The choice of subjects after class X is a very crucial decision in a student’s life and is often met with a lot of anxiety and confusion both on the part of parents and students alike. This anxiety is not out of place since on this decision hinges the general direction that a student’s career is going to take.
It is a common practice to base this crucial decision on the marks that the student obtains in his class X examinations. So, a student who secures an 80% plus aggregate in his class X Board Exams, invariably heads towards the Science subjects and another student who secures a 60% in his Boards, assumes that Humanities or the Arts subjects is what he must be cut out for. Such generalizations often prove erroneous and students may end up disillusioned and unduly stressed.
While performance in the class X final examinations may be a fair indication of the student’s hold over academic subjects, it should not be taken as the sole indicator for the level of aptitude and interest in any given area. Take the case of Arpita, who obtained a 75 % in her class X Boards. It is reasonable to assume that her Board exam result has been a function of such factors as
- the level of preparedness
- memory
- exam taking skills
- and level of anxiety on the day of exam;
- others
Motivation or interest per se is likely to have played a relatively insignificant role. However, the scenario will change 2 years hence when she will be looking at her
Class XII Board Exam results! Along with the factors listed above,
her involvement with her subjects of study and her overall interest in the same will truly reflect in her final performance. This is because studies in the higher classes (Class XI and XII) get tougher and success in the examinations at this stage can be attained only by a consistent approach and an inquisitiveness to learn that is best brought about an inherent interest in the subject matter. It therefore brings us to the central point of this write-up that the choice of stream (or subjects) in class XI should be arrived at only after taking an individual student’s interest and aptitude into account.
Some pointers to keep in mind while choosing the subject combinations:
- Know the subject combinations offered in your school at the +2 level. Typically the streams available in the schools and the subjects offered therein are:
- Science (Medical): Physics, Chemistry, Biology
Optional subjects: Math, Engineering Drawing, Economics, Computer Science, Informatics Practices, Biotechnology
- Science (Non-Medical): Physics, Chemistry, Math
Optional Subjects: Biology, Engineering Drawing, Economics, Computer Science, Informatics Practices
- Commerce: Business Studies, Accounts, Economics
Optional Subjects: Math, Informatics Practices
- Arts: History, Geography, Political Science
Optional Subjects: Economics, PsychologyOne language (English is usually a compulsory subject in most schools)
- Know your interests and aptitude. Co-curricular activities and inputs from friends & family can be valuable in this regard. You can also take the help of psychometric testing by certified guidance counselors.
- Have a Career Plan revolving around a minimum of 3-4 careers in place.
- Think it through yourself; what is good for your friend may not be good for you.
- Explore career options and discover new opportunities that may excite you (this process should indeed continue within the broad field throughout the two years of plus two studies).
- Be realistic and honest with yourself-no one knows you better than you do! If you know for instance, that you do not have a ‘Math-Brain’, do not fool yourself into taking Science.
- Pay heed to the advice from parents and other adults who know you closely. Their experience can often provide you valuable insights both about yourself and the world of work.
It is important that you think through before taking this decision. Do not take it in haste or feel pressured in any way whatsoever.
Add Comment Total Comments (406)
1. vishnu soman | March 29th, 2016 at 2:04 pm
i am a 10th class student & i have attended the final exams.now i want to take pcb in 11th class but am confused about what is better for my future with this-eco or maths.i am sure that i would be eligible for taking scence stream. can you help me out in any way to sole my confusion?
2. avrita | March 29th, 2016 at 11:26 am
i am interested in pcm but i got less marks
in maths ai 10 std. i am afraid of jee. i am confused to take science or commerce. but i am able to secure above 90% in science.and i am not interested in medicles
3. savitha | March 27th, 2016 at 11:29 am
what group i can select after my 10th studies?
4. Meritnation | March 5th, 2016 at 9:51 pm
Hi Aditya,
At Meritnation, we are always ready & happy to help you with your queries. You can directly ask for career guidance from our expert Payal Krishnan at expert_payalkrishnan@meritnation.com .
Team Meritnation
5. Aditya | March 5th, 2016 at 12:37 pm
I got 8 cgpa and I study in dps.
I really want PCBP. Will I be able to get it ?
6. Meritnation | February 29th, 2016 at 10:01 am
Hi Anjali,
At Meritnation, we are always ready & happy to help you with your queries. You can directly ask for career guidance from our expert Payal Krishnan at expert_payalkrishnan@meritnation.com .
Team Meritnation
7. anjali | February 27th, 2016 at 9:31 pm
hyy…its anjali
after passing my 10class exam…i got 8.6cgp ..i am confused what to choose in 11in science stream…if i choose pcbm …but mjhe daarrrr lgta h.maths se…sooo can you help me what to choose
8. Meritnation | February 17th, 2016 at 12:36 pm
Hi Christin,
At Meritnation, we are always ready & happy to help you with your queries. You can directly ask for career guidance from our expert Payal Krishnan at expert_payalkrishnan@meritnation.com .
Team Meritnation
9. Christin | February 15th, 2016 at 10:03 pm
Can I know what all subjects that I should Take in 11th grade (stream selection) for being a web developer or in any IT field
10. Shivani Mohanty | February 7th, 2016 at 10:59 am
If i keep maths as optional , could i still pursue engineering ?
11. Meritnation | February 8th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
Hi Jiten,
At Meritnation, we are always ready & happy to help you with your queries. You can directly ask for career guidance from our expert Payal Krishnan at expert_payalkrishnan@meritnation.com .
Team Meritnation
12. jiten sahoo | February 5th, 2016 at 9:32 am
dear sir, one of my canfidate going to appair in the class x exam. he is not so good in math. but wel in other science subject. can he take science having biology in compalsury elective and math as optional.
13. Meritnation | January 7th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
Hi Sanjana,
At Meritnation, we are always ready & happy to help you with your queries. You can directly ask for career guidance from our expert Payal Krishnan at expert_payalkrishnan@meritnation.com .
Team Meritnation
14. Sanjana ravi | December 31st, 2015 at 2:09 am
I have dificulty in choosing my main subjects in 11th as future career mainly depends on psychology……
Can you please consult me!!
15. Meritnation | January 7th, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Hi Arun,
At Meritnation, we are always ready & happy to help you with your queries. You can directly ask for career guidance from our expert Payal Krishnan at expert_payalkrishnan@meritnation.com .
Team Meritnation
16. Arun Ganesh | December 30th, 2015 at 12:36 pm
Dear All,
My son scored 89% (overall) in the latest school test during 2015 (state board/Samacheer Kalvi-Tamil Nadu).
He got above 85% in each of the subjects (maths, Science & Social Science) in English medium.
Can you suggest which group to choose in Plus 1 in 2016 (Biology 1st group or Comp Sci 2nd group or Stat / Commerce 3rd group)?
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Hari Krishnan (30.12.2015)
17. varma | October 16th, 2015 at 9:15 pm
witch subjects passed in 1st year,& 3rd sem eligibility in polytecinic 4th &5th sems please give me the suggestion
18. Parabhjot singh | September 22nd, 2015 at 5:07 pm
I got 62% can I get Commerce
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21. Joel | August 16th, 2015 at 11:24 am
Now I am studing in 10 std,in IX which option I can take ,I planing to attendant IAS exam ,I am good in maths&Science please help me..
22. rupanna | August 14th, 2015 at 9:21 pm
i do no wat grp 2 take?????????????????????help meeeeeeeeeeee
23. Mitanshu Batra | August 11th, 2015 at 8:01 pm
Hello I m in class 9 .And I have an option for either choose maths or evs .I get less marks in maths so my percentage goes down .And if I opt for evs then my career choosing options would be limited. Pls suggest me…….
24. umama | August 2nd, 2015 at 12:12 am
Hello sir thanks for your suggestions bt I didn’t get it clearly…actually I want to know that how ip can help me in future rather than P.E …I want to knw its advantages
25. shubhangi thote | July 27th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
this is bloge some otere student difficulty in solve
26. miglior microonde 2015 | July 19th, 2015 at 8:45 am
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And obviously, thanks in your effort!
27. Samyak Jain | July 9th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
What preparations should i do if i want to take pcm and computer science as a student of class 9?
28. snehal | July 9th, 2015 at 10:46 am
Sir… U choose. A commerce bt m confused Between Sp nd maths. I want To do CS after 12 what should I do??
29. Prudhvi. K | July 3rd, 2015 at 5:08 pm
Pls….. sir pls…………………. help me.. pls…..
30. Prudhvi. K | July 3rd, 2015 at 5:02 pm
Hai sir,
This is prudhvi I’m interested in police officer of SI and I passed In 10th class marks of 80+ but I have confusion in taking group in clge. Pls….. help me in taking subjects in clge. Pls……..
31. umama | July 3rd, 2015 at 3:52 pm
Please help me
32. Meritnation | July 3rd, 2015 at 5:51 pm
Hi Umama
I believe you are opting for I.P in lieu of Maths,which means that all the PCB careers will of course be open for you, in addition you may explore careers in the field of computers. Informatics practices is about Computer- programming skills, database creation etc, so ideally if you want to do an MCA you will need Maths. To give you a better idea of the I.P. course, here are key learning objectives of the course: To gain working knowledge of a computer system and peripherals
To understand the application development process.
To gain programming skills in front-end development
To gain skills in Database Creation and querying using ANSI SQL.
To design, program and develop database driven web applications using GUI Programming Tool and RDBMS.
To understand and appreciate open source and open standard concepts
Hope this helps. Good Luck!
33. umama | July 3rd, 2015 at 3:47 pm
Hey sir I am umama …and I am a student of class 11now…and I want to take IP instead of P.E…nd m a student of medical…so I want to know that what benefit I will get by taking I.P with biology…..Please please please sir reply me soon….I want to take a quick decision
34. bhavika | June 30th, 2015 at 8:10 pm
I need help… l
actually I wanna knw… wat if I take maths subject ?nd I wanna opt for commerce… so how can it benefit further? Wat carrer option can I have???
35. mayuri bisen | June 27th, 2015 at 9:42 pm
i am confused whether to choose maths or commerce stream? i m not good in maths..but i m got in Pcb but no intrest in medical..i had 8 cgpa in maths in eng 10 cgpa n all other sub 9 cgpa..
36. Sahin Hoque | June 26th, 2015 at 5:14 pm
Is it possible for a student to study computer science further if he had not taken it as optional subject in class 11?
37. Ritika Kohli | June 17th, 2015 at 12:31 pm
I just wanted to know that is biology important if we further want to give exam for PMT Medical??
38. Ritika Kohli | June 17th, 2015 at 12:28 pm
Right now i am in 10.. I think of taking science in 11.. So what if i take subjects as PCM + C++.. What can i do further?????? Can u pllzzz guide me???
39. Mahak Mahyy | June 15th, 2015 at 4:26 pm
I want to opt maths with that can i go to the fashion deaigning field.please reply
40. aishwarya | June 11th, 2015 at 2:41 pm
sir, i am in class 11. i ve opted commerce with applied arts. i want to do fashion designing. so my question is ” is maths compulsory for qualifying nift exam?
please reply.
it will really help me.
41. Hemant | June 9th, 2015 at 6:24 pm
can.i.take hindi with cs
42. Shubhashis | June 5th, 2015 at 11:19 am
I want to opt for Sci (PCB) in class XI .I am weak in maths and faces difficulty in doing numerical problems in chem and physics,but I can theory very well.
If I opt for sci ,then what would be my career option .
43. hemanth | June 4th, 2015 at 11:30 am
i wanted to study robotic engineering after my 12 and now i study physics,chemistry,maths,English and biology.
44. Meritnation | June 3rd, 2015 at 12:12 pm
Hi Dev
Thank you for your query . Have you studied sanskrit till 10th grade? Because after having surveyed the subject choices of many students . Our experts have found that generally students find it easier to score well in physical education. With languages ,especially if you haven’t studied Sanskrit till 10th grade , taking it up suddenly can be tough at the level of 11th & 12th.
It is advised that if you haven’t studied Sanskrit , P.E would be a better option that would help you score better. For more questions you can always visit our ask & answer forum http://www.meritnation.com/ask-answer/expert-answers where you get answers from our experts.
We wish you the very best!
Team Meritnation
45. Dev | June 1st, 2015 at 9:32 pm
which one is more scoring as a fifth subject physical education or sanskrit
46. Meritnation | June 1st, 2015 at 12:24 pm
Hi Ankit
First of all many congratulations on your excellent result. Meritnation offers a cool tool called the popular schools of the world . Here you can search and read review of popular schools in Gujrat. VISIT http://www.meritnation.com/popular-schools . Hope this helps. Looking forward to your feedback.
Cheers!
Team Meritnation
47. ankit chandel | May 31st, 2015 at 12:14 am
I have scored 8 cgpa in 10th standerd and want to take science in Gujarat with CBSE board..So please suggest me some good schools in Gujarat so that i can go for futher studies in 11th standerd..
PLEASE HELP ME…
48. rimzhim | May 29th, 2015 at 11:06 pm
hello i have scored 7.6 cgpa and i want to take pcb and maths as optional…is it a good decision pzz suggest me…or can i change my optional subject in class 12th
49. nancy | May 29th, 2015 at 9:54 am
I got 9 cgpa in class 10.would it be wise to take commerce with IP in 11 if I want to do fashion designing and mba?
50. Cibhi Baskar | May 29th, 2015 at 7:12 am
I have scored 8.0 CGPA in class 10 CBSE exam. My question is what syllabus i should take CBSE or STATEBOARD, to score good marks in class 12 ?. I would like to join NIT.
Plz i am very confused . help me guys.
51. Magesh Kumar | May 25th, 2015 at 2:08 pm
My daughter scored 365 in 10th public state board exam in Tamilnadu. Now she is willing further study to Vocational Group (Home Science, Nutrician, Psychiatrist, Child care, English, Tamil)in CSI Ewart matriculation school, chennai 10. I am at-present very confused for above subject Hence I request you to kindly tell best group for life
52. shadab | May 23rd, 2015 at 3:18 pm
what should I take computer science or biology if want to be an engineer
53. shaurya pratap singh | May 23rd, 2015 at 1:19 am
heyy.. PLz help me ,am too get burdened with subject choosing between BOILOGY or MATHS.. my conditions is so inversed as i am an average student n intrested in both the subjects but don’t want to take any additional subject… PLZ help me for this..
54. Abhishek | May 20th, 2015 at 7:19 pm
Which subject is best to choose either Economics or Computer Science and which subject is easier than other?
55. ANISH | May 20th, 2015 at 4:50 pm
I am in class XI and my school has given me a commerce stream , i am happy with it and with subjects
English , Business Studies , Accountancy , Entrepreneurship , and Physical Education .
But my worries are
How are these subjects ? I need to do B.Com or B . com ( HONS ) are these subjects good enough to get admission in good commerce college .
If not do i have a student right to take economics and leaving P.E . ?
As my school is not giving me economics.
56. Ronak chowdhury | May 19th, 2015 at 8:43 pm
I tak commrc..but i dont chose computer and maths,,so what are the careers in futre wths ths subjcts whch i chose
57. Akansha | May 17th, 2015 at 11:54 pm
HELLO, I AM ASPIRANT OF MEDICAL STREAM. PLS TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF THE BEST SCHOOLS IN NORTH DELHI OR NEAR BY NCR, WHERE I CAN GET ADMISSION IN CLASS XI.
58. Anuj | May 16th, 2015 at 10:31 am
I got commerce with maths..
What will be my cgpa in 10th?
.
59. Arshpreet | May 15th, 2015 at 5:13 am
I’m interested in fashion line but my parents want me to be an engineer. I don’t like maths as I m very poor in it and science is not my cup of tea. What should I opt in 11 plzzzzz help….
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