Is St Marys Good? (1 Viewer)

[StrawberryZephyr]

Hi! I'm in year 10 and I've been thinking about applying to St Marys Senior High School, but I've heard some bad stories and I'm not sure what to believe. Is St Marys a good school or should I stay away?

 

[Accurate]

Hey, personally I'm going to apply for this year, and honestly from the things I've heard from peers, they have quite shit teachers, it's mostly an independent school, meaning it really depends on you, it could be the worst school ever or the best but then again it depends on you, it's like university and quite independent. At least this is what I've heard from peers.

 

[Squar3root]

when i was in year 10, everyone goes there just because there is no school uniform and because they say "you get treated like adults" and more independent just like uni

these were the people that died at uni or didn't even make it there (some did tho). make a proper decision about your future and look at other schools

 

[Accurate]

when i was in year 10, everyone goes there just because there is no school uniform and because they say "you get treated like adults" and more independent just like uni

these were the people that died at uni or didn't even make it there (some did tho). make a proper decision about your future and look at other schools

Is it hard to get in though? How hard would you say it is to get in

 

[Squar3root]

Is it hard to get in though? How hard would you say it is to get in

I've been out of high school for 8 years now but from what i remember the selection is completely random. I do remember 2 of my friends applied one with no ECs and the other one with a few but the one with no ECs got in

 

[Accurate]

I've been out of high school for 8 years now but from what i remember the selection is completely random. I do remember 2 of my friends applied one with no ECs and the other one with a few but the one with no ECs got in

Oh wow, I've seen that trend too. Just a question out of topic that's in my mind for ages, Im guessing you're in university or completed it. Would you say completing the HSC was harder or UNI. By completing the HSC i mean completing with a good ATAR.

 

[Drdusk]

Oh wow, I've seen that trend too. Just a question out of topic that's in my mind for ages, Im guessing you're in university or completed it. Would you say completing the HSC was harder or UNI. By completing the HSC i mean completing with a good ATAR.

Uni is definitely harder. Just to give you some perspective.

Every week I have 6 Math quizzes, 2 Physics quizzes, 6-7 coding tasks due, plus now I have an assignment for comp sci, a Maths exam and a Physics exam within 1 week. RIP to me.

But then again in uni I only have to do what I like, so its not like I'm wasting time like English in the HSC.

 

[hailoys]

hey, i'm in year 12 and i go to st marys senior high. from my experience, i would say st marys senior is a good school to attend and finish your senior years at. but there's always two sides of the story and i guess it depends on your experience

there's an open evening on friday the 5th of april from 3pm-6pm. you should come and check it out

 

[Accurate]

hey, i'm in year 12 and i go to st marys senior high. from my experience, i would say st marys senior is a good school to attend and finish your senior years at. but there's always two sides of the story and i guess it depends on your experience ������

there's an open evening on friday the 5th of april from 3pm-6pm. you should come and check it out

Hey, how hard was it to get in, did your friends get in? And what did u submit to the school??

 

[Squar3root]

Oh wow, I've seen that trend too. Just a question out of topic that's in my mind for ages, Im guessing you're in university or completed it. Would you say completing the HSC was harder or UNI. By completing the HSC i mean completing with a good ATAR.

Uni is definitely harder. Just to give you some perspective.

Every week I have 6 Math quizzes, 2 Physics quizzes, 6-7 coding tasks due, plus now I have an assignment for comp sci, a Maths exam and a Physics exam within 1 week. RIP to me.

But then again in uni I only have to do what I like, so its not like I'm wasting time like English in the HSC.

yea completed uni end of 2018 working in my field now.

uni was harder but the way drdusk is putting it is an exaggerated view

he would be 1st year and the most you do in sem 1 is math1141 and there was only 2 classes per week.

unless he is talking about the maple quizzes which are piss ez and can be done pretty quickly

 

[Drdusk]

yea completed uni end of 2018 working in my field now.

uni was harder but the way drdusk is putting it is an exaggerated view

he would be 1st year and the most you do in sem 1 is math1141 and there was only 2 classes per week.

unless he is talking about the maple quizzes which are piss ez and can be done pretty quickly

yeah they are easy asf but I'm talking on behalf of the average student. So many students have trouble with it lol.

Seriously though 2 classes per week? I have 4, probably because of trimesters dammit

 

[Squar3root]

yeah they are easy asf but I'm talking on behalf of the average student. So many students have trouble with it lol.

Seriously though 2 classes per week? I have 4, probably because of trimesters dammit

pretty sure the average for maple was like 90% lmao

everyone just copied each other/did in groups and there was the solutions for the maple exam floating around on the facebook groups

http://timetable.unsw.edu.au/2019/MATH1141.html#S1-5284

6HRS Of lectures, we had 4 and i am assuming you have 1x calc tut and 1x algebra tut. that is what we had

Schief is a good lecturer once you get past the accent from memory

 

[Accurate]

pretty sure the average for maple was like 90% lmao

everyone just copied each other/did in groups and there was the solutions for the maple exam floating around on the facebook groups

http://timetable.unsw.edu.au/2019/MATH1141.html#S1-5284

6HRS Of lectures, we had 4 and i am assuming you have 1x calc tut and 1x algebra tut. that is what we had

Schief is a good lecturer once you get past the accent from memory

Wow, I see so University is harder in your experience. On a typical HSC day though, how hard would you work and for how long, if you remember.?

 

[jathu123]

I graduated from St Marys 2 yrs ago so here's my 2c from what I can remember

Now to get in, you just hand them in your application form and reports/NAPLAN/other docs etc and they'll assess it and will let you know, so no need for exams or anything. Now me being so bad at English, couldn't get into other selectives (penrith girra etc) so I applied for st marys very late (forgot when) and they said that the chances are pretty small, but eventually got in haha. So as long as you have average to good academic results and good EC's, then you'll defs get in

The school itself is pretty average and is ranked around ~150. They excel at the humanitarian subjects (legal, eng, bus etc) and iirc, they had a couple of state ranks for legal, eng std, general maths etc in 2016
However, the STEM side is a bit average I'd say and only a few gets band 6 for the science subjects (I think I was the only one with b6 phys and chem in my year lol), but the math side is a bit better (there were some really enthusiastic students from my year and 2018)

The teachers are average - good. I was super lucky I had the best ones, esp my math (but she left rip) and chem (gave me extra resources/textbooks to go ahead during the holidays, and even allowed me to skip classes and work on past papers in the library HAHA). So ye the majority of the teachers are really good (although a lot of em are leaving now) and you can also call them by their first name and the student - teacher relationship is super chill too

However, I wasn't a big fan of the pacing of content as I found it pretty slow (might have changed now), especially the science subjects, as we literally had to self learn 1 or 2 modules as part of research tasks and the last module of chem during the last few weeks of yr12. So yeh in that respect, I guess it's like uni, a lot of self learning needed and they do emphasise the 'independence' a lot

aand yeh also no uniform, and being yr11 and 12 only, the cohort is pree large and also very culturally diverse, and most of the student are pree friendly and easy going

also the schools literally a 5 min walk away from the train station (if you take public transport), although the area is a bit dodgy haha. And you also have a small mall (st marys village) with woolies, maccas and all the major stores within a 5 min walk from school

I would say definitely try other selective schools first, and like others said, your experience will really depend on you and if you do get in, make sure to utilise all the available opportunities
Feel free to hmu if you have any other questions or anything!

 

[Accurate]

I graduated from St Marys 2 yrs ago so here's my 2c from what I can remember

Now to get in, you just hand them in your application form and reports/NAPLAN/other docs etc and they'll assess it and will let you know, so no need for exams or anything. Now me being so bad at English, couldn't get into other selectives (penrith girra etc) so I applied for st marys very late (forgot when) and they said that the chances are pretty small, but eventually got in haha. So as long as you have average to good academic results and good EC's, then you'll defs get in

The school itself is pretty average and is ranked around ~150. They excel at the humanitarian subjects (legal, eng, bus etc) and iirc, they had a couple of state ranks for legal, eng std, general maths etc in 2016
However, the STEM side is a bit average I'd say and only a few gets band 6 for the science subjects (I think I was the only one with b6 phys and chem in my year lol), but the math side is a bit better (there were some really enthusiastic students from my year and 2018)

The teachers are average - good. I was super lucky I had the best ones, esp my math (but she left rip) and chem (gave me extra resources/textbooks to go ahead during the holidays, and even allowed me to skip classes and work on past papers in the library HAHA). So ye the majority of the teachers are really good (although a lot of em are leaving now) and you can also call them by their first name and the student - teacher relationship is super chill too

However, I wasn't a big fan of the pacing of content as I found it pretty slow (might have changed now), especially the science subjects, as we literally had to self learn 1 or 2 modules as part of research tasks and the last module of chem during the last few weeks of yr12. So yeh in that respect, I guess it's like uni, a lot of self learning needed and they do emphasise the 'independence' a lot

aand yeh also no uniform, and being yr11 and 12 only, the cohort is pree large and also very culturally diverse, and most of the student are pree friendly and easy going

also the schools literally a 5 min walk away from the train station (if you take public transport), although the area is a bit dodgy haha. And you also have a small mall (st marys village) with woolies, maccas and all the major stores within a 5 min walk from school

I would say definitely try other selective schools first, and like others said, your experience will really depend on you and if you do get in, make sure to utilise all the available opportunities
Feel free to hmu if you have any other questions or anything!

Heyy bro that was nice to know, I applied really early by the way, will this lift up my chances?? I did like a few EC's , i got an average report and lots of Distinctions from ICAS and other comps, i handed those in

 

[Squar3root]

Wow, I see so University is harder in your experience. On a typical HSC day though, how hard would you work and for how long, if you remember.?

pretty sure everyone's experience lmaooooo

hsc day was like 1hr work, maybe 2-3 during peak, rank 600 school

90+ atar

grad in engo with hons

 

[Accurate]

pretty sure everyone's experience lmaooooo

hsc day was like 1hr work, maybe 2-3 during peak, rank 600 school

90+ atar

grad in engo with hons

Damn rank 600 isn't that like last or close to it or something, did u get DUX for your school lmao

 

[Squar3root]

Damn rank 600 isn't that like last or close to it or something, did u get DUX for your school lmao

close to last yea lol

nah someone got 94 atar and did comm at unsw she got dux

 

[Drdusk]

Wow, I see so University is harder in your experience. On a typical HSC day though, how hard would you work and for how long, if you remember.?

I'll be honest I didn't work as hard as I could've. I procrastinated quite a lot with my HSC study because out of all my subjects 4u and Software design were the only subjects I enjoyed, whereas subjects like English and Physics felt like a joke.

But to put a number on it, I guess without procrastination 1.5 - 2 hours a day of HSC study focused mostly on Software and Maths haha.

 

[hailoys]

Hey, how hard was it to get in, did your friends get in? And what did u submit to the school??

it wasn’t hard to get in for me – talk about achievements, talk about your FUTURE AND GOALS, say that people told you it was a good school and e.c’s. not all my friends got in but most of them did get in. i submitted a past report, naplan, any relevant awards.