Parents want me to do a 3 year VCE, I'm not sure if I should

[tothreeornottothree]

Well I'm doing Year 11 and it's been a bit rough. I went from easy A+'s in everything in Year 10 to D's in methods and specialist. I love maths but I just can't study. Can't sleep either.

My parents want me to drop both maths' and only do English, Year 12 Bio, Physics, Chem this year. Then next year do 1/2 methods and specialist, and finish 3/4 methods/spesh in 2020. (God. So far off it's sickening.) They say I'll get a higher ATAR and be less stressed. I haven't heard anything from my teachers about this.

After Year 12, I want to do an advanced bachelor of science at Monash. I chose my subjects hoping to have a difficult Year 11 and an easy Year 12 so that I would graduate on time with a high ATAR and get in... If I take an extra year, will they be less likely to admit me?

pros:

• extra study time
• higher ATAR
• mental health should improve
• more time to breathe and work out what I want to do with myself

cons:

• confidence will take one hell of a hit
• I'll most likely lose my friends
• family and teachers will think I'm stupid
• I'll be bored without maths
• I'll go into uni late and be a year behind
• uni might not let me in at all

[Poet]

Hey! Welcome to ATAR Notes.
I'm sorry to hear about your predicament and your dramatic grade drop. It's a difficult decision to make, and as a current year 12 I know how stressful it is. Sending encouragement your way.

It's great to see you've been weighing up the pros and cons. That's the most logical approach to it, and I can see you've also taken into account the toll either choice could take on you mentally and emotionally. The best thing to do is not worry about what anyone else will think of you for doing three years of VCE - your friends will not think you're stupid, and neither will your family. If anything, you will have support and space to do what's best for you.

If you cannot cope with the work levels right now, the best thing to do is take a step back and, in your words, "breathe". If you take the time to think about it, and your grades make no changes, the best choice will probably be to take three years to finish your VCE. There is no shame in doing what's best for you. If it's different to what others do, who cares? You're going to be giving yourself the best opportunity possible. "On time" is subjective. There are thousands of students every year who enter university one, two, three, twenty years "late". Nobody will judge you for it. My grandmother went back to school to finish year 12 when she was over 50 years old.
Your confidence will only be affected if you let it be.

Also, Monash will be more than happy to take you (and your money), no matter what age or however many years it takes for you to complete your VCE. But just remember that the workload at university, especially in an advanced degree, can be pretty intense. I recommend talking to your careers counselor and your school principle about your options. I have confidence that you can do anything you want to. You just need to make your choice and stick with it. Besides the advice given above, I don't think there's much more we can give you except the support of our community.

Best of luck,
~Poet

[prickles]

Hey there 
Poet has give some great advice, and I'm pretty much gonna pick out the sections that I really liked of her response. Firstly:

your friends will not think you're stupid, and neither will your family

I guarantee your family want to see you succeed. By taking more time, you are helping yourself succeed. I have heard of very few families that discourage a child from doing something that will detriment their child's education, emotional wellbeing, and overall happiness.
Same with teachers. Hopefully, your teachers shouldn't judge you for trying to get where you want, regardless of the time frame. Their job is to help you do so, so if they want to do their job, they are gonna help you.
Regarding friends, who knows? Maybe if you are bored without maths, or if you have extra time because you have less subjects on the go, you can improve your relations with your friends. Just because you take a different education path to them doesn't mean they will think you're stupid. Or at least real friends shouldn't. Maybe its just a sneaky process to put your friends to the test and see which ones will really support you when you need them. 

confidence will take one hell of a hit

Of course it will. Everyone's would. But your confidence will probably take quite a few hits if you continue to D's in a subject you love. So it's going to be a tough decision either way.

Think it over, we're here to talk to, stay positive 

[PhoenixxFire]

Poet and prickles have pretty much covered this but there’s a few things I want to add.

1. Unis will not care at all. To them you will be just another year 12 graduate.

2. You’re not the only one in this situation. Whilst it’s not common, it does happen. My brother is in his third year of VCE this year.

3. Once you get to uni no one will care at all. They will just assume you are the same age as them unless you tell them otherwise. Even then there will be other students who have taken a gap year and will therefore be the same age as you.

4. If you think you will miss maths you could always ask for maths work or work through stuff you have done so far this year when you have spare time.