Should I do Specialist Mathematics?

[a weaponized ikea chair]

I am currently in Year 9 and are doing units 1 and 2 methods next year. I am fairly competent in math, my scores are high 90s and I am thinking of doing specialist for VCE.

I am thinking of doing specialist maths in year 11, but am not sure. What are the requirements to do specialist (not actual academic requirements, but things you should know/have if you want to do specialist maths)?.

Thanks 

[Sine]

I am currently in Year 9 and are doing units 1 and 2 methods next year. I am fairly competent in math, my scores are high 90s and I am thinking of doing specialist for VCE.

I am thinking of doing specialist maths in year 11, but am not sure. What are the requirements to do specialist (not actual academic requirements, but things you should know/have if you want to do specialist maths)?.

Thanks 

Do you want to do 3/4 specialist in year 11?

[a weaponized ikea chair]

Do you want to do 3/4 specialist in year 11?

In year 12 you mean? Yes.

[Sine]

In year 12 you mean? Yes.

nah was meaning year 11 since that is also possible - but I don't think that would be a good option for most people.

So far you seem to want to do specialist and that is probably the most important thing - since you will be completing methods in year 11 it will be a good test to see whether specialist will suit you depending on what study score you will get (although all this will depend on your aims for study scores/ATARs and how important that is to you).

I don't think there are any great requirements one must have to complete Specialist that is not required for other subjects but probably just knowing its very competitive at the top end in terms of getting raw study scores but scaling helps make it fair.

[sara.vce]

I was in the same position as you last year so I decided to take Maths Methods in Year 10 to help me decide (and it has). I've decided to do Specialist Maths next year for a couple of reasons so here are some things that you might like to think about:
1. Do you like challenging yourself?
- I love discovering new mathematical concepts and seeing how useful they are for the real world. I may not have the opportunity to do this in university (this has been my main reason for choosing Specialist Maths for next year).
2. Do you need it as a prerequisite?
- It can help to open up pathways in science courses as it can be used as an alternative VCE subject to other sciences.
3. Are many other students doing it in your year level?
- At my school, if there aren't enough students taking a class it won't run. This may be something else to consider...
4. Are you doing many other heavy content subjects?
- I find that I spend lots of time studying for maths as there are heaps of practise questions to do. If you're doing lots of other subjects that require a big time commitment it may not be worth it.

So that was all of the thinking that went behind my decision, hope that it helped you decide!

[a weaponized ikea chair]

I was in the same position as you last year so I decided to take Maths Methods in Year 10 to help me decide (and it has). I've decided to do Specialist Maths next year for a couple of reasons so here are some things that you might like to think about:
1. Do you like challenging yourself?
- I love discovering new mathematical concepts and seeing how useful they are for the real world. I may not have the opportunity to do this in university (this has been my main reason for choosing Specialist Maths for next year).
2. Do you need it as a prerequisite?
- It can help to open up pathways in science courses as it can be used as an alternative VCE subject to other sciences.
3. Are many other students doing it in your year level?
- At my school, if there aren't enough students taking a class it won't run. This may be something else to consider...
4. Are you doing many other heavy content subjects?
- I find that I spend lots of time studying for maths as there are heaps of practise questions to do. If you're doing lots of other subjects that require a big time commitment it may not be worth it.

So that was all of the thinking that went behind my decision, hope that it helped you decide!

Hmm thanks, that helps quite a bit. With 3, I heard from the head of maths department that there were about 4 or 5 students (out of about 2000) doing specialist this year, and the class still (obviously) runs. Also, my year level isn't that smart (even some of my friends, who are pretty smart, are on the fence about doing specialist), so what happens if say 2 people choose to do spec in year 12 (when I am in year 12)?

[sara.vce]

Hmm thanks, that helps quite a bit. With 3, I heard from the head of maths department that there were about 4 or 5 students (out of about 2000) doing specialist this year, and the class still (obviously) runs. Also, my year level isn't that smart (even some of my friends, who are pretty smart, are on the fence about doing specialist), so what happens if say 2 people choose to do spec in year 12 (when I am in year 12)?

The class might still run since it's a maths subject - I think that for Language subjects and English subjects at my school the classes still go ahead even if there are very few students. It might be different at your school, though...

[^^^111^^^]

The class might still run since it's a maths subject - I think that for Language subjects and English subjects at my school the classes still go ahead even if there are very few students. It might be different at your school, though...

Yes this is true. At my school, they allow students with high calibre for Maths to do Mathematical Methods as well as Specialist Mathematics in 3 years advance. it is like a program, and there are literally only 2 students - one of my friends and yours truly. What I can say so far is - go for it if you believe you can. Just remember, Specialist Mathematics is more about applications, (usually relating to physics like vectors and etc.) As long as one has a strong foundation for mathematics and some interest in some aspect of physics (don't really need to but would help) I believe that you should be fine. Anyway from the textbook that I used, many of the chapters are almost the same as methods. So you should probably try.