slmkhoo:

wmcbbyld:

[quote=\"slmkhoo\"]Bio vs Physics - if you are good at Maths, go for Physics if you want to save effort (that was the advice my husband gave my daughter for A levels, but it should apply to O levels too). But if your Maths is not strong, Physics could be hard. A 2nd consideration is which you are more interested in. Remember that whichever you drop now, you cannot take at A level.


As for the Lit/History decision - again, interest is important as you are likely to be more willing to work at something you are intrinsically interested in. I can't advise beyond that as both subjects have their difficulties.

Hmm, math is ok, not too bad but also not too good. 'Doable' subject wise I guess.

True, not worth choosing something that one is not interested in. But competency in the exam also matters, which makes things a lot more confusing...

Sure, competency should be taken into account too, but also note that the nature of the subjects (how they are taught and tested) changes as you go up, and so the relative grades between subjects may change over the years. You can only make an educated guess, and interest does help make you work harder, even if you seem to be doing more poorly in earlier years (as long a the difference isn't huge!). Some subjects you can do well in earlier years by mugging or drilling, or because they are less conceptual. That may change as you go up - Maths and Physics are such subjects; some students will struggle as the subjects get more conceptual, even if they did well in lower sec, because mugging and drilling don't help as much if you don't understand in the first place. Just make what you believe is the best choice for you; it may not be the same for someone else. But as I said, Physics is generally easier if your Maths is strong - my husband and daughter proved that in the positive way; I proved it in the negative (not good in Maths, and couldn't understand Physics!).[/quote]I'll keep that in mind, thanks very much for your help!

MyPillow:

Wmc, u forget abt SOcial studies , it’s mandatory subject - governance of Spore ...must take as elective 

So far I dunno which Sch just offer bio n phy pure? These two cant really match - phy chem - engineering based ; ChemBio - Lab / clinical based .
Can share abt which Sch & combi available?

Sorry about that, forgot to mention... elective is something like half the core subject syllabus + SS, I think. Sort of like 'combined humanities'.

Not sure about other schools but for mine bio + phy is actually offered, just that many JC courses/subjects require chem. As far as I know there's only one JC (forgot which one) that offers a bio + phy course, and only one. So most take chem for more options. Last year supposedly only 5 students chose bio + phy combo; too few to start a class.

The two more popular streams, double science and triple science (all pure sciences).
Compulsory subjects for both streams:
English, Chinese, E math and A math.
Double science:
Plus
2 sciences (most choose chem + bio/phy),
1 core and 1 elect + SS humanities (choose between geog, hist and lit).
Triple science:
Plus
All 3 sciences (chem + bio + phy),
1 elect + SS humanities (choose between geog, hist and lit).
So triple science is essentially taking a science subject in place of a core humanities. Prefer not to say school...

I just realised how blur my post was, I'll change it a bit.

slmkhoo:

Bio vs Physics - if you are good at Maths, go for Physics if you want to save effort (that was the advice my husband gave my daughter for A levels, but it should apply to O levels too). But if your Maths is not strong, Physics could be hard. A 2nd consideration is which you are more interested in. Remember that whichever you drop now, you cannot take at A level.

As for the Lit/History decision - again, interest is important as you are likely to be more willing to work at something you are intrinsically interested in. I can't advise beyond that as both subjects have their difficulties.

Hmm, math is ok, not too bad but also not too good. 'Doable' subject wise I guess.

True, not worth choosing something that one is not interested in. But competency in the exam also matters, which makes things a lot more confusing...

Hello! Seeking advice for subject combo. I’m thinking of taking the double science route, 2 sciences (pure) and 2 humanities, 1 core and 1 elective.


For the sciences, Biology or Physics? I’ve heard that biology is more memory based, while physics is more of understanding and applying, plus lots of practice. Don’t really have a preference for any. On one hand, I feel bio is slightly easier in terms of workload, and I’ve heard people say physics is hard, as in the difficulty grasping the concepts, and very 麻烦 (troublesome/inconvenient). On the other hand, I hate memorising, and prefer understanding and applying. My opinion is likely biased though, since I learnt bio last year and physics this year, so I sort of forgot how bio was like, and I put in more effort last year than this.

Now for the humanities: Core History + Elect Literature or Core Literature + Elect History? Or something else? I’m interested both hist and lit, more so for lit and seeing the deeper meanings, but I’m not good at it. Core hist + elect lit would be the so called ‘safer’ or ‘rational’ choice, while core lit + elect hist would be much more risky, but more enjoyable.

Thanks for reading, appreciate all your comments and suggestions!