#welcome #general-chat (2 Viewers)

[periodmami]

anyone here not doing any maths or science? I haven't stopped smiling about how lucky i am

 

[lachlan_orton]

Doing my HSC in 2021, doing English Standard, Mathematics Advanced, SDD, ITM, Modern History and Engineering Studies. Probably going to drop engineering in year 12.

I'm worried about maths though - Computer Science degree recommends Band 5 in Maths Advanced and I'm a Band 4 kinda guy. I need to get myself ahead in maths but I don't perform that well. Any advice? TIA

 

[brent012]

Don't neglect maths would be my advice. You have 12 units, so there might be a temptation to just get that band 4 and not have maths count if you are enjoying engineering and keep it - but that will just make uni a bit harder for you. So make sure you're doing all of your homework, maybe look into what textbooks are good for your level/goals rather than solely using what was prescribed by your school etc.

Similarly, don't drop to general maths even if teachers or other students try to convince you that you could do a briding course later. You'll be better off sticking with 2U over 11/12.

 

[lachlan_orton]

Thanks for the advice Brent. Definitely will need something outside of school (tutor, textbook, etc) to push me in this subject.

Don't neglect maths would be my advice. You have 12 units, so there might be a temptation to just get that band 4 and not have maths count if you are enjoying engineering and keep it

I don't think I could or would neglect maths, it is such a big subject to cover and try do well in.
I haven't been enjoying Engineering so far and see it more as a bludge, and am more than happy to drop it in Year 12 when you can do 10 units rather than the 12 in Year 11. Then I'll be able to put more effort and time into my other subjects.

 

[Drdusk]

I'm worried about maths though - Computer Science degree recommends Band 5 in Maths Advanced and I'm a Band 4 kinda guy. I need to get myself ahead in maths but I don't perform that well. Any advice? TIA

Comp Sci does have some challenging Mathematics involved. Do not drop to general but just try your best in Advanced. Do lots and lots of past paper questions. Less time reviewing theory and most time practicing questions.

 

[brent012]

Also, it's probably a bit late for this now, but i'd even consider people in your position trying to push themselves to do 3U if their school lets them (particularly when exposure to 3U content may be useful for desired uni course).

2U feels a bit easier when you are doing 3U and in a class with more advanced students and (likely) more experienced teacher.

 

[lachlan_orton]

Also, it's probably a bit late for this now, but i'd even consider people in your position trying to push themselves to do 3U if their school lets them (particularly when exposure to 3U content may be useful for desired uni course).

2U feels a bit easier when you are doing 3U and in a class with more advanced students and (likely) more experienced teacher.

To be honest, I don't think I can take on the extra load of work. If I'm struggling with Adv, how am I gonna cope with all this 3U maths you know?

Comp Sci does have some challenging Mathematics involved. Do not drop to general but just try your best in Advanced. Do lots and lots of past paper questions. Less time reviewing theory and most time practicing questions.

I'm gonna buy a personal maths textbook so I can revise my topics and have questions and etc to practice on. Think it's just a case of me understanding the topic, doing questions until it feels good, rinse & repeat for every topic that gets taught. gonna be challenging buts thats just the HSC hey?

 

[Etho_x]

So it's been about one week since school has started.

Personally, I'm surprised now since I really didn't think the workload was going to increase dramatically. But... I guess I was wrong on that haha. I'm about to head off to a before-school math lesson for Ext 1 which should be good. There's times where I feel as if I've fallen behind but as long as I have the motivation to study, I won't let it get to that.

How's everyone feeling about their studies?

 

[Mikunnn~]

How's everyone feeling about their studies?

English and Maths now is full-on. As I'm doing Extension 1 for both (with the same teacher for Eng and Maths), the pressure (and the workload is full-on). For Maths, everyone's working hard to earn a top 80 place in the cohort (216 people), for taking the 2u paper this year and guaranteed entry into the 4u course.

Chem and Phys are a noticeable step up from Year 10 science, but the content and the workload are doable.

I'm doing the Music 2 HSC this year, so I'm really working hard to achieve a Band 6 in that.

But I find I'm enjoying Year 11 more than Year 10. The teachers actually teach, the competition is intense, and this is one of the best opportunities to practice (and set good habits) for the HSC.

 

[Etho_x]

English and Maths now is full-on. As I'm doing Extension 1 for both (with the same teacher for Eng and Maths), the pressure (and the workload is full-on). For Maths, everyone's working hard to earn a top 80 place in the cohort (216 people), for taking the 2u paper this year and guaranteed entry into the 4u course.

Chem and Phys are a noticeable step up from Year 10 science, but the content and the workload are doable.

I'm doing the Music 2 HSC this year, so I'm really working hard to achieve a Band 6 in that.

But I find I'm enjoying Year 11 more than Year 10. The teachers actually teach, the competition is intense, and this is one of the best opportunities to practice (and set good habits) for the HSC.

Good luck with that geezus haha! Also, I approve of your profile picture; the Quintessential Quintuplets was a good anime.

 

[lachlan_orton]

How's everyone feeling about their studies?

Workload is a lot heavier than that of Year 10. Everything feels like it actually means something.

I'm already struggling with Maths Adv, which sucks since I need Band 5 for university. I'm trying hard to stay up with my class. There is an exam in two weeks to see if people are in the right levels or not. That'll determine whether I stay in advanced or drop to standard if teachers believe my skills aren't high enough to continue in the advanced course. Which is scary really.

Other than that, I'm enjoying that I get to do classes I chose. Just not a fan of engineering - pretty boring, might drop it in term 4 once we can do 10 units of work.

 

[Etho_x]

Workload is a lot heavier than that of Year 10. Everything feels like it actually means something.

I'm already struggling with Maths Adv, which sucks since I need Band 5 for university. I'm trying hard to stay up with my class. There is an exam in two weeks to see if people are in the right levels or not. That'll determine whether I stay in advanced or drop to standard if teachers believe my skills aren't high enough to continue in the advanced course. Which is scary really.

Other than that, I'm enjoying that I get to do classes I chose. Just not a fan of engineering - pretty boring, might drop it in term 4 once we can do 10 units of work.

It’s alright, you got this. Only hard work and determination (bit cliche but take it or leave it I guess) will get you to that Band 5. Don’t give up!

 

[Mikunnn~]

Hey guys, I am in year 11 and am taking 3U English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Legal Studies, Modern History and Biology.
I am unsure as to how I should approach school work because, thus far, I have lacked motivation to do much study outside of school. I can complete most of my homework during free periods but I am unsure if I should be using out-of-class time to begin making notes for future examinations. Should revision be constant or something done- on top of homework- towards an assessment period's beginning? What do you think? How can I maximise year 11 to fufill its potential?

Year 11, I think, in its essence, is one of high school's best, but nonetheless important years.

Motivation, like too many things in our modern life, is sadly running low amongst many youths. To fulfill Year 11, you should motivate yourself to study, whilst still maintaining a healthy homework schedule and social life. How should you motivate yourself? Just use the "Search" button to find out. There are PLENTY of threads about "motivation to study".

How should you approach school work? Well, I'd recommend managing your homework and assignments effectively. Secondly, I'd recommend you to make notes EARLY and avoid what I call the "last-minute cram, big traffic jam".

How to maximise Year 11:

1. Listen actively in class and take handwritten notes (studies have shown you'll have better memory retention)
2. ASK ASK ASK your teachers for feedback and advice
3. Motivate yourself - listen to talks or find other strategies
4. Space out note taking and revision to ease the pressure before assessment periods (so YES I believe you should be using out of class time to make notes and YES I believe revision should be constant)
5. Don't be too hard on yourself. Keep healthy- in both the mental and physical sense. Even though you're not doing PE, keeping fit is important, and so is being happy.

My final piece of wisdom I have to bestow upon you is to use this website. There are SO MANY resources, notes, and study material for Bio, Chem, and you can ask anyone- whether it be a moderator or just a member- for help. Hope this helps!

 

[foxxraven]

hey guys, im doing bio, chem, modern history, english, math and pdh. im not really enjoying chem so im changing it tolegal and pdh i heard is low scaling so im changing it to business studies. would i be able to acheive a high atar with these subjects?

Firstly, don't change a subject just because it is low scaling. Just because a subject is high scaling it doesn't mean that you'll do well in it. Do what you are interested in and you're more likely to do better.
Secondly, high ATAR mostly depends on you scoring really high in the majority of your subjects, which is why you should pick subjects that you like and do well in. Doing certain subjects doesn't guarantee a high ATAR.
Good luck with your studies

 

[foxxraven]

im convicing myself that aswell as i do well in the subjects thats all that matters. But everyone talks about high scaling being a major factor of a good atar and it can get the best of you. thanks for your advice!

No worries, I went through the same thing, the pressure can be high especially when you have high achievers in your family. Also, another thing about scaling is that it's different every year because they have to recalculate it each year, so things that may have scaled well in the past might not scale well in the future. Scaling can be useful in some situations if you play your cards right, but it's certainly not the be all and end all.

 

[foxxraven]

i need to seriously change my mindset. im the most indecisive person i know and keep changing my mind on my subjects and the deadline is tomrrow. rippp

Went through that too, I'm also pretty indecisive. I had to choose to drop something and ended up dropping modern because it was the least interesting. I sometimes second guess my choice but I remind myself that it's just my negative self talk trying to play into my self doubt etc. If you do end up really hating something you can always drop it at the end of term 3.

 

[foxxraven]

How's everyone feeling about their studies?

A bit stressed. I thought the jump was going to be worse than it actually was. Workload's manageable, and I've finally dropped Modern History so I'm back to 12 units which makes my life a lot easier. I was studying maths with some friends and all of us do different levels of maths (one does Standard, one does Advanced, I do ext 1 and another is accelerated). and I've realised how fast the Ext 1 course goes because we have more content to get through. Geography, Legal and both my English classes are really great. Maths is pretty good. Chem is okay.

 

[foxxraven]

im doing modern!! what did you change it to?

I didn't change it to anything because I had 14 units, so I just ended up dropping to 12U

 

[foxxraven]

ooofttt that wouldve big workload. Was modern boring?

Yeah, I guess. I hadn't done too much class, I had looked at the school's syllabus and I had done most of the topics already in elective/normal history so I thought that it wouldn't be worth doing it again. (for y11 it was WWII, the Romanovs and WWI). The only topic I was somewhat interested in for y11 was the Romanovs because I hadn't done it before.

 

[Mikunnn~]

im convicing myself that aswell as i do well in the subjects thats all that matters. But everyone talks about high scaling being a major factor of a good atar and it can get the best of you. thanks for your advice!

Yeah, everyone really exaggerates scaling. I know Matrix and Talent (and most coaching centres) really want their students to take high scaling subjects as it'll look better for their record. You'll hear parents and friends tell you "Do subjects with high scaling", but think twice before you blindly choose high scaling subjects.

In general, take subjects you like and are good at. Usually, if you like a subject you'll be good at it, or if you're good at a subject you'll liking. Keep in mind high scaling subjects have high scaling because - well - they're HARD. 4u maths scales the best, so why doesn't everyone in the state take it? Because some people don't like maths, and some people are not as strong in maths as other subjects.

Have fun and enjoy your studies!