I’m not sure about how to arrange my subjects:

[Jinju-san]

Heyo guys!
I hope everyone’s holidays are going well!

This year I am going into year 12 and I will be doing Spec, Methods, English and Chem.
I completed bio and further last year and performed okay in both (low forties if I am looking at the scaled scores).
I was wondering about how I should arrange my top four subjects, specifically where I should put spec… Both my sisters have completed it and they both said I should put it into my bottom two subjects (10% increment only) so that if I end up screwing up/not doing so well in it (because it is such an advanced subject), it won’t drag my ATAR down… But I feel like for a subject that is very advanced and requires so much effort (not to mention how much it scales), it seems against the point to put it in my bottom two…

I really enjoy maths as a subject and I know I am capable of doing really well when I put a lot of effort into it (I did unit 1/2methods this year and I was in the top 5 in my class). But I am just not sure about what would be the smartest thing to do here…

If anyone who has done spec before has any advice regarding this, that would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

[Sine]

Everyone is different (even siblings) so just because you sisters found it difficult doesn't necessarily mean you won't be able to do well in the subject. Enjoying maths and having the motivation to work hard this year are probably some of the best traits for completing Specialist Maths.

If you are doing 4 subjects you probably have the time to put your best effort into all of them. Doing really well in specialist can really improve one's ATAR given you can make a few mistakes on the exam and still walk away with a tremendous scaled score (assuming that person hasn't just chosen the subject for scaling).

[Jinju-san]

Everyone is different (even siblings) so just because you sisters found it difficult doesn't necessarily mean you won't be able to do well in the subject. Enjoying maths and having the motivation to work hard this year are probably some of the best traits for completing Specialist Maths.

If you are doing 4 subjects you probably have the time to put your best effort into all of them. Doing really well in specialist can really improve one's ATAR given you can make a few mistakes on the exam and still walk away with a tremendous scaled score (assuming that person hasn't just chosen the subject for scaling).

Thank you so much Sine!
Yep, I reckon I should probably play to my strengths, I will see how everything goes for now while studying the content… But I reckon I will end up putting it into the top four..

Thanks again Sine!

[Joseph41]

Possibly not quite the response you were looking for, and I might have misinterpreted the question, but personally I'd advise against allocating your subjects into top four/bottom two - especially at this early stage.

In my view, it's very difficult to predict how you will ultimately perform in each subject, particularly when you factor in the unknowns of other students, scaling etc. As such, my personal preference is to approach subjects in a fairly balanced manner. What are your thoughts?

[Jinju-san]

Possibly not quite the response you were looking for, and I might have misinterpreted the question, but personally I'd advise against allocating your subjects into top four/bottom two - especially at this early stage.

In my view, it's very difficult to predict how you will ultimately perform in each subject, particularly when you factor in the unknowns of other students, scaling etc. As such, my personal preference is to approach subjects in a fairly balanced manner. What are your thoughts?

Yeah, I agree with that as well.. It seems a bit obsessive and unnecessary to worry about something like that at this stage, especially since I don’t know how hard/easy my school will make the sacs and assessments for any of my subjects…
I think I’ll just see how I go with everything for now, but I am really hoping to do well in my maths subjects this year!

Thanks Joseph41!