Is 13 units going into the HSC too many? If so, what should I drop? (1 Viewer)

cullenlum7

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Right now I'm struggling to figure out which units I want to continue through year 12 with, having literally just started the new term today. I emailed the maths coordinator at my school regarding my interest in picking up Ext 2 maths, which would bring my unit count to 13. I understand that this is a lot of units to have and that distributing work between them will be difficult - but I don't know which one to drop! I don't find any of my subjects extremely dull or boring, and am just getting back my prelims now and hopefully will do quite well in them (I have been getting good results with the ones I've received so far anyway) - meaning that (hopefully) I'm not falling behind in any of my subjects either.
My 13 units would be - Chem, Phys, Maths 4U, Eng Adv, Music 2, and SOR I.

Here are my thoughts on where I stand in each subject:
SOR - A religious subject is compulsory since I go to a Catholic school, and I have no interest whatsoever in doing a bridging course to drop down to SICT (which wouldn't count towards ATAR) - Currently rank 1 but doesn't matter - definitely keeping this.
English - Compulsory, definitely not dropping to standard or English studies. Again, currently rank 1 but it doesn't matter since I'm keeping this.
Maths - I'm 100% going to be keeping Ext 1, but the main 'maybe' is ext 2 - I was mainly going to try it out and potentially drop it through the year. But I love maths, and I'm afraid that I'll value it more than other subjects (yet won't want to drop the other subjects either). Currently rank 2 in advanced and 3 in extension (although by less than 1%)
Chem - I'm more interested in chemistry than Physics, so almost certainly want to keep this. Currently rank 1 but will probably be rank 2 after receiving prelims back.
Physics - This is the one subject that I was considering dropping. I got prelim results back today and went really well, but my ultimate dilemma is centred around whether I want to keep physics or not. Although I am good at and for the most part enjoy physics, there are times where I find myself slightly disinterested in the content. The teacher is below average - even though he has a solid passion for physics, he just isn't the best at communicating and explaining well (We all kind of feel bad for thinking he's a crap teacher). Anyway, I'm rank 1 in physics now after receiving the prelim back so - yeah this is the biggest area where I'm heavily conflicted.
Music - Definitely keeping this, I love music and it's a subject that I not only do because I'm decent at and enjoy it, but it can act somewhat as a break from the intensive study required of other subjects, where practising the practical aspects of the subject (just practising my instrument & pieces) could be relaxing and hopefully keep my sanity during stressful times. Rank 1 in this, although it's close with one other kid.

Any thoughts, personal experiences or knowledge that could help me come to a decision would be openly welcomed and is appreciated. I know ultimately it's down to what I enjoy, what I think I'll do best at, etc, etc - but if anyone could provide a different perspective on the matter or share what they personally would do in the situation, then thanks :D
 

jimmy.chu232

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SOR?

Wait you said you hated it but are still keeping it? can u please explain?
 

cullenlum7

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SOR?

Wait you said you hated it but are still keeping it? can u please explain?
I didn't say I hated it, I said that I'm not interested in dropping down to the only alternative (since I have to do a unit of religion since I go to a catholic school, and SOR is by far my preference out of the options).
 

jazz519

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Usually what people did at my school before was they did all the first assessment tasks for all their units first. Then after that they made a judgment which ones to drop based on the marks as well as the experience they had with the year 12 content
 

jimmy.chu232

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I didn't say I hated it, I said that I'm not interested in dropping down to the only alternative (since I have to do a unit of religion since I go to a catholic school, and SOR is by far my preference out of the options).
I agree with jazz519 or alternatively you can wait till the trials to see if you are overloaded with work....generally term 1 of yr12 is quite quick
 

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