year 11 subject selection

[alexthenerd]

hey guys, i was just wondering if anyone could give me their opinions on the subjects i am thinking of doing next year (especially on whether or not i should do music performance and drama).

what i have so far:
- english language
- methods
- chemistry
- biology 3/4 (i did 1/2 in year 10)
- drama
- music performance


i am certain that i wanna do the first four subjects, the only ones im not sure about are drama and music performance.
im not sure about drama as my school is only offering it for the first time next year and i have nobody to ask about how they found the course. im also not quite sure whether i'll find it too hard. i have done all the previous drama electives throughout middle school and really enjoyed them. i was also quite good at them. i just want to be sure that im choosing the right thing.
im uncertain about music performance because i dont know if i have the capability to do well. i am a singer and i have been singing (taking lessons) for three years now. i have been singing mainly classical and musical theatre. i have never done an AMEB exam so i have no clue what grade i would be in. i just want to do well and im not sure if im up to it.

subjects i'd do instead of music and drama:
- accounting
- business management
- psychology
- legal studies

i was just wondering what some of y'all think and recommend. should i change from what i've already listed? it'd be especially helpful if anyone who has done or is doing music performance or drama could share their experience but i will also appreciate advice from anyone.

thanks!

[jborn007]

hey guys, i was just wondering if anyone could give me their opinions on the subjects i am thinking of doing next year (especially on whether or not i should do music performance and drama).

what i have so far:
- english language
- methods
- chemistry
- biology 3/4 (i did 1/2 in year 10)
- drama
- music performance


i am certain that i wanna do the first four subjects, the only ones im not sure about are drama and music performance.
im not sure about drama as my school is only offering it for the first time next year and i have nobody to ask about how they found the course. im also not quite sure whether i'll find it too hard. i have done all the previous drama electives throughout middle school and really enjoyed them. i was also quite good at them. i just want to be sure that im choosing the right thing.
im uncertain about music performance because i dont know if i have the capability to do well. i am a singer and i have been singing (taking lessons) for three years now. i have been singing mainly classical and musical theatre. i have never done an AMEB exam so i have no clue what grade i would be in. i just want to do well and im not sure if im up to it.

subjects i'd do instead of music and drama:
- accounting
- business management
- psychology
- legal studies

i was just wondering what some of y'all think and recommend. should i change from what i've already listed? it'd be especially helpful if anyone who has done or is doing music performance or drama could share their experience but i will also appreciate advice from anyone.

thanks!

I can't say about drama and music performance, since i haven't experienced them personally in VCE level, but I can definitely say about accounting, bus man, and legal studies. I personally enjoyed those subjects, and from accounting, bus man, and legal studies, I found that the content you learn about, are really applicable in the real world, and I thought those subject really gave an insight of how common businesses work and operate, and what are there marketing strategies and tactics, and how they prepare financial reports to aid decision-making, for example. In fact, the content that you will study in those subjects can been seen daily in local businesses.
Along with those reasons, and the fact that accounting gives me opportunities to prepare a range of a financial reports and it's theory content is kind of similar to bus man (from what I've covered this year, there was a whole chapter dedicated to the role of accounting and small businesses), I liked accounting even more, and thereforeI'm planning to undertake it as a 3/4 next year.
But overall, I'll definitely recommend those subjects if you want to change drama or music performance.
To be more detailed, if you are really interested in law, and the legal system eg. the different types of courts, and the process of passing a bill etc., then Legal Studies is definitely a subject to go with. If you want to learn a lot about a business in general, then Bus Man is definitely a subject to go with.

[lm21074]

Hey Alex!
I haven't done either subjects you are uncertain about choosing, but I'll try and offer you some advice.
I think you should pick your subjects based on what you enjoy, what you think you're good at, and pre-requisites for further study
You've said you enjoy Drama and have done quite well in it in the past, so it may be a nice choice. You could always drop it and pick up another subject if you decide that you don't like it, and the same goes for Music Performance.
Drama and Music Performance would give you a break from the more "academic" subjects. As for Music Performance, the music study design states that "at least four to five years’ experience in learning an instrument/s is recommended before commencing VCE Music Performance ", so perhaps look through the study design to get an overview of the content, and ask your singing teacher or the teacher who runs the subject if they'd recommend you doing it, because we don't know how ready you are!
If you plan on taking Music Performance as a 3/4 once you do the 1/2, maybe take a listen to some of the prescribed pieces (can be found on this page) to measure their difficulty next to the difficulty of the pieces you sing.


Good luck!

[AngelWings]

So I'll put the disclaimer here outright: I didn't do many of these subjects. What I can say though, is that if you enjoyed these subjects, I think you should give them a go next year, even if you are the first to do it. As far as I understand the situation, you'll be in Year 11 in 2019, which still allows you to change subjects and is still more or less a trial for the real deal (Year 12).

Here's my checklist for picking subjects and I'll run through them according to your situation:
1. Pick subjects according to the things you love. This seems to be the case in both Music and Drama.
2. Pick subjects you need as a pre-requisite. In this case, use VTAC Course Search to pick out courses that you'd like to take after Year 12 ends and see what's necessary for what you want to do. (By the way, what's your career intentions after VCE?) You can take a shorter route if you know exactly what you want to do after VCE and have completed all the pre-reqs. Music and Drama aren't the pre-reqs for anything as far as I'm aware.3. This is separated because it should only be used as a last resort and is the tie breaker in super difficult scenarios. Pick subjects according to what you think you'll do well in. In your case, you're worried about this, but if Point #1 already declared Music and Drama as winners, then you know what to pick here. If not, we should consider your other options according to this same checklist.

Out of those other subjects, I can only speak for Psych, however, I would advise that you do not pick subjects purely on what other people thought of them. Your experiences will differ from theirs. So instead, I'd advise that you check up the study designs for these subjects and see if you like what they say. Hopefully that will help you to make a decision. If all else fails, please talk to your VCE coordinator, teachers, parents, friends and perhaps come back with the new information you've found to help make a new, more informed decision.

Note: Lm21074 posted as I was typing. I agree with the points they made and I've pretty much just fleshed out their ideas, so I'll leave this here anyway.

[J_Rho]

x

Busman