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ne-one else opting for 4 eng/4 math? (1 Viewer)

Porcia

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i am next year (yr 12 2006) and im curious, about the workload and how many will do both. my other subjects: art and latin
 

Boxxxhead

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Umm not me, I'll likely be doing 3 Maths 4 English, not 4/4. I'm also doing Modern History and Legal Studies, perhaps Studies of Religion. I reckon that for me, doing 4-Units of each would be too much work, but that's just me, if you wanna do them I reckon you should go for it.
 

Slidey

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EE2 I don't know about, but I can tell you now, ME2 is awesome.

It's probably the only subject in the HSC which is intellectually stimulating. And if you're even half-decent at it, scaling is lovely. Not that it should be about scaling.

There's a few things I'd change if I were to do the HSC again. I would stick with my decision to do 4u.

Are you doing Latin Extension?

Anyway, art+latin+EE2+ME2 is 12 units. If you can handle it, that's fine, but there's certainly nothing wrong with 10 or 11 units (I do 10, since only 10 will be counted). You need a minimum of 4 subjects, so latin and art are locked in.

EE2 scales lower than ME1 and ME2 (though it still scales very high). But EE2 and EE1 are also only 1unit subjects, unlike ME2 and ME1 (the latter only if you do ME2). In the case of maths, if you do 4unit, Advanced is excluded. In the case of English, if you do 4unit, Advanced still counts. About 30% of students each year get an E4 in ME2 (equivalent to a band 6).

Doing ME2/EE2 simultaneously could be a problem (but not necessarily). ME2 is hard work. But then, so is doing a good solid major work. Some people end up spending too much time on one and not enough on the other.

I was considering EE1 and 2 for year 12 along with ME2, but decided against it simply because it meant I wouldn't have to do needless extra work. :p

Oh, and one last thing: if you hate maths, taking 4unit is probably not a good idea. It's also not a good idea to take a subject because your parents tell you to.
 

A l

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vinvi said:
i am next year (yr 12 2006) and im curious, about the workload and how many will do both. my other subjects: art and latin
The people I know that are/were doing English Extension 2 and Mathematics Extension 2 are those who aim for really high UAIs and most of them get into studying law at university.

English Extension 2 involves students composing a major work throughout the HSC year. I've heard that many students fall behind schedule with their major work assessments and trying to perfect it is another matter. In addition to English (Advanced) and English Extension 1, the workload is often tough to handle for many. If you think that the workload for English (Advanced) and English Extension 1 is not too much then you could give English Extension 2 a try. Those who really enjoy English would find this course enjoyable and challenging.

Mathematics Extension 2 involves students studying complex Mathematics at a tertiary level. From what I've heard, students are always working with constant exercises of their mathematical talent and are often stretched to the limit with problem solving. In addition to Mathematics Extension 1 (and Mathematics 2 unit for some schools), the workload is definitely quite a lot, but can vary between schools. If you think that the current workload of Mathematics and Mathematics Extension 1 is not too much then give Mathematics Extension 2 a try. Those who really enjoy Mathematics would find this course very challenging and enjoyable. I would also like to note that last year about 40% of the Mathematics Extension 2 candidature recieved a scaled mark above 90. So if you can get into the top half of the candidature of Mathematics Extension 2, then the course would be very rewarding.

It really comes down to your personal abilities and interests. If you have a lot of motivation then the workload would be managable. I think that you would be spending about 3-4 hours a night on homework for your course combinations.

Also, remember that you must have at least four subjects for your study pattern, so you would most likely be doing more than the minimum 10 units of study (or as some say, excessive study).
 

shafqat

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I found 4u maths a lot more work than 4u english, but I think it really depends where you put your emphasis. Also, if you can get a good early start on your major work, then you can get it out of the way (not that I did!). Both subjects are immensly enjoyable and intellectually stimulating, so you will enjoy doing them.
My other subjects were chem, phys and 2u latin.
 

KFunk

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I second all the stuff that slide said about 4U math. It's probably the most stimulating course in the HSC since you are required to think rather than regurgitate learnt information onto a page (as with pretty much every other course). If you enjoy math, then go for it. I had to fight for about 4-5 weeks to get into the course and I'm extremely glad that I did. I never expected that ME2 would be part of my sanity during this year :p.

I started off taking both EE2 and ME2 but at the end of 1st term this year I dropped EE2. I think it's a doable combination but I also think you need to put a fair bit of work into EE2. Because you don't need concrete results until far into the course, it's far too easy to push EE2 to the side thinking that you'll work on it later. I made the mistake of doing that for about two terms and I opted for the less painful route and dropped it (I had a definate idea but I ran short on time). My warnings for anyone considering to take both are as follows:

- Get started on EE2 early. Knock off a sizeable chunk during the summer holidays if you can otherwise it's easy to find yourself bogged down in assessments for your other subjects (e.g. ext. 2 math) while EE2 gets ignored.

- Be weary in terms of units. If you do ME2 + EE2 + 2 other 2unit courses then you're limited by the fact that you have to take 4 different subjects (4U english and 4U math each counting as one sicne they are extensions from the same area). This then means that you can only drop from the top, i.e ME2 or EE2 will be the first to go. Make sure that you can handle havign 12 units and that, should you choose to drop a unit, you are prepared to drop either ME2 or EE2.

Otherwise, enjoy.
 

scroogle

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-neurosurgeon- said:
i might take up 4U maths =)
Also, but it's going to be lonely, only about 2 other people are interested at school =\
 

tez0r

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i find 4u eng a hell of a lot more work than 4u maths, but only if you do your little bits of homework and understand stuff in class. However, i find both equally reward so it's all up to you little boys and girls. EE2 is a really good release, all those emotions which are stuck inside you really come out in the writing
 
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hey... im hoping to do 4U maths, i really want to... but im not sure if i've got the ability, i'm oing 3U maths @ the mo and im kindof keeping up... but i love maths, i love the challenge and i dont find it annoying like alot of other people!
 

Slidey

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So you get a student:teacher ratio of 2:1. How is that bad? :p
 

kami

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I do the 4 on 4 combination and completely agree with everything KFunk says, I would add also that unless you are a superb time manager, your other "extra" subjects will take a bit of a beating as you will be so wrapped up in the heavyweights you will find yourself not paying them the neccesary attention. That said, it is a wonderful combination to undergo as it challenges you in many ways, not to mention the scaling is a slight recompense for all the blood and sweat you put in.
My other subjects phys(probably dropping), chem and bio. The same would also likely hold true if you want to double extend in other subjects such as 3u music, 3u history, 3u retail or a 3u language, lots of hardwork and time management.
 

Porcia

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i think you guys made an excellent point about that 4 subjects rule locking my latin and arts - however i feel that i will not be dropping either of these as they are my favourite...

4 unit math - im not even a very mathematically minded person but i would like to know that i have pushed high school to its highest level it can intellectually offer, plus it gives a good balance to 4 unit english, latin and art which all are arts subjects...


further to this - i am doing two major works, one for art and another for 4 english.. plus the homework i am supposedly to get for 4 unit math... it seems, that i might despair. but i'll try hard i guess and try to "stay on top" of my workload...

thanks for ur input guys... anyone else doing 4/4?
 

fine ambiguity

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I do 4/4, and I think people overestimate the workload a bit :) You shouldn't be daunted by it, I don't think it's very different than if you were doing 12 units of other subjects. Of course, it is 12 units, and not the usual 10, so there's that to consider. I think the best thing to do, especially if you have another major work, is to start doing the work for EE2 EARLY. Not like everyone else (including me) who end up trying to finish their drafts in the holidays before the trials (ie now), which means you're worrying about that instead of the trials. Also be certain about the two other subjects you pick (latin and art) -- I hate the two subjects I do other than english and maths (ancient and modern history), and honestly I find them almost more work than maths and english.

ME2 is obviously challenging. It depends on how well you want to do at it. I'm reasonable at most topics and I'm hoping for an E3, or at best, a low E4, so if you had higher expectations than that, maybe you would find ME2 a helluva lot more of a load than I do. It really depends on how much work you want to put into any subject as to how much of a workload it is; all we can really say is that yes, you can do it, and it's not completely unreasonable :)

PS. Do you do any science now? If you do, I would think about keeping it. If you're not really 'mathematically minded' (hehe :D) maybe science would be a better way to balance the humanities? And it gives you a bit more range when considering Uni options. As I'm finding out, often science is a prereq for a lot of courses (I don't do science either)
 

^CoSMic DoRiS^^

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i'll probably be doing EE2, but considering my amazing talents at maths *COUGH* yeah right... extensions of that in any form are just not an option. personally extension english is infinitely better than advanced, thats why im doing it.
 

Porcia

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actually i do a science now! chemistry - but i hate hate hate hate chemistry... true about the prerequistes though - although we are allowed to do bridging courses ? i mean they're only "assumed" knowledges, not an actual "have to know to enter" right?

hehe well all i can do i guess is to head into yr 12 with a good attitude to my workload.
 
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noodlecup

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I'd say if you're having doubts of whether to do either 4u Maths/Eng or both, then just apply for the course anyway. If you find the workload too much to handle or too difficult, then you could just drop the course. I'm not too sure about the workload, but I've heard that if you enjoy and are committed to the course, then it won't seem any different to any other course/subject.

Personally, I'm opting not to do either 4u eng/maths and instead just to stick with 3u maths as my only extension course.
 

Slidey

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Noodlecup, I'll just say this: If you are capable of doing 4unit, do it (for now). You can always drop it, but you can't pick it up.

I know more than one person who has regrets about saying "I'll stick with 3u".
 

illmtl

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Just 4u Maths for me... not that I'm allowed to 4u Eng seeing as I haven't done 3u this year. I'm going to do Ext. German though...
 

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