What accelerated subject should I choose for 2020?

[AlpackaHacka]

Hey everyone. I'm looking at a few different subjects for Year 10, as my school has an accelerated VCE program. I'm not sure what to pick.

I'm thinking either:
-General Mathematics
-Physics
-20th Century History
-Attempting to get into Literature/English Language.

I'm planning to do some form of writing when I leave school for my career, whether it be creative writing or something like journalism, but should I keep my options open by picking Physics/General? One of my friends is going to do Physics and one will do 20th Century History.

Any feedback would be awesome.

Thanks!

[lm21074]

Hey AlpackaHacka!

Welcome to the forums!

I think you should base your selection on what you'll enjoy, any course pre-requisites for university or TAFE, and what you're good at. The decision should be based on you as an individual, not what your friends are doing because you're different people after all! 
I'd also suggest for you to consider that the experience of completing an accelerated subject in Year 10 / 11 can be used as a practice run to get used to the demands of VCE

20th Century History could be good to accelerate because you can dedicate more time to it as it is quite a content heavy subject!

General Maths could be another one to consider accelerating as it also content heavy and you don't need a lot of prior knowledge like you do for subjects like chemistry for example.
I'd suggest leaving Physics for Year 12 as it is a subject where having a good understanding of the basics is beneficial. That being said, it may be a great choice if you enjoy science and have a good grasp of the basics already.
Having a math and a science to keep your options open might be helpful if they pop up as prerequisites for any course you may look at in the future. On the flip side, having a dislike for those subjects and doing a course that requires them may see you disliking said university course too.
Regarding Literature / English Language, you may benefit from doing it a year later and having an extra year of writing and feedback plus the experience of a 3/4 in Year 11 under your belt to reflect and learn from. In saying this, if your strengths lie in English, it could be a good choice. I'd suggest to speak to your English teacher about this because they know you and your writing more than we do!

On that note, it may be helpful to have a chat to teachers who teach the subjects you're looking at doing, your current teachers, careers advisor and/or year level coordinator as they can give you more tailored advice


Good luck!

[caffinatedloz]

Completely agree with lm on this one. I reckon that you should leave physics until Year 12, but the other subjects seem like logical choices. (Especially history and general).