guys i know nothing about scaling, I don't think anyone really knows how it works because everyone is just taking stabs at each other and saying different things about it. best bet, compare the two marks in that atar calculator. see if they are different, see what happens. I get the impression that IF the canditure of the state does poorly in general maths, getting maybe around 60 or 70 or so, then as long as you get a good bit over that you wont get scaled down. heres a true example though. my mate did general maths, got in the 90s, UAI of 98.7. Take what you want from that, that sounds pretty fine to me. do well in any subject and you will kill the hsc, regardless of the misconceptions of scaling. however, i think that if you are working hard to get a 60 for advanced maths, and it is taking away from the scores of your other subjects, you should do general.
discuss. take some stabs at me if you must, thats just the way I interpret it.