should i drop to 10 units or keep 12 (1 Viewer)

[lacedmalice]

im in yr 12. my current subjects are eng adv, 4u math, bio, chem and business. i can't decide between dropping business or ext2 math. i dont really think i can manage 12 units i feel like it takes up too much time. im really bad at essay writing and memorising definitions for business but at the same time it takes me a really long time to understand concepts in 4u. both subjects take up alot of my time and i feel like dropping one would help. just dont know which one or if it even is the right thing to do. any advice would be highly appreciated. thanks

 

[C2H6O]

I think atp it comes down to which you enjoy more, bc it sounds like both have their pros and cons. Also consider future career interests. Imo scaling is the least priority factor but here’s the comparison for how well each subject contributes to your atar (not raw marks)

 

[lacedmalice]

im thinking of doing like med/healthcare. i enjoy 4u more than business but what if i fumble 4u and i have have nothing to cover up my fumble.

 

[Hehehe22]

What C2H6O means is you're gonna have to do really well in business for it to be better than 4U maths. You're not expected to get really high marks in 4U so fumbling it might be better than fumbling business. How did you do in your first HSC assessment for both? If you think both subjects take a similar amount of time, then keep 4U all the way.

 

[v.tex]

im thinking of doing like med/healthcare. i enjoy 4u more than business but what if i fumble 4u and i have have nothing to cover up my fumble.

Ur gonna have to make a decision and just stick with it. I was in the same boat as you, But I have decided to drop Earth and risk it to do well in 4u and 3u. Ur gonna take a risk either way, thats just the nature of the HSC.

 

[astj]

4u is a worthwhile investment, after I started putting in around 65% of my time into doing 4u my marks went up significantly and scaling will carry you too (it did for me)

 

[lumora]

4u is a worthwhile investment, after I started putting in around 65% of my time into doing 4u my marks went up significantly and scaling will carry you too (it did for me)

do you just do past papers? im tryna study more for 4u but idk what else to do other than past papers

 

[lunaaaa4403]

do business unless ur a machine. don't listen to scaling bs bc at the end of the day, you get a 65/100 it will scale to an 80 at most. business is very low effort despite it being boring and id say its a better investment of time bc of how easy it is to get a high band 6. and yes def drop to 10 units.

 

[lunaaaa4403]

4u is a worthwhile investment, after I started putting in around 65% of my time into doing 4u my marks went up significantly and scaling will carry you too (it did for me)

look how difficult the rest of her subjects are though. idk if she can afford to put 65% of her time into 4 units and only spent 35% of her time on the other 6. bio is super content heavy and chemistry is the most difficult non-extension subject you can do.

 

[Legendary16]

im thinking of doing like med/healthcare. i enjoy 4u more than business but what if i fumble 4u and i have have nothing to cover up my fumble.

Given your future career in healthcare, you would need to look at a significantly high ATAR to be able to get into the uni you want to. From that standpoint alone, 4u is your way to go with the kind of results you will receive if you put the effort in. It would be a very time-consuming subject but without the added pressure of studying for business you should be good.
On another note, how is your prep for the UCAT going?

 

[killer queen]

As someone who does 4U math, I reckon that if you have to drop something, I would go for business - memorising definitions (from what I've heard) is a core part of the subject, and you're not gonna be able to do much without it. Understanding math concepts is tricky but it's meant to be hard. People here are saying that 4U doesn't scale up that high, but that's a personal decision for you; especially if I'm understanding your struggle with business correctly, then I feel the math struggle will be a whole lot easier for you to deal with. As lunaaaa4403 says scaling is kinda bs BUT the bit about business being "easy" doesn't really apply if you're struggling with the core aspects of definitions and essays.

Also, consider - dropping business is dropping a whole exam. 4U math has two exams just as 3U does, and if OP is doing 3U then they're already putting a lot of effort into math. (This bit doesn't quite apply if you did accelerated though.)

Honestly, though? I'd keep both. Unless the grind is really wearing you down, it seems dropping neither is gonna give you any immediate benefit. That's just my personal opinion though

 

[C2H6O]

do you just do past papers? im tryna study more for 4u but idk what else to do other than past papers

yeah pretty much after knowing all the concepts I just pumped out as many past papers as possible in the holidays before trials. my teacher was able to give me some past papers written by private companies which the teachers used to make trial exams

 

[astj]

look how difficult the rest of her subjects are though. idk if she can afford to put 65% of her time into 4 units and only spent 35% of her time on the other 6. bio is super content heavy and chemistry is the most difficult non-extension subject you can do.

I mean I did chem and eng adv as well, I found them to be pretty ok but I did have a chill subject and I dropped bio too. I wouldn't say everyone has to put in 65% of their time into 4u in order to get good, but pretty sure business is a lot of content as well? also for 4u if your raw is 68/100 or so that gets scaled to 90/100 or more.

 

[astj]

do you just do past papers? im tryna study more for 4u but idk what else to do other than past papers

yeah past papers, mostly focusing on the parts of each topic that I'm bad at and just grinding questions selectively

 

[lumora]

my teacher was able to give me some past papers written by private companies which the teachers used to make trial exams

that's so bougie, my teachers could never

 

[lacedmalice]

Given your future career in healthcare, you would need to look at a significantly high ATAR to be able to get into the uni you want to. From that standpoint alone, 4u is your way to go with the kind of results you will receive if you put the effort in. It would be a very time-consuming subject but without the added pressure of studying for business you should be good.
On another note, how is your prep for the UCAT going?

i havent really been doing much ucat prep in the past week or so cuz half yearlys. but bro vr will be the death of me. i aim for an hour a day and then im gonna start doing more when the actual test is nearby.

 

[Legendary16]

i havent really been doing much ucat prep in the past week or so cuz half yearlys. but bro vr will be the death of me. i aim for an hour a day and then im gonna start doing more when the actual test is nearby.

Hopefully you consider tutoring for UCAT and other subjects if you haven't already, just to even out the pressure.

 

[v.tex]

I would say that if you somewhat enjoy 4u keep it, but if you have any doubt just drop it. Dropping 4u would free up an insane amount of time but it is ultimately up to you