How 'surprised' are people who top the State? (1 Viewer)

Lina3

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The majority of interviews I read with people who state ranked said how 'surprising' and 'unexpected' this result was. I know if I purposely set out to top the state in something I would probably overwhelm myself before I get there. Therefore, would you say that what they say has any semblance of truth? Could it be possible that they were just people who studied consistently, were feeling good on the day of their HSC and had a favorable run of questions? Just curious.
 

enoilgam

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The majority of interviews I read with people who state ranked said how 'surprising' and 'unexpected' this result was. I know if I purposely set out to top the state in something I would probably overwhelm myself before I get there. Therefore, would you say that what they say has any semblance of truth? Could it be possible that they were just people who studied consistently, were feeling good on the day of their HSC and had a favorable run of questions? Just curious.
It's hard to say really, some people might be surprised, but I would say that a few would have had a good idea that they were going to do quite well. When people are interviewed though, they are most likely going to say they were surprised - they would look a bit arrogant if they said they expected it.
 
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NFmusic1995

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depends on the test, even if ur good, your competiting against thousands who have the similar attributes as you, so it defs. about the test, if its ur strengths or weaknesses, or if u happened to made a practice essay alsmost similar to the question :p
 

enoilgam

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No doubt, that's true. No student would want to tell how they studied like 8 hours a day in order to achieve this.
I dont really understand that - "I worked hard to achieve a state rank" is a negative thing to say?
 

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I dont really understand that - "I worked hard to achieve a state rank" is a negative thing to say?
I guess it goes to the mentality. For some mystifying reason, some individuals want people to believe they attain high marks with "no study", or "just the night before and I got 97". Not really sure why, but it occurs.
 

enoilgam

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I guess it goes to the mentality. For some mystifying reason, some individuals want people to believe they attain high marks with "no study", or "just the night before and I got 97". Not really sure why, but it occurs.
I would have way more respect for someone who said they worked hard to achieve a state rank than someone who didnt (however, I probably wouldnt believe the person who said they bludged anyway).
 

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I would have way more respect for someone who said they worked hard to achieve a state rank than someone who didnt (however, I probably wouldnt believe the person who said they bludged anyway).
Yup.

I don't care who it is. You can't "not study" and have a divine intervention in the exam which results in a state rank result.
 

enoilgam

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Yup.

I don't care who it is. You can't "not study" and have a divine intervention in the exam which results in a state rank result.
True - although some people can get away with a lot less study than others. The problem is people confuse being "intelligent" with being "educated", Sure, being smart helps a great deal, but in order to do well in a subject you need to know the content (i.e. being educated). You arent born with that - it doesnt matter who you are, you need to learn the content to do well on the exam.
 

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I think it's possible for a subject like maths.
But surely you would still need to have learned and remembered the content in order to do well. Yes, the solution just seems to 'jump out' for some people more than it does for others. However, I don't believe its possible to see a hard question and, after only having gone through the topic associated with it in class, say "I know exactly how to do this."
 

qrpw

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It's hard to say really, some people might be surprised, but I would say that a few would have had a good idea that they were going to do quite well. When people are interviewed though, they are most likely going to say they were surprised - they would look a bit arrogant if they said they expected it.
This exactly. Truthfully, sometimes you "know" that you've done well, and that you have a chance of topping the state after you've done the HSC exam (if, say, you're 1st at school).
 

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This exactly. Truthfully, sometimes you "know" that you've done well, and that you have a chance of topping the state after you've done the HSC exam (if, say, you're 1st at school).
Yeah.

Obviously you won't say "oh yeah, I was expecting this state rank all along and I would've been disappointed if I didn't get it."
 

RealiseNothing

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But surely you would still need to have learned and remembered the content in order to do well. Yes, the solution just seems to 'jump out' for some people more than it does for others. However, I don't believe its possible to see a hard question and, after only having gone through the topic associated with it in class, say "I know exactly how to do this."
I beg to differ, but everyone has their own opinion so #yolo
 

iBibah

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But surely you would still need to have learned and remembered the content in order to do well. Yes, the solution just seems to 'jump out' for some people more than it does for others. However, I don't believe its possible to see a hard question and, after only having gone through the topic associated with it in class, say "I know exactly how to do this."
If you really understand the topic, I don't see why not?
 

enoilgam

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But surely you would still need to have learned and remembered the content in order to do well. Yes, the solution just seems to 'jump out' for some people more than it does for others. However, I don't believe its possible to see a hard question and, after only having gone through the topic associated with it in class, say "I know exactly how to do this."
I think it's possible, but it isnt very common.
 

jenslekman

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I think it's possible for a subject like maths.
l3l but no one "not studies" and state rank maths - if you're good, you want to study to be the best, if you're not, you want to study to get a state rank.

But surely you would still need to have learned and remembered the content in order to do well. Yes, the solution just seems to 'jump out' for some people more than it does for others. However, I don't believe its possible to see a hard question and, after only having gone through the topic associated with it in class, say "I know exactly how to do this."
very possible for lots of people

This exactly. Truthfully, sometimes you "know" that you've done well, and that you have a chance of topping the state after you've done the HSC exam (if, say, you're 1st at school).
#yolo
 

SuchSmallHands

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You can do well without studying that hard (see my brother, who did f**k all in years 11 and 12 and got a 92), but anyone who gets first-in-course worked damn hard for it. I would say it's still a surprise to see that you were the best in the state, however if you're first at Ruse in Chem/Physics/Math it wouldn't be utterly shocking. I think in a more subjective kind of subject, especially EX2, it would be really surprising though.
 

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