VCE Subject Advice

[TylerD9]

Hello,

So the other day my maths teacher recommended to me that I do further maths in VCE because he thinks I could get a 40 in it with no problems. So I was thinking the other day how this would factor into how my current idea of what subjects I would take would work. So here are two scenarios I came up with:

Note: I will be doing units 1 and 2 Chemistry and Business in year 10 next year

Scenario: 1
Year 10:
Chemistry
Business
Year 11:
Literature
Methods
Specialist
Physics
Chemistry (3/4)
Business (3/4)
Year 12:
Literature
Methods
Specialist
Physics
Further

Scenario 2:
Year 10:
Chemistry
Business
Year 11:
Literature
Methods
Specialist
Physics
Chemistry (3/4)
Further (3/4)
Year 12:
Literature
Methods
Specialist
Physics
Business (3/4)??

Would either of these scenarios be a good idea? I am aware that only 2 maths subjects can contribute to the primary 4, so it is a bit of a gamble to do all 3, as it's dependant on how well you do in the non-maths subjects. I am looking at studying something physics/engineering/computer science related at university. Really I think it all depends on whether I enjoy business or not. I know that further will bore me a lot, my teacher already went through some of the questions from the year 12 exam with our class and some of the questions felt like year 7 work, I guess the only reason I'd do it is for the easy score.

So what do you guys think? Is there something else I'm missing?

[Quantum44]

Honestly if you’re doing spesh and methods, you’ll probably find further very boring. You’ll do better in spesh and methods due to scaling which means further will have to be in your bottom two. I’d recommend doing chemistry and business 3/4 in year 11 as it is good to do two 3/4s in year 11 and it will give your subjects some breadth, then do four 3/4s in year 12 (lit, methods, spesh and physics makes sense). Doing seven subjects in total is a waste as only six can count towards your ATAR.

[Vaike]

Really I think it all depends on whether I enjoy business or not. I know that further will bore me a lot... I guess the only reason I'd do it is for the easy score.

If you don't like Business 1/2 and decide not to do the 3/4 I think having Further as a back up plan is a good option. However, Further as a subject it is extremely competitive at the top end, so even a few careless mistakes can result in a considerably lower study score. So if you don't think you'll have the motivation to study properly for it as you would for another subject, such as Business, you'll probably end up doing better in your other two math subjects, and hence you may view this time as wasted if you're only aiming to get a high study score out of the subject.

Personally, if you do end up doing Further, just be careful in how you approach it. Being good at Methods/Specialist does not necessarily imply you will be able to ace Further without any effort; I had friends who were stronger at the other math subjects than me but struggled with the different styles of questions asked in further, and even though they may have only made a few small mistakes in the exam, it had a large impact on their final score comparative to such mistakes would have in other subjects. .

[Yertle the Turtle]

The main thing to remember is that you should try to play to your strengths. That said, I was one of those people who decided to do 3/4 Further in Year 11 with Methods and Specialist in Year 12, and I very quickly gave up that idea, finding out just how boring Further is after about 1 week. It is not worth having a subject that you hate and are sick of, particularly when it is your 7th subject anyway. I would suggest having it as a backup plan in case you dislike Business/Chemistry or if you do badly in one of those two. Specialist and Methods are quite as worth doing, since they scale up, so that if you are at all good at maths, you will probably get a higher mark in those two than in Further. Personally, I enjoyed both Specialist and Methods 1/2, and Physics and Chemistry 1/2 as well. Have a great year, whatever you decide!

[Aaron]

Again, and i'll say this again because I strongly believe in it... I strongly recommend against doing Further if you are somebody with the capacity to do Methods and/or Specialist. Further's target audience is a different kind of student, one who perhaps doesn't need a significant level of maths but still wants something in their program. It's mostly real-world/applied. IMO, its a "one or the other" type of scenario.

What others above have said is true - if you have the capability to do methods/specialist, you will most likely find Further extremely boring given it is not catered to you. You have to weigh up whether the novelty of an "easy" (quotes on purpose) subject outweighs you doing something interesting and challenging.

I know personally I wouldn't be satisfied doing something that isn't stimulating. It's great we have options during Year 11/12 but unfortunately some make incorrect choices which ultimately impacts on their overall achievement.

So the other day my maths teacher recommended to me that I do further maths in VCE because he thinks I could get a 40 in it with no problems

Silly errors in the exams are costly. I would take this with a grain of salt.

Good luck.

[TylerD9]

Thank you everyone for the responses, I have definitely taken all this into consideration. Thank you all again