H2 Econs or H2 E Lit?

Azalea Hatake SG

I retained this year and made up my mind to repeat J1. My teacher advised me to change my subject combi as she felt that I was better in writing and needed to take more language based subjects...

This is my current combi: H2 Maths, Chem and Econs, H1 Bio

I am reluctant to give up H2 Chem and Maths and was thinking of replacing either Bio or Econs with E Lit. I really love reading books and though I didn't take Literature in O Levels, my friend in the H2 calss tells me that most people in her class with no prior knowledge still are able to do well.

I'm reluctant to give up Bio too 'cos I really want to do Medicine and in Australian Uni which is where I intend to go, they only require Chemistry.

I feel like it's a waste to give up Econs 'cos some of the stuff is already in my head but I don't know if I should take Lit at the H1/H2 level either. Anyone who took these subjects please give me adivce? :(

Oh and incase you were wondering, my O level subjects and grades:

English, A & E Math, Combined Humans (SS & Geog), Pure Bio - A2

Chem B4, Physics B3

MUFC SG

Hi,

One dangerous thing to do is to make decisions with a short term point of view. Taking Literature may allow you to score better in your exams, but will it be useful to you for your university studies? You say that you "really want to do Medicine", and you must definitely be aware that a Biology background would be a bonus for you for your future studies in that area, even if it is not compulsory to take it in A Level for entry to an Australian Uni.

What I am worried about is that you may get better A Level results due to your decision to take Literature in place of Biology, and you may get into the course and university of your choice, but would you struggle in university due to your lack of Biology background? Even if the subject of Biology is hard to score well in, it's better to struggle in JC and receive help from your teachers, than struggle in university (the lecturers will try to help you but ultimately they won't spoon feed you as much as teachers in JC do)

Chemistry and Biology are essential subjects for you if you are really keen on pursuing a degree in Medicine (or Pharmacy or Life Science). I don't recommend that you drop them, but instead put in more hard work in the following year. It's good that you are not considering dropping Math because it is essential in almost anything we do in future. I'm not exactly sure but you may need to do some stats in your Medicine course, so don't drop Math (you probably can't anyway right?).

To me, it feels that Econs is the most appropriate subject for you to drop if you are really keen on giving Literature a try. In terms of giving you general knowledge, Econs is a great subject (and I regret not taking it in the past). In terms of giving you preparation for a course in Medicine, Econs and Literature are probably equivalent. So I guess you should decide based on interest and potential to score well.

How did you score for this year's exams (in every subject, out of curiosity)? If you did well in Econs, perhaps you shouldn't give it up and stick with your current subject combination. If not, then ok you can consider switching to Lit if you feel really confident about it.

Ideally, you should take Bio at H2 and drop Econs or Lit to H1. That will give you the best preparation for your Medicine course. But that's assuming you can cope with this workload. Seek more advice from other people, for example your teachers or seniors, and I hope some of the other forumers offer some help as well.

In any case, don't worry so much. You are still very young with many options ahead of you as long as you work hard. Cheer up and don't be too stressed =)

Lee012lee SG

I retained this year and made up my mind to repeat J1. My teacher advised me to change my subject combi as she felt that I was better in writing and needed to take more language based subjects...

This is my current combi: H2 Maths, Chem and Econs, H1 Bio

I'm reluctant to give up Bio too 'cos I really want to do Medicine and in Australian Uni which is where I intend to go, they only require Chemistry.

Oh and incase you were wondering, my O level subjects and grades:

English, A & E Math, Combined Humans (SS & Geog), Pure Bio - A2

Chem B4, Physics B3

TS, you have not given the grades for the JC 1 subjects.

It is to be noted that your "O" level results are only good but not excellent.

Whenever there is a setback ie fail JC1, one will feel dejected. Next, one will says he or she will work hard to achieve the best ie to do medicine.

It is often this mentality and words without hard work that will lead to further disappointment.

Azalea Hatake SG

Hi,

In any case, don't worry so much. You are still very young with many options ahead of you as long as you work hard. Cheer up and don't be too stressed =)

Hey, thank you for the advice and great insight! It really helped a lot! :)

My promo grades:

GP: A

MT: C

H1 Bio: B

H2 Chem: C

H2 Econs: S

H2 Maths: U

As you can see, Maths is what killed me. I am willing to admit though that I have been lazy with Maths. It's one of my least favourite subjects :P But I can't drop it even if I wanted to. Econs as well to a certain extent. I needed to pass every single subject to promote. And yes! I agree that I need H2 Bio and I'm worried that my school won't let a retainee take up an extra H2 science subject.. I hope they will though.

Azalea Hatake SG

TS, you have not given the grades for the JC 1 subjects.

It is to be noted that your "O" level results are only good but not excellent.

Whenever there is a setback ie fail JC1, one will feel dejected. Next, one will says he or she will work hard to achieve the best ie to do medicine.

It is often this mentality and words without hard work that will lead to further disappointment.

I am fully aware that nothing can be achieved without hard work. I have already been given the wake up call. Thanks for your concern though.

MUFC SG

It's great to know your best subjects (besides GP) are Bio and Chem. From what I see, if you really wanna take Lit, you should drop Econs. But do consider carefully whether you really have the potential to score in Lit, or whether the Econs knowledge you learnt this year gives you a good advantage next year if you re-take it.

H2 Math is very hard, do put in effort for it! It's no longer like in the O levels where standard questions come out and you should know how to do them as long as you've done similar questions before. In A levels, they really test your concept and the questions that come out can be very creative and original. As such, you should do your tutorials regularly and really try to understand the content (haha ok very naggy but this is really something to follow, at least to some extent)

Maybe you should write to your school telling them of your ambition to study Medicine, and that taking Bio at H2 is beneficial to you. Try to convince them that the B you scored at H1 level indicates your interest and ability in the subject, and that you feel you can handle the H2 level content. Then maybe you can take Lit or Econs at H1?

Lee012lee SG

To add on to what MUFC have said,

TS should replace H1 Biology with H1 Mathematics, replace H2 Mathematics with H2 Biology, replace H2 Economics with H2 English Literature.

But the question is will the principal allow the 3 changes in the subject combination ?