Subject selection dilemma

[Stick]

So by the end of Term 2 I will need to have a fairly good idea of what subjects I will need to pick for Year 12. This year I'm studying English, Further Mathematics 3&4, GMA, Chemistry, Physics and Italian and last year I studied Mathematical Methods 1&2. Next year, I am absolutely certain I will pick English, Methods and Chemistry, but I'm not sure what other two subjects that I pick. I will be dropping Physics at the end of Unit 1 and transferring into Biology Unit 2 since I clearly loathe Physics. The subjects I'm tossing up between are Biology, Italian and Specialist Maths. At this stage, I would like to pursue a career in medicine but I constantly change my mind (as you can see, my subject choice for this year was left very open). The pros and cons of each subject for me:

Biology
Pros:
- Seems like a very interesting subject
- It provides a change from my more mathematical based studies
- Very helpful for tertiary studies in medicine
Cons:
- Having done Biology last year, I don't like the way it has to be learnt. It's more a 'going through and understanding' process than working out the problems on the day, which I enjoy more, if that makes sense

Italian
Pros:
- It's a subject I really enjoy
- Arguably my strongest subject
Cons:
- It is not a subject that is likely to help me with prerequisites or with a future career and will be of little benefit compared to the other subjects I'm considering

Specialist Mathematics
Pros:
- I'm doing very well in GMA so far so I have the potential to do well in this subject next year
- A very interesting subject
Cons:
- A very large workload in Year 12 and I'm not completely certain if I'll cope with the difficulty next year
- I may be subject to the three maths subjects penalty
- Unsure if this subject is 'necessary' for me to study

Using these points as a guide, please help me to decide which two subjects from these three that I should choose, because I'm completely torn! :S

[pi]

From your list, I'd go for Italian and Spesh Just make sure that your Italian dep is strong at school and check that your cohort is decent, because that will help enormously. If both aren't too great, then take spesh and bio (edit: if you think that you'd be gunning for med this time next year, then definitely consider bio)

Definitely do spesh because the scaling is ridiculously good, and getting a 36-38 isn't all that hard (scaled to like 47-49 or something)

[Stick]

Only 6-8 students tend to do it each year, but the Italian department at my school is pretty strong. Last year the (scaled) median score in the cohort was 44, which probably means the raws were sitting around 38.

I also know Biology is not absolutely necessary for medicine, but I'd pick it if it made life easier for me.

[pi]

Only 6-8 students tend to do it each year, but the Italian department at my school is pretty strong. Last year the (scaled) median score in the cohort was 44, which probably means the raws were sitting around 38.

I also know Biology is not absolutely necessary for medicine, but I'd pick it if it made life easier for me.

That's quite good! Unless you're dead set on med (and remember that plenty of ppl do med without doing bio 3/4 - it's just that they have to work harder), I'd go for Italian and spesh then

[jmosh002]

If i were you, i would wait to see what your further result is. If you are very happy with it then i think you should choose Italian and Biology, since i'm sure you will do well in methods and only 2 maths can count in your top 4 anyway. However, if you are not that happy with you further mark and you think that you can get a much higher mark in specialist, then i would choose specialist and Italian, if i were you that is. 

[Stick]

I've thought about this, but I'm fairly certain Italian will be in my top 4 regardless, so I'm not sure if I will receive the maths penalty at all.

I guess the problem is that I can see the benefits in both Biology and Specialist Maths, but I really want to study Italian. It's a bit of a juggling act. :S

[b^3]

I wouldn't worry about the three maths "penalty" too much. As spesh scales so much, and as long as you do well in the other subjects (lets say chem, with scaling it'll go up a bit), then it shouldn't matter too much. I was expecting to get "burnt" a little by the rule, but after spesh, methods and chem scaled, it pushed further into the bottom two for me anyway, even though it was still a scaled 44.

Also if you can do well in a language then srsly go for it.

Also on a side note, and well I'm a bit biased here but Spesh is fun!

Back to being serious, I agree with Rohit, if you can do well in the language, then the scaling will help as well, so I'd say Spesh and Italian.

Also this goes for anyone but remember at the end of the day to do subjects that you enjoy (i.e. it doesn't look like you are enjoying biology), you'll put more effort into the ones you enjoy, if that makes sense.

Hope that helps, but thats the way I look at it

[jmosh002]

I've thought about this, but I'm fairly certain Italian will be in my top 4 regardless, so I'm not sure if I will receive the maths penalty at all.

I guess the problem is that I can see the benefits in both Biology and Specialist Maths, but I really want to study Italian. It's a bit of a juggling act. :S

I am saying that you should study Italian either way, but study biol if your further score is close to perfect, and if not study spec.

[Stick]

I wouldn't worry about the three maths "penalty" too much. As spesh scales so much, and as long as you do well in the other subjects (lets say chem, with scaling it'll go up a bit), then it shouldn't matter too much. I was expecting to get "burnt" a little by the rule, but after spesh, methods and chem scaled, it pushed further into the bottom two for me anyway, even though it was still a scaled 44.

Also if you can do well in a language then srsly go for it.

Also on a side note, and well I'm a bit biased here but Spesh is fun!

Back to being serious, I agree with Rohit, if you can do well in the language, then the scaling will help as well, so I'd say Spesh and Italian.

Also this goes for anyone but remember at the end of the day to do subjects that you enjoy (i.e. it doesn't look like you are enjoying biology), you'll put more effort into the ones you enjoy, if that makes sense.

Hope that helps, but thats the way I look at it

I have been leaning towards Specialist Maths and Italian (as you can see in my signature) but I also tend to wonder why I am not studying Biology if I want to medicine. xD It's not that I wouldn't enjoy Biology - personally I think it's quite interesting. As I said, I don't like the way I have to learn it, if that makes sense. I guess it's just the nature of that subject. And then I go on to wonder if Specialist Maths is truly necessary for medicine and if it will have much benefit... :S

[charmanderp]

Another thing to consider is that there will be no midyears for Chem and Bio next year, so you'll have to know the Unit 3 and 4 coursework perfectly come November.

[Eddiee]

I would probably do Italian and Spesh if I were you, same reason as VegemitePi