Subject Selection HELP!!!! (1 Viewer)

[anne123123]

I am in Yr 10 and I am having trouble knowing which subjects to pick. I currently want to aim for an ATAR of 98.5 ish and attend Sydney Girls. I am also aiming to do something in the Technology or Business field but the only subject that I think contributes to these fields are Economics and Engineering.
I find that engineering is a lower scaling subject and the teachers at my school might be too chill when it comes to teaching it so I am not sure if I should still go with engineering (I find some interest in it).
I currently also take IPT (information processing and technology) at school right now and am ranked quite high but with a mark of only 93 which I am not sure will make it to my actual ATAR score because scaling for this subject is also low.

Currently what I am set to pick:

Ext 1 English (compulsory in yr 11 at my school)
Ext 1 Maths
Economics

The subjects that I have an interest in after going through the syllabus and HSC past papers: (ranked by interest)
1. Biology
2. Engineering
3. Physics
4. Modern History


So I need 2 more subjects but I have no idea which combination I should be choosing to get my goal ATAR of 98.5 ish.
BTW, the science syllabus has changed drastically so I am quite unsure about doing biology and physics.

And overall, what has your experience been like for each of these mentioned subjects because that would give me a good insight into the subject.
Also, how should I start preparing for Yr 11 like for English and study habits that you think I can start making now.
What magazines or books should I read for Economics and English that have helped you??


THANKS SO MUCH FOR HELPING!!!!!!!

 

[andrew12678]

I am in Yr 10 and I am having trouble knowing which subjects to pick. I currently want to aim for an ATAR of 98.5 ish and attend Sydney Girls. I am also aiming to do something in the Technology or Business field but the only subject that I think contributes to these fields are Economics and Engineering.
I find that engineering is a lower scaling subject and the teachers at my school might be too chill when it comes to teaching it so I am not sure if I should still go with engineering (I find some interest in it).
I currently also take IPT (information processing and technology) at school right now and am ranked quite high but with a mark of only 93 which I am not sure will make it to my actual ATAR score because scaling for this subject is also low.

Currently what I am set to pick:

Ext 1 English (compulsory in yr 11 at my school)
Ext 1 Maths
Economics

The subjects that I have an interest in after going through the syllabus and HSC past papers: (ranked by interest)
1. Biology
2. Engineering
3. Physics
4. Modern History


So I need 2 more subjects but I have no idea which combination I should be choosing to get my goal ATAR of 98.5 ish.
BTW, the science syllabus has changed drastically so I am quite unsure about doing biology and physics.

And overall, what has your experience been like for each of these mentioned subjects because that would give me a good insight into the subject.
Also, how should I start preparing for Yr 11 like for English and study habits that you think I can start making now.
What magazines or books should I read for Economics and English that have helped you??


THANKS SO MUCH FOR HELPING!!!!!!!

Hi Anne,

Assuming that you need to at least 12 units in Year 11 (not sure if this is still the case) I would probably choose Biology, Physics and Modern History and then in Year 12 drop 0/1/2 of the aforementioned 3 subjects as well as decided whether to choose Extension 2 Maths/English. I would also say that any decision should be dependent on how you felt during Year 11, it is usually a very good indication to how you will find the subject in Year 12. It is a very good sign however that you are already thinking about preparing for Year 11/12 at this time, I was definitely doing the same during this time as well although I was probably a bit more decided as to what subjects I wanted to do.

I've only done several of the subjects you mentioned so I will try my best to give a rundown (probably an outdated one too) of each:
1. Adv/Ext 1 English:
-Extension 1 content was pretty chill, I think most people just really care about Advanced more as more than half of the Ext people like myself were planning to drop ASAP lol. So I would really focus more on Advanced (analytical writing) as opposed to Ext 1 (more creative nuance).
2. 2U/3U Maths:
-Pretty straightforward provided you keep up with the content/attending external tuition. The only somewhat tricky topic was probably Perms and Combs since you are kinda never sure about your answer in an exam . I wouldn't spend the bulk of my time on this subject unless really struggling
3. Biology
-The ecosystems topic bored me out so bad that I knew I had to drop it. I got through Year 11 rocking up to exams/practicals and getting 50-60% for this subject so you probably don't want to listen to me about this one lol. Although I've heard that it got better in Year 12 I think I was already always going to drop Biology anyways from Day 1.

As for preparation and study habits: if you intend to get tuition I would recommend testing out some of that right now and in Year 11 to see if they work for you. If you know what texts you'll be studying in Year 11/12 for English you could start reading them ahead of time. Other than that I think it's really important to develop a very strong analytical essay structure so I would recommend getting your hands on any exemplary essays (a good opportunity for this is from the Year 12s who graduate at the end of the Year and usually hold some sort of textbook/notes/essay sale?) and a personal recommendation of mine is to watch Nerdwriter videos and some of the analysis he incorporates (this is one of my personal favourites:

), if you are able to generate analysis like that with solid essay structure then English should be no problem for you.

Best of luck

 

[anne123123]

Holy! Thank you so much!! This is some awesome advice, I will definitely consider your advice and probably pick Biology and Physics!

 

[DemonDavis_]

Yeah, I'm doing the new physics course right now, it's actually not too different to the last course but there are more maths involved but if you stay on top of it its pretty good,
I heard that you guys were getting a new syllabus for maths so I can't help you there but I heard that there are more statistics so you might need to look into that a bit. Other than that do subjects that you enjoy, it's much easier to get a good atar if you like the subjects, also the school you go to will give your atar a nice boost which will help you out a bit.