Navigating subject selection in year 10

Navigating subject selection in year 10 Navigating subject selection in year 10Posted May 5, 2014, by Julia Watters Its decision time. For careers advisers, that means floods of students who have been passively listening to your advice for the past few years suddenly at your office door begging for answers. I speak from experience after working for a university and travelling the careers market circuit for over two years (some of you may even remember me). Ive seen the spectrum of students those who have had a plan since year 7, those who have an idea but need some mora information and those who dont have a clue. So let me help you out with some insights I have learnt over the years. Here is my survival guide for Year 10 students choosing their year 11/12 subjects. What subjects do you like? This is the main question every Year 10 student should ask themselves. Your careers adviser has no doubt already told you that you should always choose subjects that you enjoy, as theyre the on es youre likely to do well in. If youve been studying subjects you love, and getting good marks, do you really want to throw that all in because you think other subjects might give you a better ranking and lead to greater university options? Dont go down the path of purely choosing what to study based on outside influencers, as this can be a risky move that has the potential to backfire. You have a greater chance of succeeding by following your passions. And remember, achieving an ATAR and going to uni isnt for everybody so dont force yourself into a study path just because you think is the norm. Why is this so important? Like a lot of people, I didnt know what I wanted to do when I was at school. Even towards the end of year 12 (eeek). When I was in year 10, I chose subjects purely based on what interested me at the time. I did, however, throw a maths unit in there for good meakoranvers as I thought it would better my options. Luckily for me, I was able to drop it from my subject l ist when it became clear that maths just wasnt my forte not even in the slightest. In the end, the subjects I had chosen because they interested me did result in a high ATAR (well, UAI in my day) ranking and I had no troubles getting into the university course of my choice. Think about your subject selection as a whole While its important to choose subjects youre passionate about, you should also consider how they work together as a whole. If youre more of a creative type, studying visual arts and design and technology might seem like a good idea. But are you ready to commit yourself to two major works? Remember to also take into consideration any state or territory, or school, subject requirements you might have to abide by. For example, in New South Wales you are required to complete two English components are part of the Higher School Certificate. If you attend a religious school, then it is possible that you may have to include religious education in your pre-tertiary subject l oad. Some schools also offer the International Baccalaureate as an alternative to the more traditional Higher School Certificate or equivalent, so ensure you get the right information for your chosen mode of study. Your school counsellor or careers advisor should be well versed in all the options available through your school so are always a good resource to use. Go VET Fortunately more schools are recognising that some students just arent cut out for theory based learning and perform better with practical study such as vocational education. If youre interested in a practical vocation then this is particularly important as you can start your VET coursework while youre still at school. You can achieve up to a certificate III in a range of areas, kick-starting your career before you even leave school. The Australian Qualifications Framework is a good reference guide to check what you can achieve through at what stage and through which institution. Australian Qualifications Framework ( AQF) If your school doesnt offer an integrated VET program, speak to your careers adviser and local TAFE about your options. Subjects for uni preferences If you have a specific university course in mind, do your research so youre prepared for any prerequisites or recommended knowledge. Lets say youre looking at accountancy as a career. Have a look at a few different university courses to see what prerequisites you need. Different universities and courses have different requirements so make sure you shop around and compare each one. Sometimes course requirements include recommended studies that might help you in your subject selection. For example, for UNEs Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), the entry requirements include a prerequisite of any two units of English and recommended studies as any two units of maths. They also recommend prior knowledge in economics and business so this might lead you to choose business studies, economics and mathematics as part of your subject selection . Bridging units and courses Sometimes there might be a prerequisite to the uni course of your dreams that youre less than thrilled about (coughmathscough). Dont stress about including them into your subject selection. Universities sometimes offer bridging units in their summer sessions so if you didnt study a prerequisite unit at school (or did and failed it), theres a possibility you can study it at your chosen uni and be up to speed before you even begin your degree. There are also plenty of possibilities when it comes to bridging courses and using internal transfer from one course to another to get you into your preferred course. For example, if you are looking to study primary teaching at university but missed out on an offer, you may consider studying early childhood education through TAFE as a bridging course. Who knows, you might gain your qualification and decide that early childhood education is a better fit for you after all. Subject selection traps There are a lot of var iables that can affect not only your final mark but also your ranking in the eyes of a university. Two of the biggest culprits include scaling and bonus points. These are designed to bolster already high performers but they wont be much help if you arent doing well. Dont sache into the trap of choosing a subject simply because it was scaled up the