Most HSC students are doing 10-12 units for their HSC - that means 5-6 among which you must divide your time. The question is: what is the best way to split up your time between your subjects to maximise your end result?
The answer depends on whether you understand how scaling works. Most students will decide to split their time roughly evenly across their subjects, and for the most part, this works well. The problem, is, this is not the absolute best solution if your goal is to maximise your ATAR.
Remember that your ATAR is a rank which is determined solely by the scaled marks you score at the end of your HSC. The amount of scaled marks you score depends on two things:
Your percentile rank within each subject
The subject's scaling
Well you can't control the second point (since you've already chosen your subjects by now) but you can affect the first point. If you look at the statistics published in Table A3 by the UAC scaling report each year, you'll get to see what scaled marks are scored for each percentile rank. One thing you'll notice is that the scaled marks increase at a heavily diminishing rate as percentile rank increases. In other words, all HSC subjects experience diminishing returns on your effort. Put even more simpler, the harder you try at a subject you're already very good at, the less additional rewards you will get.
For example, you may get 49.7/50 for scoring in the 99th percentile in Maths Extension 2, and 48.6/50 for scoring in the 75th percentile. This means if you beat 99% of your peers in this subject, you get 49.7/50 scaled marks per unit (or 99.4/100 for 2 units), and you'll get 48.6/50 scaled marks per unit for beating 75% of your peers. But improving yourself from the 75th percentile to the 99th percentile is a very hard thing to do!
But on the other end of the scale, you will notice that improving your rank from the 25th percentile to the 50th percentile will result in a huge jump in scaled mark. For example, in 2008, the 25th percentile for Physics was 23.9/50 scaled marks per unit, but the 50th percentile will give you 31.6/50 marks per unit - a huge jump! Certainly, the jump from the 25th to the 50th percentile is much easier than jumping from the 75th to the 99th percentile!
Now, if you understand all of the above, consider once again the question of how to split your study time. Of course, if you're already very good at some subjects, spend less time on those subjects, and more time on the subjects you're struggling with. This rings especially true for subjects that give lower scaling. You'll find that these subjects give higher rate of diminishing returns on your study effort than higher-scaling subjects. So basically, if you're already very good at a subject, spend less time on it, and more time on your weaker subjects.
This all may sound like common sense, but it is actually backed by solid statistics - if you know how HSC subject scaling affects you, you can work it to your advantage! The way the ATAR system has always worked is that it gives the highest ATARs to all-rounders. So make sure you don't neglect any of your subjects!
DuxCollege is an excellent HSC tutoring service provider in Sydney, Australia. Our Math tutors, Chemistry tutors & Physics tutors are student friendly and talented, able to explain to most difficult concept in an easy way. Maths, Chemistry & Physics tutoring programs are intensive and results driven, aimed at giving our students the skills to achieve Band 6, and their highest potential UAI.
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