[Roll.J]

I started re-considering my IB options these few weeks, after finishing my IGCSEs in May. The teachers from my school advises us to take the subjects that we like for IB.
My original options are:
HL Food Technology (included in the science category)
HL Business
HL Art
SL Maths
SL English Literature
SL Mandarin A
I like my original options. However, I am not quite sure about my strengths and what I want to do in my future. Therefore, not including a lab science(chem/bio/phy) narrows my future pathway and limits my options for universities, as most well-known universities require applicants to study science. Moreover, universities might consider food technology as an easy subject and that I am taking it as a higher level seems like I am trying to take an easy path.Therefore, I rearranged my options and came up with this decision:
HL English Literature
HL Business
HL Art
SL Maths
SL Mandarin
SL Biology
My new options is well-rounded, meets most university course's requirements. However, I feel like it is so much more difficult to get a high score than my original option, as I am not exactly confident at science. I am very confused here and I have no idea what to do. Can someone tell me the difficulty of the subjects that I am taking? especially HL Eng Lit, Art and SL bio?? THANKS!I NEED HELP!

[saachi]

I took HL English and Art, and yes they're both quite difficult but if you have a good teacher and you're passionate about the subjects then you won't even notice the hard work you put in. But if you don't enjoy Art or English, they're actually rather difficult to score well on. So it depends, really on how much you're willing to work in them.

Honestly, I don't see the point of taking Bio just to keep your options open- if you do decide to go for a science related career then universities will usually want to see a combination of bio/ chem. I think it's important to decide now which stream you want to be in- I'm not saying narrow your choices down to biomed or econ, but at least pick a stream like the Arts or whatever. Because a 'well- rounded' option in IB isn't always a good one. Whatever you end up applying for at university, you'll realize that 5 of your subjects were useless, unless you pick a stream.

IB also becomes easier to handle if you have related subjects. For example I took Evss with Geography and they sort of complemented each other. Someone else took EVss, Geo, and Economics, which is an excellent combination because they're so interconnected. Art with DT also makes for a good combination. You see what I mean? There must be something that you're leaning toward, right?

[Heeck]

(Original post by saachi)
I took HL English and Art, and yes they're both quite difficult but if you have a good teacher and you're passionate about the subjects then you won't even notice the hard work you put in. But if you don't enjoy Art or English, they're actually rather difficult to score well on. So it depends, really on how much you're willing to work in them.

Honestly, I don't see the point of taking Bio just to keep your options open- if you do decide to go for a science related career then universities will usually want to see a combination of bio/ chem. I think it's important to decide now which stream you want to be in- I'm not saying narrow your choices down to biomed or econ, but at least pick a stream like the Arts or whatever. Because a 'well- rounded' option in IB isn't always a good one. Whatever you end up applying for at university, you'll realize that 5 of your subjects were useless, unless you pick a stream.

IB also becomes easier to handle if you have related subjects. For example I took Evss with Geography and they sort of complemented each other. Someone else took EVss, Geo, and Economics, which is an excellent combination because they're so interconnected. Art with DT also makes for a good combination. You see what I mean? There must be something that you're leaning toward, right?

I do agree with your point about it helps if subjects are linked but I think its more important for the op to keep their options for university as wide as possible. Anyway, how do HL Food Technology, HL Business and HL Art relate to each other apart from maybe adding a little business spinoff to each subject?

In short I think your second set of subjects is a much better choice since most UK universities have only recently accepted ESS as a “respectable science” let alone HL Food Technology. Though if the op really doesn't want to take sciences and wants to keep their options open then just take ESS (Every UK university accepts it, though you can't take it for many if any science related courses).

[Aeschylus]

Your second choice is much more well-rounded. HL Art is a lot of work though, remember that.

[Heeck]

(Original post by Aeschylus)
Your second choice is much more well-rounded. HL Art is a lot of work though, remember that.

I completely agree with Aeschylus, since one of my best friends did HL Art and they were always doing projects and I believe were expected to do 15-30 hours a week alone on HL Art to keep on track with their projects.

In short you really need to be motived and love art to take HL Art, otherwise the workload alone will be too much .

[Flip1]

As always, the problem with subjective subjects (especially the infamous HL English in the IB), is that the grade you get is almost virtually unpredictable. If you're excellent you will get either a 6 or if you're LUCKY (and I cannot emphasise this enough) a 7.

[Roll.J]

(Original post by Flip1)
As always, the problem with subjective subjects (especially the infamous HL English in the IB), is that the grade you get is almost virtually unpredictable. If you're excellent you will get either a 6 or if you're LUCKY (and I cannot emphasise this enough) a 7.

yea..i know that art and eng lit are very subjective subjects because it really depends on what the examiner thinks and likes. Well. I want to choose something else, but I don't have many choices because i am not confident in science or geography..:/ But is it VERY difficult to get a 6/7 in Eng Lit and is it a subject that often drags down students' final grades?

[Flip1]

Simply put: you will get a 6 if you're either a good essayist/writer or you study ridiculous amounts. The difference between a 6 or a 7 is your examiner's mood and their highly subjective appreciation of your ideas.