Subject Choices for 5th year.

David2

TY students at my school are currently choosing our subjects to study in 5th & 6th year. I really wanted to do Chemistry, Geography and Home Economics, but unfortunately Chemistry and Geography were to be on at the same time, so I chose Biology instead of Geography.

I'm sort of panicking now though. The thought of doing 2 science subjects is a little daunting. In the JC I got a B in Higher level Science, but I really have a feeling that my paper was marked easily. I think that I deserved a C, although I did a lot of study. I plan to do Higher level in both Chemistry and Biology...

Anyways, I really want to know from some 5th year/6th year students, past students or teachers if it's manageable? Should I change one of them, or should I just try very hard? Also, roughly how long are the courses?

Thanks!

It's definitely manageable. I do Physics and Biology and I find it's no more work than my other subjects. Chemistry is said to be the most difficult of the sciences however, so you may or may not have more work with it. To be honest, much of biology is just learning off stuff with not too much understanding required, I imagine it'd be much like Geography work-load wise (which I don't do so I can't compare it properly).

Biology is a long course, but it's very very interesting and is my favourite subject (so I may be a bit biased here :P). Either way, 2 sciences isn't that tough, and if you got a B at JC level you should be fine as long as you put in the work in 5th year.

Moshimoshi

I do Chemistry and Biology and find them much easier than any other subjects I do. I don't see why two science subjects would be more difficult than any other combination, if anything they complement each other slightly. I think they're very reliable and straight-forward to study for, especially coming up to exams.
Biology is a long course, a lot of rote learning and I imagine it could be very tedious if you didn't find it interesting. At the same time, it isn't that difficult to understand. The Chemistry course is shorter and there is much more understanding involved. I think it's easier, but it really depends on the person. A relatively high percentage of people get an A1 at honours in it. EDIT: You do have to take into account that Chemistry is a requirement for Medicine and a lot of people who take it are aiming for high points anyway, but I do think the Chemistry exam itself is easier than a lot of others. There's a lot of choice with questions and you can preempt a lot of what they will ask.

jumpguy

I'm doing 3 science subjects (bio, chem, and physics) and believe me it's not very daunting. The subjects complement each other (especially physics and chemistry, chemistry and biology) in some places and if you enjoy science and are interested they're not daunting at all. Biology is just mostly learning, and is quite easy to understand. Chemistry is a shorter course but it does require alot more scientific understanding, that said, I enjoy it and if you're willing to pay attention in class and do abit of work for it, it's graaand!

There seems to be a stigma attached to science subjects, depicting them as impossibly hard, but they're not, and if you enjoy science, they're quite interesting.

David2

Thanks for the feedback

H2student

Lucky you, you're smart enough to go on boards to ask for advice . I myself regret picking Geography over Biology over the fear of doing 3 science subjects (I got a B in the JC too).

Chuchoter

I got the same mark as you in Science and I'm taking all three sciences next year, can't wait! Geography is long and boring and useless anyway, why would you take it?

David2

I have to agree crayola