General maths or 2 unit maths? (1 Viewer)

DisclosedAtar

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I did really poorly in my prelim exams for 2 unit mathematics and was considering whether or not it would be worth it to drop to general. I'm doing really well in my other subjects with maths being the only subject and I'm failing.

Is it better to drop to general or should I stick with 2 unit and get a tutor? I have a feeling that I will be able to perform better in my other subjects if i do drop to general as it will give me more time to study other subjects that i enjoy rather than focusing on a more difficult course. But the stigma that comes with dropping to general has an element of truth and im not too sure what effect that would have on my atar. Thoughts and opinions?
 

InteGrand

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I did really poorly in my prelim exams for 2 unit mathematics and was considering whether or not it would be worth it to drop to general. I'm doing really well in my other subjects with maths being the only subject and I'm failing.

Is it better to drop to general or should I stick with 2 unit and get a tutor? I have a feeling that I will be able to perform better in my other subjects if i do drop to general as it will give me more time to study other subjects that i enjoy rather than focusing on a more difficult course. But the stigma that comes with dropping to general has an element of truth and im not too sure what effect that would have on my atar. Thoughts and opinions?
I think it depends in part on what you want to do in University. If you want to do something mathematical, then it would probably be best to keep 2U Maths.
 

DisclosedAtar

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At the moment, i have no idea about what i want to do in University or If im going to do university studies at all - and i have no aspirations to pursue anything mathematical (because i hate maths).
 

BLIT2014

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How many units do you have?


Ranks in respective subjects?

How have previous cohorts performances in external exams?

Are you potentially interested in entering commerce/science fields?
 

RyanT7

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If you look at it when it comes to it, 2U mathematics scales better than general since less students do 2U mathematics then general mathematics. Usually when it comes to it 50-70% of the nsw student body does general maths. This when it comes to it makes it extremely hard to distinguish yourself as such for example you might get 96% , while that might be a really good percentage, there could be a hundred students who got the same thing.As of this idea the scaling for general maths very poor, in a way that if i were to do general maths i would just drop it for the sake of my atar. While 2U mathematics has less than 20% of students doing it, the scaling is better and you are able to distinguish yourself more easily than those who do general maths. There is still time for you to improve your 2U maths ability since the work is actually not that hard since all you need to do is understand the concept behind it and also the methods used. But really its up to you when it comes to it , do you feel like u can improve your 2unit ability or would you like to drop to general maths and aim for the highest possible percentage possible
You don't know what you are talking about, scaling isn't determined about how many students are taking the course. Also a 96% in general math won't drag your atar down at all, in fact it would most likely boost it up.
 

pikachu975

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Cant be bothered explaining what i know about scaling, as "students these days know how scaling works" . Then lettme ask you this why does 4u maths scale more than 3u. While the 4u syllabus is actually easier than the 3u syllabus ( fun fact, thats actually what the teachers say from the top 30 schools in nsw) including a lot of teachers who have dominated the educational field and hsc marking centres including Terry lee. You have no idea how scaling works , there are so many factors that contribute in terms of scaling. But in this case i was talking about subject scaling. It isnt that i dont know what i am talking about but you havent learnt it yet

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Pretty sure 4 unit is not easier than 3 unit lol especially since 3 unit is mainly an extension of 2 unit topics.
 

fluffchuck

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4 unit is easier than 3u , due to the fact they teach methods to do questions faster and more easily. Also some topics in 3U that are considered hard are not continued within 4u as much except in the harder 3u area ( one of the worst areas in the hsc in terms of marks for 4u students). There are also topics like complex numbers that change the whole field. It is easier than 3 unit , the new proposed syllabus also backs this claim up. As such they are taking going to add more topics to 4 unit maths from the 3 unit syallbus as such possibly circle geometry to be mandatory. Whilst adding sampling and various topics from 4u as such curve sketching areas to 3u. I have the full proposal that was presented as my teacher ( terry lee) was asked to give his views on the new syallbus. 4 unit is easier than 3u when it comes to it , but people think its harder as they presume its "too hard" by rumors as such.


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Can't tell if trolling or...
 

Whicanti

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All comes down to appropriate time organisation, both General and 2u will require work and attention to attain/maintain good marks/ranks no matter what route you follow.

I personally wouldn't recommend dropping. Not only is there a bountiful supply of resources (teachers, past papers, textbooks, study guides, this forum, classmates, tutors etc...) and skills to consolidate your 2u learning, but there are so many more tertiary education pathways available later down the line.

My teacher's argument towards classmates who were considering dropping: "General classes tend to be filled with louder and more easily distracted workers". If it's already hard enough to perform well in maths, then just consider what he said.

Good luck.
 
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