The "Which IB subjects should I choose" Thread

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Hello, I'm lucky enough at my school to have the choice between IB and A-Levels, but I really can't decide which route to take!

It is further complicated by what I would like to study at university- A course such as Economics & History or PPE at Oxford, or History at Cambridge. The reason why this has thrown up so many problems is because of the Economics (and therefore maths requirement) of some of those courses.

For the IB I would do:
Economics HL
History HL
English Literature HL
Maths SL
Physics SL
Japanese Ab-initio

The A-Level route would be:
Economics,
Philosophy,
History,
English Literature,
Politics. (Self-Taught)

If it helps, at GCSE i'm predicted 8A*s and 3As- But only an A in Maths!

So, some questions- Which route do you think I should take?
Do you think Standard Level Maths will do?

Thank You!

Reply 681

Daniel Cha

Hey, guys I have a question.
I'm planning to take

HL
Bio
Chem
Korean

SL
Systems
Eng
Math

and I'm also aiming for UK medical school. Many people told me to take HL math and drop Korean to SL. but I'm not sure whether I can get 7 at math.

I'm wondering which choice university would prefer between getting good total in IB with SL Math, and getting lower marks than previous one, but with HL Math.

Thanks :smile:

Reply 682

rosadreams

Is it recommended to do 4 HLs?
I have a choice between AS English, Biology, Chemistry and Psychology
OR
IB.

I want to do:
HL -
Psyc.
Bio.
Chem.
Eng.

SL -
Maths
Spanish

Good idea or not?

Reply 683

MinorDisaster

Could I manage 7 subjects? One regular diploma and the extra as a Certificate. I chose pretty easy(non science related) HLs, so I'm pretty confident.

English HL
History HL
Psych HL
Mandarin SL
Math SL
ESS SL

+ Economics SL/HL

Reply 684

arrowhead

NeoConNick

So, some questions- Which route do you think I should take?
Do you think Standard Level Maths will do?

I think you should do IB, but I'm biased.

I don't know how much Maths SL will affect your Economics prospects. At some Unis (eg. Warwick), Maths SL for Economics is acceptable, while at others (eg. LSE) you not only need Maths HL, but you also need a 7 in Maths HL. So I would suggest do your research and know which Unis you'd want to apply to if you choose Economics and then make a decision if considering Economics is worth it if you can't handle Maths HL.

Daniel Cha

I'm also aiming for UK medical school. Many people told me to take HL math and drop Korean to SL. but I'm not sure whether I can get 7 at math.

I'm wondering which choice university would prefer between getting good total in IB with SL Math, and getting lower marks than previous one, but with HL Math.

I don't know much about Medicine, but a friend of mine got into Cambridge and she had Biology, Chemistry and English HL and Maths at SL. I think as long as you have Bio and Chem at HL and decent scores overall, Unis aren't that picky about your choice of subjects (unless you pick something outrageously easy like Studies).

rosadreams

Is it recommended to do 4 HLs?

No. Its really not.

rosadreams

I want to do:
HL -
Psyc.
Bio.
Chem.
Eng.

...Good idea or not?

If you do this and emerge intact at the end of two years with sanity et al, you will be my new hero. No...That's too less of a praise, you will be my new superhero!

All three sciences AND English at HL?!?!? Are you some kind of genius?

If so, go right ahead. If not, then its not a good idea to take all three sciences.

Reply 685

alexms123

Original post by rosadreams

Is it recommended to do 4 HLs?

Good idea or not?

A girl in my year started off doing 4 HLs, she dropped back to 3 pretty quickly because she found the amount of work just too much. Now she's almost at the end (5 weeks left of teaching before exams!) and she's so happy she dropped back on one subject! I wouldn't recommend doing 4 HLs in the same way I wouldn't recommend anyone doing HL Maths unless they plan on doing degree level maths.

Hope this helps!

Reply 686

dogmatichurricane

Original post by alexms123

Include degree-level engineering, physics, computer science, economics to that list. HL Math is actually not so bad but I think a foremost requirement is that you really like/enjoy the subject. Or it will definitely bore and kill the crap out of you.

Reply 687

Mathsman4Life

Hey all,

I'm going into my first year of the IB program, and I was wondering how common this combination of classes is and what you think of it. As far as university is concerned, I'm not 100% decided about my major, but I was thinking something along the lines of math, physics, engineering, etc. major. My classes are going to be:

Maths HL
Physics HL
Chemistry HL
French B SL
English A1 SL
History SL

Thanks in advance, everyone, for the feedback.

Reply 688

mir93

Hey guys im planning to pursue medicine in the future. According to my school counsellor some unis prefer medicine applicants to have three sciences (namely physics, bio and chem) . Is it true? Isn't it impossible for the IB students to take up 3 sciences according to the subject groups? Any info would be appreciated :smile:

Im planning to take up :
Chem HL
Bio HL
Math HL
Econs SL
English A1 SL
French ab initio

Sounds good? =o

Reply 689

pink giggle

Original post by Mathsman4Life

hehee i have a friend who's doing almost the exact same subjects, except he's taking economics instead of history. so, yeahh, i think your subject combination is fine. :redface:

i'm quite sure math, physics and chem all at HL might be a bit of a pain but definitely not impossible. :smile:

good luck!

Reply 690

arrowhead

pink giggle

i'm quite sure math, physics and chem all at HL might be a bit of a pain

There's an understatement if I ever heard one.

Reply 691

pink giggle

Original post by arrowhead

There's an understatement if I ever heard one.

heheee

obviously i don't take either of them, which i think was a pretty smart choice. :wink:

Reply 692

rivda

Original post by MinorDisaster

I dont think english and history HL would be "pretty easy". The coursework is crazy, especially for English where you have IOP, IOC, World Lit etc etc etc. Science HLs are easier to study for, with only practicals apart from the actual exam. Math and ESS SL are easy 6s or 7s though.
I guess it would depend on what you want to do in university. If you want to pursue something like English or history, your subject combination is fine, even without a 7th subject. Trust me, you don't have to take more subjects for the universities to realise you're doing a really challenging course...

Reply 693

HarryJo

Here's an answer for all you IB hopefulls out there... DON'T DO IB!

I wish someone had told me.
I'm not kidding
Yes blah blah blah it's hard but not that...

Universities do not give a **** about the IB because they don't even understand it! They ask for MUCH MUCH more that you'd be asked for in A-Level.

seriously, I would never recommend it. It's a fabulous course on it's own and in theory, and yes i've really enjoyed it, but it doesn't make up for the whole university thing...
:frown:

Reply 694

meganeira

Original post by HarryJo

I feel the same. So not worth the pain and stress I've been put through, only to get an offer almost double that of A Level students. :frown:

Reply 695

HarryJo

yeahh it's awful! I hate it.

And the thing is- i really enjoy my subject. Like I ENJOY school! That's the point surely?! That should count for something... but no. just no.

:frown:

Reply 696

ad astra.

Currently, I'm choosing my options for IB. So far, I have chosen:

English HL/SL
Spanish HL/SL
Psychology SL?
Chemistry HL/SL
Maths SL
Biology HL/SL

I haven't picked which subjects for HL yet, the only confirmed level is maths (I'm good at maths, but not that good at maths). I want to go into the medicine/vet field, but I'm open to other career options. Also, I'm planning to go to a US liberal arts college, so I'm not sure how much my options will affect me.

So, what do you think?
Are my options a good combination? Or are there too many sciences? (Does psychology count as a science?)

Reply 697

Synecdoche

(I've posted this on another thread, hope that reposting it is not a violation of rules, if it is please do delete this.)
Hey all,

I'm currently an 11-year Greek student, and next year I'll enroll in the IB programme. I'm pretty sure I want to study PPE, and of course my aim is to get in Oxford, and I'm interested in Balioll college. The subjects I'm planning to take are the following:

Economics HL
History HL

Modern Greek SL
English HL/SL
Experimental Science SL (Either Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Environmental studies)

My main concern is whether I should take Maths HL instead of SL. If I do so, I'll take English SL, and if I take Maths at SL i'll take English at HL. But I'm not sure if I can cope with taking a 6/7 on HL Maths, I'm not too mathematically inclined.

Is Maths SL sufficient enough for getting an offer, as well as managing the Economics branch? Does it tie to A2, or is HL more advised? And also, what experimental science would you guys propose? I'm not specifically interested for any, except Environmental Studies. Will it harm my chances of getting in, as it is considered a 'soft' subject, and PPE is one of the most competitive courses around?

Looking forward to your responses,
Achilleas

Reply 698

shardulk803

I wish to pursue Engineering or something along those lines.
I am thinking about
English, French & Economics at Standard level
Physics, Chemistry & Maths at Higher level.
Is this a good choice? Till now I have been fabulous with numbers.So hopefully Math should be just fine.
But what about Economics? Is it easy? I have only done IGCSE Economics and I scored a poor A within the 86th percentile.
I have been hearing you have to be crazy to do Physics & chemistry with Math at HL. Is it true? Is it SOOOOO difficult?

Reply 699

jacksonriddle

Original post by shardulk803

english and french at SL are very doable subjects. im currently doing english SL, it's very interesting and all. economics i've heard is quite easy. especially the first few months i've heard are quite similar to the GCSE content.

your higher levels however....
i have to warn you, higher level maths is very very hard. I have a friend who is doing the same combination of highers, he's crazy smart (as in 100% in maths GCSE and he's done it a year early). if you're thinking of mechanical engineering or civil engineering, or even electrical, it's worth knowing that you DON'T NEED CHEMISTRY AT HIGHER. i'm currently doing higher level physics, the theory is very difficult to grasp, but the internal assetments are easy (28% of the final grade are IAs). My friends tell me that higher level chemistry has easier theory, but the IAs are really hard.
I must warn you again that my crazy smart friend is also chinese and doing second language standard in that, so he spends literally no time on that, meaning that he has lots of time to spend on his highers.
also it's important to know that english, french, maths, physics and chem will be a huge step up from the GCSEs.

hope i helped.