Completing a Unit 3&4 subject in Year 11

[Stick]

Completing a Unit 3&4 subject in Year 11

By Stick

With subject selections just around the corner, some of you Year 10s may be considering undertaking an accelerated study in Year 11. In this guide I intend to provide you wish as much information about acceleration as possible to aid you in your subject selection.

Why should I do a Year 12 subject in Year 11?

Accelerated study isn't for everyone - a certain level of maturity and work ethic is strongly required in order to be successful at completing a Year 12 subject in Year 11. Many students, although being capable academically, do not cope well with the pressures of undertaking a Unit 3&4 study in Year 11 as they are not mentally ready for the challenge and consequently struggle in their assessments. It also requires a lot of organisation as you will need to prioritise study time without letting your other subjects fall by the wayside. It is extremely important that you do not completely abandon your Unit 1&2 subjects in order to excel at your Unit 3&4 subjects. Not only will you overwork yourself and burn out during the year, but you will really struggle in Year 12 with your other subjects as you will not have a solid foundation of the basic knowledge which should be acquired during Units 1&2.

That being said, accelerating in a subject can be a massive advantage if you're willing to embrace the challenge. Many Year 11s tend to score very highly in their Year 12 subject as they only have to focus on one Year 12 study - unlike the majority of the cohort which consists of Year 12 students. Even if you don't do as well as you hope, completing a Unit 3&4 study in Year 11 familiarises yourself with the VCE system and gives you a strong idea of what will be required in Year 12. It will also take a lot of pressure off in your final year, as you will have less subjects to worry about. If you're someone who may be considering undertaking a university-level subject in Year 12, it is often a requirement to accelerate in that subject area in Year 11 as well.

It is also possible to accelerate in more than one subject during Year 11. While it might seem to be a good idea in that you will have less subjects in Year 12, you will place a lot more pressure on yourself in Year 11. Consider this pathway very carefully before making any decisions.

Which particular subjects are accessible for accelerated study?

While technically any Unit 3&4 subject can be completed in Year 11, there is a large number of studies where acceleration is not recommended. Your school may also impose various restrictions as well and it is very important to discuss this decision thoroughly with your teachers and careers staff.

For your reference, here are a few Year 12 subjects that are often successfully undertaken by Year 11 students.

Subjects where acceleration is accessible in Year 11
- Accounting
- Australian Politics
- Biology
- Business Management
- Economics
- Further Mathematics
- Geography
- Health and Human Development
- History (any)
- IT Applications
- IT Software Development
- Legal Studies
- Mathematical Methods (CAS)
- Media
- Music Performance
- Photography
- Physical Education
- Product Design and Technology
- Psychology
- Religion and Society
- Studio Arts
- Systems Engineering
- Theatre Studies
- Visual Communication and Design

NB: For some of these subjects, it is highly recommended that Units 1&2 are completed in Year 10. Check the requirements at your school.

Please understand that this is a guide only and not a set list of which subjects can be accelerated in. The general rule of thumb is that many humanities-style subjects are readily accessible for accelerated study in Year 11 as there is no continuity between the four units of study. Some may also find accelerating in a language beneficial, particularly if they are fluent and speak it regularly at home.

A final word of advice

As someone who has undertaken Further Mathematics in Year 11, I urge anyone who decides to accelerate in a study to enjoy the experience and try their best. Personally, I've found that accelerating allowed me to meet and become friends with Year 12s for the first time due to the fact that I was in a mixed class. As I said above, don't let your other subjects fall by the wayside, but pour a lot of your effort into your Year 12 subject. Regardless of the result at the end of the year, accelerating is a win-win situation if you are prepared and willing to do the work.


Please feel free to leave your comments about this guide, particularly if you know of any other subjects which can be accelerated successfully in Year 11.

* Could this be stickied?

[golden]

Nice work. What do you do in your spare time : )?

Stick to his mum: "Just wait, I have to finish one more guide".

[Stick]

This is what happens when you have absolutely nothing to do.

[Stick]

Bump. Sticky?

[Yendall]

Nice guide.
Completing two 3/4's last year was probably the best decision I've made. Allows a lot more room this year.

[Special At Specialist]

I wish I accelerated a subject... the problem is, when I was in year 10, I knew almost nothing about the VCE system. I only really started to understand it during year 11, of which case it was too late to pick up a unit 3/4 subject... also I thought you had to do unit 1/2 before you could do unit 3/4, which is why I never bothered asking to accelerate a subject when entering year 11.

My advice to future year 12 students is to consult with the teachers at your school if you want to accelerate a subject. Even if the school usually doesn't allow it, you can get information from them and advice. Never just assume that you won't be allowed to accelerate a subject, because you never know until you ask.

[Stick]

The problem is that you have to have some ideas in Year 9 about what you want to study - otherwise you miss the boat for studying Units 1&2 during Year 10. I guess the only endorsement I can give is that if you see an approved accelerated study on the subject list that looks interesting, select it!

[McFleurry]

Languages maybe?

[Stick]

It's in there too:

Some may also find accelerating in a language beneficial, particularly if they are fluent and speak it regularly at home.

[McFleurry]

Sorry: was looking at the list...

[Stick]

I just went through my school's handbook and updated the list. Please let me know of any other subjects where studying Units 3&4 in Year 11 is readily accessible.

[Professor Polonsky]

A student can successfully accelerate in almost any subject. If your passion is chemistry, then there's no reason why you shouldn't accelerate in it. Similarly, it'd be unwise to accelerate in an "easy" subject (say BusMan) just because it's less work. You should accelerate in the subjects you're good at and passionate about.

If you did want to add subjects to your list, I think Lit is a subject that's commonly accelerated.

[Lasercookie]

I guess the idea of this guide is a good idea, but I'm not too sure how helpful some elements of it are. I'm not sure if it's answering most of the questions a prospective Year 11 3/4 student might have. If this comes across as a bit negative, I only mean for it to be constructive criticism.

I don't like the list, I'd argue it's a useless list. That's something that's school specific to what they'll let you accelerate. As far as I'm concerned, accelerating any Unit 3/4 subject is "readily accessible" (whatever that means).

I think it's better left with your first two sentences, which I mostly agree with:

While technically any Unit 3&4 subject can be completed in Year 11, there is a large number of studies where acceleration is not recommended., your school may also impose various restrictions as well and it is very important to discuss this decision thoroughly with your teachers and careers staff.

Are you just trying to list subjects where you can skip the 1/2 and still do fine? I think you'd also need to note that some schools do get students to do Unit 1/2 in Year 10. Even so, I'd argue that you could throw chemistry etc. in that list too. Also what's VCE Photography? I don't see that subject being listed on the VCAA website (doesn't seem to be a VET subject either).

I agree about your point that you shouldn't neglect Unit 1/2 studies. I would also emphasise that it isn't necessarily a massive disadvantage if you don't accelerate a subject, you can still do well with 5 subjects.

I definitely don't like this statement here

Many students, although being capable academically, do not cope well with the pressures of undertaking a Unit 3&4 study in Year 11 as they are not mentally ready for the challenge and consequently struggle in their assessments.

It might be true to some extent, but I don't see why it's necessary to state here. I think it's overstating the difficulty ("mentally ready", really?) and might end up discouraging people from doing a Year 12 subject.  Given that doing a Year 12 subject early is determined by schools and teachers, if your school is going to let you accelerate, then the student is probably up to the task.  I think what you're trying to say would be more nicely stated as "Don't expect it to be easy, it'll be a challenge and you'll have to put a lot of work in."

On doing two subjects in Year 11, I'll also throw in my thoughts:

It is also possible to accelerate in more than one subject during Year 11. While it might seem to be a good idea in that you will have less subjects in Year 12, you will place a lot more pressure on yourself in Year 11. Consider this pathway very carefully before making any decisions.

I don't see why you have to very carefully consider this pathway. Don't forget that there isn't an upper limit to how many VCE subjects you can do (though I'd question what you'd get out of doing too many VCE subjects).Doing two 3/4's doesn't lock you into only doing 4 VCE subjects in Year 12, it only gives you the flexibility of having that choice of doing less. If you mess up one of your 3/4's in Year 11 that's alright, just do the standard load of 5 subjects in Year 12. Doing 2 subjects in Year 11 could also mean you could do 4 VCE subjects + a uni subject in Year 12 (though 5 VCE subjects + uni subject is also something that many people can cope with). Or you might just want to do 7 VCE subjects in total for the sake of it.

[charmanderp]

Always accelerate something you love or something you're good at! I accelerated Lit because it's by far and away my favourite thing and my strongest talent. The skills I got out of it were priceless going into year 12 studies/co-curriculars and beyond.

Fun is always important.

[Lolly]

The skills I got out of it were priceless going into year 12 studies/co-curriculars and beyond.

Fun is always important.

I can attest to this. I think that accelerating Lit isn't necessarily for everyone, but it gave me experience I might not otherwise have had which has translated well to my other subjects this year. Also yay fun.