Trying so hard and still failing chem (1 Viewer)

[bunsryum]

I feel so depressed every time I see my chem results. When I got back AT1 and AT2 and saw the terrible results, I lost complete motivation in studying. But I received more support and guidance from teachers and friends to keep trying harder and do well in the next exam. I worked my ass off and grinded chem consistently until the exam: doing past papers, asking tons of questions and making sure I understood the content. I was pretty confident alr when I walked into the exam and was expecting a much better result than my previous tasks. And only to receive a crappy mark equally as terrible as the last. I looked through my paper and saw all the mistakes I made, it was so sad because I only wanted to improve. I think one of my biggest issues was rushing through the paper believing I didn’t have enough time even though I had a whole 20-25 minutes to spare. There were some questions where I missed the entire question and didn’t even answer it.

I don’t know whether to even try anymore. Obviously, I still really want to do well but it feels like all my constant effort never result in what I want. I don’t even have the option to drop since I’m on 10 units.Trials are coming up so soon and if I can’t even do one or two modules being tested, how can I do all 4? It’s not like I’m even doing that great in my other subjects so my atar is looking rlly low rn and I don’t think I’ll get into the course (which needs a rlly high atar) I want.

 

[99.95dreams]

i'm really sorry you are feeling this way

first of all, you need to remember that chemistry is, objectively, known to be hard subject. and that isn't because of the content - it is because the types of questions they can ask can be very out of pocket (think weird titration/solubility/spectrometry questions). so if you are struggling in chem, know that it is completely normal, given the difficulty of the subject itself.

now, i've always enjoyed chemistry - i managed to get in the top 5 in both AT1 and AT2 (i think i messed up AT3 but oh well). i'd say the best way to study for it is just practice. it seems like you have already been doing that, but just to clarify - do textbook questions, past paper questions from other schools, AND old hsc questions (these are actually amazing to practice with).

most importantly, it seems like you need to practice in timed conditions. if you were panicking through the test, it isn't a reflection of how well you know the content; it simply means you need to focus on time management. before trials, spend maybe 1-2 weeks revising the content, then to papers ALL IN TIMED CONDITIONS. that is really the only way you will ensure your best performance.

obviously, there isn't much we can do when the exam anxiety kicks in in the actual test - BUT we can try to minimise that by replicating exam conditions at home.

you got this! don't give up