Can't decide what to drop!!! (1 Viewer)

[ThePolyMath]

Hello all!

I am currently in Year 11 and having been thinking a lot re: subject selections for my HSC year.

The following are my marks and ranks for my subjects (half yearly):

Advanced English 92 (2nd)
Physics (97) (1st)
Economics (100) (1st)
Biology (99) (2nd)
Chemistry (98 (2nd)
3U (98) (2nd)
2U (95 (4th)

I am considering Extension 2 Mathematics but will have to probably drop a subject to accommodate this. I really enjoy all my subjects and hope to get into undergraduate med but I don't know what to drop (to what extent I should take into account scaling, etc).

Some potential choices I have been considering are dropping biology (and keeping phys, chem and eco). However, I am very good at bio and am familiar with a lot of the HSC content. This seems like a bad choice.

Or I could drop physics but giving away a subject I am coming first in feels weird.

Or I could keep everything as it is.

I know there are no prerequisite subjects for medicine but I am not considering dropping chemistry.

Sorry for ranting on but what would you do and why?

Thanks

 

[buriza]

Since you're doing quite well in all your subjects, if it were me I would consider dropping the subject I enjoy least. Usually I would go the route of seeing which subject I might decline in marks for the next year, but that's probably a harder judgement for you to make. As for keeping it how it is, that depends on whether or not you think you can handle that workload.

 

[ThePolyMath]

Thanks for your response!

Nice tips.

I think I'll wait for my yearly results and make an informed judgement then.

 

[blackbird_14]

I think I'll wait for my yearly results and make an informed judgement then.

Yeah that's what I'm doing too. You don't have to drop anything now anyway, but it's probably a good idea not to continue 13 units into 2016

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

Just pick off a subject you don't enjoy

 

[mx3]

Physics (97) (1st)
Economics (100) (1st)
Biology (99) (2nd)
Chemistry (98 (2nd)

99/98 and only 2nd is absurd. the person who state ranked 1st in bio last year got 96.
and 100 in eco has never happened.

schools use one of two methods to generate moderated assessment marks.

they choose an arbitrary mean, usually based around the last cohort's hsc marks, and estimate the new cohort's marks based on the number of standard deviations above the mean

or they use a frequency distribution, assigning a rank in each subject to the median hsc mark received by previous cohort members who got that rank.

neither estimation method would generate such ridiculous figures.

good troll though since you've obviously convinced some people

 

[Green Yoda]

99/98 and only 2nd is absurd. the person who state ranked 1st in bio last year got 96.
and 100 in eco has never happened.

schools use one of two methods to generate moderated assessment marks.

they choose an arbitrary mean, usually based around the last cohort's hsc marks, and estimate the new cohort's marks based on the number of standard deviations above the mean

or they use a frequency distribution, assigning a rank in each subject to the median hsc mark received by previous cohort members who got that rank.

neither estimation method would generate such ridiculous figures.

good troll though since you've obviously convinced some people

He's in yr 11..the moderation process is for the HSC................................................

 

[DatAtarLyfe]

99/98 and only 2nd is absurd. the person who state ranked 1st in bio last year got 96.
and 100 in eco has never happened.

schools use one of two methods to generate moderated assessment marks.

they choose an arbitrary mean, usually based around the last cohort's hsc marks, and estimate the new cohort's marks based on the number of standard deviations above the mean

or they use a frequency distribution, assigning a rank in each subject to the median hsc mark received by previous cohort members who got that rank.

neither estimation method would generate such ridiculous figures.

good troll though since you've obviously convinced some people

Dis guy....
Did u even read the qu. They said they were in year 11 smh

 

[BLIT2014]

I'd say keep all of the subjects,unless you are in rank <20 school.

What is the cohort size for each subject?

 

[ThePolyMath]

Smallest cohort is Economics (17) largest is bio (53). The rest average between 30-40.

 

[iStudent]

Drop bio. The scaling isn't worth it. I have a feeling that in the end you'll be one of those people who gets the band 6 (or state rank) that wasn't even counted. Yea, you can argue based on which subject you like but it seems like you're doing well in all...
Bio ties in a lot with medicine, but really - you learn it from scratch once you enter med school so it doesn't matter.

But if one of your subjects falters as you come to the end of prelims, you should drop that subject

I did the same subjects you did for prelims (although, marks not as good haha) so there's my 2 cents.

 

[Crisium]

Drop bio. The scaling isn't worth it. I have a feeling that in the end you'll be one of those people who gets the band 6 (or state rank) that wasn't even counted. Yea, you can argue based on which subject you like but it seems like you're doing well in all...
Bio ties in a lot with medicine, but really - you learn it from scratch once you enter med school so it doesn't matter.

But if one of your subjects falters as you come to the end of prelims, you should drop that subject

I did the same subjects you did for prelims (although, marks not as good haha) so there's my 2 cents.

You still got 99.90

OP you should drop Bio since you're absolutely blitzing all of your other subjects which also happen to be of very high scaling.

What is your school rank OP?

 

[ThePolyMath]

My school has no ranking atm. This is our first HSC year.

 

[MilkyCat_]

Holy jesus

 

[ThePolyMath]

Thanks iStudent for providing some valuable context. What do you mean though when you say "you'll be one of those people who gets the band 6 (or state rank) that wasn't event counted". I've seen people do bio and get 99.95 so what gives?

 

[Crisium]

Thanks iStudent for providing some valuable context. What do you mean though when you say "you'll be one of those people who gets the band 6 (or state rank) that wasn't event counted". I've seen people do bio and get 99.95 so what gives?

He means that despite doing extremely well in bio it will not be counted in your top 10 units (They only count your top ten units including a compulsory two units of english) and it will basically be a dead weight to you

 

[ThePolyMath]

Interesting. What about Ext 2 math? I will try it but have questioned if it's worthwhile given my current marks.

 

[spatula232]

My school has no ranking atm. This is our first HSC year.

Huh? IB previously?

 

[iStudent]

Thanks iStudent for providing some valuable context. What do you mean though when you say "you'll be one of those people who gets the band 6 (or state rank) that wasn't event counted". I've seen people do bio and get 99.95 so what gives?

There have been people who state ranked bio and yet it didn't count in their top 10 units (they did the mx2-chem-phys combo). Do note though, that these people scored atars close to (or got) 99.95. Only reason you'd keep bio is if it's better than chem/phys.

Also, definitely do MX2. It's pretty much guaranteed to be in your top 10 units (unless you score less than e4). Not forgetting to mention that UQ's graduate medicine offers 2 bonus points just for doing the subject..

 

[mx3]

My school has no ranking atm. This is our first HSC year.

seems legit