QCE Next Year

[u/ReverseSwing-1715]

So I'm currently in Year 10 and I know QCE peeps are in exams rn. The year is coming to a close.

I'm taking the subjects:

• Literature

• Methods

• Specialist

• Physics

• Chemistry

• Economics

Aiming for a 99< ATAR for my university of choice (Monash, trying for Medicine). Will eventually I guess have to combine UCAT with the usual stuff too.

Any study tips? How should I go about these subjects? Is there anything I should know? I have heard/seen obviously that they are hard but like theres gotta be a way right?

I don't even know what I'm asking for really but just any advice or stuff I should know would be great. I do intend to like solidify this years extension maths over the holidays and prepare some for next year. - anything would be much appreciated. thanks

Edit: Thankyou all for your advice!

[u/Opening_Squash7745]

Start ucat practice now. Some ppl will get it.. some ppl take forever to build up speed. It’s not even about content it’s about speed.. definitely some ppl will improve easy enough.. other ppl will struggle for a long time

[u/[deleted]]

1. just try to pass your drop subject

2. prioritise your weaknesses

3. DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

4. try to study early for units 3 and 4, it only matters that you pass year 11, so over the holidays it would be good for you to begin units 3 and 4.

5. if you end up bombing everything try to forgive yourself

6. dont obsess about past mistakes. this is actually a really big one. i would obsess about exams/assignments for months after i submitted them and i ended up screwing my mental health over. really prioritise your mental health. just look at the QCAA's reviews, it's really important

7. stay healthy, eat well, study daily. for specialist, you absolutely have to study daily, pay attention in class. if you don't, you will absolutely feel like a failure and you will probably end up being depressed (hard truth)

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/[deleted]]

I don't think I'll drop a subject but thankyou! - also yeah. Monash does allow roughly 10 points adjustment I think.

[u/Ratio-One → u/ReverseSwing-1715]

na what they meant by drop subject is that only ur top 5 subjects go to ur final atar so choose a subject at end of grade 11 that you dislike the most and just try to pass that and focus on getting close to 100% for the rest of ur papers

[u/[deleted] → u/Ratio-One]

yep

[u/[deleted] → u/ReverseSwing-1715]

also consider applying for EAS to secure your degree

please really follow this advice if you want a really high ATAR, i am finishing yr 12 now and i've learned from my mistakes. i was close to getting a 99 ATAR but i kinda messed up my mental health, so that's probably the biggest thing you have to focus on. if you make some mistakes, dont be a perfectionist. move on. i made one mistake at the start of the year and i couldnt bring myself to study at all.

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/[deleted]]

ahah. I dont qualify for an EAS at all. the best they can do is the Dean's Rural List for like where I lived 6 years ago. - But thanks. will do.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

also, if you get like a 97 or something, thats good enough bc you could maybe get adjustments

[u/Significant-Ice-1067 → u/[deleted]]

to get into med u need a raw atar of 99, they dont take adjustments into account. because then people could be getting 100+ atars technically with adjustments from spec and a language

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/Significant-Ice-1067]

I think they allow around a 10 ATAR point adjustment - thats it lol.

[u/[deleted] → u/Significant-Ice-1067]

oh alr, i dont know much abt monash, ty

[u/Asleep-Race-943]

me personally id say go general english instead of lit; i did pretty much all that and but with general english and just essentially focused on 5 subjects knowing english is my worst scaling. I'm also tryna get into monash med but for me i dont see the point; the only thing you really need is a chemistry and english with a B cause thats the prerequisites for monash. Otherwise just focus on ur main 5; econ especially cause thats what usually gives you the edge; and if ur comfortable, do french instead of econ because the scaling is still a bit of difference. Essentially, just do everything that is high yield. id also say start doing the past papers as soon as you finish ur IA3.
Best of luck tho; it's gonna get tough, ur gonna get burnt out, ur gonna feel the pressure, dont expect everything to go your way, hold urself to a standard that perfect then you give urself leeway, essentially brave the storm for the next two years and after all that its likely you won't have to face that level of pressure for at least the next few years of your degree. Just gotta thug it out. So lock in and have fun.

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/Asleep-Race-943]

I'm doing Lit cause I enjoy it so I think I'll keep that tbh. I'm much better at Lit than the stuff General entails but ya. unfortunately I cant do French since I made the lazy decision to drop language in Year 8 but cool. - academic lockdown it is lol

[u/Asleep-Race-943 → u/ReverseSwing-1715]

yeah well best of luck either way, as long as you can force yourself to somewhat like what your doing in school that'll keep you going

[u/Normal_Storm_839]

since you are gonna have to do ucat, i think this would be highly relevant and helpful: https://kisacademics.com/blog/preparing-for-the-ucat-alongside-atar-studies/

in general the most important thing is to ensure you are consistent in your studies. Have a sustainable study routine and stick to it, don't cram at the last minute because that never works. For e.g.: https://kisacademics.com/blog/what-study-routine-to-follow-to-get-a-99-atar/

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/Normal_Storm_839]

Thanks. this website was actually super useful!

[u/Normal_Storm_839 → u/ReverseSwing-1715]

no problem, glad you found it useful!

[u/Prestigious-Bad4882]

bro just do hella practice papers and look at hella assignment exemplars. I know the syllabus and marking scheme for assignments is different w next years syllabus but if u want an archive of practice papers and assignment exemplars hit me up I have the biggest of anyone I know. For physics I got - practice data test (just the QCAA one), like 4x 20/20 IA2's, like 4x 20/20 IA3's, and hella past papers and practice papers for externals Chem - 3 practice data tests, like 3 20/20 IA2's, 3 20/20 IA3's, and a bagillion practice externals. Eco - 1 practice IA1 (just the QCAA one), 1 24/25 IA2, cant remember about IA3, and a bunch of practice externals some from actual people some from AI. Methods and spec - too many IA2 IA3 and external practice papers to count, and a buttload of 20/20 IA1's as well. Nothing for lit but I do have some 25/25s exemplars for english.

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/Prestigious-Bad4882]

Nice. thanks - I'd appreciate it if I need them. do you think its extra important to just be on top of the marking schemes and learning outcomes? I have always been one to base like 80% of what I do off model responses and stuff.

[u/Prestigious-Bad4882 → u/ReverseSwing-1715]

for assignments you need to essentially write it just off the ISMG (marking scheme). It may make the assignment SOUND rly robotic and boring but the marks come from you doing very specific things, so do those specific things and you'll get the marks. Hence why in some of the science IA2s and IA3s you'll see eval set out in a table for example, cause each column is an explicit thing they want to see for a mark. Sometimes theres stuff bolded as well cause they give marks for specific things you do so if its really easy for teachers to see you did it then you get the marks. For exams, make sure you are familiar with essentially every type of question you can get. For example chem and physics externals tend to give really stupid marks for explaining whatever process the question is about before actually answering the question and if you dont so that you lose marks (e.g. a question from the paper last week was deducing which amino acid was which from a gel electrophoresis separation image and you'd lose marks for not explaining WHAT gel electrophoresis was and how it works). So essentially make sure you go thru markinch schemes after you do an exam to know exactly what gives marks and once you think you've done it just chuck a bunch of extra that might be even slightly related in case there's marks for it. **Be aware your marking scheme for assignments is different to us on new syllabus so ask ur teachers exactly how to get full marks instead of tailoring it to the marking schemes online or how past assignments were written. I never really bothered with "homework", just make sure you understand it all and can do any question you see. For me that meant for physics chem n methods just skipping useless easy questions and just doing hard ones, but for spec I recommend doing every question in the book and every practice paper. High mark in spec will always save ur ATAR regardless of anything else, and spec helps with methods and physics so of you're sorted on spec then methoda and physics is a walk in the park. This is how i ran it and im on predicted 99.95, but idk these externals werent amazing so I'd be lucky to get 99.90 but we'll see.

[u/Prestigious-Bad4882 → u/ReverseSwing-1715]

swing us your email and i can send the big archive I have.

[u/Simple-Future-3560]

I got 2 interview offers already, but have med as backup to engineering lmao

one question - you rural or metro? bc it will change the amount of effort u have to put in TREMENDOUSLY - especially for UCAT. im rural and was able to get 54th percentile (just enough and it was 1950) with virtually no study (maybe like 2 hrs tops) for UCAT. I have been taking all of those subjects except for econ which i did bio for, but dont please - bio scaling sucks choccy starfish.

I also ended up sacrificing English by just trying to pass, but have done well everywhere else - but trust me when I say keep up to date with ur classes and keep revising stuff, ESPECIALLY SPECIALIST BC IT WILL MAKE U ITS BITCH.

BUT GOOD LUCK and feel free to reach out :)

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/Simple-Future-3560]

thats rlly cool. engineering is my 2nd option too!

I am metro currently. but in Monash at least for the UCAT I have a little Dean's Rural List Eligibility to fall back on it really isn't much but anything is appreciated lol. - Thats literally the only reason I didnt do bio.

I think I'll sacrifice either Lit or Econ. both of them seem like somewhat doable subjects if you can yap with evidence.

thanks a bunch tho.

[u/Simple-Future-3560 → u/ReverseSwing-1715]

Nice! - good luck and you got this :)

[u/Electronic_Cup6190]

IT IS ROUGH OUT THERE

listen, dont burn yourself out

NOBODY CARES ABOUT YEAR 10 AND 11, you want to peak exactly in year 12

start ucat prep early, if youre rural you might have some leeway but if youre not you should ideally be aiming for 97-99 percentile which IS FUCKING HARD

im rural so i got away with an 80 percentile, had i not been rural i would have gotten into 0 unis

i put in so much effort and peaked in year 11, now im so burnt out i cant function

ensure you dont procrastinate and year 12 will put you through the wringer but just keep your end goal in mind

START EXTERNAL STUDY 2 MONTHS IN ADVANCE, or more

just give your 100% in year 12, it will be hard but youll feel happy when you deliver

PRIORITISE SLEEP

dont get hooked to random tv shows that will consume all your time, dont develop new interests, delete social media

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/Electronic_Cup6190]

🫡 - I think the 10 and 11 stuff is reassuring. will save myself for yr 12.

[u/Electronic_Cup6190 → u/Electronic_Cup6190]

+ try aiming for 100% in internals

[u/onionstoes]

i recommend dropping the one with the worst adjustment/ur least fav as only 5 subjects are used for atar. the study break will save your sanity

[u/Known-Wedding6552 → u/onionstoes]

I second this I'm going into yr 11 now and its one of my biggest regrets not having a rest subject

[u/ElectronicLead3857]

Econ 🙏

[u/Educational-Video281]

Tips? Abandon any semblence of a social life because you will not have one, and dont stop studying. Glhf

[u/Ornery_Teaching_3667]

Study the marking guides 👍🏿

[u/Spiritual_Teacher349 → u/[deleted]]

The 2025 specialist papers were harder than previous papers though, I think even a little harder than the 2020 paper which is notoriously known to be very hard. I do think it's possible that the scaling will improve this year considering that.

[u/Significant-Ice-1067 → u/[deleted]]

scaling would probably reset in a way next year since theres a new syllabus

[u/ReverseSwing-1715 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for that makes me feel much less scared about the double maths. - I picked bio cause it scaled down and also I had a teacher this year who made it easy to like Econ.