BIOLOGY V ECONOMICS (subject selection) (1 Viewer)

[enip]

Hi,

I am in year 10 and going to pick out my subjects. My idea of what I want to do after school is probs medicine, so I need a high ATAR. Here are my subjects :

- Ex1 Math / I am pretty good at math and maybe plan on doing x2
- Ex1 Eng / Not really that good at english, alright at it but doing Ex1 cause i hear it has no analysis of text
- Physics / Like it but I heard it is hard
- Chemistry Accelerated / I am good at this subject
- + 2 units needed.

I am still deciding on my 2 units more. Particularly, I have thought to do either Biology or Economics. My main concern is that, I am doing Accelerated Chem, and therefore I need enough time in year 11 to focus on my Y12 chem course. Personally, I am pretty good at science, but I am skeptical to choose Biology as I heard it has a lot of content, and hence it will drag too much time from studying for Chem. Despite that, I think I am at least decent at memorising concepts.

However for Eco, I am decent at Commerce, not overly good tho. However, I think that I am not as much captivated/interested in the subject as compared to Biology, but it will certainly have less stress for me in year 11 for studying Chemistry.


Overall, I would like to hear some opinions and remarks on my chosen and desired subjects, as well as what last subject would suit me.

 

[enip]

bump

 

[Masaken]

Hi,

I am in year 10 and going to pick out my subjects. My idea of what I want to do after school is probs medicine, so I need a high ATAR. Here are my subjects :

- Ex1 Math / I am pretty good at math and maybe plan on doing x2
- Ex1 Eng / Not really that good at english, alright at it but doing Ex1 cause i hear it has no analysis of text
- Physics / Like it but I heard it is hard
- Chemistry Accelerated / I am good at this subject
- + 2 units needed.

I am still deciding on my 2 units more. Particularly, I have thought to do either Biology or Economics. My main concern is that, I am doing Accelerated Chem, and therefore I need enough time in year 11 to focus on my Y12 chem course. Personally, I am pretty good at science, but I am skeptical to choose Biology as I heard it has a lot of content, and hence it will drag too much time from studying for Chem. Despite that, I think I am at least decent at memorising concepts.

However for Eco, I am decent at Commerce, not overly good tho. However, I think that I am not as much captivated/interested in the subject as compared to Biology, but it will certainly have less stress for me in year 11 for studying Chemistry.


Overall, I would like to hear some opinions and remarks on my chosen and desired subjects, as well as what last subject would suit me.

3u english does have analysis of text. a lot. way more than advanced and way more than you'd expect for a 2u subject. i had friends who did 3u english and they all got huge chunky packs and folders of critical readings to read outside of class. i heard that 3u english was a lot more fun than 2u english (and judging by the stuff they did, to me it was) but it may end up not being a decent subject for you, bludge or not if you feel like you're not up for it. if you like english tho to a decent degree go for it however if you don't like english + you don't believe you're good at english doing 3u english might be a bit of a slog. granted you could drop it at the end of y11 but you could probably save yourself the stress before that happens by picking another 1 unit subject (i know many med gunners who just did slr because it was so easy and just a bludge) or just do 13 units this year

i didn't do eco but i had a similar dilemma to you in y10 where i was wondering whether i should pick bio or eco (i even put eng ext 1 on my og choices). in the end, i swapped around my courses so that i picked bio and didn't do 3u english in the end, so here's my 2 cents. y11 biology is kinda sucky but y12 was more interesting, i think it's a lot more interesting especially for people who want to do med (it's about diseases and genetics) but the y12 bio course isn't necessary for med. tho it is basically just rote learning a crap ton of content (with a hint of application sprinkled here and there) - if you're willing to put the effort into memorising the content and then doing the occasional practice qs then you should be fine. if you're not completely interested in the content like i was (but i doubt that's the case for you since you want to do med) and don't stay on top of your notes there is a chance you could fall behind, and if that happens it will actually drag too much time from studying for chem. but then again. even with me saying that. as someone who did fall behind on notes a few times and kinda slacked off in y12 studying for bio here and there i still managed to scrape a b6 and do okay for bio. if you're willing to put more effort than i did then you can def do better than i did

 

[Neogotmyback]

I am doing both econ and bio, and I would say the amount of content is about the same in both classes. Economics also requires A LOT of essay writing, so if that doesn't sound like you're thing then maybe reconsider. Personally, I enjoy econ more but it does take a lot of work. If you're interested in commerce but want something with a lighter load maybe look at business studies. However, if you're interested in medicine, then maybe bio would give you a taste for what you're getting yourself into, not 100% necessary though.

You can also go to uni for a bachelor's in bio for anything you want (molecular bio for example), and then apply for medicine after that, instead of starting with premed. Plenty of people go this route as it takes some of the stress off hsc. If you haven't talked to a careers advisor yet I would highly recommend doing so. Also, do not choose subjects because you want a higher atar, it doesn't work trust me. I know plenty of people who did low-scaling subjects who did exceptionally and even got dux. Good luck

 

[enip]

thank you for your replies and useful insights

Personally, I enjoy econ more but it does take a lot of work. If you're interested in commerce but want something with a lighter load maybe look at business studies.

i've been actually looking into business studies in the past few weeks, and i am now debating between it or eco. my idea is that since the best 10 units are picked, i don't really need to have a high demanding subject (such as eco),. tbh i can't say i am fully captivated by commerce, but i can trust myself to study it, however i dont really want the extra focus in year 11 (cos chem) and year 12 to be on them, and hence i feel like for me business could work out? are you or your friends doing business studies atm and could comment on its workload or cons? i appreciate the help

 

[Neogotmyback]

thank you for your replies and useful insights



i've been actually looking into business studies in the past few weeks, and i am now debating between it or eco. my idea is that since the best 10 units are picked, i don't really need to have a high demanding subject (such as eco),. tbh i can't say i am fully captivated by commerce, but i can trust myself to study it, however i dont really want the extra focus in year 11 (cos chem) and year 12 to be on them, and hence i feel like for me business could work out? are you or your friends doing business studies atm and could comment on its workload or cons? i appreciate the help

What I can say about business studies is that its workload is lighter than economics and the content is a little easier to understand. In economics you delve into topics like inflation, exchange rates, how the government manages interest rates, etc which can have more of a learning curve. I can also say that during prelim exams I was doing a 6 page essay at least every 2 days for weeks to achieve a solid grade. I am not sure about the necessary study for business studies, but I am quite sure it is not as intensive as econ. Of course, business studies will also scale lower than econ, and this can also give you an indicator as to how much work or time is needed to achieve well in these courses. My advice would be to check out the syllabus for each course and see what seems more interesting. (when looking at the syllabus, look for the 'students learn about' sections) You can also take a look at your schools past hsc and prelim assessment handbook and take a look at what kinds of tasks you would be doing.

 

[shoulfer]

Hi,

I am in year 10 and going to pick out my subjects. My idea of what I want to do after school is probs medicine, so I need a high ATAR. Here are my subjects :

- Ex1 Math / I am pretty good at math and maybe plan on doing x2
- Ex1 Eng / Not really that good at english, alright at it but doing Ex1 cause i hear it has no analysis of text
- Physics / Like it but I heard it is hard
- Chemistry Accelerated / I am good at this subject
- + 2 units needed.

I am still deciding on my 2 units more. Particularly, I have thought to do either Biology or Economics. My main concern is that, I am doing Accelerated Chem, and therefore I need enough time in year 11 to focus on my Y12 chem course. Personally, I am pretty good at science, but I am skeptical to choose Biology as I heard it has a lot of content, and hence it will drag too much time from studying for Chem. Despite that, I think I am at least decent at memorising concepts.

However for Eco, I am decent at Commerce, not overly good tho. However, I think that I am not as much captivated/interested in the subject as compared to Biology, but it will certainly have less stress for me in year 11 for studying Chemistry.


Overall, I would like to hear some opinions and remarks on my chosen and desired subjects, as well as what last subject would suit me.

bio is trash DO NOT pick it

 

[Susu123]

personally hate bio, but you might want to pick it, depending on what uni u want to go to (even though its NOT a prerequisite)
all i know is that western sydney uni and give u extra points if you get a band 6 (or a good mark) in a subject related to ur degree
like if you wanna do med, a good mark in bio can land you some extra points and you can get in.
and as @Neogotmyback said, economics is a humanity so defs more writing

 

[yolo tengo]

personally hate bio

thats cos u suck at writing long responses gentleman

 

[radish33]

Hi,

I am in year 10 and going to pick out my subjects. My idea of what I want to do after school is probs medicine, so I need a high ATAR. Here are my subjects :

- Ex1 Math / I am pretty good at math and maybe plan on doing x2
- Ex1 Eng / Not really that good at english, alright at it but doing Ex1 cause i hear it has no analysis of text
- Physics / Like it but I heard it is hard
- Chemistry Accelerated / I am good at this subject
- + 2 units needed.

I am still deciding on my 2 units more. Particularly, I have thought to do either Biology or Economics. My main concern is that, I am doing Accelerated Chem, and therefore I need enough time in year 11 to focus on my Y12 chem course. Personally, I am pretty good at science, but I am skeptical to choose Biology as I heard it has a lot of content, and hence it will drag too much time from studying for Chem. Despite that, I think I am at least decent at memorising concepts.

However for Eco, I am decent at Commerce, not overly good tho. However, I think that I am not as much captivated/interested in the subject as compared to Biology, but it will certainly have less stress for me in year 11 for studying Chemistry.


Overall, I would like to hear some opinions and remarks on my chosen and desired subjects, as well as what last subject would suit me.

Accelerated chem holy gl
Didn't do bio but from my friends yeah its pretty content heavy. They all seemed to get kinda used to it by yr12 but prolly wont be the best if you've gotta focus on chem next yr.

For eco, personally I really enjoy it. There's lots of good resources online (god knows we need it cuz Tim Riley textbook is ) and it builds on some intuitive knowledge. Thing is, the people who excel will put in the extra time and effort to keep up with economic events, stats, research in more depth and write up lots of essays and plans. Depending on your school and cohort, could be pretty competitive (not that bio isn't either).

If you're looking for a subject to not eat into your time, eco probably isn't it. Especially if you're not that interested in it. Maybe ask around to see what seniors think of those courses at your school tho.

 

[Susu123]

thats cos u suck at writing long responses gentleman

there long 9 mark questinos in physics too, i just hate the content

 

[yolo tengo]

there long 9 mark questinos in physics too, i just hate the content

just drop it and be free from the shackles

 

[sakinluvo]

Hi,

I am in year 10 and going to pick out my subjects. My idea of what I want to do after school is probs medicine, so I need a high ATAR. Here are my subjects :

- Ex1 Math / I am pretty good at math and maybe plan on doing x2
- Ex1 Eng / Not really that good at english, alright at it but doing Ex1 cause i hear it has no analysis of text
- Physics / Like it but I heard it is hard
- Chemistry Accelerated / I am good at this subject
- + 2 units needed.

I am still deciding on my 2 units more. Particularly, I have thought to do either Biology or Economics. My main concern is that, I am doing Accelerated Chem, and therefore I need enough time in year 11 to focus on my Y12 chem course. Personally, I am pretty good at science, but I am skeptical to choose Biology as I heard it has a lot of content, and hence it will drag too much time from studying for Chem. Despite that, I think I am at least decent at memorising concepts.

However for Eco, I am decent at Commerce, not overly good tho. However, I think that I am not as much captivated/interested in the subject as compared to Biology, but it will certainly have less stress for me in year 11 for studying Chemistry.


Overall, I would like to hear some opinions and remarks on my chosen and desired subjects, as well as what last subject would suit me.

Do bio so you can flex you do 3 sciences plus 2 extensions

 

[shoulfer]

Do bio so you can flex you do 3 sciences plus 2 extensions

I do triple science not really a flex just stupid subject choices back in year 10 and Im suffering for it now.

 

[Susu123]

just drop it and be free from the shackles

no

 

[katiekms]

I do triple science not really a flex just stupid subject choices back in year 10 and Im suffering for it now.

hey at least you get good scaling and whatever, like you could do so badly and it would turn into a really good mark not fair. nobody told me about that when i chose mine lol