5 Things I Would Have Done Differently In Year 12 and VCE

1. Better Organised VCE Subject Spread and Material Density

I was under a significant amount of unnecessary stress for choosing too many material dense subjects such as math methods, chemistry and biology in one year. Looking back, it would have been much better to separate them over 2 years. The fewer subjects you take per year the more time you have to focus on them, and the better you will do.

2. Better Subject Selection

Other than subject enjoyment and interest, you also need to consider subject difficulty and how this is reflected in subject scaling. Usually the scaling proportional to difficulty, but this does not perfectly match up across the board.

The subjects I chose to take in VCE:
English, Math Methods, Chemistry, Biology, Russian, Physical Education

To increase my scaling I would have made the following changes:

i) English → Literature
ii) Math Methods → Specialist Math

Other changes:

i) Should have picked up Physics – as this would have been helpful at university and I am particularly logic and science orientated. This choice would have likely landed me a high score.

ii) Should have dropped Russian, as the scaling is average for a language and the majority of takers are native speakers – and so it was difficult for me to score well.

Ideal subject line up for me (based on scaling and subject strength):
Literature, Specialist Math, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Physical Education

3. More subjects

It doesn’t cost anything to take another subject. Take as many as you can, become as educated as possible. You will not regret this, as at university every additional subject you take will cost you over a grand.

Moreover, this gives you more opportunity to do well, as only your best 6 subjects are included. I’d recommend doing 7 subjects, just in case you don’t do as well as you’d like in one of them.

4. Taking More Advantage of Teachers & Other Resources

They are there to help, use them! Get on their good side. They want to see you succeed. The more time you spend doing practice exams and sacs and having them correct them – the more you will understand their marking style. They might even drop some hints about your next SAC!

5. More Private Tuition

Private tuition is the best thing you can do for your grades. If I was to redo VCE I would hire a private tutor for every subject. It is worth it! Doing so for a brief period of time can dictate your entire future. If you don’t get into the course you want, it can be a major setback and you will hate yourself for it!

Private tutors have been through what you’re going through and have the power of hindsight to guide you! They know all of the intricacies of your course – how to study, what is important, how to impress your teachers. Private tutors can also help you understand the content and can give you hints about what markers are looking for. Private tutors are essential to getting the best study score possible, and will help you get the ATAR you need!