Prelim exams are over. Term 3 holidays are done. You’ve made it to Year 12. The big one. The last one. The “only one that matters.”
For most, that is a damn scary realisation. Your results actually matter now. Your HSC is just around the corner and in 12 months time, you’ll be done with school forever…
I can say with 100% certainty that you ARE NOT the only person who is struggling to fall asleep thinking about the daunting reality that is your HSC year.
Read on for the exact methodology that will allow you to make the HSC your b*tch. This guide will teach you exactly how to thrive in your last year of school, how to enjoy every day despite that constant urge to just start crying, and most importantly how to finish the year with the outcome that YOU want.
There’s a structure to this post. We’ll start with the fun stuff and end with the not-so-fun stuff.
Hopefully, this makes easier reading, but that shouldn’t matter because the following Uncle Nathan tips are basically cheat codes and you’d be silly not to read the entire thing… Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
Friends
This is arguably the most important part of your last year of school.
Good Friends = A Good Time
So, my advice is to keep the good friends and ditch the dodgy ones. Easier said than done I know. But you will thank me down the road.
Okay so let’s talk about what makes a friend “good” and how to tell.
Firstly, I want you to have a serious think about who you’d want at your funeral. Don’t call me weird, you’re weird. This works, trust me. Think hard about which people you would want by your side when you die. These are probably the friends you should keep.
Secondly, I want you to think about which of your friends have a similar mindset to you. Are they optimistic or pessimistic? Do they want the best for you or do they get jealous of your success?
Thirdly, do they get you? I mean do they really understand who you are and what you’re trying to achieve? If you don’t have that deeper appreciation for each other, I want you to find it. Spend some time talking to them, spend more time listening to them. Dig past the surface, create something that will last a lifetime.
The friends you make at the start of the year, if done right, will be exactly what gets you through the ups and inevitable downs of the HSC.
Making friends is hard. You feel awkward, you feel uncool, you feel like a loser. I know this because I was there. But all it takes is a little effort to create something meaningful.
Your mates invite you out on a Saturday night…
Oh, you’re tired?
Nah man, you can sleep when you’re dead. Get yo’ ass up and get out there!.
This is the effort that creates a friendship. You’ll learn very quickly after school that nothing comes to you, you have to work for it. So work for it!
I cannot stress how important a good network is. Your friends will form the basis of your moods every day. They will be there through relationships, breakups, sloppy weekends, exams and all the rest of it.
Trust me when I say year 12 is not only more fun but much easier with good friends!
Lifestyle
This year is all about balance. It shouldn’t be a study marathon where every waking minute is spent reading over notes and sitting practice exams.
You’ve got to live your best life in year 12! For many, you’ll be turning 18 and that means lots of partying, lots of money spent on alcohol, and more importantly, lots of Saturday night benders.
You can’t be expected to then back up on a Monday ready to take on the world.
BUT
Like I said, it’s all about balance.
Too much partying will cause you to fall behind in class. Catching up on that class work will make you too tired to enjoy the rest of the week. Being too tired will numb your final graduation celebrations. We don’t want that.
Make sure you even things out.
Think of it like a see-saw. You don’t want to put too much weight on either side. To keep the see-saw balanced, aim to have equal parts fun and equal parts study.
Here is an example of what my weekly schedule looked like:
It’s really that simple. Focus on using your time to study effectively so you can give yourself more time to have fun!
Fill your life with things you love:
- A girlfriend/boyfriend
- A sport you enjoy
- Working casually on weekends or arvos
- Going to the gym
- Surfing, Yoga, Hiking, Running, Swimming
This way, you give yourself less time to procrastinate, forcing you to study more effectively when you get the chance.
It’s about quality, not quantity when you study!
80% of your marks come from 20% of your study, so it’s crucial to make that 20% as productive as possible.
For an explanation of what I just said, check out my post on the 80/20 rule here!
School
School is what you make it.
You could see school as an obligation. A place that forces you to spend 6 hours concentrating each day, 5 days a week.
OR
You could see school as an opportunity. A place that forces your friends to be in the same place for 6 hours each day, 5 days a week!
You decide (hint: the second option is much more enjoyable).
Whichever way you view it, in twelve months time you’ll be outta there. So make the damn most of it!
Go to your classes, laugh with your friends, make fun of subs, submit your assignments on time. After this, you’ll never get another chance to.
I want you to view the school day as a chance to accomplish two things:
- Improve your thinking skills (most content is irrelevant, instead teach yourself how to be okay with learning new, abstract concepts)
- I mean you’ll need to know content for the exams, but don’t make memorisation your focus
- Improve your connection with friends (remember what I said before about making friends? You literally get 30 hours each week to practice this!)
Class Work
My best advice for the classwork side of things is to follow this schedule (tweak as necessary):
Basically, I think it’s smart to write your notes in class because it helps to keep your hand muscles strong in preparation for exams.
Typing them up after writing them will benefit you in two ways; firstly, it will give you further exposure to the content (helping you learn) and secondly, it will give you more convenient access when it comes time to study.
I also think flashcards are super handy, I love weighted pens, organisation is crucial, and always, always carry a highlighter (to draw on yourself obviously).
Assessment tasks
Assessment tasks are literally the easiest marks you’ll get in year 12. You have the marker (your teacher) in the same room as you, just ask how to do it!
Seriously, all you have to do is follow the marking guidelines and no teacher can rightfully give you anything less than a good mark.
The key to assessment tasks is to start as soon as you get them. They are typically handed out over a few weeks so you feel like you have ages until they are due. Then you get closer to week 7 and you start to freak out.
Start early with something as simple as a scaffold
This way when you go to actually do the task, you don’t have to waste time figuring out what the task is.
Break down each task into smaller sub-tasks
This will help each assessment feel smaller and ultimately allow you to get through it quicker. Would you rather write one 1,500 word essay or three 500 word paragraphs over three days? I know what I’d prefer…
Get feedback from your teachers, your classmates, your parents
Literally force them to read your stuff. Ask questions, revise and then ask more questions. Tell them to be honest. You need constructive criticism here, not baseless praise.
Don’t be afraid to fight for those extra few marks
This is your HSC, not anyone else’s. They won’t fight for you. If you think you deserve another mark in the response section, ask for a review. Teachers miss things (a lot!), so don’t be afraid to back your opinion.
Don’t be disheartened by a not-so-great mark
The HSC is all relative. This means that if the average was 40% and you got 45%, you did really good! Don’t be too worried about your internal assessment marks. Yes, they determine your rank, and yes your rank matters a lot! But at the end of the day, you have another 50% of your mark waiting for you in those final exams.
For a guide to how the HSC works (rank and exams), click here!
Exams
I can see you sweating already. Exams suck! HSC exams are by far the most stressful moment you’ve encountered to date for most people. With preparation, however, you can walk into that exam room and make the paper sweat.
I’m going to keep this simple because you’ve been reading for a while now…
Past Papers, Past Papers, Past Papers
After you’ve covered all of the course content, the only way I want you to study is using past papers! Start with a paper per subject each week.
This will show you where your knowledge gaps are. After a few papers, go back to your study notes and revise the areas where you have repeat trouble in the past papers.
You can find the past HSC papers for every subject here.
Organisation is King
Fail to prepare? Prepare to fail…
If you can’t organisae your time and study effectively, you will drown. I promise.
Each Sunday I want you to write down a rough guide of which subjects you’ll be studying throughout the week and on which days. Try to stick to it, but don’t live and die by it.
Before exams start, I want you to make sure you have these things:
- A clear pencil case (a sandwich bag works well)
- At least 3 black pens inside
- A highlighter or two
- A calculator (if your subjects need one)
- A ruler and any other extras that your subjects require
- A clear drink bottle
- At least 6 bananas (one before every exam)
Live like a Free Man (or Woman)
Don’t make study your life.
I’ll repeat because this is super important…
Do not make study your life!
Take it from a guy who burnt out before his HSC exams and performed worse than his rank in all of his subjects except 1…
You DO NOT want to burn out before exams.
– Get at least 8 hours of sleep each night
No all nighters, no midnight bedtimes (unless it’s because you were partying).
– Take a break every few days
Don’t study all day everyday, take a day-long break to reset the mind. This will do wonders for your (likely dwindling) motivation.
– Remember how close you are
You are basically at the finish line, it’d suck to throw it all away now. What you know now is 80% of what you’ll know by the exam morning. There’s nothing you can really do now to forget the content, so don’t stress.
– Study smart, not hard
I want you to use your time effectively. Do past papers, ask questions, create hypotheticals. Don’t waste your time highlighting your study notes. Please.
Show up on Exam Day like a Boss
Okay, you made it. It’s the day of your first exam (start this habit during Trials). Here’s what you’re going to do:
- Check where and when your exam is the next day
- Have a long bath or spa before bed
- Go to sleep no later than 10 pm
- Wake up an hour before you have to leave
- Have a good breaky, don’t message your friends.
- Leave home so you’ll get to school 15 mins before the exam starts
- Put your headphones on, walk into school, sit by yourself, eat a banana
- Take a leak and then walk straight into the exam room (talk to no one)
- Make the HSC your b*tch.
- Leave the exam room, go home and don’t look back. You can’t change anything now.
Congrats for making it through year 12 (even though you haven’t actually lived it yet).
This is essentially everything I wish someone told me before I started the year, and what I wish I was reminded in the lead up to exams.
Do with these tips what you will. Save the post, share it on the socials, tell your friends, print it out, come back to it whenever you need some help.
Stay cool party people,
Uncle N.