Subject Selection for Senior Years

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  [Deactivated] on 21/09/2018 - 19:57

  What did your school guidance counsellor suggest?

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    DBRJ on 21/09/2018 - 20:00

    We don't have a guidance counsellor that's helpful but we had a subject selection evening night with the teachers and they didn't really help

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      [Deactivated] on 21/09/2018 - 20:03

      +1

      Ok. Sounds like you are intelligent (by your post). In my opinion I think you are the best final decision maker. Choose your subjects, be confident in your decision and study hard for the next two years. All the best.

      • 

        DBRJ on 21/09/2018 - 20:07

        I know in the end it's up to me but thanks anyways

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  smuggler on 21/09/2018 - 20:03

  -3

  just do the asian subjects and make sure you end with these in year 12:

  4 Unit maths, Advanced english, chemistry, physics. kthxbye

  I got 99.5 and all I did was wrote learn the shit out of the sciences and do maths every night. I also read a lot of books which helped me be creative in english.

  Physics in high school is child's play. Just concentrate hard on english and maths.

  • 

    DBRJ on 21/09/2018 - 20:10

    Alright but i won't be doing 4 u, it's just too much and i my weakness right now is English. I have started reading books recently and yeah it has improved my vocab and language since the start of the year. And one final thing, is chemistry difficult in year 11 and 12 or is it achievable if you really focus on the work

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  peterpeterpumpkin on 21/09/2018 - 20:47

  +1

  I know it's easy to say from the other side, but I wouldn't worry to much about getting into Medicine off the bat. If you're still into it after 3 years of Medical Science, you can sit GAMSAT and failing that, wait a year and sit it again. On a side note, the less academic achievers I know settled for dentistry and actually "seem" a lot more relaxed than those that pursued medicine. Life can throw a lot more problems at you by the time you're 30.

  I did 13 units but one of those were in year 11. I wouldn't want to stress any more than necessary. English was the hardest since it was boring. 4 unit maths was only worth it for the scaling but definitely not essential if pursuing medical science.

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  Quantumcat on 21/09/2018 - 21:05

  +1

  Have you checked what is required for getting into medicine? There's no point doing extra.

  When I was in college in the ACT I had more credits than I needed, doing physics, chemistry, double major maths, French, and the lowest English possible, so I was able to take Art and not have it count towards my score at all. My teacher let me just paint whatever I wanted in class and not have to hand in any essays with the rest of the class. It was a lovely break several times a week. You should do something like that. You don't want to burn out early. Find out what you actually need to do, don't just do every subject that you're good at. Nobody is going to think you're cool or anything. You'll just be making things hard for yourself for no gain.

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    DBRJ on 21/09/2018 - 21:17

    Well thanks for your opinion and yes science is something i enjoy although most people don't enjoy i just had the passion to become a scientist or doctor when i was 10, it was just so intriguing especially surgery. But there aren't any prerequisites for medicine so i don't need to worry too much.

    • 

      Quantumcat on 22/09/2018 - 06:48

      +1

      Yeah don't worry too much, last thing you need is to overburden yourself and then get a worse score than you could have otherwise

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  Azrael169 on 21/09/2018 - 21:11

  +1

  I did post graduate medicine, chemistry and physics were important to get into medicine (GAMSTAT) but then almost irrelevant once I was in medicine.

  You are better off doing 4 subjects, committing yourself fully and achieving good grades.

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  ms_caz on 21/09/2018 - 22:16

  +4

  I’m a careers teacher in Victoria. Your year 11 and 12 programs are considerably different enough that I can only comment in general terms, but I would say that if you are looking at Biomedical Sciences as an alternative to medicine, then Chemistry would be my recommendation over Physics ( out of the two subjects you mention). Biochemistry, microbiology and physiology are likely to be strong components of a biomedical/ health sciences course. Physics is usually listed as a possible prerequisite but if you look at course content you will find that it skews toward a chemistry background.
  Of course this does not take into account your own personal interest or aptitude for the subject.
  I advise my students to study the VTAC website carefully. I’m sure your tertiary entrance admissions provider has the same kind of information.

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  tighttighttight1 on 21/09/2018 - 22:33

  +1

  What about the new science course: Investigating Science?
  It complements the other science courses well.

  • 

    DBRJ on 21/09/2018 - 23:10

    Not so interested in extension/investigating science

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  Arch113 on 21/09/2018 - 23:28

  +1

  I graduated high school 2, almost 3 years ago. I am in uni now, but my high school experiences are still pretty fresh in my mind.
  My advice is to not let what others say affect your decision too much. Their interests and strengths might not lie in subjects like chem/phys/maths, but yours do. So even though you hear a majority of people saying it's boring, hard and stressful, that may not be the case for you at all.
  In the end though, I achieved only fair/above average results doing about the same subjects as the ones you listed. But I made the decision of doing things at my own pace and not succumb to the competitiveness of aiming for the highest grades possible because I believed that at the end of it all, those things do not really matter in terms of my future success (granted you don't absolutely bomb your grades). And that was indeed the case I discovered after I graduated.
  Key point is, don't let what others say and the competitive nature of the high school environment affect your decisions and mental well-being. Choose what you think you'll enjoy and even if you do not achieve what you originally intended for at the end of grade 12, know that you still have plenty of paths to follow and reach the same goal you originally set out for.

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  Quantumcat on 22/09/2018 - 06:53

  +1

  Their interests and strengths might not lie in subjects like chem/phys/maths, but yours do. So even though you hear a majority of people saying it's boring, hard and stressful, that may not be the case for you at all.

  My interests and strengths lie exactly in the sciences and I know they are hard work (ie taking a disproportionate percentage of your study time) to get the best grades even if you are very good at them. If you take ALL science, maths and advanced classes then they will eat into most of your free time and you'll burn out or not achieve as good a result.

  In my case I spent about 85% of my outside school study time on maths, physics and chem, 10% on French (I had just came back from a year long exchange to France and spoke fluently so this was an easy subject for me) 4% on English and 1% on art. I spent a fair time studying but had plenty of time for other activities too, a good balance. If I had substituted any of the easy subjects for anything harder (eg advanced English, biology) I am positive I would have got a worse score, and it wouldn't have helped any with my degree!

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    DBRJ on 22/09/2018 - 12:03

    that's very true and yes i agree with you. Thank you

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  fossilfuel on 23/09/2018 - 17:49

  +2

  I have friends in year 11 who are telling me to not choose all 3 because it's hell for them.

  I did chem and phys for HSC. Both are challenging but not hard. I found that having a strong maths background does not correlate with doing well in physics. Ultimately, you're making sense of motion, electricity, forces and energy and maths will only help with the calculations but not the content. I loved chemistry since you get to witness chemical reactions and everything about it made more sense.

  The biggest struggle that people have with bio is the amount of content you have to remember. However, that should not stop you from attempting it if you're interested in the content.

  My career pathway that i am interested in is medicine and i know it's extremely difficult so as a back up i would go to medical science and there aren't any prerequisites.

  I advise against doing medical science unless you're certain that you can make lateral entry. You will mainly be stuck in, at best, lab assistant positions with a medical science degree. Those who are strong academically and not interpersonally will most likely gravitate towards completing a PhD. Even then, finding a postdoc position is quite difficult in Australia.

  If you're interested in healthcare but don't think it's realistic at the moment, look into nursing. It's a relatively stable profession, you'll be working in hospital environments (for new nurses) and the skills you learn over time will help you transition into medicine. I know many people who started off at nurses and then did medicine down the track. They found the skills they developed as a nurse helped them immensely in medicine.

  And if i choose either Physics or Chemistry, i still need another subject to complete 12 units.

  I see that you have chosen business studies so kudos to you. Legal studies and economics may be another option if you're into commerce related subjects.

  So can you guys please give me suggestions on what to do with my situation and i don't want to regret what i do in year 11 and 12.

  Do the subjects that you are strong in as scaling kicks in for students who achieve band 5's and 6's but not below. I picked up modern history as I was interested in the content but ultimately struggled with the content and assignments so I dropped it in year 12. I regret not taking Geography as that would have been an easy mid band 6.

  To be honest both subjects are difficult but i'm disciplined and dedicated to my work and i really aim to achieve a high atar.

  Good stuff, keep that up. All the best for year 11 and 12!

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    DBRJ on 23/09/2018 - 20:40

    thank you so much

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  Fexofenadine on 13/10/2018 - 23:08

  OP, best of luck for your upcoming exams. The only advice I have to give you is that everyone's experience is different because everyone is different, so take all bits of advice (maybe even including this one!) with a pinch of salt :)