Applying to Selective Year 11 (1 Viewer)

[yehun]

Hi, I’m currently a Year 10 student and I’m looking to apply for entry into Year 11 at Fort Street, Hurlstone, and possibly another school (I’m still deciding).

I’d like to know more about the application process for these schools—specifically regarding the HAST test. What kind of content is usually covered? Is it based on current Year 10 knowledge or more advanced material? I’m also curious about how many spots are generally available for Year 11 entry at each school.

Additionally, I’d like to ask if my academic and extracurricular background (not too confident in) would give me a reasonable chance of being accepted. I’m an A-range student (with Bs in Commerce and Geography), and my attendance is over 90%.

Here are some of my extracurriculars and passion projects:

• Shadowed BVN (Architecture firm)
• Interviewed civil engineers
• Completed AMC (2022–2024)
• Built a website highlighting women in STEM
• Self-studied ASL (2022–2025)
• Tutored over 30 students from 5+ schools for free (2024–2025)
• STEM Club (Years 9 & 10)
• Writing Club (2022–2023)
• Masters Art Club (2022–2024)
• Debating (2022–2025)
• Public Speaking (2022–2024)
• Student Leadership (2021–2023)
• Science VALID (2024)
• Young Engineers Club (2023)
• Conducted a student research project on STEM engagement and gender representation
• Careers Expo
• Financial Careers Excursion

I was previously part of an accelerated program. In Year 7, I was offered a chance to skip directly to Year which I took, but I chose to repeat Year 10 this year to strengthen my foundation for the HSC. Due to this, my 2024 Semester 1 and 2 results (for year 10) aren’t as strong—I received ABB in English, Maths, and Science both semesters, and a couple of Cs in other subjects. Would this significantly affect my application?

I also had lower attendance last year, especially in Semester 2, which dropped to around 78%.

In 2024, I completed 4–6 Preliminary HSC units in an accelerated program, including Mathematics Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1, and Physics, all under a compressed curriculum. I was also enrolled in a distance education Engineering Studies course, which I couldn’t begin due to a school change—but I independently covered the required content using the prescribed textbooks. Would these experiences strengthen my application?

Lastly, could anyone recommend other strong schools in Sydney that are accessible via public transport and are less competitive?

Thank you to whoever takes their time to read this!

 

[ilovetacobellalot]

first of all DAYUM that is a lot of flexes and they would definitely be a strength for hast. have you done the test before?

ive done the test yr7 8 and 9 lol so i def know the structure of it. the math isnt actually "mathy" at all. its very abstract and more like word questions u have to decipher. there are TONS of practice tests online (and on this website), i can try link some if u need.

the science test is also more on any given information in the text, so ur analysing skills must be really good.
with writing, just practice discursives and narrative writing within a short period of time.

and lucky for u, even if u get a mid hast score, those types of schools LOVE extra curriculars. the first year i did hast i got rejected even tho i did pretty good in the test, js no extras; and my friend performed worse but got saved with all her sports n debating!!

im confident youll get into ur first options, but def keep penrith as a safety (theyre 2-4 ranks lower than fort). they take a lot of people in yearly, and they open a new class in yr10 +11 .

if u have any more questions def lmk

 

[yehun]

first of all DAYUM that is a lot of flexes and they would definitely be a strength for hast. have you done the test before?

ive done the test yr7 8 and 9 lol so i def know the structure of it. the math isnt actually "mathy" at all. its very abstract and more like word questions u have to decipher. there are TONS of practice tests online (and on this website), i can try link some if u need.

the science test is also more on any given information in the text, so ur analysing skills must be really good.
with writing, just practice discursives and narrative writing within a short period of time.

and lucky for u, even if u get a mid hast score, those types of schools LOVE extra curriculars. the first year i did hast i got rejected even tho i did pretty good in the test, js no extras; and my friend performed worse but got saved with all her sports n debating!!

im confident youll get into ur first options, but def keep penrith as a safety (theyre 2-4 ranks lower than fort). they take a lot of people in yearly, and they open a new class in yr10 +11 .

if u have any more questions def lmk

Thank you so so much would you say selective schools consider acceptances mainly on results in HAST / Edutest, or grades in previous schools? I haven’t don’t the HAST before, or tried for selective through year seven entry so I’m not too sure about the entire entry process generally haha

 

[ilovetacobellalot]

Thank you so so much would you say selective schools consider acceptances mainly on results in HAST / Edutest, or grades in previous schools? I haven’t don’t the HAST before, or tried for selective through year seven entry so I’m not too sure about the entire entry process generally haha

the test is what will grab any schools attention first,, ur gonna want to try be atleast top 15% for mostt of the subject tests (reading, numeracy+science , abstract reasoning, and writing) i was in top 15 for all of them but numeracy and science, where i was around top 40% lol which wasnt too good.

but after that, the next thing they look at is ur extra curriculars which u submit on ur hast form. if there isnt much u probably wont be considered at all. but otherwise you'll get called for an interview, in which u either submit ur past 1-2 reports beforehand or bring on the day.
as long as ur report consists of mostly A-Bs in the core subjects ur good

so id say hast is most important, then extra curric, then grades/ report,, also how come you'd want to do hast before moving into seniors? the adjusting could be a little hard

 

[yehun]

the test is what will grab any schools attention first,, ur gonna want to try be atleast top 15% for mostt of the subject tests (reading, numeracy+science , abstract reasoning, and writing) i was in top 15 for all of them but numeracy and science, where i was around top 40% lol which wasnt too good.

but after that, the next thing they look at is ur extra curriculars which u submit on ur hast form. if there isnt much u probably wont be considered at all. but otherwise you'll get called for an interview, in which u either submit ur past 1-2 reports beforehand or bring on the day.
as long as ur report consists of mostly A-Bs in the core subjects ur good

so id say hast is most important, then extra curric, then grades/ report,, also how come you'd want to do hast before moving into seniors? the adjusting could be a little hard

Ohhh thank you for clarifying. I wanna do HAST before moving into seniors because my current school is quite atrocious and I know a few people in those selective schools. But yeah, I understand adjusting in senior school would be considerably harder than junior years