Does the school you go to really matter? (1 Viewer)

[manscux]

Hi anybody doing HSC next year.... just wanted to share this with you.

Upon receiving my mark i have been asked which school i went to... The answer is i went to a school that is ranked in the 400's

I just wanted to post this to let people know that if you are a willing student and dedicated then you can achieve any mark that you set your goal towards.

Dont let your school be an excuse or a deterrent from achieving what you want (you may need to put extra effort..but you will get there)...

 

[Riproot]

What marks did you get?

 

[manscux]

i got over 99 mate

 

[Drifting95]

i got over 99 mate

wow, well done ! Assuming you were 1st in all your subjects?

 

[Synchronised]

Hi anybody doing HSC next year.... just wanted to share this with you.

Upon receiving my mark i have been asked which school i went to... The answer is i went to a school that is ranked in the 400's

I just wanted to post this to let people know that if you are a willing student and dedicated then you can achieve any mark that you set your goal towards.

Dont let your school be an excuse or a deterrent from achieving what you want (you may need to put extra effort..but you will get there)...

School doesn't matter IMO, if you go to a school ranked 700 and get 99.95 you will be in the same course with james ruse students at the same uni...

 

[someth1ng]

It depends on how you define matters. It matters in terms of the school spirit and atmosphere in general but in terms of what you can achieve, it's always possible.

 

[manscux]

^ Definitely agree with someth1ng...

 

[Gigacube]

Congrats on your results! It's definitely possible to get ATARs of and near 99 in a low ranking school. My school is also in the 400s and I understand how it feels but I think it also made it easier for me as my cohort wasn't very competitive and that made gaining higher ranks a lot easier. A downside is that there is less competition so sometimes you don't feel like putting in 100% but if you make goals, such as an ATAR aim, it can help you keep that motivation and convince you to work harder.

 

[Synchronised]

It depends on how you define matters. It matters in terms of the school spirit and atmosphere in general but in terms of what you can achieve, it's always possible.

I agree with you. Being in a high ranked school has many advantages such as a more competitive environment, usually better teachers, if you don't get rank 1 in every subject your not fucked etc...
But if you couldn't get into a high ranked school for whatever reason doesn't mean you can't achieve the ATAR you want which is nice

 

[NBGHHS]

You really have to be ranking first in all subjects and be dictating what you get in your exams (without getting a lower score than another student - in which case moderation will drag down your assessment mark) to be able to get significantly high marks in those 'lower ranked' schools

 

[enoilgam]

From an ATAR/HSC marks standpoint, going to a higher ranked school can be advantageous in certain circumstances. However, overall i am a strong believer that the biggest determinant of a students ATAR is the student themself. If you are dedicated, hard working and have some talent I think you should be able to excel anywhere.

 

[Sunners]

From what I've seen in the last few years, it doesn't appear to matter what school one goes to. It's about the individual. But it'd probably be better to go to a lower ranked school with good teachers than to go to a high ranked school with poor teachers.

 

[wavess]

Yeah you're right, but the cohort can bring you down if you're not coming first... Like really bad. There are selfish people out there who don't care about their studies and just bring people who work really hard down... Whereas in a school that is ranked well, majority of the people do care and are motivated because there are people to compete with! Thats just my opinion & it comes from my personal experience.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Yeah you're right, but the cohort can bring you down if you're not coming first... Like really bad. There are selfish people out there who don't care about their studies and just bring people who work really hard down... Whereas in a school that is ranked well, majority of the people do care and are motivated because there are people to compete with! Thats just my opinion & it comes from my personal experience.

I wouldn't call it selfish, they didn't set the rules of the system. I don't think it's a crime for people to not be studious, like for some people it's an achievement in itself to rock up 80% of the time and get the diploma in the end. We all have different limitations/priorities/goals.

The biggest determinant is definitely the student themselves. For instance, a school I know of which is normally low 600s, the dux last year received 89, whereas the dux this year received 97.7 with a non scaling advantage set and received a state rank in one of these subjects. And there are many stories like this-but I will say, provided you don't let the competitive environment of the higher ranked schools impact you negatively, there are massive advantages in the cohort, and also to a degree, a great knowledge of what they are actually looking for in the HSC. But some people who are smart, do better with the confidence of being the outright (you know straight 1sts) of a lower rank school where many become complacent and forget the statewide competition.

It is possible to achieve a 99.95 anywhere-though the odds stack much more nicely in the top 100.

 

[deswa1]

I agree that the student is the main determinant of their own ATAR but I also strongly believe I would not have gotten the ATAR I did at a comprehensive school. Reasons for this are
1. At a selective school, there are others of a similar ability to you. We could help each other, share notes and essays etc. At a school where I'm the only guy doing 4U- who can I help and who can help me? A lot of the team work element is gone
2. People have a more similar mindset to you. More people understand the game and try hard. The atmosphere is more conducive to studying.
3. You have to stay on your game-> at a selective school, you can't really afford to bomb say an entire round of assessments because then your rank will be lower whereas at a lower ranked school, it would be easily possible to stuff some stuff and still make it back. Also at a lower ranked school, you have no idea how you compare with the rest of the top end of the state. At selectives, the results are a lot more consistent and you could know that if you came first in chem say, you'd be good enough for a mark of 96 or 97 etc. Also at a normal school, you can be first by a mile and become complacent

BUT of course there are exceptions and CONGRATS!!! OP on your ATAR. The student is ultimately the major thing but higher ranked schools have an environment and characteristics that A LOT more conducive to producing higher ATAR's.

Note: This post is mainly aimed at the higher end of the ATAR spectrum

 

[Magical Kebab]

I agree that the student is the main determinant of their own ATAR but I also strongly believe I would not have gotten the ATAR I did at a comprehensive school. Reasons for this are
1. At a selective school, there are others of a similar ability to you. We could help each other, share notes and essays etc. At a school where I'm the only guy doing 4U- who can I help and who can help me? A lot of the team work element is gone
2. People have a more similar mindset to you. More people understand the game and try hard. The atmosphere is more conducive to studying.
3. You have to stay on your game-> at a selective school, you can't really afford to bomb say an entire round of assessments because then your rank will be lower whereas at a lower ranked school, it would be easily possible to stuff some stuff and still make it back. Also at a lower ranked school, you have no idea how you compare with the rest of the top end of the state. At selectives, the results are a lot more consistent and you could know that if you came first in chem say, you'd be good enough for a mark of 96 or 97 etc. Also at a normal school, you can be first by a mile and become complacent

BUT of course there are exceptions and CONGRATS!!! OP on your ATAR. The student is ultimately the major thing but higher ranked schools have an environment and characteristics that A LOT more conducive to producing higher ATAR's.

Note: This post is mainly aimed at the higher end of the ATAR spectrum

Dam my schools ranked like 500+...:/

 

[manscux]

I agree that the student is the main determinant of their own ATAR but I also strongly believe I would not have gotten the ATAR I did at a comprehensive school. Reasons for this are
1. At a selective school, there are others of a similar ability to you. We could help each other, share notes and essays etc. At a school where I'm the only guy doing 4U- who can I help and who can help me? A lot of the team work element is gone
2. People have a more similar mindset to you. More people understand the game and try hard. The atmosphere is more conducive to studying.
3. You have to stay on your game-> at a selective school, you can't really afford to bomb say an entire round of assessments because then your rank will be lower whereas at a lower ranked school, it would be easily possible to stuff some stuff and still make it back. Also at a lower ranked school, you have no idea how you compare with the rest of the top end of the state. At selectives, the results are a lot more consistent and you could know that if you came first in chem say, you'd be good enough for a mark of 96 or 97 etc. Also at a normal school, you can be first by a mile and become complacent

BUT of course there are exceptions and CONGRATS!!! OP on your ATAR. The student is ultimately the major thing but higher ranked schools have an environment and characteristics that A LOT more conducive to producing higher ATAR's.

Note: This post is mainly aimed at the higher end of the ATAR spectrum

Hi magic Kebab no worries if your school is ranked 500+ ........ it is the will of the student

Thanks Deswa1 .....

i agree with your three reasons.. but having already known them i made sure i didn't let them get in my way of achieving my aim... I mean i'll address how i resolved each of your reasons (may help 2013ers in non-selective schools):

1) At the start of the year i posted a BOS thread asking anybody who wanted assistance in maths 4 unit and physics to come to a library... where we could learn form each other... After people found out that this was not a joke i got people from selective and private schools (some from penrith, girra and sydney grammer) coming... over the year we would meet ever Saturday and for like 3 hours just teach, get taught, and do questions together. It really helped me and helped them aswell since we all had different methods of solving problems (i think this really worked because within any school a teacher teaches a concept which may be taught differently to another school.)
2) TRUE... but with the Saturday sessions i started to develop that mindset .... and when people in your school start to see you achieve they also start trying and competition naturally breeds from there
3) Complacency is stopped by understanding that you are competing against the state where you have students in James Ruse getting 100%.... and as for staying on your game that was with the motivation i had

This is how i dealt with it .....

But thanks again Deswa1

 

[iBibah]

Dam my schools ranked like 500+...:/

Mines 600+....nevertheless we have had some solid results in the past.

 

[Sacredoblivion]

I don't think it really matters which school you go to at a fundamental level in terms of academics, this is what the HSC and UAC have attempted to address through scaling (but it doesn't completely negate it). However, it certainly helps if you go to a good school (i'm using the term good loosely here, meaning that is satisfies what YOU are looking for in that school, ie. if you like sports go to a sporting school etc).

 

[Synchronised]

I agree that the student is the main determinant of their own ATAR but I also strongly believe I would not have gotten the ATAR I did at a comprehensive school. Reasons for this are
1. At a selective school, there are others of a similar ability to you. We could help each other, share notes and essays etc. At a school where I'm the only guy doing 4U- who can I help and who can help me? A lot of the team work element is gone
2. People have a more similar mindset to you. More people understand the game and try hard. The atmosphere is more conducive to studying.
3. You have to stay on your game-> at a selective school, you can't really afford to bomb say an entire round of assessments because then your rank will be lower whereas at a lower ranked school, it would be easily possible to stuff some stuff and still make it back. Also at a lower ranked school, you have no idea how you compare with the rest of the top end of the state. At selectives, the results are a lot more consistent and you could know that if you came first in chem say, you'd be good enough for a mark of 96 or 97 etc. Also at a normal school, you can be first by a mile and become complacent

BUT of course there are exceptions and CONGRATS!!! OP on your ATAR. The student is ultimately the major thing but higher ranked schools have an environment and characteristics that A LOT more conducive to producing higher ATAR's.

Note: This post is mainly aimed at the higher end of the ATAR spectrum

I think the best way to resolve the bold part is by going to a tutor where many JR and students from top schools go. Some tutors test their students on regular basis and the students there can be very competitive. To resolve the other things you mentioned it really depends on the individual. I know many people who couldn't get into a selective school because they are new to Australia or because they didn't care about there studies in year 6.
If you go to a tutor and you are always ranked 1st or 2nd in the tests against students from top schools and you are determined to get a high ATAR you'll be way ahead of people at your school and what will determine your ATAR is the externals. Since the externals will determine your ATAR I think a student in this situation should study in a way that insures he does extremely well in the externals, i.e. doing a lot of past papers etc...