HSC

[Maxwell-X]

If you could do the HSC in NSW Australia, what subjects would you pick ?

[Halcyon]

I would choose what interests you personally. Your decisions now don't have a great impact on future university or career. Even if you leave with a school certificate (as opposed to your higher school certificate), it doesn't exclude you from tertiary education or high paying jobs. Of course if you do well on your HSC and get good marks and are looking to go to University straight away, it may assist you.

There is an old saying "P's (passes) get degrees". Don't choose a subject where you will struggle, pick the easy ones where you know you'll do well. At the end of the day, its a bit of paper with a number on it. Once you get your first graduate certificate from TAFE or University, your HSC becomes irrelevant.

EDIT: I will also add that early professional experience (even if it's just free work experience) speaks volumes more than a bit of paper from a school or university. I have never been disadvantaged for not having my HSC nor have I ever regretted not completing it. My advice is get into the workforce early and start gaining knowledge and experience you can't get from a University course. Recency and relevance are highly scrutinised out there.

[Whales]

+1 for choosing what's fun.

My experience in Sydney: Elec eng uni courses are tailored for students from a wide variety of international education systems.  The first year teaches you anything you missed.  Knowing a little calculus before hand is useful.  I suspect most undergrad uni courses in Aus will be like this.

Useful primary and secondary info sources:  Find who's teaching the HSC subjects, see if they're teachers you think you might be compat with.  Download the course dotpoints from the board of studies, have a read of them and see what the assessments are like.

Find the fun stuff, avoid the teachers you know you will have troubles with.  If people recommend you a course (or tell you that you 'have' to do it) based off just the name/area of the subject then ignore them with prejudice, they think choosing an HSC subject is like shopping at the supermarket.

You are the only one sitting the next 2 years of HSC, not your parents.  If they demand you do a certain subject then ask when they plan to sit the assessments.

I really enjoyed chem, but that was also down to a great teacher who loved her stuff.  I didn't do well at all in 2-unit maths, and I still want to blame the classroom having an unvented gas heater and the windows always closed ( ), but otherwise I've been fine doing elec eng at uni.  Never did physics, again not a problem, everything covered in the uni course.

I only wish I could have done more HSC courses.  And perhaps drop English