When I was in Year 10, I entered a crisis. Before Term 4 started, I had to pick six senior subjects. These would define how I spent the next two years of my life, the teachers I had, the final ATAR I got, and what uni pathways were immediately available to me upon graduation. (Remember: with enough time, you truly can study whatever you’d like at uni, regardless of subjects, ATARs, etc. Thank you, bridging courses!)
It was a stressful situation, and I felt like the world was on my shoulders a bit. I didn’t want to pick the “wrong” subjects. I wanted to get a good final mark, but I also didn’t want to get bored or miss out on enjoying my senior years.
So, how do we navigate picking these subjects? Is there a way to get it right?
1. Start with where you are going!
You don’t need to have your whole life planned out in Year 10 when picking these subjects, but it is helpful to have some direction - even if that’s just knowing what you don’t want to do.
Consider:
- Uni prerequisites (typically specific maths and science subjects)
- Career areas you are considering
Subject choices make more sense when they are tied to a destination, even if it’s a flexible one.
2. Balance strengths, interests, and scaling - not just one of them
Students will often focus on one factor:
- Picking only “easy” subjects
- Picking only subjects they like
- Picking only high-scaling subjects
Being a slightly anxious student, I tended towards the last one - but piling up hard-hitting scaling subjects, even though my desired university course did not require them, would have been a recipe for disaster.
A smarter approach is to have a mix: focus on subjects you need for career or uni pathways, include some you genuinely enjoy and are passionate about, and maybe add one or two that scale well if you don’t already have those covered.
The subjects you enjoy are actually a secret weapon for strong performance over those two senior years. They support sustainable study habits, prevent burnout, and are often the subjects where you achieve consistently strong grades.
3. Be realistic about your current ability and work ethic
A common mistake occurs when students make choices based purely on aspiration, with little consideration for their current skills.
Often, this looks like picking the hardest maths without the right foundation, or filling your timetable with sciences even though they are highly time-intensive subjects.
This is my number one tip amid all the commentary on this topic:
It is better to do well in a slightly less advanced subject than to struggle through a harder one while burning time and energy.
4. Get specific advice, but take it with a grain of salt
Every student’s circumstances are different, and no article in the world can perfectly cater to every situation.
Good sources of advice include:
- Teachers who understand your abilities
- Career advisors with strong knowledge of prerequisites
- Older students with real-life experience
Of course, parents and peers can also offer helpful perspectives, but remember that all advice comes with some level of bias. Use advice as an input, not your final decision.
5. Keep doors open, but don’t overload yourself
It’s smart to keep a prerequisite subject in the mix (for me, that was Biology), but overloading yourself with too many demanding subjects can backfire.
Try to get a sense of:
- What assessments look like in different subjects
- How much content you’ll need to retain
- What past students found challenging
This kind of hands-on information is incredibly valuable when making informed decisions and avoiding subjects that may leave you out of your depth.
A balanced set of subjects will usually lead to better results, and better results give you more options in the long run.
(And if you’re interested, these are the subjects I ended up with: English, Literature, Drama, Modern History, Biology, and General Maths.)
Happy studying!
