01 Mar 2021

From "it scales well" to "you won't have a safety net," you're probably sick of hearing just about every reason not to drop a HSC subject.

But let me be the devil's advocate here and say, dropping a subject may just be a perfect decision for you.

Why I dropped my HSC subject

I mean, back when I started year 12 with thirteen units, I was roaring to go, full of optimism and motivation!

Slowly but surely, I realised that there was one HSC subject lagging behind. I didn't care about it, couldn't push myself to study for it and quite frankly didn't need it. I knew I wasn't going to end up with high marks in maths so hasta la vista. And pythagoras, you will not be missed.

After I dropped maths like it was hot, I had more time to focus on the subjects I cared about, was passionate about and did well in. I also had more time to live my best life, play sport, see friends and work at my hospo job. 

Look, I'm not here to force you to drop a subject. Do whatever floats your boat! But if that boat seems like it's going to run into an iceberg if you don't drop a subject, it might be time to take some action!

Here are some signs that you should drop a HSC subject.

1. You hate it

If studying a subject has become the bane of your existence, that's a pretty good indicator that dropping it may be a red hot idea. Maybe it's the longwinded essays that you despise or the equations that you just can't wrap your head around. Maybe you find your brain dwindling off in classes or the extra coursework makes you feel so unbelievably drained. 

Sure, there will always be things about a subject that you don't vibe with, but if the bulk of it sucks to you, that's just unnecessary neg energy that you can easily get rid of.

2. You don't need it

Maybe you thought drama class would be a laugh and your teacher would be like Mr G. Now, you'd rather poke your eyes out than act out the symbolic life and death of a caterpillar and only get a C because you "weren't in character enough". Well, this is exactly what happened to my best mate. I mean, she wanted to be an environmental scientist. She didn't want to be acting as the caterpillars, she wanted to be saving them. She dropped drama as soon as possible as it just wasn't for her and she didn't need it at all!

On the flip side, you don't have to drop a class right here and right now! One of my other mates knew that she wanted to pursue event management and business but cheekily found Ancient History to be a vibe! I mean, ever since she read Percy Jackson as a kid, she wanted to learn all about Ancient Greece. She liked a fair amount of the subject but admittedly found a lot of it to be a drag. She knew she didn't need the subject though, so when Term 3 came around, she dropped it so she'd have more time to focus on her most important subjects in crunch time!

3. You're failing

Failing a class that you need or like can happen because of a multitude of reasons. Life can really get in the way, so don't let this be the one and only reason that you drop a subject.

In saying that, if you hate it, you don't need it and you're failing it, it seriously might be time to seriously consider getting rid of the dead weight. 

Time is of the essence! You could either be sitting in a class that you hate or studying for classes that mean more to you!