Hi! My name is Sue, and I am a final year medical student who has (somewhat) survived the torturous ups and downs of intense study periods and exams during high school. Year 12 is a long year, and building habits that promote focus, consistency and perseverance can set you up extremely well to achieve a 99+ ATAR. Many of these tips are suitable for a year-long study routine, as well as during dedicated exam study periods.
A year-long study plan for high ATAR achievement
During the year
The first few terms of the year are incredibly important, they set you up for smooth sailing later in the year. During the earlier months of the year, my study routine was guided by:
1. Becoming familiar with the subject syllabi and assessment expectations - Making it a part of your routine to know the syllabus points for each new topic really helps to give you an overarching view of the subject. I also made my notes COMPLETELY based on the subject syllabus and ensured that I did not miss even a single learning outcome.
2. Creating a study schedule: Start by assessing your subject strengths and weaknesses, allocating more time to those trickier subjects without foregoing or ignoring your stronger areas. Divide your schedule into daily, weekly, and monthly goals, setting clear, achievable targets that keep you on track for each subject’s syllabus (e.g a goal could be to finish notes for chapter 2 by week 3 of school, or to finish chapter 4 of your mathematics textbook this week). If you have free periods at school, consider how you could use them to your advantage, whether by reviewing content covered in classes that day or by previewing content for your next few classes.
3. Weekly Content Review: Every weekend, make it a habit and aim to spend 1–2 hours reviewing the week’s content. I found this helped keep all the material fresh and reduced the stress of cramming later. You could do some practice questions or create a mind map/summary sheet to actively synthesize your learning. The key is ACTIVE LEARNING AND RECALL! Passively re-reading your notes is better than nothing, however, it does not make the most of your time in a time-crunched year.
4. Log-book: Part of my study would be to keep a log book of all the questions I got wrong, which I would keep updated throughout the year with the question and its details (e.g. textbook name, question number/sub-number, mistake and solution. Make this a consistent part of your study routine and you’ll be on track to have a personalized set of questions to target your own weaknesses. 99+ ATAR here you come!
Mid-year and end-of-year
By the middle of the year, you will have become familiar with the flow of senior schooling. At this time, it is important to ensure you continue maintaining the good habits you’ve developed in the first part of the year. The goal is to maintain focus while also giving yourself time to relax, to avoid burnout - the cliche is true, senior year is a marathon, not a sprint. Ensure you are sleeping enough, because sleep deprivation, especially long-term can really affect your concentration among having many other detrimental effects.
Maintain time for relaxation and hobbies: Having some time for yourself to decompress is important and helps to reduce your risk of burnout! In my study routine, I incorporated rest time/breaks, especially after school (from about 3-4:30pm) before even thinking about studying.
When exam season approaches, your study focus should transition to consolidation and targeted practice, as by this time, your class should be wrapping up or finished with new content. Develop an exam-study timetable to plan your time and make sure you cover all the topics!
Consider whether you are more suited towards high-focus studying in the morning or evening (early bird vs night owl). If your focus peaks in the morning, try to do revise for your hardest topics in the morning,
In your exam revision routine, make sure to consider when your exams are during the day (i.e. a morning, midday or afternoon exam), and try to study for that subject roughly during that time of the day to get yourself into the habit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should each study session last for in year 12?
The truth is, it varies for everybody. You could decide based on how you are feeling that day (Some days are just more tiring than others, and you need to look after yourself and care for your own well-being). Take into consideration how long your exams are, and one goal could be to aim to build up focus for that amount of time by the end of the year.
I would generally study for 50 minutes and have a 10-minute break, then start again for 2-3 sessions with a longer break after that.
You could also make your study sessions goal-based rather than time-based and see if that works for you.
How should I structure a study session?
Try to include these 3 things in each study session:
- A brief review (of previous content) - I dedicated roughly 10 mins
- Covering new content - around 45 minutes, then taking a break.
- Do questions about the topic you just studied and mark them. Doing this helps you to consolidate your learnings.
What if I can’t focus when I try to study?
This can definitely be one of the trickiest things to tackle. The first steps include considering whether you are tired, sleep deprived, hungry or thirsty - these can present sneakily in a non-obvious way - aim to correct these. Remove distractions, including your phone and objects around your desk which can tempt distraction. You could also try studying with a friend (provided you don’t distract each other), or watching ‘study with me’ YouTube videos can help some students focus too. Most schools will have a study counsellor who is happy to discuss study strategies, so definitely reach out if your school has one.
Want more personalized study guidance to help drastically improve your marks? A private tutor can make the biggest difference!
Written by KIS Academics Tutor, Sue Nguyen. Sue is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at The University of Adelaide and has been tutoring for over 5 years. You can view Sue’s profile here and request her as a tutor.
