Year 11 and 12 can be a challenging time. I remember the nerves I felt stepping into my first day of Year 11 in 2024. I thought to myself: it’s finally time to lock in.
Although many 99 ATAR students or State Rankers usually have a stellar academic career before they step into Year 11, I was a different case. I spent my first three years of high school performing slightly below average. I was never a straight A student. In fact, I think I only got 2 As consistently throughout Year 7-10 (usually in languages or in Christian studies). Most of the time, I averaged around 70-75%, with the exception of STEM subjects where I managed to scrape by with a 53% in my Year 10 Maths finals.
Despite being horrendous in Maths, I always knew that I had a strong passion for History and the Arts, so going into Year 11, it seemed natural for me to choose all humanities subjects. I studied Business Studies, Economics, Modern history, French Continuers, and English Advanced. Although I was extremely reluctant to do maths, it was mandatory at my school - so I chose Maths Standard 2, intending it to be my ‘slack’ subject.
Fast forward 2 years, I am now studying a Bachelor of Commerce and Law at UNSW. I achieved a 99.80 ATAR, and two State Ranks: ranking 8th and 19th in NSW for Business Studies and Modern History respectively. And despite thinking that Maths was my weakest subject, I ended up topping the Maths Standard cohort and receiving an overall mark of 97.
I came into Year 11 with the intent of doing as well as I could in my subjects. I would listen to the girls who graduated a few years earlier than me as they talked about their 97 ATARs. I remember wondering how it would feel to open an ATAR that high on results day, and the shrieks of joy from my parents.
People always say that Year 11 and 12 is like a marathon, and nothing could be closer to the truth. We all start off in Year 11 thinking about the day our ATAR arrives, how our subjects will scale, it all seems kind of distant, until you hit your trials. Having been through that myself, I’m here to give a few tips on how to navigate that complex journey.
Tip 1: Choose Subjects Based on Aptitude and Passion
At my school, many girls took STEM oriented subjects such as 4U Maths, Chemistry, and Physics. Although it cannot be doubted that these subjects scale well, you must also recognise their inherent difficulty. After all, the reason why they scale highly is because they are difficult. Despite the ‘aura’ gains you might get from telling people you do these subjects, the glamour of it will all fade away when you’re in the library until 9pm, trying to grind out those Chemistry practice papers (I’ve seen this firsthand before).
The only thing that will genuinely help you overcome these difficulties is passion. I remember being told to veer away from Standard Maths and take Advanced instead, because Advanced ‘scaled better’. Although I may have been able to do well in 2U, it would have taken substantial time and effort away from my other subjects. This means that I wouldn’t have been able to perform as well as I did in Business or Economics. There will be talk around ‘scaling’, but at the end of the day, receiving a band 6 in a ‘lower scaling’ subject will boost your ATAR way more than getting a band 4 in a ‘high scaling’ one.
Tip 2: Prioritise Your Health
Looking back, one of the biggest regrets I have is overworking myself. I felt the need to immerse myself fully into my studies. After all, I had to work double time to catch up with those who had been performing at a high level since Year 7. There were days when I would work very late into the night and skipped out on meals. This took a massive toll on my physical and mental health, and ultimately my productivity.
There is certainly a positive correlation between the hours you study and how well you perform, but if you overwork yourself, that correlation will become negative. I had to learn this the hard way.
Three days before my Business Studies trials, I overworked myself to the point that I was too sick to sit my exam. As a result, I had to sit a completely different paper that was a bit harder than the original one, and my ranking dropped by 4 spots. Don’t get me wrong, working hard is important, but so is sleep and nutrition.
After my trials, I made a conscious decision to improve my sleep schedule, and I completely put an end to all nighters. This did wonders for my brain. I was able to think clearer and retain information a lot better. I did more productive work in the 2 month period between trials and the HSC than I did in the 5 months beforehand.
Overall, a healthier lifestyle also reduced nerves and stress, ensuring I felt confident walking into my first proper HSC.
Tip 3: Do Past Papers
This is a bit of a hot take, but I think taking notes is a waste of time. Obviously, you still do need to take notes, but there’s no need to write them in neat handwriting or spend hours trying to format them properly. The most efficient way to maximise marks is through doing past papers, and keeping track of the questions that you struggle with. I think that over the course of Year 12, I did over 30 past papers per subject (I did slightly less for English), which amounts to around 150 overall.
Although this sounds like a very high figure, remember that you have 1 year. That averages out to around 7 past papers for each subject every term. Sounds pretty doable right? With that being said, I didn’t do all of the questions in the papers. Towards the HSC, I skipped over the short answers that I had seen before and knew I was strong at. Investing time on those weaker questions and ensuring you master them can easily boost your marks by up to 20%.
For Maths, I would use a set of flashcards filled with the questions that I got wrong. I reviewed them every week (so I wouldn’t remember the answers) for a month, and eventually I was able to master the beast of financial maths i.e. my original weak spot.
As for essays, you do not always have to write the full essay, as long as you have an essay plan that can be adapted to any question. You can simply look at the question, take 10 minutes to write a quick plan that answers the question. Repeating this process with different questions will ensure you are never caught off guard in the HSC.
Tip 4: Stay Consistent
I remember scrolling through instagram when this reel of a basketball player came up. “My whole life is consistent”, he said. Despite this bland sounding statement, the video went viral and gained meme status immediately. Whether it’s basketball or the HSC, you will only perform well if you are consistent with your efforts. It’s no use studying 12 hours a day in the days before your exams, as you likely won’t retain much of that information. Two hours of study each day from the first day of term will get you way further than cramming a week before the exam. This is firstly because of active recall: the more you review something consistently, the more likely you are to remember it.
Secondly, consistency builds confidence. If you have been revising your content for weeks in a row, there are likely very few gaps in your knowledge. A great way to stay consistent is through Anki flashcard decks, or through doing one timed essay per week. On days when you feel unmotivated, having an established routine makes it easier to get some work done. You don’t need to rely on bursts of motivation: rather your habits carry you forward. This will be especially important in Year 12, which will be a time of high stress.
Finally, despite the infinite aura I believed I would gain from telling people about my ATAR, I was quick to find out that most people at uni don’t discuss their high school results. Nonetheless, many of the opportunities I have access to stem from how well I did in the HSC.
Conclusion
High school is unique in the sense that you are working towards a single number, one that reflects your academic performance over a set period of time. But, at some point, you will move beyond exams, rankings, and results, and what will matter more is your character, your resilience, and how you navigate life’s challenges.
The ability to push through when things get tough, and surprising yourself with what you’re capable of are lessons that extend far beyond the HSC and are arguably the most valuable things it has taught me. With the right mindset, it will all work out in the end. Whether that’s achieving the ATAR you want, or finding your path beyond it.
Or, as Lil Wayne puts it in Let It All Work Out: let it all work out.
