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HSC course reviews (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter T_boy
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strawberrye
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What do you mean by Class A subjects?
Green Yoda
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can i get a review on pdhpe and legal studies 
Category A and B courses are HSC Courses categorised based on "academic rigour, depth of knowledge, the degree to which the course contributes to assumed knowledge for tertiary studies, and the coherence with other courses included in the ATAR calculations".
See section 2.2 of http://www.uac.edu.au/documents/atar/2014-ScalingReport.pdf for more info plus a list of Category B courses. (Section 2.2 is on page 3 of the report, which is page 11 of the PDF.)
swagmeister
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Eco - great to see how the world works
Bus - a bit dry at times but easy to smash
IPT - I love it, learning all these cool things that will be extremely beneficial as part of the modern and technology based workplace
The one thing I would say is that the enjoyment of a course is probably 40% course and 60% teacher you have for it, this is all the more relevant with generally despised subjects such as English or ones that can be a bit dry at times such as business
Bus - a bit dry at times but easy to smash
IPT - I love it, learning all these cool things that will be extremely beneficial as part of the modern and technology based workplace
The one thing I would say is that the enjoyment of a course is probably 40% course and 60% teacher you have for it, this is all the more relevant with generally despised subjects such as English or ones that can be a bit dry at times such as business
Chris_S
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PDHPE - a very good subject. Core 2 is very interesting and very popular to people who love sport! Core 1 interesting in regards to Australia's health in general. I my opinion it is a content heavy course, with it not being hard but a lot to remember
highschoollife
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Maths ext- extremely challenging and requires a lot of time. It's sometimes hard to stay on top of the homework. I found year 11 ext maths much easier than year 12.
Ancient history- love it! The content is easy and it's easy to score high marks just as long as you answer the question and support it with heaps of primary sources + historian quotes.
Modern history- pretty good. Would recommend choosing it if you like politics etc. More challenging than ancient history,.
Eng ext- excellent subject ! Only 3 prescribed texts for the whole year so it's pretty chill.
Ancient history- love it! The content is easy and it's easy to score high marks just as long as you answer the question and support it with heaps of primary sources + historian quotes.
Modern history- pretty good. Would recommend choosing it if you like politics etc. More challenging than ancient history,.
Eng ext- excellent subject ! Only 3 prescribed texts for the whole year so it's pretty chill.
iforgotmyname
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Chemistry- How everything is synthesised and managed ie Ammonia, plastics, water management 8/10
Physics- HOW THE WORLD WORKS AND HOW TO MAKE NUKES (QtQ elective) 10/10
2unit Maths- Easy life why not. Kind of boring though 7/10
3unit Maths- Gets a lot harder still not 'that hard' 9/10
Japanese continuers- Can watch anime without subtitles??? But quite rigorous for non-kanji background 6/10 for non-kanji and 8/10 for kanji
English Advanced and Japanese extension- Hell is on Earth Discovery: bullshit/10, Mod A (Metro and 1984) pretty cool/10, Mod B Hamlet hamlet thinks too much/10, Mod C Judith Wright STFU/10.
In conclusion, English is one of the worse subject one can every pick Advanced and Standard are the same shit. IF you can go for ESL
Physics- HOW THE WORLD WORKS AND HOW TO MAKE NUKES (QtQ elective) 10/10
2unit Maths- Easy life why not. Kind of boring though 7/10
3unit Maths- Gets a lot harder still not 'that hard' 9/10
Japanese continuers- Can watch anime without subtitles??? But quite rigorous for non-kanji background 6/10 for non-kanji and 8/10 for kanji
English Advanced and Japanese extension- Hell is on Earth Discovery: bullshit/10, Mod A (Metro and 1984) pretty cool/10, Mod B Hamlet hamlet thinks too much/10, Mod C Judith Wright STFU/10.
In conclusion, English is one of the worse subject one can every pick
Advanced and Standard are the same shit. IF you can go for ESL
happyhunter
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English - ..........................................
Software Design - Underrated IMO. Very cool subject for students interested in programming and computers
Economics and Legal - Very fun subjects! If you don't enjoy the subject then you probably wont have a fun time. Its really cool to learn stuff you can actually apply in real life.
Software Design - Underrated IMO. Very cool subject for students interested in programming and computers
Economics and Legal - Very fun subjects! If you don't enjoy the subject then you probably wont have a fun time. Its really cool to learn stuff you can actually apply in real life.
Cleverusername5321
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advanced english - most useful but this depends on electives. i used to hate this subject but now i see its importance.
general mathematics - 2nd most useful, tho i did this in 2013 so its changed now
modern history - interesting but not using the things i learned. this subject is also really difficult.
chemistry - could not do uni chemistry without HSC chemistry
legal studies - super boring and super useless, didn't like my teacher's method of teaching tho
biology - okay but i sucked at it
senior science - stay away from this subject at all cost, i only chose it because i was clueless about HSC subjects.
i'm doing BSc/BLaw this year at UWS.
general mathematics - 2nd most useful, tho i did this in 2013 so its changed now
modern history - interesting but not using the things i learned. this subject is also really difficult.
chemistry - could not do uni chemistry without HSC chemistry
legal studies - super boring and super useless, didn't like my teacher's method of teaching tho
biology - okay but i sucked at it
senior science - stay away from this subject at all cost, i only chose it because i was clueless about HSC subjects.
i'm doing BSc/BLaw this year at UWS.
Advanced English: Becomes everyone's worst nightmare. Tonnes of texts to remember, endless essays, and the content can get boring at times (depending on Module). The good scaling is somewhat motivating though
Extension 1 English: My elective is Navigating the Global, it was really difficult to get a grasp on but with lots of wide reading/research it becomes more understandable. Really meticulous essay writing, definitely strengthens your vocabulary and level of sophistication in English
Math: If you're good at math then take this. If you're not good at math, just save yourself and do General
Modern history: An extremely challenging subject, moreso than Ancient. Very war/politics focused, a LOT of content and really difficult exams. Worthwhile if you get what you're being taught.
Legal studies: Literally ONLY pick this if you're somewhat interested in the concept of law. It will be extremely boring and useless if you don't have that core interest. For me, I love legal studies - it's my favourite subject. Not too difficult once you get the hang of things.
SOR I: boring but easy as heck
Extension 1 English: My elective is Navigating the Global, it was really difficult to get a grasp on but with lots of wide reading/research it becomes more understandable. Really meticulous essay writing, definitely strengthens your vocabulary and level of sophistication in English
Math: If you're good at math then take this. If you're not good at math, just save yourself and do General
Modern history: An extremely challenging subject, moreso than Ancient. Very war/politics focused, a LOT of content and really difficult exams. Worthwhile if you get what you're being taught.
Legal studies: Literally ONLY pick this if you're somewhat interested in the concept of law. It will be extremely boring and useless if you don't have that core interest. For me, I love legal studies - it's my favourite subject. Not too difficult once you get the hang of things.
SOR I: boring but easy as heck
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Advanced English- Enjoyed some of the texts, not that much more difficult then Standard
Chemistry- Year 11 is harder then physics, and Year 12 is easier then physics apparently
Physics- Year 11 is easier then Chemistry, and year 12 is harder then chemistry apparently
Mathematics- If you do your homework, and you were a decent 5.3/5.2 person you should be able to handle it
General Mathematics- Pretty much a repeat of years 9-10 5.2/5.3 concepts
Visual Arts- Annoying due to major work, found theory okay but it would depend on what your school does as case studies
Business Studies- Pretty much rote the syllabus and you are all set! Lots of people found it really boring. For the extended response, a pro tip is to use a report instead of an essay.
Biology- annoying, tons of content, pretty boring, most people found year 11(plant/animal) more boring then year 12 (human bio)
Economics- most of my cohort ending up dropping, concepts may be difficult to grasp, but I found it pretty fun, apparently has heaps of rote?
Chemistry- Year 11 is harder then physics, and Year 12 is easier then physics apparently
Physics- Year 11 is easier then Chemistry, and year 12 is harder then chemistry apparently
Mathematics- If you do your homework, and you were a decent 5.3/5.2 person you should be able to handle it
General Mathematics- Pretty much a repeat of years 9-10 5.2/5.3 concepts
Visual Arts- Annoying due to major work, found theory okay but it would depend on what your school does as case studies
Business Studies- Pretty much rote the syllabus and you are all set! Lots of people found it really boring. For the extended response, a pro tip is to use a report instead of an essay.
Biology- annoying, tons of content, pretty boring, most people found year 11(plant/animal) more boring then year 12 (human bio)
Economics- most of my cohort ending up dropping, concepts may be difficult to grasp, but I found it pretty fun, apparently has heaps of rote?
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porcupinetree
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Mathematics - If you reckon general will just be a breeze for you, definitely consider doing 2U maths - heaps of people who I know who are smart enough to do 2U do general - 2U may require a bit more work but the scaling is sooo worth it. It's an interesting course too
Advanced English - some of the texts are actually pretty interesting, until you are forced to have to memorise analysis in order to (effectively) write 6 essays in 4 hours for the exams difficult subject, but if you're half decent at english, the scaling is probably worth it (compared to doing standard)
Chemistry - really interesting, some of the content can get a little dry at times, but as long as you have a decent memory, you should be fine
Physics - Not only do you need a competent knowledge of the content, but skill in crafting the best answers possible. Some of the content is a little dry, and the marking generally can be quite harsh (from my experience) - but if you're interested in Physics, do it
MX1 - Personally I find most of the content fairly easy once you've learnt it - definitely have a go at this subject if you think you're decent at maths
MX2 - My favourite subject, definitely do this subject if you find maths interesting at all, or if you think you might be interested by what you will learn in the subject. If you don't like it you can just drop it. After learning all the skills/content, MX1 becomes (mostly) a breeze
Advanced English - some of the texts are actually pretty interesting, until you are forced to have to memorise analysis in order to (effectively) write 6 essays in 4 hours for the exams
difficult subject, but if you're half decent at english, the scaling is probably worth it (compared to doing standard)Chemistry - really interesting, some of the content can get a little dry at times, but as long as you have a decent memory, you should be fine
Physics - Not only do you need a competent knowledge of the content, but skill in crafting the best answers possible. Some of the content is a little dry, and the marking generally can be quite harsh (from my experience) - but if you're interested in Physics, do it
MX1 - Personally I find most of the content fairly easy once you've learnt it - definitely have a go at this subject if you think you're decent at maths
MX2 - My favourite subject, definitely do this subject if you find maths interesting at all, or if you think you might be interested by what you will learn in the subject. If you don't like it you can just drop it. After learning all the skills/content, MX1 becomes (mostly) a breeze
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Advanced English: I've found always found English enjoyable, and I've really liked the texts we've studied this year.
Mathematics General 2: Honestly, this is my biggest subject regret. I should've done Mathematics, the fact I'm only doing General is really biting me in the butt now. It was wrong choice, but there isn't much I can do about it now.
Biology: I find this the most interesting of all my subjects. I love bio, my only con with it is that there's so much to remember. The HSC course has been far more interesting than prelim.
Ancient History: This is my strongest subject. I've found it to be an interesting, relatively easy subject. I don't really have any cons with this subject, I've enjoyed both the Preliminary course and HSC course.
Community & Family Studies: I have nothing good to say about my class, but I really like the subject itself. CAFS has some interesting, thought-provoking content and it's a real shame it has a rep for being a 'dumb' subject. I've loved CAFS this year, the only negative thing I have to say about it is being stuck with a horrifyingly bad cohort really sucks.
Mathematics General 2: Honestly, this is my biggest subject regret. I should've done Mathematics, the fact I'm only doing General is really biting me in the butt now. It was wrong choice, but there isn't much I can do about it now.
Biology: I find this the most interesting of all my subjects. I love bio, my only con with it is that there's so much to remember. The HSC course has been far more interesting than prelim.
Ancient History: This is my strongest subject. I've found it to be an interesting, relatively easy subject. I don't really have any cons with this subject, I've enjoyed both the Preliminary course and HSC course.
Community & Family Studies: I have nothing good to say about my class, but I really like the subject itself. CAFS has some interesting, thought-provoking content and it's a real shame it has a rep for being a 'dumb' subject. I've loved CAFS this year, the only negative thing I have to say about it is being stuck with a horrifyingly bad cohort really sucks.
i have to disagree on that (coming from non kanji background) tbh the cont course doesn't have that much kanji (like 500 altogether?) but the real struggle is writing them. i cringe at my kanji handwriting everydayChemistry- How everything is synthesised and managed ie Ammonia, plastics, water management 8/10
Physics- HOW THE WORLD WORKS AND HOW TO MAKE NUKES (QtQ elective) 10/10
2unit Maths- Easy life why not. Kind of boring though 7/10
3unit Maths- Gets a lot harder still not 'that hard' 9/10
Japanese continuers- Can watch anime without subtitles??? But quite rigorous for non-kanji background 6/10 for non-kanji and 8/10 for kanji
English Advanced and Japanese extension- Hell is on Earth Discovery: bullshit/10, Mod A (Metro and 1984) pretty cool/10, Mod B Hamlet hamlet thinks too much/10, Mod C Judith Wright STFU/10.
In conclusion, English is one of the worse subject one can every pick
Can anyone tell me whether or not you can do Japanese Heritage if you're an Aussie, but with 6 or 7 years of experience in the language, and have done an exchange there??? Am planning to do continuers and extension.
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strawberrye
Premium Member
Currently, according to the BOSTES-can be found in here: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/lang-eligibility-criteria.html
The eligibility criteria for heritage languages is: Students have had no formal education in a school where the language is the medium of instruction beyond the year in which the student turns 10 years of age (typically Year 4 or 5 of primary education).
So on the face of it-you should-but that will depend on whether your 6-7 experience with the language involved a long duration of formal education in Japan.
T_boy
New Member
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- 2017
Thanks a lot guys for your help. I have picked, Ext English (3 unit), Chemistry (2 unit), Physics (2 unit), Pdhpe (2 unit), Mathematics (adv/ 2unit) & Studies of religion 1 unit. So far i am enjoying the subjects I have picked, I struggled for the first two weeks with Chemistry. It's going to be an interesting two years wish me luck.