Subject Selection Advice pls (1 Viewer)

[M x2]

So I'm picking my subjects next week and I've been changing my options around a lot, at the moment this is what I'm thinking of choosing:

Mathematics (2U)
MX1 (1U)
English Adv (2U)
EX1 (1U)
SoR (1U)
Chemistry (2U)
Biology (2U)
Dance (2U)
(all together 13 units)

Initially I had Music 2 and no extensions, would I be better off doing this or the one listed?
Is doing both extensions in year 11 too much work? Thankss

 

[Lumenoria]

Hey,
I can't say whether having music or both extensions will be better for you because that's relative to what you think you'll enjoy. I'm halfway through Year 11 (prelims) now and I know from experience that taking on both extensions is definitely a lot in terms of workload. It may sound intimidating initially, but being consistent with your studies should ensure a good result.

Like you, I started Year 11 with both Maths Extension 1 and English Extension 1. I thought I'd able to handle it, but I ended up dropping Maths Extension halfway through the year because it was so strenuous to keep up with the class. I worked on it for 2 ish hours every single day, and even that didn't allow me to attain the results I desired. I figured all the time I was spending on it wasn't worth it for just one unit; I was hardly focusing on any other subject. The concepts themselves weren't too bad but when we were tested, they were definitely harder than I had anticipated. You have to be able to apply your knowledge to challenging questions that you had no idea could even be possible. The thing is, you have to be continuously motivated in order to do well in this subject; something that I lacked considerably. You have to be able to dedicate a lot of time towards it willingly or you'll burn out. You can't let undesirable results deter you from concentrating on it, or you'll fall behind. With the speed of the course, you will probably, at some point, find that you're stuck while everyone is whizzing through the content. Of course, this also depends on your natural ability to process mathematical concepts but generally, you have to be committed consistently in order to succeed. I found that taking this course made everything in 2 unit maths seem super easy, and it was honestly a breeze to do well in them. If you're able to maintain an average of 80% in the 5.3 course (presumably), then I think you'll be more than capable of handling Maths Extension 1. As long as you stay on top of the workload, you should be fine.

For English Extension 1, it's not a subject you should do just because you think you're good at it. If you dread going to your English classes, then you should probably reconsider taking this course. You have to enjoy the subject thoroughly to perform well because the workload is quite big and requires a deeper level of critical thought than your typical English classes. Personally, I enjoy English far more than Maths so I didn't mind this at all. But you have to remember that you are doing this in ADDITION to your Advanced workload, which is already stressful as is. I actually enjoy going to English Extension because I find that the topics we studied are far more intriguing than English Advanced. It is quite difficult, but the content is just exceedingly better than that of Advanced which imo, makes it all worth it. The marking is also definitely harsher than English Advanced because the standards are exponentially higher. Despite it being 1 unit, you'll find that the workload is essentially double that of English Advanced. Basically, do this subject because you want to, not because you hear it's challenging or scales well.

I'd recommend picking up both Extensions and then seeing how you go, because you can't know for sure until you experience it first hand. You can always drop whenever you want to. That's what I did, I was almost definite I would keep Maths Extension because I've always enjoyed maths but the extension course was brutal for me and made me hate the subject so much. I kept them both until the half yearlies just to get an idea of where I ranked in comparison to my cohort. I ranked 30th for Maths Extension and 2nd for English Extension out of the whole cohort. In the end, I realised I enjoyed English so much more. I would actually look forward to it, whereas I would absolutely dread going to Maths. Good luck with your choices!


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[bujolover]

So I'm picking my subjects next week and I've been changing my options around a lot, at the moment this is what I'm thinking of choosing:

Mathematics (2U)
MX1 (1U)
English Adv (2U)
EX1 (1U)
SoR (1U)
Chemistry (2U)
Biology (2U)
Dance (2U)
(all together 13 units)

Initially I had Music 2 and no extensions, would I be better off doing this or the one listed?
Is doing both extensions in year 11 too much work? Thankss

I'll be quite frank, and I know most others won't feel this way, but I do both extension courses, and they take up less time for me than my other subjects (all three sciences).

I don't even spend time at all on Ext. English except maybe a day or two before the exam, and the odd day or two other than that throughout the year (literally). Even for Advanced English, I probably do something for it a couple of times a week, and some weeks I don't even touch it. I did well in all my assessments for these courses so far by the way - I wouldn't be telling you this stuff if I did badly.

Maths...well, as Lumenoria said, it depends on your natural ability. Maths, for me, has always been my strongest point, which is reflected in my results, but I don't do much work for it either, not during the school term. I do the most work for Maths during the holidays, when I read ahead for topics we'll be doing at school, do all the past papers, do extra worksheets, etc. This is what you should be doing as well (regardless of which Maths course you do) as you go into Yr 11, and this essentially removes a burden off your workload. I'm not even up-to-date with all the exercises we're supposed to do in class, but my extra work pays off in the end and serves as the thing to... break my fall (into bad marks lol). I am among the top Maths students in my grade at a good school, so I do think my advice is valid here.

In conclusion, take both extensions, like Lumenoria said. I can't guarantee that you'll be doing as little work as me (in fact, what I'm doing is not good - you should be doing more work than I am ), but hopefully, if you follow my advice for Maths, I think you should find that you won't even feel like you're doing two extensions.

BTW, don't do 13 units AND two extensions - that's insane! Don't do SOR. You would rather do Music and no extensions.

 

[M x2]

I'll be quite frank, and I know most others won't feel this way, but I do both extension courses, and they take up less time for me than my other subjects (all three sciences).

I don't even spend time at all on Ext. English except maybe a day or two before the exam, and the odd day or two other than that throughout the year (literally). Even for Advanced English, I probably do something for it a couple of times a week, and some weeks I don't even touch it. I did well in all my assessments for these courses so far by the way - I wouldn't be telling you this stuff if I did badly.

Maths...well, as Lumenoria said, it depends on your natural ability. Maths, for me, has always been my strongest point, which is reflected in my results, but I don't do much work for it either, not during the school term. I do the most work for Maths during the holidays, when I read ahead for topics we'll be doing at school, do all the past papers, do extra worksheets, etc. This is what you should be doing as well (regardless of which Maths course you do) as you go into Yr 11, and this essentially removes a burden off your workload. I'm not even up-to-date with all the exercises we're supposed to do in class, but my extra work pays off in the end and serves as the thing to... break my fall (into bad marks lol). I am among the top Maths students in my grade at a good school, so I do think my advice is valid here.

In conclusion, take both extensions, like Lumenoria said. I can't guarantee that you'll be doing as little work as me (in fact, what I'm doing is not good - you should be doing more work than I am ), but hopefully, if you follow my advice for Maths, I think you should find that you won't even feel like you're doing two extensions.

BTW, don't do 13 units AND two extensions - that's insane! Don't do SOR. You would rather do Music and no extensions.

Thanks for the insight into doing both of the extension courses. Yeah, it would be ideal if I wasn't doing SOR but unfortunately I have to do at least one unit of religion because I go to a Catholic school. I'll take that into account though and maybe think about swapping around some other subjects. The thing is, I have to do two sciences for the pre-med course I'm wanting to do after school and I'm really keen on doing dance as a relaxed subject that I know I'm guaranteed to go well in. So that doesn't really leave many options except dropping one of the extensions. I think my plan is to start with 13 and after a while I will know which one I'll want to drop.

 

[M x2]

Hey,
I can't say whether having music or both extensions will be better for you because that's relative to what you think you'll enjoy. I'm halfway through Year 11 (prelims) now and I know from experience that taking on both extensions is definitely a lot in terms of workload. It may sound intimidating initially, but being consistent with your studies should ensure a good result.

Like you, I started Year 11 with both Maths Extension 1 and English Extension 1. I thought I'd able to handle it, but I ended up dropping Maths Extension halfway through the year because it was so strenuous to keep up with the class. I worked on it for 2 ish hours every single day, and even that didn't allow me to attain the results I desired. I figured all the time I was spending on it wasn't worth it for just one unit; I was hardly focusing on any other subject. The concepts themselves weren't too bad but when we were tested, they were definitely harder than I had anticipated. You have to be able to apply your knowledge to challenging questions that you had no idea could even be possible. The thing is, you have to be continuously motivated in order to do well in this subject; something that I lacked considerably. You have to be able to dedicate a lot of time towards it willingly or you'll burn out. You can't let undesirable results deter you from concentrating on it, or you'll fall behind. With the speed of the course, you will probably, at some point, find that you're stuck while everyone is whizzing through the content. Of course, this also depends on your natural ability to process mathematical concepts but generally, you have to be committed consistently in order to succeed. I found that taking this course made everything in 2 unit maths seem super easy, and it was honestly a breeze to do well in them. If you're able to maintain an average of 80% in the 5.3 course (presumably), then I think you'll be more than capable of handling Maths Extension 1. As long as you stay on top of the workload, you should be fine.

For English Extension 1, it's not a subject you should do just because you think you're good at it. If you dread going to your English classes, then you should probably reconsider taking this course. You have to enjoy the subject thoroughly to perform well because the workload is quite big and requires a deeper level of critical thought than your typical English classes. Personally, I enjoy English far more than Maths so I didn't mind this at all. But you have to remember that you are doing this in ADDITION to your Advanced workload, which is already stressful as is. I actually enjoy going to English Extension because I find that the topics we studied are far more intriguing than English Advanced. It is quite difficult, but the content is just exceedingly better than that of Advanced which imo, makes it all worth it. The marking is also definitely harsher than English Advanced because the standards are exponentially higher. Despite it being 1 unit, you'll find that the workload is essentially double that of English Advanced. Basically, do this subject because you want to, not because you hear it's challenging or scales well.

I'd recommend picking up both Extensions and then seeing how you go, because you can't know for sure until you experience it first hand. You can always drop whenever you want to. That's what I did, I was almost definite I would keep Maths Extension because I've always enjoyed maths but the extension course was brutal for me and made me hate the subject so much. I kept them both until the half yearlies just to get an idea of where I ranked in comparison to my cohort. I ranked 30th for Maths Extension and 2nd for English Extension out of the whole cohort. In the end, I realised I enjoyed English so much more. I would actually look forward to it, whereas I would absolutely dread going to Maths. Good luck with your choices!


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Thank you so much for your detailed reply, I actually really appreciate it and it was super helpful too. It's good to get an idea from someone who's actually experienced doing both of the extension courses. I'm definitely going to pick them both up to start off with so I can try them out like you say because I know I can always drop one. Can I ask what other subjects you do? Do you think doing 13 units including both extensions is an impossible feat? Thanks again!! x

 

[Lumenoria]

Thank you so much for your detailed reply, I actually really appreciate it and it was super helpful too. It's good to get an idea from someone who's actually experienced doing both of the extension courses. I'm definitely going to pick them both up to start off with so I can try them out like you say because I know I can always drop one. Can I ask what other subjects you do? Do you think doing 13 units including both extensions is an impossible feat? Thanks again!! x

Not a problem, I'm glad my input was able to help you! x Honestly, I think the idea of taking both extensions seems way scarier than it actually is. I was on 14 units, including both extensions, and despite it having a large workload, it wasn't as bad as you probably think. I'm really bad with time management and find myself procrastinating ALL THE TIME, so that's predominantly why I couldn't do well consistently across all my subjects, hence why I dropped Maths Extension 1. However, given that you're only on 13 units with both extensions, it's definitely possible to stay on top of things if you have the ability to maintain constant motivation to study. If you take subjects you enjoy, then this shouldn't be too much of a problem at all! You don't even have to spend hours and hours on end trying to do something; just make sure that when you DO study, you maximise use of time. I hope I'm making sense here hahah. Perhaps keep both extensions until the middle of the year when you have an idea of your rankings, then go from there. And of course, I'm currently taking Advanced English, English Extension 1, Mathematics, Legal Studies, Economics, Biology and Multimedia )


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[blackbird_14]

Lumenoria and bujolover have both nicely summed up the extensions, and well since I did music I thought I'd pitch in. Music 2 is a demanding course, you'll always have to practice an hour each day, on top of composition tasks that drive you insane and musicology extended responses and dictations. You've already decided you're doing dance, which is very similar to music, but you're dancing instead of music playing. If you're more a creative person and like long term projects over the "2 days to cram" for a science/math test person, 2 major projects could be for you. Or it could be more beneficial to stick with one major project and spend time on that (that's what I did). Personally I found music very time demanding, so perhaps having dance and music, both time demanding subjects, may be too much, but then again if maths extension and/or English extension turns out not to be your forte you could spend equally the same amount of time on these subjects.

Hope my brain spew helps

 

[M x2]

Lumenoria and bujolover have both nicely summed up the extensions, and well since I did music I thought I'd pitch in. Music 2 is a demanding course, you'll always have to practice an hour each day, on top of composition tasks that drive you insane and musicology extended responses and dictations. You've already decided you're doing dance, which is very similar to music, but you're dancing instead of music playing. If you're more a creative person and like long term projects over the "2 days to cram" for a science/math test person, 2 major projects could be for you. Or it could be more beneficial to stick with one major project and spend time on that (that's what I did). Personally I found music very time demanding, so perhaps having dance and music, both time demanding subjects, may be too much, but then again if maths extension and/or English extension turns out not to be your forte you could spend equally the same amount of time on these subjects.

Hope my brain spew helps

Hey! Sorry its taken so long for me to reply, I only just saw this. I decided a couple of days ago that I'm not going to do music and reading this just cemented that plan, so thank you. I want to keep my music (piano) as an outside of school hobby just so It doesn't become something I am stressed about and can instead still be a sort of retreat from homework when I need it if you get me hahah. Plus what you say about the two major works is true, I'm definitely more of a crammer so even just the one will be a hard enough task I'm guessing. Thanks again!

 

[blackbird_14]

Hey! Sorry its taken so long for me to reply, I only just saw this. I decided a couple of days ago that I'm not going to do music and reading this just cemented that plan, so thank you. I want to keep my music (piano) as an outside of school hobby just so It doesn't become something I am stressed about and can instead still be a sort of retreat from homework when I need it if you get me hahah. Plus what you say about the two major works is true, I'm definitely more of a crammer so even just the one will be a hard enough task I'm guessing. Thanks again!

No worries, hope your prelim and HSC years go well