Need help on IB choices!
So we are preparing to choose our final IB options and I am really conflicted about my choices 
I'd love if you'd be able to help me!
I think my english is alright as I get 6's and sometimes 7's for our coursework writing, and 6's for both language and lit exams. I love art and have taken it for gcse but our teacher doesn't teach very well and gives all of us low scores, and my parents aren't letting on. I would've taken HL art if it weren't for my parents.
So here are my choices so far:
HL: Economics, Eng Lit
SL: Math, Bio/Physics, Chinese B
I need one more subject for HL and I have been considering Music, Philosophy or Business.
I've previously done music and business for my gcse's and i enjoyed business a lot but am afraid that business + econ will narrow my options down a lot more to just studying law/business in uni. However i've also heard HL music is extremely hard and I am only confident in the performance section, so compositions and theory isn't my strongest suit. I am grade 8 in piano and also love singing. I haven't taken philosophy previously either. Which would be easier to get a higher mark?
So which higher should i choose? And should i still consider HL art as an option?
Is SL bio or physics easier?
Quick note: I've never learnt economics before (parent's decision)
I'd love if you'd be able to help me! I think my english is alright as I get 6's and sometimes 7's for our coursework writing, and 6's for both language and lit exams. I love art and have taken it for gcse but our teacher doesn't teach very well and gives all of us low scores, and my parents aren't letting on. I would've taken HL art if it weren't for my parents.
So here are my choices so far:
HL: Economics, Eng Lit
SL: Math, Bio/Physics, Chinese B
I need one more subject for HL and I have been considering Music, Philosophy or Business.
I've previously done music and business for my gcse's and i enjoyed business a lot but am afraid that business + econ will narrow my options down a lot more to just studying law/business in uni. However i've also heard HL music is extremely hard and I am only confident in the performance section, so compositions and theory isn't my strongest suit. I am grade 8 in piano and also love singing. I haven't taken philosophy previously either. Which would be easier to get a higher mark?
So which higher should i choose? And should i still consider HL art as an option?
Is SL bio or physics easier?
Quick note: I've never learnt economics before (parent's decision)
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by natalie222
So we are preparing to choose our final IB options and I am really conflicted about my choices I'd love if you'd be able to help me!
I think my english is alright as I get 6's and sometimes 7's for our coursework writing, and 6's for both language and lit exams. I love art and have taken it for gcse but our teacher doesn't teach very well and gives all of us low scores, and my parents aren't letting on. I would've taken HL art if it weren't for my parents.
So here are my choices so far:
HL: Economics, Eng Lit
SL: Math, Bio, Chinese B
I need one more subject for HL and I have been considering Music, Philosophy or Business.
I've previously done music and business for my gcse's and i enjoyed business a lot but am afraid that business + econ will narrow my options down a lot more to just studying law/business in uni. However i've also heard HL music is extremely hard and I am only confident in the performance section, so compositions and theory isn't my strongest suit. I am grade 8 in piano and also love singing. I haven't taken philosophy previously either. Which would be easier to get a higher mark?
So which higher should i choose? And should i still consider HL art as an option?
Quick note: I've never learnt economics before (parent's decision)
I'd love if you'd be able to help me! I think my english is alright as I get 6's and sometimes 7's for our coursework writing, and 6's for both language and lit exams. I love art and have taken it for gcse but our teacher doesn't teach very well and gives all of us low scores, and my parents aren't letting on. I would've taken HL art if it weren't for my parents.
So here are my choices so far:
HL: Economics, Eng Lit
SL: Math, Bio, Chinese B
I need one more subject for HL and I have been considering Music, Philosophy or Business.
I've previously done music and business for my gcse's and i enjoyed business a lot but am afraid that business + econ will narrow my options down a lot more to just studying law/business in uni. However i've also heard HL music is extremely hard and I am only confident in the performance section, so compositions and theory isn't my strongest suit. I am grade 8 in piano and also love singing. I haven't taken philosophy previously either. Which would be easier to get a higher mark?
So which higher should i choose? And should i still consider HL art as an option?
Quick note: I've never learnt economics before (parent's decision)
If your parents are pretty much choosing your subjects for ib your gonna hate it. IB is tough, you have to really enjoy the subjects you do! Definitely don't take business, its not really respected by universities and if you do want to study it at unit economics will be more helpful. If you enjoy art I would really recommend doing it as a HL my friends loved it. I have no experience of music or philosophy though sorry.
Original post by gravesy
If your parents are pretty much choosing your subjects for ib your gonna hate it. IB is tough, you have to really enjoy the subjects you do! Definitely don't take business, its not really respected by universities and if you do want to study it at unit economics will be more helpful. If you enjoy art I would really recommend doing it as a HL my friends loved it. I have no experience of music or philosophy though sorry.
Thanks for your advice
I've decided to keep HL econ!I'm starting HL economics next year too. It soundss like great fun and I really can't wait. I wouldn't choose philosophy and I imagine that philosophy will be very hard as many people struggle at GCSE with it.
If you really enjoy art could you keep it at SL. I've heard that art at IB is much better as it is more experimental and you make your own choices. Then you could transfer one of your SL to HL?
I agree with you about business. Many unis state that they urge you not to do both if studying Law. However, if your grade 8 in piano the. I think you are pretty capable of doing music.
If you really enjoy art could you keep it at SL. I've heard that art at IB is much better as it is more experimental and you make your own choices. Then you could transfer one of your SL to HL?
I agree with you about business. Many unis state that they urge you not to do both if studying Law. However, if your grade 8 in piano the. I think you are pretty capable of doing music.
Original post by natalie222
So we are preparing to choose our final IB options and I am really conflicted about my choices I'd love if you'd be able to help me!
I think my english is alright as I get 6's and sometimes 7's for our coursework writing, and 6's for both language and lit exams. I love art and have taken it for gcse but our teacher doesn't teach very well and gives all of us low scores, and my parents aren't letting on. I would've taken HL art if it weren't for my parents.
So here are my choices so far:
HL: Economics, Eng Lit
SL: Math, Bio/Physics, Chinese B
I need one more subject for HL and I have been considering Music, Philosophy or Business.
I've previously done music and business for my gcse's and i enjoyed business a lot but am afraid that business + econ will narrow my options down a lot more to just studying law/business in uni. However i've also heard HL music is extremely hard and I am only confident in the performance section, so compositions and theory isn't my strongest suit. I am grade 8 in piano and also love singing. I haven't taken philosophy previously either. Which would be easier to get a higher mark?
So which higher should i choose? And should i still consider HL art as an option?
Is SL bio or physics easier?
Quick note: I've never learnt economics before (parent's decision)
I'd love if you'd be able to help me! I think my english is alright as I get 6's and sometimes 7's for our coursework writing, and 6's for both language and lit exams. I love art and have taken it for gcse but our teacher doesn't teach very well and gives all of us low scores, and my parents aren't letting on. I would've taken HL art if it weren't for my parents.
So here are my choices so far:
HL: Economics, Eng Lit
SL: Math, Bio/Physics, Chinese B
I need one more subject for HL and I have been considering Music, Philosophy or Business.
I've previously done music and business for my gcse's and i enjoyed business a lot but am afraid that business + econ will narrow my options down a lot more to just studying law/business in uni. However i've also heard HL music is extremely hard and I am only confident in the performance section, so compositions and theory isn't my strongest suit. I am grade 8 in piano and also love singing. I haven't taken philosophy previously either. Which would be easier to get a higher mark?
So which higher should i choose? And should i still consider HL art as an option?
Is SL bio or physics easier?
Quick note: I've never learnt economics before (parent's decision)
GCSE Business to Econ is definitely doable. I myself did it (SL Econ) and know of two other friends who did (HL Econ) and we're all getting 6/7.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by emilys7
I'm starting HL economics next year too. It soundss like great fun and I really can't wait. I wouldn't choose philosophy and I imagine that philosophy will be very hard as many people struggle at GCSE with it.
If you really enjoy art could you keep it at SL. I've heard that art at IB is much better as it is more experimental and you make your own choices. Then you could transfer one of your SL to HL?
I agree with you about business. Many unis state that they urge you not to do both if studying Law. However, if your grade 8 in piano the. I think you are pretty capable of doing music.
If you really enjoy art could you keep it at SL. I've heard that art at IB is much better as it is more experimental and you make your own choices. Then you could transfer one of your SL to HL?
I agree with you about business. Many unis state that they urge you not to do both if studying Law. However, if your grade 8 in piano the. I think you are pretty capable of doing music.
I do Art and I would not recommend doing it unless you are fully committed and also not to do it at SL. It's very time-consuming and is generally not worth it at SL. It's also very very hard, don't listen to people who say that it's not. I've heard from several teachers and college counselors that it's considered the most difficult subject at IB because of the random marking.
Physics HL is quite easy actually, especially if you've done it at GCSE level as they start from the very basic concepts (i.e. Newton's Laws) which you would've already done if you've taken Physics as one of your GCSE subject. Business seems like a good HL option to me especially since you enjoy it and the grade boundaries for Business are quite low (around 70% for a 7); however, it wouldn't make sense to take Eco and Business at HL if thats not what you're doing at uni. I would advise you to take another science subject instead of music since arts subjects are extremely subjective and you can't really guarantee a high grade (it all depends on your teachers) whereas, you can actually prepare and do well in a science subject and considering that you haven't decided what you want to do at uni taking a science at HL gives you many more options I think!
Taking Physics SL with Bio HL wouldn't be a bad option either according to me, but i guess it boils down to whatever subjects you enjoy studying more and are confident you can do well in.
Good luck with whatever you choose!
Taking Physics SL with Bio HL wouldn't be a bad option either according to me, but i guess it boils down to whatever subjects you enjoy studying more and are confident you can do well in.
Good luck with whatever you choose!
Do music higher level! Seriously it's so laid back and free. For your performance you can literally do whatever you want (as long as it sounds good and is of a high-ish standard) and the compositions are completely free (although I guess this could depend on your teacher/school as they might give you a brief, but it's not like A level where everyone has to do exactly the same thing that the exam board sets). Also you only do 2 set works and the rest is analysing a piece you've never heard before. I guess this could be a positive or a negative but if you have a good grounding in music it's much easier than trying to remember everything about a load of pieces. And there's no theory paper! The analysis' are just essays so you can just go into the theory depth you're comfortable with and still get like full marks!
p.s do sl physics, physics IB is so much fun
p.s do sl physics, physics IB is so much fun
Original post by natalie222
So we are preparing to choose our final IB options and I am really conflicted about my choices I'd love if you'd be able to help me!
I think my english is alright as I get 6's and sometimes 7's for our coursework writing, and 6's for both language and lit exams. I love art and have taken it for gcse but our teacher doesn't teach very well and gives all of us low scores, and my parents aren't letting on. I would've taken HL art if it weren't for my parents.
So here are my choices so far:
HL: Economics, Eng Lit
SL: Math, Bio/Physics, Chinese B
I need one more subject for HL and I have been considering Music, Philosophy or Business.
I've previously done music and business for my gcse's and i enjoyed business a lot but am afraid that business + econ will narrow my options down a lot more to just studying law/business in uni. However i've also heard HL music is extremely hard and I am only confident in the performance section, so compositions and theory isn't my strongest suit. I am grade 8 in piano and also love singing. I haven't taken philosophy previously either. Which would be easier to get a higher mark?
So which higher should i choose? And should i still consider HL art as an option?
Is SL bio or physics easier?
Quick note: I've never learnt economics before (parent's decision)
I'd love if you'd be able to help me! I think my english is alright as I get 6's and sometimes 7's for our coursework writing, and 6's for both language and lit exams. I love art and have taken it for gcse but our teacher doesn't teach very well and gives all of us low scores, and my parents aren't letting on. I would've taken HL art if it weren't for my parents.
So here are my choices so far:
HL: Economics, Eng Lit
SL: Math, Bio/Physics, Chinese B
I need one more subject for HL and I have been considering Music, Philosophy or Business.
I've previously done music and business for my gcse's and i enjoyed business a lot but am afraid that business + econ will narrow my options down a lot more to just studying law/business in uni. However i've also heard HL music is extremely hard and I am only confident in the performance section, so compositions and theory isn't my strongest suit. I am grade 8 in piano and also love singing. I haven't taken philosophy previously either. Which would be easier to get a higher mark?
So which higher should i choose? And should i still consider HL art as an option?
Is SL bio or physics easier?
Quick note: I've never learnt economics before (parent's decision)
I've just finished IB with HL Economics, English Lit and Music, so am probably well suited to answering your question. HL Economics is a course that does not require any background knowledge - despite doing Business Studies for IGCSE, I found Econs fun and relatively straight-forward.
From your post, it seems that you find English easy so HL English won't be a problem at all
Ultimately, literature boils down to the quality of your writing and your ability to analyse poems, prose and unseen passages. Make sure you do well in your IOP and IOC as they count a lot for your grade! If you want to take HL Art, take it. Your parents shouldn't be the ones choosing your IB subjects for you. That said, Art takes a lot of work (I know a few friends in HL Art who were at the Art studio every lunchtime).
I finished Grade 8 Piano before starting HL Music. On the whole, I would say that you should be comfortable with reading music scores and being able to analyse musical extracts. IB Music doesn't test you as much on theory as it does on seeing how you can identify the relevant musical elements (melody, harmony, rhythm) , the contextual background of the piece as well as the overall structure. This is actually much easier than theory! Also, if you're at Grade 8 already, you're pretty much set for performances. You just need to take time to learn new pieces and practice them. With HL Music, you also have to do composition - a lot of people struggle with this. It is a lot of fun, but I strongly suggest getting a composition teacher and getting the music software so you can fiddle around with it at home.
Out of Music, Business, Philosophy and Art, I would say that all four are hard to get a 7 in due to being so subjective. Therefore, you should pick the one that you like most. You'll be devoting a lot of time each week to each HL subject so bare that in mind. I don't regret choosing Music at all - it was kind of my relief subject from Maths, Biology etc.
Good luck! PM me anytime if have anymore questions
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