6 HSC Study Strategies You Need For a High ATAR

If you’re chasing a top ATAR, this article is for you. My name is Sathanika Thivagaran and I am a Year 12 student at James Ruse Agricultural High School. Here are 6 must-follow HSC study strategies I wish someone had told me earlier.

Think of it as a set of highly-recommended suggestions from someone who’s playing the same game as you.

Table of contents:

• HSC study strategies you MUST know
  • Cut down on extracurriculars SIGNIFICANTLY
  • Start trial papers from Term 1
  • Stop experimenting with study techniques
  • Notes are widely useless (in my experience)
  • Have a support system for your mental health
• List of helpful resources

HSC Study strategies you MUST know

1. Cut down on extracurriculars SIGNIFICANTLY

The HSC grind is not to be taken lightly. Your time is precious and managing it is paramount this year.

You can pick up your extracurriculars again next year, but you only have one shot at the HSC.

Do you have to go cold turkey on leisure activities? Not at all! Just be strategic:

1. Pick 1-2 leisure activities. These are the ones you’ll stick with for the year. DON’T fall into the trap of slotting other work in here like I did — it’ll lead to burnout very quickly.
2. Schedule 30 mins of leisure time every day. Protect this sacred time like it’s your firstborn child. Strictly separate “study time” and “leisure time” so you can gain more value out of these sessions.
3. Use breaks intentionally. Instead of defaulting to mindless doomscrolling, use your leisure time to recharge properly.

2. Start trial papers from Term 1

Don’t wait until you “know it all”. Do what you can and test yourself consistently.

A trial question each day for each subject can cause MEGA IMPROVEMENT in the long term.

You may not see the fruits of your labour until the end, when it counts, but consistent testing is crucial for:

• Maintaining good exam technique
• Remembering old content
• Applying content efficiently.

Don’t bother “saving questions for later” – there are so many that you won’t get through them all. So don’t hold back. Use them now. Practice beats perfection.

3. Stop experimenting with study techniques

Among the group of effective study techniques, it really doesn’t matter which one you choose as long as you are consistent.

Use the holidays to solidify the ONE technique or set of techniques and use it over the rest of the year. Do whatever you’ve got to do to commit information to memory.

It doesn’t have to be the next new thing. It just has to work for you specifically. Structured Matrix courses help many students stay consistent with weekly tasks and feedback loops.

Hot tip: notes aren’t that effective (see: Tip 4).

4. Notes are widely useless (in my experience)

Notes may work sometimes, but consider the following:

The aim is to get information into your head, not on paper

I fell into the trap of making my notes very neat and organised… and then never looked back at them. Notes are a huge time-sucker and, well, time is money. Sure, you have some tangible final output, but you’re a student, not a machine.

If you do write notes, they should be:

• Incredibly personalised + focus on what areas you struggle with
• Expanding on weak sections and skimming over your strong areas.

If you’re simply transfering information from one source (e.g. slideshow, textbook) to another, you’re wasting your time. 

The HSC no longer requires simply memorising knowledge

Unfortunately, in the HSC exams, you can’t just memorise the formulas/content and be set. There’s now a big focus on:

• Making sense of given information that you may not have studied
• Mixing skills from multiple modules
• Clearly explaining how you got to a certain answer.

This means you’ve got to prioritise sharpening how you use your knowledge—not just what you know.

Learn the best HSC study strategies from experts

5. Have a support system for your mental health (don’t skip this tip!)

I know you’re probably rolling your eyes and have been told this a million times. But prioritising your mental health, while insanely difficult, has merit.

If you skip this, all the hard work you’ve been pouring into your studies may as well go down the drain. 

This is going to be one of the hardest years yet, and you will feel down at times. Make sure you have a friend/family member to talk to, practice mindfulness techniques, or keep a journal this year.

You need a sense of security when things don’t go the way as planned. 

Mental health is such a personalised space and requires much time to ensure that it doesn’t turn its back on you and take a physical toll. Please take care of yourself.

6. Reset your failing dopamine by cutting out social media

You are overstimulated. Social media is the number one reason.

Here are the steps to take to cut out social media altogether:

1. Greyscale mode. It’ll be so sad to watch videos and play games like this (Subway Surfers just isn’t the same anymore).
2. Screentime limits + passcode. Set your screen time limit for each social media app/game to 30 mins and delete but 2 apps. Ask a disciplined friend or classmate to set the passcode. This way, if you feel tempted, you’ll think twice before asking them for access and focus on studying instead.
3. Cut out the phone entirely. I was incredibly addicted to YouTube and Subway Surfers so I abolished my smartphone entirely. I now use a small flip phone solely to call people.

This is pretty extreme and definitely not a requirement if you want to do well. In fact, discipline is much more powerful. 

The point isn’t to make your life miserable by cutting out what makes you happy. That’s counterproductive. But you want to set limits so that they don’t take over your main goal (Your dream degree!)

List of helpful resources (you’re welcome 😀 )

• Trial papers from every school
• Notes + past exams 
• Filling in content gaps: 
  • Matrix Education
  • Khan Academy
  • MisterWootube 
  • The Organic Chemistry Tutor
• Good source of Economics news articles 
• By-topic Maths papers  

I hope you gained at least one valuable insight from this article. I wish you all the best of luck and success in your HSC journey. 

Let’s all achieve our dream ATAR to get into our dream degree at our dream university!

Make the most of your HSC year like Sathanika