Is it dumb to keep 12 units? (1 Viewer)

[kazzaa89]

Hi
I’m aiming for a 95+ atar for the HSC and i’m still tossing up between 2 subjects on what to drop, would it be bad to keep all 12 units?
here are my subjects; 3U maths 3U english economics business and visual arts

 

[synthesisFR]

if u def not dropping ur extension units then i would drop to 10 units
12 is pretty useless imo
what other people says is that if u mess up a hsc exam then ur screwed
but what i think is that if u spent more time on each of those 10 units than doing 12, then u can ace those 10 units regardless given that u are capable in the subject that u do (which should be the case since u decided to keep them up to this point.
im doing 10 units myself because if i did 12, i would basically be spending hundreds of hours (no joke) of extra time doing 2 units that won't even count, when i could have invested those hours into my 10 units so that I don't mess up in the hsc.

 

[kazzaa89]

if u def not dropping ur extension units then i would drop to 10 units
12 is pretty useless imo
what other people says is that if u mess up a hsc exam then ur screwed
but what i think is that if u spent more time on each of those 10 units than doing 12, then u can ace those 10 units regardless given that u are capable in the subject that u do (which should be the case since u decided to keep them up to this point.
im doing 10 units myself because if i did 12, i would basically be spending hundreds of hours (no joke) of extra time doing 2 units that won't even count, when i could have invested those hours into my 10 units so that I don't mess up in the hsc.

thanks for this! i agree with dedicating effort into 10 units but my problem is that i’m tossing up between maths extension and visual arts (i’ve failed my first maths extension internal, and VA idk yet since i haven’t had an assessment) so i guess im just deciding between that

 

[Masaken]

i'm still doing 12 because while bio is interesting (and while not tied to any degree i want to because no-one puts bio as a prereq or assumed knowledge, i still really love the content and enjoy the subject), i perform much higher in modern (i've never dipped below a 95% for any modern assessment, compared to bio) and i like modern's content more (the rest of my units are pretty solid, i don't mind keeping them). tldr i'm keeping 12 units because i like both of them and in the end i don't want to drop any of them - and to me, it still feels like i'm doing 10 because i know all the content taught in modern for all the topics already, all i have to do is do practice responses and quick summary notes in class and get them submitted for feedback

apart from that, don't drop any units based on 'backup units', it's a feeble argument as mentioned above. putting in the effort into 10 units instead of worrying about 12 is better. i kept mine mostly because if given the decision i would have no idea what to drop

oh and also the fact that i'm also a very time-poor person, and having more units means less study periods at school than those with 10 and it helps me to organise my time better. i struggle with time management but allowing myself to keep organised with 12 units helps a lot, but this is just for me personally

 

[synthesisFR]

thanks for this! i agree with dedicating effort into 10 units but my problem is that i’m tossing up between maths extension and visual arts (i’ve failed my first maths extension internal, and VA idk yet since i haven’t had an assessment) so i guess im just deciding between that

that makes it a bit more complicated
depends on how hard that exam was + ur rank + if u motivated enough to improve and if doing mx1 at this point is really worth it
so since mx1 isn't looking too good u probably do want to stick with 12 for a bit longer (or 11)

 

[kkk579]

i'm still doing 12 because while bio is interesting (and while not tied to any degree i want to because no-one puts bio as a prereq or assumed knowledge, i still really love the content and enjoy the subject), i perform much higher in modern (i've never dipped below a 95% for any modern assessment, compared to bio) and i like modern's content more (the rest of my units are pretty solid, i don't mind keeping them). tldr i'm keeping 12 units because i like both of them and in the end i don't want to drop any of them - and to me, it still feels like i'm doing 10 because i know all the content taught in modern for all the topics already, all i have to do is do practice responses and quick summary notes in class and get them submitted for feedback

apart from that, don't drop any units based on 'backup units', it's a feeble argument as mentioned above. putting in the effort into 10 units instead of worrying about 12 is better. i kept mine mostly because if given the decision i would have no idea what to drop

oh and also the fact that i'm also a very time-poor person, and having more units means less study periods at school than those with 10 and it helps me to organise my time better. i struggle with time management but allowing myself to keep organised with 12 units helps a lot, but this is just for me personally

Just curious but how long does it take you to go back and school and get home?

 

[Masaken]

Just curious but how long does it take you to go back and school and get home?

to school, roughly slightly more than an hour. going home from school, an hour and a half. interesting qn, why did it pop out of nowhere

 

[kkk579]

to school, roughly slightly more than an hour. going home from school, an hour and a half. interesting qn, why did it pop out of nowhere

I was just wondering because you said you were time poor. I’m the same, i also travel a fair bit to get to school and back.

 

[firefly15]

I did 12 units (Eng Adv, Maths Ext 1, Chem, Econ, MHist, SOR1) After trials I wanted to drop either Chemistry or Maths Ext 1. My chemistry ranking was bottom 20% (worst subject by far), and my maths teacher said I was tracking at an E2 for extension 1. Talked with the academic head of the school, and in an interview she told me that actually Studies of Religion I would likely not count towards my HSC. But I ended up keeping all my units since the HSC exams were only a couple months away.

Ended up getting 44/50 for Ext1, 45/50 for SOR1 and Chemistry ended up counting instead of both 2 units of Economics for ATAR calculation (even when my NESA-recorded Economics mark was 4 marks over Chemistry) due to scaling. I thought I was going to Band 6 Economics, and I was very wrong, and neither me nor my teachers would have guessed Economics would be my worst subject (and one that didn't end up counting).

If you are finding the workload too much to the point it's affecting all of your subjects, then you should consider dropping to 10 units. If there's one subject you're performing worse in, then the decision is easy, but otherwise you should be very confident in the subject you choose to drop because you will no longer have that safety net if you stuff up one subject (like my Economics - with that being said there is no point having a 'safety net' if you're doing poorly across the board due to time). If you're performing consistently across your courses then maybe hold onto them for a bit longer. Some people even drop subjects after Trials and still go on to do extremely well Ultimately the decision is best made by you, and whether you should drop 2 units is dependent on your own circumstances involving time and grades.

Best of luck for your HSC!

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

Hi
I’m aiming for a 95+ atar for the HSC and i’m still tossing up between 2 subjects on what to drop, would it be bad to keep all 12 units?
here are my subjects; 3U maths 3U english economics business and visual arts

If you want to keep higher ATAR degree options open for unis like UNSW/USYD/UMELB/ANU probably just drop Visual Arts (you can always paint a picture or write an art essay in your spare time - I did take Vis Arts in year 11 so I am allowed to rip on it).

From a future studies perspective it is often much more valuable to have done well at a smaller number of subjects than to have done worse at a larger number, this is also true from an ATAR perspective (doing better at 4 subjects tends to rank better than doing slightly worse at 5 subjects).

Visual arts is also a sort of hobby subject and as such is almost never considered a prerequisite to anything. EX1 Math and EX1 English however are very common prerequisites for high ATAR programs [e.g. engineering at UNSW requires EX1 math] and they both scale quite well (along with being quite time intensive).

This is all assuming you are targeting a high ATAR with the intention of keeping high ATAR degree options a possibility.

 

[MissKrabappel]

Hi
I’m aiming for a 95+ atar for the HSC and i’m still tossing up between 2 subjects on what to drop, would it be bad to keep all 12 units?
here are my subjects; 3U maths 3U english economics business and visual arts

Hello, currently as of 2023 (year 11) I am planning on keeping my 12 units (Adv Math, Adv English, Chem, Bio, Modern, Investigating) because I like to view it as a security measure. Moreover, if I hypothetically feel I didn’t perform well on an exam I wouldn’t count that subject within my Atar (English must be counted). UAC will account for your 10 best performing units which will be pretty beneficial to those who deal with anxiety related conditions (myself).

However, being unbiased within this, doing 10 units is also beneficial as it allows you to enhance your concentration and effort on your 5 subjects instead of 6. This could be very beneficial as you would be more “free” and flexible in terms of studying. However it is important that you make decisions that fit within your best interests and would benefit you the most