SAT or HSC?

[theycallmebob]

Which do you think is the better system?

USA: study for the SAT test in junior year (yr 11) and then chill out for the senior year, go to parties, be awesome.

AUSTRALIA: study like crazy for 2 years, receive state rank.

[harrisony]

IB

[ncoul]

IB

HAHA The 'intelligent' kids in my cohort do the IB, but works in favour for internal rankings, but not the school's state rankings.

[goobi]

Which do you think is the better system?

USA: study for the SAT test in junior year (yr 11) and then chill out for the senior year, go to parties, be awesome.

AUSTRALIA: study like crazy for 2 years, receive state rank.

This is not true. You can sit the SAT test whenever you feel like.

[theycallmebob]

This is not true. You can sit the SAT test whenever you feel like.

but its generally done in yr 11, which is also the year that the colleges look at your marks etc.

[theycallmebob]

HAHA The 'intelligent' kids in my cohort do the IB, but works in favour for internal rankings, but not the school's state rankings.

how's this?

[madharris]

yeah apparently the IB is 2nd best system while HSC is something like 22nd (i vaguely remember reading about this in 2008 so might be wrong and has probably changed)

alot of the kids at my school do it too. I was thinking about doing it but it's a lot of work.

OP: what's the point of a senior year/ year 12 if you're not going to try?

[ncoul]

how's this?

Not as much competition

[madharris]

look how good these IB conversions are D:

http://www.vtac.edu.au/pdf/ib_notional_atar.pdf

[theycallmebob]

yeah apparently the IB is 2nd best system while HSC is something like 22nd (i vaguely remember reading about this in 2008 so might be wrong and has probably changed)

alot of the kids at my school do it too. I was thinking about doing it but it's a lot of work.

OP: what's the point of a senior year/ year 12 if you're not going to try?

not sure, last year of being a kid, rite of passage kind of thing. mind you, most of my insight is from the movies so...

[madharris]

not sure, last year of being a kid, rite of passage kind of thing. mind you, most of my insight is from the movies so...

lol... i would hate to do that though... there would be no point to school except to see friends

[LoveHateSchool]

Well comparing it to the SAT, I think the HSC is a better calibre education model.

But if we were comparing it to other systems, like IB and FB, I might have a different answer.

[Omnipotence]

but its generally done in yr 11, which is also the year that the colleges look at your marks etc.

Nope. A few people I know did the SAT after the HSC exams (2 weeks ish) and got offers at UPenn and Harvard.

[theycallmebob]

Nope. A few people I know did the SAT after the HSC exams (2 weeks ish) and got offers at UPenn and Harvard.

i'm talking about american schools...

[4025808]

HSC is still better imo, at least it equips you with the workload required to adapt to university.

That also said, the HSC is actually harder than the american system of learning.

[greenboxes]

Lolomg the two don't even compare! I did the sparknotes SAT in year 9 with no practice and got 2000, which is considered a good score.

[greenboxes]

Anyway, the American system is just silly in general. What's with splitting up the mathses? They're all intertwined o.O

[Cl324]

I prefer HSC because its based purely on academics and there is more freedom of choice.

The American college entry system isnt just the SAT.
You have the SAT, interviews, extra curriculars, essays, teacher references on top of grades in school classes where a lot of the students take IB.

[juliastegner]

Which do you think is the better system?

USA: study for the SAT test in junior year (yr 11) and then chill out for the senior year, go to parties, be awesome.

AUSTRALIA: study like crazy for 2 years, receive state rank.

You have got to be kidding me.............. you obviously haven't tried to apply for American colleges or even taken the time to do basic research as to how American colleges accept their students. SAT is only a PROPORTION of what determines your acceptance and , no it isn't even the dominant criteria! (GPA is much more important) There were people with CRAZY high sat SCORED AND DIDN'T GET INTO HARVARD..

The American college application system is so much better than the Australian college application system IMO because they take into account your grades from year 9 onwards , your extra curricular activities , your academic achievements outside of school , (i.e competitions) , personal essays etc..it's so much more competitive as you are competing against the entire nation for a spot in the top universities..

You obviously want us to pick HSC as the 'better' system because you're so quick to dismiss the USA system..
but HSC lets face is = study hard for ONE year (year 11 doesnt even count..)
whereas AMERICA is basically your entire highschool grades+ to stand out you really need to have extremely well rounded extra curricular activities THROUGHOUT highschool (so no you can not cram it all into senior year) , incredible academic achievements in nation state competitions + do well in the interviews +essays...

My friend applied after HSC and she said it was a pain in her butt because it's very stressful to just fill in the applications alone.. and then on top of that you need all these credentials. (for reference; she applied to Harvard , Yale ,UPENN , Columbia , Princeton)

[4025808]

You have got to be kidding me.............. you obviously haven't tried to apply for American colleges.
There were people with CRAZY high sat SCORED AND DIDN'T GET INTO HARVARD.
The American college application system is so much better than the Australian college application system IMO because they take into account your grades from year 9 onwards , your extra curricular activities , your academic achievements outside of school , (i.e competitions) , personal essays etc..
it's so much more competitive.. sure you get your last year to 'rest' but 9-11 you are a slave.. if you want to maintain that high GPA..

You obviously want us to pick HSC as the 'better' system because you're so quick to dismiss the USA system..
but HSC = study hard for ONE year (year 11 doesnt even count..)
whereas AMERICA is basically your entire highschool grades+ to stand out you really need to like

tbh, I would agree though, because it tries to make students more all-rounded, which is crucial to life.

[theycallmebob]

You have got to be kidding me.............. you obviously haven't tried to apply for American colleges or even taken the time to do basic research as to how American colleges accept their students. SAT is only a PROPORTION of what determines your acceptance and , no it isn't even the dominant criteria! (GPA is much more important) There were people with CRAZY high sat SCORED AND DIDN'T GET INTO HARVARD..

The American college application system is so much better than the Australian college application system IMO because they take into account your grades from year 9 onwards , your extra curricular activities , your academic achievements outside of school , (i.e competitions) , personal essays etc..it's so much more competitive as you are competing against the entire nation for a spot in the top universities..

You obviously want us to pick HSC as the 'better' system because you're so quick to dismiss the USA system..
but HSC lets face is = study hard for ONE year (year 11 doesnt even count..)
whereas AMERICA is basically your entire highschool grades+ to stand out you really need to have extremely well rounded extra curricular activities THROUGHOUT highschool (so no you can not cram it all into senior year) , incredible academic achievements in nation state competitions + do well in the interviews +essays...

My friend applied after HSC and she said it was a pain in her butt because it's very stressful to just fill in the applications alone.. and then on top of that you need all these credentials. (for reference; she applied to Harvard , Yale ,UPENN , Columbia , Princeton)

sure but don't they generally take in all marks prior to the senior year?

I don't "want you to pick HSC", i'm comparing the two.

obviously you have more knowledge on the topic so I apologise for my naivety

[Cl324]

The American college application system is so much better than the Australian college application system IMO because they take into account your grades from year 9 onwards , your extra curricular activities , your academic achievements outside of school , (i.e competitions) , personal essays etc..it's so much more competitive as you are competing against the entire nation for a spot in the top universities..

The system is too politically motivated and greatly favours high socio-economic groups
In fact it was introduced in Harvard to filter out and restrict the number of Jews who excelled at the admissions test.
Basically if your last name is Kennedy, your family are very wealthy or have strong political ties you are guaranteed admission. Even if your parents attended, the likelihood of getting in is doubled. Also the essays, grades, extra curricular activities, and references can easily be bought. Its not logical for Australian universities to go through this process when they don't have the resources to i.e. they dont charge $50k per year.

I agree that the HSC system is flawed in that it really only tests a year's worth of work but should a bad year in 9th grade really affect your chances of getting into university?

Also for a college system so geared towards a liberal arts education I have no idea why maths and sciences are compulsory.

[theycallmebob]

The system is too politically motivated and greatly favours high socio-economic groups
In fact it was introduced in Harvard to filter out and restrict the number of Jews who excelled at the admissions test.
Basically if your last name is Kennedy, your family are very wealthy or have strong political ties you are guaranteed admission. Even if your parents attended, the likelihood of getting in is doubled. Also the essays, grades, extra curricular activities, and references can easily be bought.

I'm pretty sure it would be a little different now though. when I was looking into the potentiality of going to harvard (in no way a realistic goal) they say that if your parents earn under $60k, and you get in, you don't have to pay any college fees. apparently only a small percentage actually pay the full amount.

[LoveHateSchool]

One big thing I have against the American system is legacy.

You should get in your own merits solely. Why should you get extra consideration cause your parents went there ick ick. I think there is a bit of a favouring of socio economic groups.

[theycallmebob]

One big thing I have against the American system is legacy.

You should get in your own merits solely. Why should you get extra consideration cause your parents went there ick ick. I think there is a bit of a favouring of socio economic groups.

this is true, also they don't have HECS