Subject dropping advice (eng ext 1) (1 Viewer)

[antipasta]

hi, i am in year 11 and am currently doing 14 units, 2 of which are accelerated. I am doing 3 hsie subjects which 2/3 are quite content heavy and also do up to ext 1 maths. the subject which i am thinking of dropping is english ext 1. i am currently ranked 6th out or around 43 with the third highest mark. i told myself i would drop if i got a bad mark but i got a good one so i kept it so far. i am certainly taking maths ext 1 to the hsc and the only subjects i can drop at this point is the exts, which leaves only english ext 1. bc i do quite some content heavy subjects, i feel that i would benefit from dropping 3u eng, due to extra study periods and can come home early/leave late. i also neglected eng ext for task 1 until around 3-4 days when i started my draft and did some practice. i got lucky as one of my practice was a lil bit similar to the actual question so i ended up doing well. but i am not doing as well in maths ext 1 and would want to, so i can therefore dedicate more time towards it with the free time and also spend more time in eng adv, where i got a mid A. I am quite interested in the topic learnt in ext 1 eng, but was told by friends and family that i should just do what i feel. I also feel as though i originally took the subject to prove that i was indeed good at english and was planning to drop within the first couple weeks. after receving task 1 marks, I also told myself that i would probably drop when i get a bad mark. but i do need the extra time for my content heavy subjects + maths and most importantly, my accelerated subject.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Generally speaking, you should consider dropping a subject if you have concerns about your ability to effectively manage your workload and perform well across your subjects. In such a case, there are several factors that you may wish to consider when determining the subject to drop:

• Personal interest: You appear to have some interest in English Extension 1. You should consider whether this has made it easier for you to study for this subject. If not, your personal interest may not be a significant factor in terms of your decision.
• Performance: Favourable performance across your subjects will maximise your chances of achieving your ATAR goal. You seem to be performing fairly well in English Extension 1. Dropping it and remaining on track towards your ATAR goal means that you will need to ensure that you can maintain a similar/better level of performance in your other subjects. There is also the fact that English Extension 1 is a 1-unit subject, meaning that it will inherently contribute less to your ATAR than a 2-unit subject.
• Relevance to future studies: Depending on the field(s) that you would like to study beyond the HSC, you can assess whether English Extension 1 would be a useful subject to keep, for example, in the same manner that keeping Mathematics Extension 1 would be if you want to study engineering at university. In that sense, you could consider prioritising subject relevance in addition to performance, although performance is likely the more important factor in helping you make an informed decision.

I hope this helps!