Subject Combination in JC - URGENT

papa bless

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Subject Combination in JC

I’m having a tough time choosing my H1 subjects. Reason being is I heard that taking math opens a lot of opportunities in Universities. I want to do math because of this reason, but I seriously dislike doing math and really suck at it. I don’t take A math as well. I got B3 for Emath in O levels even though I’ve been consistently failing it throughout my entire years in Secondary School. Yes, that’s how bad my math is. I worked a lot in my Secondary 3 and 4 years, and finally scored a pass during Prelims, with an A2. A miracle I’d say.

The other option for me is to take H1 Chemistry. It was the same for me as Math. I hated the subject initially, and I did poorly in the early years of my Secondary School life, but as I started to work hard in Secondary 3, I grew to love it, and was scored fairly decent in my exams.

After hearing my story, what advice do you have for me? I’m really afraid of failing my subjects in JC as I’ve heard that you are unlikely to go to University If you do so. But Polytechnic is really not for me.

The last concern of mine is Literature. I will be forced to take H2 Math if I don’t take English Literature because of the subject combination. Can I still take Literature even if I didnt take it in Secondary School? (It wasn’t offered to my batch).
 
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hello7777777

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Hi,
I am a chemistry tutor. And I hope you can take H1 Math instead of H1 Chemistry. Chemistry (especially H2) is one of the most demanding subjects in JC.
There are quite a lot of calculations in JC1 Chemistry too.

You need to check with your JC whether you can take H2 Lit. Neighbourhood JCs maybe more relaxed on subject prerequsites.

Do check the employment prospects of taking history in uni.
 

yusoffb01

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h1 math is similar to emaths. quite easy. once you go uni, your h2 subjects you studied in 2 years is equivalent to one semesters worth of a module.

why you want take history in uni? if you want to aim low, dont worry. if your h2 grades are like bcc can still go nus fass. ntu even lower grades.

You should look at employment prospects too. More opportunities with engineering or computer degree than history. for those degrees you need h2 maths.
 
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papa bless

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h1 math is similar to emaths. quite easy. once you go uni, your h2 subjects you studied in 2 years is equivalent to one semesters worth of a module.

why you want take history in uni? if you want to aim low, dont worry. if your h2 grades are like bcc can still go nus fass. ntu even lower grades.

You should look at employment prospects too. More opportunities with engineering or computer degree than history. for those degrees you need h2 maths.
Hi! First of all, thank you for taking your time to answer my questions. Can I ask why you suggest me to take H1 Math instead of Chemistry? Because I really suck at MAth and really have no interest in it. I am scared that if i take it, I wont do well in my A levels due to the lack of interest in that subject. However, a lot of people have been asking me to take Math instead of chemistry. Why is that so? Am i at a disadvantage if i dont take Math for A levels?
 

yusoffb01

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Hi! First of all, thank you for taking your time to answer my questions. Can I ask why you suggest me to take H1 Math instead of Chemistry? Because I really suck at MAth and really have no interest in it. I am scared that if i take it, I wont do well in my A levels due to the lack of interest in that subject. However, a lot of people have been asking me to take Math instead of chemistry. Why is that so? Am i at a disadvantage if i dont take Math for A levels?

If you manage to get in local uni, you must take subjects that are not your cores, so learning the concepts now is better than later. h1 math difficulty is similar to emath plus a bit of amath, so its doable.

chem is also harder than math

Some uni corse like business need h1 math. If you do well, why limit your choices now?
 

sylvia147

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So I’ve decided to study in a JC.
I have also selected a JC to study in.
My next worry: Subject combination

I’m going for the Arts stream because I want to pursue History in University.

So my H2 subjects are all humanities. However, I’m having a tough time choosing my H1 subjects. Reason being is I heard that taking math opens a lot of opportunities in Universities. I want to do math because of this reason, but I seriously dislike doing math and really suck at it. I don’t take A math as well. I got B3 for Emath in O levels even though I’ve been consistently failing it throughout my entire years in Secondary School. Yes, that’s how bad my math is. I worked a lot in my Secondary 3 and 4 years, and finally scored a pass during Prelims, with an A2. A miracle I’d say.

The other option for me is to take H1 Chemistry. It was the same for me as Math. I hated the subject initially, and I did poorly in the early years of my Secondary School life, but as I started to work hard in Secondary 3, I grew to love it, and was scored fairly decent in my exams.

After hearing my story, what advice do you have for me? I’m really afraid of failing my subjects in JC as I’ve heard that you are unlikely to go to University If you do so. But Polytechnic is really not for me. I’ve also tried to search for History subject prerequisites online but to no avail. :(

The last concern of mine is Literature. I will be forced to take H2 Math if I don’t take English Literature because of the subject combination. Can I still take Literature even if I didnt take it in Secondary School? (It wasn’t offered to my batch). However, I did get an A1 for my English. Would I be allowed to take Literature?

Thanks for hearing this scared Secondary School Graduate out, and offering your valuable opinions. It really means a lot to me. Help me out please!

Yes you can take Literature even without taking it back in secondary school. I'll personally advice H2 Lit, H2 History, H2 Econs, H1 Maths. I advice H1 Maths because you will have more options in choosing your university course.

Honestly if you want to pursue History in university, I highly doubt that your H1 needs to be Math. But most schools recommend H1 Math because it's a safe bet. If you are really set on History, don't take H1 Math. I've checked the subject pre-requisite for History in NUS, you do not have to do H1 Math in JC. In fact, most of the arts major do not require you to do H1 Math. However, I advise that you speak with a teacher that is experienced in this kind of things.
 
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