thoughts on repeating year 12??/know of anyone with a positive experience? (1 Viewer)

twelfth_holmes

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I know this question has been posted a million times before but I wanted some 2020 perspectives!

I know there are options like doing a course and then transferring after a year, but I really feel like repeating is the best pathway for me at the moment and I completely get why most people have been telling me not to. My thoughts and purpose behind this would be kinda convoluted if I tried to explain but essentially I feel like I'd be really happy with this decision if I did end up following through.

What I'm mainly here to ask is, have you repeated year 12 or do you know of someone who has and what their experience was like? Through research i've read a lot of people advising not to do it, and the most recent people I've found on these forums who've actually done it are from 2007/2008... I've only come across one person with a positive experience and I'm thinking surely there must be more people who've done it recently. They would either feel regret at wasting a year ~or~ satisfied that they made the right decision, and I wanna read more about both of these. So far it's just warnings not to and that's not so helpful to me atm because it's actually something I'm considering.

I know people will tell me not to and that's honestly okay I expect it haha, but if you do know what it actually is like that would really help me make an informed decision.
Thanks!
 

#RoadTo31Atar

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I'm curious why you want to repeat. If it's because your marks are bad then it's a matter of how bad they are and what options are available to you now. I personally would not want to repeat Y12, I have not enjoyed school and idk what could make me stay at school another year.

The reason that there aren't many successes of ppl repeating Y12 is prob because even the people who don't try can still make into uni. Proof of this is Wollongong basically accepting everyone who applies for early entry. Obviously it will be a low rank uni but I think that if you get good marks you can transfer somewhere decent.

I think it's very hard to really say anything without knowing more about what you want to do at uni and what ur marks are like now.
 

Vitrecan

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As you have researched, the results are exactly my thoughts on repeating year 12, it's not worth repeating year 12. Compared to other countries, especially Asian countries where it's normal to repeat the final year, as they put more emphasise on what university or course you came from or are doing, Australia is pretty relaxed on job requirements.
 
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c8

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I honestly cannot think of a single plausible reason for repeating. If it's because of bad marks, there have literally been people who have gone from tafe to med/law school. Also, if you think that repeating will mean you get better marks, it doesn't and only will be true in a very, very small number of cases. Past performance is the best indicator of future performance. So, could you perhaps elaborate upon you reason for wanting to repeat so everyone in the thread won't blindly stab at your post?

To answer your post though, I know of one person who repeated year 11 because of mental health/pressure. They don't mind it because they completely moved schools and due to their mental health, essentially wasn't able to apply them self to learning and had to take the year relearning etc. He's doing fine now, but I know they felt pretty crap when everything around them, friends etc, moved onto uni/careers while they were still at school.
 

jazz519

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It's not a good idea to repeat in most scenarios. This is because how do you know the second time around you repeat that things will change? Everyone thinks that they won’t be the general trend of the same thing repeats which isn’t realistic. It’s good to be optimistic that things will pan out well but it’s also important to be realistic and think about what would you do in the scenario that you repeat and nothing much changes. Also, we need more information around why you want to repeat as difficult to tell you will it actually benefit you.

Also, this is only something I would consider if a degree you want to get into is like at an ATAR that is significantly higher than what you will get. Even then there's no guarantee you will get the higher Atar the second time. I would also be extremely hesitant if you are wanting to improve your ATAR to say something extremely high like a 99 as even with good studying habits not many people can get this as it requires a high level of natural ability to support the work put in

In my opinion you should just go to uni and choose a lower degree, study hard and transfer to the other degree. Also, sometimes you are able to transfer some of these credits on unrelated subjects. At least this way you can also further yourself in other aspects such as doing part time work while studying at uni, which is very hard to do while still in school. These are also important skills in life that aren’t linked to marks and are far more important in the long term.

Anyways in saying all this if you truly think it is a good decision then go for it but make sure you actually evaluate the pros and cons and factor in the worse case scenario when making these judgements so that you are able to make a decision that isn’t just based on the hope that things will change
 

jojosiwa123

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I think this completely depends on your reasons for repeating- if its purely grades then I don't think it's a good idea, as others have said you can transfer into what you want and some universities have programs for people who didn't get the right atar (eg I think "The College" at WSU allows you to do a diploma and eventually get a bachelors). i've also read news articles on unis dropping their atar requirement and letting in people with atars as low as 40 for courses requiring a 70...they simply need to fill up seats to get funding etc etc and this I think will be even more so next year with covid and likely less international students.

if it's because you don't feel ready for university yet, or feel like you could've done better this year...honestly I still think an option like tafe or 'the college' is a better because you'll have more flexibility and more freedom for other commitments eg a job or exploring creative options. year 12 is the most stressful year of high school- I don't think it's the best idea to repeat it especially since you will no longer have your friendships supporting you
 

beetree1

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My friend's friend repeated I think 2 years ago because her year 12 attendance was below the requirements to graduate and because of personal issues, and from what I have heard, yes it is a bit overwhelming and a bit embarrassing to graduate with the year below you, but she also noted that having no friends (lol) meant that she could focus on studying more, and got a really good atar in the end. So i guess it depends on what you are willing to sacrifice and if you really just want to repeat, then go for it!
 

ultra908

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someone from my school repeated yr12 for personal reasons and ended up dropping out about a term in.
I think you also need to consider the social and mental impacts of repeating- all of ur friends will be having new and unique experiences in uni while you will still be confined to high school with a new cohort of students you might not know very well.
 

mmmm.

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Like all the points everyone has said above, i just wanted to add one thing which is that if you repeat you will have to start back from yr 11, this means you are spending an extra 2 yrs at school where there is no guarantee that you will get a higher ATAR. instead of spending these 2 yrs in school, you could instead do a TAFE course and then transfer into uni for your desired course, which in some cases only takes 1 year and then you can enter into yr2 of the Bachelor course.
 

jojosiwa123

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this thread might have some more answers although reading through it they seemed to be quite negative about the prospect of repeating...take it with a grain of salt. it would also be worth talking to any teachers you're close to, your school counsellor, possibly even kidshelpline.
whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck, either way it will only be a year extra and in the grand scheme of things it's a very small part of your life.
 

jojosiwa123

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Is it not? I always thought it was because if you repeat, you will be missing 1 whole term of yr12
true... maybe they have to use the summer holidays to catch up or they use moderated marks or something for whatever assignments the person missed.
 

twelfth_holmes

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thanks for all the awesome responses! i also actually really appreciate that you guys have relayed the experiences of others, I feel better informed now. I'm also really happy that it wasn't completely negative (though I'm for sure taking into account the negative ones too even though it's not what I want to hear).

My reasons for repeating may seem kinda invalid to most people so I'm kinda scared to explain it but here goes:

- I don't like the idea of transferring. I did get accepted into nursing at western (don't kill me!) but it's not the course I want and even if I go there for a year and get enough credit to transfer, I think I'll be miserable and that to me I feel like is more of wasting a year than it would be to repeat year 12... if that makes sense

- The ATAR I need is 80 for Bachelor of Science at USYD. This isn't that high to a lot of people and at the start of year 12 I was actually being an idiot and aiming for 90+.... but yeah I won't get this right now

- The ATAR i will get is 60s I think... only because my internal marks are good and the average of those with my poor external marks will stop the ATAR from being like 40. The reason my externals will be really bad is because I haven't studied, tomorrow is literally the English exam and I haven't studied English since my trials. That's how bad it is.

- Explaining why I haven't studied well for the past few months is hard so I have to leave it out, but I feel like I'm capable of so much more and a full consistent year of studying would let me prove that to myself

- Lots of people are saying that there's not much stopping the same circumstances from happening again and thus me getting the same mark. This is very true if you don't change the circumstances or don't have the power to, but I plan on changing something and it's quite significant but not something I wanna write here if you know what I mean

- I feel like my experience would actually be alright. Oh a lot of it would suck admittedly, I don't refuse to see that but it wouldn't be completely horrible either. I have a close friend in year 11 and I know a few others. I don't think I'd make any other close friends but at school it's enough for me, and I say this because I plan to stay sane by keeping in close touch with my best friends who will graduate. I know this can work because I'm still really close with my friends who moved schools a few years ago (so it's possible!!). Also my teachers would all be familiar to me so there's that. Also I know I'll be known as "the girl who repeated year 12" but I would endeavor not to care... (haha i say this and then next year watch me have a breakdown over people's opinions)

- I know there are other pathways but overall this one honestly seems the best for me to get where I wanna be. I legitimately enjoy my subjects and studying and I wanna justify myself. I started out great at the beginning of the year and then things happened and I went downhill (my first math test was 96% but then in the 3rd one I got 50s and then in my trial 68%), so I know I am capable of it.

Hopefully this answers the questions about why I wanted to repeat. If you need any more clarification I don't mind just let me know.
 

Kurrison

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It was your personal decision; after all, it did not matter if you repeated or not. If you repeated, you had to make this happen by working hard and determined; otherwise, you would waste a year for not getting what you wanted. Your reasons are similar to my friend, well she repeated another grade. It worked for her, and she got 80 ATAR then she repeated another grade. She ended up getting over 90 ATAR.
 

#RoadTo31Atar

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thanks for all the awesome responses! i also actually really appreciate that you guys have relayed the experiences of others, I feel better informed now. I'm also really happy that it wasn't completely negative (though I'm for sure taking into account the negative ones too even though it's not what I want to hear).

My reasons for repeating may seem kinda invalid to most people so I'm kinda scared to explain it but here goes:

- I don't like the idea of transferring. I did get accepted into nursing at western (don't kill me!) but it's not the course I want and even if I go there for a year and get enough credit to transfer, I think I'll be miserable and that to me I feel like is more of wasting a year than it would be to repeat year 12... if that makes sense

- The ATAR I need is 80 for Bachelor of Science at USYD. This isn't that high to a lot of people and at the start of year 12 I was actually being an idiot and aiming for 90+.... but yeah I won't get this right now

- The ATAR i will get is 60s I think... only because my internal marks are good and the average of those with my poor external marks will stop the ATAR from being like 40. The reason my externals will be really bad is because I haven't studied, tomorrow is literally the English exam and I haven't studied English since my trials. That's how bad it is.

- Explaining why I haven't studied well for the past few months is hard so I have to leave it out, but I feel like I'm capable of so much more and a full consistent year of studying would let me prove that to myself

- Lots of people are saying that there's not much stopping the same circumstances from happening again and thus me getting the same mark. This is very true if you don't change the circumstances or don't have the power to, but I plan on changing something and it's quite significant but not something I wanna write here if you know what I mean

- I feel like my experience would actually be alright. Oh a lot of it would suck admittedly, I don't refuse to see that but it wouldn't be completely horrible either. I have a close friend in year 11 and I know a few others. I don't think I'd make any other close friends but at school it's enough for me, and I say this because I plan to stay sane by keeping in close touch with my best friends who will graduate. I know this can work because I'm still really close with my friends who moved schools a few years ago (so it's possible!!). Also my teachers would all be familiar to me so there's that. Also I know I'll be known as "the girl who repeated year 12" but I would endeavor not to care... (haha i say this and then next year watch me have a breakdown over people's opinions)

- I know there are other pathways but overall this one honestly seems the best for me to get where I wanna be. I legitimately enjoy my subjects and studying and I wanna justify myself. I started out great at the beginning of the year and then things happened and I went downhill (my first math test was 96% but then in the 3rd one I got 50s and then in my trial 68%), so I know I am capable of it.

Hopefully this answers the questions about why I wanted to repeat. If you need any more clarification I don't mind just let me know.
Good luck!
 

jasminerulez

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thanks for all the awesome responses! i also actually really appreciate that you guys have relayed the experiences of others, I feel better informed now. I'm also really happy that it wasn't completely negative (though I'm for sure taking into account the negative ones too even though it's not what I want to hear).

My reasons for repeating may seem kinda invalid to most people so I'm kinda scared to explain it but here goes:

- I don't like the idea of transferring. I did get accepted into nursing at western (don't kill me!) but it's not the course I want and even if I go there for a year and get enough credit to transfer, I think I'll be miserable and that to me I feel like is more of wasting a year than it would be to repeat year 12... if that makes sense

- The ATAR I need is 80 for Bachelor of Science at USYD. This isn't that high to a lot of people and at the start of year 12 I was actually being an idiot and aiming for 90+.... but yeah I won't get this right now

- The ATAR i will get is 60s I think... only because my internal marks are good and the average of those with my poor external marks will stop the ATAR from being like 40. The reason my externals will be really bad is because I haven't studied, tomorrow is literally the English exam and I haven't studied English since my trials. That's how bad it is.

- Explaining why I haven't studied well for the past few months is hard so I have to leave it out, but I feel like I'm capable of so much more and a full consistent year of studying would let me prove that to myself

- Lots of people are saying that there's not much stopping the same circumstances from happening again and thus me getting the same mark. This is very true if you don't change the circumstances or don't have the power to, but I plan on changing something and it's quite significant but not something I wanna write here if you know what I mean

- I feel like my experience would actually be alright. Oh a lot of it would suck admittedly, I don't refuse to see that but it wouldn't be completely horrible either. I have a close friend in year 11 and I know a few others. I don't think I'd make any other close friends but at school it's enough for me, and I say this because I plan to stay sane by keeping in close touch with my best friends who will graduate. I know this can work because I'm still really close with my friends who moved schools a few years ago (so it's possible!!). Also my teachers would all be familiar to me so there's that. Also I know I'll be known as "the girl who repeated year 12" but I would endeavor not to care... (haha i say this and then next year watch me have a breakdown over people's opinions)

- I know there are other pathways but overall this one honestly seems the best for me to get where I wanna be. I legitimately enjoy my subjects and studying and I wanna justify myself. I started out great at the beginning of the year and then things happened and I went downhill (my first math test was 96% but then in the 3rd one I got 50s and then in my trial 68%), so I know I am capable of it.

Hopefully this answers the questions about why I wanted to repeat. If you need any more clarification I don't mind just let me know.
Good luck girl! If your planning on repeating I have full trust on you and I'm SURE you will come back MORE stronger and MORE HAPPIER! Do whats best for you and strive for your goals. Don't let other peoples opinions get to you, just do what you came for and that is to get the MARKS that you know you have potential for! YOU got this!
 

twelfth_holmes

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It was your personal decision; after all, it did not matter if you repeated or not. If you repeated, you had to make this happen by working hard and determined; otherwise, you would waste a year for not getting what you wanted. Your reasons are similar to my friend, well she repeated another grade. It worked for her, and she got 80 ATAR then she repeated another grade. She ended up getting over 90 ATAR.
this is actually really encouraging to hear, I'm so glad it's proven to work out for someone!!
Good luck!
thanks bro!!
Good luck girl! If your planning on repeating I have full trust on you and I'm SURE you will come back MORE stronger and MORE HAPPIER! Do whats best for you and strive for your goals. Don't let other peoples opinions get to you, just do what you came for and that is to get the MARKS that you know you have potential for! YOU got this!
thank you so much!!!! <3

You guys are really encouraging. I'll let you know how it goes. Tomorrow I have a meeting with the principal to find out logistics and if the school would be happy with me doing it.
I'm kinda not entirely familiar with the forums, if I reply to this thread in say a few months if I actually end up repeating will you get notifs??
 

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