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March 29, 2024, 03:48:30 pm

Author Topic: Specialist Maths or Further Maths?  (Read 4041 times)  Share 

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William1103

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Specialist Maths or Further Maths?
« on: September 03, 2017, 12:12:36 pm »
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I'm stuck in the dilemma of choosing between specialist maths or further maths. Considering I will be doing math methods and that I don't need specialist maths for the course I want to do in Uni, should I take further instead? Is Further considered to be easier and less strenuous than Spesh?
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MightyBeh

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Re: Specialist Maths or Further Maths?
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2017, 02:14:00 pm »
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I would argue that you'd probably get similar scores in either - specialist is harder but the scaling makes up for it. Further is much more practical for most people - the content is less complex and is easily applicable to your life. The catch is that because of this it's very competitive. Something else to think about is how bored you'll be - further was a nightmare for me because I was always ahead. On the other hand, specialist was the opposite because I had to work pretty hard.

Using myself as an example, my raw specialist score was a lot lower than my raw further score, but after scaling specialist score was better. That being said, I feel that if you have to ask that specialist is for you simply because you're even considering it.
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Aaron

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Re: Specialist Maths or Further Maths?
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2017, 02:19:58 pm »
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I pretty much agree with everything that MightyBeh has said, however I will just add one thing:

I think that there is a distinction between Further and Methods, not due to the difficulty, but due to the practicality and relevance. It's my personal view that those who do Methods or Specialist should not choose further. I think that Further is targeted to a specific audience - those who still want some sort of maths in their VCE but not one that has such significant demands (e.g. methods/spec).

If you are capable of doing specialist, I think you should go down this path. If you are considering Further, look ahead and ask yourself what your motivations are for doing Further over Specialist (and whether they are the right ones).
« Last Edit: September 03, 2017, 02:21:46 pm by Aaron »
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Sine

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Re: Specialist Maths or Further Maths?
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2017, 02:21:27 pm »
+5
I'm stuck in the dilemma of choosing between specialist maths or further maths. Considering I will be doing math methods and that I don't need specialist maths for the course I want to do in Uni, should I take further instead? Is Further considered to be easier and less strenuous than Spesh?
If you are considering spesh I'd say do spesh. Considering Further is ridiculously boring (opinion) , given you are finding methods okay :)

As mightybeh said you'll probably score the same if not better in spec. Remember something like a 35 in spec (which is achievable with some work) is basically equivalent to a 47 in further.

MightyBeh

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Re: Specialist Maths or Further Maths?
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2017, 03:56:19 pm »
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Sounds like a reasonable decision to me :)

If you mean less work as in 'guess everything', specialist. Even <30 scores scale up to a respectable number. If you mean 'only do the work in class', I would still opt for specialist for the same reason. Past that it probably is around the same raw score (so spesh still comes out on top) and a matter of preference as to which you choose. For further you have to do very well to get above the higher 30s simply because there are people who take it because it is an 'easier' class - year 11s looking to get ahead, or others who do the other maths and already have a very strong foundation, or even some that only do further but work hard. You're almost always going to do better with specialist - there's a very strong high-end cohort, but the low-mid isn't as competitive because a lot of people are scared away from spesh because it's 'the hard maths'. The only reason I would consider further over specialist at all is you find the content more interesting, or relevant to your life.

For your edit: Specialist, hands down. 35 is very achievable.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2017, 03:59:51 pm by MightyBeh »
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Sine

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Re: Specialist Maths or Further Maths?
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2017, 04:26:03 pm »
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Thank you everyone for your advice!  :D
My plan now is to do specialist 1/2 in year 11 and if i find it too stressful or difficult, I will drop it and do further in year 12 instead. I wouldn't want to burden myself with specialist mathematics if its not a prerequisite for my uni course.

Edit: Questions
 1) Out of the two subjects, which one could i get a higher score in were i to put in less work?
 2) Let's just say I was aiming for a 35 raw in specialist or a 47 raw in further, which one would be more achievable?
imo a 35 in spec can be guranteed if you are of decent intelligence LOL and actually try during the year.  :)
a 47 in further is less stable imo and a bad exam day could mean you end scoring lower.

Willba99

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Re: Specialist Maths or Further Maths?
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2017, 05:07:36 pm »
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As someone who was faced with the same choice at the start of year 12, I can totally agree with what everyone here is saying. Not only is specialist more interesting, you get the added benefit of +10-11 scaling and the satisfaction of accomplishing something difficult. Also, i think some Unis might give credit/bonus points for certain courses if you've done specialist
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