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Students with 14 units, advice and motivation (2 Viewers)

-may-cat-

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Yeah, well of course, it's different if you're not aiming for a super high atar.. I would love to do history and SAC, and there are lots of important things to know in business and economics, but I know that it would have just been unwise for me to do these for HSC since I'm aiming for a fairly high one. Idk, there's pro's and con's for each..
That's just stupid.
 

Deer

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That's just stupid.

May I ask why?

I'm already doing 10 units that I enjoy, you think it would be wise for me to do 16?


Edit; No, make that 18. What I'm saying is that there are lots of areas I think are interesting in the HSC, but when it comes down to it, I think I can achieve a better ATAR by dedicating more time to less units.

Think otherwise if you wish, but I know that's the way it's going to work for me.
 
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duckcowhybrid

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I'm doing 13 (I picked up 4U maths) and I'm not dropping anything and I'll likely carry 13 till the HSC simply because when I've already done a lot of work the subject I may as well continue. Why am I not dropping anything? Because my bottom mark is 2U Maths, but I'm doing 4U Maths so it doesn't matter. Next two bottom subjects are Chemistry and Modern history (both on 93%). I don't want to throw a 93%, and evne though I dislike Chem there's more room for improvement in chem. At the same time I don't want to throw away Modern because I really really like it. Also I talked to my Deputy principal and on 93 they'd scale exactly the same(both go to 88). Then I could keep both and drop 3U English, but that would be dropping a 19/152 rank and a 47/50, which I'm not inclined on doing. And my other subject is Economics, which I love and I got 97% in. SO you can see why I can't drop anything, and to be perfectly honest, I'm handling the work quite well.

P.S. I am aiming high for my ATAR, 99.9+ if I can.
 

Deer

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I'm doing 13 (I picked up 4U maths) and I'm not dropping anything and I'll likely carry 13 till the HSC simply because when I've already done a lot of work the subject I may as well continue. Why am I not dropping anything? Because my bottom mark is 2U Maths, but I'm doing 4U Maths so it doesn't matter. Next two bottom subjects are Chemistry and Modern history (both on 93%). I don't want to throw a 93%, and evne though I dislike Chem there's more room for improvement in chem. At the same time I don't want to throw away Modern because I really really like it. Also I talked to my Deputy principal and on 93 they'd scale exactly the same(both go to 88). Then I could keep both and drop 3U English, but that would be dropping a 19/152 rank and a 47/50, which I'm not inclined on doing. And my other subject is Economics, which I love and I got 97% in. SO you can see why I can't drop anything, and to be perfectly honest, I'm handling the work quite well.

P.S. I am aiming high for my ATAR, 99.9+ if I can.
Ok, ok, ok, my intellectually superior friends who are able to do 13u+ and acheive a 99.9 ATAR,
I have respect for you unearthly beings,

I just wouldn't want to be doing it. Is all.

I can personally see the benefits of doing less, but clearly if you want to cope with a higher workload, and are able to do so (which evidently you are), then of course, do more.

Flail.
 

-may-cat-

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May I ask why?

I'm already doing 10 units that I enjoy, you think it would be wise for me to do 16?


Edit; No, make that 18. What I'm saying is that there are lots of areas I think are interesting in the HSC, but when it comes down to it, I think I can achieve a better ATAR by dedicating more time to less units.

Think otherwise if you wish, but I know that's the way it's going to work for me.
I misread from the context of the thread. I thought you were implying it is stupid to take low scaling subjects if you are aiming for i high atar. That said, it is also silly to imply that people who take that many subjects are incapable of attaining high atars.
 

Deer

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I misread from the context of the thread. I thought you were implying it is stupid to take low scaling subjects if you are aiming for i high atar. That said, it is also silly to imply that people who take that many subjects are incapable of attaining high atars.
Haha, no, of course not.

I am taking visual arts, enough said.

And ok, so my post wasn't particularly clear, but I know that you can achieve a high ATAR with a high amount of units, the people who are going to be achieving those astronomical numbers would probably be able to do so with any number of units, and they are probably also those who are most capable of taking more.

Yes I've seen the trends, people who get the highest ATAR's all seem to do more than 10 units. But for me, and for practical reasons... urh, I feel as though I'm talking in circles. There are benefits for both, I'll leave it at that.
 

Cowbell

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being honest with myself:
-if it wasnt for eng ext 2 I probably would never actually put in effort into writing a solid short story
-if it wasnt for eng ext 1 I would never have watched the great play The Real Inspector Hound and would never have learnt about crime fiction
-if it wasnt for economics I would not understand the economy as much as I do now
-it it wasnt for english advanced I would never have read brave new world
-if it wasnt for chemistry I wouldnt know about Avogadro

the HSC is far from perfect, but it did teach me a lot of stuff that I would not have gone away and learnt on my own

I wanted to do well in the HSC, but I've never really thought of going for law or med, so getting a super high ATAR of 99 wouldnt have made any difference to me
Why? are you incapable of reading books and learning things that you are not told to learn? can you not think for yourself? your argument is silly. You could've dropped out and come up with a list of shit you wouldn't have done if you hadn't dropped out. you actually think you're quenching your "thirst of knowledge" more by learning the bullshit the BOS thinks you need to learn instead of finding out yourself something that you're genuinely interested in?

i call bullshit. you only say this because you want to be unique and seek attention. if you are the person you say you are, and you find satisfaction in the level 1 shit you get out of the HSC, then i have just lost faith in humanity.
 

dux&src

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Deer what you bring is making me want to drop eco or legal even more now! top rank in both subjects and small classes for both and i have the phy and chem which i need for university assumed knowledge/prerequisites etc.

decisions, decisions, decisions..

oh and are schools allowed to tell you that you can't drop subjects/units after a certain period of time i.e. a week?! :confused:
 

Deer

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Deer what you bring is making me want to drop eco or legal even more now! top rank in both subjects and small classes for both and i have the phy and chem which i need for university assumed knowledge/prerequisites etc.

decisions, decisions, decisions..

oh and are schools allowed to tell you that you can't drop subjects/units after a certain period of time i.e. a week?! :confused:
XDD

Well, you know what I will advise!!

But I understand it would make the decision much harder if you're coming first in both!! Just think, everytime you go to legal; mmmm, I could be having frees, and everytime you go to study legal; mmmm, I could be not studying-for-this-subject-but-instead-studying-for-another-or-doing-something-enjoyable... mmmm...

Ha, sorry, I know I have excellent powers of persuasion,
You'll have to ignore my 10u bias XD

Keep them for till the end of yr 12, till the end of the first exam week and just see if you're able to fit everything in without too much drama. If you're stressed and struggling, then consider dropping. There's no limit, you can drop a week before the HSC exams, if you really wanted to.
 

dux&src

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Yes, that's what i thought too but are schools allowed to enforce a after-one-week-no-droppping-subjects policy?!

Yes, i'm in a bit of a pickle and it's so hard cause i'll be dropping a subject i'm topping no matter what :( It's between eco and legal...
 

LordPc

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Why? are you incapable of reading books and learning things that you are not told to learn? can you not think for yourself? your argument is silly. You could've dropped out and come up with a list of shit you wouldn't have done if you hadn't dropped out. you actually think you're quenching your "thirst of knowledge" more by learning the bullshit the BOS thinks you need to learn instead of finding out yourself something that you're genuinely interested in?
ouch, relax a bit there mate. you've hit at me like I've personally insulted your honour or something.

knowledge wasnt my only motivation but it was a big one. yea,

HSC courses arent perfect, some are very good while others are absolute rubbish. but I never said that the HSC courses would "quench my thirst of knowledge".

you also say that if i geniunely liked a subject, I should have learnt about it myself, outside of the HSC. well firstly, i didnt really know what I liked.

I loved science, was one of my favourite subjects from yr 7-10. I did HSC chem. now I know I dont really like chemistry that much. then again there is history. history from 7-10 was atrocious. combination of poor teachers and poor content. but then i did HSC ancient and loved it. I watch history docu's and read books on ancient civilisations now in my spare time.

secondly, my school offered to teach me things and no extra cost. hundreds of hours of teaching free! i learnt things from experienced teachers, 10 units or 15 units, they cost the same. i did well in my exams, i got a good UAI, i got offered my first preference on UAC. whats wrong with that?

i call bullshit. you only say this because you want to be unique and seek attention. if you are the person you say you are, and you find satisfaction in the level 1 shit you get out of the HSC, then i have just lost faith in humanity.
ironic how you accuse me of being attention seeking after making a post like that.

again i'll say some courses are quite poor, but dont generalise the claim and say the whole HSC is crap. just because you feel that you arent getting anything out of it doesnt mean that other people, like myself, are learning nothing too. cause some of us are learning, and some of us like to learn.
 

Cowbell

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ouch, relax a bit there mate. you've hit at me like I've personally insulted your honour or something.

knowledge wasnt my only motivation but it was a big one. yea,

HSC courses arent perfect, some are very good while others are absolute rubbish. but I never said that the HSC courses would "quench my thirst of knowledge".

you also say that if i geniunely liked a subject, I should have learnt about it myself, outside of the HSC. well firstly, i didnt really know what I liked.

I loved science, was one of my favourite subjects from yr 7-10. I did HSC chem. now I know I dont really like chemistry that much. then again there is history. history from 7-10 was atrocious. combination of poor teachers and poor content. but then i did HSC ancient and loved it. I watch history docu's and read books on ancient civilisations now in my spare time.

secondly, my school offered to teach me things and no extra cost. hundreds of hours of teaching free! i learnt things from experienced teachers, 10 units or 15 units, they cost the same. i did well in my exams, i got a good UAI, i got offered my first preference on UAC. whats wrong with that?



ironic how you accuse me of being attention seeking after making a post like that.

again i'll say some courses are quite poor, but dont generalise the claim and say the whole HSC is crap. just because you feel that you arent getting anything out of it doesnt mean that other people, like myself, are learning nothing too. cause some of us are learning, and some of us like to learn.
do what you want. i would have loled irl if you've actually adhered to anything i said in the slightest. don't listen to people like me- we're only here to make insecure people feel bad.
 

annabackwards

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Yes, that's what i thought too but are schools allowed to enforce a after-one-week-no-droppping-subjects policy?!

Yes, i'm in a bit of a pickle and it's so hard cause i'll be dropping a subject i'm topping no matter what :( It's between eco and legal...
This is what i would do - make a tally of ticks for the 2 subjects based on the following, ticking only one subject for each question:

1. Which one do you look forward less to/enjoy?
2. Which one has nothing/less to do with what you want to do in uni?
3. Which one has the one with the crappier teacher?
4. Which one requires more work to get the same marks?
5. Which one is comparatively harder/more boring to study?

Add up the ticks and the one with the higher total you should drop. The questions might take a while, by the way.
 

Dyllip

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This is what i would do - make a tally of ticks for the 2 subjects based on the following, ticking only one subject for each question:

1. Which one do you look forward less to/enjoy?
2. Which one has nothing/less to do with what you want to do in uni?
3. Which one has the one with the crappier teacher?
4. Which one requires more work to get the same marks?
5. Which one is comparatively harder/more boring to study?

Add up the ticks and the one with the higher total you should drop. The questions might take a while, by the way.
All those questions point to the one subject you can't drop! :D
 

dux&src

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All those questions point to the one subject you can't drop! :D
Oh hello there, i see you do legal studies and economics :)
What do you think is better to drop?
 

aussienerd

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wow all this talk is very interesting... so does anyone recommend that i do 14 units or more if i'm not the best student?
 

dux&src

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This is what i would do - make a tally of ticks for the 2 subjects based on the following, ticking only one subject for each question:

1. Which one do you look forward less to/enjoy?
2. Which one has nothing/less to do with what you want to do in uni?
3. Which one has the one with the crappier teacher?
4. Which one requires more work to get the same marks?
5. Which one is comparatively harder/more boring to study?

Add up the ticks and the one with the higher total you should drop. The questions might take a while, by the way.
  1. look forward to none, but enjoy the content of legal studies
  2. both because all directions are pointing to science for me :D
  3. hmm they are both good teachers, though the eco teacher has years of teaching experience and the legal has only a year of teaching experience. (trying to decide which subject to tick)
  4. Not sure what this question means? Well they both have extended response components with economics having 2 x 20 marks extended response questions and legal studies 2 x 25 marks ext. response but they are from two "additional focus studies" (kinda like electives topics)
  5. economics is more boring! too much jargon!
 

dux&src

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1. legal
2. don't need both
3. probs same as 1
4. elaborate on the question? legal has lower scaling than economics if that was what you were asking?
5. economics is boring

OH and top rank is really good right because you get the highest exam mark as your internal mark and assuming you get that top mark you will end up with your own exam mark as your final HSC mark :O
So taking that into consideration, i'm dropping a subject i came first in by a large margin in prelim and could probs replicate for HSC..hmm decisions decisions

maybe i should go for physics and chem where i was top 3-4 for both, but then i need them because they are prerequisites for most science uni courses, from what i've seen it UAC guides??
 
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