hsc subject selection (1 Viewer)

[libestraumno3]

need some help deciding what to drop/keep (or not)
for context i go to a small private school so thats why the numbers are low. i only have around ~45 kids in my cohort

current (prelim) subjects:

• eng adv / rank 1/23 both overall
• eng ext 1 / rank 1/5 both overall
  • highly recommended to keep, have new teacher for y12 (she seems pretty nice!!)
• maths adv / above avg
  • maths was never my forte...
• maths ext 1 / avg..
  • showed enough improvement to keep (opens more pathways for uni - currently want to do eco/law, eco/compsci or get into finance/banking coop)
• eco / rank 1/7 both overall
  • i love this subjects sm but i feel like my class gets too talkative sometimes, i'm a bit of an outlier at the top so i have to rely on myself
• chem / rank 1 (sem 1) / rank 2/12 overall
  • did pretty bad on the prelim exam :// would've been first for a mile if i had put in a bit more, teacher is good at teaching though i think i just need more discipline and evenly spread out my subjects
• modern history / rank 2 (sem 1) / rank 1/16 overall
  • love class, love teacher, love content, hate exams (wrists are constantly in pain lol)

subjects to pick up:

• most likely eng ext 2 (i'll try out for a term first though)

overall if i keep all the subjects i had (12 units) with an additional unit for 4u eng then i'd have 13 units... is this feasible considering what subjects i actually have? everyone is telling me to drop at least one subject but i'm currently unsure of what.. if it's purely based on performance it would have to be chem or mx1 but i'm doing my best to keep mx1 and chem is the only science i have just in case of a mind change in the future.

advice is appreciated thank you!

 

[jimmysmith560]

Congratulations on performing so well in most of your subjects! Generally speaking, you can justify keeping either 1 or 2 units of backup since they serve a clear purpose, which is to negate the effect that unexpected unfavourable performance in a particular subject would have on your ATAR by having the low-performing subject either contribute fewer units or not count altogether. On the other hand, it may be difficult to justify taking English Extension 2 in addition to keeping all your current subjects, as this would lead to having 3 backup units. Here, you may wish to consider whether you really need 3 backup units (you realistically should not because your goal is to essentially maximise your performance across your subjects). More importantly, you should keep in mind that taking 13 units means a heavier workload as well as less study time for each subject.

From the information that you provided, if you were to drop a subject, it should probably be Mathematics Extension 1 as it appears to be your lowest-performing subject. In terms of your study interests beyond the HSC, Mathematics Advanced is usually sufficient (both as a prerequisite and assumed knowledge) for most of the areas that you are interested in. Areas where taking Mathematics Extension 1 (with or without Mathematics Extension 2) is encouraged would include engineering and actuarial studies. This option also seems better than dropping Chemistry because as you mentioned, dropping Mathematics Extension 1 does not mean dropping maths altogether, whereas dropping Chemistry would leave you with no Science subjects.

If you end up taking English Extension 2, it may be a good idea to keep Mathematics Extension 1 for the beginning of year 12 to determine whether you would be better off keeping it and doing your utmost to improve your performance, or whether you strongly believe that you can perform at a higher standard in English Extension 2.

I hope this helps!

 

[carrotsss]

Keep in mind that even if maths extension feels like your lowest performing subject, the scaling is pretty insane and if you are doing decently at least it can be better than doing well in other subjects.

 

[libestraumno3]

I

Keep in mind that even if maths extension feels like your lowest performing subject, the scaling is pretty insane and if you are doing decently at least it can be better than doing well in other subjects.

hmm actually my lowest performing subject for the prelim exams was chemistry but overall it would be mx1

 

[libestraumno3]

Congratulations on performing so well in most of your subjects! Generally speaking, you can justify keeping either 1 or 2 units of backup since they serve a clear purpose, which is to negate the effect that unexpected unfavourable performance in a particular subject would have on your ATAR by having the low-performing subject either contribute fewer units or not count altogether. On the other hand, it may be difficult to justify taking English Extension 2 in addition to keeping all your current subjects, as this would lead to having 3 backup units. Here, you may wish to consider whether you really need 3 backup units (you realistically should not because your goal is to essentially maximise your performance across your subjects). More importantly, you should keep in mind that taking 13 units means a heavier workload as well as less study time for each subject.

From the information that you provided, if you were to drop a subject, it should probably be Mathematics Extension 1 as it appears to be your lowest-performing subject. In terms of your study interests beyond the HSC, Mathematics Advanced is usually sufficient (both as a prerequisite and assumed knowledge) for most of the areas that you are interested in. Areas where taking Mathematics Extension 1 (with or without Mathematics Extension 2) is encouraged would include engineering and actuarial studies. This option also seems better than dropping Chemistry because as you mentioned, dropping Mathematics Extension 1 does not mean dropping maths altogether, whereas dropping Chemistry would leave you with no Science subjects.

If you end up taking English Extension 2, it may be a good idea to keep Mathematics Extension 1 for the beginning of year 12 to determine whether you would be better off keeping it and doing your utmost to improve your performance, or whether you strongly believe that you can perform at a higher standard in English Extension 2.

I hope this helps!

thanks jimmy!!

 

[Yueyue]

I think this decision also depends on whether you enjoy maths or chemistry more, as this will significantly affect you especially during trials and HSC periods. From experience, both subjects require high levels of consistency throughout the whole of year 12 and intensive levels of dedication. Keep in mind there are bridging courses so please don’t feel obliged to pick one over the other due to uni entry requirements.
Best of luck next year!

 

[libestraumno3]

I think this decision also depends on whether you enjoy maths or chemistry more, as this will significantly affect you especially during trials and HSC periods. From experience, both subjects require high levels of consistency throughout the whole of year 12 and intensive levels of dedication. Keep in mind there are bridging courses so please don’t feel obliged to pick one over the other due to uni entry requirements.
Best of luck next year!

thank you. good luck for ur hsc exams!!

im so indecisive i like both of the class environments and teachers. content wise i find them both interesting?? (( (if only i could drop just maths adv )

 

[band6yesplease]

need some help deciding what to drop/keep (or not)
for context i go to a small private school so thats why the numbers are low. i only have around ~45 kids in my cohort

current (prelim) subjects:

• eng adv / rank 1/23 both overall
• eng ext 1 / rank 1/5 both overall
  • highly recommended to keep, have new teacher for y12 (she seems pretty nice!!)
• maths adv / above avg
  • maths was never my forte...
• maths ext 1 / avg..
  • showed enough improvement to keep (opens more pathways for uni - currently want to do eco/law, eco/compsci or get into finance/banking coop)
• eco / rank 1/7 both overall
  • i love this subjects sm but i feel like my class gets too talkative sometimes, i'm a bit of an outlier at the top so i have to rely on myself
• chem / rank 1 (sem 1) / rank 2/12 overall
  • did pretty bad on the prelim exam :// would've been first for a mile if i had put in a bit more, teacher is good at teaching though i think i just need more discipline and evenly spread out my subjects
• modern history / rank 2 (sem 1) / rank 1/16 overall
  • love class, love teacher, love content, hate exams (wrists are constantly in pain lol)

subjects to pick up:

• most likely eng ext 2 (i'll try out for a term first though)

overall if i keep all the subjects i had (12 units) with an additional unit for 4u eng then i'd have 13 units... is this feasible considering what subjects i actually have? everyone is telling me to drop at least one subject but i'm currently unsure of what.. if it's purely based on performance it would have to be chem or mx1 but i'm doing my best to keep mx1 and chem is the only science i have just in case of a mind change in the future.

advice is appreciated thank you!

As someone who did ext2 english i wouldn't recommend starting it unless you want to keep it. you have an assessment very early in extension2 which requires a fair bit of preparation, research and refinement.
Ext2 is a subject that you sorta need to be in it to go well- it is very very different to adv and ext 1 in that its highly individual.
A friend of mine started it just to see whether or not it was worth keeping and we did so much work by the end of term 4 (HSC term 1) that she didn't want to drop it (even though she was coming 3/3) because of the amount of time she'd dedicated.

That being said maybe you'll start and want to drop it anyway or love it so much that this is irrelevant but just be careful

 

[HazzRat]

This is unrelated but how would you guys weigh a scenario where I like and perform better in one subject but have a much better class dynamic in another? This is me atm with economics and chem. I like economics, follow the news, and perform well in the subject coming 2nd in my recent task but the class is large, annoying and the teacher no good. Chem I have an amazing teacher, small class which I enjoy but don't have so much of a passion for it, and perform worse (middle of the pack).

What would you guys do? I think during school time I prefer chem but in the afternoons and weekends I prefer eco.

 

[Ksalu]

@libestraumno3 do you know how your school perform in your subjects? like the amount of band 6s for each subject? that might sway your decision

 

[libestraumno3]

As someone who did ext2 english i wouldn't recommend starting it unless you want to keep it. you have an assessment very early in extension2 which requires a fair bit of preparation, research and refinement.
Ext2 is a subject that you sorta need to be in it to go well- it is very very different to adv and ext 1 in that its highly individual.
A friend of mine started it just to see whether or not it was worth keeping and we did so much work by the end of term 4 (HSC term 1) that she didn't want to drop it (even though she was coming 3/3) because of the amount of time she'd dedicated.

That being said maybe you'll start and want to drop it anyway or love it so much that this is irrelevant but just be careful

thank youuu!! i found this super helpful, i'll definitely keep that in mind

i have a few ideas in mind and the new teacher seems really sweet. its also appealing that theres no hsc exam just the major work but yes i do acknowledge the challenge of balancing time with it. if i were to do 4u english i could drop a 2u subject as opposed to if i didnt pick it up id rather stay with at least 11-12 units rather than 10 units just for backups

 

[TankKuno]

This is unrelated but how would you guys weigh a scenario where I like and perform better in one subject but have a much better class dynamic in another? This is me atm with economics and chem. I like economics, follow the news, and perform well in the subject coming 2nd in my recent task but the class is large, annoying and the teacher no good. Chem I have an amazing teacher, small class which I enjoy but don't have so much of a passion for it, and perform worse (middle of the pack).

What would you guys do? I think during school time I prefer chem but in the afternoons and weekends I prefer eco.

in my own experiences, I would still choose a subject where u enjoy the content and perform better as a result. I chose a subject based on the teacher and quickly regretted it as i fell behind pre quick cos i disliked the content.

 

[libestraumno3]

@libestraumno3 do you know how your school perform in your subjects? like the amount of band 6s for each subject? that might sway your decision

its very hit or miss - since our cohorts are super small it depends on the current years performance and fluctuates a lot. in terms of school ranking, highest was around top 90 in nsw but its pretty unpredictable - my cohort and this current years are fairly strong though

This is unrelated but how would you guys weigh a scenario where I like and perform better in one subject but have a much better class dynamic in another? This is me atm with economics and chem. I like economics, follow the news, and perform well in the subject coming 2nd in my recent task but the class is large, annoying and the teacher no good. Chem I have an amazing teacher, small class which I enjoy but don't have so much of a passion for it, and perform worse (middle of the pack).

What would you guys do? I think during school time I prefer chem but in the afternoons and weekends I prefer eco.

this is kinda like me rn!!! eco class isnt as large but the kids are a bit distracting and we end up in these large discussions/debates that take up most of the lesson resulting in lost time for content. sometimes i feel as though we've rushed some things i still love the teacher but the class has a long tail and im the outlier at the top and it feels a bit discouraging. (ECO IS MY PASSION THOUGH)

for chem - i have a good teacher and hes becoming more strict in monitoring our work/marks harshly (love that tbh) im not the only one at the top this time (around 3 people including me who get decent marks) but there is a huge gap between the rest... its also my only science so im hesitating to drop even though my prelim exam was atrocious (came second overall though)

 

[HazzRat]

its very hit or miss - since our cohorts are super small it depends on the current years performance and fluctuates a lot. in terms of school ranking, highest was around top 90 in nsw but its pretty unpredictable - my cohort and this current years are fairly strong though


this is kinda like me rn!!! eco class isnt as large but the kids are a bit distracting and we end up in these large discussions/debates that take up most of the lesson resulting in lost time for content. sometimes i feel as though we've rushed some things i still love the teacher but the class has a long tail and im the outlier at the top and it feels a bit discouraging. (ECO IS MY PASSION THOUGH)

as opposed to chem - hes such a good teacher and hes becoming more strict in monitoring our work/marks harshly (love that tbh) im not the only one at the top this time (around 3 people including me who get decent marks) but there is a huge gap between the rest...

Same. Chem is very competitive in my school but in the HSC everyone's marks will bring the average up. In eco, you sort of have to be at the top or you'll be dragged down with the rest. I think I'll sleep over the decision over the weekend.

 

[whydidipickhardsubjects]

I have the same situation happening to me on either dropping chem or maths ext1
if I were you I would drop chemistry because by seeing your pathway choices for uni, chemistry is unrelated. maths ext1 will help a lot if you plan on doing eco/comp sci-related degrees. also, you seem very smart so there's no doubt you'll catch up fast in maths extension1!!!

 

[libestraumno3]

I have the same situation happening to me on either dropping chem or maths ext1
if I were you I would drop chemistry because by seeing your pathway choices for uni, chemistry is unrelated. maths ext1 will help a lot if you plan on doing eco/comp sci-related degrees. also, you seem very smart so there's no doubt you'll catch up fast in maths extension1!!!

thank youuu!! i'll see how i feel about 4u eng for the first term and decide from there
all the best for yours

 

[libestraumno3]

update: they wont let me keep 13 units (even just to see how i go with the first assessments).. idk my school is strict with unit numbers
well idk what to drop now. i feel like the most sensible choice would just be to revert back to 12 units and not pick up 4u eng

 

[C_master]

update: they wont let me keep 13 units (even just to see how i go with the first assessments).. idk my school is strict with unit numbers
well idk what to drop now. i feel like the most sensible choice would just be to revert back to 12 units and not pick up 4u eng

Wait what? So you can only do 12 units only?

 

[jimmysmith560]

I chose eng std, maths adv, maths ext, business studies, bio, pdhpe and music 2. However I am planning to change music (the subject im going to drop at the end of year 11) to something else as there is a lot more work involved than i thought, and i believe that it will take up a majority of my time, but im not too sure what to change to. I am happy with all my teachers for the rest of my subjects so i dont plan of moving subjects to different lines to replace music. In the line that music 2 they offer the subjects below.
View attachment 42313
I was planning to change to geo, but im not too sure of the workload
Does anyone recommend any subject in this list?

You have indicated that you are not interested in the subjects that you can take to replace music. While interest is important in terms of subject selection, there are other factors that you may also wish to consider in making an informed decision. They are your performance potential and subject relevance to further study.

First, you should take the subjects that you strongly believe that you can perform well in. This is important, especially if you aim to maximise your results in your HSC. In doing so, you can consider your experience of taking similar subjects in Stage 5. Consider the subject(s) where your performance was of a high standard. If this applies, it could indicate the equivalent Stage 6 subject that you could take. For example, if your performance in year 10 Science was favourable, perhaps you could take Chemistry or Physics.

Second, you should consider your study interests beyond the HSC. Consider whether you intend to study at university after completing your HSC and if so, the specific field(s) that you may be interested in. For example, in fields such as medicine, the content covered in Biology and Chemistry is treated as assumed knowledge. Even for fields that do not treat relevant subjects as assumed knowledge, taking the relevant subject can still provide you with knowledge that can somewhat familiarise you with the field. A good example of this would be taking Legal Studies if intending to study a Bachelor of Laws. In your particular case, an example would be taking PDHPE if intending to study a Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science).

I hope this helps!