Class of 2010
As thousands of Year 12 students across the country finished 13 years of school last month with the completion of their Higher School Certificate, many of us will look back on our own school life and contemplate just where the years have taken us, and with some more thought, perhaps realise the precious little that that 4-digit number bearing our results, actually has had on our lives.
However, right now it’s all about the future and for bright young school leavers across the country, it is an exciting period. It is fascinating just how much we change in the early years following school, and so it is with a great sense of anticipation that many students leave behind the tags of “girls and boys” to become “ladies and gentlemen”. The journey for them has just begun.
A record 71,310 students sat the 2010 NSW Higher School Certificate, in 6 countries and 750 exam centres. This included 673 sets of twins, 12 sets of triplets, and even a set of quintuplets. Nearly 15,000 students chose to have their results sent to them by mobile phone. Some even opted to access their scores via Playstations and iPods. At the end of the day, however, there was only one number that was on most of their minds – the ATAR that was to be released the following day.
It is impossible to put a figure, however, on the immense amount of work done by each and every student. Countless nights throughout the year were spent without food, drink and sleep all in the aim of maximising a mark or two. Parents would suddenly find themselves begging their children not to study, while students found themselves running like machines – going to school, coming home, studying, and if lucky, sleeping.
However much the students studied, though, the relief that November 10 brought with it, was without a doubt monumental. Throughout the year, students have motivated themselves with that one moment when the examiner would say “Pens down, time is up” – that inexplicable euphoria awaiting them when they realised that 13 years of toil was finally at an end.
Now that the results are out, it’s time to meet some of the students who have successfully passed their final school exams, and find out what the future holds for them.
The wait
Satvik Sekhar graduated from Baulkham Hills High School with an ATAR of 99.95. “The wait was excruciating”, he says, “as the tiniest mishap could not only have caused me to fall short of my dream course, but would have forced me to move interstate as I would have pursued the University of Melbourne’s postgraduate medicine program instead, which requires an ATAR of 99.90. I coped with this intense period by distracting myself by going out to lunch, watching TV shows and Ashes Cricket!”
For Ayush Sharma, [ATAR 96.55] of Normanhurst Boys High School, the relief after the exams finished was enormous, but “before you knew it, the date that results were released popped out of the blue, and the night before it got pretty tense. The best thing was to just hang out with friends and rejoice in the fact that all the studying had been done”.
Many students, especially perhaps the ones in our community, would vouch for the fact that their parents are somewhat more stressed than their children! However, a revealing common theme amongst this year’s graduates shows that calmer parents helped immensely. Kovid Sahni of Epping Boys High School [ATAR 96.85] says, “My parents were very understanding and supportive throughout my senior years. I’d be lying if I told you there wasn’t any pressure; but the trick is to break down your ultimate goal into smaller and more manageable ones. This approach paid off handsomely as my parents continually emphasised that ‘gaining knowledge is an investment in yourself; nothing more, nothing less.’”
Yashutosh Joshi from Girraween High School achieved an ATAR of 98.65, and similarly praises his parents: “They did everything they could to relieve pressure during my study so I could perform well; they attended to my every whim and were very supportive. I owe them a lot and would like to take this opportunity if I could, to thank them dearly for always trying to make my journey as easy as possible and for being so supportive, I could not have done it without them.”
Words of wisdom
Although there is such an immense amount of pressure associated with the HSC, with the gift of hindsight many of our graduates see a much lighter side to it. Tia Singh of Macarthur Girls High School [ATAR 98.90] believes “The HSC is overhyped. It is nowhere near the end of the world; it’s a stepping stone, a new beginning, an enriching life experience as well. It all depends on the manner in which you approach your senior years. My HSC style entailed loud Punjabi music, not deactivating Facebook, not overworking myself with tuitions, choosing subjects I loved, having an amazing support network, and lots of passion for life”.
Tanya Mahajan, who graduated from North Sydney Girls High with an ATAR of 99.7, believes like many other graduates, that the HSC isn’t the be-all and end-all of your tertiary education chances. “There are so many different ways of getting into every course so even if you miss out after Year 12, you shouldn’t dwell on it. I don’t think that the HSC should take over your life in Year 12; you should still have fun, go out with your friends and family and play sport.”
Dushyant Iyer of Sydney Grammar, also with an ATAR of 99.7, suggests for future students that “the most important thing I believe I’ve learnt is to have a balance in life and so I hope to have a stimulating career in the medical field, whilst still maintaining strong relationships with the people closest to me, still play the sports I love.”
Dushyant is not alone. Ansh Gopalani [ATAR 99.90] advises, “Don’t study hard, study smart. In other words pick your battles. Revise hard when assessments are coming up but make sure you go out, party, play sport during holidays and after assessment blocks. It’s heaps important to have a life besides studying.” Although he seriously considered doing the HSC over two years because of a severe infection in his right eye that now requires a corneal transplant, Ansh was relaxed enough to complete his exams with effectively just the one eye.
Similarly, Amelia Chowdhury [ATAR 99.9] says, “I think there’s more to high school than a four-digit number. Achievements in music, art, sports and leadership are just as equally as important as academics, so I guess the HSC is a bit overhyped, because there are so many other fields a student can excel in. I have friends who are so amazing in so many other ways, and it’s important that these talents are recognised too.”
Ashvin Ashok of Homebush Boys High School [ATAR 98.70] agrees: “Try to be an all-rounder student and don’t let the angst of the HSC ruin your final year of schooling. Have time for socialising, sporting, leadership and other extra-curricular activities. These are very helpful when applying for scholarships or part-time jobs as academic excellence is not the only thing that sponsors or employers may be looking for.”
Ankit Joshi of Parramatta Marist High School [ATAR 95] feels the same. “Prepare a realistic study timetable which is a balance between socialising and studying, with ample breaks, and try your best to stick to it”.
Selective schools are often pointed out as the critical factor in successful results. However, Pallavi Shamdasani [ATAR 99.75] went to Narrabundah College in Canberra, and says, although there are no selective schools in Canberra, “I don’t think it is only the school which will determine how well you will do; I think it’s a combination of your own efforts, a competitive peer group and enthusiastic teachers.”
Rachy Sood of Parramatta Marist [ATAR 98.15] has some very specific advice: “Allocate equal time to all your subjects, because I always avoided extension 2, thinking it will just click (it didn’t). Heaps of people will tell you to make a timetable of when you’re going to study, all my mates tried it, no-one stuck to it. If you are self-driven you’ll know when you need to study and when to relax.”
The future…
All other things considered, with all the scaling out of the way, and all talk of school rankings forgotten, after ATARs start becoming meaningless numbers, it is time to consider the future. There are many thoughts flowing through a student’s mind at this stage – clearly, the stand-out question is, what course do I choose?
Satvik will be studying combined medicine, BSc (Adv)/MBBS at USYD. “After much research and deliberation, I have come to a firm decision that I would only do postgraduate medicine (as I really wanted to study science before commencing my medicine degree). It (Medicine) was a very easy choice for me as I had my heart set on what I wanted to do, and this course provided absolutely everything that I could ever want.“
Ayush will aim towards a Bachelor of Engineering combined with a Bachelor of Science degree. “It wasn’t a tough choice at all, since I’ve wanted to do this for years now, though my parents wanted me to do something business related. Convincing them of what I wanted to do took a little effort, but they came through.”
Kovid has a few choices: “I now have the dilemma of choosing between many more courses than I had anticipated. Actuarial Studies with Law, Information Technology and Economics with Finance are some of the options I am looking into at the moment. My parents have had some input in my decision making, but they have advised me to choose a course in which I have a genuine interest in so that I will have the greatest possible chance to excel.”
Yashutosh faces a similar situation: “It currently is a tough choice since it isn’t set in stone just yet. I have a few options in mind and it’s a decision that affects your future and should be one that’s treated as such. I’m considering undertaking a combined degree, one of which will be the Aeronautical (Space) engineering at the University of Sydney.”
Tia, however, had an easier choice: “I’ve been accepted into the University of New South Wales on a one-off scholarship to study a combined degree of Law and Media (Public Communication). My mother’s only wish for me was to be happy in whatever I do… I never faced any form of pressure or push from her part. Similarly, I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do for about four years now so there was no confusion in what degrees I was looking at.”
Tanya is hoping to do Medicine. “I think in choosing your career path you should not only play to your strengths but also pursue something you’re sure you really want to do. I had always wanted to do medicine and to get a feel for the profession I did some work experience too. So I guess by Year 12, it wasn’t something I thought about anymore, I knew I wanted to do medicine and it wasn’t a tough choice at all.”
Dushyant also wishes to study Medicine. “I was fortunate in a way; this was something I’ve been passionate about doing for a long time, so when it came to the start of Year 12, I knew I had to get as high an ATAR as possible to gain entrance in to the course. I was lucky to have parents who supported my choice, and had frequent discussions with me to reaffirm my choice.”
For Ansh, “the course I’m going to do at uni is something I’m still thinking about. I’m tossing up between three degrees, Commerce/Law, Commerce/Science (Advanced Mathematics) or doing straight Commerce with a cadetship at PWC. It is definitely a tough choice because I’m not sure which option I will like the most.”
Amelia has been well ahead of things. “Hopefully I get into medicine, depending on whether my UMAT and interview went well. There was no pressure from parents because I’ve wanted to do med since I was 8 years old, so it wasn’t hard deciding my course. “
Ashok will be doing a Bachelor of Education (Secondary: Mathematics)/Bachelor of Science. “It was a tough decision as I had many choices due to my ATAR. But my passion for teaching and experience as a peer tutor made me choose this line. My parents were the first to suggest teaching to me and were quite happy and supportive of my decision.”
Pallavi says, “I hope to be studying medicine at Monash University. Initially I was tossing up between studying dentistry and medicine but in the end I chose medicine. My parents thought dentistry would be a better option as I would lead a more comfortable lifestyle in the future but I eventually convinced them that medicine was the career for me.”
Rachy is keeping his options open with the full support of his parents. “Not too sure yet – still thinking of what to do, either commerce at UNSW or Business/Law at UTS”. He says his parents have not pressured him much “because they knew I had an interest in commerce and law, so they encouraged me to choose subjects similar to what I wanted to do.”
Ankit hopes to do Actuarial Studies at either UNSW or Macquarie University.
Life really is a journey, and finishing school does not mean this journey is over – a new chapter is just beginning for these students and it is comforting to know that our future is in such bright young hands…
