Does IQ=ATAR?

Before we even delve into the why we are even asking that question, the straight up answer to the question is….ABSOLUTELY NOT. So many students during this stressful time will put themselves down thinking that they aren't smart enough to get marks or succeed in VCE® Exam. If you consult almost anyone that did well with their ATAR, they will have all put in exceptional amounts of work, regardless of whether they were considered "smart" or not. There are of course a lot of factors that play into how well your ATAR goes and to be honest a lot of these are beyond your control- school, questions or examiners for instance. However the only one factor that you have any control over is the amount of work you put in.

Does being intelligent help? Of course- but it definitely not a necessity to succeed. This is because VCE® Exam is not actually a test of intelligence or IQ, it is simply a test of how well you know their system. The better you are with their system, the better you will perform. The best way to get better with their system is to actually just crunch out all the material they have ever created. Though it is not all that is not foolproof, it’s a fairly good bet that if you do every single one of the questions created by VCAA in the past, you will do well during the exams. My advice to you on this matter is to almost take it like playing an instrument. Yes, there are geniuses that require almost no practice to be brilliant but you don't have to be one to be able to play an instrument well. You just need to pick up the instrument every single day and play it.

I feel that I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that there will be some students who adopt a cocky attitude and sit on their "clever thrones" while doing very little work (or pretending not to!). Don’t let them mess with your head and do your best to avoid interacting with such negativity as much as possible. One of the most important things during VCE® Exam is your mental health and you need to be able to keep yourself from burning out or hitting unacceptably high anxiety levels.

Another key to keeping your sanity and not getting dragged down a negative path is what I like to call self competition. The impact of SACs on your end subject scores is murky waters and not the topic here so we shall leave that aside. Throughout the year, you will find that you get caught up in the competitive spirit of VCE® Exam and SAC comparisons between classes and even schools will be a source of anxiety for most of you. Of course some will thrive on this competition but likely some of you can become a little bit disgruntled. I suggest just trying to beat your own SAC results as opposed to trying to top everyone’s else. This is a more positive way to look at things because it can constantly give you an indication of how much YOU have been working and takes away the negative impact of feeling inferior to others!

In conclusion, remember that VCE® Exam is just about mastering the system and not about intelligence. Practice makes perfect, so don't listen to those who say otherwise. Be confident in the amount of work you are willing to do and be comfortable expecting appropriate results. Most of all, try to keep yourself in a positive frame of mind by avoiding any source of degradation or negativity.

Good luck and happy studying!