Yr 10 Subject Selection (1 Viewer)

[Klone]

Hey guys, just recently joined so sorry if I've posted this on the wrong forum. I'm currently in year 10 and my subject selections are due early next week. I wanted to get some of your opinions as you lot seem like a smart bunch, and I'm really stuck on certain subjects to pick. Currently, I'm an accelerated student so I sit the preliminary courses of Studies of Religion 1 unit and Investigating Science, so those will be a part of the units I select. Other than this I know I want to pick English Advanced, Math Extension 1, and Chemistry. That all adds up to 10 units leaving me with one more subject to pick. I've been looking through the syllabuses and outlines to see which subjects I could pick but I'm at a crossroads At the moment, I'm considering Biology, Society and Culture, and French Beginners, and mildly considering Music, Modern History, Economics, and Physics.

I do like Bio, and it has consistently been my best marks throughout high school, although I'm scared of doing three sciences and many older kids and teachers have been advising against doing triple science. Is triple science really hard, and is Biology an interesting subject in general? I've heard that it only gets interesting in yr 12, so I guess that's something to consider.

For Society and Culture, I have the best teacher at my school, and statistically, it been my school's best subject for a few years because of the teacher. By picking Society, I will have some diversity in my subjects, and the subject does seem interesting. Although I don't know how I will do in the subject, and whether or not I'm down to do a PIP. Is a PIP really time-consuming?

Whilst I didn't do French in yrs 9 or 10, I really enjoyed it in yr 8, and I got really good marks in it. The teacher is really good and this does provide diversity. Although, it is quite risky to work on a language that I'm unfamiliar with. Is it work taking that risk, and is the subject as fun as it seems?

For the rest of the subjects I'm mildly considering, I've gotten pretty decent marks in them although these subjects are either really time-consuming or risky to pick (a lot could go wrong). I want to work in either the STEM or health field if that's of any use. Any tips or feedback would be greatly appreciated since I am quite the confused being. Also, btw should I pick English Extension? I get around 90s in English, although English isn't exactly my favorite subject. I've heard a lot of people picking up English Ext to improve in English overall and then dropping to Advanced. Should I do that? Thank you for allowing me to rant, and I apologize to all those who have someone who managed to read this mess. Pls help

 

[c8]

You could technically pick two subjects you're contemplating leaving you at 14 units, then you can drop when you begin year 11, most schools allow you to drop within the first weeks of term 1, however since you're doing accelerated that's a lot of work in year 11 so probably wouldn't recommend it.

If you really enjoy science then you should do all three, but yeah it is a lot of work. Although, with you having done some subjects accelerated, your workload will be lighter in year 12. I know a lot of people do two sciences like chem and bio or chem and phys (normally most don't do bio and phys) but I'd just pick the sciences you like, and if that happens to be all three then go for it.
If english isn't your favourite subject I probably wouldn't pick english extension, most choose to drop it because they don't enjoy it and instead picked it because they had uneven units or smth so think about that too. Tbh I don't really think english extension helped me with english that much anyways, but that's probably because my school only had like assessment tasks and not exams so check how your school runs it
Idk anything about society and culture or french so can't provide any advice on that

Just go with what you think you'll enjoy the most. If you don't know much about the subjects, ask teachers and the years above! They will give you a good insight into the subjects and how it is at your school.

Good luck!

 

[beetree1]

I wouldnt recommend doing French considering you missed out on 2 whole years of things to learn, meaning you would be at a disadvantage as you are forced to learn everything in a short period of time. Also, your year 8 marks are probably not indicative of you ability now (it can be better or worse) but again, considering you missed out on 2 years of content, it is probably not a smart choice.

Among the rest of your subjects you are interested in, I would recommend Physics as it matches the rest of your subjects (tutorable), and can easily get good marks as there is no dodgy marking involved in essays if you know what I mean.
Out of my 5 friends that started the HSC doing music, 4 of them have dropped it so idk what that says.

For English Ext1, if you do badly in Adv, they can take the average of both your advanced and extension = a higher mark. So if you are willing to do that extra work for 1 unit, go for it.

Another alternative option is doing Extension 2 Maths. I do it and I really recommend it because it makes Extension 1 sooooo easy! And also scaling is beautiful. It's not that much harder than Ext1, just more work and more time studying on maths.

This is just based on my opinion, and what I would do if I was you. Just pick whatever you like! But also remember you can change your subjects early on in year 11 so don't stress too much about it

 

[Klone]

Thanks so much for your advice! Its given me some insightful perspective. So I’ve shortlisted two subjects either Biology or Society and Culture. Whilst I could consider Physics, I personally find it a bit boring and the concepts are really abstract. So what do reckon I should pick out of the two?

 

[maaax]

I think whether you pick Biology or Society and Culture depends on what you are looking to get into after HSC.

If you are looking to go into science I'd definitely recommend Biology. If you look at the assumed knowledge for many science degrees, Biology is almost always recommended. Also, if you're actually interested in the subject then it makes it a whole lot easier to study, regardless of how "content heavy" it is.

Have you asked your teachers what they would advise you to do? Or maybe a careers advisor at your school? Definitely ask them if you haven't already!

I'd also recommend checking out some of the resources for subject selection - Talent 100 is hosting some webinars that may be useful. I went to the Bridging the Gap seminar last year and it was super helpful! They're all free and you can go along and ask them questions even if you're not a student. They have quite a few, definitely check them out! eventbrite.com.au/o/talent-100-hsc-success-seminars-9381163664

The Bridging the Gap seminar had a really interesting point about scaling too - definitely something to look into and to factor in when choosing your subjects. For example, I wouldn't recommend any Beginners language courses or Music 1 unless you're absolutely sure you can get top marks...