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Am I making a mistake? (1 Viewer)

ReyesDaRoof

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So I have chosen English Extension for next year but recently I've had my maths teacher and the maths co-ordinator hassle me to choose maths extension instead. I enjoy English and do receive As for it but I am rank 1 for maths, hence them wanting me to do maths extension. The school also doesn't let you do both extensions because religion is compulsory (Catholic school).

So, in short, am I making a mistake in choosing english extension over maths extension?
(I don't know if this helps but I'm aiming for a reasonably high ATAR 96+)
 

braintic

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So I have chosen English Extension for next year but recently I've had my maths teacher and the maths co-ordinator hassle me to choose maths extension instead. I enjoy English and do receive As for it but I am rank 1 for maths, hence them wanting me to do maths extension. The school also doesn't let you do both extensions because religion is compulsory (Catholic school).

So, in short, am I making a mistake in choosing english extension over maths extension?
(I don't know if this helps but I'm aiming for a reasonably high ATAR 96+)
Some stats based on the 2011 HSC:

To get an ATAR of 98 (I don't have stats for 96) you needed a average scaled mark of 43.2/50 for each unit.
To get this mark in Ext 1 English, you needed to be in the top 13% of the state.
To get 43.2 in Ext 1 Maths, you only needed to be in the top 34% of the state.
Given that you are first in maths, you should be able to get a result well above this 43.2, giving you plenty leeway for poorer results in other subjects.
If you were in the top 17% of the state in 2011 for Ext 1 maths, you got a scaled mark of 45.6 - an aggregate of 456 got you an ATAR of 99.5. You needed to come in the top 5% in English Ext 1 to get 45.6.

Actually, if you are first in maths and your other subjects are also pretty good, I think you should be aiming a lot higher than 96.
 
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ReyesDaRoof

New Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2013
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South-West Sydney
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Male
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2015
Some stats based on the 2011 HSC:

To get an ATAR of 98 (I don't have stats for 96) you needed a average scaled mark of 43.2/50 for each unit.
To get this mark in Ext 1 English, you needed to be in the top 13% of the state.
To get 43.2 in Ext 1 Maths, you only needed to be in the top 34% of the state.
Given that you are first in maths, you should be able to get a result well above this 43.2, giving you plenty leeway for poorer results in other subjects.
If you were in the top 17% of the state in 2011 for Ext 1 maths, you got a scaled mark of 45.6 - an aggregate of 456 got you an ATAR of 99.5. You needed to come in the top 5% in English Ext 1 to get 45.6.

Actually, if you are first in maths and your other subjects are also pretty good, I think you should be aiming a lot higher than 96.
Thank you for the extensive feedback and will definitely consider it. Also you don't happen to have the stats for visual arts as I am also quite apprehensive about this subject, where I've heard it doesn't scale well (currently 1st in class)?
 

braintic

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Thank you for the extensive feedback and will definitely consider it. Also you don't happen to have the stats for visual arts as I am also quite apprehensive about this subject, where I've heard it doesn't scale well (currently 1st in class)?
To get 43.2 in VA (for an ATAR of 98) you needed to be in the top 4% of the state.
To get 45.6 (for an ATAR of 99.5) you needed to be in the top 1%.
 

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