Subject Selection Advice for Year 11??

[iheartbratz]

Hii I'm in year 10 right now and we are picking our subjects for next year, (year 11), I really want to get into medicine so I'll be applying interstate as well (I'm in WA right now) but I was wondering if the subjects I picked are manageable together, how they are like, prerequisites for med, scaling etc. I've put the direct translations for VCE in case anyone from Victoria can help me to ahah but so far I'm thinking:
Literature
Methods or Applications (further in VCE)
Chemistry
Humanbio
Psychology
Politics and Law (legal studies) OR Health Studies (hhd)

Thank you

[jack.joy03]

Hi! I am also in Year 10 and from WA. I would also like some advice regarding subject selection for next year. I also aim to gain an entry into medicine as well. Wish you luck for the same.

The subjects I have in mind are:
 - Mathematics Specialists
 - Mathematics Methods
 - Physics
 - Chemistry
 - English
 - German

The advice I have gathered is that picking subjects that scale well is beneficial. But always consider whether you can manage to do the subject. For example, if you're bad at maths, I would advise not doing Specs even though it scales really well and gives a 10% bonus. But if you doing average in maths and are ready to take a big challenge, I would advise taking Specs because it will help you gain a higher TEA, resulting in a higher ATAR.

I was also advised by successful medicine applicants to take a LOTE subject because the LOTE bonus will come in very handy when aiming for 99.95.

P.S. If you have any advice for me, please share it with me.

God bless your studies!

[GreenNinja]

Hey Mate,

You have both selected some pretty good subjects! 
I am also in grade 10 (qld), hoping to go for medicine as well.   

For grade 11, i have in mind:
- Mathematics Methods
- Mathematics Specalist
- Physics
- Chemistry
- English General (I am hoping to make this the subject that dosen't go to ATAR    -- not the subject I get the heighest results in )
- Engineering (but possibly Biology due to lack of rerouces - If anyone has any good engineering resources or subject selection suggestions, please tell me!!! )

I have asked from many past students around high scaling subjects. Some userful information I collected was:
- Choose subjects that you can do well: When doing extremly hard subjects (e.g. what jack.joy02 is doing), you will smash it or it will smash you.
- Think about how much time you are willing to put into study (you both say you want to go to medicine: on average (its dependent on many factors) a student would be studying about 4 hours a day when leading up to exams.

_____________________________________

The advice I have gathered is that picking subjects that scale well is beneficial. But always consider whether you can manage to do the subject. For example, if you're bad at maths, I would advise not doing Specs even though it scales really well and gives a 10% bonus. But if you doing average in maths and are ready to take a big challenge, I would advise taking Specs because it will help you gain a higher TEA, resulting in a higher ATAR.

I was also advised by successful medicine applicants to take a LOTE subject because the LOTE bonus will come in very handy when aiming for 99.95.

In realation to the information jay.joy203 gave, he has some really good points!!!.
If you put in the effort high scaling subjects will help!!!
LOTE is useful for getting bonus points, but looking at some UNI's, I has seen that doing specalist, bio, chem or physics, lote all give the same extra number of points. So if you do difficult sciences or maths, LOTE is not nessecary (although possibly useful - especially in the long term).

Looking at iheartbratz's post, for your 6th subject I reckon Legal is a good option for you (it provides an option for a alternate pathway in case you don't get into medicine)

Iheartbratz your subjects also look quite manageable if (as I mentioned before) you make some sacrifices and put in the time.

PS: If anyone has done the suicide 6 subjects, could you give some info on how you managed them?

Hope this helps! 
Good luck in your studies!!

[VCEStudent2034]

Hey Guys!

I had a read of all of your posts and your subjects will definitely require a lot of effort, but with the right dedication I’m sure you can smash Year 11 and 12!

I am currently in Year 11 (VCE) and, though I’m not sure what Tech1234 meant by the ‘suicide six subjects’, I’m guessing you were referring to these subjects:

English
Maths Methods
Specialist Maths
Biology
Chemistry
Physics

These are actually my subjects, except I am doing year 12 Maths Methods at the moment. Honestly, it is quite stressful, but thankfully I am managing to get 90+ in all of them. I know it may sound impossible, but it really isn’t as bad as everyone says it is. Not saying it’s easy, it is extremely difficult, but definitely doable.

Hope this helps a bit!

[GreenNinja]

Hey Guys,

Thanks  VCEStudent2034!
Your post was quite helpful!

These are actually my subjects, except I am doing year 12 Maths Methods at the moment.

I'm doing the same as you!  In yr 1ll, I'm doing all 11 except for year 12 Methods!

[VCEStudent2034]

Hey Guys,

Thanks  VCEStudent2034!
Your post was quite helpful!
I'm doing the same as you!  In yr 1ll, I'm doing all 11 except for year 12 Methods!

That’s awesome! Just make sure you keep up with all of the work and do lots of questions! All the best!

[GreenNinja]

Hey VCEStudent2034,

Is doing the subject combination you are currently doing extremly difficult to manage?
I am not born genius, however I work hard to reach goals (got from 80% in exams the start of the year to 98% in my latest exam for methods  )

People say doing these subjects are difficult, however for getting ATAR 99+, these aren't many other subject combianations for me. I have no experience with subjects like economics or buisness which scale high and subjects like design scale down.

I have (for several weeks) been debating on wether to do Engineering or Bio.....
Both are difficult, Bio scales less than Engineering however Bio has more resources than Engineering (there is no textbook for Engineering  ). 

Thanks! and good luck to everyone who has final exams coming up!

[VCEStudent2034]

Hey VCEStudent2034,

Is doing the subject combination you are currently doing extremly difficult to manage?
I am not born genius, however I work hard to reach goals (got from 80% in exams the start of the year to 98% in my latest exam for methods  )

People say doing these subjects are difficult, however for getting ATAR 99+, these aren't many other subject combianations for me. I have no experience with subjects like economics or buisness which scale high and subjects like design scale down.

I have (for several weeks) been debating on wether to do Engineering or Bio.....
Both are difficult, Bio scales less than Engineering however Bio has more resources than Engineering (there is no textbook for Engineering  ). 

Thanks! and good luck to everyone who has final exams coming up!

Hey Tech1234,

Not gonna lie, it is difficult and I do find that I am much busier than any of the other students in my cohort. No one at my school has ever done my subject combination and almost all of my teachers (except for my Methods teacher - he’s a legend) discouraged me from taking them last year. My school does not usually have high achievers (they’re lucky to get any study scores above 40 every year) and although I was doing extremely well academically (was DUX in year 10 and achieved A+ in all of my subjects), they didn’t want me to burn myself out and were just afraid I’d crumble.

Fast forward one year, and I wouldn’t have done anything differently. It may sound hard to believe, but I didn’t really pick my subjects based on scaling (I know - sounds unbelievable). I actually love maths and science and have an intrinsic desire to LEARN. I guess that’s why it isn’t too much for me.

You sound really dedicated though - I mean, those scores? AMAZING.

Regarding your dilemma with subject selections, I’d say DO NOT pick based on scaling at ALL. Whether a subject scales up or down does not matter, because VCAA makes it fair for everyone in the end, based on individual efforts (sounds complicated - if you want me to explain scaling in more detail, just let me know  ).

Just go with whichever subject interests you more (really think about it) and everything else will take care of itself. Even if you decide to do Engineering without any textbook, just remember that everyone is in the same boat. If you want to do Biology, go ahead. It’s really interesting and content-heavy, but if science interests you go with it and work hard.

All the best! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask

[hirayamanawari]

Hi I am currently in Year 11 from WA. I feel terrible with my choices I've made in regards to my current subjects. Due to personal issues and my grades last year, I have chosen these ff subjects for ATAR: EALD, Accounting, Geography, Maths Application and Japanese as Second Language.
I used to think of studying to accounting after HS but now I'm thinking of studying architecture or dentistry in the future. I do acknowledge that it requires me to do Bachelor of Science in Uni (though I still do not meet the prerequisites) because I won't be capable of taking direct pathway.
I'm even thinking of repeating yr 11 next year to study ATAR Human Bio, Chemistry, staying on my current state, move to General or maybe consider some uni subjects like or bridging courses after HS. Also maybe I should just forget about becoming a dentist because I do prioritise more on becoming an architect.

Can you guys give me any advice in order to overcome this misery I'm in?
And sorry in advance if this is nonsense and I'm posting this in the wrong forum. Thank u.

[GreenNinja]

Hi hirayamanawari,

"Life dosen't always go the way we want it to. Sometimes we get back marks or things out of our control affect our performace, but that part of the journey of life" - By Tech1234

Looking at your scenario, from my point of view, if you are a student who likes architecture, the subjects you are doing should allow you to purse a degree that way (I think).
However, from the infomation you have given me, you seem like a student who is willing to give your schooling another chance, if you truly want to become a dentist, I would say go ahead with it. There are two ways to dentistry you mentioned, the Bachelor of Science and direct competitive entry pathway.

From the subjects you are currently doing, a Bachelor of Science is what best alignes, however you must also take into consideration that a Bachelor is generally over 2 years long. With that in mind, if you really want to become a dentist and don't mind leaving your friends for a lower class, as I see it, a very good way forward is for you to repeat year 11. This would give you a fresh start at ATAR with much better scaling subjects (btw, don't only think about scaling, make sure you also enjoy the subjects  .

Going back to your options again, Architecture is also quite a interesting pathway, so if you feel like this is the pathway for you, go that way!

Can you guys give me any advice in order to overcome this misery I'm in?
And sorry in advance if this is nonsense and I'm posting this in the wrong forum. Thank u.

Misery and loss is something everyone faces, even high achieving students. Assuming this feeling is coming from getting low grades, I think in your position, the best ways to overcome this feeling is to understand that there are always options for you. If ATAR fails there are many other options for you (you will have support whatever you circumstances  ).
To overcome misery try medatation practices (it trully works) and do things to take your mind of whatever is causing the misery (playing my guitar or sport work best for me  )

ALSO, I can't believe I forget to mention this earlier, but YEAR 11 DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS ATAR!!! (I think I overdid this line)
Many people don't perform their best in year 11 (its normal), most my grade 11 friends are also like this, year 11 is a practice for year 12. If you don't perform the best in year 11 thats okay. If you want to continue with the subjects that you are currently doing, that okay. Just give year 12 a red hot go! If you can't go to dentistry straightaway, that's okay. You still have the ability to do a bachelor of science. You always have options!

Well anyway, just think to yourself (you aren't the only people going through this, soo many people make the same mistakes). What you are doing is up to you. Going back to grade 11 or continuing are both good choices. They have their advantages and disadvantages. Have a conversation with your parents or school carreer advisors, find out whats best for you/ 

Good luck in your future studies and sorry for any grammar errors in the my response. .
Good Luck!

[VCEStudent2034]

(btw, don't only think about scaling, make sure you also enjoy the subjects  .

That is absolutely correct! Don’t even worry about scaling, just go with whichever interests you more.