Stressed (2 Viewers)

[louielouiee]

Yeah at university absolutely nobody gives a crap about your ATAR.

I've only had one person ask me in the past 6 weeks.

It's honestly the last thing people would talk about. I'd rather have an intense discussion about the weather from the previous week as opposed to discussing my HSC.

If you get 75 and get into your course, happy days. You'll be where you want to be!

Also, don't worry about all your family/friend expectations. If anything, you should sit back, relax, watch everybody else in your grade tear their hair out, have mental breakdowns, cry all night and complain about studying until 3am.

 

[Secant]

All you need to do is:
get a tutor.
do past papers
make summaries/read notes
be consistent

~peace out homie~

 

[LoveHateSchool]

I don't know why but there's just so much pressure. Everyone wants to become a doctor or lawyer, or do international studies combined with something and it's like I feel like 90 is even low. A bit of this stress is probably to do with my self esteem, I know, but I want to a Bachelors in Creative Arts at Wollongong and telling people that makes them look at me with something akin to pity (for both Creative Arts and UoW) and I really want to prove that if I wanted to I could do something that requires a high atar and I'm choosing to do this because I want to. Also, there's an element of the stereotypical Asian family pressure. I have a stepbrother that got 96 and my father is expecting highly of me which I'm pretty sure I'll fall short anyway but 90 seems respectable.

I've talked to some people about the girl who didn't want to give me her notes but she is someone I consider my 'best friend' and I'm clinging onto that sentimentality. I find her 'competitiveness' about academics her biggest flaw but I need to overlook that for the rest of her virtues... I don't want to lose her but I admit I know her behaviour in these sort of situations are really unfriend-like and kind of mean.

Oh wow, I know this situation immensely. HSC competitiveness can be the worst thing. Feel free to PM on this point. I guess my general advice to don't try to cling to something that is past, don't let someone treat you like that because it will only lead to misery on your part.

Thanks guys. I needed reassurance that I can get through the HSC intact.

If I cut out everyone that I'm friends with who's that bad with competitiveness I'll be so very lonely with about 5 friends in my life. I realise that says something about my choices in friends but I have distanced myself from the worst of them and after high school it's a new start.

Again, thank you guys.

It's not the quantity and not the quality. There's a difference between friendly and killer competitiveness. Like I have my one best friend, and whenever I'm around here, I could never feel lonely. I've had falling outs with many people I've considered good friends-the best ones do stick by you.

Also never feel bad about wanting to do a course with only X cut off-the cut offs are arbitrary things. What the important thing is what you do with it. One of my siblings got an ATAR just below a 60. Yet, they did their degree, di well in it and got into a job exactly what they wanted to do. Perhaps more successful than many 95+ers in that regard.

 

[cem]

1. Take a deep breath.
2. Write a list of things that you need to have done in preparation for your exams e.g. read English novels
3. Tick off all the things you have done
4. Now you hopefully will have realised that you are well-prepared and your confidence will be higher.
5. Now look at the things on your list that you haven't done and prioritise them.
6. Make a start on that list.
7. Take another deep breath.
8. Remember that you are not the only one doing the HSC and that your teachers and older family have all done this themselves and so have the experience to help you.

 

[ncoul]

In regards to half-yearly preparation; You don't have much time. No-one is able to be 110% prepared. It's unrealistic that you're expected to have refined, sifted through notes, done multiple past papers and had time to remember the 20+ pages of notes you would have per subject. You seem like a perfectly apt student - just do as well as you can.

Hopefully this will coax you into a state of security, just don't descend into the pre-exam state of depression that I did.

 

[Michelle Lin]

Really, thanks for all the support. I redid my admats, sent a prac essay off to a teacher and a tutor and a couple of other things to get the ball rolling and I'm feeling a lot calmer after realising at least I'm trying and that's all I can really do. Thanks heaps for the support and advice.

Just wondering though, what bands would I need to get atar around 75?

 

[enoilgam]

Really, thanks for all the support. I redid my admats, sent a prac essay off to a teacher and a tutor and a couple of other things to get the ball rolling and I'm feeling a lot calmer after realising at least I'm trying and that's all I can really do. Thanks heaps for the support and advice.

Just wondering though, what bands would I need to get atar around 75?

That's all you really need sometimes to get your morale up - just putting a few solid wins on the board. With your ATAR aim, try experimenting with an ATAR calculator, they are probably more accurate than any of us.

 

[louielouiee]

Really, thanks for all the support. I redid my admats, sent a prac essay off to a teacher and a tutor and a couple of other things to get the ball rolling and I'm feeling a lot calmer after realising at least I'm trying and that's all I can really do. Thanks heaps for the support and advice.

Just wondering though, what bands would I need to get atar around 75?

Just a rough guess

English: 79
Ancient: 80
History Ext: 33
Legal:80
Society & Culture: 80
SOR1: 40


Basically if you can get mostly high 70's/ early 80's you'll definitely get a 75.


Also, to put things into perspective: One of my friends got all low/mid 70's and got an ATAR of 63.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Well, I just had my half yearlies - they were legit all in 1 week (week 9) except for Economics which was on week 8 friday --> probs more stressful than half-yearlies which are spread across 2-3 weeks like in some schools.

Stress is pree normal.

And like I remember Monday night, I was stressed as hell because I was srsly so underprepped for 4U which was on the Tuesday (scared I'd get below 50% and whatnot)

I was heaps stressed before going into the 4U exam room that day. Then when I did the test, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was hard but not as hard as I originally thought it'd be.

Like, I guess... no matter how much you stress about or dread the exams... the test is eventually gotta come so just let it come naturally.

For my first 3u Yr 12 assessment (last year term 4), I think I dropped about 46 ranks from my yr 11 rank so I was pree demoralised and was in a state of depression for awhile. So this time for 3U (half-yearly), I was stressing heaps for sure because I knew I had to recover from last time with this assessment (the pressure was on). And before I knew it, 3U half-yearlies went better than I thought so hopefully, I can recover some ranks (have yet to get the mark but I know for sure I improved from last time).

Stress is fine. Pressure is fine. But don't let it overcome you, thrive under the pressure!

 

[Eg155]

It's completely normal, dw. Half yearlies are those assessments no one really feels prepared for; I mean teachers throw new info at you the day before the exam and test you on it the following day. It's just a very crammed space of time.
And you're not alone with the stress, most people go through the same thing and I totally empathise.. My half yearlies were two weeks ago (earlier than most schools have them, it's a bit ridiculous) and I didn't sleep or eat the night before one of my exams and threw up twice in the exam and have been crying hystercally ever since. If you ever need someone to talk to just inbox, I'm happy to listen and help

Just remember no matter how much you feel that you're alone in this stress and being emotionally distraught there's always thousands in the state feeling the same. Cheer up buttercup- HSC isn't a measure of how intelligent you are, it's a measure of how much information you can retain and then regurgitate in an exam situation. xx

 

[Andeelou]

every year ive stressed and so every year ive at least flunked out in one of my subjects but this year and being my hsc i cant afford to do that.
one of my teachers really help set out my study notes so that theyd suite me and helped make a schedule of what to study and when. also told me that for every hour of study i do i should have a 10 min break and thats exactly what im doing
it really helped and now ive got time to make study notes a head of tme not just the night before
ive just started my haf yearlies and im doing pretty well with not breaking down yet so fingers crossed

 

[Nws m8]

Dude, trust me when I say that I probably stressed out just as much if not more than you currently are now i.e. several breakdowns.

In all seriousness, your ATAR doesn't mean a thing after you get into your course. I know it's hard to see it right now (I too was the same when everyone else was telling me the same thing), but it really doesn't. Don't stress over it.

Just do YOUR best if that's what will make you happy. I know TONES (and I literally mean TONES) of people who got far below 70 and are still at uni doing something, whether it be what they want to do or a second-path to what they do.
If there's a will, there's a way.

BOS SUPPORT NETWORK.

+1

 

[kat12345]

I got a 75 atar. I cried for days because it was well below what anybody had expected from me, and I thought my life was over.

My parents weren't disappointed (thought they knew I could have done better, they reminded me that you can't undo what has been done) and supported me into going to uni and doing my best with the opportunity I was given.

I ended up at uni and working just part time, and the first friend I made outside of school thought I was a genius because I got 75. (She said hers was 42 or something, so I didn't feel as silly!).

Now I'm at my second year of uni/work. Nobody cares about my atar. I'm happy and loving uni and work, and I know my life is going great so far. A couple of my friend who were pressured into high ATARs or uni degrees they didn't want by family/friends either a)dropped out of uni or b) are dealing with anxiety/stress issues because of unrealistic pressure to perform.

If your happy, nobody cares what you got. If you don't get your dream ATAR, it doesn't matter. The world doesn't stop for the 90% of people with ATARs less than 90

 

[Michelle Lin]

I just finished my second exam. I don't think I did great but I think I did passable. I want to make some more friends outside of school since it seems like you guys are much better emotionally adjusted and realistic about the hsc. I've got a relatively small group of friends at school atm and being a selective school most people are quite obsessive about it. I really appreciate all the support. How were/are everyone else's mid-yearlies?

 

[fizzbylightning]

Man.. I remember when I got overeager and followed to trend of putting my half yearlies into an ATAR calculator and got an ATAR of 68 or something round there. I think I immediately clicked that red X in the top right corner. I'd say to avoid them. Unless you think it'll be a good motivator for you.

In terms of managing stress, you have to accept that you're stressing, to not dwell on it, and move on. (a little bit of) stress is good when it pushes you along. But most Year 12 students stress massively. So that's not good in the long term. I stressed/panicked/went crazy often in Year 12. Then somewhere along the way, I knew it wasn't going to do anything for me. I relaxed the expectations I had for myself (which were somewhat influenced by the expectations of others) and decided that if I was to do the best I could in exams, I had to lower my expectations but still work hard. High stress is counter-productive these days. I played hockey on weekends and that was definitely a great outlet. I'm not going to bother saying ATAR doesn't matter because even though I agree with that 100%, you're probably not going to hear that properly. It didn't mean anything to me when older people kept incessantly saying that to me. Find your own personal motivation for wanting to do well this year (throw those expectations of others down the drain) - you're in control of your own life, so why should they matter?