Would it be a good idea to switch to further next year?

[dankfrank420]

Hello all.

I'm currently undertaking Methods 1/2 in a selective school, and am a pretty good maths student (93% on the exam).  I know it's highly competitive, but I feel I could get a 40+ in it much easier than I would in some of my other subjects. I haven't been doing Year 11 General Maths this year, but from what I've heard I'm not really missing much.

People who've taken Further along with a more "advanced" math, would you recommend it?

[keltingmeith]

Firstly - you got 93% on your exam, why on Earth would you want to switch? At my school, that was the highest exam score for unit 1/2, and someone who got under that ended up getting 42 the next year.

Secondly - After scaling, it doesn't matter how well you do in either subject, you'll probably find that how much you do better in Further will come below what your methods would move up to.

Thirdly - Find out what modules your school does - if they do say, matrices and linear relationships, you'll be fine. If they do financial and networks, you might have a bit more trouble. You'll have to learn a bit in core, but given the pace you'll have to learn it, you should be all right.

Finally - I have heard plenty of stories of people who have switched from methods to further and done very well, I wouldn't stress about not doing general maths.

[dankfrank420]

Damn it, I realized I phrased my question wrong. English is not my strong point. 

What I meant was that would it be a good idea to switch from another subject to Further, given my ability at Mathematics.

Thanks for the advice though Re: Third point. I'll ask some friends what sort of stuff they're doing in Further at the moment.

Cheers for your answer.

[Yacoubb]

Based on my experiences of Further, it's seriously not worth it!! I mean, it's REALLY competitive. Are you doing Specialist? It would be wiser to do Spesh over Further! So much more rewarding!

[keltingmeith]

Thanks for the advice though Re: Third point. I'll ask some friends what sort of stuff they're doing in Further at the moment.

Be specific and ask them their modules - because if they tell you what they do in core, you'll understand none of it and freak out. If they say their modules, you'll know immediately simply from the name of the module if you'll be fine in it or not.

However, double what Yacoubb said - you seem more than capable of doing specialist, and the scaling of that will work much more in your favour then Further will. Don't worry about not having done GMA if your school offers it - you'll be fine.

[dankfrank420]

Based on my experiences of Further, it's seriously not worth it!! I mean, it's REALLY competitive. Are you doing Specialist? It would be wiser to do Spesh over Further! So much more rewarding!

Obviously a score of 45+ (like you got) would be extremely difficult to get, but getting 38+ raw wouldn't be that hard would it not? (especially considering my SAC scores will almost certainly be scaled up)

I had a chat to my teacher at the end of year 10 last year, she said that she did Spesh (and got 50 raw) but it wasn't worth the effort you put in. So she really put me and my parents off choosing it.

Re: EulerFan101

Could you elaborate on the necessity (or lackthereof) of GMA for taking Spesh? Would doing well in Methods 1/2 suffice?

[Zealous]

Based on my experiences of Further, it's seriously not worth it!! I mean, it's REALLY competitive. Are you doing Specialist? It would be wiser to do Spesh over Further! So much more rewarding!

So true! At the very high end (45+ study score), Further is incredibly competitive. It really isn't mathematical ability that separates students there - it's just silly mistakes, everyone knows their stuff.

Here's the thing, if you're only aiming 38 raw in Further you'll only need a raw 26-28 in Specialist raw which will scale over the 38 raw in further - worth considering. And yes the 50 raw in Specialist is admirable but remember, that's not your goal - you most likely won't have to work as hard.

[Edward Elric]

Obviously a score of 45+ (like you got) would be extremely difficult to get, but getting 38+ raw wouldn't be that hard would it not? (especially considering my SAC scores will almost certainly be scaled up)

I had a chat to my teacher at the end of year 10 last year, she said that she did Spesh (and got 50 raw) but it wasn't worth the effort you put in. So she really put me and my parents off choosing it.

Re: EulerFan101

Could you elaborate on the necessity (or lackthereof) of GMA for taking Spesh? Would doing well in Methods 1/2 suffice?

Hey I picked up spesh 3/4 this year after dropping further 1/2 as i absolutely hated it, was so boring and not worth my time. As Of now I'm averaging 80-90s on my sacs placing me in rank 3 out of 22 students who have all undertook units 1/2 gma. Its a very rewarding subject(scaling) and even if you do average in it lets say a 30 that will scale up to about a 42 I believe. Its not really that difficult as people make it out to be, it will boost your overall maths abilities and also compliment your methods. I say if your confident in your maths abilities than definitely take spesh over further.

[Yacoubb]

So true! At the very high end (45+ study score), Further is incredibly competitive. It really isn't mathematical ability that separates students there - it's just silly mistakes, everyone knows their stuff.

Here's the thing, if you're only aiming 38 raw in Further you'll only need a raw 26-28 in Specialist raw which will scale over the 38 raw in further - worth considering. And yes the 50 raw in Specialist is admirable but remember, that's not your goal - you most likely won't have to work as hard.

Preach brother! Hahaha, but yeah, everything you've said is SPOT ON!

[keltingmeith]

Re: EulerFan101

Could you elaborate on the necessity (or lackthereof) of GMA for taking Spesh? Would doing well in Methods 1/2 suffice?

Everything you need for specialist 3/4 is covered in specialist 3/4. That is basically it.

Schools that say "you must do GMA to do specialist" are being pretty stupid - it's ADVANTAGEOUS, sure, but not even CLOSE to NECESSARY.

Honestly, you wouldn't even have to do well in methods 1/2 - simply having done it is enough to set you up for specialist (granted, if you haven't done well in methods 1/2, you might not have the maths ability to do spec 3/4 - but I have been wrong before)

[Thorium]

I did further last year and i do specialist this year. And guess what? I can almost predict that at the end of the year when i get my results, further will be in the bottom 10% and on the other hand, spesh will be at the top of the list (after english).

So if you are passionate about maths, then switch to further maths, but if you are passionate about maths, good at it, want to get better at it and get rewarded for getting better at it, then you might wanna choose specialist.

If you dont do GMA, i think it shouldnt be a big deal. I didnt do it too, but now i utterly dont feel like i am behind or anything.

In addition, if you want to make methods really become a walk in the park, then specialist is the way to go. This is because most of the methods stuff are covered in specialist.

Hope that helps

[dankfrank420]

Thanks for the help guys - I'm just weighing up the effect it will have on my workload.

Next year, I'll be doing the Asian 5 - Standard Eng, Chem, Physics, Methods, Further/Spesh. I don't think I'll have the time to put effort into all my subjects if I have Spesh piled in there. If I have Further, I can put that to one side and focus on my other stuff. If I have Spesh, I'll have to put loads of time into that (and obviously less time into my other stuff).

Ughh, too many decisions to make. I think I'll opt for further and hope I eliminate most of my errors.

Again, the answers are much appreciated! 

[keltingmeith]

You really are making spec out to be some kind of death trap, when it's really not - not only will doing specialist improve your methods marks to the point of studying methods won't be a thing anymore (so you'll still have that subject you can put out to the side), it'll also improve your physics marks (in terms of mechanics). On top of all of this, specialist isn't as crazy hard as everyone makes it out to be - with the kinds of scores you have in methods, you'll be fine.

However, you seemed to have made up your mind before you even made the topic, so there's not much we can really do to convince you. Best of luck with the next year.