How I Scored An ATAR Of 99.65 – Prema Majumder

Having scored an ATAR of 99.65 Prema Majumder shares some advice for HSC students.

Practise, Practise, Practise and Again Practise!

Most people know their theory relatively well but what distinguishes the top people from everyone else is that they are able to effectively apply their knowledge to a given question. Being able to do this comes with doing as many different questions as possible, checking your answers, improving your answers and redoing questions.

Highlight questions that you struggle with or think are good to practise as you work through a textbook or the Matrix homework book. This will make it easier for you to practise appropriate questions when exams come around the corner, particularly trials and the final HSC board exam where you have a lot of material to cover in limited time.

Be Confident

Be confident with what you know. If you don’t feel confident about a certain dot point make sure to ask questions and deal with your problems. Gather information from many sources (e.g. different textbooks, online resources on the Matrix portal) to gain better insight into that dot point that you don’t feel confident about.

In an exam situation it is important not to doubt your answers. A general rule of mine was that if I wasn’t able to justify every sentence of my answer then I wasn’t answering the question correctly.

Be Consistent

Consistency is the key for something that is as long as the HSC. This means that you should be consistent with your study habits, consistent with your sleeping patterns, consistent with your breaks and exercise etc. While saying this, we often find ourselves slacking off at times which is normal. Make sure that you get back to where you should be quickly. Don’t let things snowball.

Be Resilient

Everyone has that one assessment that they just didn’t do too well in. Your ranks have dropped and you lose motivation. It’s in these situations that you need to be resilient. Spend some time to reflect on what went wrong and keep that in your back pocket so you don’t make the same mistake next time. It is easier said than done but never give up! It pays off in the end.

A Few Extra Tips

• Don’t stop studying after your trials are over. The final exams are worth 50% of your HSC mark. This is your chance to significantly boost your marks.
• Help others. When you try explain a concept to someone else you will not only remember it better but will realise where you are lacking.
• Do your homework. It can be tedious but it’s practise.
• Always check your answers. Sometimes we think we are doing a question correctly when really we are not.
• Sleep well and regularly. Matrix has posted up articles about the effects of poor sleep on their Facebook page. Read it because it’s true.

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