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The "Which IB subjects should I choose" Thread

Hey, I just started IB and need a bit of help...

I took:

HL
English A1
Russian B
History

SL
Math
Business & Management
Biology

I'm sort of shooting for Oxford English. They ask for at least 38 points, all of your core points, and 6s and 7s in your HLs. I'm pretty confident about my English and History, but I was wondering whether anyone knows what Russian B HL is like? I lived in Russia for 5 years and knew it fluently, but I forgot most of it when I moved away. I'm Serbian (and understand quite a few Slavic languages) and have been re-learning Russian for 2 years now...

Reply 621

Shaad

2

My school has asked IB permission to take all 3 Sciences but to drop a subject from the Humanities group (Eco,Business etc)

So I have decided to take the following subjects

English Literature
French
Math
Biology
Physics
Chemistry

Now from these 3, I really like Biology so I am certain that I want to take Biology HL

I have also decided to take French and English SL (even though I am pretty good in English). The reason for me taking English SL is because I either want to do engineering or medical and in those streams I don't think English is very important..

Now that leaves 3 Subjects..

Physics
Math
Chemistry

Now in my IGCSE I am getting an A in all 3. However, I've heard that Math HL is very hard due to which in many instances the whole grade has dipped (heard that it's very hard to get even 5). On the contrary, Physics and Chemistry are also pretty hard..

So you guys give me an overview of these 3 subjects in IB and rate them in difficulty out of 10? I have 2 decide to take 2 out of these 3 as HL and 1 out of the three as Sl.. Please help..

Reply 622

Lou?

I have only half an idea (journalism is a possibility) of what I'd like to study at university and right now I am doing the following subjects.

HL:
Maths
English
ITGS

SL:
Physics
French
Business and Management

The thing is, I have no idea what these subjects would enable me to study at uni and right now, I am considering taking Physics up to HL and doing English at SL but before doing anything, I wanted to know what opportunities, career-wise, would be open to me, if I stick with this current subject combination and what difference it would make, if I went with Physics at HL and English at SL.

Ideally, I'd do ITGS at SL and Physics at HL but ITGS is offered at my school at HL only and if I drop it for Physics HL, I'd have to do any of Geography, History, Art, Chemistry, ECS or Biology at SL, all of which are subjects that I am not keen on doing. :\

I'd really appreciate it if you people could be of help to me, thank you. :wink:

Reply 623

Lou?

Bumpity bump? (sorry but I have only a week to make this decision and ideally, having a couple of days to think things through would be most welcome :tongue:

)

Reply 624

mkeys

Lou?

I have only half an idea (journalism is a possibility) of what I'd like to study at university and right now I am doing the following subjects.

HL:
Maths
English
ITGS

SL:
Physics
French
Business and Management

The thing is, I have no idea what these subjects would enable me to study at uni and right now, I am considering taking Physics up to HL and doing English at SL but before doing anything, I wanted to know what opportunities, career-wise, would be open to me, if I stick with this current subject combination and what difference it would make, if I went with Physics at HL and English at SL.

Ideally, I'd do ITGS at SL and Physics at HL but ITGS is offered at my school at HL only and if I drop it for Physics HL, I'd have to do any of Geography, History, Art, Chemistry, ECS or Biology at SL, all of which are subjects that I am not keen on doing. :\

I'd really appreciate it if you people could be of help to me, thank you. :wink:

First of all you should really do English A1 HL if you want to keep Journalism as a possibility! It gives you a much better chance to get to Journalism in university! :woo:

Unless you want to do something like engineering, I think physics SL should be fine. ITGS sounds interesting and should open you to the IT careers field in the future (I don't take it and my school doesn't offer it so I don't really know), and Maths HL just pretty much covers other stuffs like Accountancy and Economics, which your B&M SL should help you pretty well if you ever want to enter Business/Economics in the future

Overall I think this is a pretty decent subject combination and since you are not keen on doing any other alter :woo:

native subjects you listed down, these subjects would do just fine!

Reply 625

Shaad

2

Shaad

My school has asked IB permission to take all 3 Sciences but to drop a subject from the Humanities group (Eco,Business etc)

So I have decided to take the following subjects

English Literature
French
Math
Biology
Physics
Chemistry

Now from these 3, I really like Biology so I am certain that I want to take Biology HL

I have also decided to take French and English SL (even though I am pretty good in English). The reason for me taking English SL is because I either want to do engineering or medical and in those streams I don't think English is very important..

Now that leaves 3 Subjects..

Physics
Math
Chemistry

Now in my IGCSE I am getting an A in all 3. However, I've heard that Math HL is very hard due to which in many instances the whole grade has dipped (heard that it's very hard to get even 5). On the contrary, Physics and Chemistry are also pretty hard..

So you guys give me an overview of these 3 subjects in IB and rate them in difficulty out of 10? I have 2 decide to take 2 out of these 3 as HL and 1 out of the three as Sl.. Please help..

Bump..

Reply 626

Kiitherine

Well firstly I would look at the university entry requirements to see whether your choices would affect your application next year.
If the entry requirements are no issue then I would avoid HL Maths at all costs. While the other 2 do get stick for being difficult - HL Maths is another parallel of immense complexity.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 627

Welix

2

Original post by Shaad

My school has asked IB permission to take all 3 Sciences but to drop a subject from the Humanities group (Eco,Business etc)

So I have decided to take the following subjects

English Literature
French
Math
Biology
Physics
Chemistry

Now from these 3, I really like Biology so I am certain that I want to take Biology HL

I have also decided to take French and English SL (even though I am pretty good in English). The reason for me taking English SL is because I either want to do engineering or medical and in those streams I don't think English is very important..

Now that leaves 3 Subjects..

Physics
Math
Chemistry

Now in my IGCSE I am getting an A in all 3. However, I've heard that Math HL is very hard due to which in many instances the whole grade has dipped (heard that it's very hard to get even 5). On the contrary, Physics and Chemistry are also pretty hard..

So you guys give me an overview of these 3 subjects in IB and rate them in difficulty out of 10? I have 2 decide to take 2 out of these 3 as HL and 1 out of the three as Sl.. Please help..

All of those 3 subjects are pretty tough. Pick the one you like the most, though I would think that HL Maths will give you the most options. If you want to be an engineer though, you HAVE to take Maths and Physics at HL, otherwise you're not going to fulfil the requirements of a lot of universities.

Now I haven't done Chem or Phys, but apparently the 3 subjects you mention are generally agreed to be the "hardest" at HL, but if you're good at them it won't be an issue.

Another note on maths HL though: I probably worked more for maths over the 2 years than all my other subjects put together, so be prepared to do A LOT of work, especially for the exam. Nonetheless, SL maths would still be quite a bit of work too, so you can't avoid that anyway. Getting an A in IGCSE doesn't mean much though, HL maths is on a wholly different level (I did my IGCSE a year early with an A* and an early AS level in year 11 with A and I got 3s and 4s in my first tests).

I 100% encourage you to take it though, it's in my opinion by far the most rewarding course and very useful for a maths based degree such as engineering (I do economics).

Reply 628

ArtificialInterest

A completely agree with Welix, higher maths is a lot of work. Prepare to sacrifice and inordinate amount of time on it.

Reply 629

Pockie

I'll be taking the IB course next year and my subject choices so far are:

Psychology HL
Business and Management HL*
Design Technology HL*

English Literature SL
Maths SL
Chinese SL*

The ones with a star are the subjects i am not certain of.

1. Which is more useful and appealing for colleges, Business Studies HL or Economics HL? I have never took Economics in IGCSEs so if i do choose to do Economics HL, will i find it challenging/hard because i have not had any previous studies in that subject?

2. Should i study Design Technology HL or Biology HL/SL? I'm aware that Design Technology is not as recognized as the three major sciences, but i am not really a fan of science. However, i think that if i were to apply to a college (excluding art/design colleges), they will prefer a major science compared to DT.

3. I have been studying chinese since Y7, but i am also interested in Japanese Ab Initio. I was wondering whether i should choose something i have more experience and knowledge of or something i am interested in and have never learnt before.

Thanks in advance :smile:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 630

bazoolium

Hi! I am thinking about IB for sixth form, and wanted to know your opinion on subjects. I want to do something english related at university.

I was thinking of:

English HL
French HL
Latin HL

and

History SL
Biology SL
Maths Studies SL

However, I'm not sure if my school will let me do Latin at HL, so would History be the best to chose at HL? I know there's not much of a difference between SL and HL History, but I'm better at Biology. Any thoughts?

Reply 631

webber8345

Original post by Pockie

I'll be taking the IB course next year and my subject choices so far are:

Psychology HL
Business and Management HL*
Design Technology HL*

English Literature SL
Maths SL
Chinese SL*

The ones with a star are the subjects i am not certain of.

1. Which is more useful and appealing for colleges, Business Studies HL or Economics HL? I have never took Economics in IGCSEs so if i do choose to do Economics HL, will i find it challenging/hard because i have not had any previous studies in that subject?

2. Should i study Design Technology HL or Biology HL/SL? I'm aware that Design Technology is not as recognized as the three major sciences, but i am not really a fan of science. However, i think that if i were to apply to a college (excluding art/design colleges), they will prefer a major science compared to DT.

3. I have been studying chinese since Y7, but i am also interested in Japanese Ab Initio. I was wondering whether i should choose something i have more experience and knowledge of or something i am interested in and have never learnt before.

Thanks in advance :smile:

I'm in my second year of the IB and did both DT and Art at GCSE level continuing on with Visual Art SL for the IB. My school doesn't actually offer DT (though theyre considering it for the coming years) at IB but from what I've understood, Art tends to be a more 'recognised' qualification. Also, DT at IB is a lot more physicsy/sciencey than its more design focused counterpart at GCSE level. So despite being a lot of work, if you're interested in a design oriented degree at university, I'd suggest art.
I take Bio HL and though its a lot of CONTENT, its not particularly hard. Its hard to get a 7 because theres a huge amount to memorise and regurgitate but its not hard conceptually like chem or physics. It also leaves a lot of doors open which not having a 'major science' could shut.

In terms of Biz versus Econ, I'd advise Economics. Both are offered at my school as new subjects not offered at GCSE and from what I've gathered, Economics is a lot more useful and applicable in many subjects, unless of course you're doing Business at university.
Obviously there are no 'easy' courses in the IB but I do feel, at least at my school, that there is a definite difference between the academic rigour of the students that each take either economics or biz. Yes you would be starting anew doing economics, but I believe the course is set up well enough that you will be able to pick it up.

I also seriously advise you to take Chinese. Not only does it look great on your uni application (though of course Japanese does too) but you'd be studying something which you already have some grounding in. Taking Japanese ab initio is a bit risky as you don't know how well you'll go, and atleast with Chinese you'll have a higher qualification (B standard I'm assuming).

Unfortunately, despite what may interest you most, universities often care about how your subjects seem in respect to your chosen course, and also your ultimate points.

I took a few subjects because I wanted to be challenged and stimulated and in retrospect, this past year and a half might have been a tad bit less stressful if I'd been less ambitious.

Choose what interests you because you'll work harder if youre happy and interested in the subject, but do keep in mind how your application will look on paper: courses chosen at higher + ultimate points.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 632

HappyWish

Hey guys, I need help in finalizing my IB subject choices, as I will be starting the IB program next year. I'm currently planning to study Engineering at Uni, but I'm also interested in graphic design and architecture.

These are my current ideas for subject choices:

SL English A1
SL French B
SL Chemistry/ Design Tech

HL Maths
HL Physics
HL Economics

These are my questions:

1) Should I study Chemistry or Design Technology at SL? I love both subjects and I'm currently studying both of them at IGCSE level, but which should I choose to keep my options open for architecture/ design?

In other words, do I need Chemistry for Engineering and do I need Design Tech for Architecture? If both are fine for either courses, which is 'easier' or more recognised by unis?

2) If I choose to study Chemistry, would HL Econ and SL Chem, or SL Econ and HL Chem be a better idea? I seem to enjoy Chemistry more, but I'm worried that taking HL Maths, Physics AND Chemistry would be too difficult. Since HL Econ is just covering more course content than SL Econ and not necessarily more difficult (so I've heard), would taking HL Econ be the better option?

Note:
- I'm currently getting a better grade in Chemistry than in Economics
- My father is an economics teacher, so he could quite possibly help me out with the Economics course
- I've been studying Calculus outside of school for quite a while now, so I think I will be able to handle the HL Maths
- I wanted to start by taking HL Maths, Physics, Chemistry, and Economics, then drop one to SL later, but my school doesn't seem to allow me (or at least tries to discourage me) to take 4 HL subjects.

Thanks,
HappyWish :biggrin:

Reply 633

Shmeiks

2

Original post by Pockie

I'll be taking the IB course next year and my subject choices so far are:

Psychology HL
Business and Management HL*
Design Technology HL*

English Literature SL
Maths SL
Chinese SL*

The ones with a star are the subjects i am not certain of.

1. Which is more useful and appealing for colleges, Business Studies HL or Economics HL? I have never took Economics in IGCSEs so if i do choose to do Economics HL, will i find it challenging/hard because i have not had any previous studies in that subject?

2. Should i study Design Technology HL or Biology HL/SL? I'm aware that Design Technology is not as recognized as the three major sciences, but i am not really a fan of science. However, i think that if i were to apply to a college (excluding art/design colleges), they will prefer a major science compared to DT.

3. I have been studying chinese since Y7, but i am also interested in Japanese Ab Initio. I was wondering whether i should choose something i have more experience and knowledge of or something i am interested in and have never learnt before.

Thanks in advance :smile:

Economics is definitely more useful than Business Studies when applying to colleges/unis. Business Studies is recognised as a soft subject, although few get 7's in it. I would strongly advise you to do Economics, I did it for SL (And for my EE), it does not matter that you have no previous economics experience, they walk you through the syllabus from the most elementary economic principles. The fact that you have an economics teacher as a father should really answer the debate; you basically have a full time tutor at your disposal and are likely to have some innate understanding of economics.

I took Design Technology HL because, like you, I was considering architecture, and found it exceedingly easy. The IB somehow counts it as a science, but a basic knowledge of basic chemistry (Subatomic make-up of an atom) is all that is required, and would rarely be tested. Everyone in my class got either 6's or 7's; I would only recommend it if you were taking two other challenging higher's (In my opinion: Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Psychology). I did Physics/Maths/DT HL btw. In other words, I would advise you not to choose both DT and Business STudies, as they are both soft subjects and would disadvantage you when applying.

Languages is really not my strong subject, I made the mistake of taking an ab. intio subject (Italian) instead of French and suffered for it. Therefore I would advise continuing with chinese, but that choice is really up to your preferences.

I studied: Maths/Physics/DT HL; English/Economics/Italian ab. initio SL, feel free to ask me any questions...

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 634

why_so.serious

Hi, I have to make my IB choices soon (in a week or so). I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to take:

HL English (my English is pretty decent and I find English to be alright, better than math or science or language)
HL Philosophy (I love philosophy, this is the ONLY thing I'm looking forward to in the IB!)
HL Psychology/Biology (I like psychology well enough, but I think that biology would open up more doors to me?)

SL Spanish/Chinese B (I definitely would not want to take German/French ab initio)
SL Math (I dislike math, and it's not my best subject, but I don't want to take Studies)
SL Psychology/Biology

These are my current IGCSE grades offered by the school during last year's mocks (which basically tests half of the IGCSE curriculum):
IGCSE Eng Lang - A*
IGCSE Eng Lit - A
IGCSE RS - A*
IGCSE Double Award Science - A* (in all three sciences)
IGCSE Psychology - A*
IGCSE Spanish - A*
IGCSE Math - A*
IGCSE Additional Math - C/D (I haven't been tested, but this is what I think I would have gotten)

I'm interesting in pursuing either law or social psychology, but I pretty much want to keep my options as open as possible.

I'm mostly torn between the HL Psychology/HL Biology part. I definitely enjoy Psychology more, but Biology seems to keep more doors open if I don't want to pursue Psychology any further. I find Biology tolerable. Also, some universities require a HL science that is not Psychology if I want to pursue Psychology further (which is pretty stupid, but what can I do about it? :tongue:

).

So I have a few questions:

1) Should I drop HL Biology?
2) Is HL Biology hard? (I'm pretty much okay with mindlessly memorizing stuff.)
3) In terms of SL Spanish/SL Chinese B, which should I take if I want to impress? I don't mind Chinese, but my Chinese is really not up to scratch at all. Would it look completely horrible to universities if someone coming from Hong Kong failed Chinese B? I'm thinking SL Spanish for now, because my Chinese really isn't all that great.
4) Does the overall subject choice sound alright to you? I don't wait to die a thousand times over during the IB from stress if I don't have to. :tongue:

I know that it would be best if I could take four highers, see whether I like psychology or biology more (but at the moment, at GCSE level, it's no contest; I like psychology a LOT more and get better marks in it too) and drop the one that I dislike, but I don't think my school offers that option.

So basically the question is - should I do the one I like more, or do the one that opens up more doors?

Thanks so much in advance :smile:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 635

pink giggle

Original post by why_so.serious

Hi, I have to make my IB choices soon (in a week or so). I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to take:

HL English (my English is pretty decent and I find English to be alright, better than math or science or language)
HL Philosophy (I love philosophy, this is the ONLY thing I'm looking forward to in the IB!)
HL Psychology/Biology (I like psychology well enough, but I think that biology would open up more doors to me?)

SL Spanish/Chinese B (I definitely would not want to take German/French ab initio)
SL Math (I dislike math, and it's not my best subject, but I don't want to take Studies)
SL Psychology/Biology

These are my current IGCSE grades offered by the school during last year's mocks (which basically tests half of the IGCSE curriculum):
IGCSE Eng Lang - A*
IGCSE Eng Lit - A
IGCSE RS - A*
IGCSE Double Award Science - A* (in all three sciences)
IGCSE Psychology - A*
IGCSE Spanish - A*
IGCSE Math - A*
IGCSE Additional Math - C/D (I haven't been tested, but this is what I think I would have gotten)

I'm interesting in pursuing either law or social psychology, but I pretty much want to keep my options as open as possible.

I'm mostly torn between the HL Psychology/HL Biology part. I definitely enjoy Psychology more, but Biology seems to keep more doors open if I don't want to pursue Psychology any further. I find Biology tolerable. Also, some universities require a HL science that is not Psychology if I want to pursue Psychology further (which is pretty stupid, but what can I do about it? :tongue:

).

So I have a few questions:

1) Should I drop HL Biology?
2) Is HL Biology hard? (I'm pretty much okay with mindlessly memorizing stuff.)
3) In terms of SL Spanish/SL Chinese B, which should I take if I want to impress? I don't mind Chinese, but my Chinese is really not up to scratch at all. Would it look completely horrible to universities if someone coming from Hong Kong failed Chinese B? I'm thinking SL Spanish for now, because my Chinese really isn't all that great.
4) Does the overall subject choice sound alright to you? I don't wait to die a thousand times over during the IB from stress if I don't have to. :tongue:

I know that it would be best if I could take four highers, see whether I like psychology or biology more (but at the moment, at GCSE level, it's no contest; I like psychology a LOT more and get better marks in it too) and drop the one that I dislike, but I don't think my school offers that option.

So basically the question is - should I do the one I like more, or do the one that opens up more doors?

Thanks so much in advance :smile:

hmm. well, i do both psych and bio HL. personally, i think bio is much much harder...i would say go for the subject which you enjoy more because it's easier to succeed in. i thought that most universities require a HL science, but that they usually considered psych as fine too...? would it be possible for you to drop english to SL and then do both bio and psych at HL?

i don't really know about the language choice though :p:

how comfortable are you with chinese? if you don't feel like you'd do too great in chinese B then maybe spanish is the better option. just check out a few past exams for chinese and see how you feel about them :biggrin:

Reply 636

why_so.serious

Original post by pink giggle

hmm. well, i do both psych and bio HL. personally, i think bio is much much harder...i would say go for the subject which you enjoy more because it's easier to succeed in. i thought that most universities require a HL science, but that they usually considered psych as fine too...? would it be possible for you to drop english to SL and then do both bio and psych at HL?

i don't really know about the language choice though :p:

how comfortable are you with chinese? if you don't feel like you'd do too great in chinese B then maybe spanish is the better option. just check out a few past exams for chinese and see how you feel about them :biggrin:

Thanks for the quick response! :smile:

Yeah, some universities think that HL Psych is acceptable, but some don't (off the top of my head, I can't think of any examples - I just remember wincing at the computer screen a few weeks ago going all :eek:

when an university website specifically stated that HL Psych does not count).

I want to keep English at HL so that I might go get a law degree if the Psych thing doesn't work out for me though. :tongue:

I'm seriously considering dropping HL Bio for HL Psych now that you've confirmed that Psych is easier AND more fun (for me, anyway) :biggrin:

However, my remaining worry now is whether universities will look at my subject choices and think that I am a 'weaker' candidate because I haven't taken a hardcore science. Would this be the case?

Thanks again!

Reply 637

igcsecrazy

11

Hi guys,

I'm in year 11 doing my iGCSEs but we have to choose our IB subjects,
heres what I'm thinking of
HL Biology
HL Psychology
HL Geography

SL Maths Studies
SL English
SL Spanish

What courses and jobs can I do with these combinations? I understand I can't do medicine because I am not taking chemistry but that was my initial plan, to become a doctor lol. (I am so bad at chemistry so its not an option)

THANKS

xx

Reply 638

webber8345

Original post by igcsecrazy

Hi guys,

I'm in year 11 doing my iGCSEs but we have to choose our IB subjects,
heres what I'm thinking of
HL Biology
HL Psychology
HL Geography

SL Maths Studies
SL English
SL Spanish

What courses and jobs can I do with these combinations? I understand I can't do medicine because I am not taking chemistry but that was my initial plan, to become a doctor lol. (I am so bad at chemistry so its not an option)

THANKS

xx

Thats really a very broad question, is there a particular field you're interested in now you're unable to persue medicine?
Otherwise, I'm afraid going through university courses and looking for ones you like with achievable course conditions is the easiest way for you to have that question answered. That's what I did.
My subjects are Bio HL, Geog HL, English HL, Math SL, Art SL, Italian B SL and I am going to do Anthropology/Human Sciences next year

Reply 639

igcsecrazy

11

Original post by webber8345

Thats really a very broad question, is there a particular field you're interested in now you're unable to persue medicine?
Otherwise, I'm afraid going through university courses and looking for ones you like with achievable course conditions is the easiest way for you to have that question answered. That's what I did.
My subjects are Bio HL, Geog HL, English HL, Math SL, Art SL, Italian B SL and I am going to do Anthropology/Human Sciences next year

heey (: thanks for replying! Yeah, I'm thinking about Law now because there are not specific subject requirements and its a 3 year course (:

GOODLUCK with IB! I'm so nervous, it's not even funny! :frown:

I'm nervous about my GCSEs too :frown:

xx

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