Hi, I am currently doing the HSC and I feel like I see a lot of posts from Year 10/11 students about picking subjects or dropping them so I just wanted to come on here and explain how I have personally felt (with some of my friends' opinions) about each subject that I have done so far.
Visual Arts - I dropped this in year 11. Honestly, if you are good at bullshiting analysis and writing fast (to be frank) you will get into the top bands in the theory section. But I think the motivation actually to do the subject is enjoying the practical side of it and what piques your interest. I dropped it because I simply wasn't as interested in the subject compared to my others and also many people who currently do it said it takes up a lot of time as it is ur HSC major work. Not to discourage you but it can scale badly especially if there is a larger group of students so if you care a lot about the mark I feel like taking the subject is beneficial when you enjoy doing it
Business - I think business at times can get a bad rep because people say it's boring or it's a lot of content. The content is pretty standard for one of the HSIE subjects but also it's easier than let's say economics or legal studies. To get in the top bands it's making sure you have done many past papers and knowing the content which links up to the syllabus dot point and always answering the question in relation to the stimulus. It at times can get a bit much but the Year 11 course has taught me a lot for the Year 12 course so it's not like I am constantly learning new content. If you are interested in the subject you will find it easy but this doesn't mean you can't put in the effort
Legal Studies - I say this with importance in mind - I believe that the teacher you have for legal studies is an important factor in deciding if you are interested in it. It's often a hit or miss for many students and people don't often realise halfway through the course but I think I've just stayed because I enjoy learning about the law and my teacher. To be aware it probably is the most content heavy subject in the whole HSC my notes are around 120 pages (and counting) and some topics can be boring, e.g. workplace compared to others, e.g. family law or crime. That being said I love the discussion in class and there are constantly changing laws so it's nice to see that justice can be provided to a case we learnt about before which didn't have a outcome.
Economics - I have always said economics is a harder version of business studies. There are some overlaps so It's good to do them together but the content is probably the hardest out of all my subjects so it can be hard to keep up at times. Once again like legal studies, some topics are more interesting than others and I have liked the chance to research a lot like the economies of different countries. I think some would find it pretty boring unless they were interested in economics/finance/communications vibes and you have to make sure you know a lot of statistics and definitions that the markers are looking for.
Mathematics Advanced - I know so many people do mathematics advanced as it is a prerequisite for uni and it scales better. But now realising that it's probably not my best subject I truly think that you only really need to do maths advanced if you're motivated to do a lot of questions and understand the content. Of course, it's easier than ext 1 and 2 but if I am comparing it to maths standard there are a lot of questions that you have never seen before and it requires those critical thinking skills which I probably am not that strong at. It's honestly all about practice questions and practice questions and especially not just looking at the answers and moving on cause you think you understand what the answer is saying. Also recommend making a note of all the questions you have gotten wrong and I am gonna do them before the HSC as those are the mistakes that have cost me crucial marks which prevent Band 6 or whatever
English Advanced - My most disliked subject. Not trying to be negative but it can just get a bit much with all the modules and it can be less motivating seeing a bad mark on a paper because then we have in mind that we aren't good at English. Some of the modules are very interesting in my opinion such as Ts Eliot (Mod B) but others aren't in my opinion but everyone has different perspectives. I think people can do quite well when they get feedback from teachers and actually apply it. Also, I have always had a problem with using fancy words and trying to have this complex analysis but when I read band 6 essays they are always simple but have multiple ideas which answer the question. That's what I think does well.
Idk if any of what I said made sense but that's just how I am going through the hsc!.
