• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

To drop or not the drop: the math dilemma (1 Viewer)

nutcracker

Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
351
Location
the restaurant at the end of the universe.
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
To drop or not to drop: the math dilemma

Edit: LOL my typo >>. It's meant to be: "to drop or not to drop" >_o.

My first thread here; feels weird ><".

I'm in a bit of a dilemma: I want to drop maths ext 1.
Mainly because I'm doing crappily in it and I love my other subjects and would prefer to devote more time to them and boost their marks up instead of trying desperately to bring my current 45/50 MX1 (rank: 130something) mark up a few points. Also, my current ATAR estimate doesn't include any units of maths. Aaaaand, I don't think I'm coping well with 13 units; I'd prefer to drop down to 12.

What I'm worried about is, even though I'm doing really well in all my other subjects, they're all essay-based ones (with the exception of chem and 2u maths) and I'm worried that the marking might be subjective and even though I get good marks at school, I might be in for a rude awakening when my actual HSC results come =/ And also, everyone tells me scary stories about how you need maths to improve your atar and even though I know that isn't true, I can't help having a nagging feeling that it might be...

So uhh, basically what I want is some reassurance ><" I know there are people on here who've gotten really good atars without any units of maths - come share your stories! Thank you! :)
 
Last edited:

philphie

Banned
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
2,187
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
45/50 is not bad, the only reason why yoou're ranked so low is because evrybody's mark is overlapping which means you're in a competitive class which means you'll scale better. if you keep it at a 90% average that will be aligned very well afterwards. sog my opinion is keep it, it'll give you a good boost. my mate looking at his results should've got an atar of 87 or something but mat ext 1 boosted it up to 91 something and his mat ext 1 mark wasn't even that good, like a low band 5 or high band 4.
 

nutcracker

Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
351
Location
the restaurant at the end of the universe.
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
Thanks for the quick replies!

45/50 is not bad, the only reason why yoou're ranked so low is because evrybody's mark is overlapping which means you're in a competitive class which means you'll scale better. if you keep it at a 90% average that will be aligned very well afterwards. sog my opinion is keep it, it'll give you a good boost. my mate looking at his results should've got an atar of 87 or something but mat ext 1 boosted it up to 91 something and his mat ext 1 mark wasn't even that good, like a low band 5 or high band 4.
Hey umm, I get a bit confused when people talk about "aligned" marks...I'm not entirely sure what they are. The 45/50 I mentioned is the.. the one that was on my report at the end of year 11. The marks I'm getting in the exams are MUCH lower - like: 40/60 T_T" - that's another thing, the marks I get in the actual exams are so discouraging, it makes me want to quit =_=".

Hmm.. I've heard lots of people say that MX1 gives you a good boost, but will it matter if all your other marks are 95+? Because that's how I'm doing in my other subjects and I would rather concentrate on boosting those marks even further than wasting time on 3u maths, if it's not going to count =/

And lol yes, I do go to Ruse.
 

Tofuu

Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
319
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2010
40/60, are your exams meant to be really hard (what was the expected class average?)
 

twistedrebel

Active Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
1,502
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
I would drop maths, you have 13 units. Also how did you go in Ag?
 

philphie

Banned
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
2,187
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
Thanks for the quick replies!



Hey umm, I get a bit confused when people talk about "aligned" marks...I'm not entirely sure what they are. The 45/50 I mentioned is the.. the one that was on my report at the end of year 11. The marks I'm getting in the exams are MUCH lower - like: 40/60 T_T" - that's another thing, the marks I get in the actual exams are so discouraging, it makes me want to quit =_=".

Hmm.. I've heard lots of people say that MX1 gives you a good boost, but will it matter if all your other marks are 95+? Because that's how I'm doing in my other subjects and I would rather concentrate on boosting those marks even further than wasting time on 3u maths, if it's not going to count =/

And lol yes, I do go to Ruse.
well just don't rely on 4 units of eng too heavily because even if youdo get 95+ it won't contribute to as much as you think. but other than that i suppose dropping it would be good, but you've only had one exam right? so might be bit too early
 

nutcracker

Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
351
Location
the restaurant at the end of the universe.
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
40/60, are your exams meant to be really hard (what was the expected class average?)
Yeahh, they are meant to be pretty hard :/
For the first year 12 assessment, I got 38/63 and I think the average was around 44? or 45.

well just don't rely on 4 units of eng too heavily because even if youdo get 95+ it won't contribute to as much as you think. but other than that i suppose dropping it would be good, but you've only had one exam right? so might be bit too early
Well, heh, I stuffed up the first exam pretty badly so yeah ><".
Really, won't my english units count as much? I thought they scaled pretty well, especially 4u? Although, I think I'm relying more on my humanities than I am on my english - I came 2nd in eco & mod in year 11 so hopefullyyyyy, I can keep it up and get high marks in them in the hsc. Hopefully. ><".

I would drop maths, you have 13 units. Also how did you go in Ag?
Thanks for the advice. Loll, I stuffed up ag xD I wanted to drop it before trials but my parents wouldn't let me T_T. I ended up getting 93.
Did you do ag? Your HSC year is N/A so I can't tell if you're a high school-er or uni student lol.
 
Last edited:

joecarling

New Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
14
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
you should drop it cos 13 units is a drain. anyway, you'll feel a sigh of relief and comfort after dropping it.
 

NewiJapper

Active Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
1,010
Location
Newcastle
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
Ok. Lets have Math Ext 1 = x.

Let the rest of your subjects = y.

x is an unknown variable.

x + y = ATAR
y = ATAR - x
If x had a value that only allowed it to be = 0 or > we can safely assume that it can only maximise your marks if it was added into the equation to begin with.
 

boxhunter91

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Messages
736
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
Dont be an idiot like me.
I dropped to 2 Unit and hammered it. But i realise if i kept 3 unit and put the effort in like i did for 2 Uni i could of hit a much higher ATAR.
If you stuff it up dont be worried your going to Ruse everyone will pick up your marks.
 

ninetypercent

ninety ninety ninety
Joined
May 23, 2009
Messages
2,148
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
nutcracker :)
13 units is definitely too much. it's 30% more than what you are required to do, lol

and dw about needing maths to improve your atar. Your current atar estimate doesn't have maths counted, so unless you improve your maths results by heaps, it will not count.
You're better off spending more time on your other subjects :D

and also, essay based subjects are subjective, but they are double marked (i think) and as long as your essays are top quality, there will be little variation in teacher opinion (i think).

oh well, in the end, it's your decision. (but with your for and against reasons, I think you should drop it)

u did well in preliminary, keep up the good work! xD
 

bubbrubb

Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
82
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
if you are doing EXCEPTIONALLY well in your other subjects... drop it.

By exceptional i mean you are more confident in getting 95+ in them than getting 90+ in 3 unit maths.

essentially... maths 3u has very good scaling and you shouldn't relli drop it unless you are certain it won't count.

Also, it is very likely that, come hsc time, all the essay style subjects will become a huge burden as a ton of memorising is put on your shoulders (the whole year can build quite a lot of material to remember in detail for just one subject). Maths is like the antidote to memorising subjects. remember that.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top