subject selections year 11- HELP!! (1 Viewer)

joe mama

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hi omg my subject selections are tomorrow!! i've thought out my subjects for a while and i plan on:
ext eng
ext math
jap continuers
chemistry
bio

But I've been getting cold feet for biology, is it really worth it doing two sciences?? Because everyone I know says that biology is a death trap and it seems to be easy if you just memorise but it's a lot harder, is this true?? Do you think I should choose something else such as PDHPE or modern history? PDHPE is similar in terms of content, but easier & more fun. Modern history would be interesting & I'm pretty decent at it.. but I'm just not sure because I want to do science related courses in uni and if I only do chemistry, I'm scared I'll drop it if I end up being bad at it. That would leave me with 0 science courses, so it would be kinda tough to get into courses that need science as prereq/assumed knowledge.
 

jimmysmith560

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It depends on which subjects you feel you would enjoy, as well as which subjects you feel you can perform better in. One thing to consider is how you have been performing in Science throughout year 10. That can give you an idea of whether you should take Chemistry and/or Biology (or neither). As far as I know, good performance in Biology requires thorough knowledge of the content, so memorising is likely to be an important element of effectively studying for this subject. In terms of whether you should choose a different subject such as PDHPE or Modern History, this is a decision that should be based on your preferences. You seem to be interested in those 2 subjects, so it would probably be a good idea to take one of them (my personal opinion would be that in case you end up doing this, PDHPE may be the better subject to choose considering your interests).

In terms of your intention to study a science-related degree beyond the HSC, I think a good solution to this would be to keep your current subject selection as it is and take an additional subject (either PDHPE or Modern History), which will amount to 14 units. You can then get an idea of what each subject is like, as well as which one you found to have enjoyed more and performed better in. Based on this, you can then choose which subject to drop. This is one of the good and important things to do in year 11 because having a subject combination that you feel would be perfect for you is essential prior to starting year 12.

I hope this helps! 😄
 

idkkdi

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hi omg my subject selections are tomorrow!! i've thought out my subjects for a while and i plan on:
ext eng
ext math
jap continuers
chemistry
bio

But I've been getting cold feet for biology, is it really worth it doing two sciences?? Because everyone I know says that biology is a death trap and it seems to be easy if you just memorise but it's a lot harder, is this true?? Do you think I should choose something else such as PDHPE or modern history? PDHPE is similar in terms of content, but easier & more fun. Modern history would be interesting & I'm pretty decent at it.. but I'm just not sure because I want to do science related courses in uni and if I only do chemistry, I'm scared I'll drop it if I end up being bad at it. That would leave me with 0 science courses, so it would be kinda tough to get into courses that need science as prereq/assumed knowledge.
i dont think whether u take science courses impacts u that much for uni tbh.

both chem and bio could be death traps per se. lol.
 

Life'sHard

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hi omg my subject selections are tomorrow!! i've thought out my subjects for a while and i plan on:
ext eng
ext math
jap continuers
chemistry
bio

But I've been getting cold feet for biology, is it really worth it doing two sciences?? Because everyone I know says that biology is a death trap and it seems to be easy if you just memorise but it's a lot harder, is this true?? Do you think I should choose something else such as PDHPE or modern history? PDHPE is similar in terms of content, but easier & more fun. Modern history would be interesting & I'm pretty decent at it.. but I'm just not sure because I want to do science related courses in uni and if I only do chemistry, I'm scared I'll drop it if I end up being bad at it. That would leave me with 0 science courses, so it would be kinda tough to get into courses that need science as prereq/assumed knowledge.
UNSW doesn't have any prereq courses im pretty sure even the sciency ones. You should honestly choose subjects you enjoy and do well in rather than ones you "don't mind or are unsure of".
 

vivillon

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Like most comments here, you usually don't need to take a science subject if you wanted to take a science related course in uni, there are no prereqs usually and if so, there are most likely bridging courses. Check out your prefered uni's website and look for the course you want, there will probably be an assumed knowledge section and you can go from there - some med courses require chemistry and some engineering honour courses require physics so you really it's up to what you want. Both chem and bio are difficult in their own respect so don't let that be the reason you don't choose a course. I just stress that you choose something that you would enjoy doing, if not you'll end up having a rough time keeping motivated.
 

SolitarySnakez

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hi omg my subject selections are tomorrow!! i've thought out my subjects for a while and i plan on:
ext eng
ext math
jap continuers
chemistry
bio

But I've been getting cold feet for biology, is it really worth it doing two sciences?? Because everyone I know says that biology is a death trap and it seems to be easy if you just memorise but it's a lot harder, is this true?? Do you think I should choose something else such as PDHPE or modern history? PDHPE is similar in terms of content, but easier & more fun. Modern history would be interesting & I'm pretty decent at it.. but I'm just not sure because I want to do science related courses in uni and if I only do chemistry, I'm scared I'll drop it if I end up being bad at it. That would leave me with 0 science courses, so it would be kinda tough to get into courses that need science as prereq/assumed knowledge.
If the university course you are doing doesn't require or have any prerequisites that involve chemistry or biology, I suggest to just pick the science you enjoy more and think is easier for you to do. Between modern history and PDHPE, if you find PDHPE more easier and fun then I think that's the way to go because it'll be good to have a subject that you know you might find more enjoyable and potentially breeze through. Although, the content in year 11 and 12 will for sure be more intense than year 10, but that's why you just always make sure you check what the subject provides before picking it. As long as you have enough units, you can always just drop a subject anyway in year 12. Hope all goes well !!
 

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