Currency

We treat the year 12 exam mark like money.

For 13 years, we’ve completed standardised assessments and learnt off a standardised curriculum all for the final VCE exam. This exam is your blood, sweat and tears, and whatever comes from it is your currency into university.

If you end up with lots of money, it seems only right that you’ll wring it out as much as possible (seeing as this is the only time to use it). If I get a high score, it’s a ‘waste’ to spend it on a course that most people can get into.

And suddenly, university is less of a mindful choice, and more out of scarcity and sunk costs.

“Well I poured my guts into my exams, so I have to make sure it was worth it.”

“They didn’t try as hard as me, yet they can get into the same course… i’ll find something better.”

How. Awful.

This score distracts us from our genuine interests. MOST OF ALL… It (dangerously) overlooks the question:

Do I even want to go to university?

Put simply, it feels like a non-negotiable when your education is the DIRECT reason for getting to a university degree. But do we ever give students a chance to make that choice in school? Probably not since we’re so busy pushing them to the finish line…

Like money, we need a healthy relationship with our final grade. We can’t let it hold too much value and control our decisions. And of course… be careful you have the right currency.