Units for hsc (1 Viewer)

[english? ensquish]

Hii, I have like 3 unit options. I feel like the first option is safest since there're 11 units however it also means one 'extra' subject. I'm not great at physics (above average in my school but not in the high percentage), but its a necessity for some courses in uni. Jap is more of a leisure subject to me and I enjoy studying it. I'm doing fairly well at maths (probably due to tutoring... for now, don't want to jinx). So does anyone have any opinions towards which one they would choose?

3U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2U Phys + 2U Jap = 11

OR

4U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2U Jap= 10

OR

4U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2UPhys= 10

irrelevance: I asked my friend in an upper grade (who does 4U) and she said I should find 4U doable but I have no idea what she thinks I am capable of lmao. Also AiMiNg For MeD at USyd but like fat chance anyways. ).

 

[icycledough]

It really does depend on if you want a backup subject or if you are confident in performing strongly in just 10 units, but I would settle with option 2. Just because you say Physics isn't your best, and it would be better to choose Japanese, even if it doesn't scale as well but you are more competent at it, then choose Physics just because of the scaling but you may not perform better in it. Ultimately, there's valid reasons which can be made for all 3.

 

[english? ensquish]

Oh yeah that does make sense. Tbh I feel like doing extension maths but not doing physics is kind of a waste :/ I guess I'll be choosing either 1 or 2.
Thank you!!

 

[icycledough]

Oh yeah that does make sense. Tbh I feel like doing extension maths but not doing physics is kind of a waste :/ I guess I'll be choosing either 1 or 2.
Thank you!!

No worries, and good luck choosing your subject selection

 

[Epicman69]

Hiiyo, I have like 3 unit options. I feel like the first option is safest since there're 11 units however it also means one 'extra' subject. I'm not great at physics (above average in my school but not in the high percentage), but its a necessity for some courses in uni. Jap is more of a leisure subject to me and I enjoy studying it. I'm doing fairly well at maths (probably due to tutoring... for now, don't want to jinx). So does anyone have any opinions towards which one they would choose?

3U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2U Phys + 2U Jap = 11

OR

4U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2U Jap= 10

OR

4U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2UPhys= 10

irrelevance: I asked my friend in an upper grade (who does 4U) and she said I should find 4U doable but I have no idea what she thinks I am capable of lmao. Also AiMiNg For MeD at USyd but like fat chance anyways. I wanted to do IPT but smo dissuaded me out of of it. (irrelevant but ).

anyways disingeteragerasdr

BRO IF YOU AIMING FOR MED AT USYD YOU JUST WANT TO DO YOUR BEST SUBJECTS, like for real tho, you really want to do your best subjects, good to pick up a state rank here or there maybe, but you really to be on top of your game for all your subjects, like first in school for every subject type beat. Also, it kinda depends on what school you go to, cause if you go to Ruse, I think being in the top 5 overall should pretty much be a 99.95 (don't quote me on this lmao)?

 

[icycledough]

BRO IF YOU AIMING FOR MED AT USYD YOU JUST WANT TO DO YOUR BEST SUBJECTS, like for real tho, you really want to do your best subjects, good to pick up a state rank here or there maybe, but you really to be on top of your game for all your subjects, like first in school for every subject type beat. Also, it kinda depends on what school you go to, cause if you go to Ruse, I think being in the top 5 overall should pretty much be a 99.95 (don't quote me on this lmao)?

Agree ... remember that only around 50 people get a .95 ATAR (specifically 48 last year) out of around 70,000 students in total, so you do have to be at the top of your game.

 

[idkkdi]

Hiiyo, I have like 3 unit options. I feel like the first option is safest since there're 11 units however it also means one 'extra' subject. I'm not great at physics (above average in my school but not in the high percentage), but its a necessity for some courses in uni. Jap is more of a leisure subject to me and I enjoy studying it. I'm doing fairly well at maths (probably due to tutoring... for now, don't want to jinx). So does anyone have any opinions towards which one they would choose?

3U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2U Phys + 2U Jap = 11

OR

4U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2U Jap= 10

OR

4U Maths + 2U Eng + 2U Chem + 2UPhys= 10

irrelevance: I asked my friend in an upper grade (who does 4U) and she said I should find 4U doable but I have no idea what she thinks I am capable of lmao. Also AiMiNg For MeD at USyd but like fat chance anyways. I wanted to do IPT but smo dissuaded me out of of it. (irrelevant but ).

anyways disingeteragerasdr

4u is just a grindfest. you don't even have to be 'good' at maths.

whoever bashes out more problems gets the higher mark.

 

[english? ensquish]

BRO IF YOU AIMING FOR MED AT USYD YOU JUST WANT TO DO YOUR BEST SUBJECTS, like for real tho

OHH yeah that makes sense. i go to a school within top 10, gotta clean up my study habits asap. THANK YOU FOR THAT

4u is just a grindfest. you don't even have to be 'good' at maths.

whoever bashes out more problems gets the higher mark.

SHEeesh so it isn't hard? or is it hard and a lot of questions?

also does anyone have study tips for english?

 

[idkkdi]

OHH yeah that makes sense. i go to a school within top 10, gotta clean up my study habits asap. THANK YOU FOR THAT

SHEeesh so it isn't hard? or is it hard and a lot of questions?

also does anyone have study tips for english?

4u qs are hard, but it's definitely brute-forceable. the ones who usually come out on top aren't necessarily the best at say olympiads etc., but the ones who have put in the most effort.

it's an effort-reward subject.

 

[english? ensquish]

out

Ah i see i see. then i really might end up dropping physics as i feel like that's going to require a lot of my time actually understanding advanced concepts. thank you : )
do you do 4U and physics and think the 2 increase your understanding mutually by any chance?

 

[may22]

also does anyone have study tips for english?

- useful to read your texts
- short answer section is the easiest place to get 20/20 on in an exam...practise them with time limits. If you get confident enough, try finishing them in less than 40mins so you can spend more time on the essay (in the exam)
- try to read a lot...not necessarily books, could be articles, newspapers, etc. it just open your mindset up to ways of thinking and writing that can be helpful in creative pieces and when you have to think outside the box
- write tons of practise essays, and perfect them. My teacher has told us to TYPE our first few essays, refine and perfect them, and THEN start writing them up, because by that point you have a decent scaffold to go off of
- for quotes, techniques and effects, type them into your notes as a 3-column table. Sooo helpful, and easy to refer back to. You can also colour code them by theme if you want. I personally just wait till I print the sheet and put a star next to the most useful ones

 

[idkkdi]

Ah i see i see. then i really might end up dropping physics as i feel like that's going to require a lot of my time actually understanding advanced concepts. thank you : )
do you do 4U and physics and think the 2 increase your understanding mutually by any chance?

you will have plenty of time during your hsc year. the question is whether or not you will use that time.

4u and physics doesn't really help, unless u struggle with mechanics, which they do overlap in.

 

[icycledough]

4u qs are hard, but it's definitely brute-forceable. the ones who usually come out on top aren't necessarily the best at say olympiads etc., but the ones who have put in the most effort.

it's an effort-reward subject.

What I'd also add is that when it comes to Question 16 in the HSC, pretty much any marks you can get here will be 'golden' marks and probably worth double the other marks; just because usually, a large proportion of the state won't attempt it (given the overall difficulty of the exam), so this is where a methodical approach and clear working out can really help, even if you don't get the right answer. So if a sub-question in Question 16 is out of 4, the top students may find a way to get 2-3 marks for it.

 

[nourished.]

So does anyone have any opinions towards which one they would choose?

The last one.

also does anyone have study tips for english?

Take a look at exemplar responses on the interwebs, and take a bit from them here and there. Avoid the rabbit hole of trying to reinvent the wheel, because there won't be analyses that haven't already been analysed by another student. Read the texts if you'd like, but just make sure you get the general gist and characters in them.

 

[icycledough]

Honestly for English, the one thing I can say is practice heaps. Acquire as many past papers as you can (HSC, trial, internal, etc) and just grind them out. Remember though that the feedback on them is the most important thing; there isn't any point writing an essay if you don't know where to improve on it for next time. It is also a year long grind or 2 year long grind (depending on what year you are in), so don't feel pressured to do an essay every day; even 1 per week and then ramping it up during exam season will put you above most of your cohort in terms of preparation.

 

[english? ensquish]

- try to read a lot...not necessarily books, could be articles, newspapers, etc. it just open your mindset up to ways of thinking and writing that can be helpful in creative pieces and when you have to think outside the box
- write tons of practise essays, and perfect them. My teacher has told us to TYPE our first few essays, refine and perfect them, and THEN start writing them up, because by that point you have a decent scaffold to go off of
- for quotes, techniques and effects, type them into your notes as a 3-column table. Sooo helpful, and easy to refer back to. You can also colour code them by theme if you want. I personally just wait till I print the sheet and put a star next to the most useful ones

Thank you so much! Do you have anything you would suggest? I'm in my not-into-reading zone right now, so I'm looking for something interesting/catchy.

 

[english? ensquish]

Take a look at exemplar responses on the interwebs, and take a bit from them here and there. Avoid the rabbit hole of trying to reinvent the wheel

Ah yes, I should do that more often. Do you suggest any websites that post nice exemplar responses to prompts? Thanks!!

 

[nourished.]

Ah yes, I should do that more often. Do you suggest any websites that post nice exemplar responses to prompts? Thanks!!

I'd say to look at a bunch of places. Two that come to my head are this forum and acehsc. Though, you can really just google search for essays on the text you're studying.