Five Things to Think About When Choosing Your Subjects for Year 11 and 12

Choosing your subjects for Year 11 and 12 can be really hard, and it can feel pretty daunting planning the next part of your life when you’re only in Year 10.

It's not the end of the world though. So here are some crucial facts you should remember when making your choices.

You don’t need to choose subjects based on what career you want to do.

Remember, you’re only in Year 10, you’ve got plenty of time until you embark on your future career.

You might think you want to work in politics, so you’ve got to do Politics and Law.

But most of the time, uni courses in a specific discipline won’t actually require you to have done a specific Year 12 course to gain entry.

Some science and maths courses require a certain level of maths/science study in high school – but even if you didn’t do that, there are always bridging courses and other options to get you sorted.

You don’t need to do ‘hard’ subjects to get a good score.

It is (partially) true that ‘harder’ subjects do often get scaled up, but scaling’s pretty complicated, and we’ll go through that in detail later on in the series.

In general, a good balance of subjects is a great key to getting a good result in your final exams.

What’s more, choosing only ‘hard’ subjects could actually be bad for your score, because you might commit to more than what you’re used to, and struggle with harder subjects.

And remember, difficulty is a matter of perception. What comes easy to you, might be really difficult for others, and vice versa.

So instead of choosing hard subjects just to get scaled up, have a think about what your skills are, and what you like learning about, and go down that path.

Figure out a mix of subjects you like, and subjects that will be good for you.

Remember that ATAR doesn’t have to be soul-crushing.

While a full stock of Science, Maths, English and Humanities subjects might sound attractive, you’ve also got to figure out what you like.

Doing an arts subject like Music or Drama could be really helpful in lowering stress for you (especially if this is a subject you enjoy) and can be a great way to get some balance in your final years at school.

This all comes back to the balance we mentioned earlier.

Look at what courses you like, ones that will be fun for you. And think about what your skills are, and what you’ll excel at, and figure out a good mix of those subjects.

Doing ATAR isn’t always better than doing General or VET Subjects.

Choosing your subjects is all about choosing what’s best for you.

If you want to go to university, then maybe you'll choose some ATAR subjects.

But if you’re interested in going to TAFE or doing an apprenticeship, General or VET subjects could be the better option.

Subjects like General English or Maths might be better suited to someone wanting to do an apprenticeship, because they can give you the general skills and experience to work in those industries, whereas the skills learnt in ATAR versions of the subjects might not be as helpful.

So, think about your choices, and what’s going to be the better option specifically for you.

However don't worry - there are multiple paths to where you want to get to. 

You can always change your subjects later.

When you sign on that dotted line, it can feel like you’re locking in your next two years.

But that’s not true.

After you’ve made your selections, and even after you’ve started Year 11, you can still change your subjects.

You’ll have to work with your school and consider why you’re changing, but if you feel like it’s not working or it’s too much stress, you can absolutely make the switch.

It might be moving between different levels of a subject or choosing a new one entirely, but remember, the next two years are about you.

By choosing subjects that are specifically targeted at your goals, skills and preferences, you’re ensuring that your final years at school will be enjoyable, fulfilling and filled with success.

Whatever you do, don’t object to good subjects.

This article was originally published 19 August 2022 and has since been updated.