How to get a 99.95 + State Rankings

[TheProfessional]

back to the point about english, the best thing to do is read all your texts (since you're pre-studying, start now!!) start writing the basis of your essays (which should be focus points e.g. characters, themes, issues) and attempt to answer general past paper questions. get a tutor - the best is a current teacher at a school or university - to mark your essays again and again until they are 20/20 standard. Once you get into year 12 these essays should be perfected and adaptable to questions!

I heard about this from ex-HSC students who did very well in English in the past. Do you think a 1on1 tutor would help? Is it worth paying about $40 per hour?

[Sy123]

If you are really hardcore about this, Im going to say
MX2: 200
MX1: 150
Physics: 50
Chemistry: 50
English: 100

For MX2 and MX1, practise is vital therefore you will need to do more past papers for this, do them regularly.
For Sciences, knowledge is more needed than practise really, the more past papers you do the more repeated questions you get, science long answers are always difficult to perfect, so you will want to spend most of your time on science perfecting your knowledge with extreme rote and consistent note taking, do past papers occasionally in between
For English, doing 100 papers is exposing yourself to 100 different types of questions and stimulus (again things can be repeated), do 50 module ones and 50 Area of Studies. Study your texts as deeply as though its university level, make points for a whole variety of things, people will tell you to rote and write your essays, I am generally against it, but whatever works for you I guess. (I would know my texts insanely well know techniques and stuff, then go into the exam and write what you know)

This is what I would do if I had the self-discipline and perseverance to be able to do this many papers.

[Sindivyn]

100 for chem/phys is too much. 200 for MX1 is too much. 400 for MX2 is too much. That being said, I do like the ratio (1:1:2:4). Don't forget about english though

[hayabusaboston]

Dude, holy fucking mother of christ lol. R u gonna do past papers through entire yr 12? LOL! entirely no point. Im in the exact same psychological position as you (wanting 99.95 doing shitloads of work for it forgetting about english haha) but im not going to go thru 1000 fucking papers hahaha. Absolutely no point. Well, I take that back. This amount of work is ONLY necessary if you have an average IQ (85-115), because your brain will need a LOT more practice with things to get good. However, based on the things ive read here im going to assume you have a higher IQ than that (I would guess 130+), so you do NOT need to work as much as a lower IQ person would. You can RELAX a bit, because you will learn things faster and retain information for longer than others. Do not stress urself out m8. Seriously. Though I like ur drive, its a great quality which not many people have :P

The reason it doesnt make sense to JUST do past papers is because, past papers dont cover EVERYTHING in the course. You need to alternate every few weeks with past papers and rewriting syllabus notes to make sure you are regularly reminding yourself of the WHOLE course, not just the random tidbits in past papers.

[jenslekman]

1. The COmbined Medicince Association.
2. Yes.
3. Because you're entering a profession where interpersonal skill is of insurmountable importance.

curious, but what are some professions where interpersonal skill is not important? :O

[hayabusaboston]

curious, but what are some professions where interpersonal skill is not important? :O

All solitary sciences LOL theoretical physics (Big bang theory prime example of what happens). Basically if ur socially retarded, become a scientist haha. THOUGH I MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY SOCIALLY RETARDED im in training peeps.

[RealiseNothing]

All solitary sciences LOL theoretical physics (Big bang theory prime example of what happens). Basically if ur socially retarded, become a scientist haha. THOUGH I MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY SOCIALLY RETARDED im in training peeps.

Slighty? lol

[iSplicer]

curious, but what are some professions where interpersonal skill is not important? :O

There are many, many, many, many such professions.

[enoilgam]

If you are really hardcore about this, Im going to say
MX2: 200
MX1: 150
Physics: 50
Chemistry: 50
English: 100

For MX2 and MX1, practise is vital therefore you will need to do more past papers for this, do them regularly.
For Sciences, knowledge is more needed than practise really, the more past papers you do the more repeated questions you get, science long answers are always difficult to perfect, so you will want to spend most of your time on science perfecting your knowledge with extreme rote and consistent note taking, do past papers occasionally in between
For English, doing 100 papers is exposing yourself to 100 different types of questions and stimulus (again things can be repeated), do 50 module ones and 50 Area of Studies. Study your texts as deeply as though its university level, make points for a whole variety of things, people will tell you to rote and write your essays, I am generally against it, but whatever works for you I guess. (I would know my texts insanely well know techniques and stuff, then go into the exam and write what you know)

This is what I would do if I had the self-discipline and perseverance to be able to do this many papers.

Thats still 550 past papers though - I mean, thats like an average of more than 1 a day. Also, how would you be able to find that many past papers (maths possible, but the sciences and especially english). To be honest, I really dont know if this whole thread is serious.

[hayabusaboston]

Slighty? lol

Shutup fool.

Lol k quite a bit.

BUT FUCK IT IM LEARNING K?? dont diss me

[HSC2014]

Where would you even get all those past papers O_O

[Sy123]

Thats still 550 past papers though - I mean, thats like an average of more than 1 a day. Also, how would you be able to find that many past papers (maths possible, but the sciences and especially english). To be honest, I really dont know if this whole thread is serious.

Count the fact that all the science papers are just repeats, and that 70% of math trials are just utter lazy crap. But if this guy wants to do many papers, then let him do it I guess.
Its possible this is either fake, or this guy doesnt know how much he is going to do

[Fawun]

Where would you even get all those past papers O_O

You obviously haven't met Spiral.

[hayabusaboston]

Count the fact that all the science papers are just repeats, and that 70% of math trials are just utter lazy crap. But if this guy wants to do many papers, then let him do it I guess.
Its possible this is either fake, or this guy doesnt know how much he is going to do

I think its real, but for the 500 papers per subject part lol.

[chevlr]

There's little point intensively going through past papers more than three weeks out from the exams, because the primary reasons to do past papers are to work out what you don't know, and to get into the exam mindset just before exams. And you shouldn't do every single question in cambridge and terry lee, as you end up doing hundreds of questions on content that you can easily learn and understand (e.g. integration), so you end up wasting time. Instead, focus on textbook and past paper questions on topics which you know you will likely lose marks on. For instance, for my trial 3u exam, the only content that I comprehensively studied was combinations/permutations and binomial, because that was the topic which I knew I struggled the most with (I ended up state ranking 3u maths).
I went to baulko, so I would see people doing the same thing you're planning on doing and ended up nowhere, because they did it mindlessly. In fact, maths, chem, phys and english were all topped by people who didn't go to tutoring, and didn't have time to do every single question in the textbook because significant co-curricular commitments as well. Quality, not quantity.
That said, writing phys/chem/bio notes by january is a good idea. After that, focus on English more than phys and chem, because all the content in phys/chem is either dead easy or memorisable.
Good luck! And don't burn out

[someth1ng]

You obviously haven't met Spiral.

+1, the cunt burns all the trees.

If he prints, trees get chopped down. If he uses a computer, electricity bills equate to just as many trees chopped down.

[iSplicer]

There's little point intensively going through past papers more than three weeks out from the exams, because the primary reasons to do past papers are to work out what you don't know, and to get into the exam mindset just before exams. And you shouldn't do every single question in cambridge and terry lee, as you end up doing hundreds of questions on content that you can easily learn and understand (e.g. integration), so you end up wasting time. Instead, focus on textbook and past paper questions on topics which you know you will likely lose marks on. For instance, for my trial 3u exam, the only content that I comprehensively studied was combinations/permutations and binomial, because that was the topic which I knew I struggled the most with (I ended up state ranking 3u maths).
I went to baulko, so I would see people doing the same thing you're planning on doing and ended up nowhere, because they did it mindlessly. In fact, maths, chem, phys and english were all topped by people who didn't go to tutoring, and didn't have time to do every single question in the textbook because significant co-curricular commitments as well. Quality, not quantity.
That said, writing phys/chem/bio notes by january is a good idea. After that, focus on English more than phys and chem, because all the content in phys/chem is either dead easy or memorisable.
Good luck! And don't burn out

<3

[girlworld_club]

you make me feel bad. you've already finished the hsc course, i havent

[plasticities]

I don't know what kind of mark you need in advanced english for 99.95 but I got 93 or 94 in english and I think I did like 3 past essay questions for each module, not even bothering with the short response. I'm sure someone's already mentioned it, but if you need to focus on english, I'd suggest you make sure you understand whats expected of you in your essays. If you have like one essay thats really good and you understand the themes well enough, you can pretty much adapt it to any question they give you.

[TheProfessional]

There's little point intensively going through past papers more than three weeks out from the exams, because the primary reasons to do past papers are to work out what you don't know, and to get into the exam mindset just before exams. And you shouldn't do every single question in cambridge and terry lee, as you end up doing hundreds of questions on content that you can easily learn and understand (e.g. integration), so you end up wasting time. Instead, focus on textbook and past paper questions on topics which you know you will likely lose marks on. For instance, for my trial 3u exam, the only content that I comprehensively studied was combinations/permutations and binomial, because that was the topic which I knew I struggled the most with (I ended up state ranking 3u maths).
I went to baulko, so I would see people doing the same thing you're planning on doing and ended up nowhere, because they did it mindlessly. In fact, maths, chem, phys and english were all topped by people who didn't go to tutoring, and didn't have time to do every single question in the textbook because significant co-curricular commitments as well. Quality, not quantity.
That said, writing phys/chem/bio notes by january is a good idea. After that, focus on English more than phys and chem, because all the content in phys/chem is either dead easy or memorisable.
Good luck! And don't burn out

Brilliant post. This is EXACTLY the answer I am looking for.

I talked to HSC students who achieved 99.95 ATAR and state rankings in the past and most of them said we finished the HSC course by the end of year 11 and we did past papers throughout year 12 so I thought that is what I should be doing. That is exactly why I made this thread, to find out whether I am doing the right thing or not.

However, everyone opposed the idea of doing that insane amount of past papers so I was thinking "if I don't do past papers then what am I going to do throughout year 12?". Then I read your post and I realise how oblivious I was not seeing the importance of concentrating on harder topics where people tend to lose marks.

From what you said I can conclude that the best way to achieve top marks is by concentrating on the harder topics, the topics that separate top students from average students which are Harder MX1 for MX2 and Binomial and Perm & Comb for MX1 and English in general.

I'll complete all my notes for chemistry, physics and biology between now and January and spend the rest of the year doing a reasonable amount of past papers with an emphasis on the topics listed above, English and harder questions in general like 6-8 mark questions in chemistry and physics and harder MX1 and MX2 questions like the current questions 6, 7 and 8.

Past papers will certainly help me improve speed and accuracy for the easier questions in maths i.e. 1-5 where most of the silly mistakes are made. However, I still believe that past papers are a very effective way to improve on the harder end of MX1 and MX2 since it is always helpful to be exposed to as many harder maths questions in maths in particular.

Thank you for your advice chevlr, thank you a lot!

[chevlr]

I'll complete all my notes for chemistry, physics and biology between now and January and spend the rest of the year doing a reasonable amount of past papers with an emphasis on the topics listed above, English and harder questions in general like 6-8 mark questions in chemistry and physics and harder MX1 and MX2 questions like the current questions 6, 7 and 8.

Past papers will certainly help me improve speed and accuracy for the easier questions in maths i.e. 1-5 where most of the silly mistakes are made. However, I still believe that past papers are a very effective way to improve on the harder end of MX1 and MX2 since it is always helpful to be exposed to as many harder maths questions in maths in particular.

Thank you for your advice chevlr, thank you a lot!

Wow that was pretty much my approach to the HSC, damn I thought I was original Though I only finished my notes and essays in July, cos I'm a lazy ass.

From what you said I can conclude that the best way to achieve top marks is by concentrating on the harder topics, the topics that separate top students from average students which are Harder MX1 for MX2 and Binomial and Perm & Comb for MX1 and English in general.

You shouldn't focus on those topics just because I said that I found them hard; I was pretty shit at English, so I spent more than half my time studying that. Focus on what you find hard => if you're gun at perm & comb but find mechanics hard, then keep doing mechanics questions until you understand it.

<3

Right back at ya <3

[TheProfessional]

Wow that was pretty much my approach to the HSC, damn I thought I was original Though I only finished my notes and essays in July, cos I'm a lazy ass.
You shouldn't focus on those topics just because I said that I found them hard; I was pretty shit at English, so I spent more than half my time studying that. Focus on what you find hard => if you're gun at perm & comb but find mechanics hard, then keep doing mechanics questions until you understand it.

I think any topic in MX2 can be difficult even integration and complex numbers (maybe not Curve Sketching) if it is being asked in the last questions of the paper. However, harder mx1, perm&comb, binomial tend to be the hardest.
So I think concentrating on the harder MX1 and MX2 questions in general is better then concentrating on individual topics.
I have a rough idea of my weaknesses at the moment, but throughout the year I'll have a better understanding of what I should concentrate on more and how I should manage my time to ensure the most effective and efficient study routine.
For now, I think my main weaknesses are English in general (which seems to be everyone's weakness) and harder maths questions. The way to improve on these weaknesses is maybe a good English tutor and regarding maths, just exposure to as many questions as possible from textbooks and past papers + a solid understanding of the topics. Regarding the sciences, I think doing the notes and some past papers is more than enough to get a high band 6.
Actually, your approach is original, I wouldn't be able to come up with what I said without reading you post :P

Good luck in the HSC everyone, I'll be really busy from now on studying for the HSC and doing my science notes so I won't be able to use this website. Maybe I'll use it in the future for tutoring/sales etc...

[dougaljess]

It is really hard to have a consistent study plan for English for some reason. For science and maths you know exactly what to do to get the marks.

Check the syllabus. I came first in Adv English and I didn't go crazy. I slept or relaxed most English classes. But when it comes to studying, get a copy of the syllabus, figure out what you need to know and cover every single objective and outcome.

[dougaljess]

Oh, and go in there with an essay memorised and just adapt it to the question. NEVER write an essay off the cuff. But I ranked in Hist Ext as well and I learnt the course 6 weeks before the exam so I don't know why you guys think you can have all your notes done by January.. . aren't you going to learn the material that year?

[2ndt0m3h]

500+ papers?? HAHHAHAHAHHA

If you want a state ranking like i got than minimum of 3000 papers per course.

I will send you a link to more than 25000 papers so you can complete them.