Year 11 Subject Selection (1 Viewer)

[yx0302n]

Hello, I'm struggling to decide on my last two units for next year. So far, I have:
2 English
3 Maths
2 Biology
2 Chemistry
2 Physics
and am unsure what to pick for my last two. I have an idea of either Economics, Modern History or PDHPE. I want to achieve the highest ATAR possible and do well because I am looking to do medicine in the future. Below are the pros and cons of each subject.


I currently take commerce but am not getting great grades for it. I asked around my seniors and most of them said that they enjoy economics but it is extremely content heavy. However, many of them said that it will help with answering questions for other subjects such as Biology and that it will also help me write faster and possibly more legibly. I do not really like commerce because it requires a lot of memorisation of the policies and flows of the markets. However, it scales considerably well and my school gets one or two state ranks for Economics each year.

I have not really taken history seriously because I have never thought about taking it for HSC until a few days ago but my grades for it has always been 80%+. My senior has also said that Modern History will help me with answering questions for other subjects like Biology but not as meticulously as Economics. My school's Modern History is not the best so I am afraid that the class won't do well as a whole and thus, this subject may not go well in regards to the HSC. Modern History's course outline, however, seems really interesting as does the course description.

I currently take PASS and am doing considerably well in it but it is considered more of a 'bludge' subject. My seniors have told me to not do PDHPE for HSC unless I am positive that I am able to top the class while balancing out my other subjects. HSC PDHPE's course description and outline is more medicine related than the other two so I feel that it will be more of an advantage when applying for a university but it also may not matter nor be taken into account. My school's PDHPE is not the best because we do not have state ranks for it at all and the teachers are too chill because most people who do this subject does it for fun. I am not too interested in the theory part of it because I have learnt it before at Scouts but the practical part is always fun.


Please do have a skim read through all of that and possibly guide me on which one I should take! I have been wondering for a long time but definitely am more inclined towards Economics or Modern History unless PDHPE has an advantage in getting into the medicine course in universities. I will be taking these subjects until the end of Year 12 (I think) unless I do not do well in them but have already taken the skills needed from them. Thank you so much in advance!

 

[DarkOperator618]

modern

The content isnt actually that bad, and also, its fairly easy to do well.

I would recommend it firstly due to what i said earlier, and also, its a nice alternative from the phys chem 3u math combo

 

[nilatar]

Agreeing with the aforesaid, go with what syllabus interests you the most. Disregard other smaller factors and then reweigh your options. You'll enjoy the course infinitely more if the content is actually in the realm of your interest.

 

[B1andB2]

none of them have an advantage for getting into med, so if i were you i'd pick the one with the least stress which will probably be PDHPE

realistically speaking you will probably end up dropping 1 or possibly 2 subjects even. You seem to have a lot on your plate already.

 

[Leadmen4y]

PDHPE is really content heavy, but they're really easy and there's only like a few mediocre topics like Ottawa Charter and periodisation, the exam is similar to humanities with a lot of writing, I would not recommend picking it up unless you're either really good at it or genuinely interested.

I topped my prelim cohort by simply anki-ing through all the content which I had notes on throughout the year but I hated this subject, there's so much to know and it can be a pain to study for. But if you're good at being concise, to the point and have a sport background (which will help you tremendously in Core 2 and the options if you do Improving Performance & Sports Medicine) you might like it/do well. The scaling is also good if you do well (obviously), 99.95s doing PE comes out in uac report every year so scaling wouldn't be a reason not to pick it.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Going through each of your preferences and analysing your respective strong/weak points across your current relevant subjects, let's explain and compare the number of advantages and disadvantages of taking Economics, Modern History or PDHPE:

Commerce --> Economics:

Downside: You are currently not performing very well academically in Commerce. Economics might indeed be considered a content-heavy subject depending on the student.

Downside: You don't like Commerce because it requires memorisation/knowledge of the policies and flows of markets, which sounds quite relevant to Economics - things like monetary policy and the Reserve Bank of Australia are covered in Economics.

Benefit: Economics scales well compared to subjects such as Business Studies and Legal Studies and your school achieves 1-2 state ranks each year. While this may allow you to potentially get higher marks, this might not necessarily be the case. You should not take a subject solely due to its scaling. Other factors, such as academic performance/enjoyment must be considered, as taking a high scaling subject you are not able to perform well in can be detrimental to your mark and consequently your ATAR. 🟢

History --> Modern History:

Benefit: The main benefit you can capitalise on is your currently good performance in history as you might be able to maintain this performance going forward (Preliminary and HSC Modern History). 🟢

Benefit: You seem interested in Modern History (as opposed to Economics). This is a very important thing to consider because having an interest in a field of study you're currently performing well in may likely allow you to maintain/improve this performance going forward (provided you study regularly and are up-to-date with content), which will in turn positively affect your marks and ATAR. 🟢

Downside (controversial): You are afraid your class won't do well as a whole, and that your performance at the HSC might be affected. While it's good that you're considering this factor, it is also important to remember that your final mark for a subject is the result of an assessment mark (worth 50%) and an exam mark worth 50%. The assessment mark relies on your ranking relative to your cohort, meaning the higher you rank, the better your mark you'll be. The exam mark reflects your performance in the HSC exam. You can definitely perform well in, provided you study regularly/thoroughly.

PASS --> PDHPE:

Benefit (controversial): While PDHPE definitely contains elements that are related to medicine (which can provide you with foundational knowledge of medicine, which could in turn be somewhat beneficial for your medicine university studies), I believe it won't necessarily give you an advantage with respect to applying to Medicine courses, which is something to consider.

Downside (controversial): Your school's PDHPE cohort is not the best academically - no state ranks and students usually take the subject for fun. Someone like yourself who's aiming to study medicine should definitely consider such factors, although as mentioned with Modern History, your final mark for a subject is more complex than a general idea of your school's PDHPE cohort's performance. Further, such a factor alone isn't enough to make an informed decision, as my school's 2018 Dux (99.60 ATAR) took PDHPE in a cohort that matches your description of your school's PDHPE cohort.

Benefit (controversial): You enjoy the practical aspect of PASS/PDHPE. PDHPE at the HSC level assesses your knowledge of theory/concepts explored throughout the year, I doubt there are any practical assessments with significant weighting in year 11 and 12 PDHPE, which is also something to consider, as you would surely like to avoid any unexpected surprises regarding a subject you choose.


Based, on the above, I would recommend taking Modern History - I believe that taking this subject will allow you to maximise your marks and hopefully achieve your goal.

Voilà, I hope this helps!

 

[DarkOperator618]

Going through each of your preferences and analysing your respective strong/weak points across your current relevant subjects, let's explain and compare the number of advantages and disadvantages of taking Economics, Modern History or PDHPE:

Commerce --> Economics:

Downside: You are currently not performing very well academically in Commerce. Economics might indeed be considered a content-heavy subject depending on the student.

Downside: You don't like Commerce because it requires memorisation/knowledge of the policies and flows of markets, which sounds quite relevant to Economics - things like monetary policy and the Reserve Bank of Australia are covered in Economics.

Benefit: Economics scales well compared to subjects such as Business Studies and Legal Studies and your school achieves 1-2 state ranks each year. While this may allow you to potentially get higher marks, this might not necessarily be the case. You should not take a subject solely due to its scaling. Other factors, such as academic performance/enjoyment must be considered, as taking a high scaling subject you are not able to perform well in can be detrimental to your mark and consequently your ATAR. 🟢

History --> Modern History:

Benefit: The main benefit you can capitalise on is your currently good performance in history as you might be able to maintain this performance going forward (Preliminary and HSC Modern History). 🟢

Benefit: You seem interested in Modern History (as opposed to Economics). This is a very important thing to consider because having an interest in a field of study you're currently performing well in may likely allow you to maintain/improve this performance going forward (provided you study regularly and are up-to-date with content), which will in turn positively affect your marks and ATAR. 🟢

Downside (controversial): You are afraid your class won't do well as a whole, and that your performance at the HSC might be affected. While it's good that you're considering this factor, it is also important to remember that your final mark for a subject is the result of an assessment mark (worth 50%) and an exam mark worth 50%. The assessment mark relies on your ranking relative to your cohort, meaning the higher you rank, the better your mark you'll be. The exam mark reflects your performance in the HSC exam. You can definitely perform well in, provided you study regularly/thoroughly.

PASS --> PDHPE:

Benefit (controversial): While PDHPE definitely contains elements that are related to medicine (which can provide you with foundational knowledge of medicine, which could in turn be somewhat beneficial for your medicine university studies), I believe it won't necessarily give you an advantage with respect to applying to Medicine courses, which is something to consider.

Downside (controversial): Your school's PDHPE cohort is not the best academically - no state ranks and students usually take the subject for fun. Someone like yourself who's aiming to study medicine should definitely consider such factors, although as mentioned with Modern History, your final mark for a subject is more complex than a general idea of your school's PDHPE cohort's performance. Further, such a factor alone isn't enough to make an informed decision, as my school's 2018 Dux (99.60 ATAR) took PDHPE in a cohort that matches your description of your school's PDHPE cohort.

Benefit (controversial): You enjoy the practical aspect of PASS/PDHPE. PDHPE at the HSC level assesses your knowledge of theory/concepts explored throughout the year, I doubt there are any practical assessments with significant weighting in year 11 and 12 PDHPE, which is also something to consider, as you would surely like to avoid any unexpected surprises regarding a subject you choose.


Based, on the above, I would recommend taking Modern History - I believe that taking this subject will allow you to maximise your marks and hopefully achieve your goal.

Voilà, I hope this helps!

i love how we provide average descriptions about a particular subject while u provide a wikipedia article lmaooo

 

[jimmysmith560]

i love how we provide average descriptions about a particular subject while u provide a wikipedia article lmaooo

Yoooo hahahahahaha

I mean you guys are obviously busy studying so I might as well jump in and help

 

[yx0302n]

Thank you all for your feedback! I have taken them into consideration and I think I'll probably do Modern History. It was really nice for you to take your time and give me good advice. Again, thank you!

 

[DarkOperator618]

Thank you all for your feedback! I have taken them into consideration and I think I'll probably do Modern History. It was really nice for you to take your time and give me good advice. Again, thank you!

AYY MODERN GANG