Doing 4 subjects in Year 12...?

[frebbb]

Here's the deal:
I haven't done any 3/4 subjects this year (year 11) and I'm thinking about doing 4 subjects next year, if the school lets me. Would doing a 5th subject purely for the 10% be worthwhile? I've heard that doing above average in 4 subjects gets you a higher ATAR than doing average in 5 subjects, and as I'm am not the kind of person to fail things (I haven't failed anything since Year 8 PE), would having a 5th subject instead of another free period be necessary/beneficial?
What are your thoughts/experiences?

[Jdog]

having a 5th subject would be beneficial.

even if you dont do specaturaly well in the said subject, it could add a handy 2 or 3 to your aggregate. That can be achieved with minimal work.
Also, doing 5 subjects wuoldn't be overley stressful it is what the majority do in year 12. so don't worry about it impacting much on your primary 4. Doing a 5th also allows for the circumstance in which you mayn't do as well as you hoped in one of your top 4. If you only had 4, you would be stuck with it.

[scocliffe09]

having a 5th subject would be beneficial.

even if you dont do specaturaly well in the said subject, it could add a handy 2 or 3 to your aggregate. That can be achieved with minimal work.
Also, doing 5 subjects wuoldn't be overley stressful it is what the majority do in year 12. so don't worry about it impacting much on your primary 4. Doing a 5th also allows for the circumstance in which you mayn't do as well as you hoped in one of your top 4. If you only had 4, you would be stuck with it.

I agree - definitely do a 5th subject - it is much harder to do well if you have only done 4, and Jdog is right - if anything goes wrong, it is nice to have a backup.

[dinosaurs]

I'd go-as-far as to say that a 6th subject is worthwhile, even when you're doing them all in year 12.

[Eriny]

Yeah, definitely do five, or else 4 and an extension subject. If you neglect your 5th and you're quite clever you could still potentially end up with a score in the high 20s, which is better than zero. I don't necessarily recommend doing that, but you may as well grab whatever few points you can get since sometimes there is only a few points between your score and the required score for your course.