Hi guys,
I found this site by accident through a search engine. I did my HSC about 5.5 years ago and am about to graduate from B.com/B.law at UNSW this year - yes ... that's right above 99 guys!! Looking at you guys study your brains brings back memories ... and is quite amusing really ... haha.
Let's see, when i was doing my HSC during 2000, we had the Sydney Olympics; the best olympics EVER!! And we missed out b/c we had to study ... shit. Let's see ... what do we have this year? we have the commonwealth games and the soccer world cup; and
Australia is in the world cup!! ... SUCKED IN TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SOCCER!! I hope you all watch it and get distracted and fail ...
You guys are in an interesting time period where computer technology and communications technology has advanced to a stage where you can do most of your research online and sharing notes is wonderfully easier - never before in the history of earth has the world been so interconnected, and never before has the access to information and learning been so easy (a la Wikipedia). For example you can learn how to program computers or learn how to invest ONLINE. I think it's a lot easier to study in this environment, however this also means that since the BARRIERS to learning have come down, the world of education is a lot more
competitive, also i'm sure your teachers will set harder questions ... and also; UAI marks are higher these days, and fees are higher too ... haha oh well;
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..."
~ Charles Dickens
Advice
What would my advice be, with the benefit of experience 5.5 years later??
Generally: first of all what you are doing is RIGHT; you may not know it now because you're still young, but getting an education is extremley important in this day and age. Our economy is a services and knowledge based economy - that is, as a first world country we are increasingly using our minds, professions like law, financial services, software engineering, scientific research, medicine - make up the bulk of our economy, and will continue to do so in the long term future, the ability to manipulate knowledge, information and symbols will be crucial to your long term future (not unless you plan to be an actor/actress or athlete). The percentage of manual work; i.e. manufacturing, agriculture and farming, trade services has been going down at an increasing rate, and the work is being outsourced to cheap labour countries. I encourage all of you to get the best education you can, and don't fall behind.
- have a passion for learning and exploiting that knowledge for your benefit, as opposed to doing it just to get high marks. A good education will help you do many things; making better decisions about your life, learning how the economy works so that you know which sectors of the economy offer the best jobs, how to invest your money, how to make decisions about friends and family etc. Have a love for learning, LEARN HOW TO LEARN, as oppposed to seeing it as a chore.
Studying;
for me at least a few key factors in how I got good marks;
1. enjoy what you do; pick subjects that you like, or want to learn b/c it will pay dividends. If I could go back i would study; the highest level of math possible, economics, sciences, something about computers, and maybe a useful language that will help in business someway; like chinese or french. This is of course my opinion as I'm a business/commerce oriented type of person who's in touch with where the economy is going, but if you like something else go do it! You will do much better if you are interested in what you're doing, or because its relevent to your career plans.
2. hang around people who support your values and goals to get good marks. Stay away from negative influences. If your friends don't care about or respect your goals and dreams, then in my opinion they are not friends at all. Good friends reinforce your learning and help you discuss and clarify concepts, and bad friends distract you. Lose bad friends, there will be plenty of people to meet, especially as you enter uni there will be many like minded people who share your interests. I personally met my girlfriend in uni, and she's the most amazing person i've ever met.
3. have high expectations for yourself; if you want to get 99+ for your UAI go do it; it's a free country ... just don't say it in front of people ... keep it to yourself, or else they might think you're arrogant and will try to put you down.
4. preparation: i can't stress this enough; Ian Thorpe said something like "when i get in the pool i'm not worried or stressed, because usually i've done enough preparation and hardwork before the race, what i do is just let all the hard work come to the fore ..." and i agree. When i did my HSC i did past papers over and over again; like 10-20 times before the exam. Upon looking at the questions, I knew the questions so well that I knew the answers even before i could finish the question.
5. work hard, its worth it - i have no regrets about studying hard that year and missing out on the olympics, studying hard one year and getting into a course you want can change your life when you get into the right course, since it opens your mind to the possibilities and opportunities in the world ... it did for me anyways. The biggest thing is staying focused and keeping distractions away.
6. stay fit and healthy - get 1 hours exercise a day, or at least eat healthy food. You brain can't function well if you're stressed and unhealthy. And a word about all nighters ... yes i've done a few, but I do not recommend them ... if you need to chuck all nighters its much better to at least get 1-3 hours nap and take some time away from something else.
7. time management; learn how to manage your time; read David Allen; getting things done ...
8. Have good heroes and role models; look up to bright and talented people and try to at least aspire; read up about people like da vinci, or Newton on wikipedia, and see the potential of the human mind.
On administrative stuff;
Scaling; I did 4-unit math, i'm not sure what they call it now ... but usually harder subjects scale more, but only take them if you know you can do well, b/c the consequences of bombing out are big.
UNSW vs. USYD; it doesn't matter they're both good; don't judge a uni by its buildings ... instead look at the TEACHERS and facilities and support; think about what course you want to do, and then look at the teachers and their background. If they're really talented teachers from places like harvard, yale, oxford, or they are constantly in the media and outspoken then go there and learn from them. The most important thing is that the teachers have to have a passion for learning and helping students learn.
Fees; haha ... the howard govt is privatising the university system and fees are higher now than when i did my degree ... such is life.
Look abroad if you can; australia has alright universities, but nothing in comparison to the US, if you're rich enough and well connected enough look overseas; some places i would love to study at are; Stanford, Harvard, NYC Cambridge etc ... these are world class institutions. Sorry if i sound like a geek, if you guys just want to get into USyd, then that's cool too.
What to study at university; this is a tough one because its very dependent on your personal interests. It really depends on your interests, values, passions and social position in life. Because you are young, and not sure, like i was, i would recommend doing double degrees with practical value; e.g. b.commerce/b.science, or b.comm/b.law which may take longer but give you more OPTIONS. Options are worth a lot, especially when you're young and confused. But if you know what you want to do; e.g. medicine, then go do it. Some guidelines for deciding career; 1. do you enjoy what you do? enjoyment and enthusiasm for what you do is very important as aforementioned 2. be realistic ... is there opportunity? can you make a living? (e.g. something like music is hard to make a living at, but something like computers or medicine is not - it depends on economics/supply and demand and what products consumers want to buy, there are heaps of people who need healthcare but less so for entertainment products like music) 3. is it unethical? if its unethical don't do it. 4. can you find something else related? (if you love acting or movies but don't fit the mould of being an actor then maybe you could be an entertainment executive and make movies behind the scenes). However it's best not to be distracted right now about thinking about your career, just focus on doing well, you can think about it later, maybe take a year off after HSC or something.
Anyways that's the best i can offer off the top of my head. I wrote all this because after 5.5 years of university education I've come to respect the value of an education (notice i said an 'education' not necessarily a 'degree') and what it can do for you. It can open up a whole new world. Also, The more educated people are the better society will be, i.e. no stupid behaviour like crime and drugs.
Good luck with your studies and your careers.
Oh, and enjoy the World Cup!!
