A 97+ ATAR with these subjects?/what should I drop & swap? (1 Viewer)

[Okistone]

Hello there people of the Bored Of Studies community!

I've recently started year 11 and 'tis around now that we have time to change over any subjects we do not seem to like (how to recognise during such a short timespan is a mystery though).

My subjects are as follows:
-Advanced English
-General Mathematics
-Chemistry
-Biology
-Legal Studies
-PDHPE

Now the thing is... I've been thinking quite a deal into whether I should drop PDHPE and replace it with Modern History. The simple reason is that I, perhaps falsely, believe that it scales well. Having consulted a teacher who has 25+ years of experience, she advised (and reinforced my thoughts) that I drop PDHPE as "it scales badly" and take on Modern History instead, but the Head Teacher of the PE faculty vehemently opposed such a claim and stated the teacher was spreading false truths among students and that PDHPE did in fact scale very well (as reflected in the example of her daughter who completed it as part of the HSC and got into a Bachelor of Law/Business). Then there's General Mathematics (I know, I know.... I'm miserably uneducated in math...)/Biology/Chemistry of which I plan on dropping one during year 12 (or at least attempting my very best at in during the HSC examinations).


So my questions are:

1) Should I change PDHPE for Modern History?
2) If one considers the array of subjects after this change (Adv. English, G. Math, Biology, Chemistry, Modern History, Legal Studies), does the possibility of gaining a 97+ ATAR exist (if I work my backside off, of course)?
3) Also, what if I mixed them up a little and ended up doing Adv. English, Biology, Modern History, Legal Studies, PDHPE, (and maybe extension History)? How'd that fare?


Some will say that scaling is real and others will say it is not... Then there are those that will perhaps state I should simply do what I feel I will do best in. The thing is, I don't really mind any subjects (as long as it isn't advanced or extension math, I probably wouldn't survive such an ordeal), and I'm not quite sure what the future will bring either, hence why meself and a few others (there was large-scale poll) are seemingly the only individuals from the grade (approx. 120 students) with no set plans for after we finish school (except from wanting to go to university and doing something meaningful with our lives that will make at least the most minute of differences in the world).

Thank you so much for any responses

 

[Nailgun]

In my opinion scaling does matter and should be taken into account. That being said it is superseded by your interest in the subject. Someone who loves their low-scaling subject will almost invariably do better than someone who hates their high-scaling subject if that makes sense.

From what I understand, Modern will scale better than PDHPE but the difference is not earth-shattering; really your performance depends on you and your interest in either of the two. Whichever that you feel you will find more fun/be more motivated to do is the one you should pick imo. You may want to take into account that you have the opportunity to pick up History Extension if you pick up Modern.

It is very possible to get 97+ ATAR especially when you consider that General Math need not count. The combination of Modern, Legal, Chem, Bio and Advanced English is solid, and you won't be held back by your subject choices if that's what you're scared of. That being said, I think you should consider Mathematics (2U) at least to try. You are in the early days still and you lose nothing by giving 2U a go. Maths is probably the easiest subject to improve in; I went from an average of 68% in Yr10 to comfortably getting 99% by Year 12. I seriously considered not doing Maths at all at the end of Yr 10, and that would have been a terrible decision. imo performance in 2U especially is directly proportional to amount of work you put in.

tl;dr, do what you are more motivated to do, yes you can get 97, and try out 2u maths

 

[miaoww]

Hi there!

1) Honestly, the ranking of your school in the state matters so much more than subject scaling. That being said, PDHPE doesn't scale well at all, but Modern History doesn't scale you up like ext maths does. Choose subjects you enjoy because they are 99% of the time the subjects you will excel in. Getting a 90 in PD is far better than a 70 in modern. What do you want to study at university? If PD is relevant to the course and is something you are passionate about, you should take it. You are going to dedicate a shit tonne of time to studying these subjects.

2) You can get a 97+ ATAR with any combination of subjects. I took Adv English, Business, Economics, History Extension, Legal and Modern and ended up with a 98.85. If you work consistently throughout the year, you can definitely achieve a 97. Scaling is real of course (it has to exist because a 90 in physics doesn't equate to a 90 in business or food tech), but don't go into science/maths subjects with the mindset that you will probably drop one when you get to Year 12.

3) Like I said, you can get a 97+ ATAR with any subject combo -- doing well in Advanced English will definitely help you achieve your goal. I found History Ext to really develop my essay writing skills which helped in all my other subjects, but it is a lot of reading and more than half the class dropped the course within 3 weeks.

Remember only your 10 best units count towards your ATAR, so you can drop one of your classes in year 12 anyway if you have really tried but you just hate it. I took History Extension as my 11th unit because I loved Modern History and wanted something to fall back on in case Business Studies scaled me down too much to get into my course. I ended up getting an E4 in the HSC for history ext, but it didn't actually count at all towards my ATAR because even with the low scaling my mark in Business made it the "better" unit for BOSTES to include.

Good luck! Please choose subjects you enjoy, Year 12 is shitty enough without having to study something you have 0 interest in.