What are you going to do next year? (5 Viewers)

[lyounamu]

u sure? i am pretty sure that person got 480 if not 481 last year and still got 100 uai

Yes. Refer back to the booklet you may have downloaded from the UAC website. I am 100% sure.

 

[Aznmichael92]

Yes. Refer back to the booklet you may have downloaded from the UAC website. I am 100% sure.

ok might have been a glitch on his uai

 

[agirlinatutu]

ok might have been a glitch on his uai

doubt it

 

[Aznmichael92]

sometimes they could make errors...

 

[Aerath]

sometimes they could make errors...

Seems like you're just trying to look like less of an idiot, by trying to cover your ass and say that someone had 'glitched his UAI'. You should've just cut your losses and run. Shut up whilst you're ahead.

 

[agirlinatutu]

Seems like you're just trying to look like less of an idiot, by trying to cover your ass and say that someone had 'glitched his UAI'. You should've just cut your losses and run. Shut up whilst you're ahead.

Everything I wanted to say but decided that maybe it should come from someone other than me.

 

[Aznmichael92]

Seems like you're just trying to look like less of an idiot, by trying to cover your ass and say that someone had 'glitched his UAI'. You should've just cut your losses and run. Shut up whilst you're ahead.

well i am so sorry but its not my fault if i looked at his uai which he got 100. I have recalculated it again and it adds to 484 which i dont know why. You don't have to trust me but its true unless, the newsletter was typed wrong which i highly doubt.

Anyways moving back on to topic (if you want to talk further about it feel free. Not that I can stop you) i looked at the syllabus for economics and legal studies. Economics seems to have more topics to study... I need to ask my commerce teacher for the actual curriculum so I can know whether i Should do eco or legal.

 

[lyounamu]

well i am so sorry but its not my fault if i looked at his uai which he got 100. I have recalculated it again and it adds to 484 which i dont know why. You don't have to trust me but its true unless, the newsletter was typed wrong which i highly doubt.

Anyways moving back on to topic (if you want to talk further about it feel free. Not that I can stop you) i looked at the syllabus for economics and legal studies. Economics seems to have more topics to study... I need to ask my commerce teacher for the actual curriculum so I can know whether i Should do eco or legal.

My Business Studies teacher is an Economic teacher as well so he sometimes tells the class what the Economics is like. Economics tends to be quite essay-based like English. You will have to provide your own opinions. If you like that type of essays where you present issues, arguments and solutions, you enjoy Economics. Legal Studies is very factual. I have got two mates at my school who average about 96% in exams.They all read newspapers all the time and try to use them as sources of information. You need to hold large amounts of information in your head for Legal Studies I guess. All the dates are apparently important like Modern and Ancient History.

Choose carefully. I cannot stress it enough.

 

[lyounamu]

Revised version!

As I promised earlier, I will keep adding posts on this thread as it seems inappropriate to make another useless thread . From this post, you will be enlightened of fresh information that I just took from my brain (forebrain, I am referring to) in regards to the HSC subject selection (or Preliminary subject selection if you want to call it that way, making it sound less important than it really is).
First, I would like to begin this post by stressing the importance of this decision that you are about to make . It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most important decision that you have to make in your school life (if not the most important). I see some people with dissaproval on their faces. I will tell ya why:
· It will affect the UAI that you will be getting
· It will influence (if not determine) your future career
· It will change your school life for the next 2 years
· It will change your life overall.
I don’t think anyone will disagree with me in regards to what stated above. It will definitely affect the UAI you will get. That is because, your top 10 Units of subjects will count towards your UAI calculation. It will also influence your future career. There are some subjects that are considered “assumed knowledge”. You will need to complete these courses for certain university courses even though bridging course is available, I do not recommend this path. That is because, if you didn’t like it during your Year 11 & 12, you won’t like it in university. You wouldn’t want to spend extra time doing those courses either in conjunction with your busy uni life.
Another thing to mention is that, it will change your life for the next 2 years. You will have to make sacrifices. You will have to adjust your life for your own subjects. Different subjects need a varying degree of effort & work. You will have to follow that.
In conclusion, you will get my point. This is extremely important and this is something that you shouldn’t easily ignore. It should be treated with all seriousness and long consideration (unless you are absolutely clear about what you want to do). There are a lot of homeworks to do on this issue.
Ok, I will get rid of all the ranting & get to the point. When you choose your subjects, there are rules to follow:
1. Choose subject that you like (or love). This is the top priority. Choose the subjects that you like! I chose Mathematics & Mathematics Extension 1 back in Year 10 because I like the subjects. If you like it, you know that you will put effort in it to excel no matter what the cost might be.
2. Choose subject that you are good at. This is the 2nd top priority. Choose the subjects where you already excel at or are good at. You would want the highest UAI possible regardless of where you want to get in, right? Then choose the subjects that you are good at. If you are good at English, choose English Extension 1. That is as simple as that (until it gets complicated, I will explain later on this).
3. Choose subjects that will be important for your desired future career. If you wish to become a surgeon, you may wish to consider some Science subjects and Mathematics. Doing high level of English would also help as communication is crucial in that field.
4. Choose subjects in relation to your own status. If you are a lazy person, you may not want to work hard. But at the same time, you will wish to get the highest UAI possible for you. Then you will have to think strategically. I chose Business Studies & Biology partially due to that reason too. I love the subjects of course but I didn’t wish to spend astronomical amount of my free time studying for them. But at the same time, I wished to get the top marks for them. As I am already doing subjects that require high level of effort, work and abilities, I chose easy subjects like Business Studies and Biology to lessen the effect that I would get from doing difficult subjects. On top of that, I didn’t need to choose all the difficult subjects as I already had 5 Units of “high-scaling subjects”.
5. The teacher & the class that you can expect to get: I took this into the consideration. This is like a gambling, as it was difficult to predict who you can get as your teacher. Some people will dissaprove of this. But I think this is very important as well. You don’t know what difference teachers & your fellow students can make. I chose Business Studies over Economics because I could expect so much better teachers from Business Studies than Economics. My school is quite poor at Economics in relation to Business Studies due to this reason. As I predicted, I got the teacher I wanted and the people doing Economics are regretting their selection. They basically chose it for scaling, I guess. However, this factor is the 2nd last thing to consider. I really ask you to select subjects based on the four above factors not this one.
6. Scaling: hahahahhaha. What can I say? My post would be bombarded with criticisms if I say that scaling is an important factor to consider. But I would daresay that scaling is still important on few occasions. Let’s say you don’t know what to choose between two subjects that you are almost equally good at and almost equally like. One subject is called Mathematics Extension 1 and the other is SOR I. In that case, it would be wiser to go with Mathematics Extension 1 as it will get you a higher mark in comparison to SOR I. There are other reasons why scaling is important. Scaling system is a useful strategic tool that I always employ to project the UAI that I wish to get. For example, I usually toy with either SAM or random UAI calculators. The reason is: I wished to know exactly what I need to reach my UAI goal. I chose Biology over Physics as I knew that I would get higher marks in Biology that I would in Physics. For this, I played with UAI calculator. According to this, I needed to get about 2 more marks in Biology to get about same scaled mark as Physics. That’s why scaling can be very important. It is an essential tool that we have to learn to use and to be aware of.
7. Just choose anything that interests you. Am I crazy now? No. I am being quite serious. If you have 10 Units and don’t know what to fill that 2 Units gaps, just choose anything that might interest you. My friend implemented this method. He chose Engineering Studies last year and now this subject is his favourite subject! Am I joking? No. I would never pull the fellow members’ legs. This is the most desperate method, I have to tell you by the way. I wished I could implement this method last year. LOL
Some people will ask me, “how did YOU choose your subjects then?”. I will tell ya:
1. When I first chose subjects, my initial selection was like this – Mathematics Extension 1 (already chosen as an acceleration subject), Mathematics (same), Physics, Chemistry, Economics, English (Advanced) and Studies of Religion II. Now, look at my subjects, do you think my initial subjects are same as my final subjects? Only same feature that you could notice is probably Maths and English.
2. When I initially chose subjects, I didn’t have any clear sense of mind. I just chose them based on my performance and interest. Some people said that I made a great deicision earlier back then. But after I looked at my confirmation paper for selection, I began to do some research (from BOS). That’s how I got to know scaling & every other piece of crap related to that. Then I started making a head start to Physics, Chemistry and other subjects during last Christmas Holidays. Then I realised that the subjects I chose were totally wrong! I didn’t like them and they were boring as hell!
3. I made a phone call to school (when nobody was there, poor me) and sent tonnes of emails telling them I wish to change the subjects. I went back to BoS and asked fellow members for advices. I looked into other subjects. Then I changed all my subjects.
4. I didn’t change Mathematics as I was sure about this decision.
5. I changed Physics because I hated the topic. It was boring for me. I studied for 4 weeks for the first two modules and I hated them. Same thing went for Economics.
6. In conclusion, I re-chose my subjects afresh. I chose them based on what I said earlier.
7. If I think about now, I made a great re-decision. Exception is Chemistry (only subject I didn’t change basically). Very ironic, isn’t it?
Some common misconceptions:
· I will do high scaling subjects. Otherwise, I cannot get good UAI
That is not true as you will know. High scaling subject only means that there are more people of higher calibre in that subject. As long as you get good marks in the subject, it won’t disadvantage you unless the subjects are so poorly scaled (e.g. Senior Science). In Senior Science, you will need to get high marks if you wish to get good UAI. Otherwise, it will just drag you down. This is the downside of scaling system. (and this is the part where I blame scaling system for everything!). In conclusion, don’t choose subjects based on scaling. Only consider it as a tool.
· School affects your UAI
That is the most common misconception I have come across with in the few days. School doesn’t boost your UAI or bring it down. It is the students who may bring your UAI down. (if you perform badly).It is YOU who counts. It is YOUR RANKS that count. As long as your ranks are high, you will be less affected by the people at the school. And yeah, selective school is not a UAI factory. The reason they tend to get good UAI is that they work hard for it. Even if those students in Selective high schools all change school to the crappest (is this even a word?) high school, they would still get the same UAI.
Some advices:
· Choose Extension subjects if you are good at that particular subject.
If you want the top UAI possible and if you are good at that subject, choose it. There will be tonnes of works involved, yes, yes but the rewards will be great. In reality, extension subjects can help you with your normal 2 Unit subject. In Mathematics, there are some areas where higher degree of thinking is requried. Mathematics Extension 1 promotes that. Same thing applies to English. So, if you are good, don’t hesitate. Just choose it. You can drop it when you wish.
· Drop subjects if you don’t like it.
Drop the subject that you don’t like. Good indication of this is when you begin to HATE the subject. I suggest you go back to school next year and try your initial subjects. If you really don’t like it, drop it instantly. Otherwise, you will miss the opportunity. However, you must do tonnes of thinking before that. Go back to my advices on subject selection. Think about it and choose carefully.
· Subject that you are good at vs subject that you like
What a match! I don’t know what to choose either. But you will be usually good at that subject if you like it. If that’s the case, subjects that you like win. (because you both like it and are good at it). Bu that’s not always the case. But I will give you a good example here. I love Business Studies. On the other hand, I am quite good at Chemistry (as I am ranked 2nd). If this is the case, I would put some factors into consideration such as class, my potential in the subject, teacher, scaling, my current marks and the other subjects. For me, Business Studies will win due to the teacher, student and my current other subjects. I would not wish to spend so much time on Business Studies when I have MX2, Cosmology and English, would I?
I hope this helped and be ready for the add-ons!!! :uhhuh:
If you want some advices, just post here.

 

[TearsOfFire]

Re: Revised version!

Thank you lyounamu for such a great and informative post.

The School affecting your HSC is a common misconception, Some people say it does, others say it doesn't. So basically, you are saying, as long as I do my best and go well in subjects, my marks won't be affected by those who don;t perform as well (This is a concerning factor for me as there are people at my school who don't want to work hard and do nothing about it)

I'll be asking fellow BoS members for more advice regarding subject selection next year, and your post has given me a new direction for thinking. Thanks once again!

 

[lyounamu]

Re: Revised version!

Thank you lyounamu for such a great and informative post.

The School affecting your HSC is a common misconception, Some people say it does, others say it doesn't. So basically, you are saying, as long as I do my best and go well in subjects, my marks won't be affected by those who don;t perform as well (This is a concerning factor for me as there are people at my school who don't want to work hard and do nothing about it)

I'll be asking fellow BoS members for more advice regarding subject selection next year, and your post has given me a new direction for thinking. Thanks once again!

You're welcome. As long as your ranks are good you will hardly be affected. What I mean by "good ranks" are about top 10%. You will only get pulled down people who performed better than you and if that's the case, no one can say the system is unfair, can they?

I really hope that you make the best decision in regards to your subject choice. That's the purpose of this thread and that's why I made that post. Good luck.

 

[lyounamu]

Re: Revised version!

i didnt read that post. what did namu say?

Shortened version: choose your subjects carefully.

 

[Aznmichael92]

OMG i was just informed by my school today that I cannot do SOR I for my hsc but I can still do it for preliminary. I am targetting 12 units in the hsc but looks like I will only get 11...

 

[lyounamu]

OMG i was just informed by my school today that I cannot do SOR I for my hsc but I can still do it for preliminary. I am targetting 12 units in the hsc but looks like I will only get 11...

Who knows? You may decide to do Mathematics Extension 2 which will leave you with 12 Units!

 

[nhoustonrocks]

my friend is having an issue trying to decide her subjects.
she's having trouble deciding between business studies and pdhpe.
any advice from people who do the at least one of those subjects is welcome.

 

[lyounamu]

my friend is having an issue trying to decide her subjects.
she's having trouble deciding between business studies and pdhpe.
any advice from people who do the at least one of those subjects is welcome.

That's me. :wave:

However, the view that you are about to receive from me is going to be a highly subjective view in favour of Business Studies, ready to hear?

Would you mind telling me where her academicstrength & interest lies? From then, I can see where your friend should head. If her strength & interest are equally shared between those two subjects, she should take her future desired career plan into account. If she plans to pursue a career like Phisiotherapy or Medicine-related job, she should choose PD/H/PE. If not, she can go with Business Studies.

Both subjects provide very practical and useful knowledge. She should take scaling into account as well if that's the case. Business Studies has a better scaling than PD/H/PE but in general, it doesn't have good scaling either. But it's better than PD/H/PE so it's pretty good in this particular situation. She should also consider the subjects she is undertaking at the moment. That is because she may have other subjects to care about.

For example, I chose Busienss Studies for several reasons. First, I like it and I am very good at it. Secondly, I chose it because I had other subjects such Mathemaics Extension 1 and Chemistry to sort out. So I couldn't spare too much time on subject like Business Studies. Thirdly, I chose it because it was likely that I was going to get good teachers. So I choose it. (That's a bonus, by the way)

Ask your friend, and tell her what I told you. She will appreciate it.

 

[Aznmichael92]

Who knows? You may decide to do Mathematics Extension 2 which will leave you with 12 Units!

Maths Extension 2 *glares around*

Yes... Maths Extension 2.

Actually I was thinking of doing that just incase I wanted to do it. If I don't like Maths Extension 2, I could always drop it and get 11 units. No hassle actually.

 

[xXmuffin0manXx]

thanks =]

 

[autumn-angel]

im so confused...
on one side i see something i am good at and i like but not as good scaled
then on the other side wat i am good at but dislike and scales good

 

[lyounamu]

im so confused...
on one side i see something i am good at and i like but not as good scaled
then on the other side wat i am good at but dislike and scales good

Um. That's probably one of my situation too. I am both good at Biology and Chemsitry. However, I prefer Biology over Chemistry (only by 100 times). Then I should go with Biology, shouldn't I? That's where the problem arises - scaling of Biology is low!

At the end of the day, should I choose Chemistry sorely because it has got better scaling? I don't think so. Next year, I will drop Chemistry (wise, wise decision, that is) because your interest must come first.

However, let me ask you. What are the two subjects that baffle your mind? Unless the scaling difference is atrociously high, I wouldn't recommend you to go with the higher scaling subject. If you lack interest, you won't put much effort. HSC is all how long you can sustain your study routine. Choosing boring subject will completely ruin that.

So tell me, what are your subjects? I might be able to give some advices to lead you to the right direction. (hopefully!)