help! yr 12 subject selection (1 Viewer)

[grainybred]

Hi, I'm currently in year 11 and I've submitted my subject selection choices with 13 units, but I would prefer to do 11 units in year 12. I'm having trouble deciding which subjects to drop. Please help!

I am definitely keeping chemistry and food technology (even though the scaling sucks) because I enjoy them.

English Ext 1
I am doing pretty well, but all the tasks have been hand in and I struggle with in-class exams (like in the hsc). I really like my teacher and class, but there is a substantial workload. Would it be smarter to drop to eng adv?

Maths Ext 2
I am doing alright in maths adv and ext 1, and my teacher encourages everyone in my class to pursue ext 2. However, I think I bombed my prelim tests, so I'm not sure if I'll get in. Even so, maths is a subject that doesn't come naturally to me but may help in terms of scaling.

Biology
I didn't do as well as I would've liked in the first bio task (data processing test) but did alright in the depth study. The prelim results haven't come out, but I think I did ok (although they weren't indicative of my biology skills as it was open book). I'm not very good at memorising and the yr 11 modules weren't the most interesting, but I heard it gets better in yr 12. Biology may also be useful as I want to pursue science in the future, although I'm not sure if it's a prerequisite.

I would like to decide before year 12 starts (or within the first week) as doing 13 units is not very manageable. My options would be to drop one unit of english and maths (do english adv. and maths ext1) or to drop biology. Please offer some advice and let me know your thoughts

 

[ExtremelyBoredUser]

Hi, I'm currently in year 11 and I've submitted my subject selection choices with 13 units, but I would prefer to do 11 units in year 12. I'm having trouble deciding which subjects to drop. Please help!

I am definitely keeping chemistry and food technology (even though the scaling sucks) because I enjoy them.

English Ext 1
I am doing pretty well, but all the tasks have been hand in and I struggle with in-class exams (like in the hsc). I really like my teacher and class, but there is a substantial workload. Would it be smarter to drop to eng adv?

Maths Ext 2
I am doing alright in maths adv and ext 1, and my teacher encourages everyone in my class to pursue ext 2. However, I think I bombed my prelim tests, so I'm not sure if I'll get in. Even so, maths is a subject that doesn't come naturally to me but may help in terms of scaling.

Biology
I didn't do as well as I would've liked in the first bio task (data processing test) but did alright in the depth study. The prelim results haven't come out, but I think I did ok (although they weren't indicative of my biology skills as it was open book). I'm not very good at memorising and the yr 11 modules weren't the most interesting, but I heard it gets better in yr 12. Biology may also be useful as I want to pursue science in the future, although I'm not sure if it's a prerequisite.

I would like to decide before year 12 starts (or within the first week) as doing 13 units is not very manageable. My options would be to drop one unit of english and maths (do english adv. and maths ext1) or to drop biology. Please offer some advice and let me know your thoughts

For maths, if you're saying maths doesn't come naturally to you as in you're not talented with the subject then I don't think that should be a factor considering the subject because its feasible if you put in the hard work and you have a passion for the course, and the stuff is not so bad after a while (though it has the occasional extremely hard question but that comes with being the highest level course) and if your teacher recommends it then you're probably capable for it.

Pretty sure everyone's heard the scaling benefits and everything and looking from the data it does match up with the claims, even if you get an average mark the scaling would kick in however towards 90ish range it starts to drop off (from what I've seen but anyways I feel that shouldn't be a major part why you choose MX2. If you enjoy maths as a whole and don't mind putting in the effort, its certainly worth it, personally I felt doing the content of MX2 made me way more stronger in maths as a general and really made prelims easy for me because my algebra and foundational maths skills were greatly honed so it certainly pays off.

If you're saying maths isn't something you like, like its just mehh or you can put up with it, then I doubt MX2 would be preferable as much as EX2. In that case it might be better taking up the other course which you would have more interest however the course is rigorous in its own manner and I'm sure someone who has done the 4U english course can help out.

All the best regardless. Take care.

 

[Life'sHard]

Keep your subjects until at least the end of term 1. You will know what you enjoy and what you don't by then. Prelim course imo is not an accurate representation of the HSC course. Things do change in terms of preferences.

Edit: Or not if your adamant on dropping something immediately. If you're impartial probably best to play it safe.

 

[sab13562]

Hi, I'm currently in year 11 and I've submitted my subject selection choices with 13 units, but I would prefer to do 11 units in year 12. I'm having trouble deciding which subjects to drop. Please help!

I am definitely keeping chemistry and food technology (even though the scaling sucks) because I enjoy them.

English Ext 1
I am doing pretty well, but all the tasks have been hand in and I struggle with in-class exams (like in the hsc). I really like my teacher and class, but there is a substantial workload. Would it be smarter to drop to eng adv?

Maths Ext 2
I am doing alright in maths adv and ext 1, and my teacher encourages everyone in my class to pursue ext 2. However, I think I bombed my prelim tests, so I'm not sure if I'll get in. Even so, maths is a subject that doesn't come naturally to me but may help in terms of scaling.

Biology
I didn't do as well as I would've liked in the first bio task (data processing test) but did alright in the depth study. The prelim results haven't come out, but I think I did ok (although they weren't indicative of my biology skills as it was open book). I'm not very good at memorising and the yr 11 modules weren't the most interesting, but I heard it gets better in yr 12. Biology may also be useful as I want to pursue science in the future, although I'm not sure if it's a prerequisite.

I would like to decide before year 12 starts (or within the first week) as doing 13 units is not very manageable. My options would be to drop one unit of english and maths (do english adv. and maths ext1) or to drop biology. Please offer some advice and let me know your thoughts

Biology is almost never a prerequisite in any university course, however, it would be a good boost if your course is bio related. Since you struggle in maths, I recommend you stay in ext 1. It'll drop your work load greatly compared to ext 2 and allow you to better focus on Bio. If you can also drop to English advanced also, that would be great as well since you find the workload a lot.

Both ext 1 maths and advanced english still scale well. You'd rather do well in these subjects and pull your ATAR up then do bad in high scaling subjects, as that will pull your ATAR down.

Hope that helps and best of luck in Year 12!

 

[jimmysmith560]

Let's examine your situation in each of the subjects of concern:

English Extension 1:

I think that struggling with in-class exams is not a very good measure of determining whether or not you should drop English Extension 1 as you may be vulnerable to the same struggle in English Advanced. Struggling with in-class exams is rather an area of improvement that you should focus on going forward, particularly because your Examination Mark, which contributes 50% towards your final mark for your respective subjects, is determined by your performance in the HSC exams. On the other hand, the substantial workload is indeed a factor that can be considered in terms of deciding whether to keep or drop English Extension 1. If you find that, despite your consistent efforts, the workload is still overwhelming (meaning it is beyond your abilities to cope with English Extension 1 workload), then dropping this subject and sticking with English Advanced may be a favourable option.

Mathematics Extension 2:

Scaling should not be the primary consideration with regard to choosing a subject. While everyone agrees that Mathematics Extension 2's scaling is great, your potential in terms of performance in this subject is also important, and would be the main thing to consider when deciding whether or not to take this subject. Mathematics Extension 2 is considered a difficult subject, meaning that if you are not 100% sure that you can perform well in this subject, it is probably better not to take it, because not performing well in a subject can be quite detrimental to your final mark for that subject, and consequently your ATAR. Based on the information you've included about your mathematical abilities, I would recommend not taking Mathematics Extension 2. This leaves us with Biology.

Biology:

Since you mentioned that the assessment tasks and exams that you have completed up until this point were not indicative of your capabilities in this subject, and considering your optimism regarding the Biology HSC course, it might be a good idea to keep this subject going into year 12. The more important factor in determining whether or not to keep Biology is the fact that you are interested in furthering your science studies beyond the HSC, for which the knowledge you gain by studying HSC Biology will likely be useful. I don't believe Biology would be a prerequisite for university degrees. However, Biology is definitely a subject that can be classified as assumed knowledge, meaning completing HSC Biology will definitely be useful, should you choose to study a science-related degree, particularly during your first year of university. An example of where it is useful to have taken and completed HSC Biology is UNSW's Bachelor of Science, which has Biology as one of the subjects that are treated as assumed knowledge. Based on this information, I would recommend keeping Biology.

Alternatively, you could keep all of your subjects during the start of year 12 (as mentioned above), allowing you to make a more informed decision regarding which subjects to keep and which subjects to drop, because you would've gained a more accurate insight into each of those subjects as you commence the HSC course for your respective subjects.

I hope this helps!

 

[grainybred]

Thanks for your advice! everyone's insight has been extremely helpful. I think i'll keep 13 units for now (or at least think over it in the holidays), but lean towards not doing maths ext 2 and eng ext 1. I do want to add that I genuinely enjoy all of these subjects and am not performing terribly, which will make it hard for me to decide

 

[ExtremelyBoredUser]

Thanks for your advice! everyone's insight has been extremely helpful. I think i'll keep 13 units for now (or at least think over it in the holidays), but lean towards not doing maths ext 2 and eng ext 1. I do want to add that I genuinely enjoy all of these subjects and am not performing terribly, which will make it hard for me to decide

If its a toss up then its really up to whether you want to do a large project (EX2) or you want to do a higher difficulty math course (MX2), That's how I like to think about it.

 

[Eagle Mum]

Hi, I'm currently in year 11 and I've submitted my subject selection choices with 13 units, but I would prefer to do 11 units in year 12. I'm having trouble deciding which subjects to drop. Please help!

You could drop just one unit and keep the option of dropping a second if necessary.

Check also with your maths teacher regarding your options - it may be possible to decide at the very last minute whether you want to sit the Adv maths or maths Ex2 paper. That was certainly the case for my eldest & her boyfriend when they sat their HSC in 2015.

 

[SweatyAsian#1]

1) Chem does not scale bad, its in the top 5-10 HSC subjects that scale the best if scaling is that important to you.
2) 4U is much harder than you think, and what other people say if you want to have a balanced study lifestyle. I was overestimating 4U and realised its difficultly just before applying for 4U, although I'll have to see if I regret it or not since 10 units is quite risky and my school advisor probably won't let me do it, and I just could not deal with 12+ units so I'm planning to stick with 11 units.

 

[laterz laterz]

1) Chem does not scale bad, its in the top 5-10 HSC subjects that scale the best if scaling is that important to you.

i think thats for food tech, not chem