Please help! History Vs Global politics

[ValiantIntellectual]

I want to get into medicine very badly ( how original ) but I here that humanities are very good for medicine induction as it shows your are more then just sciences based. Due to this, I bed to decide between history  and GP.
1) arguably, which is more difficult
2) how are both examined?
3) what differentiates the two when aiming for a high score? Eg with global you need to read the news daily

[Reus]

Global is great fun and enjoyable if you're interested about how different global actors respond to various issues and politics in general. Watching/reading the news is important as you'd want to freshen up quotes and examples for essays and short answer questions.

I recommend you check out the study designs for both subjects and what not.

[ras]

I'll chime in with a bit on Revs.

I can't comment on which is more difficult, but from what I've heard both require a fair bit of research and reading outside of class.

In terms of how Revs is examined (I'll just briefly touch on the basics), the exam is split into two sections, each on a different revolution, and then within that kind of like two tasks on each revolution. It involves writing two extended paragraphs, short answer questions on two visual or written documents, and then a short essay. I've found Revs to be surprisingly logical: if you can get your ideas clear in your head and then write them down succinctly on paper you're likely to do well.

A big focus is on the analytic aspects of history, and a big part of the 3/4 courses that surprise some is historiography (where you analyse the opinions of historians). Effective analysis of the contentious aspects of each revolution is what tends to differentiate the higher range responses.

Either subject requires a lot of reading and memorising of quotes etc., which can be extremely tedious if you don't enjoy the content. So  I'd absolutely back up Reus and say take a look at the study designs. If you find the content interesting, the reading doesn't seem like work (I use my Revs reading as procrastination).

As cliched as it is pick whichever interests you the most Feel free to ask for any more details on the Revs course (I'm doing the French and the Russian Revolutions, so have more info on those two)

[spectroscopy]

I want to get into medicine very badly ( how original ) but I here that humanities are very good for medicine induction as it shows your are more then just sciences based. Due to this, I bed to decide between history  and GP.
1) arguably, which is more difficult
2) how are both examined?
3) what differentiates the two when aiming for a high score? Eg with global you need to read the news daily

i can answer for revs
1) history is not very difficult per se, it depends on your habits. if you always listen heaps in class and take good notes, you dont need to do too much study before sacs at all. but if you dont listen in class, you will be listening to xaviers vtextbooks for a few hours before you are ready to write a practice sac LOL.
in all seriousness though with revs, people sorta think that it will be subjective and hard to determine a good answer or not. i want to say that is NOT TRUE. if you study for revs, and do maybe 2 practice sacs and get feedback, you can assure yourself of a high mark. the essays are very formulaic, very easy to write, and you can quite easily keep a checklist in mind and just tick off boxes. especially if your the type of person who in english the teachers always say "so much evidence not enough explanation" or "explore more" history will be fine for you. there is a fair amount of content, but it is all VERY interesting, and sacs are always VERY straight forward, and a very clear allocation of marks - you can write the essays like a robot and do well as long as you have the knowledge

2) the history exam is huge with alot of different parts (also it happens quite late in the exam period) they basically have things like "describe 2 things in this visual that show a revolutionary situation" for a couple of marks, and the questions get bigger and bigger until you reach the essay question. quite fun exams though. and again - not very subjective and if you study you can assure yourself a good mark

3) for history you just need to remember dates and what historians have said about things, and their opinions on different events in a revolution. if you are asking for keys to success, i dont think there are any secret tricks as long as you just follow the criteria sheet. as ras said its all very logical. also you do need the knowledge, and its not hard and things are explained very simply in the textbook, but you cant really BS your way through it without some idea of whats going on. if you are looking for quite high marks, assuming you already have the knowledge, it just becomes about writing technique and how you handle/perform in sacs and the exams. there arent really any tricks. extra reading might be good too maybe, but keep it dead boring straight out of the textbook and you can safely get an A+ if you tick all the boxes

i like history, good subject, id say its my second favourite vce subject after psych

[ValiantIntellectual]

i can answer for revs
1) history is not very difficult per se, it depends on your habits. if you always listen heaps in class and take good notes, you dont need to do too much study before sacs at all. but if you dont listen in class, you will be listening to xaviers vtextbooks for a few hours before you are ready to write a practice sac LOL.
in all seriousness though with revs, people sorta think that it will be subjective and hard to determine a good answer or not. i want to say that is NOT TRUE. if you study for revs, and do maybe 2 practice sacs and get feedback, you can assure yourself of a high mark. the essays are very formulaic, very easy to write, and you can quite easily keep a checklist in mind and just tick off boxes. especially if your the type of person who in english the teachers always say "so much evidence not enough explanation" or "explore more" history will be fine for you. there is a fair amount of content, but it is all VERY interesting, and sacs are always VERY straight forward, and a very clear allocation of marks - you can write the essays like a robot and do well as long as you have the knowledge

2) the history exam is huge with alot of different parts (also it happens quite late in the exam period) they basically have things like "describe 2 things in this visual that show a revolutionary situation" for a couple of marks, and the questions get bigger and bigger until you reach the essay question. quite fun exams though. and again - not very subjective and if you study you can assure yourself a good mark

3) for history you just need to remember dates and what historians have said about things, and their opinions on different events in a revolution. if you are asking for keys to success, i dont think there are any secret tricks as long as you just follow the criteria sheet. as ras said its all very logical. also you do need the knowledge, and its not hard and things are explained very simply in the textbook, but you cant really BS your way through it without some idea of whats going on. if you are looking for quite high marks, assuming you already have the knowledge, it just becomes about writing technique and how you handle/perform in sacs and the exams. there arent really any tricks. extra reading might be good too maybe, but keep it dead boring straight out of the textbook and you can safely get an A+ if you tick all the boxes

i like history, good subject, id say its my second favourite vce subject after psych

What would you say is easier to score well in between Psych and History ? ( I know most vce subjects are all equally hard to score well in but I hear some are more competitive ....)

[spectroscopy]

What would you say is easier to score well in between Psych and History ? ( I know most vce subjects are all equally hard to score well in but I hear some are more competitive ....)

depends, to get super super high scores its a similiar work load, but i think psych might be a better choice because there are some serious beasts who do history at the top end, and if you are the sciencey type which you probably are if you wanna do med, psych would be familiar because its similiar to studying for a science

[revsteacher]

I'm not sure that 'easier' is the word I'd use, but Psychology does offer a clearer path to a high score than History. Being a science, Psychology has more absolute answers and fairly straightforward outcomes. It's not difficult to predict your final results in Psychology. History on the other hand can be a little subjective, which creates a small amount of uncertainty, particularly when it comes to the exam.

That doesn't mean I'd recommend Psychology over History though. It all comes down to personal preference and which subject you are most likely to engage with.

R.