SHIVA KALI ASTROLOGER Pandit: Srinivas

HSC finishers dissect the final year ofschool and offer advice for prospective students

After an incense year of hard wot:k and preparation, the results have finally come out for the Higher Sd1ool Certificate (HSC) graduates of 2013 Tndin11 Link spoke to a fe,v local students abom their HSC experience, how they maintained a heal t hy balance between work and p lay and their plans for the future.

What was your studying technique? Did you have any added support from a tutor orat home?

Rizul Makkar: My mum is a chemistry teacher. I onl y did a little bit of tutoring in English every two to thr ee weeks, but other than that it was really just time management I knew what I needed to do and I d idn't study too much but I knew tliat what I needed to study was right.

Nakita Dass: The key to studying for me was to find a way to 1t11dersta11d and rn/ate to the content of each s ubject lf )'OU ask questions, participate actively in class and really engage with what you are learning, it is much easier to recall information in an exam situation. l learn best visually, so watch ing YouTube videos and downloading apps related to topics 1 was struggling wi tb reall y cement concepts for me, made them easy to remember and was a welcome change from m y t~xtbook!

I didn't have a tutor for any of m y subjects, but all m y teachers were extremely supportive, if 1 needed help tl1ey were always willing to give their time My parents were i ncredible. They bot.11 made sacrifices tl1roughouc the year and were a source of constant inspiration and encouragement. They understood when I l ocked myself in the darkness of m y bedt'oom for da)'S, only coming out for food, and they sac and helped me go through m y study notes at all hours of the day and night. There we re tears and rimes I felt burnt out, but my dad always managed co make me laugh, my m Lm1 constantly reassuring Harsharndeep Singh Kahlon: 1 had a couple of rucors and I went to Jvfatrix Education for tutoi:ing. Mostly it was about being organised, having a fixed timetab le and sticking to it. I was tutored in physics and 4 u n it maths.

Aayush Jain: I had a rucor for 4 unit maths and English, which was my weak subject. T tl1oug ht it was a good idea to get nuoring for an extension subject. My parents helped me out with any thing I needed in term s of textbooks and general s n:Lff.

Vikram Kumar: I had a tumr for physics and for mad1s. My studying techniq u e was basically just revisiJ1g the topics and content of the course and going over it moroughly at school and home and asking questions where I didn't understand the content.

Aparna B alaJ...-i1mar: I was a pretty visual learner so wou.lcl stick. m y English quotes all m1er m y room, and history timelines of key dates up on my ceiling For more content heavy s u bjects like Business Studies I made 13ash cards, and in tl1e lead up co exams had my brother read om questions while 1 tried co recall tbe con tent. 1 also had a giant w h iteboard in m y room where I would map out responses to practice essay questions for my humanities subjects, linking different ideas wid1 different col oured markers. It's all about being creative! My motto was tl1at there was no poim malJng a htmdred pages of meticulous notes unless 1 was going to be bothered to read diem (a nd 1 knew I wouldn't be) j\,( y home s upport was really great. In the lead up to exams it was often my pa rents who told me m take a break from stud ying to cake m y nlind off the work.load. I live in a large household (seven people) , so it's not easy to keep the n oise levels low, but they all tried really hard to make m y studying environment comfortable. I really appreciated that the whole family never acted differently towards me, forced me to study, or stopped me from going to parties just because it was an important year They understood that l would d o what needed to be done, w hen ir needed to he done by, and trusted me to have the ab ility to say no to comnlitmencs if I felt 1 needed co.

Amy Shah: Yeah I did go to tutoring, set time to revise a lot. My family was reall y supportive and they knew that I woul d do well

Tanveer Singh Mok.ha: Stud)dng technique was mostl y keeping yourself organised an d always p lanni ng how to study for each subject, co know how much time each subject needs, that way you're not losing our o n any effort needed to put into other subjects I did tutoring at Talent l 00 and got help Erom my sister and family

Ridclhi Joshi: Yeah l did cucoring. I tried co study 2-3 hours consistently eve ry night, including homework, assignments, and extra work. Home support was definitely very positive, my family smck w ith me d1rough everything, all the ups and the clowns. J don't think I would've been able to achieve what 1 achieved without them.

How did you decide what subjects to pick and why did you like them?

Rizul Makkar: le was set up in junior school. I was always interested in maths and sciences, as I got t he chemistry background from m y mum. Most of d1e subjects I did were subjects I was interested in Nakita Dass: When I iilitially chose m y subjects at the start of Year 11 l rook into account my interests, strengd1s and also potential future career prospects. I was one of the only ones at my school who didn't cake maths, but after struggling so much with it, it was a real relief to be ab le co focus on the s ubjects l understood and loved. I was confident when l made the decision chat all m y remaining subject.~ played to m y strengths, knowiJ1g diat I would need as much time as possible co really g ive m y Extension 2 E nglish and V isual Arts projects m y all. I was al so taking Spanish d1rou gh distance education al The Open H igh SdJoo~ which was brilliant, bm required a lot o f time, h ard work and self -disc ipline. I have always been a creative person by nature and die visual arts course gave me space to breathe. The art room was my refuge d1roughouc the F-ISC and i t was a subject, like Extension 2, that gave me a l ot of joy and fulfilment. Business Smdies grounded me and kept my rational mind sharp. Business is definitely one of the more useful and applicable subjects to rake.

:My choice to learn Spanish was slightly eccentric, howeve r, it was a good 6t for me as I have al\vays enjoyed learning languages (having taken French and Hindi fo the past)

Harsharndeep Singh Kah.Ion: From d1e beginning I always had a passion fo r mams and I wanted to make sure I did the highes t level. It was recommended to me d1at I should also do ph ysics Sofrware had a little bit o f maths, so I chose it. I also liked essay writing so chose English extension.

Aayush Jain: I did well in School Certificate science as I really enjoyed science back d1en and I d10ughc tlrnt doing tl1ree science subjects would be a good idea. I also really enjoyed Legal Studies, which I picked because I enjoyed l egal studies within commerce, but it didn't count in my ATAR.

Vikram Kumar: From year 7- 10 you develop an u nderstanding of what you like and don't like and at the end of year 10 you realise what you wam to do.

Aparna Balakumar: I always loved spending hours resear ching and editing an essay, and simultaneous.I)' struggled tl1rough 10 mi.rmces of maths homework Whilst I enjoyed aspects of the scie n ces, I was not a 'namral' at them, and always fotmd more ii1terest in learning about soc ieties both past and present. My marks also reflected d1e larger aptitude I had for social sciences That's why whe n it came to subject selection, my family and I made the decision to fo rget about 'scaling' o r 'weighting' and just rake subjects I would enjoy and was th u s li kely to excel at Two years is a long time to si t in a class you don't have an interest iu! Wr iting my 6000 word major project ou vo lun tou.rism was something T found incredibly fascinating rather than a chore, and similarly l earning all about the V ietnam War came in handy when I recently visited rh e region and viewed the historical sires firsthand. l loved t hat tl1e things

1 was learning about in the class room were thi n gs I could see tl1e effects of and apply to my e\Teryday world

Amy Shah : I a lways W<ed science, so l picked chemistry and physics

Maths was always challenging b u t i11teresting at the same tim e. I learnt my stren gths a nd weakn esses before scarring yea r 11.

Tanvee r Singh Mokha: Always thought m y strengths were towards sciences a nd maths. l always en joyed d oing them and was good at them. I decided ro do econ omics becaL1se my sister did ecouorn.ics and it looked inter esting as it is about what's happening in curren t world, 1 enjoyed it.

Rid d hi Jos hi: I definitely liked maths, 1 always liked matl1s. 1 ,vanted to choose the greatest amount of maths possible 1 also en joyed science and was inter ested in general economics as an understan ding o f the world becau se of dad, bur mostly because I en joyed the subjects.

How did you and your family celeb rate your results?

Rizul Makkar: \Xle wen t om for dinner. Before doing the HSC, I was accepted for a cadership in invesrmenr banking w ith a company called UBS. The p roc ess of interviews and tests s carted in Ma rch and ended in August. So tl1e celebration was more for the cadership th an th e ATAR.

Nakita Dass: They [my pa.rents) were absolutely ecstatic, especially as they knew tl1at I'd had tl1ree main goals throughour tl1e year, to becom e a n all - rounder, recejve a n omination for the Extension 2 Showcase and au ATAR of over 95. I'd h ad these goals, b ut they had seemed more like unachievab le dreams when 1 first for m ed them It was surreal to achieve nor just one, bur all o f them. My parents are extremely proud, and I feel a buge sense of relief. They gave me the freedom to take the subjects I loved and to so many people, they were the 'non-i.meUectual' subj ects, the \ mimportan t ones' My parents have always take n tl1e seance th at if yo u're not passionate about somethin g, if it doesn't excite you and make you think, you should be doing sometl1ing else tl1ar does l e means a lot that l can thank my parents through s howing them (and hopefully future students) tl1at it's not the subjects you cake that determine success, but tl1e effo r t and embusiasm you put imo tl1em. Ac the moment my family and I are travelling t hrough Emope, another absol ute dream come true! We are hoping co have a barbecue when we get back to A u stralia co celebrate with tl1e rest of m y family!

Aayu sh Jain : My mum was still i n India My dad congrarulated me. I wasn't too happy with my mark, as it was n 't rl1e mark I wanted. 1 wanted a little bit better. Jv[y d ad got me thro ugh it

Aparna Balakurnar: My family were so excited! I wo ke them all up in the morning just after I loo ked up my marks at 6am the day they were released. As 1 did n 't come out of many of the HSC exams thinking l aced the paper, and n eve r made an estimation about my marks, it was a huge r elief Coming first in the State fo r Society and Culrure was the largest shock, and I called my pa re n ts straight after the Board of Studies called me and told them "you're going t o have to take T uesday off work!" As a family, we all went out co rl1e te mpl e an d then clinner afterwards \Xle were all just grateful th aL J received an ATAR likely ro get m e into the uni cottrse I wanted The bonus was just knowing iliac the effort l put in throughout tl1e year was rewarded, a nd that 1 can .look back proud o f the m arks I received Tan veer Singh Mokha : It was a positive smprised and 1 wasn't expecting it. I will probably celebrate with extended family and we'll be going to lnclia soon Riddhi Joshi : My parents we re definitely happy with it. They would be happy witl1 w h atever I got because 1 tried my best. We we n t out for dinner.

What do you do in your leisure time? What are your hobbies?

Nakita Dass : I tl1ink all the free ti m e I've had over tl1e last year was spent sleeping, not something to be proud o f, haha! I love ro p lay the guitar an d sing. I l isten to all kinds of music and always have a book on the go. Travel is something I ab solutely ador e and I tl1.rive on the constant challenge presented by new lan guages. Coming from a cross -cultural background, culmre is always something tha t has fascinated me I write a lot, mostly poetry, and cook when ever I gee the chance. I Jove sport, I'm a b i t of a foorb aU fa natic and can't wait to start playing again now that the HSC is over! I can't tl1ink of anywhere I'd ratl1er be than at tl1e beach, out at a resrauranr o r the arr gallery wirh mace.5. I'm a pretty keen photographe r too a nd am really in terested in d esign and architecmre.

Amy Shah: I like reading and craft. 1 volunteered at a retirement care village throughout Year 12. When I have too much rime, I procrastinate, so keeping busy h elps me do becter.

Did yo u ensure you had a bala nee between study and play during the HSC?

Rizul Makkar: I r was more about rime management a nd gerting on top of things, m aking sure thac things n ever got out of hand and sticking to your plan l think having a balance is rl1e m ost important thing, if you don't have balance you'll never succeed.

Nakita Dass : I really tried ro m ai.nt..1.i n a balance thro ughout the year and altl1ough my wellbeing suffered a couple of times here and there whe n things became a bi t too overwhelming, 1 think l m anaged pretty well. Finding that equilibrium is viral i f you w ant tc) succeed in life \vi th anything! Go ou t and h ave a gteat rime w irl1 your fciends, exercise, eat well and don't stop doing what you love l f anything, you'll be m o re productive if you can take efficient breaks, don't be too hard o n you.rsdf. That said, it's important to know w hen eno ugh is enough. There were p lenty of rimes when I had to mm down a night our in order to get work done, it's just o n e of those things. Procrastination is ro be avoided at aU costs, however sometimes in spira tion sparks most vivid ly when you are under p ressure It's importaur to remember that your final year of high school is someLhing you'll never forge t. l'vfake i r enjoyable! The year passes so quickly and I know rl1e connection I s h ared with my grade and teachers will. be som ething I miss dearly over the years to come.

H arsharo d eep Singh Kahlon : I didn't really e n su re I had a balance. I did used to watch TV bur tl1at's about it, I was mostly just smd ying Once a month or so I'd go out an d p lay cricket. I still think that ha\~ng a balanc e is extremely important an d I th.ink tl1ac if I had a balance, I \vould've done even better.

Aayush Jain: Yeah I definitely tr ied to. I wo uld go on the treadmill for half an hour everyday. The only time I would be able ro do it was at 10pm at nig h t Qaughs) I lost a bit of weigh t during the HSC. I wouldn't have been able to cope w ith the pressure without the half an hour break, you hi t a wall and can't understand things anymore, so it's best co go away and come bacl<

Vikram Kumar: Yeal1, l tried to keep a strong balance between tl1e two. I clunk it's extremely im portant because if it's out of balance you tend to go cowards e."treme of either sid e, w hich hurts the other side of what you're doing

Aparna B alak-umar: Definitely. I didn't pm things like watching my favourite TV shows or learni ng how to drive on hold for the year. Ultimatdy the study levels did increase during assessment p eriods, but l maintained balru1ce by wacclung a movie or interacting with my fru11ily fo!Jowing a past paper I also studied at the library with friends ou a few days, so we could bow1ee ideas off each otl1er and eat our afte r our work was completed I really think i t's only a stre.5sful period if you give die HSC too much importance, and stop doiog tl1e other thi11gs that make yo u happy. Continuing driving my brod1er to cricket p ractice, or organising a con.cert with t he school prefects were small tasks that really helped take my mind off formulas and guotes. Keeping so busy outside of sn1dy helped give m e mo re perspective d1at the HSC wasn't the be all and en d all. This chen allowed me ro stay mucb calmer when exan1s rolled around, and a lso forced me to use the study rime I did have efficiently

Amy Shah: Yeah at first it was hard, bu t it i s important so 1 tr ied my hardest. l made sure I maintained m y cime wisely I prioritised.

Tanveer Singh Mokha: It .is definitely in1portant to keep a balance as you d on't wa nt to get bogged down in studies You have to make sure you keep focused but also do other tl1iugs to keep your m ind fresh.

RiddhiJoshi : I tried to be as .involved as l could with d1e school community, chari ties, breakfast clubs, 40 hou r fami n e an d Am n esty lnternational. I completed an mmigetmm in Indian dance as I fou nd dance as a way to take my m ind off srudies and used it as a way of relaxation. Dancing ensured 1 had a bala nce during HSC. T d1ink it's very irnpo r tanc ro have a balru1ee, it will stimulate th e mind an d keep a positive artirude, whic h is very important.

What does the future hold foryou?What do you hope your next ac complishment will be?

Rizul Makkar : Getting through m y cadetship and doi ng r eally weU to hopefully working my way up inw investment banking. I also would like to study finance at UNSW

Nakita D ass: Next year I'm hoping m study Englis h and Art H iscory at The University of Sydney w ith tl1c intention becoming a writer. l'm wa r y of saying that, it's an ambi tious path and a long one too, but I am hopeful that things will work om Ideally I would like co go on to do au houoLJrs year and potentially postg raduate studies, but we'll see how things shape Lip. It's a b i t of a long shot, bur I'd love ro do well enough in my first year to become a faculty scholar. I'd also reall y like to keep writing and publishing work More than anything, I'm looking fo rward to meeting all kinds of new people and building up an arsenal of experiences with which to face the world. I think dJe next few years are going to be an advenmre to say the least and it would be foolish co predict where I'll end LI P, but d1e one thing I can say with certain ty is iliac there will be plen ty of stories to tell.

Harsharndeep Singh Kah.Ion : I've chosen actuarial studies at UNSW Australian School of Business and I am doing char combined with Bachelor of Economics. Hopefully I will become a certified actuary and work in risk assessment. I like it because it's mailis based and w il.l. have a high income.

Aayush Jain : I p lan on studjfog law at Australia n National Universicy and I want to end up being a lawyer I'll probabl y have co move our ro Canberra.

Vikram Kumar : I hope the future nolds a good job, and an easygo ing lifestyle I haven't thought chat far ahead about m y next accomplishment Qaughs) .I would like to do media/ arcs at UNSW a nd 1 want to go into graphic de.sign

Aparna Ba.lakumar: I have. no id ea. Bur chat's d1e most exciting part! At univer sity I'll be studying Media and Communications, so hopefully somewhere d1at I can continue writing, researching, and exploring all the world has co offer.

Amy Shah: I want co stud y medicine at UNSW and become a doctor.

Tanveer Singh Mokha: Noc too sure yet, have to see till offers come our. I'm looking in the science field.

Riddhi Joshi: Definitely going to be doing physioilierapy at USYD. See where I'll go from there I guess.

What would your advice to future HSC students be?

Aayush Jain: I t would be to get hel p as soon as possible i f yo u fi nd that you are not doing as well as you would like co be doing, especially if it is a compulsory subject such as English Although teacher s will always be d1ere to help, sometimes teachers alone cannot be enough.

Vikram Kumar: Tr y co keep a bal ance between study and whatever you like to do and don't get coo stressed, it's not the en d of the world

Amy Shah : When rev ising stick co the syllabus and make sure your know Lhe doc points re.ally well for all yo ur subjects Just keep going and be determined ro do well, and you need persistence!

Tanveer Singh Mokha: Probabl y most important thing is co pace yourself Ollt, don't overkill in che beginning, bm build yourself up towards trials and d1e end of the year At the same time, make sure you don't procrastinate and leave the things you don't like towards t he end r did English first iJ1 my study as I wasn't mo happy co do it, but I got it out of ilie way to focus o n other stuff. Just be happy wid1 doing your best.

Riddhi Joshi: My best advice ro give right now would be ro just try your best and not lee so me small negative incident hold you back.

"I really appreciated that the whole family never acted differently towards me, forced meto study, or stopped me from going to parties just because it was an important year. They understood that I would do what needed to be done, when it needed to be done by, and trusted me to have the ability to say noto commitments if I felt I needed to"

Aparna Balakumar

"When revising stick to the syllabus and make sure your knowthedot points really well for all your subjects. Just keep going and be determined to do well, and you need persistence!