Competitive Advantage in VCE

I stumbled upon a question on Reddit a little while ago asking for the best advice past students could give new students heading into VCE.

Like many others, I've written my fair share of advice, or how I succeeded in x subject articles! In my case it’s for English. A lot of these types of articles have strong advice that is worth repeating.

I ended up discussing an idea that isn’t often discussed within the VCE space. That idea is competitive advantage - namely the question of who has it within a VCE context, and what students can do to better leverage their resources in order to succeed.

A lot of students forget that they are in competition. The ATAR is not a score, it is a rank. When you are competing against other students, you need to leverage all of your existing resources to ensure your success.

One of your resources is an understanding of the education you are receiving. Every student has access to resources such as the Age's list of top scorers/Quppa. This means that (provided students from the year above all signed the permission form to release their grades to the Age), you can see who scored what within your school.

This is important to understand. I went to an average public school. From looking at the Age's data for multiple years, I knew for many of my subjects, such as VCE Literature and VCE Classical Studies it tended to be that only one student out of the cohort would achieve 40+. I therefore knew that I would want to position myself to be Rank 1 in these subjects.

I knew that it could still be possible to get that 40+ score without being Rank 1, but that it was in my best interest, within the context of the education I was receiving, to push myself in these subjects.

This kind of external critical analysis of the scores your school typically produces is valuable.

When you're a student you are assessed by the same people you are educated by. Until your final exams in VCE, your skill level is not externally assessed in the same double blind marking process that is used to objectively measure your performance.

You might, for example, be a student that considers themselves capable in the subjects they are studying. You might receive 80% on every SAC you complete. You might then look to Quppa only to find that no prior student at your school has scored within the 40+ range.

Now, it is certainly possible that you could be the first 40+ student - but it makes more sense to consider the possibility that the grades you have been receiving may not be an accurate reflection of the higher standards that other schools in the state are operating at. Finding this out as early as possible is key.

Essentially - it is possible to not have a strong objective awareness of your skill level until the end of VCE when you receive your ATAR. You could think that you are a very strong English student and be told you are a very strong English student, only to find out that your SACs are too easy and are not reflective of the rest of the state.

Looking at past data gives you an objective awareness of past student success within your school, and therefore creates a stronger understanding of what you need to do to achieve similar success. Having this understanding meant that even if I was achieving a high score in Classical Studies, like an 80 or an 85, I knew that this was not competitive enough - if someone else was scoring in the 90s that means they would take the Rank 1 position.

I said earlier that when you are competing against other students, you need to leverage all of your existing resources to ensure your success. This means that other students are also doing this. There are going to be students that go to stronger schools, with stronger teachers, who can afford more support.

This meant, that with the knowledge that I had about the competitive value of the education I was receiving, I had a stronger onus to push for my own success. I could not just rely on classwork or my teacher - the onus was on me to prioritise my education given the resources I had within this competition.

I know that there may be students who might be reading this and may be beginning to consider the disadvantages they are facing in this competition. To these students, I would directly advise that you should reach out for support. Reach out to your teachers, coordinators and guidance counsellors. Advise them of what disadvantage you may be facing in order to ensure they are able to assist you in succeeding. Understanding processes for SEAS and special consideration by speaking to your school regarding your concerns can ensure you are well supported.

Your teachers, your school, your time, your effort, your resilience, the internet, the library, your notes, etc. These are all resources you need to leverage throughout VCE - be conscientious about making sure you are maximising your use of these resources to the best of your ability.