Seeking Advice on Courses (1 Viewer)

[picaresque]

Hi. I'm currently in Yr 11 (Yr 12 2004) James Ruse. (I think most of you know enough about my school to understand it's UAI record etc.)

I'm aiming for an UAI of 99.8+ to get into Combined Law at USyd with clearance, in case the UAI cut-off rises, or something else equally terrible occurs.

My current subjects are:

Extension II Mathematics
Extension II English
Modern History and History Extension
Visual Arts

(My strengths definitely lie in English and the humanities; I usually place in the 30-50's for maths. >.<)

During Prelim year, My UAI estimate was 99.5-6, obviously without the three extra extensions I've picked up, and I completed Agriculture. Because of Ag, I've been recently accepted into the Philosophy Distinction Course (which I've always really wanted to do.)

That means, if I don't drop anything, I'll be doing FIFTEEN UNITS next year. Which...um, kind of scares me. I did fourteen this year, with a piano diploma and although the stress wasn't too bad, they were only my prelims. Who knows how terrible HSC year will be like?

So the Question: With my goal UAI in mind, what should I do of these three options -

a) Drop History Extension (I have to add that I just got back my first assessment in this and I received full marks for that essay - which makes the decision to kick it exponentially difficult.)
b) Say 'fuck you' to Philosophy.
and
c) Keep both and attempt to manage 15 units on top of musical commitments.

Please, anyone who knows about these courses and their relative scaling/effect, advise me? I'm rather at a loss.

 

[abdooooo!!!]

looks like you are going to kill the hsc... if you are going to drop anything i reckon you should drop history ext. since its only a one unit subject. saying 'fuck you' to philosophy is just evil... you just got in and the BOS have to pay for you (remember what they said in the uni place). and philosophy finishes in june i think so it doesn't directly affect your exam preparation for other subjects. thats what i think anyway.

 

[picaresque]

*ducks head*

Ah, I was feeling lazy, so I didn't actually attend the Information day. The BOS have to pay for my place in the Distinction Course? Hmm, that's interesting.

 

[abdooooo!!!]

yep. they (BOS) have to pay the university fees for us...

 

[Estel]

One possibility is to kill off 4U Maths... as you say you do a lot better in the humanities... no point dropping Hist. Ext if you think it's likely you'll get good in it.

That opens up a lot of time, if anything.

 

[picaresque]

Eeeee!
(ha, even the thought of killing 4U maths pains me. )

I am stronger in the humanities, placing much better. But at the same time, my _marks_ for maths are the highest, being centered around 96-97 in 2U (don't do that anymore) and 48-49 in 3U.

Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

 

[Estel]

"Please, anyone who knows about these courses and their relative scaling/effect, advise me?"

It doesn't really matter at the end of the day. For non-extension subjects scaling is based on the quality of the candidature (performance in other subjects) and your position in that candidature. A subject with smarter people is scaled better, but it is harder to achieve a higher rank.
End result: scaling isn't that significant (except for capped subjects, which doesn't apply to you); do what you enjoy and are best at.

For 4U maths scaling is based on performance in 3U as a group; very nice scaling... but it's one of the harder courses to get a high rank... 4U english is based on performance in 2U as a group; same scenario.

[/tirade]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Do what you enjoy.

 

[Estel]

Well... if you're acing 4U Maths... I can't help.
You can try the 15 for a while to test...

Problem is for me, in a year, I will face a similar scenario.

 

[abdooooo!!!]

Originally posted by Estel
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

you're right. i think

 

[Silver Persian]

What about dropping your musical commitments, and just playing piano for fun. It's what I'll be doing in year 12. That way you can relax while playing music but you don't have to stress over scales/perfect technique and annoying things like that. You can always do piano next year.

 

[Frigid]

*points - hatechu JR 99.95+ ppl :mad1:*

newais, my advice is drop music for a while and probly drop visual arts... kill the rest, there's no reason you can't get 100.

btw, 30s-50s for maths in JR is not a shit rank.

you sound stressed, so just chill; there are always lower cutoffs at UNSW (or UTS or MACQ, or, god-forbid , UWS). but i know you're gonna do well (yous JR ppl always do well ) so dun stress out, continue working consistently and you will get the UAI you want.

goodluck, and cheers.

 

[picaresque]

Hmm. Thanks for the advice, guys.

Yeah, I'm thinking of putting music on the backburner for next year - in fact my mother is insisting that I do so, and just practice for leisure.

I can't actually drop Visual Arts, because I think it's stipulated that I have to undertake at least four subjects (does this include subjects completed in previous years? can someone pls clarify this?) and all my units are extensions. If I drop VA, I'm down to three subjects at school. Anyway, without VA, how could I possibly hope to get into Art Express? (kidding.)

I think I might try 15 units for a term next year and see how it goes - we'll be getting new UAI predictions after the term one exams, so I might ask our deputy what he thinks I should keep/drop.

 

[Mr Wiggle]

i think you should give 15units a go there's no harm. i don't know if you know Lit Hau tan from your school in 2001 but i heard he did 20 units in yr 12 so 15 should be no problem for you if you can do the work and you can always drop His ext if you can't cope.

 

[rukawasan]

give everythin a go... i started with 13... in the end dropped 2 the 10u that i was most comfortable with... din lose much cept a lil of wasted time...

nothing 2 lose... go for 15 but dont b afraid 2 drop

 

[Lazarus]

Option C - I would recommend this.
Option B - Philosophy is far too great an experience to miss out on. Trust me.
Option A - I don't think this would really lessen your load too much.

You can always drop something later if it turns out to be too much to handle, but you won't be able to pick anything up.

Originally posted by picaresque
I think it's stipulated that I have to undertake at least four subjects (does this include subjects completed in previous years? can someone pls clarify this?)

Yes, the requirement includes accelerated courses.

 

[Estel]

Don't put music on the backburner... when the HSC is all said and done, you don't want to have to go into overdrive to bring it back up... it's a very disheartening experience to relearn what you once knew.

Dropping Vis. Arts is still an option as you did agriculture before, so that can count to your 4 subject requirement (doesn't have to count to your UAI).

Lazarus are you sure 15 units is a good idea? I'm curious because I may have to choose between 13 or 15 myself.

 

[picaresque]

Ok. Have definitely settled for temporarily trying out 15 units, thanks to everyone for their input. So far exam results this term have been pleasing, so I suppose I'm feeling rather positive.

If I do choose to neglect music, it's unlikely I'll return to the lessons-practice-exam routine ever again, which means I won't be burdened with struggling to pick it up again.

And to whoever mentioned Lit Hau Tan - I've heard of him and his amazing achievements and I think it would be foolish to compare me to him. What he could/can do with ease might very well be impossible for me. 21 units in all! If I complete 17 in all I shall be very surprised at myself!

But there's nothing wrong with giving it a go.