Which subjects should I take for year 12? (1 Viewer)

[Plonker]

I'm sorry if I posted this thread in the wrong section.

So here are the 12 units I am doing at the moment and a short comment on each.

1. Advanced English - I hate it, and I'm doing consistently average.

2. Advanced Mathematics - I'm doing decent in maths, however if I dropped down to general my ATAR would definitely increase. I'm just sticking with it because even though it brings down my ATAR, a lot of courses require it. Is this a good idea?

3. Physics - I find it boring and my teacher is horrible. I feel like I would do well with a different teacher, but the problem is I dislike it and I'm not learning enough in class time. Probably the subject that I am most likely to drop.

4. Modern History - I enjoy this subject and I do well in it. I'm thinking about doing Extension History as it scales so well.

5. Economics - I am so/so with this subject. My marks are okay, but I don't find it particularly interesting.

6. Multimedia - I enjoy this subject and I always get very high marks. However, I am still considering dropping it. This is because the major work takes up so much time which could be spent on other subjects and it doesn't scale very well.


So, considering this I will probably go with these 11 units:

Advanced English
Advanced Mathematics
Modern History
Economics
Multimedia
Extension History


Is this a good idea? My main concern is deciding between Multimedia vs. Physics. Even though I do enjoy Multimedia more, Physics is a lot more useful and scales a lot better. If I devoted the amount of time from my Multimedia major work and put it into Physics instead, I'd probably end up doing fine in Physics.

Thanks for reading all of this. Any experiences you have had with subjects/scaling are appreciated.

 

[FlameLash]

You should try to do what you personally enjoy and the subjects that meet the requirements of your desired course prior to considering how scaling will have an impact on your ATAR. It is important to realise that you are more likely to do well in subjects that you are more motivated to study. Certain subjects that are a prerequisite of your desired university course may drive you to work harder to achieve your goals, and you are much more likely to pursue the areas you enjoy rather than those which you don't. If you're aiming to get into an engineering-based course or any course that requires physics as a prerequisite, then you should keep physics. However, if not, then opt for multimedia as you seem to enjoy it. Likewise with mathematics, but be certain that general will indeed be beneficial before dropping because it may not be reversible.

 

[mx3]

If you believe you can find the motivation/effort to study for Physics, I recommend that you go with the (much) better scaling option, Phys. However don't be afraid to listen to your heart if you believe there's no way around the problem of your teacher and you'll end up hating the subject.
Find out if classes get shuffled at the end of year 11, maybe you could get a new teacher for Phys.


Stay with 2u maths unless you're absolutely struggling (<50% raw), which you said you're not. General won't do your ATAR any favours.

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

1. Advanced English - I hate it, and I'm doing consistently average.
A lot of people hate English in general, but if you are doing average (I'm assuming 10-15 out of 20 marks), then it would be safe enough for me to say "Stay in Advanced English and just fake it until you make it" because even dropping to English Standard wouldn't help your case.

2. Advanced Mathematics - I'm doing decent in maths, however if I dropped down to general my ATAR would definitely increase. I'm just sticking with it because even though it brings down my ATAR, a lot of courses require it. Is this a good idea?
How do you know if your ATAR will increase because of General Maths? General Maths is VERY DIFFERENT to 2U/3U/4U Maths in terms of the kind of maths they do and how they learn. In regards to university courses, it is a recommended/assumed knowledge rather than a requirement (for most courses).

3. Physics - I find it boring and my teacher is horrible. I feel like I would do well with a different teacher, but the problem is I dislike it and I'm not learning enough in class time. Probably the subject that I am most likely to drop.
Whilst teachers can be an important factor in your education, you can pursue more knowledge in Physics by self-studying and wide-reading. However, most of Year 11 content will not determine Year 12 content because Year 11 is "classical" (according to my Physics teacher).

5. Economics - I am so/so with this subject. My marks are okay, but I don't find it particularly interesting.
As you are doing 12 units currently, and only allowed to have a minimum of 10 in Year 12, sometimes you will have to suck it up and just go through the subject because you can not pick up new subjects (unless its related to the subject you did, like dropping from Physics to Senior Science).

6. Multimedia - I enjoy this subject and I always get very high marks. However, I am still considering dropping it. This is because the major work takes up so much time which could be spent on other subjects and it doesn't scale very well.
If you're getting high marks AND a high rank, I would recommend keeping the subject because even though there is a major work, with enough organisation, you can evenly spread time on other subjects. I have seen people do 3 major works and still finish the HSC well. Its all a matter of organising yourself. Also, scaling is not detrimental to your ATAR. There are people who do Business Studies and Legal Studies, who are infamously known for being low scaling, yet there are so many students who attain a 90+, 95+ and 99+ ATAR, purely because they performed well in it with a strong ranking and external mark.

 

[Plonker]

After consideration of your advice I will probably stick with the list I made. My only decision at the moment is Multimedia vs. Physics where I will most likely take Multimedia. Thanks for your assistance.

Oh and if anyone wanted to know, here are my rankings for each subject. I probably should have included this earlier as my lack of information forced you to make assumptions. It's also worth keeping in mind that these rankings are in a top 100 school/

Advanced English - 47/96
Advanced Mathematics - 18/50
Physics - 20/26
Modern History - 3/25
Economics - 6/16
Multimedia - 2/12

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

Hmmm your Physics rank is a bit...not that average. I assumed you were doing fine but hating Physics because of your teacher, but that unmotivation is obviously reflected in your rank for Physics. Maybe keep Multimedia over Physics. Even if you are in a top 100 school, you still want to be in top 10, top 5 or top 3 (or in general, top quarter of your cohort to be in the best position).

 

[buriza]

I'm sorry if I posted this thread in the wrong section.

So here are the 12 units I am doing at the moment and a short comment on each.

1. Advanced English - I hate it, and I'm doing consistently average.

2. Advanced Mathematics - I'm doing decent in maths, however if I dropped down to general my ATAR would definitely increase. I'm just sticking with it because even though it brings down my ATAR, a lot of courses require it. Is this a good idea?

3. Physics - I find it boring and my teacher is horrible. I feel like I would do well with a different teacher, but the problem is I dislike it and I'm not learning enough in class time. Probably the subject that I am most likely to drop.

4. Modern History - I enjoy this subject and I do well in it. I'm thinking about doing Extension History as it scales so well.

5. Economics - I am so/so with this subject. My marks are okay, but I don't find it particularly interesting.

6. Multimedia - I enjoy this subject and I always get very high marks. However, I am still considering dropping it. This is because the major work takes up so much time which could be spent on other subjects and it doesn't scale very well.


So, considering this I will probably go with these 11 units:

Advanced English
Advanced Mathematics
Modern History
Economics
Multimedia
Extension History


Is this a good idea? My main concern is deciding between Multimedia vs. Physics. Even though I do enjoy Multimedia more, Physics is a lot more useful and scales a lot better. If I devoted the amount of time from my Multimedia major work and put it into Physics instead, I'd probably end up doing fine in Physics.

Thanks for reading all of this. Any experiences you have had with subjects/scaling are appreciated.

What course do you want to do at university?

 

[Flop21]

I do multimedia, and just finished my major project. Happy to answer any questions.

You probably enjoy it because you're good at it right? I would say go for it. It's a fun subject and to be honest I say it's a lot less work than other subjects. That's because HSC is primarily your major work (which should mostly be fun anyway) and of course that 80 page a4 or 40 page a3 folio. I will admit that the folio is annoying and a long process, but I still think multimedia is less work than other subjects.

It does scale very poorly. This shouldn't be a problem if you are going to get over 90 and are not aiming for an ATAR of 98+ (or maybe it's 99+).

My advice is that you work on the major project AND folio throughout the year. You'll do a industry study which might distract you and take time, don't make my mistake, keep working on your major project and you won't have a problem with time and deadlines.

Think of it this way, multimedia has a major work which is like 60% of your external HSC. That means the exam is MUCH shorter than other subjects and worth less. So comparing it to another subject, you would have to do another 3 hour exam which would be more time consuming.

Just please, please, please get as much work on your major work EARLY ON in your HSC (summer holidays hint hint). Aim to get a completed project first, THEN work on making it absolutely fantastic if you have time / or adding things to it. You will thank yourself later.

 

[blackbird_14]

Yeah with any project that goes throughout the summer holidays- make sure you use your summer holidays wisely, and work on your project constantly throughout year 12. Folios/Portfolios/Logbooks are a major pain in the ass- so PLEASE DON'T LEAVE THIS TILL THE LAST MINUTE OTHERWISE YOU'LL BE SCREWING YOURSELF (ok not literally cause that's disgusting but you get my point).