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Advice on managing two majors

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Ellen310:
Hi everyone,

I'm currently in year 12 and as part of my 11 units, I do History extension and Society and Culture - both subjects which involve major works. The PIP for society is a *roughly* 5000 word report and History extension is a 2500 word essay (which doesn't seem too intense on first look, however it involves a heck of a lot of research). I made this post to reach out to anyone who either a) does both of these subjects or b) does subjects that require 2 or more majors, to try and get some tips and advice on how you balance your time to consistently work on these majors, as well as study for other subjects. I have mid year exams in a few weeks and I'm really feeling the pressure in terms of trying to balance these majors as well as prepare for exams and manage assessments.

I have contemplated dropping history extension, which would bring me to 10 units however I'm on the fence - it would alleviate a lot of pressure and as it's not a subject I absolutely love, I feel it wouldn't be a huge loss. However the thought of only doing 10 units and having no backup options does scare me a little.

Thank you! :)

sudodds:

--- Quote from: Ellen310 on February 19, 2017, 07:27:16 pm ---Hi everyone,

I'm currently in year 12 and as part of my 11 units, I do History extension and Society and Culture - both subjects which involve major works. The PIP for society is a *roughly* 5000 word report and History extension is a 2500 word essay (which doesn't seem too intense on first look, however it involves a heck of a lot of research). I made this post to reach out to anyone who either a) does both of these subjects or b) does subjects that require 2 or more majors, to try and get some tips and advice on how you balance your time to consistently work on these majors, as well as study for other subjects. I have mid year exams in a few weeks and I'm really feeling the pressure in terms of trying to balance these majors as well as prepare for exams and manage assessments.

I have contemplated dropping history extension, which would bring me to 10 units however I'm on the fence - it would alleviate a lot of pressure and as it's not a subject I absolutely love, I feel it wouldn't be a huge loss. However the thought of only doing 10 units and having no backup options does scare me a little.

Thank you! :)

--- End quote ---

Hey! I studied two major works last year for history extension and drama (and a girl in my history extension class also studied SAC). It is definitely possible to manage two major works, but it does require quite a bit of discipline to make sure that you are consistently meeting the checkpoints, while also not neglecting your other subjects. Imo, the majority of your focus should be directed towards your PIP, as unlike history extension that is externally marked. This means that your actual raw mark is very important to your final results, whereas in extension doing well in the major work is only important in regards to putting you in the best internal rank position possible (and as HIX classes are usually quite small, this becomes less of an issue). In regards to managing this during exam periods, I defs relaxed on my majors during half yearlies and trials, but that was aided by the fact that my teachers were gems and accommodated for this temporary change in study pattern, and made sure not to schedule check in's around them.

In regards to wanting to drop history extension... hmm. Now I loved the subject, and I rate it very highly, however the fact that you are not enjoying it currently does concern me, as it is defs a subject that requires a lot of passion (imo) and drive, due to the high amount of outside class work that is required in regards to readings and study (not only for the major work, but also for the case studies). If you're not passionate about the subject you are going to struggle to get through 20-30 pages of the crucial historiography readings that you need to satisfy in order to make the most of your marks. I understand why you want to keep that safety net, it was definitely useful for me as my economics marks were a lot weaker than my other subjects, so I was glad that it wasn't included. However doing 10 has been proven to be beneficial for many students, as it allowed them more time to work on their other subjects, thus bumping up their marks and improving their atar! For example, the girl that got the highest atar at my school last year (98+) only did 10 units. The amount of work required for history extension essentially amounts to a two unit course, so if you feel like you need that time for other subjects and you still aren't vibing with the content, I would definitely consider dropping history extension.

I hope this helps!

Susie

elysepopplewell:
Also, if you need people to do your PIP survey, feel free to post it here and we can do your survey for you :)

Mirroring Susie: if you don't love a subject, you might start to resent it as the pressure gets more intense. Although you don't mind it now, honestly ask yourself how you predict your attitude towards it will be when you are 10 weeks from now and it's getting tougher to juggle. You don't want to be resenting a subject, because it'll sit on the back burner and simmer into a disaster because you don't enjoy it. This will give you all kinds of unnecessary stress.  But, if you think you can stick to being disciplined and on top of it all, you avoid all of the above stress and can continue juggling two majors, which is a winning situation! Be honest with yourself about how you think you'll be handling it all ten weeks from now, and then five weeks after that, and after that. Map out when different things are due so there's no surprises when things get intense!

Good luck :)

jamonwindeyer:
Hey Ellen! To throw in to the answers above, in my HSC I balanced two full length compositions and a performance for Music - One of the reasons why I HATE that people think Music is a bludge, because depending on electives, it can be seriously hardcore :P

My one biggest piece of advice is to completely ignore major works in the few weeks leading up to a big exam block. The fact is, you have so much happening, that in those few weeks or even a month you aren't going to be able to work productively on anything but study (at least, I never could, ahaha!). Anyway, what I'm saying is don't feel bad if your major works get left by the wayside before half yearly exams and before Trials. That's natural, and probably a wise move.

Try to put aside a set few hours every week to work on each major work. Two hours for one, two hours for the other. The important thing is to keep moving! :)

It sounds like you could benefit from dropping Extension History, especially if you aren't enjoying it - Don't let only doing 10 units scare you! Heaps of people stick with 10, and heaps of people do really well with those 10 units! It's all about what will make you the most productive/effective person you can be in the coming months - And if that means dropping a subject you don't really like, then you should do that! As long as you don't drop something you like - That would be a waste :) :) :)

sudodds:

--- Quote from: jamonwindeyer on February 19, 2017, 08:59:28 pm ---Hey Ellen! To throw in to the answers above, in my HSC I balanced two full length compositions and a performance for Music - One of the reasons why I HATE that people think Music is a bludge, because depending on electives, it can be seriously hardcore :P

--- End quote ---
Off topic but nothing makes my blood boil more than the "[insert creative subject here] is a bludge" belief that goes round. Drama was by far the most intensive subject I did. The amount of people that dropped the subject after they realised how difficult it was was insane - almost a third of the class. And it doesn't help the scaling of the subjects that a bunch of people who do them aren't willing to put in the required effort. The amount of work I saw my friends do for drama, music, visual arts and D&T was intense - kills me those subjects don't get the recognition they deserve (even by bostes). Okay rant over.

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