Further or Spec?

[VeryCrazyEdu.]

Ok so it's basically just the subject title. I have to choose between further or spec next year and really don't know what to do.

I did methods this year and averaged around 94% for SACs (the cohort average was around 78% i think?) Im also hoping for above 40 raw overall.

I have done general a this year and found it ok but i haven't really put much work into it.... (i think i'm averaging an a but our teacher made our mid year pretty easy on purpose..also she isn't very good :S )

The other subjects I'm doing are: english, accounting, chem. and hopefully uni chem. and i really want to do well overall in vce....over 99 preferably.

So really i am just wondering what you guys think i should do? Further or Spec?

btw i would be willing to put in a lot of effort into both..to understand spec or to make sure no silly mistakes are made is further.. it just happens that 'a lot of work' in further is still less than spec..

Thanks

[ross huggard]

Personally, id be taking the further option.
I also got myself into thinking that ill work really hard in both spec and methods, as well as doing english, chem and psych.
While you've already done methods, you have to realise that chem (and especially uni chem if you get in) will take up so much of your time.
The conclusion i got to was that even though spec gets scaled so well, and ill put so much work into it, its bound to bring down my other subjects as well. I ended up changing from spec to pe, and i couldn't be happier i made the change

[VeryCrazyEdu.]

bump 

i wouldn't bump it so early but i have to decide by monday 

[VeryCrazyEdu.]

oh and thanks! i'm just still not sure..i guess im just scared of silly mistakes..

[ReVeL]

If you enjoy maths and are good at it, do spesh. Yes, the workload will be intense but further is not exactly stimulating if you're into maths. In my opinion, anyone who gets 40+ in methods definately has the ability to do fairly well in spesh.

[VeryCrazyEdu.]

yeah true but i really dont want it to effect my other subjects... especially  chem. i have done alot of geometry/matricies and basic algebra for further already and lloovvee multiple choice so i am just so undecided! gah!

if i wanted to get 40 raw for spec. (really hard i know) does anyone know what kind of exam mark/SAC marks i am looking at.. the cohort for spec would be really small like 8 people..all pretty good

[samuch]

apparently further has completely different content to methods while spesh goes well with methods.... thats why i chose spesh... hope that helps

[xXNovaxX]

LOL. What a dilemna :S

Further=Easy
Spesh=Hard

Further=can get you into hundreds of courses, unless u plan to be engineer etc
Spesh=gets u into everything

Further=books bigger
Spesh=Books smaller

It really also depends on ur skill level, and what u wanna be when u grow up

Further=scales down
Special=scales up

...

[magnum]

Further: Textbooks are colourful and have pictures
Spesh: Textbooks are in depressing black and white

[QuantumJG]

Ok so it's basically just the subject title. I have to choose between further or spec next year and really don't know what to do.

I did methods this year and averaged around 94% for SACs (the cohort average was around 78% i think?) Im also hoping for above 40 raw overall.

I have done general a this year and found it ok but i haven't really put much work into it.... (i think i'm averaging an a but our teacher made our mid year pretty easy on purpose..also she isn't very good :S )

The other subjects I'm doing are: english, accounting, chem. and hopefully uni chem. and i really want to do well overall in vce....over 99 preferably.

So really i am just wondering what you guys think i should do? Further or Spec?

btw i would be willing to put in a lot of effort into both..to understand spec or to make sure no silly mistakes are made is further.. it just happens that 'a lot of work' in further is still less than spec..

Thanks

If you are doing well in methods, then specialist maths shouldn't be too hard at all. It is a hard subject but it is basically the maths level required for university physics, maths or engineering. The reason being is that it ups the amount of calculus you do. In specialist maths you will be introduced into differential equations which engineers will base their models on, physics requires higher calculus for deriving formulas for more complex situations. If you want to do maths, physics or engineering you will either start on maths that is just above specialist maths or you'll do a bridging subject (basically specialist maths) to get you up to speed.

Specialist maths exposes students to the complex field, vectors in R^3, vector calculus, etc. Again this stuff is hard to conceptually get, but its so rewarding when you do understand it. Getting a high raw score in specialist maths is harder to achieve than in methods, but don't let that deter you.

[VeryCrazyEdu.]

thanks guys..you've been helpful and managed to get an extension on deciding (i could still change next yr but their will probs be subject clashes etc.)

just a few questions...for vectors...does it get much harder in spec than scalar resolute and vector resolute's including perpendicular? because we have done that in gma and to anyone who got over 40 raw in sped what were your grades like in spec? a+? lol

and also....is  a large part of it differentiating/anti-differentiation??

[minilunchbox]

thanks guys..you've been helpful and managed to get an extension on deciding (i could still change next yr but their will probs be subject clashes etc.)

just a few questions...for vectors...does it get much harder in spec than scalar resolute and vector resolute's including perpendicular? because we have done that in gma and to anyone who got over 40 raw in sped what were your grades like in spec? a+? lol

and also....is  a large part of it differentiating/anti-differentiation??

An A+, A, A+ got exactly a 40 but I don't know if they were low/medium/high.