Hello, I am just posting to ask for advice from individuals who have gone through their hsc already/are going through it.
My subjects are as follows: advanced English, extension English 1, extension English 2, continuers chinese, chinese extension, modern history, ancient history & society and culture.
Unit total: 13
I am thinking of dropping modern, my weakest subject and taking up extension history, leaving me with 12 units.
That means 3 majors, one for extension 2 English, one for society & culture and one for extension history.
I topped advanced English, extension English, chinese continuers and society and culture last year (last term) with averages of 95%-98%.
I am an independent learner and self-motivated.
Do you feel it is best for me to keep 13 units and 3 extensions or drop down to 12 units with 4 extensions?
(My average in ancient was 97% but I am ranked second btw!)
Please let me know what you think!
Thank you
Hey there,
As someone who's experienced with 13 units and 2 major works, 3 majors and 4 extension classes would be too much. I spent half of the year doing 2 extension classes and I found it difficult to keep up so I dropped down to 2U math. If they were more practical based majors (like art, graphics, drama), then maybe because they can be therapeutic. But since the majors you'll be doing are heavily based on writing and researching, it would be really difficult to try and manage all of them.
2 majors was manageable because during the 2 hours of major work sessions I had at school, I could easily divide my time. You need to remember that with SAC and History Extension, you need to do intense research. Like, digging through the State Library, interviewing people, making sure you're submitting your work on time. Even though I completed parts of my Major Works early, I still had this lingering paranoia that I was behind or I didn't do something right. Again, still doable to do 2 majors because I know a lot of people who did 4U English/SAC or 4U English/History Extension or History Extension/SAC.
Now throw in your study time into the mix. When I was doing 13 units, I spent so much time doing math and I didn't have time to submit practice essays for English or Modern. I stayed up until 12 so I could write a practice essay for History Extension because you're supposed to take up the information you're given and come up with your own ideas- something I (or anything in my class) was used to. Not only that, I wanted to maintain my rank and marks so that was even more stressful (if you dig back to my HSC journal from the beginning of the year, I talked about how I've cried myself to asleep on many occasions because of this). I didn't want to go out on the weekends with my family because I was stressed I wasn't able to keep up.
I wasn't in the best place at the beginning of the year until I dropped Extension Math. I found myself having more time to invest in my Major Works. Not only that, I slept before 12! I found myself having more energy to actually do more extra-curricular activities (which have helped me with building up my scholarship applications). Even my math teacher said that dropping to 12 units is a wise decision so I can focus on bringing up my marks in math and physics.
TL;DR: 3 majors (especially essay-based majors) and 4 extensions is too much. 2 essay-based majors is doable.
Hope this helps!