Year 9 Student - How to go about VCE in future?

[Hannibal]

Hey. I'm pretty passionate about my education (As you can tell... Not many 9th Graders lurk on study forums) and am trying to piece together a plan for future years. Next year I have the option of doing a Unit 1&2 subject and was thinking about doing Biology? We can only do one and that is the only subject I am partially interested in. A+ in nearly all my previous maths and science assessments so I think this would be good to have a head start. The only issue is exposure as the only 'Biology' like subjects I have done are Forensic Science and Core Science.

These are the subjects I am thinking about doing for VCE:
English/Literature, Maths Methods, Further Maths, Biology and Chemistry/Physics.
Nothing is set in stone obviously!

A few questions that I have...
1. How difficult are Units 1&2 Biology?
2. Should I even be worrying about VCE now?
3. What can I do to have a head start against my peers? (Already watching some Khan Academy vids)


Thanks for your time folks, appreciated

[nerdmmb]

Hey. I'm pretty passionate about my education (As you can tell... Not many 9th Graders lurk on study forums) and am trying to piece together a plan for future years. Next year I have the option of doing a Unit 1&2 subject and was thinking about doing Biology? We can only do one and that is the only subject I am partially interested in. A+ in nearly all my previous maths and science assessments so I think this would be good to have a head start. The only issue is exposure as the only 'Biology' like subjects I have done are Forensic Science and Core Science.

These are the subjects I am thinking about doing for VCE:
English/Literature, Maths Methods, Further Maths, Biology and Chemistry/Physics.
Nothing is set in stone obviously!

A few questions that I have...
1. How difficult are Units 1&2 Biology?
2. Should I even be worrying about VCE now?
3. What can I do to have a head start against my peers? (Already watching some Khan Academy vids)


Thanks for your time folks, appreciated

WOW! Hannibal, it's great that you're prepared and clearly dedicated,  but don't stress yourself
Nothing is difficult especially 1&2 Bio- just put the effort it and you'll see the results. I honestly did not even know what VCE was in grade 9, I think what you should be worrying about now is consolidating your understanding of what's being taught now- you have a very long way to go
But one thing that I regret not doing in year 9 and its something i'd recommend is try doing more extracurricular activities, go ahead with the next year's math book and maybe even write more essays. But also try and enjoy yourself
Something else you could do is try finishing al your assignments before the deadline- this will help you a lot in the coming years.

Other than that, best of luck! You seem to be a committed student! Keep going and let me know if you need anything

[brenden]

Hey!
You should definitely take 1/2 Biology next year. Lack of exposure won't hinder you at all as the VCE courses start from the ground up . Definitely progress onto 3/4 Biol in Year 11.
If you like math, perhaps consider specialist math instead of further. Regardless that in particular isn't worth thinking about just now. Maybe start thinking about it halfway through year 10 .
1/2 Bio will be as difficult as you make it. It will be hard if you don't do any work, but it can feel easy if you work hard at it

As for question 2 - definitely not imo. Try to enjoy Year 9. From memory, year 9 is when your friendship groups will start to break and reform, people discover boyfriends and girlfriends (that last more than three weeks) and there's a whole lot of social change going on. Focus on being healthy and getting educated in a non-academic way.  If you want to do well in VCE, but Sony want to think about it too much (which I think you shouldn't bother doing) - start reading more novels for fun! And start researching stuff you're interested in on Wikipedia and stuff like that - not necessarily VCE. Just enjoy satisfying your inherent curiosity before you try to satisfy the curiosity that a VCE course tells you to have.

I wish I had your perspective in Year 9 (maybe just a little less :p). Good luck with it all!

[howlingwisdom]

Good to see that you are already so keen with your studies!

You should not be worrying about VCE at all yet! I think what you should be focusing on is developing good study habits (such as being more organised, revising ahead for tests etc) which will make your VCE career a lot more manageable and less hectic. You should also develop the confidence in being able to ask your teachers questions or even queries if you do not understand the work and perhaps undertake some independent study if you are still unaware about a topic.

Biology is a great subject to do (and finish in year 11) because it is content heavy, but should also give you practice in revising material regularly and is overall really interesting.

If you have any further queries, feel free to ask me or any other members!

[pi]

3. What can I do to have a head start against my peers?

Your mindset shouldn't be "against my peers", it should be "can I do some extra learning because I enjoy <topics x, y, z>".

Just some food for thought regarding mindsets. It's quite easy to become very competitive in VCE and not many people will like you for it, would hate to see you turn that way so early on in your academic life

[Hannibal]

Haha thanks mates, more extracurricular actives is definitely something I am working on, lots of debating and sport to do while I have the opportunity . Good to know that Biology 1&2 isn't too difficult, was going through the curriculum and it didn't look too challenging. Will try my best to not think about it too much, but it's hard not too as it's all quite exciting (Maybe by dreaming about it I went a tad far )

@Pi - Yeah, I'll be cautious with that, would hate to be a jerk .

Thanks for the encouragement, will let you folks know if something's up .

[IndefatigableLover]

Hey Hannibal it's great to see you on AN! I remember lurking around in Year 9 on AN a couple of years ago (good times :')

If you're definitely interested in Biology then I'd give it a shot and do 1&2! Nothing spurs you on when you're motivated to learn in a subject that you definitely want to do so I suggest you to undertake Biology!
Unfortunately I'm not doing Biology 1&2 this year (as I'll be skipping into 3&4) so I cannot offer my viewpoints there.

Your question about worrying about VCE now... well back when I was in Year 9 I think I worried about VCE a bit too much (a couple of threads were spawned when I was in Year 9 like this one [OFFTOPIC] HOW HARD IS SPESH -> Back when I was in yr9... ) so just go enjoy Year 9! Do some co-curriculars (like most have suggested) and so forth

EDIT: 500th post :DD

[Hannibal]

Hey Hannibal it's great to see you on AN! I remember lurking around in Year 9 on AN a couple of years ago (good times :')

If you're definitely interested in Biology then I'd give it a shot and do 1&2! Nothing spurs you on when you're motivated to learn in a subject that you definitely want to do so I suggest you to undertake Biology!
Unfortunately I'm not doing Biology 1&2 this year (as I'll be skipping into 3&4) so I cannot offer my viewpoints there.

Your question about worrying about VCE now... well back when I was in Year 9 I think I worried about VCE a bit too much (a couple of threads were spawned when I was in Year 9 like this one [OFFTOPIC] HOW HARD IS SPESH -> Back when I was in yr9... ) so just go enjoy Year 9! Do some co-curriculars (like most have suggested) and so forth

EDIT: 500th post :DD

Congratz! Give me a few years and I'm sure I'll hit 500 too .
Thanks for the advice, I'll try and have fun but still maintain studies

[HawthornM8]

Try do a 3/4 in year 10 and another in year 11. If you screw up the year 10 3/4 due to lack of exposure to the VCE, you can always pick up another 5th.

[Hannibal]

Try do a 3/4 in year 10 and another in year 11. If you screw up the year 10 3/4 due to lack of exposure to the VCE, you can always pick up another 5th.

I wasn't aware you could do a 3/4 in Year 10? In my school booklet it says we are only allowed to do a 1/2 subject and there are only a few to select from.

[IndefatigableLover]

I wasn't aware you could do a 3/4 in Year 10? In my school booklet it says we are only allowed to do a 1/2 subject and there are only a few to select from.

Some schools can allow you to do a 3&4 in Year 10 (you might want to speak to your coordinators and teachers about it though) but you can certainly undertake a 3&4 in Year 10 (most of my friends took up Chinese 3&4 in Year 10 outside of school like at Xin Jin Shan).

[Hannibal]

Some schools can allow you to do a 3&4 in Year 10 (you might want to speak to your coordinators and teachers about it though) but you can certainly undertake a 3&4 in Year 10 (most of my friends took up Chinese 3&4 in Year 10 outside of school like at Xin Jin Shan).

That makes sense. Don't think I would be capable of this however, so I think I'll stick with the 1&2. The course I am trying to get into is Engineering at Monash, which requires 91(ish) and doing well in English + Methods so it isn't SUPER hard to reach .

[walkec]

Whilst it's good to be eager for VCE, it's equally as important to keep things in perspective.
My coordinator at school keeps telling us that VCE is a marathon, not a race. Even though it's good to think ahead, you should not be wishing to skip so far ahead because you will probably eventually burn out.

My advice is to definitely do a 1/2 in year 10 and then do a 3/4 in year 11 (or even try and do two 3/4s in year 11 if your school allows it). Studying a subject a year early is invaluable experience and helps you to work out how to study best and can give you a good motivation boost into your final year.

In terms of this year for you in year 9, I would advise you to enjoy it. I miss the simplicity of the younger years at high school, and you probably don't think they're so significant now but they can be (and should be a lot of fun). As others mentioned, throw yourself into extra programs at school like debating, sport or music. Or maybe even volunteer outside of school, volunteering is a great way to give yourself some new found wisdom and perspective.

Like others, I barely understood how VCE worked in year 9. Just focus on creating yourself as a person instead of thinking about the years ahead of the VCE. Even though VCE is a lot of work, it is a very small part of our lives overall. And it shouldn't all be about studying either, hence why it's important to establish hobbies now to carry you through your later years when things get stressful.

Overall, just enjoy yourself. For me, year 9 onwards went incredibly quickly and I don't think I really appreciated it. And I now regret not just appreciating small things and meeting people and going places and well, just being a 15 year old.

[Hannibal]

Whilst it's good to be eager for VCE, it's equally as important to keep things in perspective.
My coordinator at school keeps telling us that VCE is a marathon, not a race. Even though it's good to think ahead, you should not be wishing to skip so far ahead because you will probably eventually burn out.

My advice is to definitely do a 1/2 in year 10 and then do a 3/4 in year 11 (or even try and do two 3/4s in year 11 if your school allows it). Studying a subject a year early is invaluable experience and helps you to work out how to study best and can give you a good motivation boost into your final year.

In terms of this year for you in year 9, I would advise you to enjoy it. I miss the simplicity of the younger years at high school, and you probably don't think they're so significant now but they can be (and should be a lot of fun). As others mentioned, throw yourself into extra programs at school like debating, sport or music. Or maybe even volunteer outside of school, volunteering is a great way to give yourself some new found wisdom and perspective.

Like others, I barely understood how VCE worked in year 9. Just focus on creating yourself as a person instead of thinking about the years ahead of the VCE. Even though VCE is a lot of work, it is a very small part of our lives overall. And it shouldn't all be about studying either, hence why it's important to establish hobbies now to carry you through your later years when things get stressful.

Overall, just enjoy yourself. For me, year 9 onwards went incredibly quickly and I don't think I really appreciated it. And I now regret not just appreciating small things and meeting people and going places and well, just being a 15 year old.

Thanks for your insight, will try to avoid being burnt out as that's a terrible situation to be in.

[~V]

As many have said, don't worry too much about VCE. Even if you are in year 10, i wouldn't worry about it let alone the start of year 9! Do enjoy getting 90s without studying because that won't happen in VCE. From year 9 onwards, the days go by quick. It felt as though year 9 wasn't long ago for me but it was 3 years! I say have fun. You can't take back time so make the most out of it. As cliche as it sounds join clubs, sports and find new hobbies and go to heaps of parties. I'm not saying don't study at all and slack off but in year 9, you should be studying 50% of the time max. You seem like a keen, hardworking and intelligent student anyway so your grades should be fine. As for biology, only unit 1 is important, just do questions and make notes that you understand. Apparently the only thing in unit 2 that you need for 3/4 is homeostasis. Enjoy year 9 lyf!
Edit: 100th post