Is it better to do 12 or 10 Units for HSC? (1 Viewer)

[starryblue]

i'm planning to do the following subjects for HSC (yes, i've practically decided )
- English Advanced
- Maths 3U
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Japanese extension

i know some people choose to do 12units just in case they stuff up one of the subjects. but i was wondering if i should drop biology in yr 12. Out of the subjects above, bio and chem are my worst subjects. (actually, technically english is included but we cant drop it D

and i was thinking that dropping bio is pretty risky. what if i stuff up one of the other subjects? should i just keep to 12units?

 

[jnney]

If you're in year 10 now, I don't think you should be thinking about whether to do 10 or 12 units. Everyone's opinion will be different, as it is based on personal experience. Besides, you may hate Biology one second, but love it the next and decide to drop something else instead. This happens to everyone. Do the subjects that you love and are good at, not based on the assumption that you are going to drop one.

Good evening.

 

[starryblue]

yeh...i did choose the subjects that i like/good at. but that's only maths and jap. i chose chem and bio since i don't like commerce/geo/history related subjects :L

 

[jnney]

Going into year 11 I thought I hated science and loved history. I started off the year with no sciences. But I changed my mind later. Experiment for yourself, you'll find out what you like

 

[dionb2014]

Considering that you are doing an extension subject it would be advisable. Extension subjects have a higher failure rate therefor it would be safer to hold onto bio.

 

[starryblue]

Considering that you are doing an extension subject it would be advisable. Extension subjects have a higher failure rate therefor it would be safer to hold onto bio.

but jap and maths are my best subjects so i'm definitely sure i wont failure them..

 

[starryblue]

Going into year 11 I thought I hated science and loved history. I started off the year with no sciences. But I changed my mind later. Experiment for yourself, you'll find out what you like

i can't imagine myself liking science >.> highly unlikely..k..i'll see how i go next yr =)
thanks for the advice

 

[Politic]

i'm planning to do the following subjects for HSC (yes, i've practically decided )
- English Advanced
- Maths 3U
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Japanese extension

i know some people choose to do 12units just in case they stuff up one of the subjects. but i was wondering if i should drop biology in yr 12. Out of the subjects above, bio and chem are my worst subjects. (actually, technically english is included but we cant drop it D

and i was thinking that dropping bio is pretty risky. what if i stuff up one of the other subjects? should i just keep to 12units?

See what happens, but don't be guilt-tricked into thinking that doing 12U is always the best thing to do. Many do 10U and are fine.

 

[dionb2014]

Well to be honest I am just talking statistically. If you are sure you won't fail then sure. But without risk it is harder to reap the rewards. Maybe you should do extension 2 maths and then keep twelve units. That way you can hedge some of your risk in case you fail it but as you are pretty good at math and you do well you have a greater potential to get a higher score due to scaling.

 

[starryblue]

Well to be honest I am just talking statistically. If you are sure you won't fail then sure. But without risk it is harder to reap the rewards. Maybe you should do extension 2 maths and then keep twelve units. That way you can hedge some of your risk in case you fail it but as you are pretty good at math and you do well you have a greater potential to get a higher score due to scaling.

i think extension 2 maths is too much, i probably wont be able to handle it. considering that i'm doin extension jap as well.

 

[yours]

japanese = good choice, though I don't know if you'll like extension. I have done extension for 2 languages (not japanese) but the style of assessment is the same across all extension courses... lots of monologues on stupid world issues that I hate and never want to talk about again... what were they this year?? Oh:
Stress in year 12 is over-rated. All HSC students should have a part-time job. What do you think?
(u have 7 minutes to write in this tiny box the size of two human fingers and then speak for 3 minutes in a structured response)... yeah that part sucked and always will suck. I'd much rather have a conversation, it's so much more natural.
Though the text (movie) is spirited away, I think, so that should be nice to analyse.
Stick to 12. I was going to drop but it turns out I needed those last two units because I unexpectedly crashed and burned in 2 units. COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!! =D
P.S in terms of workload the extension langs. were a bit of a wank. You're either good at it or you're not, it's just like having more marks for the same work as continuers (in my opinion).
P.S.S when I re-read that it sounds like I really shoot down doing extension. Just for more info: you also write essays (the same as a monologue, really, but written) and these can also be in speech form.. just like english, though the topics aren't on belonging they are on the environment and society and crap. It's good because you learn more and it always transfers over to continuers so if you're brain-thoughts are just marks marks marks then it'll help your continuers mark. Also for the writing in JAP there is an 'empathy task' where you pretend you're one of the characters in ur text study (I think it's spirited away) and write like a diary entry on an event and how you 'really feel' about it... pretty easy to BS. DO THE COURSE! lol

 

[dionb2014]

If you don't think you could handle it then of course it's not a good choice. But remember that it would definitely be good even if you just did alright in it. Doing extension jap would also probably have the same affect of hedging the risk but at the same time opening the opportunity for reward.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

It all depends on the person. Some say they'll be safer with 12 and others will say they want to concentrate more on the subjects that actually count so they go for 10.

And who knows, you might end up hating Biology and you might end up replacing it with a social science such as Economics or Business Studies or a History such as Modern or Ancient. Do subjects that interest you or you like because in the long run, you'll put more effort into those subjects.
E.g. A year 10 student was very interested in how the economy works since the start of his high school career but he didn't do so well in Year 10 Commerce. He never liked or hated Chemistry or Biology or Physics but frequently scored above average scores. He attained 70% in Commerce and 88% in Science for the final outcome of his end year report.

Even though he scored lower on his favourite subject, it would be much better if he chose Economics rather than a Science for the HSC as he will more likely put more effort into Economics than a Science in his HSC years. Effort and interest is a more important factor in the long term than doing well in your junior years as it changes in your senior years.

If you don't like Biology that much, choose a subject that might be interesting such as Economics or Modern History and remember, you can change that subject within the first few weeks if you are 100% sure that you have no interest in that subject.

 

[starryblue]

japanese = good choice, though I don't know if you'll like extension. I have done extension for 2 languages (not japanese) but the style of assessment is the same across all extension courses... lots of monologues on stupid world issues that I hate and never want to talk about again... what were they this year?? Oh:
Stress in year 12 is over-rated. All HSC students should have a part-time job. What do you think?
(u have 7 minutes to write in this tiny box the size of two human fingers and then speak for 3 minutes in a structured response)... yeah that part sucked and always will suck. I'd much rather have a conversation, it's so much more natural.
Though the text (movie) is spirited away, I think, so that should be nice to analyse.
Stick to 12. I was going to drop but it turns out I needed those last two units because I unexpectedly crashed and burned in 2 units. COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!! =D
P.S in terms of workload the extension langs. were a bit of a wank. You're either good at it or you're not, it's just like having more marks for the same work as continuers (in my opinion).
P.S.S when I re-read that it sounds like I really shoot down doing extension. Just for more info: you also write essays (the same as a monologue, really, but written) and these can also be in speech form.. just like english, though the topics aren't on belonging they are on the environment and society and crap. It's good because you learn more and it always transfers over to continuers so if you're brain-thoughts are just marks marks marks then it'll help your continuers mark. Also for the writing in JAP there is an 'empathy task' where you pretend you're one of the characters in ur text study (I think it's spirited away) and write like a diary entry on an event and how you 'really feel' about it... pretty easy to BS. DO THE COURSE! lol

i'm prepared for the workload! how do you know all this stuff, i thought you said u didn't do it? and 2 language extensions?!! That's a lot :L

 

[starryblue]

It all depends on the person. Some say they'll be safer with 12 and others will say they want to concentrate more on the subjects that actually count so they go for 10.

And who knows, you might end up hating Biology and you might end up replacing it with a social science such as Economics or Business Studies or a History such as Modern or Ancient. Do subjects that interest you or you like because in the long run, you'll put more effort into those subjects.
E.g. A year 10 student was very interested in how the economy works since the start of his high school career but he didn't do so well in Year 10 Commerce. He never liked or hated Chemistry or Biology or Physics but frequently scored above average scores. He attained 70% in Commerce and 88% in Science for the final outcome of his end year report.

Even though he scored lower on his favourite subject, it would be much better if he chose Economics rather than a Science for the HSC as he will more likely put more effort into Economics than a Science in his HSC years. Effort and interest is a more important factor in the long term than doing well in your junior years as it changes in your senior years.

If you don't like Biology that much, choose a subject that might be interesting such as Economics or Modern History and remember, you can change that subject within the first few weeks if you are 100% sure that you have no interest in that subject.

I am 100% sure...no 200% + sure that i will never like any history/commerce related subject =) i think i'll just stick with science..

 

[yours]

i'm prepared for the workload! how do you know all this stuff, i thought you said u didn't do it? and 2 language extensions?!! That's a lot :L

said i didn't do what??? You don't realise that language extension workload is less than others, like maths ext 1 is probably more workload even though they are both a unit. It's easy to slice up the maths curriculum into extensions but you can't really do this as well with a language. If you're doing continuers and aren't terrible you can probably do extension without much work

 

[starryblue]

said i didn't do what??? You don't realise that language extension workload is less than others, like maths ext 1 is probably more workload even though they are both a unit. It's easy to slice up the maths curriculum into extensions but you can't really do this as well with a language. If you're doing continuers and aren't terrible you can probably do extension without much work

i thought u said you didn't do jap extension...

 

[yours]

i thought u said you didn't do jap extension...

i did say that i didn't do it. I also said that the assessment style is the same across all the languages and I've done ext. in 2 others already, that's how I know what u have to do. The tasks in both of my ext. courses have been very similar, the main difference was the set-text

 

[Shadowdude]

On the question itself, I think it's better to do 12 units as it allows some back up in the case where you stuff up an assessment. It can happen.

 

[x3Reii]

Go in with 12. Because, I was iffy about doing extension english, I didn't and now I regret it. I wished I picked it instead of economics. Remember in year 12, you can always drop a subject but you can't pick one up.