Choosing HSC Subjects... (1 Viewer)

[Drongoski]

The HSC 2U Maths is often referred to as "Advanced Maths" - this is unfortunate and misleading. It is by no means an advanced maths as the word may suggest.

Most maths we learn has very little day-to-day application. So in that sense Maths General has more day-to-day relevance. But that is because the maths is trivial.

By doing 2U instead of General, you keep more options open in case you decide to do a uni course that requires a more solid maths background.

Flop55: if I were you, I'd do my utmost to do 2U. However, if you have very low aptitude for maths, then maybe you may have to think through seriously before opting for 2U. It is hard to tell how good or inadequate your maths is, based on your 65% for 5.3. If you try 2U for a term, and find it to be beyond you, you can quickly drop to General (don't leave this too late as General covers very different contents). But if you start off with General, it would be harder to climb to 2U.

 

[pikachu975]

The HSC 2U Maths is often referred to as "Advanced Maths" - this is unfortunate and misleading. It is by no means an advanced maths as the word may suggest.

Most maths we learn has very little day-to-day application. So in that sense Maths General has more day-to-day relevance. But that is because the maths is trivial.

By doing 2U instead of General, you keep more options open in case you decide to do a uni course that requires a more solid maths background.

If I were Flop55, I'd do my utmost to do 2U. However, if you have very low aptitude for maths, then maybe you may have to think through seriously before opting for 2U. It is hard to tell how good or inadequate your maths is, based on your 65% for 5.3. If you try 2U for a term, and find it to be beyond you, you can quickly drop to General (don't leave this too late as General covers very different contents). But if you start off with General, it would be harder to climb to 2U.

Isn't it also true that USYD requires 2 unit maths to get into their uni? (not sure just thought I heard this) This could mean more unis might take this rule (if the rule exists).

 

[Drongoski]

Isn't it also true that USYD requires 2 unit maths to get into their uni? (not sure just thought I heard this) This could mean more unis might take this rule (if the rule exists).

I think USyd will require 2U Maths only for courses where a background in Maths is relevant. Years ago, unlike now when any Tom, Dick & Harry can get into uni, prerequisites for each course were clearly spelt out. Then things changed, starting I don't know when. Unis stopped spelling out prerequisites for most, if not all, courses. Why? I suspect the unis want to be able to accept students, even when they are ill-equipped to do the courses. Why? So they have more students for each course. So they have more funding (fees!) so they can run the unis. It costs heaps to run a university.

Now I believe some unis may begin spelling out more clearly the prerequisites required for certain courses. Previously they had the dishonest practice of saying such things as: "Assumed knowledge - Maths Ext 1"; so if a student has just a lowly Maths General and wants to pursue an Engineering course, they may not prevent the student from enrolling. Their philosophy appears to be: I am afraid you are going to struggle and probably won't be able to complete the course. I have already told you you will need to have done Maths Ext 1; it is up to you to ensure this. But hey, it's nice to have you as another student paying fees (probably paid for via HECS).

 

[vkusno]

Speaking from personal experience, definitely give 2U a go. If you struggle I suggest getting tutored (this is where I went wrong). I did 2U only to drop to general maths in year 12 (as I also did not know what I wanted to do in uni and struggled too much with 2U) and now my degree requires me to complete math units which I struggle with as 2U is assumed knowledge.

 

[Drongoski]

Speaking from personal experience, definitely give 2U a go. If you struggle I suggest getting tutored (this is where I went wrong). I did 2U only to drop to general maths in year 12 (as I also did not know what I wanted to do in uni and struggled too much with 2U) and now my degree requires me to complete math units which I struggle with as 2U is assumed knowledge.

Can you elaborate more fully so that others can learn from your experience. What course are you actually doing at uni that requires some maths background? Are you required to do a, say, 1st year Maths unit in your uni course?

 

[vkusno]

Can you elaborate more fully so that others can learn from your experience. What course are you actually doing at uni that requires some maths background? Are you required to do a, say, 1st year Maths unit in your uni course?

I currently study science (genetics) at UNSW. This degree requires you to complete at least 2 first year math courses which assume that you've achieved a minimum mark of 60 in 2U math. This is the same for many of the science majors at this uni. I was still able to enroll in math without having done 2U but I struggled big time as they move through the content very quickly.
Another degree option I considered was computer science which requires you to take 3 math courses with assumed knowledge of 3U math (at UNSW).
I believe business courses assume that you have done 2U math as well.

Other universities are not as brutal as this and may offer more math course options for different skill levels. (I know USYD has fundamental, mainstream and advanced math courses and UOW has math tailored especially for those who took only general to introduce them to calculus etc.)

In other words, I regret not having kept 2U.

 

[Drongoski]

vkusno

Thank you for elaborating. I'm sure many in a similar situation as flop55 can profit from your experience. I have been urging those who are able to not drop to General because you just don't know what course you'd be doing later at uni.

Wow - I didn't know you need to do 2 1st year maths courses. Have you completed this requirement or are you in the midst of doing them? Can you manage?

I remember a few years back helping out a student who had completed all his course requirements for a degree in Surveying at UNSW but who needed to retake his 1st Yr Maths. He had done 2U in his HSC and yet he was struggling. I was as nervous as he was because that was the last chance for him to complete his degree - if he failed, no career as a surveyor. It was a huge challenge to get him over the line. I'm sure most of the more abstract parts of his Maths course like vector space, eigen values and eigen vectors, linear mappings etc have little direct relevance to his surveying job. I'm pleased to report that he has been working as a surveyor for a few years now.

 

[vkusno]

vkusno

Thank you for elaborating. I'm sure many in a similar situation as flop55 can profit from your experience. I have been urging those who are able to not drop to General because you just don't know what course you'd be doing later at uni.

Wow - I didn't know you need to do 2 1st year maths courses. Have you completed this requirement or are you in the midst of doing them? Can you manage?

I remember a few years back helping out a student who had completed all his course requirements for a degree in Surveying at UNSW but who needed to retake his 1st Yr Maths. He had done 2U in his HSC and yet he was struggling. I was as nervous as he was because that was the last chance for him to complete his degree - if he failed, no career as a surveyor. It was a huge challenge to get him over the line. I'm sure most of the more abstract parts of his Maths course like vector space, eigen values and eigen vectors, linear mappings etc have little direct relevance to his surveying job. I'm pleased to report that he has been working as a surveyor for a few years now.

Unfortunately I have to start again. I found it quite hard once we got to the calculus part (particularly integration). They went through the content really quickly and crammed as much into the course as possible (as they assumed we knew the basics) and we'd do 4 topics a week so I really struggled to grasp the concepts and eventually fell quite far behind. We also went into stuff that was beyond high school math so having a solid understanding of the basics is really important.
*Just as a heads up this was the math for science course which is actually supposed to be easier than their other math courses required for other degrees.*

Oh, and OP I was similar to you in the sense that I had a broad range of subjects in year 11/12 as I wasn't sure of what to do. I think your subject choices are fine. Just make sure you pick subjects you enjoy doing as you're more likely to do well in those.

 

[Drongoski]

Oh, and OP I was similar to you in the sense that I had a broad range of subjects in year 11/12 as I wasn't sure of what to do. I think your subject choices are fine. Just make sure you pick subjects you enjoy doing as you're more likely to do well in those.

No no no! Don't just do subjects you like. Do subjects you might need - like 2U Maths. Anyway that's my philosophy.

 

[blackbird_14]

vkusno- do you mind stating which maths course this is? MATH1031? MATH1131? MATH1141?

 

[vkusno]

No no no! Don't just do subjects you like. Do subjects you might need - like 2U Maths. Anyway that's my philosophy.

yeah do subjects you might need but also do subjects you enjoy. -_-