VCE exam day: what to take, what to do, what to skip

You've done the preparation. The 60-day plan, the practice papers, the skill drills. The morning of the exam is mostly logistics — and getting the logistics wrong is one of the most common sources of underperformance.

This is the checklist.

The night before

• Pack everything in your bag. Don't leave it for the morning.
• Set two alarms. If you live with someone, ask them to wake you too.
• Know your exam time and venue. Yes, you've checked. Check again.
• Eat dinner you know agrees with you. This is not the night for experiments.
• Bed by 10pm. The last hours of revision are nearly worthless; sleep is worth a lot.

What to pack

Required:

• Two black or blue pens, plus two backups.
• 2B pencils (for diagrams in maths and science).
• A good eraser. The cheap ones smudge.
• A clear, ungraded ruler (15 cm fits the desk).
• Your VCAA-approved scientific calculator (and CAS if applicable). Check it works the night before.
• A clear plastic water bottle (no labels).
• ID — student card or driver's licence.

Allowed (subject-dependent):

• Bound English texts for your English exam — make sure annotations comply with VCAA rules.
• A formula sheet, if you have one (Methods, Specialist, Physics provide them — check).
• Maths textbook reference for some open-book exams; check.

Not allowed:

• Phones, smart watches, fitness trackers. Leave them at home or in your locker.
• Coloured highlighters in many subjects — check the rules.
• Calculator covers with notes inside.

The morning of

• Wake up at least 2 hours before the exam start.
• Eat breakfast. Something with protein and slow-release carbs. Toast and eggs is a classic.
• Drink a normal amount of water. You don't need to hydrate aggressively.
• Avoid caffeine if you don't normally have it. The room is stressful enough.
• Arrive 30 minutes before the exam start.

In the 10 minutes before reading time

• Don't open your folder. Cramming a fact in the last 10 minutes is statistically negative — it crowds out other recall pathways.
• Talk to friends if you want, but keep the talk light. Avoid "what topics did you revise?" conversations — they don't help.
• Use the bathroom.
• Sit. Breathe. Focus on the silence.

During reading time

• Read the whole paper. All of it. Don't get stuck on Q1.
• Identify the questions you'll do first (high-confidence, high-mark) and last (lowest-confidence).
• Note any nasty surprises so you've already grappled with them mentally before you write.

During the exam

Three rules that consistently help:

1. Triage hard questions. If a question is taking 1.5× longer than its mark allocation suggests, leave a placeholder, move on, come back. Multiple unanswered easy questions cost more than one half-finished hard one.

2. Show working. Even on questions where you're confident. Method marks pay off when your final answer is wrong.

3. Watch the clock. Marks-per-minute is roughly equal to the question's mark value. A 6-mark question shouldn't be eating 12 minutes.

At the end

• Re-read your answers if there's time. Don't second-guess maths working — re-check arithmetic. Don't second-guess essay structure — re-check evidence.
• If you finish early, double check unit on numerical answers, signs, off-by-one errors.
• Don't talk to friends afterwards about specific questions. It's not helpful and it'll just stress you.

The day after

• Whatever you did on the exam is done. Don't ruminate.
• The next exam is a fresh slate. Move on.

For the broader exam preparation strategy, read the exam strategy guide.