Graduates share survival tips

Four Horsham College 2016 graduates have shared their top Victorian Certificate of Education survival tips for students entering the important period of their schooling.

The students have gone on to further their education and are studying at universities. They are Sanchita Sarkar, Biomedical Sciences Advanced – Hons – Monash University; Ashleigh Miller, Design, The University of Melbourne; and Rebecca and Julia Clarke, both studying Nursing-paramedicine, Australian Catholic University.

10 tips: A Survival Guide to the VCE • Do the subjects that are most interesting to you. It makes all the difference because nothing is more boring than being in a math class when you would rather be doing art. This will also make it easier to remember the content. There is no merit in taking subjects of no interest to you, simply because they ‘scale’ up. Also, consider which subjects could be useful for you when deciding what you want to do after high school; look at pre-requisites, capabilities, skills and needs.

• Always attend to your health and monitor your physical wellbeing. There is no substitute for good nutrition and breakfast; many students get sick during VCE. There will be times when you need to commit to a full eight hours’ sleep, otherwise it will catch up to you and getting caught falling asleep in class is not fun.

• It is equally important to keep track of your mental wellbeing; exercise and leisure activities can often provide a break. School will get stressful – trust us – take time to relax and make sure you keep a support group for when things get hard. Use teachers, because they only want to see you succeed, and accept help from your parents. If you are feeling stressed find resources to help you, whether that be the chaplain at school, counselling services or online services.

• Look out for your friends at school and embrace the shared experience of VCE. Your peers will be your main support group at school, so share your goals and help each other out.

• Prioritise the things that are most important to you; recognise that there will be times where it is not possible to have it all and some commitments might need to be negotiated or dropped. Taking on too much is a sure way to burn out and sacrifice quality. Discuss oncoming responsibilities with parents and guardians and keep them involved.

• Be an active learner. Ask questions and dedicate yourself in class discussions. Make the most of class time. Let your subject teachers know the goals you have at the beginning of the year and regularly seek feedback about how you are travelling. But remember that teachers have lives too, and won’t always reply to emails within five minutes.

• VCE is what you decide it to be. Do not compare yourself to others because they will have different expectations for themselves at the finish line. A number or assignment score does not define you and should not be compared with another student’s grades. Make goals and keep perspective; setting targets will ground you in reality and make your work more tangible. The atmosphere of the year can lend itself to competition and comparisons, but it is vital to remember what you wanted out of VCE and to keep that goal in mind. Speak to people who have gone before you and learn from their experiences.

• Find your best way of studying; be realistic about time allocations for each subject and make sure to revise each regularly. Use and make summaries, complete practice questions, online quizzes, study partners, mind maps and posters.

• Try to stay ahead when possible; extended questions, extra essays, reading ahead and putting the extra hours in during relatively relaxed periods will have invaluable rewards later on in the year. And do not leave your study to the last day.

• VCE is a marathon, not a sprint. Burning yourself out at the beginning or cramming during SWOTVAC will never take the place of a sustained, solid effort from day one. Often year 12 is mistaken for a year; it’s only eight months in reality. Focused studying, both harder and smarter, will set you up best to reach your goals. Conor Lawson, of Horsham, has graduated from Federation University Australia with Master of Teaching – Secondary, and Bachelor of Management, Human Resources, degrees.

Conor attended Horsham West Primary School and Horsham College, where he was a scholarship recipient, before entering the workforce and then pursuing his tertiary education.

He is back working in Horsham and considering career options.