Selective Schools. I need help! (2 Viewers)

[itzKev]

Welcome to Bored of Studies!

Before I address your questions (you must be eager for answers) - please check out my guide on applying for a selective school (link is available in my signature) if you haven't done so already.

Firstly, I'd like to say that your report is fairly good. 3 As, a majority of Bs and 1 C for your Year 10 half-yearly report is not going to destroy your chances. You sound confident in your mathematical abilities and your A in mathematics reflects that you are capable in it so that sounds great!

Your report will probably hamper your chances for Sydney Tech the most (I'll explain why in the later section of this post). However, it probably won't matter to you since you most likely prefer Hurlstone or Fort Street more.

Now onto the realistic stuff...

Your report for the Fort Street application
- I knew someone who got 2 As (science and maths), the rest Bs and Cs (one C being English)... and they made it into Fort Street. So are you (someone with a better report) going to have a chance? Obviously, yes. Will it help your cause against straight As students? The reality is no but if you kill the entrance exams, I don't see why you can't get accepted.
- The Fort Street application, from memory, involves a HAND-IN ESSAY (check the website for the essay question) which you need to give in ALONG with your reports, NAPLAN, extra curricular stuff, etc. Work on that essay early and get feedback for it. Continuously edit it before giving in your application form and stuff.
- The next parts of the entry process are the entrance exam (which is probably the most difficult and time consuming out of these 3 schools from what I heard - I never applied for Fort Street so I can't give exact details) and the interview.

Your report for the Hurlstone application
- Let me say that I've known people with worse reports than yours who have made it to Hurlstone. One of my mates had 0 As, mainly Bs and iirc, 1 or 2 Cs even. He had no extra curricular stuff for his application whatsoever. Guess what? He got accepted into Hurlstone. Meanwhile, my other friend who had some As and the rest Bs iirc didn't get accepted nor did he get placed on the reserve list. I'll make it clear - Hurlstone places HEAVY EMPHASIS on the entrance exam (at least back then when I applied).
- When I applied for Hurlstone, I just handed in my reports and the application form. No extra curricular proof. No NAPLAN. No additional stuff at all. I got accepted (I turned down the offer though and ended up accepting my offer from Sydney Tech as you'll know from my guide).
- More details are available in my guide (mainly on the entrance exam). There will be an exam and an interview like usual.

See my guide for more information on the Hurlstone entry process.

Your report for the Sydney Tech application
- Sydney Tech splits its entry process into two stages.
1. The first stage is the application stage. You hand in your reports, an application form, NAPLAN, extra-curriculars, etc. Most applicants won't pass this stage. However, if you do pass it, good job. You'll now face the 2nd stage.
2. The second stage involves an exam (some maths questions then an extended response for English - should be either creative writing or essay writing) then an interview afterwards. Then you'll be notified on whether - you've been accepted, placed on the reserve list or just didn't make it. Around 50% of the applicants in the 2nd stage are accepted from memory.

See my guide for more details on the Sydney Tech entry process.

So what I'm really asking is that do you fellow forums think I have a chance to make it into the following schools I have listed with such a bad report?
In summary, yes you definitely have a chance. I've known people with worse reports (your report isn't even 'bad') who have made it into schools like Fort Street and Hurlstone. In fact, schools such as Fort Street and Hurlstone tend to place more emphasis on the exam stage so things such as your report or NAPLAN will barely affect your chances in my opinion. Back then, when I applied, Hurlstone didn't care about anything besides your reports and the entrance exam (which was quite bizarre since schools such as Fort Street and Tech usually take into consideration of other things such as extra curricular stuff and the rest of your application).

I think when it comes to the entrance exam for all these schools... you'll need to brush up on your English skills to be competitive in the exam part of your application to the school. So work on those comprehension/short answer skills and essay writing/creative writing skills in preparation for the entrance exams to these selective schools. I dare say that English is a key element when it comes to making it into these schools... it gives you the important competitive advantage over other applicants who are only strong in mathematics.

These exams never (well rarely) test high/advanced level Year 10 mathematics (Fort Street probably has the hardest mathematics section for the exam out of the 3 schools) which means most applicants will usually do fairly good in the mathematics section either way as long as they are careful and don't give up too many marks due to silly mistakes (in the mathematics section for these exams, it's usually basic maths or more logical type maths for a majority of the questions - if not all of them... they most likely won't start asking hard trigonometry questions in the exam for example). Realistically, your advantage in 'mathematics' will be reduced by a bit in my opinion. But still, being insanely good in the mathematics section might score you a place in one of these schools in the end. I mean I told you earlier about how someone I knew got into Fort Street with an A for maths yet a C for English for their report - then again, they were actually asked questions about their English (which was weak in comparison to their maths section which they killed for the entrance exam) during the interview.

Realistically, there could be stronger applicants out there (i.e. stronger reports) but you definitely have a chance for any of these 3 schools (provided you do well in the exam stage for the entry process).

Good luck!

I forgot to mention but the applicants are only short listed by the test for Fort Street. They'll not check your application unless you were one of the few that went well in the exam. Then from there, the successful ones will be reviewed and they check everything, reports, NAPLAN etc. So I guess reports matter in Fort Street (I want to make it into Fort Street the most) and I may not have a chance. Unless I may be lucky like your friend and make it in, this is probably due to a successful essay? Anyways I just wanted to point that out and see if I still have a chance or not.

itzKev

 

[Lalaloop]

Yo yo yo!

I applied for selective last year... All went well with me, and I had a D in my report! I had lots of curricular and junk... PLUS I CAME FROM AN UNKNOWN SCHOOL. I was really scared, worried and nervous about everything regarding selective! Irregardless, I managed to secure a slot for 3/4 of my selective preferences I may have ended up not going (since, well, I really will miss my friends and my teachers... plus making new friends is kinda hard), but the experience (and friends here at BoS) that you make is well worth it! I know you can do it... JUST BELIEVE IN YOUR SELF!! Work and to attain your goals

Feel free to PM me about any questions about Hurlstone and Fort Street tests. Plus, if you need help with your application/ school preferences, I am here to help...

P.S CONSIDERING SELECTIVE? GO TO Alexandria Park Community School! It is like the cute, cute CUTEST school ever!!

 

[zombieslayer88]

What are my chances of getting into james ruse selective high school australia?
I'm signing up for year 11
My report is all A's except 1 B for history, so 94 mark for maths, 88 for english, 87 for science
Distinction year 8 ICAS science competition
Pass with credit grade 7 piano year 8
1st Cross Country year 8
2nd Cross Country year 10
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award

In my latest report, I was part of the debating team, IGSSA cross country team, musical, I even got the year coordinator to write "This is an excellent report."

I have to do a test and Im revising maths, btw im in a top 100 private girls school

 

[obliviousninja]

Not very high. My friends brother got into Ruse, had like all D and HDs throughout year 7 to year 10. Had solid cocurriculars as well which are recent.

Your year 8 achievements are not very relevant and every kid on the block has DofE Bronze.

Sorry to break it and if I came off as being blunt, my bad.

 

[Neoblader]

Hey Rivarly! Im also new to bored of studies and i am in the same situation with itzkev. Im in year 10 thinking to apply for fort street and Normanhurst. I have a pretty decent report with 2 A's and the rest B's. For my year 10 report i managed to obtain an A in RE and Sc, whilst, for eng i got just below a B i just missed out on an A for maths (my school's really strict for maths.) Im also part of my school's accelerated maths program and matrix's accelerated maths program, not to mention, im also in the top english class. What would be my chances of making it into fort street? Considering that my school came top 30 for maths?? P.s. Im in the schools' chess team (one of the best players and helped my school come 4th in the state for the mcs comp) school social justice team, class captain and tennis team. Additionally im in a soccer team outside of school and I also came second for history and geo in year 8 and yea. Im doing 5.3. maths and im currently top 30 (15 or 10th for maths, 20th for science, 7 for IST, 11 for Geo) for every subject except for english.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Hey Rivarly! Im also new to bored of studies and i am in the same situation with itzkev. Im in year 10 thinking to apply for fort street and Normanhurst. I have a pretty decent report with 2 A's and the rest B's. For my year 10 report i managed to obtain an A in RE and Sc, whilst, for eng i got just below a B i just missed out on an A for maths (my school's really strict for maths.) Im also part of my school's accelerated maths program and matrix's accelerated maths program, not to mention, im also in the top english class. What would be my chances of making it into fort street? Considering that my school came top 30 for maths?? P.s. Im in the schools' chess team (one of the best players and helped my school come 4th in the state for the mcs comp) school social justice team, class captain and tennis team. Additionally im in a soccer team outside of school and I also came second for history and geo in year 8 and yea. Im doing 5.3. maths and im currently top 30 (15 or 10th for maths, 20th for science, 7 for IST, 11 for Geo) for every subject except for english.

Hey there Neoblader,

I don't know much about Normanhurst but check out this link for essential information about the entry process for the different selective schools out there: https://www.matrix.edu.au/how-to-enter-a-selective-school-in-year-8-12/

All my comments about Fort Street in the previous page applies to you as well.

Reports are not a big issue if you can kill the entrance exams.

Your extra curricular stuff seem great.

Year 8 stuff might be irrelevant. You'll need to focus on more recent stuff i.e. Year 9 and Year 10 academic and other achievements. Also stuff like Year 9 NAPLAN.

Accelerated mathematics as in you're doing preliminary 2U mathematics (in Year 10) at the moment in school? You should be on top of your maths then, which will help for the exams and whatnot.

I can't comment much on your ranks.

Essentially, all I can give you is the generic response, ''you have a chance/its possible''. Your report is nothing too outstanding but a good performance in the entrance exams and your solid extra curricular stuff will mean that you have a good shot at making it into Fort Street.

Good luck.

 

[Neoblader]

Thanks Rivarlyoftroll ! And yes accelerated maths as in doing preliminary 2U mathematics in year 10.

One quick question, for my naplan, I got all band 9's and 10's, ten being the top. Would that be good enough to make it to fort street? And should i put down that im in an accelerated class in Matrix?

 

[go_cadel]

Neoblader: it would be best if you didn't put down anything about accelerated classes through tutoring. Get in first, and then in yr 10/11 you can discuss with your teachers/year adviser or whatever, your subject selections. (i.e. by working around what you've got if you've already done an hsc course)

 

[itzKev]

Neoblader, hope to see you at the Fort Street Test haha

I know some people from Fort Street and they told me that Fort Street is more of a 'creative arts' school. They care more about that hence having a really good extra curricular would help you make it in. However, for me, most of my extra curricular were in years 7-8 and not 9-10 which they want mostly.

Also quick question RivalryofTroll, do you know if Sydney Tech requires you to pay a fee for the entrance exam? I can't find any information of it on their page.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Hi, I go to a horrible school and I need to get out ASAP. It's Catholic and has a terrible learning environment. I'm also in Year 10 and I will frankly enter any selective school I can get into. My report was pretty good, with all As. I'm coming first in Maths, Science, Religion and Commerce. Third in English, History and IST. I do school debating but I don't have any extracurricular activities other than that (well, I did pretty well at a Rubik's cube competition but I don't think that applies here).

ALSO my yearly report last year was not that great. I had like one C and others were As. I hope that this will not completely screw me over.

What I am afraid of:
I will not get into any schools
My entrance exams will not be good
My report will carry less weight because of my school ranking

I am not sure what to apply to. I'm pretty sure NSB is out of my league. Fort Street exam is on the day of my work experience so I will probably cut out of that. Normanhurst sounds great. Ryde Secondary is even looking like an option at this point and they don't have an exam. I'm pretty sure that I would get into that.

Basically I think that I may be behind in Mathematics and I need to know what kind of topics there will be in the exam (stuff from this year?). If anything is going to ruin my chances, it's going to be the exams.

I did apply for Normanhurst in Year 7 but they were only offering two places and I came third

Hey there,

your academic reports are absolutely outstanding. 'Pretty good' and 'not that great'? Yeah, come on...

Straight As for your Year 10 half-yearly report (the most important one) will put you in a strong position when applying for ANY selective school.

Straight As (with the exception of 1 C) for your Year 9 yearly report is GREAT. That 1 C won't hamper your chances at all (it'll make a VERY VERY VERY SMALL difference - realistically, no difference at all since your Year 10 half-yearly report - the more recent report - is more relevant).

Extra curricular activities seem weak but I'm sure you could think of other stuff. Mention the Rubik's cube competition (assuming it was actually a competitive and legit competition) if you have to.

What you're afraid of...

I will not get into any schools...

There's seriously NO point speculating about those things.

You have NOTHING to lose (well maybe the cost of applying for these schools at best) and basically EVERYTHING to gain... so stop worrying about not making it into these schools and start worrying about how to prepare yourself... in terms of writing your application, getting your documents ready (photocopied versions of reports, Year 9 NAPLAN, extra curricular proof, etc.) and exam prep.

My entrance exams will not be good

Well, do sufficient exam prep to ensure that it should be good? You haven't even completed the exams themselves... how would you know you won't do well in them?

Don't make excuses.

My report will carry less weight because of my school ranking

Yeah, this is a terrible argument/excuse. It makes a very minimal difference. Your reports are just insanely good and no one can take that away from you. All I can say is... you're looking good in terms of reports.

School ranking fluctuates from year to year so idk why this even matters....

What schools to apply for

Don't doubt yourself. No school is 'out of your league' if you believe you deserve to be at a better school.

I remember saying ''I doubt I'll make it into Fort Street.. actually probably not even Sydney Tech and Hurlstone'' back when I applied for schools in Year 10 myself... ended up not trying out for Fort Street....

Then I end up getting offers from BOTH Sydney Tech and Hurlstone.... had some regrets of not applying for Fort Street (I should have at least tried to see...) so yeah, learn from my mistake. (In the end, I did fantastic at Sydney Tech so there were no real regrets after all)

Maybe try:
1. NSB
2. Normanhurst
3. Sydney Tech/Hurlstone (advantage of Hurlstone over Normo/Tech is that... they don't really care about extra curricular stuff so it'll help you).
4. Sefton/Ryde/No Entrance Exam schools such as many partial selective schools (Sefton has no entrance exams AND it is highly ranked --> top 40 in 2013 and was ahead of TWO fully selective schools in the rankings in 2013).

Mathematics section

Probably late Year 9 content and early to mid-ish Year 10 content. Check out my guide (link is available in my signature) for more info.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Hi,

Thanks for the detailed response. The points weren't meant to be excuses, just concerns. Thanks for clearing those up for me.

How many extra-curricular activities is ideal? I can list choir, debating, poetry competition, reading program with primary school children.

I'm not sure how to apply to Sefton as they don't have any information on their website.

I'm doing math comp papers and revising past work to study now, thanks for the guide.

Sefton is simply... fill out the 'generic' application form (the one you have to fill for EVERY school) and hand in your reports + extra curricular stuff + NAPLAN and so on.

Hand these into the school. If successful, they'll send you a letter notifying that you are required to do an interview. Then should be smooth sailing from there.

There's no such thing as an 'ideal' number of extra-curricular activities. List the most relevant and the best ones... if in doubt, just list as many as you can I guess.

Good luck.

 

[wiliaamnguuyen]

Good luck ItsKev, I'm also sitting the Entrance Exam too!

 

[Neoblader]

How did you go in test?

 

[wiliaamnguuyen]

It was eassssyyy. Mathematic section was a joke. Science section meh. I couldn't do two questions but I aced the comprehensive part (I kinda of b.s a little in the answers) and the extended response I did pretty well. Overall, I reckon I passed anyways. What about you??

 

[Neoblader]

Alright lol

 

[itzKev]

It was eassssyyy. Mathematic section was a joke. Science section meh. I couldn't do two questions but I aced the comprehensive part (I kinda of b.s a little in the answers) and the extended response I did pretty well. Overall, I reckon I passed anyways. What about you??

Wait only just saw this post :/ maths section a joke? So you believed it was hard? If so then I thought that maths was a giveaway because it was way too easy. Do reckon others would've found the maths section hard?