Thoughts on doing 6 VCE subjects as opposed to the usual 5?

[DJA]

Following my spiral into madness and my obsessive self-introspection following my methods 3/4 exam 2 this year, I am re-considering doing music performance next year as one of my VCE subjects as music has always been something I have enjoyed.

However my other subjects: Literature, English, Chemistry, Biology and Specialist Maths are subjects I DO NOT want to drop and so I was thinking of simply adding music on top of my 5 subjects considering I will be practicing clarinet all of next year and playing music for school like all the time.

Can I have the thoughts of anyone who did six subjects in year 12 rather than one or are considering doing so?
Any advice would be great!

[lzxnl]

Following my spiral into madness and my obsessive self-introspection following my methods 3/4 exam 2 this year, I am re-considering doing music performance next year as one of my VCE subjects as music has always been something I have enjoyed.

However my other subjects: Literature, English, Chemistry, Biology and Specialist Maths are subjects I DO NOT want to drop and so I was thinking of simply adding music on top of my 5 subjects considering I will be practicing clarinet all of next year and playing music for school like all the time.

Can I have the thoughts of anyone who did six subjects in year 12 rather than one or are considering doing so?
Any advice would be great!

Not the best person to answer this, but from what I have seen from my classmates, they've been driven mad with 5 subjects. Now, if you really wish to pursue 6 subjects while maintaining your sanity, I would strongly suggest getting some work done earlier in the holidays. You can't afford to be chasing six subjects worth of material during the year; you won't have a SINGLE spare! I had 10 a cycle because I had 4 3/4s; others on 5 3/4s had 4 spares a cycle. It's your choice.

Also, I don't know of anyone at our school that actually did 6 subjects this year and kept doing that. Everyone that I know of who did that eventually dropped one, or it was because they redid a subject the year before and only had 5 real subjects.

[brightsky]

Not the best person to answer this, but from what I have seen from my classmates, they've been driven mad with 5 subjects.

I concur.

[zvezda]

I agree with these 2 as well^^. 5 was tough enough i almost regretted not doing 2 in year 11

[Damoz.G]

5 is already hard enough, wouldn't do 6.

Did you do a 3/4 this year?

[MJRomeo81]

Your 5 subjects next year + methods is already enough.

[SocialRhubarb]

I did 6 subjects, and I thought it was fine.

My 'sixth' subject was biology, and I didn't really get too invested in it, I kept up with the coursework, and made sure I understood all the concepts we were taught, but didn't do anywhere near as many practice exams as I did for my other subjects.

I chose to take six subjects because biology was something I enjoyed learning, and so it didn't seem like much of a chore to do a sixth subject.

[DJA]

Not the best person to answer this, but from what I have seen from my classmates, they've been driven mad with 5 subjects.

Thanks nick. I’m still considering-won’t make my final decision till 1st week of December. My rationale behind doing music performance is that I will be doing so much music+music practice for clarinet next year regardless, so doing music performance shouldn’t be too much of a strain. The only things I would need to do the study for would be the music analysis and theory to an extent as I have covered the theory in doing diploma of music already. So its kind of ideal-my safety net in case I seriously screw up one of my subjects next year

[DJA]

5 is already hard enough, wouldn't do 6.

Did you do a 3/4 this year?

Yes my 3/4 was methods.
 

...something I enjoyed learning, and so it didn't seem like much of a chore to do a sixth subject.

This is how I feel with Music Performance. Not too much of a stretch realistically and something I love doing. 

[werdna]

I don't think it would be administratively possible to fit 6 subjects into one year... unless the music classes are outside of school hours?

Most year 12s complete 5 year 12 subjects for their ATAR, since 6 can't be done in one year at most schools, since it just doesn't fit in your timetable. BUT many year 12s complete 6+ year 12 subjects having done some in year 10 or 11.

If you are really keen on doing 6 subjects next year, you should check whether the school will allow it. Otherwise, you can do a subject via distance education (this will only make things more difficult though).

[Damoz.G]

Ohhh okay. If you've done methods, then I definitely say only do 5 next year. 6 will be stressful, and a 7th subject is almost close to pointless. Doesn't make much of a difference at all in my opinion.

[Limista]

Please don't do 6 subjects in year 12! I struggled this year, and I only did 4 subjects lol.

[scribble]

o.O i did six subjects in my last year (also including two englishes, spesh and chem) and it wasn't the worst thing in the world.
imean yeah, it was tough, but year 12 is gonna be tough for everyone. I feel like, regardless of if youre taking 4,5 or 6 subjects, you'll get used to the workload after a little bit and it'll just feel normal.

but with that said. your sixth subject isn't going to make a huge difference to your atar, so if youre just trying to get the highest score possible, it's probably more effective to just concentrate on five. imean, i took six in my last year because i wanted to do everything. and three of the nine 3/4s i did in total didn't contribute to my atar at all. so imean, if you wanna think about it that way, yeah there wasn't that much point doing those three, and i probably would have done better if i took less subjects overall and spent more time on each of them. but at the end of the day everything turned out ay okay.

also if you like music, taking music performance gives you an excuse to play which is nice. cause i know a lot of the time in year 12, people neglect the things they enjoy because they feel like they should be studying all the time.

[Dayman]

Do 6 if you struggle drop one it does not leave adverse impact on your year. Music is probs something that keeps you sane, contrary to what other say. The most difficult thing about 6 subjects is that period near the end where you struggle to prepare for your exams that's when you will, not might, will go insane. The best way to make your decision is to decide will you manage that final sprint till the end. Futhermore think abut the amount of prep you did for meth and decide.

[walkec]

I was going to do music performance for trombone but I decided against it because for me, trombone is something that is a hobby and I did not want to make it stressful by studying it as part of my VCE.
So that would be my logic in this situation, in that you playing clarinet can be what you can do to chill out and to unwind after studying.

Also, I don't really think its wise to do 6 in one year. I think that there's a reason that most people do not do this as it is tricky to fit in study + classes + social life + down time. But if you really want to do it, then do it. But just keep in mind it's going to be more tricky than doing 5 subjects within a year.