A message for class of 2005/6 (1 Viewer)

[flipsyde]

I am posting my piece of mind here for you to read and absorb if you wish. Speaking from experience (class of 2004), I am offering you some advice that you can take or leave as you please and also PM me about if you want ask more questions.


Majors
Ok so it is important here that you dont choose too many subjects with majors in them. I had 4 majors and had a hard time trying to cope and I got really stressed out and my depression returned. Dont let this discourage you however, if you like staying up till the wee hours of the morning and you can live off 4hrs sleep each day and you like flat out working youre arse off, then go for it. Four majors was really hard for me to manage and I saw many of my friends crumble as well, I lost my social life, I couldn't go out anywhere. Then again if thats your kind of thing and you want to focus on your studies then go for it, but I still dont reccomend it because chances are, you'll burn out.


Stress
Stress is a major issue that you will all face. Now I could tell you 'til I'm blue in the face not to stress out, because in the end the HSC is not the be all to end all (believe me it isnt... you may doubt this, and I did as well when I heard it but now, looking back, it isnt).But you will stress out. This is the time to stop what you are doing, put it down and go watch tv or read or something.

If you stress out, you'll get less doen and wont be able to perform as well... I perform better when In stressed, yes its true for a lot of people, but when it gets too much to handle dont try to weight it out. Also a little bit of excercise helps to stimulate your mind... so even if you just go for a 20min jog, its well worth it. I thought I couldnt afford to give up 20mins of my time... but you can!


Burn Out
Ok this relates to the stress and workload topic above. Too much stress and too much of a workload will burn you out... and it WILL...Im sure youve all heard the saying "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". This is true, I turned so dull towards the end of the year... I was burnt out and I couldnt do it anymore, I just couldn't.. this was 3 weeks till the actual HSC and only that all of my teachers sat me down and made me do no work at school all day I was able to get through it... but I was still burnt out and hence didnt do well in the exams.

Time Management/Balance
Also a very important thing. Plan your time.... work rest and yes PLAY!!!

Work- Dont leave your work until the last minute, get ontop of it as soon as you can.. if you know youve got that party to go to on Saturday, then make sure you finish it on Friday night (chances are you'll be too hung over to finish it on Sunday). The same goes with dont just work work work.. the mind cant handle it

Rest- Sleep is your best friend. Make sure you get at least 6-8 hrs of sleep each day. Because a well rested mind and body means you are ready to tackle anything that comes your way today. Also when you sleep, dont think about school work, youll stress in your sleep and wont be able to sleep... when your head hits that pillow, assignments, homework and the HSC DONT exist, forget them... Rest also falls under relaxation... relax... chill...seriously... do somethign you like.. Im my case it was writting music/songs.

Play- Go out and do things even if its for an hour, you CAN afford it, its only an hour. Otherwise youll becomoe a hermit like I did.. youll just sit there...absorbed in math or ancient history.. you become BORING!!! and your mind cant handle it. But rememer.. dont play too much or no work will get done.


Aiming for your UAI
I knwo people say you can achieve anythign you set your mind to... yes this is true but you also have to be realistic. Aim high, but not too high.. who knows, you may even surprise yourself . I dissapointed myself cos I aimed too high, waaay too high and it almost broke me inside.


Not getting the UAI you need
IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!!!! I didnt get the UAI that I needed to get the course I want. But you know what I did? I handed in portfolios and resumes and arranged for interviews with Universities... I missed the mark by 5 UAI points... but guess what.. I got in. They also look at your exam marks individually during these interviews, so if you get good exam marks and a shit UAI as I did.. Its not the end.

There are also other ways into Uni.. do a TAFE course, generally that will get you in the next year. You can also do a STAT test which will help increase your UAI points.

In the end it didnt end up mattering whether I got into Uni or not, I got offered a spot at this great college (better than uni) which I also tried out for.. so not only did I get what I wanted, and had worked my butt of for 2 years to get.. I got something better ...even though I still did get an offer for uni


Dreams Come True... But only to those who chase them
Dreams do come true, but they dont just land in your lap, you have to fight for it.. and fight and fight and fight untill you turn into a pineapple or something... When you dont get it the first time, keep trying to get in other ways, there are always back doors. And no matter what... keep your chin up

> Smile and the word Smiles with you...Fart and you stand alone

> When the world thinks your stupid, the best thing you can do is prove the bastards wrong



P.S-enjoy it though.. it really is fun even though I missed most of that cos I was caugh tup in work... get help and talk to someone if you need to, theres always someone who will listen, whether you believe it or not

 

[physician]

wow.. thanks so much .. great advice... and yeh ur definitely right about all the 'too much work and no play'.. stuff..,

thanks alot, and congrats for getting into the college... Just out of interest, what was ur UAI?

anyways, thanks alot for the advice, its greatly appreciated.... just one thing

4 MAJORS what were u thinking.. hehehe, I think that would kill me...

but yeh, the thing i'd like to keep in mind most is what u said about the HSC not being the end of the world, and plus u could always enter as a mature student.. at i think the age of 21 or semething.. u know, u could work for like 3-4 years, earn some cash, and then go Uni.. theres no harm in that..

but in reality, it just makes ur Holiday after the HSC more relaxing if u get a high UAI, not having to worry about getting in and stuff, because a place is almost guranteed... but as u said, u actually got off ur backside and gave in resumes and had interviews and stuff.. and so yeh it just goes to show that
"where there's a will there's a way"...

anyways, once again, thanks for the advice

good luck in ur future career

 

[flipsyde]

Well I got really high exam marks rangin in the 70s and the 90s.. but my UAI was only 65.15 ... but thats the thing.. they looked at the exam marks and what I could do.. eg the portfolio had a lot of the designs I had created adn websites and CD-ROMs etc and the resume showed like work experience and my duke of edinburgh award etc to shwo that I had initiative.. so they look at the person you are and what you can do rather than your marks... so its not the end.

Goodluck with your studies

but yeh, the thing i'd like to keep in mind most is what u said about the HSC not being the end of the world, and plus u could always enter as a mature student.. at i think the age of 21 or semething.. u know, u could work for like 3-4 years, earn some cash, and then go Uni.. theres no harm in that..

Indeed......

 

[magician]

but in reality, it just makes ur Holiday after the HSC more relaxing if u get a high UAI, not having to worry about getting in and stuff, because a place is almost guranteed... but as u said, u actually got off ur backside and gave in resumes and had interviews and stuff.. and so yeh it just goes to show that
"where there's a will there's a way"...

Certainly it does- but it's definitely NOT the be all and end all. I ended up doing well in my HSC, but only AFTER my stress levels got way out of hand in mid-Year 12. So, if it is going to cause you alot of stress (excessive stress we are talking about) in order to obtain that mark, IT IS NOT WORTH IT.

Good luck!

 

[magician]

In saying this, I will clarify exactly what I mean. I am saying, if your expectations of yourself are causing you to excessively stress (e.g. not sleep, worry alot etc) LOWER THEM- make a realistic aim, one that won't cause you to stress too much!!! If you want to talk to someone about it, as I said on a similar thread in the Year 10 forum, go for it- it's better to take constructive action about it rather than suffer through Year 12. Continue to work hard, but also be kind to yourself.

On this note, also enjoy Year 12, there are plenty of great opportunities to do so, so make the most of it!!!

 

[JamiL]

Aiming for your UAI
I knwo people say you can achieve anythign you set your mind to... yes this is true but you also have to be realistic. Aim high, but not too high.. who knows, you may even surprise yourself . I dissapointed myself cos I aimed too high, waaay too high and it almost broke me inside.

oi disagree...
ever heard the sayin aim 4 the sun n u might reach the stars... now if u aim 4 100% n u get 99.95% ull be happi but no u need 2 try harder 2 get 100%, it keeps u on ur feet. if u aim 4 80% n get 99.95% ull think uve done well n ur mark might drop to 95% or less.
jus remember all things are possible through God, if u put ur mind to it. i.e praying isn enouf

 

[69^boi]

wow.. thanks so much .. great advice... and yeh ur definitely right about all the 'too much work and no play'.. stuff..,

thanks alot, and congrats for getting into the college... Just out of interest, what was ur UAI?

anyways, thanks alot for the advice, its greatly appreciated.... just one thing

4 MAJORS what were u thinking.. hehehe, I think that would kill me...

but yeh, the thing i'd like to keep in mind most is what u said about the HSC not being the end of the world, and plus u could always enter as a mature student.. at i think the age of 21 or semething.. u know, u could work for like 3-4 years, earn some cash, and then go Uni.. theres no harm in that..

but in reality, it just makes ur Holiday after the HSC more relaxing if u get a high UAI, not having to worry about getting in and stuff, because a place is almost guranteed... but as u said, u actually got off ur backside and gave in resumes and had interviews and stuff.. and so yeh it just goes to show that
"where there's a will there's a way"...

anyways, once again, thanks for the advice

good luck in ur future career

yes but isnt it better to repeat the HSC than waiting for 3-4 to enter as a mature age student?......i mean its better to enter uni straight out of school while your parents still support you, house, food etc..

bytheway can you canter in uni as a mature age students with no qualification? that not having done yr 11 & 12 b4?

 

[flipsyde]

jus remember all things are possible through God, if u put ur mind to it. i.e praying isn enouf

God!? Ummm... pffft...no comment

 

[flipsyde]

yes but isnt it better to repeat the HSC than waiting for 3-4 to enter as a mature age student?......i mean its better to enter uni straight out of school while your parents still support you, house, food etc..

bytheway can you canter in uni as a mature age students with no qualification? that not having done yr 11 & 12 b4?

yeah you can repeat yr 12 again to if you wan tbut u can also do a diploma at TAFE for a year, Got to College, Make porfolios and get into uni that way (Thats how I got in ), do STAT tests... and you can also ring the uni and find other ways to get in....

 

[Purp|e]

hmmm *sigh* ... sif u didnt tell me this when i was starting yr 12 flipsyde!!!

 

[flipsyde]

hmmm *sigh* ... sif u didnt tell me this when i was starting yr 12 flipsyde!!!

I didnt

 

[Purp|e]

I didnt

hmmm if someone told me something like that i could have like gotten a leet uai and been able to brag amongst others on here :uhhuh:

 

[Slidey]

Gotta love the sciences, with cut offs consistently around the mid 80's or less.

My first four preferences and their cut offs this year:

1) Bachelor of Biotechnology (Nanotechnology) @ University of Queensland
UAI: 80.00

2) Bachelor of Science (Nanotechnology) @ University of Queensland
UAI: 80.00

3) Bachelor of Photonics and Nanoscience @ Griffith University
UAI: 86.00

4) Bachelor of Science (Nanotechnology) @ UNSW
UAI: 80.00

LESS THAN THREE SCIENCE.

 

[Estel]

Given up on Adv Mathematics at USYD/UNSW?

 

[Slidey]

Given up on Adv Mathematics at USYD/UNSW?

It'd be fun and probably easier than learning lots of biology and chemistry, but both would be as challenging and interesting... so since they are pretty equal, we need to look at another criterion... money. Whoops, nanotech wins!

'Sides, I can take a bunch of maths electives in nanotech.

You're thinking about Liberal Studies, right? What would your majors an language be?

 

[Estel]

It'd be fun and probably easier than learning lots of biology and chemistry, but both would be as challenging and interesting... so since they are pretty equal, we need to look at another criterion... money. Whoops, nanotech wins!

'Sides, I can take a bunch of maths electives in nanotech.

You're thinking about Liberal Studies, right? What would your majors an language be?

Neat tiebreaker...

But nah no Lib Studies for me...
Sci/med at USYD or arts/med at UNSW would be nice....
it's always nice to want something that doesn't need a 99.95

 

[magician]

Good luck!!

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

Gotta love the sciences, with cut offs consistently around the mid 80's or less.

My first four preferences and their cut offs this year:

1) Bachelor of Biotechnology (Nanotechnology) @ University of Queensland
UAI: 80.00

2) Bachelor of Science (Nanotechnology) @ University of Queensland
UAI: 80.00

3) Bachelor of Photonics and Nanoscience @ Griffith University
UAI: 86.00

4) Bachelor of Science (Nanotechnology) @ UNSW
UAI: 80.00

LESS THAN THREE SCIENCE.

So I see that you're planning to move away from home upon turning 18

Btw. why not BCom (Actuarial) @ UNSW? - high level of maths and good money, albeit a boring course (so I've heard).

 

[Slidey]

Hmm. Close. I'll be 17 and turn 18 at 2 months into semester 1. I've wanted to go to Queensland for ages, though. Now's my chance. It helps that UQ is probably one of the best, if not the best, uni in Aus for the biological sciences, as well as nanotechnology. It's got about 80 million funding for nanotech, and about 100 million for biotech. And have you seen Brisbane, especially UQ's St Lucia campus? Aha. But I could go on for hours.

Actuarial doesn't interest me. True, I am likely to change my mind on what does interest me a few times throughout my life, but if I pick something which is close to what generally interests me, and has done so for many years, I have a better chance of getting it right the first time.

Are you considering it?

 

[CrashOveride]

B Com (actuarial) at UNSW?
Yeah, if you want it 2nd class i guess you can do it at UNSW =)