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The "Which IB subjects should I choose" Thread

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Reply 80

s-j-123

should i take chemistry or biology for IB (HL)?
i plan on doing engineering (power, mechanical, mainly on energy)

Chemistry

IG grades -

A* - Economics, Biology, Physics, Mathematics
A - Business, Chemistry, ICT
B - Eng lit
C - Eng lang

wats better to study LAw or engineering in the USA, IB+Sats or A level + Stat?

Reply 83

schnargle

Basically everything that SuicidalLemming said.

Also, check your school's subject blocks to make sure you actually CAN take that combination of subjects - mine wouldn't let anyone take two sciences unless one was Chemistry (ie either Chem/Bio or Chem/Phys) because it made sorting out classes too difficult.

Reply 84

schnargle

Chemistry is more relevant and may be a requirement for certain types of engineering, so take Chem. Although if you're certain that you don't specifically need either, and are just looking for extra points, Bio is generally easier to score highly in. Also make sure you have both Maths and Physics at HL.

Reply 85

ragnar_jonsson

You don't "need" anything for Law, really.

I'd recommend History or Philosophy HL (maybe both),
and get as many points as you can (much more important!)
:smile:

e.g.
HL History Philosophy Biology
SL Studies Language B English A1
?

Reply 86

[m a a r i.]

i would think this would be better :P

HL History English A1 Philosophy
SL Biology Math Studies Language B

Reply 87

swirlypop

Everyone at my school says that chemistry is easier than Biology. Because once you grasp the concept of it...its easy. But biology you have to memorize loads!!

Is economics easier than business?

Reply 88

ragnar_jonsson

[QUOTE='[m a a r i.]']i would think this would be better :P

HL History English A1 Philosophy
SL Biology Math Studies Language B

Based on his GCSE grades, I thought he might not like English :smile:

Reply 89

swirlypop

I have absolutely no idea what I want to take in college. Perhaps business, but I really don't know! All I am aiming for is POINTS. I need to get 37 points in IB or above to get into colleges I want.

I really like economics, but I also want to take business. But it would be seem pretty daft and pointless to take both of them at higher level. Many people say economics is hard...and many people say business is easy. I honestly do not know!

And for science...I am considering biology and environmental systems. Biology is really hard I've heard even if I take it at SL! So should I take environmental systems? I am interested in both actually...but I want to take one in which I could get higher marks.

For GCSE now I am taking these subjects and my predicted grades are:

English: A
Math: A*
Chinese: A*
Geography: A*
Economics: A
Music: C
Biology: B
Chemistry: B
Physics: B

Please help me choose my subjects! I am a hard-worker but I prefer easy subjects.

Reply 90

moonwalking

biology is definitely the easier science... except if you're good at maths maybe look at SL physics?

and also business is easier than economics..

Reply 91

s-j-123

IG grades -

A * - Maths, Physics, Biology, Economics

A - Chemistry, ICT, Business

B - Eng LIT C - Eng languAGE

Reply 92

SuicidalLemming

Oh my god stop posting in here :facepalm:

Law you need English and History HL
Engineering you need Maths and Physics HL.

So no. now shoo.

Reply 93

SuicidalLemming

To be honest, pick something you enjoy. You are then more likely to want to work at it, and therefore get moar points.

Reply 94

jacketpotato

Not really, no. Though the subjects for Engineering are much more prescriptive than those for law. But they are totally different disciplines. You need to do a little research and decide what subject you want to take. The fact that you have chosen two completely different disciplines suggests that you don't really know what you want to do at all, so keep an open mind and don't restrict yourself to those subjects.

Reply 95

paradise_lost

looks like you're better at languages and social sciences than natural sciences? you could take business and econs together, but with one at HL and the other at SL. I think they complement each other pretty well. I took econs at SL and I can say that it is not hard at all. the lowest mark in my class was a 6. but then again we had a great teacher. ^^ either way, the material is quite simple and easy to understand.

I'd ask you to take biology since I think universities would look better upon it. environmental systems is a sort of mish-mash thing isn't it? no offence to those taking it. :P I took HL bio. bio at SL is quite easy. it's the easiest science as said above.

are you good at math? then take math HL lol you'd enjoy it. take english HL if you're strong too. if not stay away and just take SL haha.

Reply 96

Aphotic Cosmos

Biology is a lot better than Chemistry at IB. The course involves a lot more practicals, and I personally found the Biology course to be extremely interesting. I'd still choose it over Chemistry in a flash. My best mate, who did chemistry, absolutely detested it. At standard level in particular, biology is significantly easier than chemistry.

As for Geography Vs. Economics . . . either one is pretty broad and useful. You do have a larger coursework component in Geography, if that helps you to make up your mind. My personal choice is [naturally] Geography, because it's considerably broader than economics and is often offered as Geography And Economics anyway.

Reply 97

swirlypop

Any questions about IB? Struggling to choose subjects? Dunno whether to choose subjects that you LIKE or subjects that will LOOK GOOD on your college application? Try this forum!

Reply 98

swirlypop

I have a question about my subjects. Should I chose subjects that I could get high marks or subjects that will look good in my college application? Currently, I WANT to take these subjects because I know it is less demanding and I can do well in it:

HL Chinese
HL Business & Management
HL Geography

SL Math
SL English
SL Environmental Systems

But the thing is...they are all really crap and not "pure" subjects. I doubt colleges like Cambridge would even consider me if I applied. These are the subjects are I am considering if I really want to apply to top unis:

HL Chinese
HL Economics
HL Geography

SL Math
SL English
SL Chemistry

Which option should I go for? Thanks!

Reply 99

fakeplastictrees

I wrote out a long response about which subjects I think you should take, but I'm deleting it all and writing this instead:

I have one main piece of advice for anyone debating subjects and points:
Do not listen to what anyone else has told you about the difficulty level of any particular course

It is so entirely subjective. Check out any sort of "which IB subject is the most difficult?" thread, and you'll find one person complaining about how HL Maths, for example, is the bane of their existence, and the next person will comment on how it's really easy for them. Someone will post about how getting a 7 in English A1 is impossible, and someone will say most people in their school got 7s in it.

Before starting IB, I talked to some of the older kids. They all told me that HL Chemistry is the most difficult course in the world and that everyone was failing. I was good friends with them, too, so it's not like they were lying to freak me out.
The next year, I along with a bunch of my friends took it, and none of us found it that hard. In fact, the first half of the year was really easy and most of my friends and I all had marks in the mid to high 90s.
General consensus amongst the '09 graduates was that Chem HL is reaaaally hard. General consensus among '10 graduates (following the exact same school lesson plans, tests, etc) is that it's alright (it's gotten harder than last year, but by all means manageable)

I know people who just naturally excel at Math HL and get like 98%. I got 77% on my last test and I tried hard.

What I'm trying to say is, don't pick subjects based on what you've heard other people say about their difficulty level. That is one thing I've learned over the last year. To ignore other people's opinions about IB when making decisions. Some people find somethings difficult, some people find them easy.

Take the second option. A place like Cambridge isn't going to give you an offer if they see that you took the easy road. If you do actually absolutely need to take the easy route just to get the minimum point requirements for a place like Cambridge, then you're most likely not going to get in, anyway.
Just take what you want to take, or what you know you are personally good at. Work hard. It'll pay off and you'll do fine.

Sorry it's really long and probably redundant. I've never been particularly good with brevity (which, might I add, comes naturally to some of my friends :p: