The Harsh Truths of the HSC

[studygirl118]

In your opinion, what are some harsh truths about the hsc that no one ever told you?

[spaghettii]

Your internal school marks don't matter at all (apart from determining rank). Feeling that false sense of security just crumble away really hit me hard haha

Also people need to stop spreading the rumour that yr11 counts for half of your atar, the amount of people who only found out otherwise as yr12 was starting was surprising

[pikachu975]

In your opinion, what are some harsh truths about the hsc that no one ever told you?

Can't really think of one but I'll just say the HSC is basically like another trial paper so nothing to be stressed about... ALSO I honestly think our school's trial system of 3 sets of trials was so helpful because my friend and I weren't stressed at all for the HSC while friends were really stressed because we had so much practice in the environment already.

I think all schools should adopt this tbh it just helps so much with the HSC but it'll require more work from students...

[enoilgam]

In your opinion, what are some harsh truths about the hsc that no one ever told you?

Probably how overrated it is in terms of its impact on your future. Like, the HSC has so much hype surrounding it and people put so much energy into getting a good ATAR. Realistically though, unless you want to get into a course which requires a high ATAR (namely medicine) or a scholarship, it really is worthless. I studied my ass off and got a fairly decent ATAR - then I went to uni and I was with people who got almost 40 points lower. That's when it hit me that it was overrated.

8 years on, I look at people I went to school with and honestly, it's shocking how little it impacted their futures. I know people who were absolute bums in school who have done really well - I also know a few who did really well and are either still at uni or working dead end jobs. The way HSC was hyped, at the time I thought a good ATAR would set you up for success, whilst a bad one would seriously hurt your prospects.

If I had my time again, I wouldnt have invested all that energy, it was a complete waste to be honest.

[pikachu975]

Probably how overrated it is in terms of its impact on your future. Like, the HSC has so much hype surrounding it and people put so much energy into getting a good ATAR. Realistically though, unless you want to get into a course which requires a high ATAR (namely medicine) or a scholarship, it really is worthless. I studied my ass off and got a fairly decent ATAR - then I went to uni and I was with people who got almost 40 points lower. That's when it hit me that it was overrated.

8 years on, I look at people I went to school with and honestly, it's shocking how little it impacted their futures. I know people who were absolute bums in school who have done really well - I also know a few who did really well and are either still at uni or working dead end jobs. The way HSC was hyped, at the time I thought a good ATAR would set you up for success, whilst a bad one would seriously hurt your prospects.

If I had my time again, I wouldnt have invested all that energy, it was a complete waste to be honest.

Fully agreed should've done more sport and other extracurriculars would've been more useful

[Zoinked]

Fully agreed should've done more sport and other extracurriculars would've been more useful

I should have played less dota and done more of anything else lol

[studygirl118]

That would actually be SO helpful to have three trials. So basically were all your assessments throughout Year 12 just like trial exams?

[pikachu975]

That would actually be SO helpful to have three trials. So basically were all your assessments throughout Year 12 just like trial exams?

Nah had normal assessment schedule just had more trials

[strawberrye]

Unspoken danger of burning out at the most crucial time of the HSC-either before trials, during trials or before or during HSC. It is so important to manage your psychological and physical health throughout the year so that all your effort won't be wasted in the most crucial part of the journey-Space your energy out and enjoy it, rather than trying to endure it.

Having a good/bad tutor can make/break your experience in HSC-whether you want to finish it as fast as you can so you can get out or whether you enjoy the learning process (regardless of whether you achieve good marks/are independent learner)

[BLIT2014]

People actually get bored after the HSC finishes.

[crazygirl1]

Choose subjects you actually like, scaling won't do anything if you are doing good!!
Otherwise you will struggle for 2 years ! Trust me been there done that

[mariakery1]

I think all schools should adopt this tbh it just helps so much with the HSC but it'll require more work from students...

RIP NESA now restricts max 4 assessment tasks in the HSC and only one of them can be an exam, that is the trial (however, this doesn't apply for maths I believe).

[Absolutezero]

It matters both more and less than ever before.

[bjw22]

Truth #1: Don't bust your ass too hard all the way through - work only hard enough to achieve good internal rankings (the more firsts the better). One needs to ensure they leave enough in the tank for the main game at the end.
Truth #2: English is gonna screw you over whatever you do - it's always wrong. For example, teacher says "be more specific", so anguished student does indeed go into more detail, only to be told to be "broader and less narrow, focus less on specific ideas"
Truth #3: Internal marks mean a lot less now than they did a few weeks ago.

Also reading above, 3 sets of trial papers... woweee. I think I would have dropped out by now, 1 set was a bit stressful - let alone 3.

[clovvy]

I am currently in yr 12 and I do regret so much... I was overly anxious throughout the year and that hinders me from actually doing stuff, got sent to the hospital by my school after half yearlies and a lot of other bullcrap... I should've done extra-curriculars tbh, like everyday I woke up feeling shit due to the fact that I have to give up 98 ATAR to be realistic and now I am hoping to scrap 90+ even though my teachers doubted a lot... It sucks, and idk if I have the right skills for HD average WAM like 90+

[pistachioman]

This is something people actually told me about but i ignored it anyway .

Your health is so important in year 12. Please sleep on time, exercise and go out with friends to enjoy yourself. You need to be balanced throughout the year.

[clovvy]

Its too late to change anything drastic so what I can possibly do differently apart from exam revisions?

[wassupitsmeyy]

Its too late to change anything drastic so what I can possibly do differently apart from exam revisions?

Hey!
I would suggest that from between now and 2-3 days before your first exam that you follow a strict timetable in order to learn concepts you find most difficult.

[si2136]

Don't worry about trying too hard in HSC, you still have 3-5 years left to go for uni
Don't worry about trying at all in the HSC, you can get a good WAM/GPA by putting in effort to transfer

In the end, don't worry because HSC is both overrated and underrated at the same time.

[blyatman]

1. That nobody cares about your HSC mark once you get into uni.
2. That there's so many alternative pathways into your preferred degree.
3. That many people switch out of their degree after their first year or two (or even three) since they realise its not what they want to do.
4. That nobody cares about your uni degree(s) once you start working.
5. That everything you learn in uni is forgotten after each semester, such that by the time you graduate, you only retain about 5-10% of what you learnt (I'm generalising here, obviously not true for all degrees e.g. medicine, health science professions etc).
6. That for most jobs, it usually doesn't really matter what degree you did as long as it's somewhat related to your employment (again, generalising here), since you need to learn from scratch anyway once you start your job. Your job experience, passion for the role/industry, and ability to learn quickly are far more critical qualities that employers look for.
7. It's not what you know. It's who you know.

I try to remind all my students of this, hopefully taking some stress/pressure off of them as it really puts the HSC into perspective.

[Esse]

1. That nobody cares about your HSC mark once you get into uni.
2. That there's so many alternative pathways into your preferred degree.
3. That many people switch out of their degree after their first year or two (or even three) since they realise its not what they want to do.
4. That nobody cares about your uni degree(s) once you start working.
5. That everything you learn in uni is forgotten after each semester, such that by the time you graduate, you only retain about 5-10% of what you learnt (I'm generalising here, obviously not true for all degrees e.g. medicine, health science professions etc).
6. That for most jobs, it usually doesn't really matter what degree you did as long as it's somewhat related to your employment (again, generalising here), since you need to learn from scratch anyway once you start your job. Your job experience, passion for the role/industry, and ability to learn quickly are far more critical qualities that employers look for.
7. It's not what you know. It's who you know.

I try to remind all my students of this, hopefully taking some stress/pressure off of them as it really puts the HSC into perspective.

7. is literally life

[clovvy]

Yet I still felt very strongly that I want to get into prestigious degrees straight away and if I realise I hate it, at least I have proven to myself an particular others that I cannot be a punching bag for anyone or a laughing stock... There is a particular individual especially that I very strongly want to prove wrong yet the process doesn't seem to be getting me there...
This is why I am scared about HSC, not really because I want to get into my degrees..... HD WAM is exactly for the same reason.....

[cherryboi]

Dude, just trying your best is all that you can do.

If this "individual" is motivating you to work hard for the next couple of weeks then thats good. But if the thought of him is distracting you then believe me Ive had my share of experiences, and ive discovered that there is no point wasting your energy and happiness on people like those. Youve got to let it go. Throughout your life there are high chances that you will experience critics, but you have to learn to not take it that personally. If you think about what people are saying to you, you will realise thats its just a reflection of their deepest insecurities. Also uni hasn't even started yet, your thinking too far ahead in terms of HD WAM.

Lastly, You really shouldn't fear critics. You also have to not care about anyones opinion in times when they are insulting you rather than giving you constructive feedback.

Take Care man.

[blyatman]

Yet I still felt very strongly that I want to get into prestigious degrees straight away and if I realise I hate it, at least I have proven to myself an particular others that I cannot be a punching bag for anyone or a laughing stock... There is a particular individual especially that I very strongly want to prove wrong yet the process doesn't seem to be getting me there...
This is why I am scared about HSC, not really because I want to get into my degrees..... HD WAM is exactly for the same reason.....

Yeah nah I wouldn't recommend trying to prove yourself to others. In a years time you'll look back and wondered why you bothered wasting energy and effort to try and prove yourself to someone else, since nobody cares about your HSC once you hit uni, and nobody cares about your uni degrees once you hit the workforce (so getting a HD WAM to try and prove something to someone else is also just a complete waste of time and energy).

Most people who go into "prestigious degrees" do it for the same reason you mentioned, because they're "prestigious" - not because they're actually interested or passionate about that field. From experience, I'd say about 90% who go into med or law just do it because they have the mark and it's "prestigious" (and many of them lie to themselves to justify the belief that they're doing it for the right reason). As a result, some people either switch degrees after a year, or grind it through to the end since they don't want others to think that they couldn't "hack it", and so they end up working a 9-5 job they don't really like. Some of my friends are teachers who love their job, and some are lawyers who hate their job (or find no satisfaction in it). You don't want to end up being in a field you hate all because you wanted to enrol into a "prestigious" degree to prove yourself to someone else (whether it be friends, foe, or family).

[brbstudying]

Bombing out on one assessment task/exam will not ruin/impact your rank all that much, just as long as you pick it up for future tasks, you will be fine