i had alot of pressure when i did my hsc - parents, friends, family,teachers, school, and most of all myself....i aimed for 100 and i worked my rear end off to make sure io had a chance, albeit a slim one...i never put in 7-8 hours a week, bcoz the hsc isn't bout studyin long hours, its bout studyin smart...work when your brain works...for me, it meant relaxin n doin lite work durin the day in hols n then workin at nite...you hav to b the one who decides the balance not us, and you have to consider what significance the hsc has in your life...i can tell u now that 10, 15 years from today, the hsc experience will have dimmed from memory and the "hours" you put in and the 100 you're aimin for will slip into oblivion as hassles such as mortgages, loans, family, interest rates, groceries n if u become a doctor, then your patients, etc. et.c will take over.
bak to the story - i gave my hsc the best shot i possibly could...but durin my modern history exam, i collapsed on the paper n didn't get to complete it. i still had another 3 exams to do, but my doctor diagnosed me w/ laryngitis n a severe virus w/ an unpronounceable name...the moral of this bein you cannot control the hsc. despite all that, i did pretty good in my exams...but i still had no control over the uai process...ended up w/ a uai of 97.3, even though i aimed for a uai of 100 n needed a uai of 99.4
i'm disappointed needless to stay...but relatively speakin, i frankly don't give a damn..bcoz once u finish yr 12, n the day after u know your marks n more importantly for some, the uai, it all disappears into oblivion
tip of the day - work smart, not hard
PS. and don't forget to enjoy - coz its y0our last yr of high sch as well =) good luck