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March 28, 2024, 10:47:19 pm

Author Topic: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)  (Read 2157 times)  Share 

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JR_StudyEd

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**I study only Mathematical Methods Unit 3&4, and my opinion on VCE Maths will be based on this alone**

Food for thought. Methods is, (in my lousy opinion anyway) far from a cakewalk. It's only going to get harder (whether you're in 1&2 or 3&4), and it requires such a commitment and dedication to do average in, let alone "well" in. My question, for the purpose of discussion, is why did you choose the math(s) subjects that you now study in VCE. I think that reminding yourself of why you're studying a particular maths subject(s) is a good way to help you through the VCE year. It may also help future students choose the subjects for the right reasons. (Not just cause Spesh and Methods "scale up", okay?! None of that hopefully...)

Feel free to contribute!! (especially those studying other Maths subjects)

EDIT: I guess I'll expand on my reasons that I chose Methods only and not dare I say, Specialist or Further. In Year 10, I was in one of two classes that completed what I would describe as a more "advanced" or "extended" level of maths (A.K.A Pre-Methods) compared to the rest of the cohort who were doing a level of maths more in line with General and Further in subsequent years. It stressed me out majorly, no doubt, because it was the first time that I found out that I actually had to devote "time" and "effort" to completing maths questions in class and at home. For lack of a better term, they spoon-fed us through Year 7-9 Maths.. A bit later on in Year 10, at subject selection, I had a chat with my teacher regarding whether I should continue with Methods in Year 11. They said I was capable, so I followed her advice.

I guess the additional question for me is, Why haven't I dropped Methods given its difficulty, future application (or close to lack thereof), my relative weakness in the subject (I'm not an extremely Mathsy person, but I like science) and that I have been given many chances to drop out? Well, in addition to constantly reminding myself when times got tough that I was indeed capable if I really applied and dedicated myself a little more, I found that Methods is a prereq for courses like Science @ Melb. So, in summary, my decision to choose Methods was based on my mathematical capability and my decision to keep going with it was based on an acknowledgement of how it helped me with critical thinking and university prerequisites.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 06:06:21 pm by JR_StudyEd »
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Lear

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2019, 05:52:44 pm »
+1
I think many many people do Methods due to it being a prerequisite for a lot of courses.

Further for me was just a subject that was low maintenance yet could boost my ATAR.
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Quantum44

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2019, 06:29:12 pm »
+2
For me, maths was always one of my strongest subjects, so it made sense to study methods, especially since it is a vital prerequisite. I also studied spesh because I felt I was good enough to extend myself. Obviously the scaling is also a very nice bonus. In the end I was very thankful I made the decision to challenge myself as I found the methods content fairly simple. Spesh was quite tough at times, but I worked through it and in the end it became one of my favourite VCE subjects.

I think it can be a bit daunting choosing a difficult subject like spesh, but in my opinion you are far better off challenging yourself rather than choosing a subject that is too easy and becoming bored. One of the nice things about doing spesh is that silly mistakes aren’t as costly compared to other subjects, which is quite refreshing. You don’t need to be perfect to obtain a very high score (and you can also get scaled scores above 50).
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EllingtonFeint

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2019, 08:01:12 pm »
+3
*deadpans*: I was psychologically manipulated by the principal of my school.
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smamsmo22

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2019, 09:14:58 pm »
+2
FYI- I did methods. I'm not a "mathy" person.

Why I chose to do methods
- It was a prerequisite for a few of the courses I was considering
- While I wasn't ever top of the class or looked upon as some maths wiz (and definitely did not approach maths classes with great enthusiasm), I generally did pretty well in maths.
- At the very least, I guess having a subject that scales up is better than having a subject than a subject that scales down? :P

Why I chose not to do spesh or further
- Ultimately, I'm not a maths person and the idea of having 2/5 of my year 12 subjects being maths based would likely have driven me crazy, regardless of results
- While I had been told by past teachers that spesh was achievable for me, I honestly think it would've been too hard. Put simply.
- Further put me off because of a) how competitive it is and b) how the expectation is often getting ~100% on exams in order to get be in contention for a high study score and I have a tendency to make simple errors (particularly in maths) very, very often.
2018 - VCE - ATAR: 99.75 [English, Chemistry, Methods, French, PE, Bio]
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juicethelemon

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2019, 09:35:40 pm »
0
Methods: To be quite honest to me i think if you are trying to pursue in any type of science course Methods and Chemistry is like the power couple of prerequisites to get you into your course. I did it to be stable and reassured that I can get into any course given that I get the ATAR and study score. Alot of commitment is needed to Methods. And If you arent a "mathsy" person, like me, you are going to find this quite strenuous and a bore. Literally the only subject that brought my ATAR down but at the end of the day I needed it. If you don't need it or like it, don't do it.

Further: Wow Didn't I just say I wasn't a mathsy person? Took this subject as a bludge because you know basic maths, easy as ABC. This is literally the worst mindset you can ever have, because it just makes the subject boring and you begin to lack off. Also everyone finds this easy not just you so you do have to work hard to fight for every mark which I dont know whats more annoying having to think so hard to come close to an answer like methods or having the pressure that you must get the answer in order to keep up with the top dogs? Dont let this subject fool you

Specialist: I'm not crazy
« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 09:37:11 pm by juicethelemon »

Sine

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2019, 12:51:10 am »
0
My "reasoning" for doing spec and methods was quite similar to quantum's. I don't think I thought too much about it and it just made sense to do both of them. In addition to this I did also consider doing uni maths at UoM or monash as a way of extension since a lot of the concepts are following on from spec stuff but I ended up not doing this for no other reason but I chose to do uni extension chemistry.

EDIT: Also did consider further as a lot of people told me it would be quite easy to score in with minimal effort. However, only 2 maths are allowed in the top 4 so it would've been quite redundant

« Last Edit: February 20, 2019, 01:10:02 am by Sine »

pepper77

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2019, 10:01:41 am »
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I chose Methods and Specialist for the same reason I chose all of my other subjects: fun :) . I'm not a maths genius, I was just curious and wanted to try some more challenging topics. I considered doing Further, but ultimately didn't because I've heard that you have to be perfect to get a high score (I tend to make silly mistakes ;)).

K888

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2019, 10:13:40 am »
+2
I did methods because it was more the sort of maths I liked doing - I thought I would find further a bit unstimulating. I wanted to do a maths in year 12 so it made sense to do methods. Plus, it was also handy as it was a pre-req for a few things (although I didn't end up needing it).

In hindsight, I found methods difficult but I'm happy I did it. I've found the probability/statistics part we did to be helpful in me understanding statistics at uni so it paid off. I haven't had a huge use for the other stuff tbh though haha. It wasn't my favourite subject at all but I had some fun times in my classes with my friends so I'm happy I chose it.

Macrophagee

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Re: Why did you choose to study maths in VCE? (Further, Methods, Specialist)
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2019, 06:37:36 pm »
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Hey 3 maths person here ;D

Further: didn't want to choose it due to competitiveness at the top end and my tendancy to make many,many stupid mistakes, but  my school requires all students to complete further either in year 11 or 12, so I just did it last year.
Methods: prerequisites
Spesh: its interesting although I think I failed my test today