What Subjects do I Choose for VCE?
VCE subject selection is definitely a hard process because a student is partially committing themselves to study that subject for the next two or three years. From different angles they might be subjected to comments such as ‘choose the subjects that you are passionate about’ and ‘choose subjects that will scale up’. But these comments are merely suggestions without much evidence or clarity.
While considering subjects for VCE the first thing a student needs to review is the prerequisite to their desired University or TAFE course. If there is a particular prerequisite subject, it may be a good idea to choose that subject. However, it is important to remember that after 6 months at University, you can transfer between courses without any of your VCE scores counting. Iff a student does not have a particular career path in mind they might have a vision of what general field of career they might be interested in. Use this vague interest to navigate through various institution’s websites to figure out a brief idea as to what the prerequisite subjects might be.
Another aspect to keep in mind is recognising what type of subjects a student is good at and enjoys. We are all more motivated to study subjects that we can find a passion for. Some students tend to excel in arithmetic subjects while others might be interested in more writing based subjects. Some students are great at grasping languages and others like more commerce or sports based subjects. VET subjects are also a great channel to improve skills and employment opportunities while contributing to one’s ATAR. Reevaluating what kind of subject a student tends to learn better or has more interest towards is definitely a good tactic in figuring out what VCE subjects to choose. For students who aren’t sure what subjects they may enjoy, the VCAA website has Study Designs for each subject, here you can see exactly what learning about each subject entails.
Scaling is definitely an aspect to keep in mind, but choosing subjects just based on scaling of a subject might not be an optimal decision. If a subject scales down that does not mean that the subject is not worthy to be chosen, it just means that on average that particular subject might be a little easier to gain a higher score so it needs to be adjusted to bring all subjects to the same level of difficulty. A high scaling subject is not a ‘go to’ subject, just because it scales up doesn’t necessarily mean a student will get a better score as opposed to if they had taken a scaling down subject.
At the end of the day, VCE subject selection comes down to prerequisite subjects and one’s ability to perform well in that subject. So do heaps of research about your career pathway and get help from your career’s guide, friends and parents. Reevaluate your strengths in different subjects and your interests. And finally, choose your subjects with confidence and clarity and always remember that we are here to help you!
- Ann Sabu