subject: Losing Momentum After The Hsc Trials [print this page] Now that most students have finished their HSC trials at school, they can relax for a short while knowing that they have finished the last of their school assessments. However, students need to be careful not to lose the momentum they've gained so far.
Now is a good time to remind yourself that in a little over one month's time, you will have your final HSC exams. Each exam is worth 50% of your total assessment for that subject - that's your entire year of school work compressed into one exam! So don't make the common mistake of becoming complacent at this stage. Keep up the hard work and be prepared for your final exams - after these, the HSC will truly be over.
The common trap
During this time shortly after the school trials period, many students take this opportunity to have a break. By all means, a break at this point is well-deserved - you've gone through countless school assessments for 5 or more subjects. Looking back at the year 12 school year so far, you'll see you have travelled quite a distance. Remember that first English assessment in Term 4 last year? Or that first topic test in Extension 1 maths? How many more tests have you done since? How hard did you study for each of those tests? Looking back, you may feel utterly exhausted, and that you just want the entire thing to be over by now.
Now is a good time to have a short break. Take a weekend off, spend time with your friends or family, or both. Do what you enjoy doing, and don't worry about your HSC for a weekend. But be very clear to yourself that it will only be a short break, and that you will resume your study regime strictly after your break.
Remember that the final HSC exams are worth everything you've done so far at school, to date. They are worth 50% of your total assessment per subject - the other 50% coming from your moderated marks, based on your rankings within your school. The entire year's worth of school assessments have been used to calculate the latter 50%. So think about HOW hard you've worked to get to this stage, how hard you studied for each test, and how much attention you put into your HSC so far. It wouldn't make any sense to pay any less attention to the upcoming final HSC exams, given how much time and effort you've already invested into your internal assessments.
What you definitely should not do is to get into a complacent mode. After their trials, many students feel they can't handle another stressful exam period, which is what the final HSC exams will be. In response, students become passive and detached to their HSC progress at this point. This is a very dangerous mindset and can lead to students not reaching their full potential when they do their final HSC exams.
The key is to remain motivated throughout the time you have now, before your final exams. Here's a few things you can do to prevent yourself from becoming complacent at this point:
Tip 1: Make a study plan for your STUVAC
STUVAC is a common term, meaning "study vacation" or "student vacation" - it is the time you have from now until your final HSC exams. Remember that at this late stage, you should be revising and consolidating your knowledge. Make sure every avenue of your subjects is understood. A good way to plan your STUVAC is to have a structured study plan.
For example, suppose you have 4 weeks in which you can spend revising your courses. A smart way to allocate study time is in terms of giving more time for the subjects you are relatively weaker at, and less time for the subjects you are already relatively strong at. This may sound obvious in terms of common sense, but there are scaling implications involved. HSC scaling generally rewards you less and less for the last few extra percentiles you can gain. An extreme example would be in Mathematics Extension 2, where the scaled mark you receive from scoring in the 90th percentile is only a tiny bit less than the scaled mark you receive from scoring in the 99th percentile. In general, this effect is true for all subjects, so you should allocate your study time to aim to push your weaker subjects to a Band 6 / 90th percentile achievement, in order to maximise your UAI / ATAR.
Work out a timeline and stick to it! Commit to the deadlines you set yourself. This is a good habit and good planning habits will serve you well in University and life beyond.
Tip 2: Maximise use of the resources available to you
You're still attending school at this stage, but not for long. Your days as a high school student are numbered, and your last day is fast approaching. Some school teachers are very nice to offer their students contact details so they can be contacted for help during the students' STUVAC, however don't count on this. Instead, value the time you have left at school.
Ask your teachers for help whenever there is something in the course you don't understand. Take charge of your result - ask for help whenever you can, during class, lunchtimes, even before or after school. Teachers often have several free-periods on any given week, and the good ones will be happy to meet up and help you. At this stage, most teachers would be more willing to offer 1 on 1 help to their students, since the internal ranking processes are completely over.
Alternatively, if you attend tutoring, you should also use that resource to your advantage. Ask questions during class, or before or after class. Any good tutoring provider will offer some solution to their students, if their students asks for help. For example, our class teachers are happy to help our students with their difficulties if they book a time in advance at no extra charge, and we also offer at-home support to our students throughout the year. The advice we give is no matter where you attend tutoring, you should maximise the resources they offer.
Tip 3: Work with your friends
At this stage, since the internal ranking process is completely over, you are no longer competing with your peers at school. You are now competing against all the students in the state. Therefore, it is in your interest to cooperate with your friends at school. Help each other with revision, make notes and share them, arrange group study sessions - whatever works for you.
One good example is that students in James Ruse like to gather and have after-school discussions to cover the entire syllabus during this time. During these after-school discussions, they make sure the harder dot-points (e.g. the 'assess' and 'evaluate' points) are covered completely. This is an excellent study technique, and one which should be used by all students who want to maximise their UAI / ATAR.
