100 UAI, no tuition, did an Arts degree - AMA (2 Viewers)

[financialwar]

UAI 100 and then Arts Degree?

 

[esaitchkay]

UAI 100 and then Arts Degree?

notsureifsrs
I think you have to realise that not everyone and their sibling wants to get a CPA, then get into IB; and for that matter, med/dentistry etc.
Some people actually have the will to follow their passion and interests, rather than be confined to the expectations of society - something which I greatly respect.
In fact, this might really get you mad: http://www.smh.com.au/national/tert...-points-a-means-to-an-end-20140205-320r4.html
Now having fed the trolls,

@Mark;
You said you slept 9 hours a day, got in some tf2 hours, exercised and still managed to get 100UAI - this wouldn't have left much time for studying, right? Did it come down to being attentive in class, understanding the concepts and just simply revising a bit at home? I suppose this is mainly regarding MX2, since it seems that a lot of it comes down to doing a lot of practice papers?

Also, financialwar's comment also brings upon the question; How did your parents/friends react to you choosing Arts?

 

[deloving]

That year was great. For me it really just helped to have someone who would always be there to listen, to hang out with, to share the entire experience? We barely ever talked about the HSC (I think we studied together only once). One of the hardest things about that year I think is that everyone is so caught up with the web of studies and commitments and pressure that it's often just hard to find time for other people? But because we had each other, there wasn't that constant social anxiety of reaching out to see someone and being rebuffed by "I've got to study" or "I have assessments" - we always had time for each other, if that makes sense? And in a tumultuous life-stage like that, you really need that sort of anchor-point to keep yourself strong?

I've never said this before but I would credit a lot of how I did that year to her presence, support, affection. Which is ironic given how a lot of families (particularly Asian ones) discourage relationships during high school because of their distractive potential.

Similar to you, I've been in my very first relationship since the start of year 12. And although we're only a school term and a half in, I can sympathise with what you say here.

 

[Mdyeow]

UAI 100 and then Arts Degree?

Yes.

notsureifsrs

@Mark;
You said you slept 9 hours a day, got in some tf2 hours, exercised and still managed to get 100UAI - this wouldn't have left much time for studying, right? Did it come down to being attentive in class, understanding the concepts and just simply revising a bit at home? I suppose this is mainly regarding MX2, since it seems that a lot of it comes down to doing a lot of practice papers?

Also, financialwar's comment also brings upon the question; How did your parents/friends react to you choosing Arts?

Parents: "Sure you don't want to do law?"

Me: "Yep."

Parents: "Ok. Don't forget to be back by 6 for dinner tonight"

Your guess about my practice routine is quite accurate. I tried to use my in-class time as efficiently as possible - in English classes towards the end of the year, for about 3 months, I would just spend the 40 minutes on a single practice essay. Every time. In Maths, same deal towards the end. Prior to that, I would always make sure I was asking questions if I didn't get anything (i.e. basically all of Ext 2 Maths), taking notes on anything I found interesting, and so on. Basically not goofing off and "taking advantage" of my teachers as much as possible. For MX2 (Maths?), definitely just hammering the practice papers AND being honest with the shit that you don't understand, working to understand it, et c.

I also revised a bit every night, which is a lot easier than revising a lot in a few nights. So I would ensure that through a little repetition, the day's new concepts were absorbed. Then over the week I'd keep coming back to them until they were incorporated into my brain. Of course I would forget things, but what this technique means is that towards the actual exam period, you're just filling little gaps rather than trying to build your knowledge from scratch.

TL;DR: don't goof off in class, revise little "pockets" of new/recent stuff every night. Consistency is key.

(there were also some incidents, like my Ext2 English second draft, where I simply pumped out around 5-6 hours of work in a single day. But Ext2 is quite different because you're not using "existing" knowledge, you're creating new things, if that makes sense)

 

[Mdyeow]

Similar to you, I've been in my very first relationship since the start of year 12. And although we're only a school term and a half in, I can sympathise with what you say here.

Good luck to you and your significant other. I'm not the best to give relationship advice but it's true that everything does change after high school - so just keep things really open, honest, and kind between you two. I didn't and regret losing someone who probably should've been a lifelong friend.

 

[anandos]

Do you treat uni studies similar to the way you approached the HSC? If not, what would you say is different? And any other general uni advice to offer?
Thanks

 

[Mdyeow]

Do you treat uni studies similar to the way you approached the HSC? If not, what would you say is different? And any other general uni advice to offer?
Thanks

I worked a lot harder at uni than I did for the HSC. This, I believe, was mainly because I had to work out a "new system" - namely, figuring out what tactics and approaches would get me the best scores in this academic environment.

Some similarities and differences:

1. In uni, I would "pitch" essay concepts to lecturers before I started writing them, to ensure I was on the right track. This was because at the start, the rather obtuse marking schemes of certain subjects caused me to get some pretty terrible scores. Basically because I hadn't understood what the lecturers wanted, they were shit at explaining, whatever. So adding that intermediate step helped confirm angles and bearing before I actually did any work. Whereas in school, you typically only seek feedback once you've finished the essay.

2. The writing styles are very different but also very similar. I used the same thesis-topic sentence structure for all my essays in uni and it worked A CHARM. Most people just toss that structure and write verbose, unintelligible jargon-speak because they think the more long words, the more impressed the academic reading it will be. Doesn't work. Keep things simple and clear.

3. I rarely did weekly "readings". This was only towards 3/4th years, when I realised that a lot of the Readings were not directly relevant to the content of your essays and exams. Basically you do your own research and thinking rather than just cribbing off what your teachers tell you.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mdyeow]

And any other general uni advice to offer?

1. Make the most of your flexible routine/spare time (whether it be new hobbies, pursuing professional opportunities, pursuing dating opportunities, whatever)
2. Meet as many people in your first year as possible, then cull them down to the ones who can always make you laugh or cry with laughter.
3. Don't pay to join clubs and societies because you'll never end up going.
4. Finish assignments early so you can party while your comrades suffer.
5. Make your own lunch because uni food is both plain AND expensive. But the beer is quite cheap.
6. Don't drink too much beer. If you do, make sure you have already identified the Good Samaritan friend who will drag you through the gutter/endure the threat of you defiling their car.
7. The day after 6: kebabs.
8. Make sure you know exactly what subjects you need to do to complete your degree in the minimum time possible. If there are several "electives" available, choose the ones which give you less face-time/less assessments/no exams (if applicable, depending on your relative preferences).
9. A fail can be translated into a "conceded pass". If you ever fail an assessment, go IMMEDIATELY to your supervisor/faculty head and ask what can be done about it. Plead with mitigating circumstances/puppy-dog eyes if necessary. If you generally have a decent academic record, you can usually survive. A LOT of people just suck it up and end up with an F on their record.
10. The piece of paper that you get at the end is simultaneously incredibly valuable and immediately redundant.

 

[brent012]

You seem to be answering a few uni questions, so just curious - after a 100 uai, how'd you go in uni?

 

[Mdyeow]

You seem to be answering a few uni questions, so just curious - after a 100 uai, how'd you go in uni?

83.7 WAM, only slightly below a HD average. (Note: the marking system in university is, at least for Arts courses, markedly different from that of high school. HDs are scores over 85, Ds are over 75, et c. It's hard to compare the systems but a D in university is about equivalent to a Band 6 in high school, by my reckoning)

So I went pretty well by my standards, but not "spectacularly". I did win a few academic prizes along the way, but they weren't University Medal-level or anything like that. Most years I was getting consistent HDs, but a few absolute shockers dragged the average down a little.

My overall goal was solely to keep a 75+ average to maintain my scholarship. I had no intention of doing Honours or further study, and was more concerned about building up real-world career experience than getting stellar university grades. So in 3rd and 4th year I was spending around 1-2 full days at uni (or equivalent over more days) and the rest of the time working freelance, part-time, and so on. I do not recommend this gambit to everyone - it was a deliberate choice on my part made after considering the trade-offs and the nature of my specific degree choice. I would hazard too that focusing on strong academic performance is far more important for studies in science, engineering, and other fields where academic competency translates more directly into vocational application.

The university marking system is also harder to "game". That said, I did crack the system more or less by about 3rd year, but there are lots more anomalies which can still deep-six your plans no matter how well you think you've gamed things.

 

[abbeyroad]

how often do you visit /gonewild?

 

[Mdyeow]

how often do you visit /gonewild?

My answer

Helloo Mark, how did you study for Latin? Are there specific things you have do?? Also how come your school always tops Latin continuers and ext do you have really good teachers or students lol can you pls recommend things I should do/study to get good marks

1. We typically perform very well at Latin because (a) teaching staff is great, most have been around 20+ years (b) the students who do Latin are usually the A-grade students, which helps with scaling (c) not many schools do Latin anyway.

2, I studied for Latin by focusing mainly on grammar (understanding how syntax, case and tense agreement works, et c.) and practising my translation abilities. Like with any subject you want to be replicating the "test conditions" as closely as possible - so I would practise for unseens by translating bits of the source text, and doing English-Latin to improve my fluency with grammatical constructions.

And of course you want to make sure you have your seen texts covered well - be able to remember what each word means, as well as how all the grammar works.

Culture is just history, and vocab is a mug's game. Better to spend time learning the grammatical concepts so you can work out the meaning in any passage, if you know your seen text pretty well you'll already have sufficient vocab for 90% of tasks. And the other 10%...just wing it.

3. To get good marks, just try not to bleed out on the sections you can prepare for. So seen passage should be known back to front (not memorised, but understood as a text), culture facts should be loaded up, all grammar should be pretty clear. That way, it's only unseens where you might lose a couple of marks. Latin is one of those great subjects where you can (with primarily regular effort) feasibly get 97-98%, unlike say English where the same would perforce require you to hack the BoS database.

 

[Lalaloop]

Hey Mark!

Why are you so smart? o__o are you some gifted child or something?

 

[Mdyeow]

Hey Mark!

Why are you so smart? o__o are you some gifted child or something?

By the time I was 4 years old, I had already exhibited a preternatural ability to talk shit and run away from anything resembling personal responsibility. My parents, recognising my innate talent, shipped me off to Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters (you may have seen the documentary series they did a few years ago). However, I dropped out after a few years, primarily due to philosophical differences with the curriculum and Wolverine kept shredding my test papers before I could hand them in. The documentary seriously does not convey how much of a jerk he was. Zero tolerance on bullying my ass.

I then spent the next 10 years travelling the world, moonlighting as a wandering minstrel and ninja in order to pay my way. During this time I acquired numerous transcendent life experiences which made me the person I am today - that annoying guy who won't shut up about his latest transcendent life experience. Eventually I decided to settle down in Australia, and only later realised that Dorothea Mackellar's poem is not in fact an accurate representation of Sydney suburbia.

It wasn't long before I found out that for kids my age, one of the easiest ways to get some money was to score highly on some sort of reality-TV quiz show called the HSC - kind of like Jeopardy but without the instant gratification. I'm a big fan of reality TV and once appeared as a contestant in Lord of the Rings, but I also knew that these shows are rigged from the start (discovered after deep introspection and several transcendent life experiences). So I found this guy called Mark Yeow who had won that year, kidnapped him, and assumed his identity. This may sound difficult to most people but most people haven't spent 4.5 years of their life working as a singing ninja.

So in answer to your question, yes.

 

[unforlornedhope]

Hey Mark, just curious to know what marks did you score for each of you subjects? Ie. extension 2 maths, extension 1 maths, Latin, English etc?

 

[Mdyeow]

Hey Mark, just curious to know what marks did you score for each of you subjects? Ie. extension 2 maths, extension 1 maths, Latin, English etc?

From memory (+/-1 variance):

English Adv: 95
English Ext1: 47
English Ext2: 50
Maths Ext1: 98/7
Maths Ext2: 97/6
Latin Cont: 98
Latin Ext1: 49
French Cont: 94

Mark, if you don't mind, what was your learning style and methods of study which help you greatly?

Practical practice, and Princess Elsa.

Practical practice means doing exercises, past papers, and other "active" modes instead of just memorising or learning materials (static). I go into this a lot more in my book, but the essence of it is that your HSC is simply a set of tasks, and the more you repeat those tasks the more able you will be to get them done to a consistently decent standard. It's like if you're a runner, you don't get a better time by just swotting up on the latest techniques and track details.

Similar to preparing for a triathlon, you also have to get started and prepared as early as possible. Which brings me to my second point, which is to just let it go. Only when I stopped worrying about how I would perform did I start to find new ways to tweak my performance and also just relax into better results. For me, this means preparing a lot ahead of any assessments, because I get very stressed out if I'm not ready. I can't cram the night before, it's not how I'm wired. So I consistently "run" the track to not only build up my mental muscles, but also reduce the anxiety and other neural stressors that I get from feeling "not ready".

You basically have to work with your brain to get everything in without having a nervous breakdown. I hope that makes sense.

 

[flashyGoldFish]

How much influence did your school environment have on your grades?

 

[Futuremedstudent]

From memory (+/-1 variance):

English Adv: 95
English Ext1: 47
English Ext2: 50
Maths Ext1: 98/7
Maths Ext2: 97/6
Latin Cont: 98
Latin Ext1: 49
French Cont: 94



Practical practice, and Princess Elsa.

Practical practice means doing exercises, past papers, and other "active" modes instead of just memorising or learning materials (static). I go into this a lot more in my book, but the essence of it is that your HSC is simply a set of tasks, and the more you repeat those tasks the more able you will be to get them done to a consistently decent standard. It's like if you're a runner, you don't get a better time by just swotting up on the latest techniques and track details.

Similar to preparing for a triathlon, you also have to get started and prepared as early as possible. Which brings me to my second point, which is to just let it go. Only when I stopped worrying about how I would perform did I start to find new ways to tweak my performance and also just relax into better results. For me, this means preparing a lot ahead of any assessments, because I get very stressed out if I'm not ready. I can't cram the night before, it's not how I'm wired. So I consistently "run" the track to not only build up my mental muscles, but also reduce the anxiety and other neural stressors that I get from feeling "not ready".

You basically have to work with your brain to get everything in without having a nervous breakdown. I hope that makes sense.

hey, can u please give me some tips for french contineurs

edit: i'm sorry if this is random but 500th post

 

[Mdyeow]

How much influence did your school environment have on your grades?

Significant. I was fortunate that I had a lot of competition in my grade - we had about 10-15 people who ended up with state rankings, many of whom had more than 1 to their name. We all pushed each other to do better, but for the most part it was also an extremely collegial and friendly sort of competition. For example, my arch-rival in English would always share his notes with me when I missed class for music lessons, and vice versa. Our resident maths genius always helped me out when I failed to understand something "trivial", even if he did so with frequent remarks about my idiocy. So having that milieu of cleverness around definitely drove me to work harder to beat the system, but at the same time it wasn't a Hunger Games do-or-die sort of thing which reduced the stress of it all. The old axiom about being defined by the company you keep is definitely true.

hey, can u please give me some tips for french contineurs

edit: i'm sorry if this is random but 500th post

Grammar, speaking practice (to a mirror if necessary - talking to yourself is great), and learn the gender of EVERYTHING. Also get some key idioms memorised so you can apply them to different scenarios, showing an advanced awareness of the language's nuances (my favourite was "il pleut comme vache qui pisse").

Also see what I said about Latin.