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Join former HSC Matrix student Elvera as she goes through the study ingredients that scored her a 99.65 ATAR.
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The only skill you need to ace your HSC is knowing how to bake a decadent passionfruit pavlova! I know, that sounds a little silly, but trust me! By the end of this article, I’m going to share with you the secret recipe that scored this baker a 99.65 ATAR.
Name: Elvera Abdel-messih
School: Mount Saint Joseph Milperra
ATAR: 99.65
University degree: Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (Honors) at UTS
Table of contents:
| Subjects | Assessments Mark | HSC Exam Mark | HSC Mark | Performance Band |
Biology | 96 | 96 | 96 | 6 |
Chemistry | 96 | 96 | 96 | 6 |
Physics | 96 | 96 | 96 | 6 |
English Advanced | 92 | 87 | 90 | 6 |
Mathematics Advanced | 98 | 98 | 98 | 6 |
Mathematics Extension 1 | 47 | 47 | 47 | E4 |
FYI, I really, really love to cook. It’s a hobby that stuck with me throughout Year 12, whether I was cooking some pasta for a school lunch or baking a comfort brownie after a full day at school and Matrix tutoring.
To this day, one of my personal favourites is pavlova. But, aside from the sugar rush being a great pick-me-up for study sessions, what does pavlova have to do with the HSC or achieving a great ATAR rank?
Just like following a recipe, when it comes to the HSC and Trial exams, there are certain ingredients and processes that are crucial for success.
These ingredients need to be introduced into your dish with skilful technique, in the right quantities, if you want to end up with a smooth and (somewhat) enjoyable final product.
This is the recipe I followed whilst attending Matrix and preparing for my HSC exams.
As anyone who’s botched a good pancake will tell you, the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of salt is everything. The timing of your flip is also crucial: the gap between a gorgeous, caramelised golden-brown pancake and a charred sheet of black dough is measured in seconds.
In the same way, if you don’t have a good study recipe up your sleeve to achieve your ATAR goal – if you don’t know how to time your own flip from rest to study – the HSC heat will get to you, and you will burn out.
So, if you don’t want to botch your HSC, you need to prepare, act methodically and take things step by step.
Luckily for you, I have a bunch of actionable HSC study tips to help you do just that! Of course, you can add your own ingredients, your own personal flair. The HSC is YOUR dish, so the goal should be to make it effective and enjoyable for YOU. So what will you need to achieve that ATAR goal?
Trying to learn self-discipline the night before your exams is like trying to cook spaghetti in cold water. It doesn’t work. You have to let the water boil in the pot, and the same goes for self-discipline.
The first of my HSC study tips is to build habits early, so that your pot is all warmed up, and you don’t ruin your spaghetti.
Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do things you know you should do even when you don’t want to. I always found it hard to move myself from my bed to my study desk, especially on weekends. I had plenty of excuses: “just one more video” or “I’ll start at 5”, but these always led to procrastination.
A study method I found really helpful was to use a “countdown”. For example, “in 5 seconds, I have to get my butt out of bed”. This immediate and timed deadline became much more difficult to ignore.
It helped that I had a structured weekly study schedule that kept me accountable and ensured I stayed ahead, not behind.
Now great, you’re at your study desk, but let’s be real, studying is boring 😒. The next habit you need to develop is to avoid temptation. I struggled with this a fair bit towards the end of the year. It was just so easy to keep Tetris or Wordle tabs open on my computer. Having these silly games just one click away was, to be frank, irresistible.
I soon realised that trying to develop the willpower to resist distractions was, if not impossible, sort of overrated. You’re in your HSC year – why make your life even harder?
So, instead of trying to have super-human restraint, why not just eliminate your temptations altogether? A really great tip I found was to install a blocker app on my laptop. Then, before a study session, I’d put my phone on silent and place it in a separate room. This forced me to have only one focus: study!
And, of course, Matrix trial prep courses are an excellent way to cut out procrastination for good and make sure you’re on track towards your ATAR goal. I found that access to mock exams to practise under exam conditions meant I could enter the real exams feeling prepared and confident. It’s the best feeling knowing you’ve done the groundwork to step into an exam room feeling ready to go.
During my Year 12, having a diary kept me organised and my goals manageable.
At the beginning of the week, I would write down my goals and homework, something along the lines of “finish Physics depth study” or “finish up to question 20 of chapter review 5 Maths ext”.
For example, if I have a chapter review exercise with 25 questions, I’ll aim to do 5 questions a day. That way, I’ll finish the task by the end of the week without any last-minute rush.
On days I had Matrix courses, I wanted to make sure I still make good use of my time and include reminders in my diary for any questions I could ask teacher too.
Having an organised diary is a HSC study tip that’s particularly important if you often forget deadlines or regularly turn up to class having forgotten to do the homework.
We’re in a digital world but I found it is really effective to write my tasks and goals on paper, keeping myself consistent and organised. I’ve found it actually helps my mindfulness and retention of information instead of typing things, which arguably could save me more time. Plus, having a diary instead of jotting things down on my phone or laptop notes, means I don’t get lost or distracted scrolling the internet.
Planning out my next steps in a dairy is all part of getting that recipe right!
A mistakes journal is a record of mistakes you’ve made, either in your homework, assessments or exams.
A mistakes journal is the best way to LEARN from previous errors and improve academically.
Personally, I divided my mistake journal into six sections, one for each subject. It can be daunting to hold pages and pages of your own mistakes, but it is honestly such a service you do for your future self.
Of course, it’s okay to make mistakes while studying for your HSC exams. In fact, it’s great to make mistakes early on because later, you consciously try not to same mistakes again.
This would always be the case, especially for Chemistry, where I found myself muttering “Don’t forget the Sig Figs” over and over again.
And please do not be vague! Never write down “I read the question incorrectly” as your mistake. No, that is not specific enough! Ask yourself:
Be clear about the mistake you made, and always outline the correct answer. It can also be helpful to compare your incorrect answer to the marking criteria or a sample Band 6 answer where available.
Alongside my Mistakes Journal, it’s always great to be able to discuss any problems, mistakes or uncertainties with subject matter experts.
That’s why I was so grateful to have inspirational teachers at Matrix who were always open to giving me some advice or suggestions when I raised questions with them. Thinking back, it’s one of the things I appreciated the most about my time studying at Matrix. Having people who can also guide you, motivate you and prevent you from making the same mistakes over and over again!
At my school, I found it hilarious seeing everyone scrambling (no pun intended hehe) an hour or so before our exams in our library. People were drenching the whiteboard, walls and tables with all sorts of notes, from topic summaries to last-minute checklists.
Instead of cramming, I recommend creating summary notes as a group well ahead of time—ideally a month before your HSC exam.
Here’s what my friends and I did in Year 12:
Summary notes should be:
Quick to create
Simple to scan
Done quickly and early
They should act as a quick reference if you forget something – NOT your main study tool. These notes actually often came in handy before and after my tutoring courses when I had some time to spare waiting in the accessible study areas.
Outside of Matrix classrooms, I found it was both interesting and helpful to compare study notes with my peers too, seeing what insights they gathered from the subject material. Being surrounded by top performing students who were also very motivated and focused on their education goals, meant I could benefit from that energy and maintain good, consistent preparation leading up to the HSC exams and my ATAR goal fulfillment.
Now, while good study habits and strategies are all well and good, this particular ingredient is a crucial addition to your ATAR success recipe.
You must stay healthy to ace your HSC.
Take care of yourself during Year 12.
This involves acknowledging that Year 12 is a challenge.
Whenever I was feeling a little deflated after studying, I would offer myself a well-deserved, energising break:
Avoid convoluting your mind with difficult questions or dreading your evening to-do list. Forget about them for the duration of your break, then return to them with a fresh mindset.
And when your exams or assessments are finally over?
Find a friend. Go to Maccas. Order a mountain of chips. Dunk them into vanilla soft serve and have a good cry. Tell your tutor the good news! Look after your stress, mental health and wellbeing. You deserve it.
Studying can be exhausting at times and it’s okay to acknowledge that.
Remember, you are enough so protect your mind and body and surround yourself with good people.
Approximately 5 minutes before my HSC exams was probably the closest I ever came to a breakdown, especially since I’d heard so many rumours about how difficult they were. However, one of my really simple pre-exam rituals was that I would breathe in and out, like an informal meditation.
I would take deep breaths and pretend I was breathing in “green” air and expelling “grey” air. I visualised myself cleansing and oxygenating my body.
This is great for moments when you feel a bit panicky.
Remember, you have prepared for these exams, and no matter what, they cannot and will not define you. The HSC and the ATAR are really helpful tools for accessing tertiary education programs, but that is all they are.
There will always be other life and study pathways available to you, no matter your final results, and they are not a measure of your intellect or your worth. So take a step back, breathe in and out, do your best, and know that that is more than enough.
And there you have it: my recipe for HSC success! If you follow my simple HSC study tips, you are one step closer to ensuring a smooth and delicious Year 12 experience with top-notch ATAR success. While it won’t be easy, following a methodical, step-by-step structure, not to mention taking good care of yourself, will make it just a little bit easier. Just don’t leek my secrets hehe (just kidding, tell all your friends)!
Written by Guest Author
We have regular contributions to our blog from our Tutor Team and high performing Matrix Students. Come back regularly for these guest posts to learn their study hacks and insights!
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