Confused on dropping a subject. :( (1 Viewer)

[Cheesecake_a]

I currently do 11 units and for a week or so I have been contemplating whether to drop History Ext.

Since I have my PIP to do as well, my teacher says he wants a draft by week 9 of this term at least, as he doesn't want me doing it during the holidays when I should be studying... And then for History Ext, which is the essay, my teacher wants a draft by week 7 or so to mark it and make suggestions etc...

At the moment I am feeling overwhelmed with the assessments I am doing and I sometimes feel like Ext is a burden... I mean I do enjoy it and I find it interesting... I am doing well so far but I feel like I have to spend too much time on it and I feel like I am jeapordising my PIP. I often think that having ext is something I will be easier without... It is making me really upset to be honest.

However, I have spoken to my friends (not my teacher yet, I am still thinking) and some have said well if you are finding it really difficult or it is causing too much stress then maybe it is a good idea to drop it, but it is up to me in the end. Then I have friends telling me I just need to manage myself better and I am just stressed out, and that doing well in Ext can really help in my scaling.

So I am in a dilemma of maybe I really need to drop it or maybe I am just stressed. To be honest, my gut feeling is telling me to drop it, and the saying is to listen to your gut, right?

I am really confused.

 

[Cheesecake_a]

Anyone?

 

[Shadowdude]

Drop it.

Short answer is: You seem to be having trouble and you're not coping.

 

[Cheesecake_a]

From the time I posted this I have been getting countless opinions and many talks today lol, but from now I would say that I am strongly leaning towards dropping it.

I mean, I will speak to my teacher about it and tell her what my feelings about it are (which I don't know how to approach properly.) And I guess she will be disappointed like the last person who left but you know, I guess it will have to be done if I want to.

How do you distinguish between dropping something because you are lazy or stressed compared to feeling like it is too much etc? Because I feel as if I am in the ''It will get better, just give it time.'' and many tell me that but I don't know if that is really true because I hear it can be and then I hear it is a lie and if one is having trouble/concerns/issues with it now then why go along with it.

I am getting swayed by many opinions.

 

[twinklegal19]

I think dropping it seems like the best option. You said it yourself that it was a gut feeling, so I would recommend following it. Try at least writing up a list of positives and negatives of keeping subject and another one for what if happens of you drop it. Maybe that will help make up your mind. Remember no amount of scaling can help you if you aren't passionate about the subject, especially the extension ones. If you don't think that you will have the time and interest to put enough work for History Ext, dropping it seem like a good idea. Plus it also gives you extra time to focus on your subjects, especially your PIP in S&C. Talk to as many people as possible though, don't take the opinions of a few users on BOS straight to the heart. It's your HSC and final year of highschool, make sure you are making the right choice

Whatever you do, good luck!

 

[Cheesecake_a]

I think dropping it seems like the best option. You said it yourself that it was a gut feeling, so I would recommend following it. Try at least writing up a list of positives and negatives of keeping subject and another one for what if happens of you drop it. Maybe that will help make up your mind. Remember no amount of scaling can help you if you aren't passionate about the subject, especially the extension ones. If you don't think that you will have the time and interest to put enough work for History Ext, dropping it seem like a good idea. Plus it also gives you extra time to focus on your subjects, especially your PIP in S&C. Talk to as many people as possible though, don't take the opinions of a few users on BOS straight to the heart. It's your HSC and final year of highschool, make sure you are making the right choice

Whatever you do, good luck!

Thank you so much.

Believe me, I have gotten many opinions I think maybe too many! I mean, gut feelings cannot always be good, but when I think about it, I am more convinced I will drop it. I'm trying to not make a big deal out of it TOO much but it does worry me. You are right in the passion aspect, because although I find it interesting I do not necessarily find it great either or that I will always work hard on it.

Another main reason for not dropping was that if I did well it could scale high however seeing the lack of interest I am having now may be a concern. I do well in it, but even if you do well in something and don't enjoy it that much there is no point I guess.

 

[iSplicer]

Just drop it if it's bothering you. Choose whatever makes you feel the least encumbered, don't worry about the 10 units. It sounds scary but you'll be okay =]

 

[MichelleV]

I did ext history last year.

We went from 15 to 6 people after the summer holidays because nobody worked on it, and then down to 3 right before it was due, again, because they hadn't worked on it.

As the only one who had consistently worked on my essay, my mark was significantly higher than the other 2...

 

[LoveHateSchool]

I felt not exactly the same, but similar in a way. (Replace PIP with EE2 major work).

Anyway I kinda had the gut feeling from starting out with it, but stuck it out for the term. If you know in yourself, you will know. I absolutely do not regret dropping it for a second. It was a totally clear cut decision for me. There were no cons for me really once I dropped it.

Although ask yourself honestly at this point, how much have you done on the project? And that should help dictate your answer.

 

[Cheesecake_a]

Thanks for your input.

Actually today I went and spoke to my deputy principal and my extension teacher. It really gave me a new insight into what I am actually thinking of doing.

Although she knows it is up to me in the end, she said that it can really help in my ATAR if I do well, and it is a sort of safety net for my studies. Considering my Modern is not particularly high (I usually get 80's) then it can help me in boosting my marks a little more than if I didn't have it.

I also spoke to my English teacher because I feel comfortable speaking to her, and she also said the same. However she gave me good advice saying to wait for a day or two and see how I feel by then. She really wanted me to think about distiniguishing between being very stressed overall with this term being full on, assessments, etc - or, is it really something in Extension history that I cannot handle anymore. And lovehateschool, you are right about asking how much I have done... really, I have written a bit of the synopsis and that's about it. I know I can write it in time, however at the moment it is best to think about this decision carefully because extension really could make a difference if i do well.

However if it is history extension that is making me stressed out and all my previous complaints, then I should drop as soon as possible as to not waste time.

So I really have to think about it...

 

[Deano13]

I recently dropped Drama after having 12 units and am now doing 10 and can honestly say it was the best decision. Like you i had so many doubts but the will to drop it stuck in my head and so i dropped it. Also I do very similar subjects to you: 4 unit english, modern, legal and ancient. Don't worry about what people say about it being risky to have 10! Depends on YOU!! Not anyone else.

 

[enoilgam]

Remember, having more then 10 units will not help you if you are doing really bad in the extra units. Having a back up is only effective if you are doing reasonable well in ALL your subjects.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

^That is great advice.

You have to weigh up if the amount of work versus the nice scaling is justified for only one unit impact. If you're putting more than 20% of your study time into it to keep up, it's probably not worth keeping as it will likely hinder your other subbies.

 

[Cheesecake_a]

I recently dropped Drama after having 12 units and am now doing 10 and can honestly say it was the best decision. Like you i had so many doubts but the will to drop it stuck in my head and so i dropped it. Also I do very similar subjects to you: 4 unit english, modern, legal and ancient. Don't worry about what people say about it being risky to have 10! Depends on YOU!! Not anyone else.

Thanks!

Remember, having more then 10 units will not help you if you are doing really bad in the extra units. Having a back up is only effective if you are doing reasonable well in ALL your subjects.

Okay, well I assume I am doing well in my other subjects?

^That is great advice.

You have to weigh up if the amount of work versus the nice scaling is justified for only one unit impact. If you're putting more than 20% of your study time into it to keep up, it's probably not worth keeping as it will likely hinder your other subbies.

Okay so study time of 20%, how much would that be in an average week? Because now that I realise I don't really work on practice papers for example because I don't feel ready to do that yet and we haven't finished all our topics obviously. I am also quite scared of doing an exam because I feel it will be really hard sometimes. I think the essay will take some time though...