Senior Subject Selection - Need Advice on Subjects (1 Viewer)

[ac_]

Hello!

So, I am currently in year 10 and recently, my school has been focusing on selecting subjects for year 11 and year 12. In the coming weeks, we do have an information night regarding our subjects, but we have been told to think about/decide on some of the subjects we might like to do. This is mainly due to the fact that soon after the information night, we will need to confirm our subjects and go through a re-enrollment process.

I am quite a high achieving student who always strives to accomplish their best and am probably ranked in the top 3 (or at least top 5) smartest students in my grade.

For year 11, the subjects I am sure I want to undertake are:

- Advanced English
- English Extension 1
- Mathematics
- Mathematics Extension 1
- Chemistry
- Legal Studies
- Studies of Religion 1 (Compulsory)

I want to do either another science (physics or biology) or maybe business studies. I would prefer to do another science but I'm really not sure which one to choose out of the two. But, I'm a little bit worried that my work load will be too much if I decide to take on another science. I currently do commerce as an elective now and I honestly find the subject to be somewhat enjoyable; yet I sometimes find it boring and particularly annoying because you need to remember a lot of things. Therefore, I'm thinking of doing business studies because I think I would be good at it and it doesn't seem like a really strenuous subject.

For year 12, the subjects I believe I'm going to carry on are:

- Advanced English
- Mathematics
- Mathematics Extension 1
- Chemistry
- Legal Studies
- Studies of Religion 1 (Compulsory)
- Either Physics, Biology or Business Studies

I want to do an extra 2 units in year 12, so I just have an extra subject as a safety net.

So, basically my questions and what I want to know are:

- Which is better to do and more interesting: physics or biology?
- Would doing two sciences be stressful and time consuming?
- Is business studies worth it or not? Would I be better off doing economics or neither business or economics?
- What is your opinion on the subjects I think I'm going to be choosing?

Thanks

 

[rand_althor]

yet I sometimes find it boring and particularly annoying because you need to remember a lot of things.

If you dislike memorising things, you're gonna hate Biology .

So, basically my questions and what I want to know are:

1. Which is better to do and more interesting: physics or biology?
2. Would doing two sciences be stressful and time consuming?
3. Is business studies worth it or not? Would I be better off doing economics or neither business or economics?
4. What is your opinion on the subjects I think I'm going to be choosing?

Thanks

1. I find Physics to be more interesting than Biology, however this is completely dependent on what your interests are. Perhaps you could quickly read through the syllabus or someones notes and see if you find one more interesting than the other? There isn't really one which is better to do, but perhaps that depends on what course you're planning on doing in university.

2. Definitely not if you manage your time well and consistently revise. The key to doing well is revising and doing plenty of questions and past papers.

3. Can't comment as I don't do those subjects.

4. Advanced English - Good choice.
Mathematics, MX1 - Good choice. If you find MX1 difficult, you can always drop.
Chemistry - Good choice. Can be difficult at times, so make sure you consistently try your best to learn and understand the concepts.
Physics - Interesting subject. You need to have a solid understanding of the content and make sure you revise.
Biology - Lots of rote learning. If you fall behind and don't catch up, you could be in trouble near exam time. Make your own notes that you understand and try and remember them as best you can. If you read through them every day or every couple of days, you'll probably remember the content better.

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

I want to do either another science (physics or biology) or maybe business studies. I would prefer to do another science but I'm really not sure which one to choose out of the two. But, I'm a little bit worried that my work load will be too much if I decide to take on another science. I currently do commerce as an elective now and I am ranked first among all the commerce classes and I honestly find the subject to be somewhat enjoyable; yet I sometimes find it boring and particularly annoying because you need to remember a lot of things. Therefore, I'm thinking of doing business studies because I think I would be good at it and it doesn't seem like a really strenuous subject.

WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO O 3O/ Humanities student here.

First off, I believe that Commerce is not a great representation of Business Studies and Economics, but it is a great indicator of whether you like Humanities.

1. Which is better to do and more interesting: physics or biology?
You need to know what Science you enjoy based on the taste you get from Year 10.
Personally, I find Physics and Biology much more enjoyable over Chemistry. And I was in a situation where my parents wanted me to do one Science - Physics or Chemistry (with Biology being no option).
IMO, I think Biology content is very interesting, BUT I know that Biology is VERY content heavy.

2. Would doing two sciences be stressful and time consuming?
Yes, doing Chemistry with either Physics or Biology will be stressful, they are higher level (with Biology and Senior Science being lower) subjects, which is corresponded in its "scaling", which I hope YOU WILL NOT BASE YOUR SUBJECTS ON. I'm not a Science person, I lean towards Social Science/Humanities, and I find doing just Physics very stressful.

3. Is business studies worth it or not? Would I be better off doing economics or neither business or economics?
All subjects are worth your time if you have an interest in it AND will do well in it.
I do both Business Studies and Economics. They are VERY similar subjects, Business is 99% memorising and honestly, I believe, doesn't need much from a student to understand the context. I don't remember Preliminary Business, seeing I did my Year 11 course in Year 9 - 10, but HSC Business is all content with a few equations from the Finance topic. With Economics, it is harder than business, same concepts of memorising content, more equations/formulas and a much higher skill in essay writing than Business Studies.

If you're doing two Sciences and believe you can't uphold the workload and stress, I think going for Business Studies will be more relaxing, but its not a completely easy subject like you've mentioned, you must continue to uphold regular studying with learning your content, practising multiple choice and short answer questions, and essay writing. I'm a little insulted.

What is your opinion on the subjects I think I'm going to be choosing?
Being a 3U English + 3U Maths student, I recommend you don't take up English Extension 1 if you're definitely going to drop it, you need to put effort into it in Year 11 and its so time consuming since you need to do about 4-ish more texts. 13U is definitely do-able, but if I was in your spot, I would rather 12U in Year 11, use the spare time avoiding extra outside school classes and invest it into my other subjects.

 

[ac_]

Thanks very much rand_althor and WrittenLoveLetters for your advice. The insights you have provided are greatly appreciated and have helped me a lot. So, thanks once again!

corresponded in its "scaling", which I hope YOU WILL NOT BASE YOUR SUBJECTS ON.

I completely agree with you! I don't think that the scaling of a subject should influence the subjects I will choose and I believe that as long as I do well in them, that I will be able to achieve a good mark regardless.

If you're doing two Sciences and believe you can't uphold the workload and stress, I think going for Business Studies will be more relaxing, but its not a completely easy subject like you've mentioned, you must continue to uphold regular studying with learning your content, practising multiple choice and short answer questions, and essay writing. I'm a little insulted.

Apologies if I've offended you in any way - obviously, that wasn't my intention and I understand that every subject requires effort and hard work. Thank you for your advice and explaining the difference between economics and business studies. From that, I think I'm more suited to business studies so I think I will choose that as one of my subjects.

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

Its okay, I was joking about being insulted LOL!
Seeing you picked Legal Studies, which is also a more-relaxed but content heavy subject and similar to Business Studies, it will leave room for you to invest time in the much harder subjects such as Mathematics Extension 1, Physics and Chemistry.

And yeah, its good, I see a lot of Year 10s rush off, thinking they will rule the world and beat the HSC by picking "better scaling" subjects, but I recommend a balance, you need to be good at those subjects for them to scale well.

Good luck!

 

[blackbird_14]

I can't really help you with social science questions- Written Love Letters is a great person to ask questions about those subjects to.

I do Bio and Chem which isn't too bad. Bio is content heavy, but it's interesting content IMO. Chemistry requires more understanding of the content and doing calculations and stuff. The two together- the workload isn't too bad. Well that's my opinion, I'm sure others would differ- it depends if you understand the content quickly or not.

Another thought- although you intend you choose said subjects for year 12, you might end up liking what ever your other subject ends up being. So I guess my advice is not to have your HSC subjects set in concrete already- perhaps in wet cement instead

 

[ac_]

Oh okay ahahah!

Seeing you picked Legal Studies, which is also a more-relaxed but content heavy subject and similar to Business Studies, it will leave room for you to invest time in the much harder subjects such as Mathematics Extension 1, Physics and Chemistry.

Yeah, I think that's going to be the best option as it would allow me to excel in a range of subjects and not have all my subjects be time consuming. Once again, thank you so much for your advice and insights - it has helped a lot!

blackbird_14 thank you also for your advice particularly in regards to managing two sciences at the same time! And while I do intend to do the subjects I've stated in year 12, I'm certainly still not 100% certain and like you said, it is important to gauge what suits me better when the time comes and not so much at this stage.

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

I can't really help you with social science questions- Written Love Letters is a great person to ask questions about those subjects to.

I do Bio and Chem which isn't too bad. Bio is content heavy, but it's interesting content IMO. Chemistry requires more understanding of the content and doing calculations and stuff. The two together- the workload isn't too bad. Well that's my opinion, I'm sure others would differ- it depends if you understand the content quickly or not.

Another thought- although you intend you choose said subjects for year 12, you might end up liking what ever your other subject ends up being. So I guess my advice is not to have your HSC subjects set in concrete already- perhaps in wet cement instead

English maestro analogy 101

Also, thank you for your compliment ; ~~ ; My Year 12 jumper will live the legacy with "NICOnomics"...maybe, its kind of lame

 

[blackbird_14]

English maestro analogy 101

Also, thank you for your compliment ; ~~ ; My Year 12 jumper will live the legacy with "NICOnomics"...maybe, its kind of lame

Ahaha that's a great name- we only get first or abbreviated first names- not even anything fancy like that- so I guess my jumper will have four characters spelling out my name. Sigh.

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

Ahaha that's a great name- we only get first or abbreviated first names- not even anything fancy like that- so I guess my jumper will have four characters spelling out my name. Sigh.

Oh really D: ? Ours is a nickname, or anything we want, just has to be approved by teachers.
And I'm sure there is like a letter limit, but as long as it fits on the jumper.

 

[blackbird_14]

Oh really D: ? Ours is a nickname, or anything we want, just has to be approved by teachers.
And I'm sure there is like a letter limit, but as long as it fits on the jumper.

#justalittlejealous hopefully it fits on the jumper. When do you think you'll get them? Usually year 12 gets their jersey/jumper in Term 1 for us

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

#justalittlejealous hopefully it fits on the jumper. When do you think you'll get them? Usually year 12 gets their jersey/jumper in Term 1 for us

We are organising them now, so we get to wear them for at least 3 terms

 

[blackbird_14]

We are organising them now, so we get to wear them for at least 3 terms

So organised- unlike us but whatever. I get the feeling we're getting off topic though lol. Sorry ac_

 

[ac_]

Hahah all good! Thanks for your help once again!

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

Good luck with your Year 11 subject sections

 

[-billiris]

Business and Eco are great subjects, and if you have a good teacher you learn a whole heap.

Business is easier than Economics but both require a-lot of work. Both are very interesting.

I think it comes down if you're interested in the subjects. Because I think you have to have an interest in order to do well.

 

[-billiris]

As for English Ext 1, if you don't have a good teacher, forget it, not worth the time.

You can get a tutor, but you're better off doing SOR or another humanities for it in yr 11.

So make sure you know who the teacher is going to be and how good they are..

 

[ac_]

Thanks so much for your opinion -billiris - it was really helpful!

As for English Ext 1, if you don't have a good teacher, forget it, not worth the time.

I don't think I'll be doing English Ext 1 anymore because like you said, if I don't get a good teacher, it would really be a waste of time that I could have invested in other subjects. I've had two really bad english teachers during my junior years who didn't teach adequate skills, technique and content and then marked extremely hard for assessments when the class hardly knew what to do for the task. Even though I am a really strong english student, I'm just not willing to take the risk of getting a horrible teacher.