Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

It works.

I wanted to get into software engineering & commerce double degree in University of Sydney. It required UAI of 95 (University Admission Index; a UAI of 97 means you're required to be in the top 3%, 95 -> top 5%).

One day a friend took me to the Career advisor office who gave me a UAI estimate of 75.

It shocked me to the core; At the time I was lazy, and told myself I was lazy; I was in a high school where being lazy was good enough to get by. "Apparently", being lazy was not good enough anymore.

I printed pages of full of the text "I will get 95 UAI." and posted it throughout my room and ceiling. I set the same text as my browser home page, desktop, desk and the study room. Every morning in the shower and on the bus, I repeated to myself "I am going to get 95 UAI", over and over again.

"Miraculously", this brainwashing led me to work harder than ever. It got me studying 8 hours a day for 4 months.

In 2007, the required UAI for the software engineering and commerce degree dropped to 94.45. I managed to score a UAI of 94.55, allowing me to study the degree.

I had scored really high marks in the university entrance exam, and would have gotten an even higher UAI had my school marks weren't 15% lower; The exam and school marks were worth 50% respectively.



Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: