How hard is 90+ atar! (2 Viewers)

[Brock1]

I'm hoping to get into psychology, and hoping for a 90+ atar.

How achievable is this, I have problems sleeping and pretty bad memory haha. I got straight A's for my year 10 report with not much effort, but I'm aware that means nothing hahah

How many hours should I study per night in year 11? I get distracted easily xD

And is 90+ as hard as everyone says?

Thanks heaps

 

[maddie2713]

i got 92.65, sorry to say but memory is key. i didn't study much, i wrote notes in the holidays before hsc and that was my study done.. however i do have some tips for you firstly, scaling does matter so make sure you choose the right subjects, secondarily hand write your notes because it strengthens your hand as well as sticks in your memory better. Another tip is to watch youtube videos as incorporating different learning styles into your study means your more likely to remember it

 

[turntaker]

i got 92.65, sorry to say but memory is key. i didn't study much, i wrote notes in the holidays before hsc and that was my study done.. however i do have some tips for you firstly, scaling does matter so make sure you choose the right subjects, secondarily hand write your notes because it strengthens your hand as well as sticks in your memory better. Another tip is to watch youtube videos as incorporating different learning styles into your study means your more likely to remember it

What subjects did you do?

 

[Loudvicuna]

90+ isn't hard for some people, very hard for others - depends on the person. Year 11 doesn't mean anything so just listen in class and do 30 mins study after school here and there when you need to. In year 11 you have lots of spare time, you should spend it on your hobbies like martial arts or something.

 

[iforgotmyname]

90+ isn't hard for some people, very hard for others - depends on the person. Year 11 doesn't mean anything so just listen in class and do 30 mins study after school here and there when you need to. In year 11 you have lots of spare time, you should spend it on your hobbies like martial arts or something.

Nah, year 11 you cram maths, learn essay structure and start learning year 12 science (if you do any). The reason why you only learn essay structure and not content for english is because year 11 english is completely irrelevant to year 12. However unlike english, HSC Maths builds up upon year 11 theory and also relies on your maths mechanics. So if your maths mechanics is not good then you should take use this one year to do a lot of practice question and 'level up' your mechanics.

 

[lastofus]

The difficulty of getting a 90+ ATAR is different for everyone. However, it is actually not as hard as you may think. How many hours you study depends on what works for you. No one here can tell you an exact figure as the effectiveness of studying differs for different people; so you need to experiment and evaluate what works best for you. In terms of memory, different people have different levels of cognitive functioning. Fortunately, memory is something that you are able to strengthen through repetition and practice.

 

[swagmeister]

The difficulty of getting a 90+ ATAR is different for everyone. However, it is actually not as hard as you may think. How many hours you study depends on what works for you. No one here can tell you an exact figure as the effectiveness of studying differs for different people; so you need to experiment and evaluate what works best for you. In terms of memory, different people have different levels of cognitive functioning. Fortunately, memory is something that you are able to strengthen through repetition and practice.

I completely agree with this

Personally, I started out aiming for 90 but ended up way beyond that (99.65) as once I started getting assessment marks back I increased my goals

It will be different for everyone but achievable for anyone

 

[bangali]

Just remember that the average ATAR is 60-something, so while I'm not going to say 90 isn't achievable, please all be careful of saying that 90 is piss-easy; I saw so many people badly hurt by the scores they got because they thought that 80-90 was 'normal' and since they were 'average' they'd obviously get those scores by default. But for a 'bright' student who gets straight A+es fairly easily, I reckon a 90 honestly isn't that hard.

Work hard, work smart, learn from your mistakes, be consistent and persevere, and you're well on the path to high 90s.

Re poor memory - have you looked into mnemonics, visualisation, modelling, telling a story, and all those cool memory hacks? Google/youtube them. I was always scornful until I tried them lol Often memory/rote-learning isn't the key so much as understanding the formula or situation, which often takes away the need for memory. Also remember that reading and rereading a textbook doesn't help memory - keep testing yourself as you read, writing things in your own words, etc. And spaced repetition is the best way to remember ever, you absolutely must use Anki.

(and to directly contradict someone above, don't choose subjects based on scaling - choose subjects based on what you enjoy and what you're good at, that instantly cancels the effects of scaling)

 

[Yeungster]

got 97 atar but didn't really pay attention in yr11 so got around 70s for everything. While my friends all went tutoring at Dr Du and whatnot, I only started putting in effort during the summer holidays at the end of yr 11. It is during this period where getting ahead in terms of content really helped esp if you are doing any sciences, (i pretty much self taught the first 2 topics of phys and chem by reading notes off BOS and using the DOTPOINT textbooks, etc). That was how i got ahead in class (or stayed in line with people who went tutoring) and snowballed my way to 90+.

 

[Ekman]

Lol you sound just like me

I had sleeping problems before every test (i had only 2 hrs of sleep before my 3u trial and i ended up getting 93, almost cost me my rank) and i also struggled to memorise my english essays (people memorised essays in days, it took me weeks to memorise my essays word for word, but i dont regret it though)
I also got straight A's in yr 10 as well and i put in a lot of effort.

I ended up getting an atar of 99.65. But this isnt to say that you will end up like me, you might get higher or you might get lower, but in my opinion you should definitely get 90+. Just minimise your distractions, set a sleeping schedule and make sure you dont break it because that can cause some problems, and just try your hardest by staying committed to your studies

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

 

[Brock1]

This is incredibly helpful. thanks man!

 

[helloimyellow]

Seems like you've already got good study habits from year 10. I bludged through year 11, played games till 11pm every night (~100 hours every fortnight on steam games fuk) and got horrible marks and ranks as a result (almost missed out on getting into MX2).

As others have said, focus on maths and sciences as the content in the prelim course is applicable/helpful for the HSC course (not so much for chemistry except for equations, some concepts and general exam technique), but don't neglect english especially if you aren't so good at it so you can build up essay writing skills and what not.

Try to take advantage of your free periods as well. You might not get that many in Year 11 (since you're doing 12 units or more), but it helps if you're easily distracted at home. If not, go to a local library after school or something; I walked to surry hills library as it was close to school and then went home at around 6.30pm every night. Try maybe 2-3 hours on weekdays and ramp it up as you get closer to HSC year?

 

[eyeseeyou]

I'm hoping to get into psychology, and hoping for a 90+ atar.

How achievable is this, I have problems sleeping and pretty bad memory haha. I got straight A's for my year 10 report with not much effort, but I'm aware that means nothing hahah

How many hours should I study per night in year 11? I get distracted easily xD

And is 90+ as hard as everyone says?

Thanks heaps

Try developing a more appropriate sleeping pattern and make sure it doesn't interfere with your study. If you have bad memory, try exercising and develop more healthy habits. You should try to understand the content (by teaching it to someone or looking at the concept visually)

In year 11, try to study more as you need to develop this habit for the HSC. If you get distracted easily then go somewhere where you can focus more (e.g. library or remove all distractions from a room)

Getting atar 90+ is dependant on the student Imo. My cousin was lazy got a band 5 for 4 subjects and he got a band 6 for only one subject (he took learning seriously only before exams) and ended up getting 95 atar from memory

 

[Yeungster]

Very ezpz xD

 

[tonysoprano]

Getting 90 on the dot shouldn't be hard, but when you try and push higher into the 90s, it gets harder and harder

 

[joey9911]

Don't ever choose subjects based on "scaling". I know so many people that did higher scaling subjects "4u Math, Physics, Chem" thinking they were going to get a high atar with them and that their classmates will "drag them up" even if they don't even like the subject. They completely failed those high scaling subjects and received a bad atar. They were my friends who had finished Year 12 late last year (I am sitting the HSC exam this year though).

Scaling diminishes the higher your HSC mark is. Scaling is pointless and irrelevant if you achieve high in that course. Like, really high. So here's the best tip ANYONE could give you. Choose the subjects YOU KNOW you're going to do good in. If you have faith in that subject and know deep inside you'll succeed, choose it. If you get a HSC mark >90 in every one of those subjects, no matter if that subject is the lowest scaling or highest scaling, you'll get an ATAR of 90+.

 

[Zoinked]

Honestly it isnt so hard to get a 90+ atar, as around 16.5% of people who did the HSC in 2014 got an atar of 90.00 or higher. (Source) It is just about performing better than the top 16% of the state. Simple as that. Doing subjects you excel at and trying really hard will get you there if you are a capable individual. From my experience so far with the hsc, lots of people dont try at all (public school lol), so I believe to get an atar of 90+ it will be pretty easy.

 

[bangali]

I've probably said this before, but I'd be careful of saying it's really easy to be in the top 16%. I've totally seen people devastated when they worked hard and got a 70, because they thought that 80-90 was easily achievable to an 'average' student and they were 'average', so. Believing 90 is piss-easy can set people up for massive disappointment (or alternatively it can inspire them to greater heights).

Be aware that levels of easiness are different for different people (based on their natural intelligence, study skills, attitude etc.) and getting in the top 15% is not instantly easy.

 

[plutonium-238]

I got 80 atar

 

[Zoinked]

@Bangali. Very true, a personality flaw which i will admit to is cockiness. I guess always having been the smartest (or one of the) in my classes has gotten to my head.