[Undergrad] High School Discussion Thread

[Mas1991]

4. Would I struggle if I kept my subjects (Bio, Ag & modern are all content-based memorising subjects)

Im guessing you're from NSW? If you are you only need 10 units for an ATAR. If you feel you're struggling at the end of year 11 then you can drop 2 units (possibly the one you're struggling the most with). That frees up more time to study on the other subs and less content to comprehend overall.

 

[Obliviate]

Err lol, so what exactly were you hoping to achieve by posting your subjects in this thread? *scratches head*

Well, you see, I don't [and still don't] know what I want to do yet, so I thought i'd broaden my subject choices.

It's a mix of humanities/science/maths
Best of almost all worlds if you exclude the artistic subjects

 

[Hillariousity]

Thank you to all of you who replied! This site is amazing hehehe

Yeah, Ag has horrible scaling.
I have been doing consistently well in Ag for the past few years compared to my grade, but next year that might change because I will be competing against new people (Ag is compulsory for all new students, there's probably 25-30 people). But the physics content is really interesting to me too, and it will 'balance out' my other more-memorising, content-based subjects. WHAT TO DO

Between doing very well in Agriculture, to doing above-average in physics, what would be most beneficial to your ATAR? And would physics help me with med?

 

[mighty]

Okay, let me break it down. Any subject you do well in will benefit your ATAR, any subject you don't do well in won't benefit your ATAR.

At this stage it's actually very hard to judge just what you mean by "very well". Does very well mean 95+? And even if it does.. how on earth do you know?! The girl who I thought was going to state rank in physics ended up getting a 92. *shrug* Anyway, I'm rambling.. moral of story: just do whatever subjects you will do well at. There's no point doing a subject because of it's high scaling and then not doing well at it.

Anyway, no physics won't help you with med. Just try the subjects, and if you feel you can't handle all the content, then you can just easily drop down to 10 units for Year 12.


TL;DR: The best way to ensure you'll do well/get a higher ATAR is to pick subjects which you're interested in, you like, and if possible ones that you're already good at. If you do a subject you like and find interesting you're much more likely to work hard at it and thus do better at it.

Good luck with it all and let us know what you end up choosing!

GoT: Keep it civil fellas. We try and promote a friendly atmosphere here at MSO. Just be wary of the way you structure your posts and/or use different typing font styles -> it might be misconstrued as being overly aggressive.

 

[WIK123]

Hey everyone! I'm going into year 11 2012, and I would love to get into a MBBS course at uni. However, my subjects are...
- Maths Ext
- Eng Ext
- Biology
- Agriculture
- Modern History

For those wondering, I'm doing Ag because I've been doing quite well in my junior years.

1. Do you think the low scaling of Ag, and not doing Chem would jeopardise my chances of getting into med?
I was originally doing Chem but I changed it because I started chem tutor, and I didn't think I would do as well for it as my other subjects. (I made that decision because I found out that Chem was not a prerequisite for most UNI's besides for Monash and JCU)

2. Should I replace one of my subjects with Physics?

3. Any thoughts on bridging courses for Chemistry in Uni?

4. Would I struggle if I kept my subjects (Bio, Ag & modern are all content-based memorising subjects)


Thanks so much for your time, I know there's heaps of questions but I'm just really worried HAHAHA

Mate if by some chance you go to James Ruse, trust me DON'T DO Modern History, biggest mistake of your life (I would know from this years HSC) and definitely look at chem/phys.

 

[mama]

Mate if by some chance you go to James Ruse, trust me DON'T DO Modern History, biggest mistake of your life (I would know from this years HSC) and definitely look at chem/phys. -
Totally agree with that

and maths

 

[philistine]

no physics won't help you with med.

...dammit.

But as mighty has said, if you want a high ATAR you need to do well in subjects, so take the ones you will do well in (which is usually the subjects you enjoy).

I loaded up on math (specialised, methods and applied), physics and chem....in order to get into med . Because, I am good at those things. If I had taken humanities, I am very sure my ATAR would not have been good enough.

 

[pgawk]

My subjects for 2011 were:
Ext 1 Eng
Ext 2 Math
Chem
Music1
SOR
At the end of the day, it really is just about how well you do at the subjects more so than what the subjects are (not to say that scaling doesn't matter, since it does come in handy). Also, try not to put all your eggs in one basket. For example, I was so certain that my Ext Eng mark wouldn't count that I literally did not study for the test (Stupid of me, I know. I was having a rough time). On the opposite side of the spectrum, I practised and practised so hard for Music since I was aiming for a state rank and was quite confident that I would perform really well.
Naturally, you can imagine how surprised I felt when Ext Eng turned out to be my best scoring subject (48/50) and Music1 ended up being my worst (91). Moral of the story is: if I had studied for Ext Eng as opposed to giving up on it, it would probably have been even higher and my ATAR would also have gone up a notch as a result.

 

[angelaibobo]

Help pls. HSC subjects selection

Hi...

I am currently in Yr11 and interested in doing med or med sci.

Do I HAVE to have 2 science subjects?

I am doing: English AD, Maths 3U, Economics, Chemistry, Legal Studies, VD1unt
I'll pick up ex2 in Yr12 and drop VD

I dropped Physics at the the beginning of the year cos I thought I will not be able to do well in that subject and picked up LS.

Now it is a bit of worry....T. T

 

[lalalarry]

for NZ standards, it is recommended that you take all three sciences (physics, maths and bio) and at least one level 3 maths (either calc or stats) and at least one english rich subject (english, history, classics, art history, etc.)

Most schools in year 13 only let their students take 5-6 subjects so if you want to do med the year after, most kids do the three sciences, a maths and then an english rich subject.

however, i have heard that people who have not done so well in physics in yr 13 actually do quite well at physics in university! Chemistry i have also been told will be the most important subject to have a good foundation of for FYHS

 

[Sam]

for NZ standards, it is recommended that you take all three sciences (physics, maths and bio) and at least one level 3 maths (either calc or stats) and at least one english rich subject (english, history, classics, art history, etc.)

Most schools in year 13 only let their students take 5-6 subjects so if you want to do med the year after, most kids do the three sciences, a maths and then an english rich subject.

however, i have heard that people who have not done so well in physics in yr 13 actually do quite well at physics in university! Chemistry i have also been told will be the most important subject to have a good foundation of for FYHS

In the context of HSFY at Otago, you can do fine with literally no background in anything (although you might not be allowed in if you have zero chemistry). The physics is a bit of a joke compared to NCEA and the bio is easy enough to learn with zero background.

 

[lalalarry]

In the context of HSFY at Otago, you can do fine with literally no background in anything (although you might not be allowed in if you have zero chemistry). The physics is a bit of a joke compared to NCEA and the bio is easy enough to learn with zero background.

wait, so when you say physics is a joke compared to ncea, are you meaning that the physics in FYHS is easier???

 

[Sam]

wait, so when you say physics is a joke compared to ncea, are you meaning that the physics in FYHS is easier???

I never did NCEA but from what I understand it's a joke compared to real physics study. You just have to learn when to use a bunch of equations and that's it. All multichoice exams etc.. By far the least intensive health sci subject in terms of study and effort required to understand any of it.

 

[lalalarry]

I never did NCEA but from what I understand it's a joke compared to real physics study. You just have to learn when to use a bunch of equations and that's it. All multichoice exams etc.. By far the least intensive health sci subject in terms of study and effort required to understand any of it.

i... sort of see....? i suck at physics so i'm struggling with NCEA pysics right now. but hopefully i'll be ok next year! but from what you're saying sounds like it should be ok....

 

[Sam]

i... sort of see....? i suck at physics so i'm struggling with NCEA pysics right now. but hopefully i'll be ok next year! but from what you're saying sounds like it should be ok....

I was worried about physics (I am EXTREMELY weak at maths) but I ended up doing OK. In the first lecture they say that if you haven't done any physics in NCEA that you will find it hard to pass the paper, but that's a load of bull.. The lecturers are extremely good at putting across the ideas and as long as you focus on the calculations and largely ignore the concepts you can get a decent grade (some concepts are important but it's easy to figure out what to learn by looking at past papers).

 

[Profiterole]

wait, so when you say physics is a joke compared to ncea, are you meaning that the physics in FYHS is easier???

Yes, I would say that health science physics is easier than high school physics. The only thing you need to make sure you know is to be able to use your calculator. (which shouldn't be a problem for most people.) That and basic algebra (i.e rearranging logs/natural logs etc) if you dont know how to use the solver function on a graphics calculator.

 

[hayleyjade1997]

Hi everyone. I have to hand in my subject choices for year 11 and 12 next week, and I'm very conflicted as to what subjects I should elect to do. I'm currently doing very well within my year. I'm coming first in English, History, Drama, Art and Maths, 2nd in Science and Geography and 4th in PDHPE due to the practical componant (I got 100% on my half yearly exam). I'm looking at studying Medicine in the future, which of course has an effect on the subjects I'll choose.

I'm currently considering English Adv and Ext, Mathematics, Legal Studies, Drama, Chemistry, Biology, PDHPE and possibly Geography, but I'm still not sure. I was told by my English teacher to do ext as I'm writing to a year 11 and 12 level, and I'm happy to do that because I enjoy English. My maths teacher said I'd do well in ext, but I'm thinking that because I'm not overly confident in it, and I don't enjoy it as much, I wouldn't be able to dedicate the extra time to an ext class. I love Drama a lot, and it would be a good practical subject to have. I really enjoy Science, especially in realtion to the human body. Chemistry was advised as something to help me with uni, and I think it would be interesting. People have been a bit blah about bio in the older years, which is why I thought maybe I could replace it with PDHPE? I'm not sure... Legal I think would be awesome, because its something different and interesting. I'm not sure AT ALL about Geography..

I was hoping some people could give me suggestions, advice or their experiences with subjects. It would be much appriciated

)

 

[miss_universe]

Make sure you get the pre-reqs for each uni's med course. They range to nonthing, to English, chem and bio so that should be your first point of call. Otherwise pick the subjects you enjoy, as that usually means you work harder in them and do better.

But congrats on your academic record so far.

And...I have no idea what PDHPE is.. Physical Education? haha

 

[Hutcherson]

I definitely agree with Muse on making sure you choose subjects which are pre-requisites. To be safe English, Maths, Chemistry and Biology should be your top priority. But check what each uni requires for Medicine first

 

[msrachyh]

I'm choosing my subjects for Year 11, and am hoping to get into undergrad medicine, and would pretty much go anywhere in Australia if I got accepted.
I'm planning on doing next year :
-English
-French
-Methods
-Further (3&4)
-Chemistry
And for my sixth subject, I can't decide on whether I should do Literature or Biology. I am fairly good at English and enjoy writing essays, and I've done Year 10 Literature this year which was pretty easy, but I do enjoy science and can do well if I apply myself. But I guess if it came down to it, I could probably get a better mark in Literature
If I did biology would it help with any middle band entry or any prerequisite? I've tried to have a look at individual universities but I've found it a bit difficult to investigate middle band, and as far as I know biol isn't a prereq. Any advice would be appreciated