What science to drop for year 12? (1 Viewer)

[ScienceGuy99]

Hello,

I'm in year 11 and my subjects are biology, chemistry, physics, maths, extension maths, advanced english and ancient history.

I'm dropping ancient history in year 12 because I don't like it at all and want the extra study time. But I also want to pick up extension 2 maths in year 12, so I'd be back to 12 units for year 12.

I want the extra study time and specialisation that comes with having 10 units... But that would mean dropping a science, and I don't particularly want to do that as I'm undecided on what area of science I want to go into

So my thinking is: If I can get some assistance with what science to drop and what field to get into during uni, I can get a great head start in year 12 by being so specialised in terms of my subject choices.

If you could just write about which two of the three sciences (bio, chem, physics) you would pick and why, I'd love to hear your opinion And also which field of science you think has the greatest potential in the future

 

[Silly Sausage]

Drop whichever one you're the worst at.
Otherwise drop biology.

 

[Amundies]

Hello,

I'm in year 11 and my subjects are biology, chemistry, physics, maths, extension maths, advanced english and ancient history.

I'm dropping ancient history in year 12 because I don't like it at all and want the extra study time. But I also want to pick up extension 2 maths in year 12, so I'd be back to 12 units for year 12.

I want the extra study time and specialisation that comes with having 10 units... But that would mean dropping a science, and I don't particularly want to do that as I'm undecided on what area of science I want to go into

So my thinking is: If I can get some assistance with what science to drop and what field to get into during uni, I can get a great head start in year 12 by being so specialised in terms of my subject choices.

If you could just write about which two of the three sciences (bio, chem, physics) you would pick and why, I'd love to hear your opinion And also which field of science you think has the greatest potential in the future

Regarding the first bolded thing, you'll have to choose what you want to do at uni yourself. You can see what each entails and see what people currently doing the sciences currently say, but it's up to you at the end of the day.

And regarding the second bolded thing, they all have potential in the future. There isn't really one that's more important than the other.

If you drop biology, you'd be doing exactly what I did during HSC interestingly, so I guess that's what I'd drop if I were you. Also keep in mind that what you learn in the sciences during HSC won't give you that much of a headstart going into uni. You might know more than someone else in the first semester (slightly), but even then they will still cover it and after that they are so far ahead that headstart won't even matter. The only really important subject is maths extension 1 (and extension 2 if you can do it).

 

[Nailgun]

bio

 

[clementinez]

It depends on which Science you're best and worst at but from a uni perspective drop either Biology or Physics. The reason I say this is because HSC Physics is nothing like university physics, it won't help significantly as uni physics is mostly maths and you have that covered. HSC physics is some basic theory behind some basic physics imo. As for HSC biology, it won't give you any particular advantage when doing first year biology units as most Intro Biology units will go through everything necessary for the course and HSC biology is pretty straight forward so if you do end up needing any of it it's fairly easy to just read up a bit in your spare time.

I wouldn't drop chemistry because it's useful and you'll need it for first year chemistry courses at uni. Also chemistry explains biology in a way so it will help. It's also more difficult to go through the chemistry in your own time if you end up needing it.

Personally I'd drop Biology.

 

[clementinez]

Hello,

I'm in year 11 and my subjects are biology, chemistry, physics, maths, extension maths, advanced english and ancient history.

I'm dropping ancient history in year 12 because I don't like it at all and want the extra study time. But I also want to pick up extension 2 maths in year 12, so I'd be back to 12 units for year 12.

I want the extra study time and specialisation that comes with having 10 units... But that would mean dropping a science, and I don't particularly want to do that as I'm undecided on what area of science I want to go into

So my thinking is: If I can get some assistance with what science to drop and what field to get into during uni, I can get a great head start in year 12 by being so specialised in terms of my subject choices.

If you could just write about which two of the three sciences (bio, chem, physics) you would pick and why, I'd love to hear your opinion And also which field of science you think has the greatest potential in the future

You have to decide for yourself what field you'd like to go into. The first step is having a look through the university handbooks to see which courses interest you and maybe googling specific fields so you can get a feel for what it's about.

As for which science fields have the greatest potential in the future.. that is such a broad question and it depends on where you plan on working and living. All fields of science have potential but not all of them are booming in Australia. Be aware of this because you may google biomedical science/engineering and get data saying it's a booming field and it is, only not in Australia. It will expand here too no doubt but the market is not big so opportunities won't be as great as those for let's say electrical engineering. Also be aware that engineering in general has much better job prospects than science. If you want to pursue science then be prepared to do honours and postgraduate study to open up research roles.

I would say if you want to pursue science and stay in Australia avoid medical sciences except maybe pathology and biochemistry (if you're really interested) because you can work as a lab technician with those degrees. Anything biological would probably be more difficult to get a job in as opposed to let's say chemistry and physics. Biotechnology and bioinformatics are pretty good. Computer Science is by far the best in terms of employment prospects.

You have to really think this through because a science major can take you many places. Take for instance physics. You can go into materials science (a field that is booming all over the world but not so much here, UNSW even has a degree for it), or medical physics, or nuclear physics etc. but you can also apply your physics knowledge to further study in geophysics and oceanography, meteorology, biomechanics or simply teach it in school.

Some of the best advice I received regarding uni and majors was that the program I take is evidence of a skill set. Even a degree in biology can make you employable if you take some computing electives, do internships, and take part in research groups while at uni.