flipsyde
Shutup!...that's why
I am posting my piece of mind here for you to read and absorb if you wish. Speaking from experience (class of 2004), I am offering you some advice that you can take or leave as you please and also PM me about if you want ask more questions.
Majors
Ok so it is important here that you dont choose to many subjects with majors in them. I had 4 majors and had a hard time trying to cope and I got really stressed out and my depression returned. Dont let this discourage you however, if you like staying up till the wee ours of the morning and you can live off 4hrs sleep each day and you like flat out working youre arse off, then go for it. Four majors was really hard for me to manage and I saw many of my friends crumble as well, I lost my social life, I couldn't go out anywhere. Then again if thats your kind of thing and you want to focus on your studies then go for it, but I still dont reccomend it because chances are, you'll burn out.
Stress
Stress is a major issue that you will all face. Now I could tell you 'til I'm blue in the face not to stress out, because in the end the HSC is not the be all to end all (believe me it isnt... you may doubt this, and I did as well when I heard it but now, looking back, it isnt).But you will stress out. This is the time to stop what you are doing, put it down and go watch tv or read or something.
If you stress out, you'll get less doen and wont be able to perform as well... I perform better when In stressed, yes its true for a lot of people, but when it gets too much to handle dont try to weight it out. Also a little bit of excercise helps to stimulate your mind... so even if you just go for a 20min jog, its well worth it. I thought I couldnt afford to give up 20mins of my time... but you can!
Burn Out
Ok this relates to the stress and workload topic above. Too much stress and too much of a workload will burn you out... and it WILL...Im sure youve all thear the saying "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". This is true, I turned so dull towards the end of the year... I was burnt out and I couldnt do it anymore, I just couldn't.. this was 3 weeks till the actual HSC and only that all of my teachers sat me down and made me do no work at school all day I was able to get through it... but I was still burnt out and hence didnt do well in the exams.
Time Management/Balance
Also a very important thing. Plan your time.... work rest and yes PLAY!!!
Work- Dont leave your work until the last minute, get ontop of it as soon as you can.. if you know youve got that party to go to on Saturday, then make sure you finish it on Friday night (chances are you'll be too hung over to finish it on Sunday). The same goes with dont just work work work.. the mind cant handle it
Rest- Sleep is your best friend. Make sure you get at least 6-8 hrs of sleep each day. Because a well rested mind and body means you are ready to tackle anything that comes your way today. Also when you sleep, dont think about school work, youll stress in your sleep and wont be able to sleep... when your head hits that pillow, assignments, homework and the HSC DONT exist, forget them... Rest also falls under relaxation... relax... chill...seriously... do somethign you like.. Im my case it was writting music/songs.
Play- Go out and do things even if its for an hour, you CAN afford it, its only an hour. Otherwise youll becomoe a hermit like I did.. youll just sit there...absorbed in math or ancient history.. you become BORING!!! and your mind cant handle it. But rememer.. dont play too much or no work will get done.
Aiming for your UAI
I knwo people say you can achieve anythign you set your mind to... yes this is true but you also have to be realistic. Aim high, but not too high.. who knows, you may even surprise yourself
. I dissapointed myself cos I aimed too high, waaay too high and it almost broke me inside.
Not getting the UAI you need
IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!!!! I didnt get the UAI that I needed to get the course I want. But you know what I did? I handed in portfolios and resumes and arranged for interviews with Universities... I missed the mark by 5 UAI points... but guess what.. I got in. They also look at your exam marks individually during these interviews, so if you get good exam marks and a shit UAI as I did.. Its not the end.
There are also other ways into Uni.. do a TAFE course, generally that will get you in the next year. You can also do a STAT test which will help increase your UAI points.
In the end it didnt end up mattering whether I got into Uni or not, I got offered a spot at this great college (better than uni) which I also tried out for.. so not only did I get what I wanted, and had worked my butt of for 2 years to get.. I got something better.
Dreams Come True... But only to those who chase them
Dreams do come true, but they dont just land in your lap, you have to fight for it.. and fight and fight and fight untill you turn into a pineapple or something... When you dont get it the first time, keep trying to get in other ways, there are always back doors. And no matter what... keep your chin up
> Smile and the word Smiles with you...Fart and you stand alone
> When the world thinks your stupid, the best thing you can do is prove the bastards wrong
Majors
Ok so it is important here that you dont choose to many subjects with majors in them. I had 4 majors and had a hard time trying to cope and I got really stressed out and my depression returned. Dont let this discourage you however, if you like staying up till the wee ours of the morning and you can live off 4hrs sleep each day and you like flat out working youre arse off, then go for it. Four majors was really hard for me to manage and I saw many of my friends crumble as well, I lost my social life, I couldn't go out anywhere. Then again if thats your kind of thing and you want to focus on your studies then go for it, but I still dont reccomend it because chances are, you'll burn out.
Stress
Stress is a major issue that you will all face. Now I could tell you 'til I'm blue in the face not to stress out, because in the end the HSC is not the be all to end all (believe me it isnt... you may doubt this, and I did as well when I heard it but now, looking back, it isnt).But you will stress out. This is the time to stop what you are doing, put it down and go watch tv or read or something.
If you stress out, you'll get less doen and wont be able to perform as well... I perform better when In stressed, yes its true for a lot of people, but when it gets too much to handle dont try to weight it out. Also a little bit of excercise helps to stimulate your mind... so even if you just go for a 20min jog, its well worth it. I thought I couldnt afford to give up 20mins of my time... but you can!
Burn Out
Ok this relates to the stress and workload topic above. Too much stress and too much of a workload will burn you out... and it WILL...Im sure youve all thear the saying "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". This is true, I turned so dull towards the end of the year... I was burnt out and I couldnt do it anymore, I just couldn't.. this was 3 weeks till the actual HSC and only that all of my teachers sat me down and made me do no work at school all day I was able to get through it... but I was still burnt out and hence didnt do well in the exams.
Time Management/Balance
Also a very important thing. Plan your time.... work rest and yes PLAY!!!
Work- Dont leave your work until the last minute, get ontop of it as soon as you can.. if you know youve got that party to go to on Saturday, then make sure you finish it on Friday night (chances are you'll be too hung over to finish it on Sunday). The same goes with dont just work work work.. the mind cant handle it
Rest- Sleep is your best friend. Make sure you get at least 6-8 hrs of sleep each day. Because a well rested mind and body means you are ready to tackle anything that comes your way today. Also when you sleep, dont think about school work, youll stress in your sleep and wont be able to sleep... when your head hits that pillow, assignments, homework and the HSC DONT exist, forget them... Rest also falls under relaxation... relax... chill...seriously... do somethign you like.. Im my case it was writting music/songs.
Play- Go out and do things even if its for an hour, you CAN afford it, its only an hour. Otherwise youll becomoe a hermit like I did.. youll just sit there...absorbed in math or ancient history.. you become BORING!!! and your mind cant handle it. But rememer.. dont play too much or no work will get done.
Aiming for your UAI
I knwo people say you can achieve anythign you set your mind to... yes this is true but you also have to be realistic. Aim high, but not too high.. who knows, you may even surprise yourself
. I dissapointed myself cos I aimed too high, waaay too high and it almost broke me inside.Not getting the UAI you need
IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!!!! I didnt get the UAI that I needed to get the course I want. But you know what I did? I handed in portfolios and resumes and arranged for interviews with Universities... I missed the mark by 5 UAI points... but guess what.. I got in. They also look at your exam marks individually during these interviews, so if you get good exam marks and a shit UAI as I did.. Its not the end.
There are also other ways into Uni.. do a TAFE course, generally that will get you in the next year. You can also do a STAT test which will help increase your UAI points.
In the end it didnt end up mattering whether I got into Uni or not, I got offered a spot at this great college (better than uni) which I also tried out for.. so not only did I get what I wanted, and had worked my butt of for 2 years to get.. I got something better
.Dreams Come True... But only to those who chase them
Dreams do come true, but they dont just land in your lap, you have to fight for it.. and fight and fight and fight untill you turn into a pineapple or something... When you dont get it the first time, keep trying to get in other ways, there are always back doors. And no matter what... keep your chin up
> Smile and the word Smiles with you...Fart and you stand alone
> When the world thinks your stupid, the best thing you can do is prove the bastards wrong
