Stupid Misconceptions About the HSC (1 Viewer)

[joshlols]

Post any stupid misconceptions about the HSC so that the 2009'ers don't have the same stupid ideas!

HSC is so stressful omg i'm going to die *stress stress*

HSC will only be stressful if you allow it to be by listening to the previous douchebags who themselves have let the stress get to them. It's perfectly possible to get a 95 uai while going out regularly and dedicating every waking moment toward study.

4unit mathematics is impossibly hard and you will fail unless you dedicate your life and spend copious amounts on tutoring and is only for if you are crazy at math wah wah wah.

No it's not. It's actually in the scope of anyone capable at mathematics, even sometimes easier than 3unit. It's a challenging course but nothing 'crazy' and it's listening to the testimonies of 4unit failures that will lead you to become disheartened and think you are worse than you are, hence continuing the chain. Hell, doing 4unit knocks off 4 of your total units and since it is actually easier to study for (keeping up with work in class and then doing past papers is the most effective yet lazy-friendly method of studying) you have a lot more time to allocate to your other 6 units. Put it this way, if you know how to use the quadratic formula and know basic trigonometry, 4unit is within your capabilities. Proof? I was coming bottom 10 out of 90 people for 3unit in year 11 and in the bottom 30% for 2unit. In year 12 I was ranked 13th out of 80 something for 3unit and 15/34 for 4unit simply because I started paying attention in class and completing work.

mai skewl raw mark 4 biology waz onli 74 doez dat mean dat 4 teh hsc hafl of the biology hsc mrk wil be da 74?!?!??

No, only ranks matter. When your ranks are sent into the BoS they are cast aside until your hsc marks come in. The HSC marks are then pooled per school and then distributed based on rank for the school assesment 50% of your overal HSC mark. So therefore your school mark doesn't matter, rather the overall performance of your school in the HSC which then relates directly to your assesment rank.

 

[danz90]

Yeah I agree with above posts in saying that you should in no way devote ur life to the HSC... it actually isn't the end of the world, so I've discovered lol.
Year 12 should be one of your best schooling years anyway...enjoy it.
I miss yr12 already LOL

DON'T STRESS/FRET ON ASSESSMENT MARKS Like I did... just maintain the top/highest rank u can... with a big gap - and u'll be fine.

The trial/past paper marks u get aren't very indicative of what u get in the real exam - because they ALIGN marks - i.e. they scale the raw marks u achieve in the exam HEAPS. For example, if the markers awarded u a total of 81/100 marks to your paper in Biology, then that would be 'aligned' to around 90/100.

DO NOT get put off by trial marks - it isn't the end. You can improve your marks by up to 25% from the trial - if you work hard consistently.

A word of advice - if you want 2 succeed - don't give up after the trial.. give yourself a few days break.. and then get back into it, and go all hard out until the exams.

Don't get put off by your first assessment tasks (which will be this term) - if you don't get good marks, IT'S NOT THE END! Remember, most first ass. tasks are usually small weightings anyway.

People think the HSC Exams will be the worst experience of their life, all the gloom and doom - WRONG. If you study and are well-prepared for your exams, you will actually ENJOY it. All the knowledge and effort you have been putting in throughout year 12 finally draws down to that one exam - you know you'll give it all you've got and kill it. And the HSC Exam period flys by REALLY, REALLY fast.

 

[Cerry]

People will tell you the only effective way to study is to go for an hour, then have a 10 minute break. It's bullshit.
If you're on a roll, then keep going until you're done/over it. If you're having trouble concentrating on something, do something else, and come back to whatever it was you were doing before. There's no point forcing yourself to keep working, or stop working, because someone else thinks that it's the best way to study.

Also, you don't need to cut back on sleep. If you only need a few hours sleep a night to function, whatever. If you need 10 hours a night, then sleep for 10 hours a night. You're not going to be able to work properly if you're tired, so there's no point sacrificing sleep to try and work, cause you probably won't get much done anyway. And you won't really take anything in anway.

 

[kevinx2]

Gawdd 09ers...

Many of them are ridiculously clueless about how HSC Marks etc work and yet they still go about explaining it to people believing in their deluded mind that they're correct.

Doing Extension subjects is not going to get you an "awesome" UAI

+ many more

 

[aLexTasyy]

all im looking foreward to is the english exam as we are the first year to experience the new syllabus....so in my opinion they have to go easy on us...and the CAFS exam...coz its gonna be hard, which means we dont have to answer everything in such detailed explination

 

[midifile]

all im looking foreward to is the english exam as we are the first year to experience the new syllabus....so in my opinion they have to go easy on us...and the CAFS exam...coz its gonna be hard, which means we dont have to answer everything in such detailed explination

huh?

 

[darkwolfzx]

Uni makes the hsc look like a joke

seriously

 

[inter108]

Great

 

[Chinmoku03]

4unit mathematics is impossibly hard and you will fail unless you dedicate your life and spend copious amounts on tutoring and is only for if you are crazy at math wah wah wah.

No it's not. It's actually in the scope of anyone capable at mathematics, even sometimes easier than 3unit. It's a challenging course but nothing 'crazy' and it's listening to the testimonies of 4unit failures that will lead you to become disheartened and think you are worse than you are, hence continuing the chain. Hell, doing 4unit knocks off 4 of your total units and since it is actually easier to study for (keeping up with work in class and then doing past papers is the most effective yet lazy-friendly method of studying) you have a lot more time to allocate to your other 6 units. Put it this way, if you know how to use the quadratic formula and know basic trigonometry, 4unit is within your capabilities. Proof? I was coming bottom 10 out of 90 people for 3unit in year 11 and in the bottom 30% for 2unit. In year 12 I was ranked 13th out of 80 something for 3unit and 15/34 for 4unit simply because I started paying attention in class and completing work.

Q4E.

I've seen so many people cringe at 4U Maths, it's not funny. Worse, they do it for the scaling, then whine about how hard the course is, when they know that they do no work. It is foolish to do 4U Maths and hope that mere scaling will pull you thru. You're much better off doing a lower scaled subject that you excel at.

Cerry brought up another good point about studying. If you have the momentum going for you and you're flying thru the homework/past papers/whatever, then keep going. If you're stuck, either due to having no clue as to how to answer the question or knowing you can do the question, but your brain's not working right ATM, take a break from it. There were a few occasions where I got stuck on a 3U question, knew I can do it and stubbornly refused to let it go. I ended up pondering about these questions for roughly three hours, and I know I could've done another entire 3U paper in that time. Best thing about the whole situation? I come back the next day and solved the question in half a minute. Don't waste valuable time like I did -.-;

 

[midifile]

Here are some more:

I do standard english or general maths, does this mean I will fail my HSC?

No. Plenty of people who do either of these subjects have gotton UAIs >99. cbf explaining in detail but its possible.

I only do 10 units, does this mean I will fail my HSC?

No. People who do 12 units do so so they have a 'back up' in case they do shit in one subject. However, if you are going to do well in 10 units, there is no need to have an extra subject. I learnt this the hard way, doing chemistry for the sake of having an extra 2 units (for a backup). Apart from hating it, I am 99% sure that it's not gonna count, so I pretty much wasted 4 hours/week in class, as well as whatever time I spent studying at home (not that much throughout the year, but a fair bit before exams (when I could have been studying for something else)).

 

[boris]

Uni makes the hsc look like a joke

seriously

Listen to this man. Wise beyond his years.

 

[Chinmoku03]

Listen to this man. Wise beyond his years.

But uni's fun and the HSC wasn't. Well... Not that the HSC was boring either, but... Do I make sense? XP

 

[darkwolfzx]

uni is fun because you have freedom in the sense of non fixed class times and lack of school uniform, as well as making real friends who are into the same field as you are.

but once you get to the workload you will think otherwise.

 

[Chinmoku03]

Yeah, I'll agree that there's a lot more work. Six assess' in a week FTW. Tho it was kinda funny when I look back at it XD

Now, to get this thing back on track...

I dunno why, but there's a minority out there who think that they can't do well in the HSC cos they did bad in the SC. TBH, I thought my SC results contradict my HSC results. I got a 69 for SC sci, but I ended up doing HSC phys and chem, scoring 80+ in each. So the point is, SC does not necessarily dictate what subjects you'll exceed in during the HSC.

 

[kevinx2]

I dunno why, but there's a minority out there who think that they can't do well in the HSC cos they did bad in the SC. TBH, I thought my SC results contradict my HSC results. I got a 69 for SC sci, but I ended up doing HSC phys and chem, scoring 80+ in each. So the point is, SC does not necessarily dictate what subjects you'll exceed in during the HSC.

Yep, mine HSC woefully contradicts my SC. 91 and 99 for English and Computers respectively, yet English and Software are my worst in the HSC.
Though the UAC Scaling Report does suggest a strong correlation between SC performance and HSC performance.

OT:
Raw marks should be put in UAI calculators
High UAI = Success
School ranking have a massive effect on your final results
HSC>Life
Studying ridiculous amounts of hours is the only means to succeed.

 

[addikaye03]

I Didn't Know The Pussy Monster Exam Was So Hard

WTF is with you and that song?.. every bloody thread

 

[esstown]

Yep, mine HSC woefully contradicts my SC. 91 and 99 for English and Computers respectively, yet English and Software are my worst in the HSC.
Though the UAC Scaling Report does suggest a strong correlation between SC performance and HSC performance.

OT:
Raw marks should be put in UAI calculators
High UAI = Success
School ranking have a massive effect on your final results
HSC>Life
Studying ridiculous amounts of hours is the only means to succeed.

I dont think putting in raw marks would work for the higher academic schools?

 

[eldore44]

mai skewl raw mark 4 biology waz onli 74 doez dat mean dat 4 teh hsc hafl of the biology hsc mrk wil be da 74?!?!??

No, only ranks matter. When your ranks are sent into the BoS they are cast aside until your hsc marks come in. The HSC marks are then pooled per school and then distributed based on rank for the school assesment 50% of your overal HSC mark. So therefore your school mark doesn't matter, rather the overall performance of your school in the HSC which then relates directly to your assesment rank.

Well, almost, pity you're wrong. HSC external assessment marks are distributed in accordance with your internal exam marks- not just rank. ie if you are ahead by 10 marks you will do better than if you are ahead by 1 mark.

 

[Finx]

DON'T STRESS/FRET ON ASSESSMENT MARKS Like I did... just maintain the top/highest rank u can... with a big gap - and u'll be fine.

omg lol y dident i think of dis, it soundz so ez!!1

I agree with the OP, and most posters. Extension or "harder" courses don't give insta-uber-scaling. If you suck, scaling will make your mark suck worse.

 

[joshlols]

Well, almost, pity you're wrong. HSC external assessment marks are distributed in accordance with your internal exam marks- not just rank. ie if you are ahead by 10 marks you will do better than if you are ahead by 1 mark.

Not really, it's based around the standard deviation rather than your straight marks. Hence why it's still relative to your rank primarily.