my precarious academic situation (vent) (1 Viewer)

[gamja]

first of all i'd like to thank @dezross for inspiring me to spill my woes to the BoS community and find solace in NSW's bastion of academic and personal care.

I don't have much time, so imma cut to the chase.
I'm ranked 14th in my pretty beta school (most of yall would have probably doxxed my school already so here goes) and my goal is to be in the top 3 - about an ATAR of 99.8+ (for med, you see). Coming 14th right now, my predicted ATAR by my school lies at 98.80 (some of you may think - only a 1 ATAR jump! What's the issue? But all of us know that that 1 ATAR jump is the hardest 1 ATAR jump that exists).

I know I'm naturally pretty gifted (top classes from y7, offered entry to JRAHS at Selective - It's sobering how my achievements are all in the past), but I struggle a lot to actually put meaningful effort into my study, because I get distracted very easily (I probably have a disorder of some sort, but I haven't been diagnosed yet) and I'm unable to stay disciplined. My worst ranks of Chemistry and English Advanced (21/39 and 38/119) reflect that because I totaled my mid-year exams, because I started studying for them a day before - even when I had zero reason to. If I'd done well in both of them, I would definitely be in the top 5, because my maths and bio are carrying me right now.

The ranks are also an issue because I have 0 internal exams left apart from my trials (like many y12 right now), which are only 30% of my internals. I know I've got a lot of potential to rebound, but I also acknowledge that lots of my cohort have that as well. Even though I have that potential, it never comes my way because every day I still find ways to procrastinate and lose out on large swathes of my scheduled work I've had for that day. Which is extremely frustrating, but doesn't translate into a more efficient day afterwards.

These holidays I have UCAT to study for, so I need to make a balance between UCAT prep and trial prep instead of overwhelmingly focusing on one thing.

Of course, my discipline needs to be improved, which I'm working on. Addressing my engaged audience who have read thus far:

Any other thoughts or words of encouragement?

Because I'm also the only source for that encouragement in getting myself through the next few weeks.

ps it's also ok if you don't feel like you have a good answer to my problem - it's a very complex one which I have been trying to solve over several years. Any nugget of wisdom is extremely helpful and appreciated.

 

[synthesisFR]

nah bro i legit also thought i had some disorder or smth thats undiagnosed bc its so hard to study at home
just go the the library to get work done- thats what im gonna be doing these holidays to prep for trials
dont think u have some issue within u bc then its harder to fix- u might just be someone who just gets distracted easily bc of insta reels and whatnot but that doesn't automatically mean there is something wrong with you.
The biggest advice imo is change ur work environment

 

[idkkdi]

first of all i'd like to thank @dezross for inspiring me to spill my woes to the BoS community and find solace in NSW's bastion of academic and personal care.

I don't have much time, so imma cut to the chase.
I'm ranked 14th in my pretty beta school (most of yall would have probably doxxed my school already so here goes) and my goal is to be in the top 3 - about an ATAR of 99.8+ (for med, you see). Coming 14th right now, my predicted ATAR by my school lies at 98.80 (some of you may think - only a 1 ATAR jump! What's the issue? But all of us know that that 1 ATAR jump is the hardest 1 ATAR jump that exists).

I know I'm naturally pretty gifted (top classes from y7, offered entry to JRAHS at Selective - It's sobering how my achievements are all in the past), but I struggle a lot to actually put meaningful effort into my study, because I get distracted very easily (I probably have a disorder of some sort, but I haven't been diagnosed yet) and I'm unable to stay disciplined. My worst ranks of Chemistry and English Advanced (21/39 and 38/119) reflect that because I totaled my mid-year exams, because I started studying for them a day before - even when I had zero reason to. If I'd done well in both of them, I would definitely be in the top 5, because my maths and bio are carrying me right now.

The ranks are also an issue because I have 0 internal exams left apart from my trials (like many y12 right now), which are only 30% of my internals. I know I've got a lot of potential to rebound, but I also acknowledge that lots of my cohort have that as well. Even though I have that potential, it never comes my way because every day I still find ways to procrastinate and lose out on large swathes of my scheduled work I've had for that day. Which is extremely frustrating, but doesn't translate into a more efficient day afterwards.

These holidays I have UCAT to study for, so I need to make a balance between UCAT prep and trial prep instead of overwhelmingly focusing on one thing.

Of course, my discipline needs to be improved, which I'm working on. Addressing my engaged audience who have read thus far:

Any other thoughts or words of encouragement?

Because I'm also the only source for that encouragement in getting myself through the next few weeks.

ps it's also ok if you don't feel like you have a good answer to my problem - it's a very complex one which I have been trying to solve over several years. Any nugget of wisdom is extremely helpful and appreciated.

sounds quite a lot like me. best advice I got is stop believing you're gifted. you'll start working harder when you wrap your head around that.

 

[gamja]

sounds quite a lot like me. best advice I got is stop believing you're gifted. you'll start working harder when you wrap your head around that.

Agreed - i’ve relied upon that reassurance for a lot of my high school years ~ but i guess it gets humbling once your achievements are in the distant past and you fall behind people who’ve gotten a lot smarter and hardworking since then.

 

[gamja]

In terms of procrastinating and getting distracted, I experience the same thing (which is why I'm even on this website rn instead of doing my assignment ), so your not alone in that boat. You could try the Pomodoro technique which is where you study for maybe an hr and give yourself a 10 minute break (albeit this didn't work for me, those 10 mins turned into 30 mins, it might for you though ).

What worked for me ultimately, was going to a nearby library or even a university library, and working there. I found that the environment at home made me prone to laziness, but seeing others studying/working in the library provided me with the motivation to also do the same.

just go the the library to get work done- thats what im gonna be doing these holidays to prep for trials
The biggest advice imo is change ur work environment

Thanks for the advice! I’ve also experienced that going to the library is more helpful and I get more productive, but I’m currently dealing with the bad habit of making dumb excuses to not go. I’ve made a weekly schedule that revolves around a consistent rotation to the library - which plan on sticking to thru hols