How to Become an Award Winning WACE Student

2017 General Exhibition winner spills all the tips and tricks for how to ace year 12.

18-year-old Emma Harrington is a former St. Hilda’s student and 2017 General Exhibition winner. She is now pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering at UWA, a course that will lead her towards an exciting career designing medical devices such as bionic ears, prosthetic limbs and other gadgets that can enhance human life. However, despite her newfound love for university life, Emma still looks back fondly on her days in year 12.

Tell us about year 12, was it different to what you expected it to be?

I think year 12 was less scary than I thought it was going to be. Before I actually started year 12 I just thought it was going to be such a big deal and then when I actually did it, it was over so quickly and I think you just fall into it so quickly that you don’t really have a chance to think about and worry about how scary it was. So it was better than I expected it to be.

What was your study method during year 12?

I would come home, have a break and then get into the study. I would study in the back office in our house so that I was all alone, so I’d be down there studying for about an hour or so then get up and have a stretch, have something to eat — I always like to eat in my breaks! Then I would have dinner whenever it was ready and then go back down to study for another hour or so and be in bed by about 9/9:30.

In the WACE break I always tried to go to the gym in the morning, then study and break every hour or so. I was never too rigid with my schedule because sometimes you get into a really good mode and you just want to keep going and I always felt that forcing myself to stop was a bit pointless.

Did you find that having that routine, where you went to the gym in the morning, helped your study?

Yeah! It was so good to get into a routine. I loved going to the gym in the morning because then it was out of the way and I had all the afternoon to study and I didn’t have to worry about all that after school. It was like… it was just done and I was awake and I was ready to face the day!

Do you have any hobbies, and were you able to maintain those during year 12?

I really love reading and I was able to maintain that during school. I would come home from school, have a bit of a rest and a bit of a read, have some afternoon tea and then I would get into studying, so I had a bit of a routine and it allowed me to do stuff that I love and also keep studying.

What would be your number 1 tip for successful studying in year 12?

My number one tip would be just to actually do it, do the work. The biggest part was the motivation, especially between mocks and WACE, it’s actually just forcing yourself to get back to studying. Someone told me in year 10 or 11 ‘I wish I had just tried harder at school because all I had to do was just do the work and study, I didn’t have to worry about my business etc. all I needed to do was study and it just opens up so many more opportunities if you just do the work.’ So that really pushed me. It was just one thing that someone told me, I carried that through all of year 12.

Do you have any tips for specific subjects?

For French, and languages, in particular, I think getting a tutor or someone who actually speaks the language and doing sessions with them is reeeally helpful. You just need to try to talk to them for that whole session and immerse yourself because then you almost start actually thinking in that language and it actually is so helpful, especially for all the oral presentations and assessments — you have to have that practice.

For maths and physics — understanding why you’re doing what you’re doing, like why the equation works. I didn’t do so much of that at school, but now that I’m at uni I realise that it actually helps so much more to not just memorise, but actually understand what you’re doing. Because then you can apply it and understand it.

What would be your number 1 tip for how to enjoy year 12 (ie. how to not just be stressed out all the time!)

I like to have at least one social activity every weekend, like either go to a party or go out and have breakfast or something like that, just to make sure you’re actually enjoying life. At lunchtime, at school, don’t just sit there and study, make sure you actually go and talk to your friends and enjoy it, don’t just seclude yourself off from the rest of the world.

Are there any ‘traps’ that you think students might fall into and should avoid?

The trap of stress- everyone just keeps telling you how stressed you should be but… I didn’t find that I actually was that stressed! I think that makes it a really bad environment because everyone’s just talking about how stressed you must be and that’s something you just need to cut out. I was really lucky because my parents always told me ‘look, everyone’s going on about how stressful year 12 is but you don’t have a mortgage and kids and a family and you don’t have people who are dependent on you’. You’re not dependent on your marks, of course, they matter, but you need to keep everything in perspective.

Year 12 is such a busy year with so many exciting events and after/before school activities, do you have any tips for how to successfully divide up your time so that you can have fun and do well at the same time?

When you’re studying — just study, when you’re not studying, just relax and have fun! Also, try and keep your phone out of your study area, it’s hard but it helps so much because otherwise you get distracted and you’ll just get bored and end up on your phone without even realising that you’re doing it… that’s something I realised I had to cut out early on.

What advice would you give to parents who are helping their children through year 12 for the first time?

Be supportive. Understand that if your kids are feeling stressed they’re probably going to be a bit angsty or snap, just try to understand that’s why, don’t allow it or enable it, just be aware. Also, help your kids keep things in perspective, don’t let them get too bogged down in the small little world of WACE and if they are struggling with motivation and things then just talk to them and ask them if they want you to help them stay focused. Like, say ‘oh look, you should probably head to bed now’ when it gets to like 10:30….but do it all in a way that’s not just nagging them. Have a conversation with them and ask them what they want, because ultimately it’s their choice, you can’t force them to do well, you can only help them.

Do you have any final advice for this year’s year 12s?

It’ll be worth it in the end! So worth it, so just study and put all the effort in now because if you don’t you’ll regret it and if you do you’ll be so thankful you did. Just stay focused, stay motivated, especially right after mocks/ just before WACE. Try to find a friend to help you stay motivated. I had a friend who was always watching Netflix during year 12 so I was always texting her like ‘STUDY!’ and she thought that really helped, so if one of your friends is like that or you’re like that you can try and get a system going.

So there you have it, folks! If there’s one thing we can take away from this interview it’s that year 12 does not have to be the stressful year that everybody makes it out to be. All you have to do is try your best, stay organised and when things go wrong just remember that you’ll always have another chance to try again.

If you want to read more specific tips on how to ACE WACE click here!