Subject selection help (1 Viewer)

[Ksalu]

Im currently selecting subjects but i dont know what to pick for my last two.

The subjects im definitely doing are:
Eng Adv (compulsory)
Maths Ext (teacher recommends)
Modern (Enjoy and good at history and essay writing)
Economics (Enjoy and good at commerce and essay writing)

After school, I plan on going into economics or public policy.

The subjects I am debating between are:
English Ext 1 (might benefit adv and improve my english skills?)
Legal (enjoy the legal content and good at essay writing but i am horrible at memorisation. I heard in legal, you need remember a lot of case studies. It might help with what i want to do in the future)
Physics (Find physics in year 10 science, manageable and enjoyable. The problem is that I am not a very mathy or science person and it does not benefit me in what i want to do in the future)
Visual Art (enjoy and good at theory content and writing art essays but I am not very good at the practical component in art. It also doesnt help me with what i want to do in the future)

Thx!

 

[jimmysmith560]

Let us have a more in-depth look at the options that you have listed in relation to three important categories, being:

• Personal interest
• Performance potential
• Relevance for future studies

Personal interest:

In addition to other factors that may have played a role in terms of the subjects that you have picked as well as those that you are contemplating, it would be a good idea to consider subjects that you feel would satisfy your own personal interests. For instance, you mentioned that you would enjoy the content in each of Legal Studies, Physics and Visual Arts, which is a indication that your interest may potentially lie in one (or more) of those subjects. Based on this, it would be a good idea to compare the extent to which you would be interested in taking each of those subjects and make a decision accordingly.

Under this particular category, it seems like you may not be interested in taking English Extension 1, given that you have listed this subject on the basis of a possible benefit that is not linked to your own interest in taking the subject.

Performance potential:

It is also important to consider the level of performance that you believe you can attain in each of the proposed subjects. In doing so, you have also considered your year 10 performance, which is a good thing.

You mentioned that your performance in Commerce is favourable and that you believe this would be reflected in your performance in Economics. As far as I'm aware, similar to Legal Studies, retaining information is an important aspect in terms of maximising performance in Economics, which is a reason that you may wish to consider taking Legal Studies, i.e. memorisation may not end up being as problematic as you think it is.

Additionally, keep in mind that, because none of your year 11 results will count towards your HSC results or ATAR, it gives you a great opportunity to thoroughly experience all of your subjects throughout year 11 at no expense, consequently allowing you to determine the best subject combination to have as you approach year 12. Because of this, if you feel that at some point in year 11, you are not performing at your preferred level in a particular subject, you can always drop that subject, allowing you to focus on enhancing your performance in your other subjects.

Relevance for future studies:

Considering your interest in studying Economics beyond the HSC, it is good that you chose to take Economics for year 11 and year 12, since knowledge gained from this subject may assist you beyond year 12, especially towards the start of your university journey.

As far as I'm aware, it is not crucial to take Legal Studies if you wish to study something related to law, although taking this subject essentially familiarises you with the basics of the Australian legal framework, which is usually a nice addition to your general knowledge.

On a similar note, have you considered taking Business Studies? I believe this would be a good subject to take given that it includes a minor economics component, especially within the HSC course, therefore achieving consistency with Economics and enabling you to build a stronger foundation of knowledge relevant to the field of economics, not to mention the other areas of business that you will gain exposure to, which could spark your interest and could increase your study options with respect to university, such as the multitude of business/commerce fields.

I hope this helps!

 

[Ksalu]

Thank you for replying Jimmy!

After reading through your msg, I’ll be definitely doing legal.

I have considered business but:
• I don’t want to do 4 humanities subjects
• It is very memorisation based (i am not good at memorisation)
• Everyone i have talked to, have said it is a dry subject and that there isn’t much point in doing it

As for English Ext 1, even though I don’t have much interest in it, if it does improve my English capability, I would be willing to do it.

On another note, could someone answer some of my questions?

How much maths is there in physics and how hard is ?
Does English ext 1 benefit Adv and how is ext different to adv?

Thx!

 

[idkkdi]

Im currently selecting subjects but i dont know what to pick for my last two.

The subjects im definitely doing are:
Eng Adv (compulsory)
Maths Ext (teacher recommends)
Modern (Enjoy and good at history and essay writing)
Economics (Enjoy and good at commerce and essay writing)

After school, I plan on going into economics or public policy.

The subjects I am debating between are:
English Ext 1 (might benefit adv and improve my english skills?)
Legal (enjoy the legal content and good at essay writing but i am horrible at memorisation. I heard in legal, you need remember a lot of case studies. It might help with what i want to do in the future)
Physics (Find physics in year 10 science, manageable and enjoyable. The problem is that I am not a very mathy or science person and it does not benefit me in what i want to do in the future)
Visual Art (enjoy and good at theory content and writing art essays but I am not very good at the practical component in art. It also doesnt help me with what i want to do in the future)

Thx!

other than maths, nothing about your future is affected much by the subjects u do for hsc imo.

having said that, i would take
ext 1 and physics.

try pick up ext 2 in yr 12. modern day economics is quite mathy.

 

[Bob99]

Thank you for replying Jimmy!

After reading through your msg, I’ll be definitely doing legal.

I have considered business but:
• I don’t want to do 4 humanities subjects
• It is very memorisation based (i am not good at memorisation)
• Everyone i have talked to, have said it is a dry subject and that there isn’t much point in doing it

As for English Ext 1, even though I don’t have much interest in it, if it does improve my English capability, I would be willing to do it.

On another note, could someone answer some of my questions?

How much maths is there in physics and how hard is ?
Does English ext 1 benefit Adv and how is ext different to adv?

Thx!

Physics is majority the application of maths and involves a lot of geometry (for first few modules) and plugging values into equations. 1 or 2 modules is mostly theory based and that requires you to have the ability to understand the concepts behind physics experiments. Physics becomes really easy when you understand how every concept works and other than that, its basic maths.

 

[Ksalu]

Thx for all the replies!