I feel so inadequate with my courses. (1 Viewer)

[Whicanti]

I look left and right throughout this whole forum as well as at my school and i can't help but feel inadequate and insufficient with the courses i am currently doing. I was one of the few who didnt choose any of the traditional "well scaling" subjects such as an extension subject and Adv. Eng, and as a result i feel so excluded.

I seem to be one of the few members in my grade to have been recommended English Standard. Standard English is really invigorating and interesting. We're currently analysing the Truman Show and relating it to the concept of reality television. I could never wrap my head around Shakespeare, so i am glad im not studying Macbeth as Adv. students are. Though as i see my classmates making their way to their next class with Macbeth or reciting scenes, i cant help but just feel shallow as all i have to show from my class experience is a few goofy scenes of Jim Carrey to give me a chuckle. We recently completed a common essay exam on the theme of belonging and i am ranked 2 in my cohort and i did achieve a mark higher than most of the Adv. students which i was really happy about!

Furthermore, I was recommended to choose Extension Math, but i was too fearful of the workload and the quick pace of the class. As I knew the classmates i would be with in that class, studied the whole 3-unit/2-unit course at their respective tutors last year, leaving no leeway for slow learners like me to grasp a foothold. I am really enjoying 2 unit Mathematics! And i'm within the top 10 of my grade to show for it! Though the presence of the playground inner circle of Extension students seems to make me feel to regretful of my prior decision. To make matters worse i have recently took up post-graduation tertiary study interest in Engineering. This further solidifies my guilt and regret for not selecting Physics and 3 unit.

Though i'm going to continue to try my hardest this year and the next, the feeling of what could have been looms over my head everyday.

 

[Nailgun]

I look left and right throughout this whole forum as well as at my school and i can't help but feel inadequate and insufficient with the courses i am currently doing. I was one of the few who didnt choose any of the traditional "well scaling" subjects such as an extension subject and Adv. Eng, and as a result i feel so excluded.

I was recommended to choose Extension Math, but i was too fearful of the workload and the quick pace of the class. As I knew the classmates i would be with in that class, studied the whole 3-unit/2-unit course at their respective tutors last year, leaving no leeway for slow learners like me to grasp a foothold. I am really enjoying 2 unit Mathematics! And i'm within the top 10 of my grade for it! Though the presence of the playground inner circle of Extension students seems to make me feel to regretful of my decision. To make matters worse i have recently took up post-graduation tertiary study interest in Engineering. This further solidifies my guilt and regret for not selecting Physics and 3 unit.

just beat all the 3u kids in 2u
feels good lelel

 

[Drongoski]

A common tragedy. Students in Year 10 having to decide on their Yr 11 subjects. At that stage, many are too young and immature to make the right decisions (In giving my advice it is not because I'm wise or smart , but because I've made too many bad life decisions myself). Among the most common regrets students here have expressed are: not doing 3U Maths, opting for Maths General when I should have done 2U Maths, doing no maths at all, not doing Physics &/or 3U Maths and contemplating doing an Engineering degree belatedly, etc etc. I feel so concerned for all these students who could have been better guided. But unfortunately, the common thinking here is: do the subjects you are passionate about. I on the other hand say: do the subjects that you need and/or you may need further down the road; of course if some of these subjects are beyond you, you should avoid them.

 

[strawberrye]

Don't worry about not having done HSC physics, it is minimal help for engineering-because in uni-it is a lot more maths, in HSC-physics is almost 80% theory, you shouldn't worry about your choices now-because what is done is done, but you should definitely catch up on 3 unit maths content after your HSC-since that will definitely be useful for any engineering course.

 

[Mickey66]

Just continue to do well at all your subjects and feel good about your achievements. Don't compare yourself to others - even though they may not let on, they have their own challenges.

 

[Red_of_Head]

I look left and right throughout this whole forum as well as at my school and i can't help but feel inadequate and insufficient with the courses i am currently doing. I was one of the few who didnt choose any of the traditional "well scaling" subjects such as an extension subject and Adv. Eng, and as a result i feel so excluded.

I seem to be one of the few members in my grade to have been recommended English Standard. Standard English is really invigorating and interesting. We're currently analysing the Truman Show and relating it to the concept of reality television. I could never wrap my head around Shakespeare, so i am glad im not studying Macbeth as Adv. students are. Though as i see my classmates making their way to their next class with Macbeth or reciting scenes, i cant help but just feel shallow as all i have to show from my class experience is a few goofy scenes of Jim Carrey to give me a chuckle. We recently completed a common essay exam on the theme of belonging and i am ranked 2 in my cohort and i did achieve a mark higher than most of the Adv. students which i was really happy about!

Furthermore, I was recommended to choose Extension Math, but i was too fearful of the workload and the quick pace of the class. As I knew the classmates i would be with in that class, studied the whole 3-unit/2-unit course at their respective tutors last year, leaving no leeway for slow learners like me to grasp a foothold. I am really enjoying 2 unit Mathematics! And i'm within the top 10 of my grade to show for it! Though the presence of the playground inner circle of Extension students seems to make me feel to regretful of my prior decision. To make matters worse i have recently took up post-graduation tertiary study interest in Engineering. This further solidifies my guilt and regret for not selecting Physics and 3 unit.

Though i'm going to continue to try my hardest this year and the next, the feeling of what could have been looms over my head everyday.

I wouldn't be too worried, I'm studying engineering at UNSW without doing extension or physics. From what I have gleaned, HSC physics involved quite a bit of theory and rote learning, whereas uni physics is almost entirely maths. There are plenty of kids who have done the same. If you're worried, there are bridging courses available during the summer holidays (I took the 3U one).

I don't think the physics one would have been that useful anyway, seeing as how the recommended knowledge for PHYS1121 is 2U maths. MATH1131 does use some 3U knowledge, but it is doable with only 2U, though I'd still strongly recommend the bridging course. Both of these courses start from the beginning and ease in as nearly everyone is in the same boat, and a lot of them have forgotten stuff from 4 months ago.

As for Standard English, sure it doesn't scale as well, but if you're at the top of your cohort and get good marks you can still get a great ATAR. As far as feeling shallow, I was amazed at the amount of people in advanced who didn't really try to understand the texts and just regurgitated onto their exam paper.

It's normal to stress over the next year and a half, everyone does it. Don't let it get to you too much. If you study well and study consistently you'll be fine.

 

[champion03]

did you pick the subjects that you thought would give you the best atar possible, or did you pick the subjects that you thought looked good? you dont need to feel "inadequate" because of the subjects you chose. there are many people who have earned themselves a high atar with "low-scaling subjects".

 

[Flop21]

You sound incredibly insecure. You should stop that, and get on with life.

The only thing I can tell that might be worrying is you regretting not doing 3u. If it's too late, oh well. You'll be fine with a bridging course, I doubt you'll need to do fundamental maths at UNSW - you can get by with the bridging course and hard work.

 

[tazmim]

I hope you are joking with your 75 atar aim.

as much as this reply is 4 months later, there's nothing wrong with it if she has no use for anything above 75. Why does she have to waste her time to get a 99 point something if she already had her clear set goals at 75? If my course needed 70 atar theres 0 point in adding hours and money to get 95.


Anyway, @OP I'm going to echo everything past users said (since your HSC is at 2017 I presume its not too late): do bridging courses, Prelim/HSC Physics is heavily theory with the exception of Moving About chapter which is equation heavy. I personally regret not doing 3U Maths either but nothing I can do about it, I just need a decent ATAR with Chem, Physics and Maths by prioritising them and getting good marks with them. I also have went from Adv to Standard but doing VERY well in Standard means you would smash Standard too, and I am not too bad in Advanced but I kicked off the extra work by dropping to Standard because I have health issues.
I also have a PDF of Prelim Physics textbook if youre interested =)