Been slacking more than a decade - need advice (subjects, habits) (1 Viewer)

[Momine]

Hey, sorry if this is the wrong subforum for starters.

I'm at Year 11 right now, moving on to yr 12 in 2 weeks, and I've been slacking for a very long time.
Some backstory that I won't mention since it's not that important, but it has made some very bad habits.
I'd like to do my best, work my best, and get the best ATAR I can.

It would be nice if anyone that has not studied even a little bit in year 11 that made significant progress in year 12 would provide some advice.

Some information:

I'm an international student that started the course at year 11.
And I've done near nothing to study for my subjects. I'm very concerned of HSC.

My subects and raw scores of everything so far are (scores are before prelim final exams)

ESL > 44
Math > 98
Math ex1 > 85
Business Studies > barely over 60
Chemistry > 71
Design / technology > barely over 60
SDD > 86

My estimated ATAR with these scores are 78. Obviously it will lower after the big test, as I am not prepared at all.

To get into my preferred uni course (computer science), I need an atar of 90 and above.

These are the courses I plan to take in year 12:

Math ex1
Math ex2
Business studies
SDD
ESL
(Chemistry?) - backup

I do not, however, enjoy chemistry at all and my scores are horrendous. I've only received a passing score because the questions were all from the KiSS resources and the teacher was generous with the markings. If 10 units are fine for HSC, I will gladly drop chemistry.


Sorry if this thread is all over the place. I'm just very concerned with my HSC year as I have been slacking for over a decade and have very unproductive habits.

If you've slacked your whole year 11 with bad scores but did significantly better in Year 12, please lend some advice.

Thanks.

 

[pikachu975]

10 units is enough for HSC. Also you can achieve a 90 atar if you set your mind to it since year 12 is a fresh start, no marks carry over. I'm sure you're motivated enough to study hard to get into computer science, just study hard and smart by reading guides - there's heaps on this forum. Most people try harder in year 12 just try improve your ESL marks possibly by reading books and stuff and focus on your weaknesses, not your strengths.

 

[Momine]

10 units is enough for HSC. Also you can achieve a 90 atar if you set your mind to it since year 12 is a fresh start, no marks carry over. I'm sure you're motivated enough to study hard to get into computer science, just study hard and smart by reading guides - there's heaps on this forum. Most people try harder in year 12 just try improve your ESL marks possibly by reading books and stuff and focus on your weaknesses, not your strengths.

I'll look for the guides.
I'm worried about having no backup unit, I need to do my very best with only 10.

 

[Jolteon]

Thankfully it's only Year 11 so nothing goes towards anything. I'm in the same position as you - going into Year 12 very soon and I think during the September holidays, you could revise some of the Year 11 content (especially things you are weak at) so you don't fall behind in Year 12.

You could always hop online and watch some videos/crash courses on both Year 11 and Year 12 topics so you essentially even go ahead a little bit but there's no need to burn yourself out.

Try practice a lot of past papers before exams and yeah go read more books for ESL and keep notes organised for Business since there's a lot of content.

Also rather than having a backup, I think you should just have 10 units and study hard for all of them because the extra subject will require alot of time and effort, especially chemistry.

 

[Momine]

Thankfully it's only Year 11 so nothing goes towards anything. I'm in the same position as you - going into Year 12 very soon and I think during the September holidays, you could revise some of the Year 11 content (especially things you are weak at) so you don't fall behind in Year 12.

You could always hop online and watch some videos/crash courses on both Year 11 and Year 12 topics so you essentially even go ahead a little bit but there's no need to burn yourself out.

Try practice a lot of past papers before exams and yeah go read more books for ESL and keep notes organised for Business since there's a lot of content.

Also rather than having a backup, I think you should just have 10 units and study hard for all of them because the extra subject will require alot of time and effort, especially chemistry.

Organization of notes and notetaking for subjects is something I can definitely improve on.

Is there a way to find out what I will be learning in the HSC courses? If yes, I could advance with videos and notetaking as you stated, but right now I am unaware of what I will be learning in the next year.

 

[captainhelium]

Don't worry I was similar to you since I didn't do much study in Year 11. You can start afresh for Year 12 and really ace it.

Just work harder in Year 12 and better results should follow. Try to take notes during the holiday break and learn ahead.

In terms of ESL, just make sure you put a lot more effort into it since 2 units of English have to count towards your ATAR.

Also, you can do 10 units in Year 12 - just make sure you don't bomb out on one subject as it could bring you down. Doing 12 units does provide a safety zone but more work is required.

 

[captainhelium]

Is there a way to find out what I will be learning in the HSC courses? If yes, I could advance with videos and notetaking as you stated, but right now I am unaware of what I will be learning in the next year.

Since you're in Year 12 next year, the current (old) syllabus will tell you what you need to study for your subjects. What you need to study will be in the dot points of the syllabus.

For example, the chemistry syllabus is here --> http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/chemistry-st6-syl.pdf

Open the PDF and go to page 46. That will have the stuff you need to know.

 

[Momine]

Since you're in Year 12 next year, the current (old) syllabus will tell you what you need to study for your subjects. What you need to study will be in the dot points of the syllabus.

For example, the chemistry syllabus is here --> http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/chemistry-st6-syl.pdf

Open the PDF and go to page 46. That will have the stuff you need to know.

Thanks. I suppose I find the bulletin points and relate them to the chapters of the book that I will beusing at year 12, and make notes.