[Undergrad] High School Discussion Thread

[thegreatestever]

I have heard about the horror scaling that happens in english so is it an option to do english this year just to gain the comprehensive and responsive skills and then not do it in year 12 because it isnt a prerequisite of anything. Then in this case I can do year 12 bio and general this year and do chem, RP and accounting next year keeping the balance and having that extra time to prepare for UMAT

Sounds good. Are your schools RP teachers trained in it? RP is one of those subjects where the evaluation is so unpredictable so it could ruin your ATAR if the grade doesn't go your way. Also how close is your school to Adelaide Uni north terrace campus? Doing these accelerated subjects opens the opportunity for the Adelaide Uni Headstart program which is a great way of boosting your ATAR.

 

[medstudentfortyeight]

Sounds good. Are your schools RP teachers trained in it? RP is one of those subjects where the evaluation is so unpredictable so it could ruin your ATAR if the grade doesn't go your way. Also how close is your school to Adelaide Uni north terrace campus? Doing these accelerated subjects opens the opportunity for the Adelaide Uni Headstart program which is a great way of boosting your ATAR.

I'm not sure if they are trained or not so where can i find out? Do i just ask them or...? I am doing the accelerated biology at Marden Senior College and not at my school but i am doing yr 12 general at my school. Marden senior college is only 10 minutes from the north terrace campus so does that make me eligible for the program. I read about the program on the uni website but i dont understand how it can help boost my ATAR and help me in general so if you could please clear that up for me.

 

[thegreatestever]

I'm not sure if they are trained or not so where can i find out? Do i just ask them or...? I am doing the accelerated biology at Marden Senior College and not at my school but i am doing yr 12 general at my school. Marden senior college is only 10 minutes from the north terrace campus so does that make me eligible for the program. I read about the program on the uni website but i dont understand how it can help boost my ATAR and help me in general so if you could please clear that up for me.

Basically, you already know that scores for subjects are given out of 20. With these Adelaide Headstart subjects, the scaling on them is pretty much broken in a good way for you. For example, to get a 20/20 in a SACE Biology, you'd need to get A+ overall grades for assignments, tests and the exam, quite a difficult feat. However with Headstart Human Bio, you'd just need to end up on HD overall for the subject, this may sound difficult but you'd only need to end up on at least an 85% to get a HD whereas in SACE biology you need to average 96%+ for tests, A+ assignments and an A+ on the exam which is quite difficult. Even if you don't get 85%, even a 75% overall of D will give you a 19.8/20. Maintain that score in a SACE subject usually gives around 15-6.

 

[medstudentfortyeight]

Basically, you already know that scores for subjects are given out of 20. With these Adelaide Headstart subjects, the scaling on them is pretty much broken in a good way for you. For example, to get a 20/20 in a SACE Biology, you'd need to get A+ overall grades for assignments, tests and the exam, quite a difficult feat. However with Headstart Human Bio, you'd just need to end up on HD overall for the subject, this may sound difficult but you'd only need to end up on at least an 85% to get a HD whereas in SACE biology you need to average 96%+ for tests, A+ assignments and an A+ on the exam which is quite difficult. Even if you don't get 85%, even a 75% overall of D will give you a 19.8/20. Maintain that score in a SACE subject usually gives around 15-6.

So far the plan is:

Do year 12 Biology and year 12 General Maths this year and then do English, Chemistry, Research Project and Accounting in year 12.

However, if I do the Headstart program then what would changes in the plan above?

 

[thegreatestever]

So far the plan is:

Do year 12 Biology and year 12 General Maths this year and then do English, Chemistry, Research Project and Accounting in year 12.

However, if I do the Headstart program then what would changes in the plan above?

Are you gonna be trying hard in English or just doing it as a prerequisite for interstate uni's?

The plan is good just make sure maintain a minimum B grade for your year 11 subjects as that is a requirement for Headstart. I would suggest doing Headstart Human Bio in year 12 as you'd have quite a bit of knowledge from dong stage 2 bio in year 11. Out of those subjects, which are you most confident in order from most to least?

 

[medstudentfortyeight]

Are you gonna be trying hard in English or just doing it as a prerequisite for interstate uni's?

The plan is good just make sure maintain a minimum B grade for your year 11 subjects as that is a requirement for Headstart. I would suggest doing Headstart Human Bio in year 12 as you'd have quite a bit of knowledge from dong stage 2 bio in year 11. Out of those subjects, which are you most confident in order from most to least?

I am planning on doing English Communications just as the prerequisite for interstate uni's (what does this change for me?).

Maths
Biology
Chem
Accounting
English
RP?

 

[thegreatestever]

I am planning on doing English Communications just as the prerequisite for interstate uni's (what does this change for me?).

Maths
Biology
Chem
Accounting
English
RP?

I could suggest doing English, Biology and General Maths in year 11. While doing this, just focus more on achieving A+'s for maths and bio. For English, you wouldn't need to try that hard, a B+ overall grade I believe satisfies the prerequisite for all uni's (I think a 35 study score is for some uni's and a B+ is 36).

As for year 12, you could do Human Bio, Chemistry, Accounting and RP. Perhaps ask if you could do the RP in the second semester in year 12 so you could prep that extra bit for the umat.

 

[medstudentfortyeight]

I could suggest doing English, Biology and General Maths in year 11. While doing this, just focus more on achieving A+'s for maths and bio. For English, you wouldn't need to try that hard, a B+ overall grade I believe satisfies the prerequisite for all uni's (I think a 35 study score is for some uni's and a B+ is 36).

As for year 12, you could do Human Bio, Chemistry, Accounting and RP. Perhaps ask if you could do the RP in the second semester in year 12 so you could prep that extra bit for the umat.

I dont think I will be able to manage yr 12 english, maths and bio this year as I also have to focus on my year 11 subject so what if I did:

Bio and General maths this year and do Human Bio, Chemistry, English and RP in year 12. I would drop accounting because the only reason i was doing it was to score highly but since an 85% in Human Bio will get me 20/20 (relatively easy scoring), I can do that instead.

 

[thegreatestever]

I dont think I will be able to manage yr 12 english, maths and bio this year as I also have to focus on my year 11 subject so what if I did:

Bio and General maths this year and do Human Bio, Chemistry, English and RP in year 12. I would drop accounting because the only reason i was doing it was to score highly but since an 85% in Human Bio will get me 20/20 (relatively easy scoring), I can do that instead.

That sounds pretty solid. That way the subjects you could use towards your ATAR are:

Human Bio
General Maths
Bio
Chemistry
RP

Although this might be a gamble as the evaluation becomes as part of your ATAR and it could be unpredictable and a disappointment is the last thing you want when checking results.

 

[medstudentfortyeight]

That sounds pretty solid. That way the subjects you could use towards your ATAR are:

Human Bio
General Maths
Bio
Chemistry
RP

Although this might be a gamble as the evaluation becomes as part of your ATAR and it could be unpredictable and a disappointment is the last thing you want when checking results.

Wait so when you say could be a gamble, can this be avoided in any way. Also in case I dont do well in either maths or bio this year, next year what would I do? Take out Human bio or take out chem (as i am doing bio you dont need chem as prerequisite). I know not doing chem will make it ahrd for me if I get into med but i mean getting in is more important so...

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Wait so when you say could be a gamble, can this be avoided in any way. Also in case I dont do well in either maths or bio this year, next year what would I do? Take out Human bio or take out chem (as i am doing bio you dont need chem as prerequisite). I know not doing chem will make it ahrd for me if I get into med but i mean getting in is more important so...

UTAS, Monash, Curtin, and JCU have yr 12 Chemistry as a Med prerequisite. UAdel need one of Maths, Bio, or Chem, so you’d be okay there.

 

[thegreatestever]

Wait so when you say could be a gamble, can this be avoided in any way. Also in case I dont do well in either maths or bio this year, next year what would I do? Take out Human bio or take out chem (as i am doing bio you dont need chem as prerequisite). I know not doing chem will make it ahrd for me if I get into med but i mean getting in is more important so...

I would not recommend taking Human Bio out no matter what as it is gonna be the easiest scoring subject for you. To avoid the gamble, i suggest keeping Accounting and just complete RP to the passing requirement.

 

[medstudentfortyeight]

I would not recommend taking Human Bio out no matter what as it is gonna be the easiest scoring subject for you. To avoid the gamble, i suggest keeping Accounting and just complete RP to the passing requirement.

Ok. So if I do Accounting, chem, english and human bio in yr 12, that is 4 subjects done so the evaluation of RP wont count? If that is the case then I will go for that. This way can I score just the passing grade in RP and english (B+) as they will not be giong towards ATAR?

 

[thegreatestever]

Ok. So if I do Accounting, chem, english and human bio in yr 12, that is 4 subjects done so the evaluation of RP wont count? If that is the case then I will go for that. This way can I score just the passing grade in RP and english (B+) as they will not be giong towards ATAR?

Yes. Because for the calculation of ATAR in SA, they use the best 90 credits. In your case, it will be

General - 20 creds
Bio - 20 creds
Chemistry - 20 creds
Human bio - 20 creds
Half the accounting score - 10 creds.
It may not be accounting that's halved, it will be the lowest score out of those 4 subjects.

 

[medstudentfortyeight]

Yes. Because for the calculation of ATAR in SA, they use the best 90 credits. In your case, it will be

General - 20 creds
Bio - 20 creds
Chemistry - 20 creds
Human bio - 20 creds
Half the accounting score - 10 creds.
It may not be accounting that's halved, it will be the lowest score out of those 4 subjects.

Oh ok great! Thank you so much for your help and advice!

 

[Ruffle]

Ok. So if I do Accounting, chem, english and human bio in yr 12, that is 4 subjects done so the evaluation of RP wont count? If that is the case then I will go for that. This way can I score just the passing grade in RP and english (B+) as they will not be giong towards ATAR?

Sounds like a good plan, just allow for some flexibility in it. Some things (maybe the RP?) may go better than expected- don't hesitate to prioritise a subject if you are doing unexpectedly well in it, and vice versa if you're doing poorly

 

[B2]

I'm an aspiring year 11 students wanting to get into medicine in Adelaide and had a few questions about subjects. I am planning on doing yr 12 bio and yr 12 general maths this year (year 11) and then doing English, Chem, Accounting (easy scoring) and research project next year. I talked to my counseller at school and he suggested I do one yr 12 subject this year (maths) along with research project this year and then do Bio, Chem, English and Accounting next year. My take on this is I should do one yr 12 subject this year with research project as well and focus all my attention into scoring high in that and then do the other 4 in yr 12. IF, i do two yr 12 subjects this year i risk scoring average grades in both and having to do them again in yr 12.

This is my first time posting on MSO so wasnt sure if this is the right thread. If not can someone tell me the correct one.
Cheers

First and foremost, scrap English from counting this in your 90 credits going towards your ATAR. Unless you can GUARANTEE A+ in every single assessment, scaling will boot your ATAR down a lot. IMO, the best thing is to do year 12 biology and RP in year 11. RP takes a lot of effort and the perfect guidance/teachers that know what they are doing to score well in this subject.

A problem with taking easy scoring subjects such General maths and accounting is; unless you can get an A+, scaling will take huge effect. The lowest mark that can be given out for an A+ for ANY SUBJECT is around 19.5/20. The lowest mark given out for A is around 17/20. You can see that if you get an A in these 'easy scoring' subjects that scaling will take huge effects and can bump your ATAR down.

Given SA's system, I always recommend getting an A- in a harder subject(sciences and higher mathematics) than an A in easier subjects because usually the harder subjects still score around high 18s/20 for an A- whereas As in easier subjects have potential to go a lot lower. Not saying that you shouldn't be doing easier subjects, but work and hard and try your absolute best to get an A+ in these and if you think you have the capability to tackle a harder mathematics, I recommend doing maths methods.

A good thing about doing biology in year 11 is that if you don't get the expected grades, it can always be redone as a 5th subject in year 12 which shouldn't take huge amounts of efforts considering you will be essentially repeating the same course again. Make sure not to spend much time on English as it can quite draining and is VERY low rewarding.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions !

 

[B2]

Ok. So if I do Accounting, chem, english and human bio in yr 12, that is 4 subjects done so the evaluation of RP wont count? If that is the case then I will go for that. This way can I score just the passing grade in RP and english (B+) as they will not be giong towards ATAR?

The best possible combo with these subjects atm would be the following; Chemistry, Biology, Gen Maths, Accounting and RP.

I would recommend trying to disregard RP and English for your ATAR unless you actually score highly in RP.
Another recommendation would be to do 5 subjects in year 12 regardless of whether you ace biology in year 11 or not - it gives you more variety of combinations to go towards your ATAR. A recommendation for this 5th subject in year 12 (unless you repeat biology) are nutrition or psychology which do not require any pre-knowledge and are decently high/easy scoring but being science subjects, they do well in scaling.

 

[medstudentfortyeight]

The best possible combo with these subjects atm would be the following; Chemistry, Biology, Gen Maths, Accounting and RP.

I would recommend trying to disregard RP and English for your ATAR unless you actually score highly in RP.
Another recommendation would be to do 5 subjects in year 12 regardless of whether you ace biology in year 11 or not - it gives you more variety of combinations to go towards your ATAR. A recommendation for this 5th subject in year 12 (unless you repeat biology) are nutrition or psychology which do not require any pre-knowledge and are decently high/easy scoring but being science subjects, they do well in scaling.

What if I was to do Yr 12 Bio and General this year and then do 5 subjects in year 12 being Chemistry, English, Accounting, Human bio and RP? This way I can have the chance of scoring a possible 20/20 in human bio and disreagrding rp and english

 

[B2]

What if I was to do Yr 12 Bio and General this year and then do 5 subjects in year 12 being Chemistry, English, Accounting, Human bio and RP? This way I can have the chance of scoring a possible 20/20 in human bio and disreagrding rp and english

Scoring a 20/20 in any subject is easy to say, hard to execute. Doing 2 full subjects in year 11 can potentially do more harm than good. Even though you will dedicate all your time to these subjects, you may not have developed the crucial problem solving skills required in mathematics. This comes from experience and time. Also will be taking time away from developing solid foundations in yr 11 subjects such as chemistry which is essential to ace year 12 - don't neglect essential year 11 subjects which will be assumed knowledge for year 12. I have seen this be a downfall for many students.

End of the day, it is your choice and confidence in your own capabilities. Theoretically, the more year 12 subjects you do the better variation and chance you have at forming a higher ATAR but then again, theres only 24hrs in a day and only so much you can cope with. I would recommend doing biology with either of English/RP which we are hoping not to count in the final ATAR.

Also for note, never heard of this human bio subject - is it different from regular biology and is it new ?