Selective Schools. I need help! (1 Viewer)

[itzKev]

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[RivalryofTroll]

Welcome to Bored of Studies!

Before I address your questions (you must be eager for answers) - please check out my guide on applying for a selective school (link is available in my signature) if you haven't done so already.

Firstly, I'd like to say that your report is fairly good. 3 As, a majority of Bs and 1 C for your Year 10 half-yearly report is not going to destroy your chances. You sound confident in your mathematical abilities and your A in mathematics reflects that you are capable in it so that sounds great!

Your report will probably hamper your chances for Sydney Tech the most (I'll explain why in the later section of this post). However, it probably won't matter to you since you most likely prefer Hurlstone or Fort Street more.

Now onto the realistic stuff...

Your report for the Fort Street application
- I knew someone who got 2 As (science and maths), the rest Bs and Cs (one C being English)... and they made it into Fort Street. So are you (someone with a better report) going to have a chance? Obviously, yes. Will it help your cause against straight As students? The reality is no but if you kill the entrance exams, I don't see why you can't get accepted.
- The Fort Street application, from memory, involves a HAND-IN ESSAY (check the website for the essay question) which you need to give in ALONG with your reports, NAPLAN, extra curricular stuff, etc. Work on that essay early and get feedback for it. Continuously edit it before giving in your application form and stuff.
- The next parts of the entry process are the entrance exam (which is probably the most difficult and time consuming out of these 3 schools from what I heard - I never applied for Fort Street so I can't give exact details) and the interview.

Your report for the Hurlstone application
- Let me say that I've known people with worse reports than yours who have made it to Hurlstone. One of my mates had 0 As, mainly Bs and iirc, 1 or 2 Cs even. He had no extra curricular stuff for his application whatsoever. Guess what? He got accepted into Hurlstone. Meanwhile, my other friend who had some As and the rest Bs iirc didn't get accepted nor did he get placed on the reserve list. I'll make it clear - Hurlstone places HEAVY EMPHASIS on the entrance exam (at least back then when I applied).
- When I applied for Hurlstone, I just handed in my reports and the application form. No extra curricular proof. No NAPLAN. No additional stuff at all. I got accepted (I turned down the offer though and ended up accepting my offer from Sydney Tech as you'll know from my guide).
- More details are available in my guide (mainly on the entrance exam). There will be an exam and an interview like usual.

See my guide for more information on the Hurlstone entry process.

Your report for the Sydney Tech application
- Sydney Tech splits its entry process into two stages.
1. The first stage is the application stage. You hand in your reports, an application form, NAPLAN, extra-curriculars, etc. Most applicants won't pass this stage. However, if you do pass it, good job. You'll now face the 2nd stage.
2. The second stage involves an exam (some maths questions then an extended response for English - should be either creative writing or essay writing) then an interview afterwards. Then you'll be notified on whether - you've been accepted, placed on the reserve list or just didn't make it. Around 50% of the applicants in the 2nd stage are accepted from memory.

See my guide for more details on the Sydney Tech entry process.

So what I'm really asking is that do you fellow forums think I have a chance to make it into the following schools I have listed with such a bad report?
In summary, yes you definitely have a chance. I've known people with worse reports (your report isn't even 'bad') who have made it into schools like Fort Street and Hurlstone. In fact, schools such as Fort Street and Hurlstone tend to place more emphasis on the exam stage so things such as your report or NAPLAN will barely affect your chances in my opinion. Back then, when I applied, Hurlstone didn't care about anything besides your reports and the entrance exam (which was quite bizarre since schools such as Fort Street and Tech usually take into consideration of other things such as extra curricular stuff and the rest of your application).

I think when it comes to the entrance exam for all these schools... you'll need to brush up on your English skills to be competitive in the exam part of your application to the school. So work on those comprehension/short answer skills and essay writing/creative writing skills in preparation for the entrance exams to these selective schools. I dare say that English is a key element when it comes to making it into these schools... it gives you the important competitive advantage over other applicants who are only strong in mathematics.

These exams never (well rarely) test high/advanced level Year 10 mathematics (Fort Street probably has the hardest mathematics section for the exam out of the 3 schools) which means most applicants will usually do fairly good in the mathematics section either way as long as they are careful and don't give up too many marks due to silly mistakes (in the mathematics section for these exams, it's usually basic maths or more logical type maths for a majority of the questions - if not all of them... they most likely won't start asking hard trigonometry questions in the exam for example). Realistically, your advantage in 'mathematics' will be reduced by a bit in my opinion. But still, being insanely good in the mathematics section might score you a place in one of these schools in the end. I mean I told you earlier about how someone I knew got into Fort Street with an A for maths yet a C for English for their report - then again, they were actually asked questions about their English (which was weak in comparison to their maths section which they killed for the entrance exam) during the interview.

Realistically, there could be stronger applicants out there (i.e. stronger reports) but you definitely have a chance for any of these 3 schools (provided you do well in the exam stage for the entry process).

Good luck!

 

[dangerouss]

Welcome to Bored of Studies!

Before I address your questions (you must be eager for answers) - please check out my guide on applying for a selective school (link is available in my signature) if you haven't done so already.

Firstly, I'd like to say that your report is fairly good. 3 As, a majority of Bs and 1 C for your Year 10 half-yearly report is not going to destroy your chances. You sound confident in your mathematical abilities and your A in mathematics reflects that you are capable in it so that sounds great!

Your report will probably hamper your chances for Sydney Tech the most (I'll explain why in the later section of this post). However, it probably won't matter to you since you most likely prefer Hurlstone or Fort Street more.

Now onto the realistic stuff...

Your report for the Fort Street application
- I knew someone who got 2 As (science and maths), the rest Bs and Cs (one C being English)... and they made it into Fort Street. So are you (someone with a better report) going to have a chance? Obviously, yes. Will it help your cause against straight As students? The reality is no but if you kill the entrance exams, I don't see why you can't get accepted.
- The Fort Street application, from memory, involves a HAND-IN ESSAY (check the website for the essay question) which you need to give in ALONG with your reports, NAPLAN, extra curricular stuff, etc. Work on that essay early and get feedback for it. Continuously edit it before giving in your application form and stuff.
- The next parts of the entry process are the entrance exam (which is probably the most difficult and time consuming out of these 3 schools from what I heard - I never applied for Fort Street so I can't give exact details) and the interview.

Your report for the Hurlstone application
- Let me say that I've known people with worse reports than yours who have made it to Hurlstone. One of my mates had 0 As, mainly Bs and iirc, 1 or 2 Cs even. He had no extra curricular stuff for his application whatsoever. Guess what? He got accepted into Hurlstone. Meanwhile, my other friend who had some As and the rest Bs iirc didn't get accepted nor did he get placed on the reserve list. I'll make it clear - Hurlstone places HEAVY EMPHASIS on the entrance exam (at least back then when I applied).
- When I applied for Hurlstone, I just handed in my reports and the application form. No extra curricular proof. No NAPLAN. No additional stuff at all. I got accepted (I turned down the offer though and ended up accepting my offer from Sydney Tech as you'll know from my guide).
- More details are available in my guide (mainly on the entrance exam). There will be an exam and an interview like usual.

See my guide for more information on the Hurlstone entry process.

Your report for the Sydney Tech application
- Sydney Tech splits its entry process into two stages.
1. The first stage is the application stage. You hand in your reports, an application form, NAPLAN, extra-curriculars, etc. Most applicants won't pass this stage. However, if you do pass it, good job. You'll now face the 2nd stage.
2. The second stage involves an exam (some maths questions then an extended response for English - should be either creative writing or essay writing) then an interview afterwards. Then you'll be notified on whether - you've been accepted, placed on the reserve list or just didn't make it. Around 50% of the applicants in the 2nd stage are accepted from memory.

See my guide for more details on the Sydney Tech entry process.

So what I'm really asking is that do you fellow forums think I have a chance to make it into the following schools I have listed with such a bad report?
In summary, yes you definitely have a chance. I've known people with worse reports (your report isn't even 'bad') who have made it into schools like Fort Street and Hurlstone. In fact, schools such as Fort Street and Hurlstone tend to place more emphasis on the exam stage so things such as your report or NAPLAN will barely affect your chances in my opinion. Back then, when I applied, Hurlstone didn't care about anything besides your reports and the entrance exam (which was quite bizarre since schools such as Fort Street and Tech usually take into consideration of other things such as extra curricular stuff and the rest of your application).

I think when it comes to the entrance exam for all these schools... you'll need to brush up on your English skills to be competitive in the exam part of your application to the school. So work on those comprehension/short answer skills and essay writing/creative writing skills in preparation for the entrance exams to these selective schools. I dare say that English is a key element when it comes to making it into these schools... it gives you the important competitive advantage over other applicants who are only strong in mathematics.

These exams never (well rarely) test high/advanced level Year 10 mathematics (Fort Street probably has the hardest mathematics section for the exam out of the 3 schools) which means most applicants will usually do fairly good in the mathematics section either way as long as they are careful and don't give up too many marks due to silly mistakes (in the mathematics section for these exams, it's usually basic maths or more logical type maths for a majority of the questions - if not all of them... they most likely won't start asking hard trigonometry questions in the exam for example). Realistically, your advantage in 'mathematics' will be reduced by a bit in my opinion. But still, being insanely good in the mathematics section might score you a place in one of these schools in the end. I mean I told you earlier about how someone I knew got into Fort Street with an A for maths yet a C for English for their report - then again, they were actually asked questions about their English (which was weak in comparison to their maths section which they killed for the entrance exam) during the interview.

Realistically, there could be stronger applicants out there (i.e. stronger reports) but you definitely have a chance for any of these 3 schools (provided you do well in the exam stage for the entry process).

Good luck!

Fantastic advice that should be highly regarded. Would rep.

 

[BLIT2014]

Goodluck itzKev!

 

[itzKev]

Welcome to Bored of Studies!

Before I address your questions (you must be eager for answers) - please check out my guide on applying for a selective school (link is available in my signature) if you haven't done so already.

Firstly, I'd like to say that your report is fairly good. 3 As, a majority of Bs and 1 C for your Year 10 half-yearly report is not going to destroy your chances. You sound confident in your mathematical abilities and your A in mathematics reflects that you are capable in it so that sounds great!

Your report will probably hamper your chances for Sydney Tech the most (I'll explain why in the later section of this post). However, it probably won't matter to you since you most likely prefer Hurlstone or Fort Street more.

Now onto the realistic stuff...

Your report for the Fort Street application
- I knew someone who got 2 As (science and maths), the rest Bs and Cs (one C being English)... and they made it into Fort Street. So are you (someone with a better report) going to have a chance? Obviously, yes. Will it help your cause against straight As students? The reality is no but if you kill the entrance exams, I don't see why you can't get accepted.
- The Fort Street application, from memory, involves a HAND-IN ESSAY (check the website for the essay question) which you need to give in ALONG with your reports, NAPLAN, extra curricular stuff, etc. Work on that essay early and get feedback for it. Continuously edit it before giving in your application form and stuff.
- The next parts of the entry process are the entrance exam (which is probably the most difficult and time consuming out of these 3 schools from what I heard - I never applied for Fort Street so I can't give exact details) and the interview.

Your report for the Hurlstone application
- Let me say that I've known people with worse reports than yours who have made it to Hurlstone. One of my mates had 0 As, mainly Bs and iirc, 1 or 2 Cs even. He had no extra curricular stuff for his application whatsoever. Guess what? He got accepted into Hurlstone. Meanwhile, my other friend who had some As and the rest Bs iirc didn't get accepted nor did he get placed on the reserve list. I'll make it clear - Hurlstone places HEAVY EMPHASIS on the entrance exam (at least back then when I applied).
- When I applied for Hurlstone, I just handed in my reports and the application form. No extra curricular proof. No NAPLAN. No additional stuff at all. I got accepted (I turned down the offer though and ended up accepting my offer from Sydney Tech as you'll know from my guide).
- More details are available in my guide (mainly on the entrance exam). There will be an exam and an interview like usual.

See my guide for more information on the Hurlstone entry process.

Your report for the Sydney Tech application
- Sydney Tech splits its entry process into two stages.
1. The first stage is the application stage. You hand in your reports, an application form, NAPLAN, extra-curriculars, etc. Most applicants won't pass this stage. However, if you do pass it, good job. You'll now face the 2nd stage.
2. The second stage involves an exam (some maths questions then an extended response for English - should be either creative writing or essay writing) then an interview afterwards. Then you'll be notified on whether - you've been accepted, placed on the reserve list or just didn't make it. Around 50% of the applicants in the 2nd stage are accepted from memory.

See my guide for more details on the Sydney Tech entry process.

So what I'm really asking is that do you fellow forums think I have a chance to make it into the following schools I have listed with such a bad report?
In summary, yes you definitely have a chance. I've known people with worse reports (your report isn't even 'bad') who have made it into schools like Fort Street and Hurlstone. In fact, schools such as Fort Street and Hurlstone tend to place more emphasis on the exam stage so things such as your report or NAPLAN will barely affect your chances in my opinion. Back then, when I applied, Hurlstone didn't care about anything besides your reports and the entrance exam (which was quite bizarre since schools such as Fort Street and Tech usually take into consideration of other things such as extra curricular stuff and the rest of your application).

I think when it comes to the entrance exam for all these schools... you'll need to brush up on your English skills to be competitive in the exam part of your application to the school. So work on those comprehension/short answer skills and essay writing/creative writing skills in preparation for the entrance exams to these selective schools. I dare say that English is a key element when it comes to making it into these schools... it gives you the important competitive advantage over other applicants who are only strong in mathematics.

These exams never (well rarely) test high/advanced level Year 10 mathematics (Fort Street probably has the hardest mathematics section for the exam out of the 3 schools) which means most applicants will usually do fairly good in the mathematics section either way as long as they are careful and don't give up too many marks due to silly mistakes (in the mathematics section for these exams, it's usually basic maths or more logical type maths for a majority of the questions - if not all of them... they most likely won't start asking hard trigonometry questions in the exam for example). Realistically, your advantage in 'mathematics' will be reduced by a bit in my opinion. But still, being insanely good in the mathematics section might score you a place in one of these schools in the end. I mean I told you earlier about how someone I knew got into Fort Street with an A for maths yet a C for English for their report - then again, they were actually asked questions about their English (which was weak in comparison to their maths section which they killed for the entrance exam) during the interview.

Realistically, there could be stronger applicants out there (i.e. stronger reports) but you definitely have a chance for any of these 3 schools (provided you do well in the exam stage for the entry process).

Good luck!

Thanks!! I have been stressed over the last week due to a bad report. I have read your guide and you had a good report and I was also hoping you replied to me which you did Just wondering, can you recommend me a fourth school to apply to? I can't apply to Girraween since it's the same date as Hurlstone's for the testing.

Once again, thanks!!!

 

[itzKev]

RoT has some really good advice and can't beat that! But just one thing– as RoT said, your report is by no means 'bad', but some people will come up and give in straight A reports. And whilst that won't be detrimental to your chances if you ace the exams and interviews, it will never hurt to have a great application So really place emphasis on all your extra-curriculars!

I remember when I applied to NSG and Hornsby a while ago (they had a shared exam). Honestly, the exam itself was terrible lol (but I guess it was for everyone, so I did fairly good in the end) but they allocated heaps of space for applications. Because they already had an idea of your academic standards from the exam, the whole 'application' sector was essentially focused on extra-curriculars lol. I guess that really gave me a huge leg-up for being selected, and I urge you to put in everything you've been involved in too

My school gives very few opportunities for extra curricular. For example we only have one sporting team for one sport. I heard in SBHS they have like 6 teams for basketball etc. also competitions such as ICAS etc are not available at my school, only the AMC is the ONLY national competition that I can send in since it's based on last two years. I got High Distinction last year and I was the only one out of my whole school (other grades only got distinction and below). I don't know if they'll take into account about opportunities because my school offer few which may lower my chances. But RoT didn't hand in any extra curricular and made it in! So I'm not too sure right now.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Thanks!! I have been stressed over the last week due to a bad report. I have read your guide and you had a good report and I was also hoping you replied to me which you did Just wondering, can you recommend me a fourth school to apply to? I can't apply to Girraween since it's the same date as Hurlstone's for the testing.

Once again, thanks!!!

Sefton is pretty good (they were top 40 in 2013 and was ranked higher than 2 fully selective schools despite being a partial selective school).

Maybe NSB, Sydney Boys, Caringbah, etc.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

My school gives very few opportunities for extra curricular. For example we only have one sporting team for one sport. I heard in SBHS they have like 6 teams for basketball etc. also competitions such as ICAS etc are not available at my school, only the AMC is the ONLY national competition that I can send in since it's based on last two years. I got High Distinction last year and I was the only one out of my whole school (other grades only got distinction and below). I don't know if they'll take into account about opportunities because my school offer few which may lower my chances. But RoT didn't hand in any extra curricular and made it in! So I'm not too sure right now.

Hurlstone didn't request for any extra curricular stuff but they will be requested by other schools so definitely hand them in.

 

[itzKev]

Just wondering, when filling out the application form (the one from the High Performing Students Unit), for the School Subjects section, how do I fill it out? I filled out my subjects this year but next year, do I list the subjects that I will be doing for Years 11-12? Like Mathematics Extension 1, English Advanced etc. This message is for you RoT since you had applied in year 10

Thanks

 

[itzKev]

you can try for Caringbah as your fourth choice, I currently attend!

Caringbah is too hard to get to by bus or train.

 

[Demento1]

Just wondering, when filling out the application form (the one from the High Performing Students Unit), for the School Subjects section, how do I fill it out? I filled out my subjects this year but next year, do I list the subjects that I will be doing for Years 11-12? Like Mathematics Extension 1, English Advanced etc. This message is for you RoT since you had applied in year 10

Thanks

Unfortunately i'm not ROT, but I've had the experience of this. You just list the subjects you want to do in year 11, not 12. Good luck!

 

[itzKev]

Unfortunately i'm not ROT, but I've had the experience of this. You just list the subjects you want to do in year 11, not 12. Good luck!

Year 11 subjects will be done in year 12. I'm planning on doing Extension 1 Math, so do I write that down? or do i just state Mathematics? and also for Advanced English do I write it like that or just English? and subjects such as Physics or Biology, do I write those two down or do I just write Science? It's because Year 11 we choose subjects so I'm abit confused with that section of the form.

 

[Demento1]

Year 11 subjects will be done in year 12. I'm planning on doing Extension 1 Math, so do I write that down? or do i just state Mathematics? and also for Advanced English do I write it like that or just English? and subjects such as Physics or Biology, do I write those two down or do I just write Science? It's because Year 11 we choose subjects so I'm abit confused with that section of the form.

Outline the subjects you are doing 'specifically'. You should be writing 'extension 1 maths' and 'advanced english' and 'physics'.

 

[itzKev]

Outline the subjects you are doing 'specifically'. You should be writing 'extension 1 maths' and 'advanced english' and 'physics'.

Do I have to include maths advanced if I'm doing extension 1 maths? Because you have to do both classes or do I just leave the highest course of the subject and leave it as extension 1?

 

[Demento1]

The highest course will do! Won't need to write adv maths if you write ext. 1 maths.

 

[itzKev]

Thanks for the help just wondering, do you currently attend a selective school?

 

[Demento1]

Thanks for the help just wondering, do you currently attend a selective school?

I do yes, changed in year 10 in fact.

 

[itzKev]

I do yes, changed in year 10 in fact.

Was your report good when you handed in the application? Like how many A's or B's did you get?

 

[Annick98]

Thanks for the help just wondering, do you currently attend a selective school?

Hi there,
I have a friend who got into hurlstone last year for year 11 with:
A- maths
A- english
B- science
B- commerce
B- music
B- pe
A- geo
A- history
I think you should apply because you have a high chance of getting get in.
anyways, good luck and all the best

 

[itzKev]

Hi there,
I have a friend who got into hurlstone last year for year 11 with:
A- maths
A- english
B- science
B- commerce
B- music
B- pe
A- geo
A- history
I think you should apply because you have a high chance of getting get in.
anyways, good luck and all the best

Thanks! Though from what RivalryofTroll said, he knows a friend who got no A's but only B's and C's that made it into Hurlstone. When I did the Hurlstone test 2 years back with 5 A's and 3 B's I didn't make it in. What I didn't like was the extended response was an agricultural question which I had not prepared for it and had no clue on what to write.

Anyways thanks for the confidence boost! But I would love to make it into Fort Street over Hurlstone