Atar Estimate Please (1 Viewer)

[dunlop1234]

Hey guys,
I'm in year 11 and curious to get an atar estimate as to what I would be aiming to get. I'm aiming for 98+, do i need to up my marks a bit to get there? My school is ranked around 90! Thanks~
Mathematics 3 Unit- 5/80 - Mark- 90
Mathematics 2 unit- 9/120 - Mark- 91
Modern History- 3/40 -Mark- 90
Ancient History - 2/24 - Mark- 96
Economics - 2/45 - Mark- 95
English Extension - 6/40 -Mark- 90
English Advanced - 8/120 - Mark- 92

Would it be useful for me to take 4 Unit maths and 4 Unit english? Maybe just 4 Unit maths? Advice anyone?

Thank you very much,
dunlop1234

 

[brent012]

Your ranks look on track for 98+ but be careful of everyone who starts putting in more effort in year 12. Don't take up any extension subjects for the scaling purely, do it if you think you can cope with the subject and are interested.

 

[dunlop1234]

Thanks for the estimate, but out of curiousity, would ancient pull me down? Would it be worth it too take 4 maths or 4 English (I like and am good at both) rather than ancient?

 

[chaosflaws]

dunlop, first of all: don't worry. You've got 12 units. Even if Ancient pulls you down more than can reasonably expected, it will probably not count for your ATAR if you carry on everything else. And, as brent said, choose what you like to do. Scaling is not there to disadvantage some subjects, it aims at the complete opposite.

Now to the more important question (in my eyes): Extension II Maths or English? Or maybe both? Short answer: don't drop anything, but take up Extension Maths.

Long answer: There is a structural difference between Ext Maths and Ext English, being that Extension English means a high workload anyway because you will have not only to write essay after essay but also have to complete a major work (30 page short story). (Well, you can argue that writing a 30 page short story is easy when you are talented and interested in English - the reasoning is fairly similar to what follows.) Extension Two Maths, in turn, is a very exclusive subject. If you can understand it, you will very likely succeed, even with only limited work outside school. But maybe I am a bit overexcited about 4 Unit Maths. Only do it if you feel confident. Talk to your teacher. Consult the text book for Ext 2. Don't worry about the Chinese (complex numbers), look e. g. at integration chapters. A thread to look at is this one

Also: have a look around. Your ATAR is not only scaled, eaarlier in the process your Assessment marks are moderated. If you are not on top of the class, that can be a major uncertainty. Being the only student in an Extension II subject can be helpful, because then your final assessment mark will be your Exam mark - whatever may come. If you have Maths freaks around you that may outperform you, you should put efforts into the assessments to benefit from their high exam marks.

It always seemed sensible to me to start off Year 12 with 12 or 13 units, because they will provide you with a backup strategy if - and only if - you can cope with the workload. 13 Units means that during Year 12 you can drop one 2-Unit subject and one Extension subject. And if you keep all units, the ATAR people will determine which subject would contribute the most towards your ATAR.

A lot of consideration, I know. But no one will make the decision for you. Do what suits you best.