Mental Crisis (1 Viewer)

[Steam]

Hey all. I'm currently really worried about school. I'm not actually having a crisis of conscience, but I am just getting quite nervous about the prospect of failing the HSC.

I'm currently in my Preliminary exams, having so far completed Advanced English and Software, plus maths.

I think I might have failed English, because I missed out on a whole 6 mark question (test was 45 marks) and I messed up my essay on journeys. That was worth 15 marks. Also, I'm a decent speller, but I really suck at essays - I just can't write a good essay (I try to use quotes, examples but i fail miserably).

With Software Design & development I think I failed it, but I don't care because I'm dropping it.

Today I had GENERAL maths. I've been failing 2 Unit the whole year so I decided to drop down to General, just before the exams to give me an insight into how I could go next year. It was pretty hard,. BUT, because of this I've missed out on a whole year of General maths.

After I complete year 12, i plan on going to either UWS, USYD, UNSW or UTS. I want to study business, and major in Marketing. If i don't get into that I want to do either:
- astronomy;
- meteorology/climatology;
- or start my own business (i don't know what field yet)
-------------------------------

My questions to you are:
1. Is there any way possible to improve in English that doesn't involve getting a tutor?
2. Should I purchase the Excel Senior School (year 11 & 12) General Mathematics study guide? Or if not that, how should I catch up with the year 11 work that I missed?
3. What's a good way of studying for Geography, Legal Studies and Business Studies?
4. Do you think it is unwise to drink coffee or eat chocolate before an exam?
5. How many hours of moderate exercise should you do a week (i.e. jogging)?
6. How many hours of study should i do daily in year 12? Is 2 not enough?
7. Is it possible to combine a social life, Counter-Strike, sport and study together in year 12 and still achieve good marks?
8. How much does INSEARCH cost at UTS for one year?
9. Does an ATAR/UAI really matter? Like, if I wanted to do, say Business at UTS (which requires about 90), would I be able to easily transfer from TAFE or a lower course into my course after a year (assuming my marks are decent).
10. There is no question 10; I'm finished. Sorry for asking so much,and for wasting your time, but I would appreciate a response or two.

Thankyou very, very much in advance.

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[TheStallion]

Alright, lets see here:

1) Yeah, write practice essays and give them to your teacher. Get your teacher to give you an essay question, go home, write the essay, give it to the teacher the next day. They'll mark it for you and show you how to improve.

2) General Maths shouldn't be hard to catch up on since it's a fairly easy course. Get the Excel book and just study heaps during the holidays.

3) For Geography I just write notes and memorise the key points and statistics. For example, in political geography, you'd just remember things like the causes of the conflict, when it occured, and why, and then just expand on it during the exam.

4) Shouldn't make a difference. I had a whole bottle of coke before my Maths exam today and I can't see how/why it would have affected me.

5) You can do none and get away with it as long as you're a fairly healthy person, but I suppose you could do 1-2 hours if you want to actually keep fit.

6) 2 hours is more than enough daily for year 12, unless you do extension subjects. Your subjects all seem easy though - none which require tonnes of effort.

7) Of course it is, as long as you can balance it properly, and know when to stop playing the game, stop going out, and start doing work. If you get stuck on the game/out with friends every day for hours on end, then you should moderate it. But as long as you get your hour of study a day in, you should be fine.

8) No idea.

9) I'm no expert on this, but really... the ATAR is important. There's always backdoors into the course that you want, but transferring from TAFE to a 90 ATAR course? Hell no. From what I know, you could do an easier degree at UTS, get a D/HD average for the semester/year, then transfer into the harder degree. However, that would leave you doing another degree that you might not enjoy for a year or so.

 

[Fish Tank]

I shall put my 2 cents in, might be a little late but hey...

1. Yes. Depends on if you're a mathematical person or not, but I reckon write practice essays. I only remember techniques and examples (the rest I make up on the spot) but I think it worked alright for me in prelims.

2. See if there is anyone in your general maths class who wrote some good notes throughout the year, and try and get hold of them. Then write down your own version of the notes, in words that you can easily understand (trust me, this helps at 6am ).

3. Memorise key points, and if you know the stuff that should jolt your memory for the rest. Yr 10 PDHPE taught me a really nifty trick... acronyms. For example, I needed to remember the five pillars of Islam, which are shahada, hajj, salat, sawm, and zakat I'm pretty sure. So, S H S S Z. I made that into "shazam" (it's lame, yeh, but it was easy to remember) and voila! Remembered for prelims.

4. Caffeine and sugar have a negligible effect on me, except for making me happy with and awesome aftertaste in my mouth. People work in different ways, if you don't react well with coffee and chocolate, then don't go near it. If it does jack all, then by all means.

5. I'm a nerd, so I do only a little as a stress reliever. What drives me to do exercise is if I've been locked indoors for over a week and I'm about to strangle Oprah on the TV . I reckon a walk/ride/jog to a relaxing spot you know of, for me that's a lake via the shops to get chocolate and coca cola about a mile from my place. For normal people, if you catch the bus home and don't walk at all, then I reckon a 1-2hour jog in the arvo is a safe bet.

6. Depends on your subjects and how well you grasp the concepts. I don't go by a set amount, but I usually keep going if I have no idea about a certain thing. That might take 5 minutes, or 5 hours. Work until you get to the 'strangle day time TV' stage

7. Yes. Balance = good. Don't let work consume you, yet don't get distracted from your studies.

8. Sorry

9. ATAR/UAI is not the end of the world. It keeps turning after every HSC. If you want a good ATAR, then you'll work hard for it. If, however, you have a crook day or you freeze up in the exams, then there are other ways of getting into uni and your desired career. For engineering, I know you can sit a test and have that mark get you in instead of your ATAR. And I think you can get thru postgraduate schemes, but you'll have to wait until 21 and have a year or two of another course under your belt (I think). Basically it comes down to commitment, devotion, and a bit of luck. Basically, just prove that you have the drive to do the course. Actions speak louder than a piece of paper with a number written on it.

10. Sorry it's delayed, but I hope it helps anyway

 

[Divided_By_Zero]

4. Do you think it is unwise to drink coffee or eat chocolate before an exam?

As a rule of thumb Caffiene is good for tests that are maths based, anything more essay based i'd stay away from it, the reason being it helps you concentrate on one specfic thing better, but consentrating on a broader range of things is made more difficult, stuff like getting a work stuck on the tip of your tongue happens more frequently, i hate when it happens in a essay :/