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subject selection heeeeeelp (1 Viewer)

xmadison

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time for subject selection is here, and I've decided on standard eng, 3u maths, chemistry and cont. jap, but I'm not too sure what to do apart from that. I have no idea what I want to do in the future yet, and nothing really that I'm strongly passionate about or interested in..

any subject suggestions/recommendations?
 

dangerouss

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time for subject selection is here, and I've decided on standard eng, 3u maths, chemistry and cont. jap, but I'm not too sure what to do apart from that. I have no idea what I want to do in the future yet, and nothing really that I'm strongly passionate about or interested in..

any subject suggestions/recommendations?
Hi, mid last year I was faced with the same situation as you: I constantly asked myself these three questions; what subjects would be of my best interest?, what subjects would benefit me in the future? and what is the relative difficulty of each subject (scaling, in other words)?.

I cannot simply recommend you to undertake any course but I can tell you that if you are unsure about career prospects, choosing a variety of subjects from different parts of the curriculum would be beneficial to your future (for example: undertaking a science and a humanities and a language). Perhaps an interest will develop in your preliminary year and you may suddenly develop a passion for a field of work or an aspiration for a particular profession.

You need to consider the questions above as well as your own ability to make an informed choice about your subjects, but remember - you can always change your mind if you do make a decision that does not act in your best interest.

Good luck,
dangerouss x :)
 

dangerouss

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Oh, I forgot to add - check out hawkrider's thread for year 8 elective selection, it is somewhat relevant to your current dilemma.
 

laura-jayne14

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I had the exact problem as you. When I was in year 10 I wanted to do teaching but now I have changed my mind. I would say to choose a variety of subjects to cover I wide range of courses e.g. I chose Adv. English, Gen. Maths, biology, CAFS, Italian and Business service. You will always find a subject that you may not like, but you can change at the beginning of year 11. All I can say is don't choose subjects based on SCALING (e.g you may go poorly whereas; you may go better in an easier subject), don't choose them because everyone says they're horrible, or whether your friends/teachers are in the class. Look at what your best subjects are now and see if they interest you for HSC. E.g. I did well in language & Childstudies in year 10, chose them and am going really well.
Best of luck!

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matchalolz

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do economics :D don't take me seriously though, it's just one of my favourite subjects~
In year 10 I was actually unsure of whether i was more of a science or humanities person. Just choose some subjects, maybe ask your parents for suggestions?? You'll get a chance to change your subjects within the first six weeks (I changed my subjects 4 times, sort of excessive, but now i'm happy with all my subjects - minus english extension but that's a different story). Choose a variety of subjects, and you'll probably grow really fond of one later on in life. Previously I never imagined wanting to do a commerce/business related degree, but now I see it as a possibility. Go out and experiment young one
 

Cleavage

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time for subject selection is here, and I've decided on standard eng, 3u maths, chemistry and cont. jap, but I'm not too sure what to do apart from that. I have no idea what I want to do in the future yet, and nothing really that I'm strongly passionate about or interested in..

any subject suggestions/recommendations?
If you don't know what you want to do, broaden your subject areas. You have a science, and a language, why not do another science (such as physics or biology) or a humanities (such as business or economics) OR do two sciences.
 

rumbleroar

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A good idea is to go through the subjects offered and eliminate the ones you definitely DON'T want to do. It will definitely narrow your scope and make the final 3-4 units easier to choose from. Ask yourself:

- Will I hate the rest of the year if I did this subject?
- Am I competent at any of the subjects?
- Could I get anything worthwhile from the subject?
- Will I be bothered to study for the subject when necessary?

Make sure you pick something you remotely enjoy, because you want to enjoy year 11 as much as possible :) Who knows? You might find something you're really good at/like!

What electives do you currently do? I'm assuming Japanese is one of them.
 

obliviousninja

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I would be weary of doing standard english, it could destroy your ATAR
 

-billiris

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What are you strong at ? I'm also selecting my subjects and I'm picking them based on what I enjoy and what I'm good at in Yr 10 and a small consideration for scaling.
 

xmadison

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woooooo thanks to everyone for all your replies! :)

I would be weary of doing standard english, it could destroy your ATAR
well I'm doing alright in english atm, averaging about 80%ish I guess? but I'm worried I'll struggle with advanced.. is there a big difference between standard and advanced?


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dangerouss

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woooooo thanks to everyone for all your replies! :)



well I'm doing alright in english atm, averaging about 80%ish I guess? but I'm worried I'll struggle with advanced.. is there a big difference between standard and advanced?


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From my current knowledge, advanced English is substantially more difficult than standard due to the nature of the texts, ability of the cohort and the exploration of textual integrity. Aside from those three differences, no there isn't much difference with regard to the natures of both subjects but the difference is prominent in the ability of the cohorts and the alignment of raw marks and scaled marks, in which advanced English is far more superior - mainly due to the strong and able cohort that undertakes the course every year.
 
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Drongoski

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I have not read every post above. But I always urge (provided you are capable of handling the subjects):

- don't choose a subject just because you are passionate about it, and plan to pursue it at Uni.
- choose a subject that will open pathways for you (especially when, understandably at this stage of your life, you still have no clue what course you'll be pursuing at uni)
- if you are likely to do a subject requiring some maths background, choose a minimum of 2U Maths (not Gen Maths)
- as a foundation to any pursuit of a course in Commerce, if you can handle it, Eco rather than Business Studies
- if you may pursue Engineering, must do Physics, and if possibly Chemical, Mining or Petroleum Engg, I think Chemistry as well.
- if thinking of doing Engineering, do not choose Engineering Studies (interesting though it may be) - Physics &/or Chemistry are a better choice than Engineering Studies.
- if doing Engineering, do a minimum of Maths Ext 1
- do not be misled that Engineering Studies is a foundation discipline for future pursuit of Engineering
- if you are thinking of Engineering, don't do History in lieu of MX1 or Physics etc just because you love History. We all love History later in life, but we can always read up ourselves later in life (unless you are pursuing a Humanities Degree around History). If you, say need Chemistry but didn't do it, how are you to make up for it? (I have a friend's son who dropped Chemistry for Engg Studies - and is thinking of Mining Engg or possibly Petroleum Engg. I don't know how he's going to make up for it, if required in his course)
- my stand is: choose what is going to be useful to you, not what you are passionate about (reverse of the prevalent thinking)

I'm sure many will disagree with me.
 
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BLIT2014

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woooooo thanks to everyone for all your replies! :)



well I'm doing alright in english atm, averaging about 80%ish I guess? but I'm worried I'll struggle with advanced.. is there a big difference between standard and advanced?


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Advanced/Standard aren't to dissimilar in terms of difficulty.

If you are getting above 80% for English you should definitely be doing Advanced English.
 

enoilgam

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When picking subjects, the main things to consider are (ranked in terms of relative important):

1) The subjects you think you will do best in.
2) The subjects you think you will enjoy the most.
3) Subjects you need for uni. In theory, this should be ranked higher, but the lack of crossover between uni subjects and HSC subjects has made this a minor factor. However, as Drongoski has pointed out, if your aim is something like engineering, then you need to be picking higher level maths. I would also consider 2U because of how applicable it is to many courses (i.e. science and commerce).
4) Scaling (only for people who are aiming for an ATAR above say 98.5).
 

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