SUBJECT HELP

[sansari]

Hi!

I am in year 11 and am about to enter year 12 and my chosen subjects are English Adv, Mathematics, Ext Maths, Modern History, Ext History, Economics, Biology. I just have a little dilemma as this makes 12 units and i really wanna cut to 10 to maximise the time i have for each subject. So, should i do:

a) English Adv, Mathematics, Modern History, Economics, Biology

OR

b) English Adv, Mathematics, Ext Maths, Modern, Ext History, Economics

Which option is better to do and will maximise my atar and also, which option do people reckon will be less content heavy (ext history + ext maths vs bio)?

Thanks in advance

[MisterNeo]

Hey
The HSC course for subjects are quite different to the Prelim course, and you may find that you actually enjoy one subject and hate another. I wouldn’t drop down to 10 units immediately because it really puts you at risk since you are just beginning the HSC course. If I were you, I’d keep all 12 units until Half Yearlies in March next year just to see what your strong and weak areas are, so you can focus on your best 10 leading to Trials.
It’s not recommended that you base your subject selections on what you did in Prelims. For example, say you loved Modern and aced it in Prelims, but you bombed it in HSC, you have nothing to fall back in since your only have 10.

[Potatohater]

I agree with MisterNeo, because you wanna make sure you have no regrets. You mind find you suck at one subject, or if you're good at them all, that you really despise one subject (I dropped the subject I was coming 1st in the middle of June. Yes I was acing it but I absolutley hated it and I'm so glad it's gone)

As for which ones "maximise your ATAR" it comes down to how well you do in them. I personally don't do any extension subjects but I do study bio and I think it's fabulous! Sure, bio has a lot of content at first glance, but the syllabus does break it all down quite nicely so remembering it is rather doable. Also, extension history has a major work, as you are probably already aware, so you need to make sure you are committed to it. If your committed, start early and love what you're doing and put in the hard work, it will pay off And you'll do well. If you're not as passionate it might end up being a stressful struggle, particularly near submission.

Also if you do take the advice to give the descision time, don't be scared to drop a major work subject, just because you started. The one I dropped involved a major work and the fact I don't have to finish is a weight off my shoulders in its self, but before the descision I was initially scared of sending all that work down the drain.

There's also the option of maybe doing 11 units, a nice middle that isn't as intense as 12 units and still gives you a slight backup unlike 10. So maybe you could do option a but with one of the extensions too.
I think I waffled on a bit too much, sorry, but hope this helps the decision in some way.