtlebanana

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Re: Studying for TOP 4 only?
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2019, 11:11:46 am »
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I would strongly advise against it. What if you get to one of the subjects you expect to be in your top 4 and you bomb the exam? What if you are really sick on the day of one of the exams? You certainly can take the risk, I know people who have done this and it worked out well, but for others it was detrimental to their ATAR.

Maybe consider allocating more time to certain subjects and smaller amounts of study to the ones you consider to be less important?

In my honest opinion, i think it is highly unlikely that i will bomb the exam, get sick etc... ALTHOUGH anything could happen. Just very unlikely. I mean with risk comes reward. Also, it's sad that the VCE system is like this - like theoretically you could get a study score of 1 in two of your subjects and still get a 99 ATAR from your top 4.

Hopefully all goes to plan. I'll take your advice though and probably will allocate a bit more time than originally planned to my bottom 2. (Actually since i'm 90% sure that HHD will be my bottom two, i might just put the study into further instead).
« Last Edit: October 14, 2019, 11:16:08 am by turtlebanana »
2018: Business Management [44]