Um, Mathematics, Physics, CAFS, Society and Culture, Legal Studies and Standard English. I might change it around a bit next year, don't know yet but that's what my choices were. Nothing too advanced.
Mathematics you'll be doing 1-3 hours per night depending on how much you get done in class, what topic & how well you understand it.
That's good that you've picked something because you're interested in it. It usually means you have more motivation to get the work done in that subject which will help you achieve a better mark.
You should choose subjects that you enjoy and are/or good at. If you aren't interested in chem then it makes it harder to study for and it will drag your ATAR down. I think you've got an interesting mix of subjects as people don't usually do CAFS & Physics. Sometimes subjects will clash and you'll need to choose another subject. Another option is moving schools.
Picking in term 4 is quite late. You can always change which subjects you've picked in the first few weeks of Term 1 do you may be able to switch S&C for something else. Apparently you can do Snr Sci in HSC with the other sciences.
I think you can go from Advanced to Standard but I don't think you are allowed to do the opposite. I am aiming an ATAR of at least 70, trying to be realistic. I will always do my best to get the highest ATAR possible but it not always possible.
Preliminary Physics is not as scary as you think. Follow the requirements of the syllabus. Cover each dot point in depth along with the practicals you do. Do a few past papers. That's Year 11 Physics. Of course Year 12 Physics will be much harder.
This is the latest syllabus: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/physics-st6-syl-from2010.pdf
In some cases you can but you have to be acing standard for them to let you do adv. It rarely happens but it's possible. Paper 1 of the English exam is the Area of Study which both English do. I don't think ESL does it.
