5 Things To Do As Soon As You Get Your HSC Timetable

I remember feeling a mixture of mild panic and nausea when my HSC timetable was published.

Apart from the fact that it consolidated the reality of impending exams, I felt an onslaught of conflicting emotions.

However, irrespective of how much you furiously text your friends about the cruelty of NESA, I know most of you are still stressed, that’s just how it’s going to be.

But here are 5 things you should do that are monumentally more important than crying about your HSC timetable!

Step 1: Write it Down!

Step 2: Read the Rules and Procedures

Step 3: Double Check

Step 4: Map it Out

Step 5: Maintain Perspective

Step 1: Write it Down!

Write your HSC timetable down on whatever calendar you use: iPhone, diary, computer.

If you don’t have one, write the dates down on post-it notes and stick them up near your desk. Make sure you are constantly aware of them.

This is important for two reasons: 

1. Firstly, it will motivate you to study since you’re being reminded that the HSC isn’t actually a bad dream but exams in a few weeks.
2. Secondly, so you don’t get the dates or times wrong. Please, this actually happens.  

I’d recommend printing out your HSC Timetable and putting it up on your wall or at your desk so you’re constantly seeing it.

It’s a great way to maintain motivation as it becomes a constant reminder of what you’re studying so hard for! 

Have you got a dreaded double exam day?

Find out how to survive having two exams on one day in our article here!

Step 2: Read the Rules and Procedures

It’s definitely a good idea to read the published list of Rules and Procedures, even at least once.

It’s mostly self-explanatory, but you might find a few things you didn’t know such as the HSC Exam Equipment list.

Here’s a link to the HSC Rules and Procedures Guide from NESA, click here. 

You only have to read it once and it takes 10 minutes, but that’s definitely better than accidentally bringing in correction fluid and getting a penalty (bet you didn’t know that one!).

This especially applies if you have oral exams for languages, performance examinations or submitted works, as the rule and procedures are different to the written exams.

And if you’re memorising an essay pieced together from the internet, maybe think about whether 100 other people who have too. Plagiarism should be taken very seriously so think twice about downloading that essay off the internet.

Step 3: Double Check

Get someone else to read over your HSC timetable… just to be sure. 

This probably sounds ridiculous to you, but I had one of the times for an exam wrong the whole time, up until the day before.

It literally takes 30 seconds for a parent or a friend to check the times and locations again, which is worth not turning up to the wrong hall or turning up to a wrong exam.

Make sure the information on your timetable is EXACTLY same in your calendar, diary, phone, etc. so you don’t accidentally remember the wrong information.

Step 4: Map it Out

Write out a schedule for your exam period, either on paper or on a Word document.

Figure out the exam times based on the starting time, the exam reading and working time. Now figure out what you’ll be doing between them.

For example, how many hours of study you’ll have for Biology, which is in the afternoon at 3.

Or maybe you’ve got two days after English. Will you be splitting them evenly between Ancient History and Economics?

How are you getting to the exam and how long will it take?

Make sure you don’t make a huge mistake with your plan!

Find out why you shouldn’t study for your first exam first in our article, here!

This is useful because I’m a big fan of scheduling and whilst I don’t expect you strictly stick to it, at least you’ll have some sort of structure. And if you’re anything like me, it’ll be therapeutic to know what to expect during your exam week.

Step 5: Maintain Perspective

In Step 2, I recommended you schedule your exam period. Now I want you to schedule in what you’ll be doing the week before exams, and the week after.

By writing out your pre-HSC schedule, you’ll be more mentally prepared for what routine you’ll be in in the weeks before the HSC.

By writing what you’ll be doing after, you’ll motivate yourself for the freedom beyond, but also to realise there is life after the HSC. This isn’t the end-all of everything.

You’ll keep on living your life afterwards, and it’s important to keep this is in mind.

Need some extra help managing your pre-HSC Exam Anxiety?

Find out how to deal with your pre-HSC Exam Anxiety in this article, here. 

There’s a difference between preparing, and unnecessarily catastrophising these few days. Your job now that you have your HSC timetable is to make sure nothing goes wrong, and to organise your time effectively. That’s it.

Looking for some extra help with study?

We pride ourselves on our inspirational coaches and mentors!

We offer tutoring and mentoring for Years K-12 in a variety of subjects, with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home, online or at one of our state of the art campuses in Hornsby or the Hills! If you’re based in the Northern Beaches, you can get some targeted support from our fantastic Dee Why tutors.

To find out more and get started with an inspirational tutor and mentor get in touch today! 

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Sophia Zou recently completed the HSC in 2013, so fortunately for AOS Community Blog-readers and perhaps less fortunately for her, the memories of Year 12 are still fresh in her head. Sophia considers it her mission here to help students make the most of their final years at high school. Her interests include political science, Simon and Garfunkel, and pretending to be a tea aficionado. Alongside tutoring at Art of Smart Education, she spends her time playing the piano and studying Government & IR and Languages at the University of Sydney.