Yr 11 Subject Selection (1 Viewer)

[sooperdooper]

Hi, just wondering if anyone would be able to give me any advice on the subjects I'm thinking of choosing for year 11. Would this combination help me achieve a good ATAR? I kind of want to go into the medical field.

I'm planning on taking:

- 3u Maths (definitely)
- PDHPE (I really like it, but scaling is not so good)
- Modern History (pretty sure on this one)
- Biology (Unsure about this one as I haven't covered the whole unit, but I like it so far)
- 3u English (Unsure about this one too because people say it is hard)

Some say biology benefits PDH, but I'm open to swapping it out for physics as I'm not sure I will enjoy learning about plants and animals - I like more genetics and diseases.

Any advice would be much appreciated

 

[c8]

Any subjects can get you a good (idk like 90s) atar

PDHPE - yeah scales pretty bad I know people who had 80s internal that got dragged down to 60s but content is easy to learn and getting high marks isn't extremely hard
Modern History - i dont do this but if you like the history subjects + loads of content then this is for you
Biology - heaps of people take it, but with PDHPE and Modern you have a very big load in terms of content (some people are better at learning content, some like calculations based subjects so you'd know you're learning style and have to make this decision, but you can also have a balance if you dk)
3u english - tbh I wouldn't pick this unless you like writing and english and quite a lot of people drop it in year 12 because they picked it to get even units in year 11 but yeah if you're reasonable at english it shouldn't be too difficult

I don't do bio but I'm pretty sure the human body part comes in year 12 more than year 11 (dont quote me on this tho!)

If you want to go into the medical field some degrees may have prerequisites (usually maths advanced or the sciences) so check this out, but most are more like assumed knowledge and you can do a bridging course

Is there a specific reason you'd do physics?

 

[Minari243]

Hi, just wondering if anyone would be able to give me any advice on the subjects I'm thinking of choosing for year 11. Would this combination help me achieve a good ATAR? I kind of want to go into the medical field.

I'm planning on taking:

- 3u Maths (definitely)
- PDHPE (I really like it, but scaling is not so good)
- Modern History (pretty sure on this one)
- Biology (Unsure about this one as I haven't covered the whole unit, but I like it so far)
- 3u English (Unsure about this one too because people say it is hard)

Some say biology benefits PDH, but I'm open to swapping it out for physics as I'm not sure I will enjoy learning about plants and animals - I like more genetics and diseases.

Any advice would be much appreciated

I think some med universities have chemistry as a prerequisite (most of them don't im pretty sure). I do bio rn and its helllaaa content heavy, you gotta have a pretty good memory for it combined with a good understanding. For bio prelims the first and second modules are all about cells and their internal systems etc and the third and fourth modules are basically about evolution and ecosystems. Im pretty sure in year 12 every module is related to either genetics or diseases though.

Also keep in mind, in most schools, you can swap or drop some subjects in yr 11 aslong as you have atleast 12

 

[sooperdooper]

Any subjects can get you a good (idk like 90s) atar

PDHPE - yeah scales pretty bad I know people who had 80s internal that got dragged down to 60s but content is easy to learn and getting high marks isn't extremely hard
Modern History - i dont do this but if you like the history subjects + loads of content then this is for you
Biology - heaps of people take it, but with PDHPE and Modern you have a very big load in terms of content (some people are better at learning content, some like calculations based subjects so you'd know you're learning style and have to make this decision, but you can also have a balance if you dk)
3u english - tbh I wouldn't pick this unless you like writing and english and quite a lot of people drop it in year 12 because they picked it to get even units in year 11 but yeah if you're reasonable at english it shouldn't be too difficult

I don't do bio but I'm pretty sure the human body part comes in year 12 more than year 11 (dont quote me on this tho!)

If you want to go into the medical field some degrees may have prerequisites (usually maths advanced or the sciences) so check this out, but most are more like assumed knowledge and you can do a bridging course

Is there a specific reason you'd do physics?

Thank you so much for your feedback!! I'm thinking of doing physics as I did pretty good in the test this year, even though I basically taught myself everything. I feel like I might do better with calculation based subjects, but right now I really don't know. The problem with doing physics is that I don't really like the teaching style of the teacher who teaches senior physics. Again, thank you so so much for taking the time to reply

 

[sooperdooper]

I think some med universities have chemistry as a prerequisite (most of them don't im pretty sure). I do bio rn and its helllaaa content heavy, you gotta have a pretty good memory for it combined with a good understanding. For bio prelims the first and second modules are all about cells and their internal systems etc and the third and fourth modules are basically about evolution and ecosystems. Im pretty sure in year 12 every module is related to either genetics or diseases though.

Also keep in mind, in most schools, you can swap or drop some subjects in yr 11 aslong as you have atleast 12

Hey there, thank you so much for taking the time to reply to this thread . Can I ask how year 11 bio compares to the year 10 sciences? Right now biology doesn't seem that hard, but I'm scared there is a huge jump in workload and content from year 10-11. Also, would it be smart to choose biology when I haven't even gotten halfway through the year 10 module yet? I'm liking it right now but when we get to learn about plants and animals, I'm afraid I'll regret my decision.

 

[isaezra]

Hi, just wondering if anyone would be able to give me any advice on the subjects I'm thinking of choosing for year 11. Would this combination help me achieve a good ATAR? I kind of want to go into the medical field.

I'm planning on taking:

- 3u Maths (definitely)
- PDHPE (I really like it, but scaling is not so good)
- Modern History (pretty sure on this one)
- Biology (Unsure about this one as I haven't covered the whole unit, but I like it so far)
- 3u English (Unsure about this one too because people say it is hard)

Some say biology benefits PDH, but I'm open to swapping it out for physics as I'm not sure I will enjoy learning about plants and animals - I like more genetics and diseases.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Don't worry about subjects scaling well, if you like it, you'll study better, and you'll do better than you would in a subject you don't like that "scales better".

For people who are good at/enjoy english, 3u is significantly easier and more interesting than advanced. It can conceptually dense (if you have a good teacher) but the workload is minuscule. It'd also be a nice break from all the syllabus-dotpoint-heavy subjects you'd be doing.

Theres a lot of overlap between bio and PDHPE, but at the end of the day both of those subjects are ridiculously content heavy compared to others, it's also not very conceptually difficult, so any benefits from that overlap are mitigated by the workload imo. But its pretty low risk if you end up disliking bio since you can always just drop it.

If I were you I'd pick 3u math, 3u english, physics, PDHPE, and modern for year 11, and pick up extension science in year 12. That way you could do an SRR on genetics/diseases and decide if you like it enough to peruse it further in med school. Ext sci is a lot like ext eng, very little work, very interesting material. If you find out you don't care about bio enough to write a full report, you can just change your topic to someting physics or social science based.

 

[Minari243]

Hey there, thank you so much for taking the time to reply to this thread . Can I ask how year 11 bio compares to the year 10 sciences? Right now biology doesn't seem that hard, but I'm scared there is a huge jump in workload and content from year 10-11. Also, would it be smart to choose biology when I haven't even gotten halfway through the year 10 module yet? I'm liking it right now but when we get to learn about plants and animals, I'm afraid I'll regret my decision.

No problem! Im glad I can help even if its just a little! Honestly from my experience, the knowledge from the bio content in the junior years were helpful but I really don't think its a necessity to do well in bio. If I remember correctly we really only learnt about genetics in yr 10 bio and those concepts will be gone through again in senior bio so you should be fine. As for the plants and animals part I also thought that I would absolutely hate any topics related to that too. I'm learning about it right now and it honestly isn't that bad and I'm finding it interesting. There'll be a jump in workload for sure but that's really for any subjects transitioning from yr 10 to 11. Do you like chemistry? There's a fair bit of calculation work in Chemistry too but not as much as Physics. I understand you don't like your physics teacher's teaching style but I think that if you're really interested in it then you should pick it.

 

[sooperdooper]

Don't worry about subjects scaling well, if you like it, you'll study better, and you'll do better than you would in a subject you don't like that "scales better".

For people who are good at/enjoy english, 3u is significantly easier and more interesting than advanced. It can conceptually dense (if you have a good teacher) but the workload is minuscule. It'd also be a nice break from all the syllabus-dotpoint-heavy subjects you'd be doing.

Theres a lot of overlap between bio and PDHPE, but at the end of the day both of those subjects are ridiculously content heavy compared to others, it's also not very conceptually difficult, so any benefits from that overlap are mitigated by the workload imo. But its pretty low risk if you end up disliking bio since you can always just drop it.

If I were you I'd pick 3u math, 3u english, physics, PDHPE, and modern for year 11, and pick up extension science in year 12. That way you could do an SRR on genetics/diseases and decide if you like it enough to peruse it further in med school. Ext sci is a lot like ext eng, very little work, very interesting material. If you find out you don't care about bio enough to write a full report, you can just change your topic to someting physics or social science based.

I really appreciate you taking the time to offer your advice . Unfortunately, my school doesn't offer science extension, so taking it in year 12 isn't an option. Right now, I'm leaning towards physics, but ultimately I'm still afraid that if I regret my decision (either with physics or bio), I won't have the opportunity to drop it later on and take up an extra unit to make 11 units in year 12. In this situation, what would you suggest I choose?

 

[sooperdooper]

No problem! Im glad I can help even if its just a little! Honestly from my experience, the knowledge from the bio content in the junior years were helpful but I really don't think its a necessity to do well in bio. If I remember correctly we really only learnt about genetics in yr 10 bio and those concepts will be gone through again in senior bio so you should be fine. As for the plants and animals part I also thought that I would absolutely hate any topics related to that too. I'm learning about it right now and it honestly isn't that bad and I'm finding it interesting. There'll be a jump in workload for sure but that's really for any subjects transitioning from yr 10 to 11. Do you like chemistry? There's a fair bit of calculation work in Chemistry too but not as much as Physics. I understand you don't like your physics teacher's teaching style but I think that if you're really interested in it then you should pick it.

I've heard people say that chemistry is the easiest science out of the three, but I don't think I ever considered taking it. I've never been fully interested and invested in the subject. I have a question about biology- What type of questions are generally in the tests? Everyone says its content and writing, but I don't really understand. Do the tests ask for definitions and paragraphs that you have to write about the content you memorise? Is there any application of certain skills like in physics and chemistry? Thank you so, so much for all the help you've provided. My subject selection is due next week and I'm freaking out .

 

[idkkdi]

I've heard people say that chemistry is the easiest science out of the three, but I don't think I ever considered taking it. I've never been fully interested and invested in the subject. I have a question about biology- What type of questions are generally in the tests? Everyone says its content and writing, but I don't really understand. Do the tests ask for definitions and paragraphs that you have to write about the content you memorise? Is there any application of certain skills like in physics and chemistry? Thank you so, so much for all the help you've provided. My subject selection is due next week and I'm freaking out .

Switch out modern/pdhpe for chemistry. If you want to do optometry, take physics and chem.

Chem is a MUST if you want to do med. Others can talk about bridging courses, but those probably aren't ideal.

Dude you're too worried about useless stuff. If you're going to do med, Take chem.

Out of modern history and pdhpe, you can only take one, and even then you are probably dropping the one you take. So, imo, it's either triple science, bio+chem + pdhpe/mod, or physics + chem + pdhpe/mod. PDHPE might be more useful for med, but it honestly really doesn't matter whether the content is learnt or not (i.e. the useful content will be learnt either via bio or med). History on the other hand is something that you might never touch again if you don't take it.

 

[Minari243]

I've heard people say that chemistry is the easiest science out of the three, but I don't think I ever considered taking it. I've never been fully interested and invested in the subject. I have a question about biology- What type of questions are generally in the tests? Everyone says its content and writing, but I don't really understand. Do the tests ask for definitions and paragraphs that you have to write about the content you memorise? Is there any application of certain skills like in physics and chemistry? Thank you so, so much for all the help you've provided. My subject selection is due next week and I'm freaking out .

I think that Chemistry requires more understanding and less memorisation than Biology and bio is vice versa. For me personally chemistry is easier because I hate having to cram content into my memory so I guess its really personal preference. However, I'm pretty sure Chemistry is scaled around the same as physics and more than bio by a decent amount.

For your bio exams question I've only had one half prac half theory skills exam and an assignment on bio so I still don't know for sure about the question types. From what I remember in the theory section of the skills exam for mod 1 (cells etc) there were questions like identify what organelle it is with an image shown to you, drawing labelled diagrams, data processing (drawing graphs and interpreting experiment results). So as expected it tested your scientific analysis skills and stuff. I'd assume that in the future assessments they'll start giving out extended response questions and ask you to explain concepts etc. I don't think there would be any questions where it just straight-up asks you for a definition and thats it, but there definitely will be questions where you'll need to define something and use that definition to help you answer bigger questions.

I dont do physics so I'm not 100% sure on this but there is a lot of maths involved. For all sciences you'll need to have the basic science skills from junior years such as graphing (with title, axis labels, correct scaling etc), interpreting trends and stuff like that. There will be skills specifically learnt in chem that really only applies in that subject but I'm sure thats the same as physics.

 

[c8]

Switch out modern/pdhpe for chemistry. If you want to do optometry, take physics and chem.

Chem is a MUST if you want to do med. Others can talk about bridging courses, but those probably aren't ideal.

Dude you're too worried about useless stuff. If you're going to do med, Take chem.

Out of modern history and pdhpe, you can only take one, and even then you are probably dropping the one you take. So, imo, it's either triple science, bio+chem + pdhpe/mod, or physics + chem + pdhpe/mod. PDHPE might be more useful for med, but it honestly really doesn't matter whether the content is learnt or not (i.e. the useful content will be learnt either via bio or med). History on the other hand is something that you might never touch again if you don't take it.

I don't think chem is a must for med, especially if the person doesn't like the subject and then are more likely to do poorly in it. Yes, it is a prerequisite or assumed knowledge for a lot of med courses, but no I don't think it's absolutely necessary (bridging courses typically go for just a couple of weeks anyways). In fact there really aren't any subjects that will wildly help you with med as there will always be people from humanities backgrounds like law and arts etc who also get into med and do equally as well. Choose what you like, you may end up not wanting to do med or not getting the marks etc, why not spend you time studying what you like? Just my two cents I guess

 

[Minari243]

I don't think chem is a must for med, especially if the person doesn't like the subject and then are more likely to do poorly in it. Yes, it is a prerequisite or assumed knowledge for a lot of med courses, but no I don't think it's absolutely necessary (bridging courses typically go for just a couple of weeks anyways). In fact there really aren't any subjects that will wildly help you with med as there will always be people from humanities backgrounds like law and arts etc who also get into med and do equally as well. Choose what you like, you may end up not wanting to do med or not getting the marks etc, why not spend you time studying what you like? Just my two cents I guess

Yeah i agree with this chem is a prerequisite for some med schools but if you have no interest in it then you shouldnt pick it. I think some chem concepts are pretty vital for med courses but as mentioned in other ppl’s replies you can just do a bridging course on it. If you pick chemistry solely because its a prerequisite for SOME med schools and you have no interest in it, that’ll just make you have little to no motivation in that subject and likely cause you to do worse on the hsc.

 

[idkkdi]

Yeah i agree with this chem is a prerequisite for some med schools but if you have no interest in it then you shouldnt pick it. I think some chem concepts are pretty vital for med courses but as mentioned in other ppl’s replies you can just do a bridging course on it. If you pick chemistry solely because its a prerequisite for SOME med schools and you have no interest in it, that’ll just make you have little to no motivation in that subject and likely cause you to do worse on the hsc.

If you hate chemistry so much that you wouldn't do it even if it was a prereq for med, do you really want to do med?

This is why this argument that you guys present makes no sense.

 

[sooperdooper]

I want to thank you all so, so, so much for providing your input and advice. I really appreciate all the time you guys have taken to reply to this thread . The thing with chemistry is that I learnt most of the module during online school because of COVID, so my opinion of the subject may be subjective due to the situation and the way I learned during the subject. After we returned back to the classroom, we also weren't allowed to do any practical experiments and so the lessons were quite boring and different from what I assume would normally be like. Right now, I'm pretty set on taking 3u math and English, pdh and modern. As of right now, I'm 90% sure that my last selection is going to be a science, but I still don't know which one. I understand chem might be a prerequisite for many medical degrees, but certain degrees in the medical field like physiotherapy or radiology (I'm interested in these) don't require chemistry- however, I am genuinely considering chem now. You guys have pushed me to think long and hard about my decision and I'm so thankful that a bunch of kind strangers on the internet have offered suggestions.

 

[sooperdooper]

Switch out modern/pdhpe for chemistry. If you want to do optometry, take physics and chem.

Chem is a MUST if you want to do med. Others can talk about bridging courses, but those probably aren't ideal.

Dude you're too worried about useless stuff. If you're going to do med, Take chem.

Out of modern history and pdhpe, you can only take one, and even then you are probably dropping the one you take. So, imo, it's either triple science, bio+chem + pdhpe/mod, or physics + chem + pdhpe/mod. PDHPE might be more useful for med, but it honestly really doesn't matter whether the content is learnt or not (i.e. the useful content will be learnt either via bio or med). History on the other hand is something that you might never touch again if you don't take it.

Hey, thank you so much for replying. I have a question- Why do you say that I can only take either pdh or modern? Is it because they're both really content-heavy? I'm pretty set on taking both as I do pretty well in them and I have a genuine interest for both. I'm only choosing one science. I'm sorry if the question was really dumb, I'd genuinely love to hear your input.

 

[idkkdi]

Hey, thank you so much for replying. I have a question- Why do you say that I can only take either pdh or modern? Is it because they're both really content-heavy? I'm pretty set on taking both as I do pretty well in them and I have a genuine interest for both. I'm only choosing one science. I'm sorry if the question was really dumb, I'd genuinely love to hear your input.

Because you should take chem, and I think that it's best if you take 2 sciences. And it doesn't look like you can take 14 units. Maybe go to 2 units of English and take 13 units. Most likely you would drop 3 unit english anyways ( to lessen your units in yr 12 ), and while it does give you more practice for English, it's not essential.

 

[Minari243]

If you hate chemistry so much that you wouldn't do it even if it was a prereq for med, do you really want to do med?

This is why this argument that you guys present makes no sense.

I mean yeah honestly you're right but if she doesn't enjoy chemistry right now the only choices she has is to not pursue med or do a bridging course in the future. I think if she's fully set on aiming for med then she should take it but if she's still indecisive then picking whatever subjects she enjoys would be better.

 

[quickoats]

but certain degrees in the medical field like physiotherapy or radiology

Radiology is a medical specialty (doctor + lots of extra years) - perhaps you're thinking of radiography (the x-ray people ).

My advice would be to pick what subjects you like. Those are the ones that you'll do the best in, as you'll be actually bothered to study (and go beyond the syllabus and expand your knowledge base).

Are you deadset on medicine? Or are you thinking of something in the medical field? Chemistry would be advisable if your goal is med since many interstate unis have it as a prerequisite - this means you can apply to literally every school and keep your options very open.
However, if you're thinking of something vaguely in the health sphere, doing high school chemistry is not a necessity. Content can be covered in a bridging course/first year and probably won't be used much in later years, and definitely won't be used on the job.

If you're thinking about other allied health degrees, think about the nature of the work and the type of content you may be learning to figure out what might suit you. Since you don't really like chemistry, you could probably give pharmacy a miss. If you're thinking about radiography or optometry, it might be a good idea to take physics as they're both physics heavy. Given that you like PDHPE, physio, nutrition/dietetics, or exercise/sport science might be fields that you want to check out.

 

[c8]

Radiology is a medical specialty (doctor + lots of extra years) - perhaps you're thinking of radiography (the x-ray people ).

My advice would be to pick what subjects you like. Those are the ones that you'll do the best in, as you'll be actually bothered to study (and go beyond the syllabus and expand your knowledge base).

Are you deadset on medicine? Or are you thinking of something in the medical field? Chemistry would be advisable if your goal is med since many interstate unis have it as a prerequisite - this means you can apply to literally every school and keep your options very open.
However, if you're thinking of something vaguely in the health sphere, doing high school chemistry is not a necessity. Content can be covered in a bridging course/first year and probably won't be used much in later years, and definitely won't be used on the job.

If you're thinking about other allied health degrees, think about the nature of the work and the type of content you may be learning to figure out what might suit you. Since you don't really like chemistry, you could probably give pharmacy a miss. If you're thinking about radiography or optometry, it might be a good idea to take physics as they're both physics heavy. Given that you like PDHPE, physio, nutrition/dietetics, or exercise/sport science might be fields that you want to check out.

Haha I made that same mistake of mixing the two up!

Just curious quickoats, are you also studying in the health field? You're extremely insightful with respect to those degrees so I'm just wondering lol