Picking up History Extension? (1 Viewer)

[Freewheelin]

For context, my rankings from the preliminary are as follows.
1/24 for Modern History
1/63 for Business Studies
3-5/28 for Math ext 1
6-10/62 for Math adv
2/61 for Eng adv
4/91 for SOR1
1/63 for Biology

My Modern teacher told me that I'd do well in History Extension so now I'm thinking of dropping business to pick it up. Thing is, while I find business studies pretty dry, I do decently well in it.So I'm not sure if I should stick with BST (considering that I've got a proven track record) or pick up History Extension (only 2 guys doing it) in lieu of something that I'm ranked first in.

 

[jimmysmith560]

There are a number of factors that you may wish to consider which will hopefully assist you in making an informed decision. They include:

• Your personal interests - You mentioned your lack of interest in Business Studies. Do you feel the same about Modern History or do you find it to be a more interesting subject than Business Studies? If you found Modern History interesting (or at least more interesting than Business Studies), then it is likely that History Extension will also align closely with your interests. I will also note that the Business Studies HSC course should be a bit more interesting than the Preliminary course because the content is less general given that it covers four business functions in more detail.
• Your performance potential - In addition to being interested in a particular subject, it is important to take subjects that you believe you can perform well in. Your ranks in Business Studies and Modern History are both excellent and indicate that you will be able to maintain such a high standard in both subjects going into year 12. However, History Extension will be a new subject, meaning that your decision would involve determining whether taking a subject that you know you can perform in or taking a new subject with potentially tighter competition would best support your efforts to achieving your ATAR goal.
• Subject unit value - This is also an important aspect that you should consider. Business Studies is a 2 unit subject whereas History Extension is a 1 unit subject. Based on this, favourable performance in Business Studies is likely to make a superior contribution to your ATAR when compared to History Extension.

I hope this helps!