Too late? (1 Viewer)

[ksh039]

Hello,

The HSC is just around the corner and I'm a little lost on what to do with my lack of motivation to succeed in it, though not for the reason that I am completely unable to do so.

Here's a little bit of context. I go to a school that is consistently within the top 10 of the state each year, and whilst my marks for the internal assessments weren't great, I am definitely proud of what I have achieved throughout the year. The subjects that I do are English Advanced, Extension 1 English, Extension 2 English, Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 1, Economics, Japanese Continuers and Japanese Extension. With the exception of Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 1 and English Advanced, for each of my subjects I rank within the top 5 of my cohort. But then again, my ranks for those three courses are 18, 20 and 9 respectively and are not relatively terrible. Inputting my raw marks into the ATAR calculator on HSC ninja, I am projected an ATAR of 99.15.

My quandary is that in the weeks leading up to the HSC, I have not been able to recover from the stress and anxiety that had accumulated and peaked during trials. In fact, I distinctly remember sitting through their physical manifestations in my English Extension 1 exams in the form of trembling hands, perspiration and the foreboding sense that if I closed my eyes for a second too long, my head would drop to the table and I would fall immediately into sleep. Since trials have ended, the sheer disgust that I feel for the documents that litter my work space, in having to memorise and internalise them, has kept me right away from doing any revision. I suppose that it's a sort of fear of relapsing into the poor state of mind and body that I was in for a long time.

I would like to ask for affirmation whether it would be too late to start trying for the HSC. I am at a limbo where I cannot stand touching revision material again, but at the same time feel like all the agony that I went through would be in vain if I do not demonstrate what I am capable of- even if at this point, I am bound to receive subpar marks regardless of the effort that I put in now.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[quickoats]

Hey there! I feel the same as you man. I go to a selective school and managed to get really good ranks (lowest is 5th) throughout the year, but right now, I’m not motivated to do any work at all. Since trials, I’ve burnt out, and can’t see myself doing well in the HSC at all.

I guess it’s never too late to start studying, the little things will have an impact, but I totally feel where you’re coming from. Even if you do half an hour of work per day, it’s still better than nothing.

Do you have any ATAR/career goals? Maybe use that as something to keep you going

 

[ksh039]

Hey there! I feel the same as you man. I go to a selective school and managed to get really good ranks (lowest is 5th) throughout the year, but right now, I’m not motivated to do any work at all. Since trials, I’ve burnt out, and can’t see myself doing well in the HSC at all.

I guess it’s never too late to start studying, the little things will have an impact, but I totally feel where you’re coming from. Even if you do half an hour of work per day, it’s still better than nothing.

Do you have any ATAR/career goals? Maybe use that as something to keep you going

Hey thanks for replying!

I did used to have a career goal of being an investment banker, seeing that I am ranked second by a very small margin in economics at a school with a pretty stellar track record in social sciences. However, all ambition and love for the subject have been pretty much swamped, and now I wouldn't be surprised if I cannot answer a single question or write a single essay in any of my exams.

I sincerely hope that you are at least in a position where you have the incentive to do small increments of work every day as you suggested. As for me, it feels difficult to even draw up the courage to begin, to sit down and face my overloaded work.

 

[Bob Jane]

Relevant video:

 

[StudyOnly]

Hey thanks for replying!

I did used to have a career goal of being an investment banker, seeing that I am ranked second by a very small margin in economics at a school with a pretty stellar track record in social sciences. However, all ambition and love for the subject have been pretty much swamped, and now I wouldn't be surprised if I cannot answer a single question or write a single essay in any of my exams.

I sincerely hope that you are at least in a position where you have the incentive to do small increments of work every day as you suggested. As for me, it feels difficult to even draw up the courage to begin, to sit down and face my overloaded work.

Print out your timetable and write down little goals everyday leading up to the exams and cross them off as you do them (satisfying when you cross them out). Have an end goal, reward of some sort (for me it is a holiday after exams), for you it can be something simple that you really enjoy doing etc. Everytime you feel demotivated, think about yourself after the exams enjoying whatever you want without any stress. Make the ATAR you want your wallpaper, and start with subjects you enjoy till you get enough momentum to do the rest. You still have time...... it's not too late. Start now and think about the day you get your ATAR (imagine it being the ATAR you want and being excited over it.) You also said you did well in your trials which means you have already much of the hard work and memorised most of your content, you just need to revise this for the exams (even if you think you have forgotten it, it's still in there somewhere) .... since it is already in your mind it should be easier/less time consuming to study, use this as motivation. Good Luck!

 

[BLIT2014]

It's not too late. HSC does not start until Thursday the 17th so you still have a few days till it starts.

What I would recommend you do is get an a2 sheet of paper, and do a massive calendar of when each of your exams is.

Then see how much time you have between each exam, and allocate/write down which subject(s) you will be studying in the gaps between the exams.

Best wishes!

 

[elephont]

I found that watching productive YouTube videos (e.g. Study With Me, exam day routines, asmr taking notes, listening to inspiring people talk TedTalks?) really helps with my motivation. Or you could maybe begin planning your holidays after the HSC (what you want to do with friends, where you want to visit) just to recognise the light at the end of the tunnel. It isn't for everyone but if you feel it may help give it a shot