We all place a lot of weight on the HSC – the importance of it being emphasised by everyone from teachers and tutors to friends and family. But it’s daunting – a big step from Year 11 and certainly a big jump up from what we’re previously been accustomed to in the junior years of high school. It’s no surprise that students often find themselves saying, “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Not to fear – these tips will help you out and ensure you make it to the finish line in one piece:
- Stress management: A big part of keeping your stress under control is being prepared. Use a diary! It doesn’t even need to be a diary – track it on your phone’s calendar or download an organisational app on your phone. Whatever it is, just make sure you stay organised! This allows you to prioritise which tasks need to be done first – ultimately preventing yourself from being unnecessarily stressed out the night before an assessment is due, exclaiming, “I can’t finish this!”
- Staying motivated: it’s easy to feel discouraged after receiving a bad mark or just feeling like there’s no end in sight. It’s only natural but just remember to always pick yourself after and carry on. There’s so many exciting events in your final year of high school – use those as motivation! Keep moving forward and before you know it, you’ll be at your Year 12 graduation or formal in no time. Or whilst you’re studying, motivate yourself by keeping in the mind the trip abroad you have lined up for post-HSC adventures. Whatever it is – whether it be your dream ATAR or dream university – that motivates you, always keep it at the back of your mind to push yourself through to the end.
- Prepare yourself adequately for trial exams: Trials are super, super important! It’s emphasised heavily; but for a reason. It’s the only exam block you have in Year 12 prior to sitting your HSC exams and really sets you up for the HSC if you have prepared yourself wisely. For example, the trial exams allows you to get into the feel of sitting in an exam room for 3 hours straight as well as writing faster than you thought was possible for compulsory English or the writing-heavy subjects like Legal Studies.
REMEMBER: if you have adequately prepared for trial examinations, then you already know the majority of the content that will be examined in the HSC. All you need to do then is learn and understand the content not examined in your trial exams or content that you’ve covered in class after trials.
The HSC seems like a big deal and no doubt, it is; but by staying organised, motivated and having fun – you’ll make it through.
