Hey yall!
Since exam season is slowly creeping towards us (ugh) I just wanted share some study tips and general school/uni advice that I use and I advise my students use (for context I run study sessions at my university hehe).
Be efficient with your time and energy. => Basically, work smarter not harder. For example, I was someone who religiously only used physical flashcards where I would hand write all of the terms and then memorise them. But there's a lotttt of content to learn and writing out 50+ flashcards took a lot of time and energy (at least for me). So I switched to using Quizlet where writing cue cards took way less time and I could download the app and read the flashcards on my phone. Try and find study methods that suit you and your energy levels.
Use Mindmaps!!! => Not really much else to say about this haha. I just think mindmaps are a really handy way to become familiar with different theories and concepts. It's also good for summarising topics.
Have Someone Nearby => This one may not work for everyone but for me having someone nearby or studying with a friend helps me focus. This is mostly because I want to look productive in front of other people and that drives me to keep on going, especially if I'm studying with other people. However, even having someone nearby and holding you accountable (eg. telling you to keep on focusing) can be good.
Teaching Other People the Content => This is my favourite way to revise. You can do this on your own or actually with your friends, partner etc but basically you just explain a specific topic, theory etc out loud as if you are teaching it to someone.
P'S GET DEGREES!!!!! => I've said this on here before but basically this means that if you're only passing or you're only aiming to pass a specific class/unit THAT'S OK!!!! In the long run, one "bad" mark isn't gonna ruin your entire career and literally no one looks at your marks when you search for jobs and such. This can even be applied with ATAR, there's always options and pathways to get to where you wanna be it just might take a little longer and that's all good!
Apply for early entry programs => This is more for high school students but early entry programs can make your VCE years like 10x less stressful. Basically these programs lower or completely get rid of the ATAR requirements for the course of your choice. I know in Victoria ACU and Latrobe Uni have these early entry programs however many other universities do them as well. You usually gotta apply for them in Year 11 and I highly recommend looking into them.
These are just a few tips but I hope they are helpful!! If any of yall have any other tips please reply to this thread!
But to whoever is reading this you are doing amazing and you've got this👌
