Final Preparation Tips for the 2024 NSW Selective Exam

[@fss779]

Hi Bing, I will be sitting the HAST exam this year. I am aware the test will be held a few months from now in August. Do you have any tips for studying? What should I aim to do in these few months I have left to prepare? (P.S I have not started studying for the exam as of yet.) Thanks!

[@fss779]

Also, I am aware that the two reports (Last year’s report and the half yearly of this year) are to be put into your application for a selective school. Last year, my report consisted of A’s, some B’s and a C. This term, I have improved quite drastically. My question is, would I still have a good chance of being accepted into a selective school or not. Thanks again! 🙏 (I am in year 8 right now)

[@BingsAcademy]

If you have not started to prepare for the exam yet, it will be quite tough... Fortunately you are in year 8 so you have extra time in next year if you are not able to make it but it will be one of your last chances to transfer. You really need to work closely with your tutor to understand the exam and what it involves. I have another video in terms of preparing for the exam that you might want to watch.

[@alpha134]

SAME BRO IM SO SCARED

[@aserelbiyaly4628]

if i am in year 6 what should i do to prepare i prepared for 3 months is that enough

[@BingsAcademy]

goodluck! 3 months does sound like a short short time but it depends on your goal and your level. if you are aiming for a low ranking selective school, might be fine.

[@chamee7]

Hi thx this has helped me with 2 weeks left until selective this was really useful and one question is for reading is it better to read the question then read passage or read passage and answer questions

[@chamee7]

Also thx for telling me to do Asat

[@BingsAcademy]

you are welcome! It is always better to read the passage, then the question and then find the corresponding line in the passage. Reading the questions first can work in simple reading comprehension questions like in NAPLAN but can't work when it gets harder. Selective questions are done in a way where it is difficult to simply skim and scan the passage after reading the question first. The tests are too long for us to do that

[@aradhyarana614]

Hi am am doing the 2024 selective and need a extra 5-10 percent to feel a bit more confident, is there anything I can do to get better these last few days?

[@BingsAcademy]

I would say focus on your weakest areas. If you love maths and that is your strong point, spend less time on it

[@aradhyarana614]

🙏 Thanks

[@R1CHARDPARKER]

Thanks for the tips, it was really helpful. Robin

[@BingsAcademy]

hahaha you know all these tips anyway! keep studying robin - don't give up

[@llamalover6540]

Can u please post more content for HAST. Love your vids 🙏🏻

[@BingsAcademy]

I have one planned soon! What do you want to know about HAST?

[@Cloxxyy]

I’m so scared for the selective test on May 9th and I have a feeling I won’t surpass my expectations because my mood just dropped and I don’t know why. What should I do?

[@BingsAcademy]

That is a completely normal feeling to have. We all want to achieve well and we know the importance of the exam. I would first take a small break and realise that the only thing you can do is to try your best. It is difficult to tackle this as there is only a few days to the exam otherwise I would tell you to completely switch off for preparing so you can relax. However I think you will have to try to keep yourself busy and keep studying these last few days!

[@Cloxxyy]

@@BingsAcademyOk, thank you so much!

[@aryan26m]

I've done asat and it said i could get into girrawein if i was 14 places lower i don't want to gamble to much which is why I am putting a school worse than girrawein and better than penrith first is it okay?

[@BingsAcademy]

good idea. ASAT is a good measure but who knows how you end up performing on the actual day when there are even more people doing the test. Better to be safe and get into a school and later on, you could always transfer like how I did

[@aryan26m]

thanks

[@coolgaming8504]

Tommorow...

[@HinaRajab-z2r]

Thank you so much 😊😊

[@BingsAcademy]

You are so welcome!

[@rctaisnotvalid]

I’m so scared, my results are tomorrow..

[@guy_who_offends_everyone]

pass?

[@rctaisnotvalid]

@@guy_who_offends_everyoneyes! I got in my first option !

[@BingsAcademy]

let's go! congrats

[@DevanshGupta-dg4zu]

Hi this was very helpful can you make a video about how to get a better vocab as in writing I get very less marks in vocab section in STTC. It will be very helpful. Thx

[@BingsAcademy]

great to know! it is difficult to improve if it is for the selective exam if your vocabulary is weak. As I wrote in another comment on this video, if I knew the 100 words you need to memorise for the exam, it would be so much more easier... but with the reading and writing, the vocabulary is something that is improved over time rather than in just 2 weeks.

[@DevanshGupta-dg4zu]

@@BingsAcademy thx

[@ruzainakabir1505]

Hey bing,can u plz give some selective reading comprehension questions

[@BingsAcademy]

I can't really give reading comprehension questions in a video format... best if you look at other sources if you are lacking practice material

[@_bubblee]

Hello Bing. I am in NSW, completing the selective exam this year. My thinking skills and reading scores (in practise tests) have been quite inconsistent and I really would like to improve my chances of getting into better schools. Can you give me some tips and how I can study effective in the 2 week period in order to get into my top few preferences, NSG and SGHS. My maths has been 30 - 35 out of 35 and writing 20 - 25 out of 25. Please let me know as soon as possible if you have any good study techniques or anything to improve in those two subjects. Thank you!

[@BingsAcademy]

well that's what I talked about in this video! Maths is worth 25% weighting while writing is 15%. Thinking Skills is worth 35% and you mentioned you are very inconsistent here so you should spend a lot more time on that. If you are already getting consistently high scores on maths and writing, spend a lot LESS time on it. Don't ignore it completely though as it can be simple to forget concepts entirely

[@_bubblee]

@@BingsAcademy oh haha sorry! I was just making sure but thank you so much.

[@BingsAcademy]

@@_bubblee all good! I was like - dayum isn't that my first point! ahahaha

[@Afraz7173]

Great video! But how exactly do you improve your vocabulary?

[@BingsAcademy]

thanks! it is honestly hard to improve if it is for the selective exam. If I knew the 100 words you need to memorise for the exam, it would be quite simple... but with the reading and writing, the vocabulary is something that is improved over time. Reading is your best bet and writing down any words you are unsure of and revisiting it.

[@stqrglare]

Hey Bing! I am doing the selective exam this year, only a few more days to go !! (18) I got my ASAT results back and found that thinking skills was quite low, however, it was similarly structured to the 2023 Thinking Skills Exam. Do you know what I could do to improve it? (I got 23/40)

[@BingsAcademy]

Hello! Yes so soon! Thinking skills as mentioned in the video is the section I would want nearly all students to spend more time on. This is because it is weighted 35% which is significantly more than any other subject. In saying that, if it is also a weaker area in ASAT for you, do be sure to spend a lot more of the remaining study time on this subject. Go through questions in detail but understand it properly. Don't just go through the motions

[@stqrglare]

@@BingsAcademy alright thanks!

[@usernasreen]

Hey Bing, I’ll be doing the Selective exam this year and I’ve gotten my ASAT results. According to the results, I made it into my third choice, St George Girls, is there any chance of getting into a higher school by studying within this 2 week period and is St George Girls a good school?

[@BingsAcademy]

yes there is a chance of getting into an even higher school but it depends how much higher. If you are telling you me you want james ruse, it is going to be very unrealistic and unlikely (considering we have 2 weeks to go). St George is a great school in my opinion but it depends on what you think a good school is. If you live so far away from St George Girls, it might not be very good compared to someone who is nearby. While on the other hand, someone may think the distance is not an issue as the community is solid.

[@usernasreen]

Do you believe Sydney Girls might be possible? As of now, I’m teetering on the edge of making it in to SGHS according to my ASAT results. Thank you!

[@x.am.on.fire.x]

Hello, I would like to ask if there are any tips and tricks on how to always ace thinking skills 'critical thinking' part. Also, I've heard that this year's test is going to be harder lol. I was wondering if this was true as I got pretty scared about it .

[@BingsAcademy]

Remember it doesn't really matter if it is a harder exam because everyone else will find it tougher too. If anything, you just want to make sure you are well above average and make fewer mistakes compared to other students. If the average is 90%, even if you get 85%, it will be in the bottom 50%. So you just want to make sure you perform better than the other students taking the test this year. Do not stress though as you can only control how you perform. For thinking skills, you only have a minute per question so manage your time wisely otherwise guess the question and make an annotation to come back to it. I'll have a video on this out soon... Best of luck!

[@x.am.on.fire.x]

Thank you

[@justanordinarypersonbro]

Hi John, Thank you for the tips, this will help me a lot for the selective, but I have an enquiry about the test. In maths and thinking skills, will the markers consider or look at your working out that you did on the paper, or will it just be based of the computer marking?

[@BingsAcademy]

great questions! It is purely going to be the answer sheet as it is done by a computer. You can and you should do annotations on the paper to help you solve questions but they need to be tactical and only for yourself. No need for complete sentences or working out if it is not required. Only your answer is marked. This will be different in highschool though as your working out can give you partial marks for maths in particular. Although not required for the selective test this year.

[@justanordinarypersonbro]

@@BingsAcademy Thank you!

[@coolgaming8504]

Hi Bing what should I aim for I get 22 in reading 31 in math 30 in thinking skills and 17 in writing. Thanks :)

[@BingsAcademy]

aim for in terms of school or mark? the aim is to always get a higher mark in every exam, especially thinking skills as it is weighted higher.

[@coolgaming8504]

@@BingsAcademy ok thanks

[@veronicanock603]

Thanks, great video i am in year 6 and have been studying for about 4 to 5 months is that alright?😅

[@BingsAcademy]

ooo that is probably the minimum recommended time I would say! Definitely other students have been preparing for a longer time. Although it depends on your goals and your current level. If you are already quite good in these tests and your are not aiming for a top ranked school - should be fine!

[@veronicanock603]

Thanks so much!!😊

[@hislayy-ed7tg]

Hi, this video was quite helpful just so I can know what to do before the exam. I am doing the 2024 selective exam and I just have one question. While doing some practice tests, in reading, I am getting low in the reading comprehension part and if I got higher, I would be scoring full marks. Could you please provide me with tips or maybe just how I can improve on the reading comprehension part of the exam. Thanks!

[@BingsAcademy]

great to know. just a question - how low are you currently getting in the reading comprehension if you count that as 'low'? If you are close to scoring full marks, spend more time on other tests. No point in spending time on a subject you are already strong in.

[@hislayy-ed7tg]

@@BingsAcademy hey so in the ‘reading comprehension’ part of the reading test I am getting an average of 2 - 5 right (out of 8). Which is not too good, but for the rest of the reading test, I am getting full marks in poetry, the gapped text and the matching paragraph (the 4 extracts).

[@BingsAcademy]

@@hislayy-ed7tg hmmm there are a few things you can do. For that section, please keep to the basics of making sure you read the passage properly so you know what you are going through. Don't skip to the question directly, especially when comparing two texts. Typically when comparing two texts, it is one text that is in the modern time and one from a while ago. This will have their specific jargon and distinct differences in language. Although it can be just one long text rather than two separate texts that have to be compared

[@hislayy-ed7tg]

@@BingsAcademy alright thank you so much