How to Choose Your VCE Subjects (2027): A Tutor’s Method

The best VCE subject choice is the one you will genuinely score well in – not the one that “scales up”. Choosing subjects to chase scaling is the most expensive mistake in VCE, and VTAC’s own data proves it: in VTAC’s published examples, one student picked four scaled-up subjects he was not good at and finished with an ATAR of 57.75, while another played to her strengths – with five of her six subjects scaling down – and got 95.80. This guide gives you a repeatable 5-step method for choosing your 2027 subjects, the rules you cannot break, and the traps (like prerequisites) that a 99 ATAR cannot fix. (Written by Haobo Zhang – 98 ATAR, University of Melbourne Biomedicine; founder of HZ Tutoring.)

First, the rules you cannot break

Before strategy, the non-negotiables. To be awarded the VCE, VCAA requires you to satisfactorily complete 16 units, which must include three units from the English group (including a Unit 3-4 sequence) and at least three other Unit 3-4 sequences – so four Unit 3-4 sequences in total, one of them English. To get an ATAR, VTAC then requires scored study scores in at least four permissible Unit 3-4 studies, including one from the English group (English, EAL, Literature or English Language). Everything else on this page is about choosing well within those rules. (Sources: VCAA VCE completion requirements; VTAC ATAR & Scaling Guide 2027.)

The 5-step method for choosing your subjects

Most advice stops at “pick what you enjoy and check prerequisites”. That is true but useless when two good options conflict. Here is the actual order of operations we use with students – lock the fixed things first, then optimise.

Step 1 – Lock your anchors (English + prerequisites)

Two things are fixed before you choose anything else: an English subject (compulsory), and any prerequisite subjects your possible courses demand. If there is any chance you will want engineering, science, commerce or IT, that usually means Mathematical Methods. Look up every course you are even half-considering in VTAC CourseSearch and write down its prerequisites now – they are set two years ahead and they are course-specific.

Step 2 – List what you are genuinely good at

Be honest, not aspirational. The subjects where you already sit near the top of your class, enjoy the work, and will happily do practice for, are the ones that produce high raw scores – and high raw scores are what the whole ATAR is built on. A subject you “should” like is worth nothing if you will not do the work.

Step 3 – Build a balanced core

Aim for five or six subjects that mix content-heavy subjects (Biology, Legal) with skills-based ones (Maths, English), and cap the big folio or performance subjects (Studio Arts, Media, Music) at one or two – they eat time that does not scale with the marks. A balanced load protects you when one subject has a brutal term.

Step 4 – Add one “insurance subject”

Pick one subject you are reliably good at – not the flashiest, the most dependable. Because your ATAR is built from your best four scores plus increments, an insurance subject guards that top four when a harder subject underperforms in the exam. This is more useful than the vague “do a 6th subject for the 10%” advice, because it is chosen deliberately to be safe.

Step 5 – Use scaling only to break a tie

Only now – when two subjects are genuinely equal on interest, strength and course value – do you let scaling decide. Never earlier. The next section shows exactly why, using VTAC’s own numbers.

Does scaling actually matter? Yes – but not how you think

Scaling adjusts every study score so a 30 in one subject means the same achievement as a 30 in any other. A subject scales up when it attracts a more competitive cohort, and down when the cohort is broader – it is about who you are up against, not how hard the subject is. It is recalculated every year. (The full mechanics are in our VCE scaling explained guide.)

Here is the part almost nobody shows you. Scaling only helps if you actually score well. VTAC publishes two worked examples that make this impossible to argue with:

Same six-subject structure. A 38-point ATAR gap. The difference was not scaling – it was raw scores, which come from choosing subjects you will actually do the work for. In VTAC’s own words: “It is most likely that a ‘scaled down’ score in a study you performed well in will be higher than a ‘scaled up’ study in which you didn’t.” (Source: VTAC ATAR & Scaling Guide 2027, ATAR snapshots.)

So where does scaling fit? As a tiebreaker in Step 5 – only between two subjects you would score equally well in. For reference, here is how the 2025 scaling landed for a study score of 40 across a few subjects (the full list is in our VCE Scaling Report):

Two special cases worth knowing: the four maths subjects are also scaled against each other (Specialist > Methods > General > Foundation), so harder maths is protected; and every language gets about +5 added near the average, to encourage language study. Neither is a reason to take a subject you will struggle in. (Source: VTAC 2025 Scaling Report.)

The prerequisite trap: the mistake a 99 ATAR cannot fix

This is why Step 1 comes first. The single most common prerequisite in Victoria is Mathematical Methods – it unlocks most engineering, science, IT and commerce degrees. Some health-science and biomedicine pathways also require Chemistry, and a few maths-heavy engineering degrees assume or require Specialist Mathematics. Law, most arts and many commerce degrees have no subject prerequisites beyond English. There is no universal list – prerequisites are course-specific and change year to year, so check each course in VTAC CourseSearch, then confirm what score you will actually need with our what ATAR do I need guide.

Which English? Which maths?

Two choices trip up more students than any others, because both come in versions.

English. You must do one of English, Literature, English Language or EAL (if eligible), and it must be in your ATAR. Mainstream English suits most students – it is text response, argument analysis and creating texts (see our text response and argument analysis guides). Literature rewards students who love close reading; English Language is really applied linguistics – how English works – and tends to reward analytical, systematic thinkers. Pick the one that matches how your brain works, not the one with the reputation.

Maths. The order of difficulty is Specialist > Methods > General > Foundation. Methods is the one that matters most for keeping courses open (it is the common STEM and commerce prerequisite) and it introduces calculus. Specialist is taken alongside Methods, not instead of it, and is the hardest and highest-scaling subject in VCE. General is applied and statistics-heavy with no calculus. The rule that catches people out: you can drop a maths level partway through, but you can almost never jump up – so if you are unsure, start higher and step down if you must. Our guides to Methods, Specialist and General break down what each actually involves.

How many subjects – and should you accelerate?

VCAA expects most students to do 16-20 units over two years. In practice that is usually six subjects in Year 11 and five in Year 12 – the extra subject is your insurance. Only your best six count toward the ATAR: the top four in full, plus 10% of your fifth and sixth. So a strong fifth or sixth subject still adds real points; a weak one costs you almost nothing.

Acceleration – doing a Unit 3-4 subject a year early, in Year 11 – is worth understanding honestly. A subject you complete in Year 11 does count toward your ATAR (unlike your Units 1-2 marks, which never do). That banks a score early and frees Year 12. But it is usually capped at one subject, and it competes for the time your other subjects need – so only accelerate in a subject you are genuinely strong in, and not at the expense of your core.

“But I don’t know what I want to study yet”

Most 15- and 16-year-olds do not, and that is fine. The move is to keep doors open, not to guess. VTAC’s own example here is a student who did exactly that: they chose a wide range of subjects they were good at, every one of which scaled down, met their course prerequisites, and still landed an ATAR of 86.10 – into the course they wanted. A balanced four you can score well in, plus Mathematical Methods as your “keep options open” subject, keeps the widest set of pathways available without committing you to anything. You can always narrow later; it is much harder to widen.

Subject-selection myths, busted

Already mid-year and rethinking a choice? Read changing VCE subjects mid-year: is it too late?

Two more angles worth a look: the most popular VCE subjects by enrolment (and why popular isn\u0027t best), and – if a subject went badly – whether repeating it is worth the year.

Choosing subjects in Year 10 (or picking an accelerated Unit 1&2 subject)? The foundations matter as much as the choice – see Year 10 tutoring: get VCE-ready.

Frequently asked questions

How many subjects should I do in Year 11 and 12?

Typically six subjects in Year 11 and five in Year 12. Only your best six count toward the ATAR – the top four in full, plus 10% of your fifth and sixth – so the extra subject acts as insurance rather than dead weight.

Do I have to do English?

Yes. You must satisfactorily complete an English-group subject to get the VCE, and a scored English (English, EAL, Literature or English Language) must be in your ATAR – it is the one subject that is always in your primary four.

Which maths should I choose?

If you might do STEM, commerce or IT, take Mathematical Methods – it is the key prerequisite. Add Specialist Maths only if you are strong and enjoy maths (it is taken with Methods). General Maths suits students who want a solid, applied maths without calculus. You can drop a level later but rarely move up, so start higher if unsure.

Does scaling really matter when choosing subjects?

Only as a tiebreaker. Scaling adjusts for cohort strength, not difficulty, and it only rewards you if you score well. VTAC’s own examples show a student whose subjects mostly scaled up getting an ATAR of 57.75, and a student whose subjects mostly scaled down getting 95.80 – the difference was raw scores, not scaling.

Do my Year 11 marks count toward my ATAR?

Your Units 1-2 marks do not count at all. The only Year 11 result that counts toward your ATAR is a full Unit 3-4 subject you complete a year early (acceleration), which is usually limited to one subject.

What happens if I miss a prerequisite?

You become ineligible for that specific course, regardless of your ATAR. Prerequisites are met with your raw study score (often 25-30 in the required subject), so a high ATAR cannot rescue a missed prerequisite. Check every course’s requirements early in VTAC CourseSearch.

Can I do a Unit 3-4 subject without doing Units 1-2 first?

There is no VCAA rule forcing you to complete Units 1-2 first, but most schools require it and the Units 1-2 content is assumed knowledge – starting a Unit 3-4 subject cold is very hard. Talk to your school before planning around it.