I'm not sure about my subjects??? (1 Viewer)

[swagvia]

I'm currently doing 3U Math, English Advanced, Economics, Legal, Business Studies and Biology (13 units). I don't want to do Biology in Year 12, but I also don't want to do 3 social sciences.. and I can't pick up a 1 unit subject because they're on Mondays after school when I have tutoring.

I've been thinking of some options:
-Change from Biology/Business to Modern History, although I'm not great at writing essays
-Pick up English Extension and drop Biology, but I'm bad at creative writing
-Pick up 4U mathematics in Year 12 and drop biology and either business/legal, but I don't think I will do well in it
I was also thinking about Physics, but I know it's hard and I don't want to lower my atar by doing a subject that I do bad in. Also, I can only change from business to physics but I don't want to be doing both bio and physics.

Can anyone give me advice???

 

[braintic]

-Pick up 4U mathematics in Year 12 and drop biology and either business/legal, but I don't think I will do well in it

You don't have to do well in it (compared to others) in order to get a good ATAR.

Here is the (approximate) percentage of the state you must beat in each of the courses you mentioned, in order to get a mark equivalent to a 99 ATAR. In brackets is the percentage of the state you must beat in order to get a mark equivalent to a 99.5 ATAR.

English Extension: 92 (95)
English Adv: 94 (96)
Economics: 94 (97)
Physics: 94 (96)
Modern History: 97 (98)
Legal Studies: 98 (99)
Biology: 98 (99)
Business Studies: 99 (99.5)

Maths 2U: 95 (97)
Maths Ext 1: 76 (83)
Maths Ext 2: 54 (67)

If you beat 90% of the state in Ext 2, you are on target for 99.9 ATAR (depending of course on results in other subjects).

 

[Ambility]

You don't have to do well in it (compared to others) in order to get a good ATAR.

Here is the (approximate) percentage of the state you must beat in each of the courses you mentioned, in order to get a mark equivalent to a 99 ATAR. In brackets is the percentage of the state you must beat in order to get a mark equivalent to a 99.5 ATAR.

English Extension: 92 (95)
English Adv: 94 (96)
Economics: 94 (97)
Physics: 94 (96)
Modern History: 97 (98)
Legal Studies: 98 (99)
Biology: 98 (99)
Business Studies: 99 (99.5)

Maths 2U: 95 (97)
Maths Ext 1: 76 (83)
Maths Ext 2: 54 (67)

If you beat 90% of the state in Ext 2, you are on target for 99.9 ATAR (depending of course on results in other subjects).

May I ask just out of curiosity, where do you get these numbers from?

 

[braintic]

May I ask just out of curiosity, where do you get these numbers from?

From the stats that are published after every HSC. These particular numbers are from the 2011 stats, but the larger subjects are pretty much the same every year.

 

[FlameLash]

Keep in mind that you will generally be able to change your subjects at any stage of the preliminary year, so I suggest you see how well you do in all your subjects instead of making an assumptive decision. Additionally, for you respective subjects, you could look at their HSC syllabi to better ascertain what you will and will not enjoy.

 

[redjnr]

If I recall correctly, swapping subjects in the preliminary year becomes more inconvenient the later you do it as you must complete all assessments in order to continue to the HSC level.

Whatever the case, firstly don't worry about the combination of subjects e.g. too many social sciences, you don't need to diversify as if your trading stocks; as long as you are happy and confident you will do well in the subjects you have then that is all that matters.

At the moment the only decision you have to make is whether to pick up 3U english and/or swap one of your 2 unit subjects to something else, whether you pick up 4U maths and what subject you drop will be determined by the marks you get in year 11. You should already have had many lessons in each of the subjects, so if your finding one particularly tedious then by all means swap it to physics or something else. 3U English I personally do not think is worth it unless you are confident you'll get 90+. Finally, remember when selecting subjects to keep into account the scaling. You may look at a past Extension II HSC math paper and think "fuck that" but keep in mind as Braintic said, the difficulty is accounted for in the scaling.

Google "UAC Table A3" for scaling references (BOSTES scaling to UAC scaling), and "Raw mark database" to see what raw mark in the HSC aligns to in terms of Examination mark.

 

[cem]

Not so....My mate did economics in year 11 and then in term 4 2014 (the year 12 just started) he swapped economics for business studies...

Not every school will allow that however.

 

[enoilgam]

Can anyone give me advice???

Pick the subjects you are best at and enjoy most. You seem to be paying attention to too many factors, some of which arent relevant. Dont be concerned with doing multiple social sciences - if they give you the best chance of getting the highest ATAR you can achieve, then go for it.

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

Do not pick up English Extension I if you are not good at essay writing and/or creative writing. It is so much work.