100 Tips for VCE Success

1. 2. Have a goal to achieve. Identify a goal preferably an ATAR at the start of the year that you want and commit to achieving it. Write it down in a spot where you will see it every day. Have a reason to achieve your goal. Do you need it to attain entry to your dream course? Is it an ATAR that will keep your options open? If you simply aim for a high ATAR for the sake of it you will inevitably lose motivation and be less driven and focussed than if you had an actual need for a certain ATAR. Work out what you are willing to sacrifice to achieve the goal and what you are not prepared to. You wont need to sacrifice a lot if you learn to manage your time well but you may need to cut down on some activities. Consider which aspects of your life are important to you from work, socialising, family time, etc. See VCE for what it really is: an enormous real-life educational game that you have the opportunity to play. At the end of the day, you are competing for a high ranking against your peers from across Victoria. If you recognise this and follow a sound strategy with reference to these tips, you will be very likely to win. Choose subjects that actually interest you. If you are passionate about a subject then you are substantially more likely to do well in it. Consider doing a university extension subject. They are probably not worth it for the ATAR increment but the other benefits, namely meeting like-minded people with a passion for a given subject and experiencing university a year early, are profound. Consider doing something different such as a language, music or arts subject. It may be a welcome break from your other subjects throughout your VCE years. Dont choose subjects based on scaling. Despite widespread confusion relating to the VCE scaling process, it is the fairest system possible and will in no way restrict anyone from obtaining a high ATAR because of their subject choices. Remember that if you are doing subjects that scale down, you can usually escape the scaling by getting a score of 45+ anyway. Choose subjects that are efficient to study together. By choosing similar subjects you will end up doing less work as they will usually have some overlap and require the development of similar skills. For example, do a few maths subjects, science subjects or humanities subjects. Do at least one 3/4 in Year 11. If possible, completing two 3/4s would be even better! There is absolutely no disadvantage in doing 3/4s in Year 11 as you can always do them again or end up with 7 subjects. Concentrate on your 3/4 subject/s when in Year 11. Why wouldnt you when they actually count towards your ATAR while your 1/2s do not? Having said that, dont neglect your 1/2s to the extent where you fail them or are discouraged by your school from progressing to 3/4 level. Don't be afraid to start learning your 3/4 subjects in advance if you have the opportunity. Why not get a head start over the summer break? Use the ATAR Calculator websites and/or apps to determine what study scores you will need to achieve your ATAR goal. Try not to become too obsessive though! Your final results are often somewhat different generally positively to what you were expecting and hoping for. Use ATAR Notes and other online VCE resources throughout your VCE years. They are invaluable for finding out information about everything pertaining to the VCE and can even be used as a free source of support and help.

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15. Write out a detailed plan at the start of the year for every subject you are doing. Include the study scores you need to achieve, resources you are going to use, the percentage of your study time you will allocate to each subject, when you will start practice papers, etc. 16. Recognise the importance of the study designs as published by VCAA for every VCE subject. They contain the key skills and key knowledge information that will enable you to understand what you need to know for a subject and how you can develop the necessary skills to be able to apply this understanding in a SAC or exam (the latter being ultimately what counts). Anything not listed on the study design is NOT examinable. Knowing this, for many subjects often 20-30% of your textbook can simply be disregarded. 17. Get organised. Work out how you are going to succeed in managing your time throughout VCE. Time management is ultimately what separates students ATARs more than any other factor so it is critical that you establish a system that works for you. Consider how you are going to plan your time. Yes, you MUST plan it! Options include using a generic weekly planner (usually only practical if your schedule stays the same every week), a school diary or an online calendar (Google Calendar is excellent). Maintaining a to-do list is also useful. 18. Try to have at least a rough timetable/plan for every day of the week and then update it on a specific day of the week (Sunday is often best) for the week ahead. Some people can stick to a strict timetable but for most a rough one is the only useful system that they can actually stick to. 19. Set goals for each and every day. By incorporating these with a to-do list you will find that you achieve considerably more and have a much greater level of productivity. Short-term daily goals can include things such as: complete all questions from 16A and 16B for Methods, finish notes for AOS 2 of Biology Unit 3 in preparation for SAC, complete and mark 2 practice exams for Accounting in preparation for the exam, etc. 20. Work out how you are going to study. Everyone learns best slightly differently so its worth spending a bit of time examining how you best comprehend and retain information. To 'study', a successful approach may be to simply read information from resources, make sure you understand it, summarise it into concise notes, and then test yourself as frequently as necessary through a combination of written practice questions and self-vocalisation of study design dot points. It should be emphasised though that the most productive and effective 'study' is generally different for everyone! 21. Use other resources particularly textbooks than just what your school is using. 22. Use PDFs of textbooks if you dont mind looking at a screen. You will save yourself the burden of transporting your books to and from school. 23. Use websites and resources such as YouTube, Patrick JMT and KHAN Academy for supporting your understanding of the concepts in many VCE subjects (particularly the maths and science ones). 24. Ask your teacher for more help. It's free and thats what theyre there for so why not? 25. Get a tutor if you struggle with conceptual understanding and your teacher hasnt been able to help you. Try to get a good quality one that has recently achieved 45+ by looking through recommendations on ATAR Notes. 26. Don't get a tutor if you think (or even suspect) you would be better off without one. Performing strongly in VCE is mostly about hard work and the execution of a good strategy while a tutor can be beneficial in some circumstances, often they are unnecessary. 27. Consider attending revision lectures and external study programs if you feel they would benefit you. There are three main reasons to attend lectures. Firstly, you are likely to be able to cover more content and consequently be more productive than if you had have been studying alone. Secondly, you may be able to gain from the lecturer exam techniques specific for a given subject if they are an examination marker (particularly important if your teacher isnt one). Thirdly, lectures bring students together from a wide range of schools and for this reason can often be a form of reassurance as to that you have been approaching the subject in the same way as others. Alternatively, you may have been taught something wrongly at your school and the lecture may alert you to this.

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28. If you decide to attend revision lectures and programs, pick out the best ones for your subjects. The quality of a program really does vary greatly between providers and presenters so do some research and ask around to ensure you get value for both your time and money. 29. Realise that you should work consistently all year to even out the troughs around exams. Enough said. 30. Try to predict your primary four subjects and concentrate on them. Unless you are aiming for 99+ you are unlikely to need to perform particularly well in your 5th and 6th subjects to get the ATAR you need as they only count for 10%. 31. Don't neglect your English subject, it's ALWAYS In your primary 4. 32. Decide early on if a subject requires notes for YOU. For humanities and science subjects notes are often necessary whilst for maths they may not be. It really depends on how YOU learn though so spend a while reflecting on your own learning style. 33. Write up notes throughout the year if you think you need them for a subject. There are no excuses for not doing this as you go along. Leaving it till the month before the exam is inefficient and will be very restrictive to your exam preparation. 34. Consider how you will write your notes. The best approach is generally by study design dot points but this is not always best for subjects such as maths. 35. Do not sacrifice sleep or exercise at any stage during VCE. Good health is unconditionally a prerequisite for VCE success! 36. Consider if walking or cycling to school is a possibility for you. You will be getting exercise while travelling and also potentially be able to study by looking at notes or listening to VCE audio resources. 37. Eat well. The consumption of food should be based solely around optimum nutrition. What you put into your body is ultimately what you will get from it so it is worth spending some time investigating how to eat a balanced, healthy diet to facilitate VCE success. 38. Try to wake up at the same time each and every morning (yes, even on weekends!) and to go to bed when you are tired. Research has shown that this is the best way to develop a good sleeping routine. 39. Utilise the free podcasts available on iTunes for a wide variety of VCE subjects. 40. Try to get audiobooks for your English texts. You can then read your texts anywhere while doing basically anything. Try drifting off to sleep listening to them. 41. Maintain an after VCE list to avoid wasting time throughout VCE and to motivate you to finish. Although you will be unlikely to ever complete most of the tasks you add to the list, you will be inadvertently prioritising your time. Is a TV show or movie really worth seeing if it will disrupt SAC or exam preparation? 42. Actually concentrate in class. You are already there so what have you got to lose? 43. Sacrifice lunch times at school where necessary (e.g. before SACs). 44. Consider reading the newspaper every day or at least on a regular basis. The Age is undoubtedly the best newspaper for VCE students because of its more intellectually stimulating content and is available very cheaply to all students through special subscription offers. Apart from the benefits for your understanding of the world around you, reading the newspaper will be able to improve your capabilities in English and other subjects by developing your vocabulary, reading speed, comprehension and providing information that can be applied to theoretical content. Additionally, The Age has a comprehensive education section every Monday that is a great resource for those completing the VCE. 45. Try to reduce wasted time on Facebook and other online sites. Additionally, work out if you think you would be best off deleting or deactivating your Facebook account for periods during VCE. Will time not spent on Facebook actually be regretted after VCE? 46. Recognise that understanding always outweighs memorising in relation to studying. While rotelearning may seem more time efficient as by its very nature you can study just before a SAC or exam, understanding content is actually far superior. Firstly, it allows you to answer the inevitable questions that are included in SACs and exams to separate students who rote-learn to those who actually understand and can demonstrate a capacity to apply. Secondly, understanding content means that

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you are not risking forgetting material in the heat of a SAC or exam. Furthermore, you are unlikely to have to re-learn material in as much detail that has been studied for a SAC later on for an exam if you have already understood it at some point. Never lose sight of the fact that each and every second of study should be preparing you for life after VCE. Yes, there is indeed actually more to life than achieving highly in the VCE! By appreciating that VCE is developing you intellectually to succeed and achieve for the rest of your life, you will also be more likely to focus on understanding content. Teaching others is one of the best ways to learn as it involves the application of your understanding so incorporate this into your study schedule. It may even be possible to combine study and socialising the latter to a lesser extent by helping out friends or through study groups. Always be productive and plan extensively to avoid procrastination. Sometimes a solid 30 minutes of study can be more beneficial than an entire days worth. Do some practice exam questions throughout the year. While this may seem illogical when the exams are still months away, doing some relatively early on will give you a feel for how you are ultimately going to be assessed and will also undoubtedly assist with SAC preparation as SACs are essentially preparatory tests to develop skills for the exam.

The following fifty or so tips mainly relate to preparing for exams but may also be useful for SACs.

51. Use your reason for needing a certain ATAR to motivate you to work hard during the exam period. The exam period really is make or break time and where when the going gets tough the tough get going. 52. Dont use the broad term study as a description of what you should be doing to prepare for exams. It is far too vague and will only lead to excessive procrastination Ascertain exactly what will be beneficial and efficient during your exam preparation and then actually follow through with it. 53. Realise that practice exams are the single most important thing that you must do to perform well during the exam period. Why is this? Because they aim to replicate the exact thing that you are ultimately going to be assessed on. 54. Dont bother to start full practice exams until you have a reasonable knowledge of the course. You definitely dont have to have perfected every study design dot point but if you know that you need to study an entire area of study again then its probably best to do this before commencing past papers. 55. Use the VCAA website for study designs, past exams and statistics. The former two are often widely used by students, however, many students are unaware of the statistics that are available from: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/statistics/subjectstats.html These statistics documents include previous grade distributions that can enable you to work out how you have gone on a previous VCAA exam done as a practice exam or what number of marks you are likely to need on this years paper to get x study score. 56. Try to cut down on EVERYTHING non-essential in the weeks before exams. Remember to use the after VCE list from [41] extensively. 57. Organise your practice exams months in advance. Try to start acquiring exams from various sources (e.g. school teachers, publications available for purchase, friends, past students, ATAR Notes, etc.) to allow plenty of time to print them and to actually complete them. 58. Use the most appropriate and best quality practice papers for your subject not all companies' papers are equal. Unfortunately, it does vary between subjects so you will tend to have to do a bit of research to ensure you use the best resources. 59. Work out how many practice exams you want to complete for each subject and then allocate these to specific days before the exams. Be realistic. Aim for at least 5 in every subject and at least 15 if you are aiming for 40+ as a study score. As a guide, the very top students complete anywhere between 20 and 50 practice papers for each subject (or per each units exam if applicable). 60. Consider taking some time off school if you feel as though you could be more productive at home doing practice papers. Many teachers will understand this decision as practice exams are more easily completed at home than in fixed periods of time at school that are often inadequate. 61. Ensure that you do the past VCAA exams in the final days before the exam date as they are usually the most similar to what you will actually get in the exam. Thus, either do the VCAA papers twice (at the start and end of your exam preparation) or just leave them until last.

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62. Try to do most practice exams in proper exam conditions. This means no distractions (use earplugs if necessary), the provision of the correct amount of reading time and, where possible, no mid-paper snack or toilet breaks. 63. However, not all practice exams have to be done in exam conditions. In order to use time efficiently it may sometimes be best to simply skip easy questions or questions that you have already seen and answered correctly many times before. Just be careful not to get so lazy as to start to skip excessively! 64. Realise that exam questions are often different to textbook questions. If you are finding the change hard to adjust to then ask for assistance from your teacher or attend revision lectures and programs. 65. Do not waste valuable time re-writing questions. There never any marks available for re-writing questions so it is completely unnecessary. 66. Re-read every question before you move onto the next one to ensure that all aspects of a question have been addressed. Its worth the time. 67. Make sure that you mark each and every practice paper that you complete. Generally, it is more valuable and efficient to mark your own practice exams using the solutions (or for VCAA papers the assessment reports). However, if you are lucky enough to have a teacher who is a VCAA examination marker then definitely try to get them to mark a few. 68. Learn from the practice papers that you do through the correction process. Identify where you lost marks or couldnt answer questions and if necessary go back to your notes and/or the textbook. 69. Keep a mistakes book or document for each subject and actually use it. By writing down your mistakes you keep track of where you are making errors and are better able to improve. 70. After completing VCAA past papers, look at the VCAA assessment reports very thoroughly. Apart from the obvious benefits of avoiding past students mistakes that are generally clearly outlined, you should be able to gain a solid understanding of the marking scheme for a subject by looking at these and this can be very helpful for performing well on the exam. 71. Recognise that VCAA exams will usually reward conceptual understanding over rote-learning. If there is ANY content that you are unsure of then do everything in your power to learn it and understand it (NOT just to memorise it!) as these small holes will end up costing you in the exam if you dont patch them up while you have the opportunity to do so. 72. Always answer the question being asked in an exam and not the one you wish had have been given. Give relevant and succinct responses as opposed to just writing everything you know about a key word in the question. 73. Realise that VCAA exams always try to stretch the boundaries of the course. Thus, ensure you understand everything and maybe even slightly more than the study design stipulates. Think about areas of the course for your subject that could be tested in a different way to how they have been in the past. The time that you spend doing this extension study should relate to the study score you want to achieve in a particular subject. 74. In many subjects it is possible and advantageous to use current examples to back up points made in responses. As per [44], if you read the newspaper extensively every day you will be able to just write stuff down from the top of your head and not have to actually need to develop a list of examples to study. 75. When completing practice papers, and certainly during the actual exam, remember to use proper posture. Sit back in the chair and avoid leaning over with your back hunched too much. 76. Consider buying good quality pens and/or pacers for exams. Better quality stationery will often subconsciously make you feel better and also may potentially leave your hands less sore after writing. 77. Develop a really good sleeping pattern during the exam period. The minimum should be an unnegotiable 6 hours. 78. Consider getting up earlier during the exam period. By getting up every day for a month or so at say 6am you will not only be more productive but also be at an advantage with morning exams as you will have plenty of time to wake up, eat a good breakfast and follow the other preparatory tips outlined in this guide. 79. Don't give up exercise during exam periods (unless it regularly goes for over say 2 hours). In fact, consider increasing it! 80. Do NOT attempt questions that you do not have fully worked solutions for in the final days before each examination as you will only make yourself unnecessarily anxious if you get the question wrong. 81. If your examination paper consists of both multiple choice questions and short answer/extended response questions then generally try to leave the multiple choice questions to last. This is because

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there are typically more marks awarded for the time and effort spent addressing short answer/extended response questions. However, if you are fairly weak at a given subject it may actually be best to do the multiple choice first as they are often the easiest questions (or if not easy at least you can guess!). Plan your time allocations before the exam. Work out how many minutes you have per mark across the whole paper, how much time you want to spend on each section and also the order you want to address the paper in. In the exam, as hard as it may be at the time, commit to sticking to these allocations unconditionally to maximise your score. Don't panic if anxiety restricts your sleep the night before an exam. For example, if you wake up at 4am and can't get back to sleep. The adrenalin will keep you going! If you have time, look over your notes briefly on the day of the exam and go through your mistakes book or document. While this should mainly be for reassurance, information reviewed immediately before an exam is often more readily recalled. If you have a morning exam you MUST do most of [84] the day/night BEFORE the exam. Plan not to drink anything for the 2 hours before the longer exams (particularly English). This is one of the advantages in getting up earlier during the exam period as per [78]! Allow plenty of time to get to the exam. Why risk it? Enough said. Listen to positive music on the way to an exam that will get you in the mood and motivate you. Eat a LOT of food before an exam. If the exam is longer than 2 hours then consider snacking IMMEDIATELY prior to an exam on foods that facilitate satiety such as nuts. Take a watch into every exam even if you dont normally wear one. Having a watch will allow for you to adhere to strict time allocations without having to look up for a clock that may or may not even be visible. Be positive before any exam. Have a can-do attitude and remind yourself that you will get the marks you deserve (after putting in so much effort!). Don't talk to ANYONE before an exam about ANYTHING. Getting stressed out by someone at the last minute is completely avoidable by strictly following this rule. Dont go into the exam room/area too early. There are no extra marks for being the first in and it would seem to be more advantageous to be calmly walking around outside (alone of course!) maintaining your positive state of mind. Don't risk cheating in any way, shape or form during a SAC or VCAA exam - it's just not worth it. After all, you are only cheating yourself and those others who are doing the right thing. You are likely to get caught anyway by the invigilators! Remember that practice exams count for NOTHING only the actual exam counts! The fact that you have done 50 practice papers and got 100% on the last 10 does in no way, shape or form guarantee success on the real thing. Why do I point this out?! So that you remember to stay 100% focussed on the task at hand! After every exam, try not to think about how well you went and avoid identifying and comparing potential mistakes with peers. Just concentrate on preparing for and doing your best on the next one!

And now four final tips to finish off.

97. Always have a positive attitude about VCE! Everybody is capable of achieving highly. The people who end up scoring 95+ are often pleasantly surprised with their ATARs. 98. Do what works for you throughout VCE. If you study best doing xyz then just do it! 99. Depending on your goal from [1], give VCE everything you have. You dont want to have any regrets after and the VCE will go a lot faster than you could ever anticipate. 100. Re-read this guide and write down all the tips and ideas that you feel you could implement TODAY to achieve VCE success! All the best and good luck! Lachlan Walden.

Lachlan Walden 2012