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Serious Help Picking Subjects (1 Viewer)

laura_a

Member
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Aug 29, 2009
Messages
47
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Female
HSC
2011
Hi guys, my names laura and i'm having some serious issues picking my subjects. I definately know i'm doing English Advanced, English Extension 1, 2U maths, 3U maths, French Continuers and Economics but i'm having a hard time deciding between chemistry and Modern History.
Everyone is telling me to do chem because it scales better, but i hate science and i do just average in it despite being in the extension class for science for the past 4 years. I really enjoy history and have been topping most of the courses that i've done.
Just a bit of background info, i'm on a full academic scholarship and I got Band 6's for both science (94) and Mandatory history (98) in the school certificate...(if that helps anybody out). I like to wrote learn, memorise and regurgitate the information, i kind of hate writing essays but i think i can do them for history.
I'm just finding this decision really hard, so any advice would be great. My issue is that i know chem scales better, but what's the use of picking a subject that scales well when i'm going to be coming 15th out of 40 students whereas I actually like Modern History and there's the probability that I can actually do well and come in the top 5.

Thanks guys.

xx
Laura

P.S. is it true that everyone gets smarter and starts working harder in year 11? Also, is it true if you go on exchange to France, your french gets a lot better?
 

w8t4hope

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ur starting school soon and uve still not decided?
well u shud choose your subjects on purely wat you love. Thats the number one priority.
no matter how good you are at a subject, if you do not enjoy it, u might end up giving it up or dropping it which can be a great waste of time. do not listen to wat others say about scaling and stuff. thats the last thing you should worry about.
and with your question about france, im no french student but from wat i know, to get drastically better at french from stayin there, ull have to stay for quite a long time.

out of curiousity, wat results did you get for the sc in other subjects?
 

laura_a

Member
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2011
Well the other problem is that ultimately i'm trying to get into law/commerce or law/international studies and so i need a minium ATAR of 99.4 to even try. So i want to pick the subjects that are going to help me get that.
My other results in the sc were:
English = 92
Computer skills = 96
Geography = 98
Maths = 94
And I received some prize from Sydney Uni and I duxed my year...(don't know how that happened). But honestly i just wasn't doing AMAZING in science last year which kind of bummed me out because I was working really hard. That just made me think, "Well if i'm not doing well in year 10, then what makes me think i'll be anywhere near the top 5 for chemistry in years 11 and 12".
Thanks for your advice though. I'm leaning slightly more to modern but I'm just scared of the multiple essays i'm going to have to write.
 

timw7845

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Somewhere near the mountains... somewhere near the
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Hi guys, my names laura and i'm having some serious issues picking my subjects. I definately know i'm doing English Advanced, English Extension 1, 2U maths, 3U maths, French Continuers and Economics but i'm having a hard time deciding between chemistry and Modern History.
Everyone is telling me to do chem because it scales better, but i hate science and i do just average in it despite being in the extension class for science for the past 4 years. I really enjoy history and have been topping most of the courses that i've done.
Just a bit of background info, i'm on a full academic scholarship and I got Band 6's for both science (94) and Mandatory history (98) in the school certificate...(if that helps anybody out). I like to wrote learn, memorise and regurgitate the information, i kind of hate writing essays but i think i can do them for history.
I'm just finding this decision really hard, so any advice would be great. My issue is that i know chem scales better, but what's the use of picking a subject that scales well when i'm going to be coming 15th out of 40 students whereas I actually like Modern History and there's the probability that I can actually do well and come in the top 5.

Thanks guys.

xx
Laura

P.S. is it true that everyone gets smarter and starts working harder in year 11? Also, is it true if you go on exchange to France, your french gets a lot better?
thats a bitch of a choice imo...

i wanted to do both and got neither cause my schools so small.....

based on your prediction and sc score id go modern history...

im pretty sure that either one scales well so its not a big deal which u pick...

yr 11 compared with yr 12 is a bludge... unless ur at a tight school you get leeway with assignments cause the marks dont need to be sent away
 

Shadowdude

Cult of Personality
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Take Modern, because you don't like Chemistry.

Normally I would say that you should do Chemistry for scaling - but I believe at the upper echelons, Modern scales better - and if you need 99.4, you need all the help you can get. I'd suggest 4 unit maths when you get into Year 12, if you can.
 

nutcracker

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Take Modern. And I'm not just saying that because it's my favourite subject. Okaaay, maybe it influences my advice a liiiiittle bit xD
But seriously, I had this very same choice at the start of year 11. Was it to be Modern (97 in history school cert) or was it to be Physics (95 in science school cert)? I loved history and absolutely abhorred science. In the end, I picked Mod and have come to realise that it was the best choice I made in my life. Because I loved history, I actually enjoyed going to class, making notes, studying. If I had spent this year doing physics instead, I would probably be a very miserable person at this moment.
And trust me, Mod essays are really not that bad. Once you get an idea of the main concepts you're dealing with, the essays just come to you. You just state your point, and then rant about it for a while to give it meat. There's a special type of source analysis mini-essay that you come to learn how to do in year 11 and it's really easy to get a hang of.
Choose Mod! You won't regret it! (=
 

ajdlinux

Mod: ANU, ATAR/HSC Marks
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Take whatever interests you more, rather than merely what scales better. It doesn't matter what set of courses you take, you can always achieve a high ATAR if you're doing well enough. So do Modern :)
 

w8t4hope

Member
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Messages
87
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
Well the other problem is that ultimately i'm trying to get into law/commerce or law/international studies and so i need a minium ATAR of 99.4 to even try. So i want to pick the subjects that are going to help me get that.
My other results in the sc were:
English = 92
Computer skills = 96
Geography = 98
Maths = 94
And I received some prize from Sydney Uni and I duxed my year...(don't know how that happened). But honestly i just wasn't doing AMAZING in science last year which kind of bummed me out because I was working really hard. That just made me think, "Well if i'm not doing well in year 10, then what makes me think i'll be anywhere near the top 5 for chemistry in years 11 and 12".
Thanks for your advice though. I'm leaning slightly more to modern but I'm just scared of the multiple essays i'm going to have to write.
mm take modern history then since ur scared/not-loving science.
wat school do you go to?
 

ATAR_boy

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Take whatever interests you more, rather than merely what scales better. It doesn't matter what set of courses you take, you can always achieve a high ATAR if you're doing well enough. So do Modern :)
This is so true. Why does everyone keep worrying about Scaling??? The bottom line is that people who do their fav subjects usually attain higher marks :party:
 

ATAR_boy

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mm take modern history then since ur scared/not-loving science.
wat school do you go to?
Well the other problem is that ultimately i'm trying to get into law/commerce or law/international studies and so i need a minium ATAR of 99.4 to even try. So i want to pick the subjects that are going to help me get that.
My other results in the sc were:
English = 92
Computer skills = 96
Geography = 98
Maths = 94
And I received some prize from Sydney Uni and I duxed my year...(don't know how that happened). But honestly i just wasn't doing AMAZING in science last year which kind of bummed me out because I was working really hard. That just made me think, "Well if i'm not doing well in year 10, then what makes me think i'll be anywhere near the top 5 for chemistry in years 11 and 12".
Thanks for your advice though. I'm leaning slightly more to modern but I'm just scared of the multiple essays i'm going to have to write.
LOL, Dont be scared of multiple essays. Just think to yourself...are you "GOOD" at writing essays or at least decent, if you are, then pick essay-style subjects.:)

Take it from me, I got all Band 5's in SC, yet I knuckled down and got 99.4 in the HSC of 2008! :party:
 

sinophile

Well-Known Member
Joined
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Yeah listen to the advice in this thread. PICK WHAT YOU LIKE, ABOVE ALL ELSE.

This is because you'll perform better in subjects you'll like.

Scaling is only to adjust a student's marks due to the different difficulty levels of the courses. If you do shit in a subject you will not benefit from scaling.
 

Schoey93

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2007
Messages
988
Location
Western Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
Hi guys, my names laura and i'm having some serious issues picking my subjects. I definately know i'm doing English Advanced, English Extension 1, 2U maths, 3U maths, French Continuers and Economics but i'm having a hard time deciding between chemistry and Modern History.
Everyone is telling me to do chem because it scales better, but i hate science and i do just average in it despite being in the extension class for science for the past 4 years. I really enjoy history and have been topping most of the courses that i've done.
Just a bit of background info, i'm on a full academic scholarship and I got Band 6's for both science (94) and Mandatory history (98) in the school certificate...(if that helps anybody out). I like to wrote learn, memorise and regurgitate the information, i kind of hate writing essays but i think i can do them for history.
I'm just finding this decision really hard, so any advice would be great. My issue is that i know chem scales better, but what's the use of picking a subject that scales well when i'm going to be coming 15th out of 40 students whereas I actually like Modern History and there's the probability that I can actually do well and come in the top 5.

Thanks guys.

xx
Laura

P.S. is it true that everyone gets smarter and starts working harder in year 11? Also, is it true if you go on exchange to France, your french gets a lot better?
Yes it's true that (some) people work harder in Year 11. If you go to France and immerse yourself in the language (i.e. don't speak English, just speak French), yes your French will get a lot better. It sounds like you don't want to choose chemistry, so I recommend not doing it.
 

Tofuu

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2010
if you like modern over chem, then do it, no point in doing something that you don't want to do
 

ilikebeeef

Active Member
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Hoboland and Procrastinationland
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Hi guys, my names laura and i'm having some serious issues picking my subjects. I definately know i'm doing English Advanced, English Extension 1, 2U maths, 3U maths, French Continuers and Economics but i'm having a hard time deciding between chemistry and Modern History.
Everyone is telling me to do chem because it scales better, but i hate science and i do just average in it despite being in the extension class for science for the past 4 years. I really enjoy history and have been topping most of the courses that i've done.
Just a bit of background info, i'm on a full academic scholarship and I got Band 6's for both science (94) and Mandatory history (98) in the school certificate...(if that helps anybody out). I like to wrote learn, memorise and regurgitate the information, i kind of hate writing essays but i think i can do them for history.
I'm just finding this decision really hard, so any advice would be great. My issue is that i know chem scales better, but what's the use of picking a subject that scales well when i'm going to be coming 15th out of 40 students whereas I actually like Modern History and there's the probability that I can actually do well and come in the top 5.

Thanks guys.

xx
Laura
Do Modern.

P.S. is it true that everyone gets smarter and starts working harder in year 11?
Some people do. It happens again in Year 12 though.

Also, is it true if you go on exchange to France, your french gets a lot better?
Yes according to my friend who did go on one.
 

kaz1

et tu
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Uni Grad
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Hi guys, my names laura and i'm having some serious issues picking my subjects. I definately know i'm doing English Advanced, English Extension 1, 2U maths, 3U maths, French Continuers and Economics but i'm having a hard time deciding between chemistry and Modern History.
Everyone is telling me to do chem because it scales better, but i hate science and i do just average in it despite being in the extension class for science for the past 4 years. I really enjoy history and have been topping most of the courses that i've done.
Just a bit of background info, i'm on a full academic scholarship and I got Band 6's for both science (94) and Mandatory history (98) in the school certificate...(if that helps anybody out). I like to wrote learn, memorise and regurgitate the information, i kind of hate writing essays but i think i can do them for history.
I'm just finding this decision really hard, so any advice would be great. My issue is that i know chem scales better, but what's the use of picking a subject that scales well when i'm going to be coming 15th out of 40 students whereas I actually like Modern History and there's the probability that I can actually do well and come in the top 5.

Thanks guys.

xx
Laura

P.S. is it true that everyone gets smarter and starts working harder in year 11? Also, is it true if you go on exchange to France, your french gets a lot better?
lol the HSC was made for you.

Do Modern but you'd probably do well in Chem as well if you chose it cause you sound like an uber smart Brainiac
 

Jayson89

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Oct 5, 2007
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Science does scale better than history...but if you're average in chem and awesome in history, it seems obvious to me that even with scaling you will perform MUCH better in history than in chem.

The effect of scaling is minimal compared to the difference between 'average' and 'topping your class'
 

mioumiou

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Joined
Nov 2, 2009
Messages
665
Gender
Female
HSC
2011
Hi guys, my names laura and i'm having some serious issues picking my subjects. I definately know i'm doing English Advanced, English Extension 1, 2U maths, 3U maths, French Continuers and Economics but i'm having a hard time deciding between chemistry and Modern History.
Everyone is telling me to do chem because it scales better, but i hate science and i do just average in it despite being in the extension class for science for the past 4 years. I really enjoy history and have been topping most of the courses that i've done.
Just a bit of background info, i'm on a full academic scholarship and I got Band 6's for both science (94) and Mandatory history (98) in the school certificate...(if that helps anybody out). I like to wrote learn, memorise and regurgitate the information, i kind of hate writing essays but i think i can do them for history.
I'm just finding this decision really hard, so any advice would be great. My issue is that i know chem scales better, but what's the use of picking a subject that scales well when i'm going to be coming 15th out of 40 students whereas I actually like Modern History and there's the probability that I can actually do well and come in the top 5.

Thanks guys.

xx
Laura

P.S. is it true that everyone gets smarter and starts working harder in year 11? Also, is it true if you go on exchange to France, your french gets a lot better?
Hey Laura, you've got an awesome result for you're School Certificate, if I were you, I will definitely choose Modern history, (btw, i do Modern History, it's pretty interesting =) If you do well in a subject, than scaling is not a problem.

I think in Year 11, everyone starts to realise that it's important so they work harder, not because they just suddenly become smart themselves.

Personally, I'm not doing French, but I' doing Japanese. Some of my friends (ex-HSC students) they went to Japan and exchange before their HSC. They said that it's very helpful for them and their listening has just automatically improved quite a lot. But once again, I'm not sure about French, but I think it will be very helpful to you.

Anyway, hope my advice helps and good luck with you're studies!! :)
 

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