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March 28, 2024, 10:48:57 pm

Author Topic: help!! doing three subjects in year 12?! (+ accelerate uni course)  (Read 3259 times)

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handog

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a bit about me:
- doing english, general, viscom, health + human development, business management and 3/4 media this year
- want to go into the design/arts/communication or education field after highschool
- all the courses I want to apply for need only a 55-60 ATAR, and require a portfolio (easy)
- interested in applying for deakin accelerate journalism (i am a straight A or A+ student) via their cloud campus (with some contact)
- very good at time management and self directed learning, as i have learned from remote learning during covid

all this being said, i have two options for year twelve subjects;

1. finish media, do journalism at deakin and drop business management to complete the course (a pro is having the 6th subject increment) ie.
- english
- further
- viscom
- health
- deakin journalism

2. or give myself a bunch of extra time (which i know i can be disciplined with) and drop business for the accelerate coure, and also drop health and human development having already completed a 3/4 in year 11 ie.
- english
- further
- vis com
- deakin journalism

of the above two options the second one looks the most appealing to me; it gives me time to focus heavily on my other subjects (all of which i am confident that i can get 38+ SS) and means that i will have a lot of time to focus on completing the accelerate course. the only reason i am wary of doing this is because i believe my school will not be a huge fan of only doing 3 subjects in year 12.

my question is, does anyone have experience with accelerate class workloads, and has anyone ever done only three or four year twelve subjects (with a total of five) and still gotten the ATAR that they want??
« Last Edit: August 05, 2020, 11:32:37 pm by handog »

keltingmeith

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Re: help!! doing three subjects in year 12?! (+ accelerate uni course)
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2020, 03:33:41 am »
+4
I can't really give advice as per your questions, but there is one thing that leaves me a little uneasy: you have no safety net for your primary four.

The way the ATAR works, if you're unaware, is that your top 4 subject study scores get added together to make an aggregate. If you have a fifth or sixth subject, 10% of those study scores get added to your aggregate. The aggregate gets turned into an ATAR later using the VCAA magic wand based on the aggregate everyone else gets. What's important here, is that the higher your aggregate, the higher your ATAR.

So here's the thing - let's say you have five subjects, and can score really highly in all of them. You then get a 35, a 32, a 28, a 29, but then you bum out and only get a 20. That's okay - because the 20 is only going to contribute 10% anyway. But what if the subject that you get 29 in is your uni subject?

Uni enhancement subjects /can't count in your primary 4/. That means that you've effectively lost 9 aggregate points, which in 2019 would've been an ATAR of 66 instead of 72. This might sound fine considering you're only aiming for 60 anyway, but clearly-in ATARs change all the time


It's ultimately your choice, and if you're an A-A+ student, getting those study scores or higher might be super achievable and so this not being an issue - but having that fifth subject safety net is honestly really valuable, and tbh I'd do it just for the peace of mind

handog

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Re: help!! doing three subjects in year 12?! (+ accelerate uni course)
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2020, 05:52:48 pm »
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yeah totally makes sense :)

thanks for your help, i'd completely forgotten that it can't be in my primary four haha. i think ultimately it'll just come down to how my subjects end up going next year, my mum assures me i can always drop health or the accelerate course mid way through if i find it too hard to do everythinggg.