VCE Chemistry or not?

[stellaque]

I'm currently a year 11 student choosing my subjects for next year, and I'm having a bit of trouble.

Here are the 3/4s i've done:

Last year: Music Performance (45 raw - 46 scaled)
This year: Methods (TBA!)

My 1/2s this year are:

Literature (A+ average)
French (A+ average)
Japanese (SL) (A+ Average)
GMA (A/A+ average)
Chemistry (C+/B average)

Here's my problem: I can't decide whether to drop Chemistry or not.

Why I would drop:
I don't really have an interest in it
I'm not very good at it - I find it quite difficult
I'm not particularly interested in a science-based career

Why I wouldn't drop:
Having it as a prerequisite and keeping my options open

Since I did a 3/4 this year and last year, it is possible for me to do just 4 subjects next year. My original thinking in choosing Chem was that since I would be doing 7 subjects overall, if it was my worst subject, it wouldn't affect my atar anyway. But after considering the amount of work I would probably need to put into Chem, I'm a bit conflicted...

Do the benefits of having Chemistry as a prerequisite for all those uni courses outweigh the amount of time and work I would have to put into it to get a decent mark?

My teacher says that I could easily get a 35 with hard work. However, would it be better for me to put this hard work into my other 4 3/4s and get a better mark in them?

Thanks!

[Paulrus]

well first off, massive congrats on getting a 45 in music performance (especially in year 10), cos that subject is insaaaanely competitive. part of the reason i'm probably not continuing it next year tbh 
if you're not enjoying chem or finding it interesting, and you're sure you won't be going down a science-based path, i think dropping it to focus on your other subjects would be a good idea. if you do decide later on that you want to do science, you could always do a bachelor of science at monash - you meet the prerequisites with methods and spec.

[~V]

If you're not interested, and don't want to spend so much of your time trying to get a 35 in a subject you potentially don't really need then by all means, drop it. But first off, do you have an idea of what course you would like to do?

[chasej]

I'm not particularly interested in a science-based career

What's the point of keeping science related options open with chem if you aren't even interested in the area?

bachelor of science at monash -you meet the prerequisites with methods and spec.

You also meet the pre-reqs for BSc at UniMelb with methods and spec

[Edward21]

Chemistry is a lovely subject, but it required hard work to get decent marks; it's probably not worth it if you're veering towards the non-science area because it's a difficult, tricky skill-based subject. Like sure I'm getting great marks, but I'm working majorly hard at it, it would be a terrible subject to do in year 12 without giving it decent amount of time each week. The year 12 course is massive and the amount of practice exams piles up due to content and exam skills having little to no overlap haha. You have to learn so much, and apply it in unfamiliar contexts. Probably not the best idea at all if you're not heading for science-based career.

[lala1911]

You seem to be dominating your other subjects so it'd be useless to do chem 3/4 because it would most likely be your 7th subject, given your music result and current results, which will have no ATAR contribution. The only reason I can think of for you continuing is if its a prerequisite.

[slothpomba]

I'd advise you to drop it. First of all, the sheer magnitude of the list of reasons not to do it is really weighting enough towards this decision. It probably does reflect your gut feeling and want about the subject as well.

The golden rule (in my humble opinion anyway..) of VCE is do the subjects you like! School shouldn't have to be boring or a drag, learning in year 11-12 with the responsibility and adulthood that come with it shouldn't be a chore, it should be enjoyable and stimulating. If you force yourself to do a subject you dont like, you will like it less, work less hard and just not want to be there much at all. It'll magnify the workload of it all.

Doing 7 subjects is a bit of a risky gambit since you're essentially discarding two years worth of work in one foul swoop. Whether you are willing to take that is up to the individual of course but i personally don't believe its worth it. Even for your bottom two, a change of 10 in your study score (say 30->40) only represents a change of one due to only getting 10% of the marks, so, 3.0->4.0.  If you didnt do that sixth subject and instead worked a little harder in each of your remaining ones, you could easily gain that one additional mark. It's an even worse deal with a seventh subject. Some people have a legitimate need, want or desire to have some insurance but again, i personally dont think its worth it.

Regarding keeping your options open, unfortunately, year 11-12 is the time to start narrowing down what you want to do. Like it or not (i know i didnt like it very much), you will have to make choices and decisions, you cant infinitely stay open to all paths, at least for the time being. You say you dont see yourself in a science based career either, so, i'm not even sure what options chemistry would open that aren't science related.

TL;DR - I advise you to drop chemistry.

[stellaque]

Thanks everyone for replying so quickly

What's the point of keeping science related options open with chem if you aren't even interested in the area?

In case I change my mind :/ I've heard too many stories about people who weren't interested in science only to change their mind when they reach university...but I have to admit this doesn't seem very likely at the moment...

I'm interested in the commerce course at melbourne uni, maybe leading on to do law - I'm not entirely sure yet!

After reading everyone's comments, I think I may drop it and focus instead on getting a really good score in my other 4 subjects and if by some unimaginable turn of events I decide I want to have a science based career I'll do the bachelor of science at Melbourne uni 

THANKS ONCE AGAIN GUYS!

[stellaque]

is the range of my subjects too narrow or does it not really matter? :/

[Kuroyuki]

is the range of my subjects too narrow or does it not really matter? :/

your subjects contain maths, music and lote!
If this what you mean by range then you have a lot more range than most ppl.
I don't think range actually matters tho .
Since you have no interest atm in science then there isn't much point in continuing chem if u don't enjoy it and it's 7th subject.