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The "Which IB subjects should I choose" Thread

Trisha. I'm not really sure, but I think if you want to do anything with law, you have to do history. I think! Don't take my word on it

Posted from TSR Mobile

Yeah I'd disagree with this I'm afraid! I'm just doing my final IB exams now and I have had offers from top 10 unis and firmed Nottingham with English, geography, psychology at HL and DT, maths studies and Italian ab initio at standard. My advice would be to treat your HL selections as you would a levels, make sure they are fairly traditional (English/geoggers) or require essay writing (hence psycho) but as for your standards, play a points game! Make them pretty easy, the main focus of the unis will be on your highers unless you are applying to Oxbridge/UCL/LSE so no need to make life harder with difficult standards. IMPORTANT THOUGH: write your EE in something law related, it looks good on your personal statement. Also, try to get an article published in some sort of legal publication, blog etc, it will show that you invest time and thought into the subject and already comprehend legal concepts. Finally, do TONS of legal work experience in your first IB summer holiday, it's not a "requirement" but they like it if you know what you're headed into/seem almost unhealthily obsessed with it :P ooh one last thing, make sure that you have a life, get some hobbies going that count for CAS but are completely unrelated and maybe slightly whacky, skydiving would make you really stick out in a pile of applications :wink:

bonne chance!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 1081

Trisha_

Thanks guys, what about getting into NYU? Will IB help if I want to do law or business?

Reply 1082

username941859

18

Original post by Trisha_

Thanks guys, what about getting into NYU? Will IB help if I want to do law or business?

You can't do law as an undergraduate in the states. It might contribute a bit, but SATs are much more important

Reply 1083

blueboat

Hi Everyone!

I'm taking the IB Diploma next year, but I'm not sure if I really want to stick to these subjects. This is the subject combo I've decided so far:

Math HL (It is interesting for me)
English Lit A HL (A challenge since its not my first language, but I like reading fiction)
Psychology HL (It seems interesting but I've never done it before)
Chinese Lang/Lit A SL (I'm quite good at Chinese)
Chem SL (I'm okay about it)
Physics SL (I'm interested about quantum physics but I don't really know if that's taught or not, and I feel that some concepts are hard to grasp)

Now I'm wondering whether I should swap physics/chem for bio because psychology requires bio. And recently I have been researching about economics and that seems interesting as well. So I really want to know the difference between psychology and economics (in terms of the requirements and syllables), and which one is worthier to take. If I take both I would swap physics/chem for the other social science, so the question would be which one to take at HL.

And now I haven't really confirmed which profession I should take. However, it would definitely not be science, but something on the humanities side.

Please help me and give me some suggestions > <

Reply 1084

5tribal

Original post by blueboat

Hi Everyone!

I'm taking the IB Diploma next year, but I'm not sure if I really want to stick to these subjects. This is the subject combo I've decided so far:

Math HL (It is interesting for me)
English Lit A HL (A challenge since its not my first language, but I like reading fiction)
Psychology HL (It seems interesting but I've never done it before)
Chinese Lang/Lit A SL (I'm quite good at Chinese)
Chem SL (I'm okay about it)
Physics SL (I'm interested about quantum physics but I don't really know if that's taught or not, and I feel that some concepts are hard to grasp)

Now I'm wondering whether I should swap physics/chem for bio because psychology requires bio. And recently I have been researching about economics and that seems interesting as well. So I really want to know the difference between psychology and economics (in terms of the requirements and syllables), and which one is worthier to take. If I take both I would swap physics/chem for the other social science, so the question would be which one to take at HL.

And now I haven't really confirmed which profession I should take. However, it would definitely not be science, but something on the humanities side.

Please help me and give me some suggestions > <

Hi there, word of warning - those choices make an exceptionally tough IB and may well be a nightmare to deal with come exam time. First of all, if you don't know about the perils of maths HL then I would look them up, I have about 8 friends who are all very smart (oxbridge material) who have dropped out of HL maths so you need to be absolutely exceptional at it to succeed (four of them had already done AS level maths and even they found it hell!) The other highers seem good, english isnt too heavy on revision but one of the exams is writing about four different books closed text so you need to be diligent with your revision later in the course to avoid a panic at the end. HL psychology is awesome, if you decide to take it, PM me and I will send my notes over if you want, I wrote up all the essays they could ask in the exam and I'm predicted a 7 so they are of a decent quality. I don't really know about chinese SL so I wont comment, just be careful going heavy on the SL sciences, they are soooo revision heavy and it becomes a nightmare at the end because there is lots to get through and its hard to fit the whole course in. Also, consider what I mentioned above to Trisha, Universities in the UK don't place much emphasis on the standards. Offers are usually things like *40 points with 776 at HL* or *36 points with 18 at HL including Physics*, standards are rarely mentioned so my advice would be to make them easier. Best of luck!

Reply 1085

blueboat

Original post by 5tribal

Hi there, word of warning - those choices make an exceptionally tough IB and may well be a nightmare to deal with come exam time. First of all, if you don't know about the perils of maths HL then I would look them up, I have about 8 friends who are all very smart (oxbridge material) who have dropped out of HL maths so you need to be absolutely exceptional at it to succeed (four of them had already done AS level maths and even they found it hell!) The other highers seem good, english isnt too heavy on revision but one of the exams is writing about four different books closed text so you need to be diligent with your revision later in the course to avoid a panic at the end. HL psychology is awesome, if you decide to take it, PM me and I will send my notes over if you want, I wrote up all the essays they could ask in the exam and I'm predicted a 7 so they are of a decent quality. I don't really know about chinese SL so I wont comment, just be careful going heavy on the SL sciences, they are soooo revision heavy and it becomes a nightmare at the end because there is lots to get through and its hard to fit the whole course in. Also, consider what I mentioned above to Trisha, Universities in the UK don't place much emphasis on the standards. Offers are usually things like *40 points with 776 at HL* or *36 points with 18 at HL including Physics*, standards are rarely mentioned so my advice would be to make them easier. Best of luck!

Thanks for the advice! I know that math HL is very very hard, but I'm willing to try it out, and my teacher also recommended me to go for HL, so I think I'll stick to it. Thanks for the offer for the psychology essays too! And I'm also wondering whether I should swap one of the sciences for bio because psychology is more related to bio? Are they really interconnected? Or should I switch one of them for econ? Is econ's revision load less than these sciences?

Reply 1086

5tribal

Original post by blueboat

Thanks for the advice! I know that math HL is very very hard, but I'm willing to try it out, and my teacher also recommended me to go for HL, so I think I'll stick to it. Thanks for the offer for the psychology essays too! And I'm also wondering whether I should swap one of the sciences for bio because psychology is more related to bio? Are they really interconnected? Or should I switch one of them for econ? Is econ's revision load less than these sciences?

No problem :smile:

congratulations, you passed the test. I'm sure you'll do great at Maths HL and the only way you can is if you are committed to it which it sounds as if you are. Well psychology is related to bio but its no where near as much depth as you would get in a bio course. All we really cover in psycho is: Hormones, Neurotransmitters, Synapses, Brain composition and the effects of abnormal physiology. The nice thing is that if you do biology you will find psychology much easier as you will grasp some of the concepts a little faster. As far as I can tell looking at my friends, economics seems to have a slightly smaller revision load to psychology which you will see when I send you the document. The sciences and econ are about equal in my opinion so it really depends on what you would find easier to memorise.

Reply 1087

blueboat

Original post by 5tribal

No problem :smile:

congratulations, you passed the test. I'm sure you'll do great at Maths HL and the only way you can is if you are committed to it which it sounds as if you are. Well psychology is related to bio but its no where near as much depth as you would get in a bio course. All we really cover in psycho is: Hormones, Neurotransmitters, Synapses, Brain composition and the effects of abnormal physiology. The nice thing is that if you do biology you will find psychology much easier as you will grasp some of the concepts a little faster. As far as I can tell looking at my friends, economics seems to have a slightly smaller revision load to psychology which you will see when I send you the document. The sciences and econ are about equal in my opinion so it really depends on what you would find easier to memorise.

Thanks! Your document really helped :smile:

Reply 1088

paulpscully

1

English HL
Anthropology HL
Psychology HL

Spanish SL
ES&S SL
Maths Studies

Tell me truthfully, are these really sucky subjects? I'm not sure about Anthropology as it isn't exactly 'traditional'. This is the same for ES&S. However, as my desired college doesn't offer Geography, I'd like to do these to keep the Geography-degree door open - I think I could BS on my personal statement about how Anth. is the 'human geography' and ES&S the 'science-y/physical' side xD.

Should I just do A-Levels? D:

ALSO: should I just do Maths SL & really knuckle down? I've got an A at GCSE but I'm just not sure xD

Any advice appreciated :smile:

Reply 1089

arrowhead

20

Original post by paulpscully

English HL
Anthropology HL
Psychology HL

Spanish SL
ES&S SL
Maths Studies

Tell me truthfully, are these really sucky subjects? I'm not sure about Anthropology as it isn't exactly 'traditional'. This is the same for ES&S. However, as my desired college doesn't offer Geography, I'd like to do these to keep the Geography-degree door open - I think I could BS on my personal statement about how Anth. is the 'human geography' and ES&S the 'science-y/physical' side xD.

Should I just do A-Levels? D:

ALSO: should I just do Maths SL & really knuckle down? I've got an A at GCSE but I'm just not sure xD

Any advice appreciated :smile:

The IB is good for people who want to challenge themselves academically, and especially for people who are unsure of what they want to do at uni. Or want to go to America or Canada for university study.

If you already know what you want to do at university, in Britain, there's really no point in doing the IB.

Do A-Levels if the option is right there.

Reply 1090

samr96

1

Hello everybody,
I am due to pick my iB subjects for next year, this is what I am provisionally planning to study:
HL Maths
HL Physics
HL Chem
SL Eng
SL Span
SL Geo

I hate to specialise at this moment in my life, I have not decided about my future and I am open minded in terms of career options. I am however certain that my future will be of scientific nature.

In short, my question is, which iB subjects would you suggest I should take to keep my career options as open as possible?

I have looked at entry requirements of some universities. To illustrate my problem, I need Physics for engineering at my top choice university (Cambridge) but for instance, I would need Biology and Chemistry if I chose to study Medicine at my second choice university (Imperial). Please don't advise me to make my mind up or to pursue further reading, I love all aspects of science and I am just facing tough decisions about my future at the age of 16.

Also, studying A Level is not an option.

I look forward to hearing from you :smile:

Thanks,
Sam

Reply 1091

arrowhead

20

Original post by samr96

Hello everybody,
I am due to pick my iB subjects for next year, this is what I am provisionally planning to study:
HL Maths
HL Physics
HL Chem
SL Eng
SL Span
SL Geo

I hate to specialise at this moment in my life, I have not decided about my future and I am open minded in terms of career options. I am however certain that my future will be of scientific nature.

In short, my question is, which iB subjects would you suggest I should take to keep my career options as open as possible?

I have looked at entry requirements of some universities. To illustrate my problem, I need Physics for engineering at my top choice university (Cambridge) but for instance, I would need Biology and Chemistry if I chose to study Medicine at my second choice university (Imperial). Please don't advise me to make my mind up or to pursue further reading, I love all aspects of science and I am just facing tough decisions about my future at the age of 16.

Also, studying A Level is not an option.

I look forward to hearing from you :smile:

Thanks,
Sam

Well, you have to make a choice. There is no solution for the problem you've presented.

You can, if you have the motivation, do 7 subjects with PCMB HL. This would be incredibly challenging and some would argue unnecessary, but if you can't make up your mind at the moment, then you might as well take all 4 at HL.

Try it out for a month, see which subjects you like and which you don't. Then drop one HL when you have a better idea of whether your temperament is more suited to medicine or engineering.

Otherwise, I would suggest Physics, Chemistry and Maths HL would be best. While Imperial may be out of the running, there are still many other excellent medical schools open to you with this combination.

Reply 1092

loreta97

Hey

I am currently an IGCSE student, but next year I will be starting my two year IB diploma programme. My school requires for me to take 3 subjects at SL and 3 at HL.

I am thinking of doing:
Biology HL
Chemistry HL
English and Literature HL

Math: SL
Psychology: SL
French: SL

I want to study biochemistry for my undergraduate degree and then medicine for my masters degree (in the u.s).. I was wondering if maths SL is something similar to what IGCSE maths is like? I am taking core for my IGCSE exam, but I am finding it very easy..
I am 15 years old, I will be turning 16 in December 2013, and I am not sure if i will be able to handle Biology and Chemistry HL. What is chemistry and biology HL exactly like? Is it something similar to what IGCSE biology and chemistry is like?

Reply 1093

tumblrfangirl

I'm going to be starting the IB Diploma Programme this September, and I am considering taking these subjects:

English HL
Economics HL
Business & Management HL

French SL
Math SL
ESS SL OR Physics SL (Please let me know which would be a better option for my subject combination as I know ESS and B&M are "soft" subjects and which would get me better university offers)

I understand that Math HL is a must for the top economics programmes, but I don't mind because I have done Additional Math in IGCSE and I definitely do not want to take HL Math.

Also, I know taking B&M and Eco HLs together is frowned upon, but I have done both in my IGCSEs and I like both subjects, so I would prefer taking both.

Would I be able to get into a law programme with this subject combination, without taking History?

I would appreciate your feedback and opinions on which programmes I can study for uni with this subject combination.

Reply 1094

arrowhead

20

Original post by tumblrfangirl

I'm going to be starting the IB Diploma Programme this September, and I am considering taking these subjects:

English HL
Economics HL
Business & Management HL

French SL
Math SL
ESS SL OR Physics SL (Please let me know which would be a better option for my subject combination as I know ESS and B&M are "soft" subjects and which would get me better university offers)

I understand that Math HL is a must for the top economics programmes, but I don't mind because I have done Additional Math in IGCSE and I definitely do not want to take HL Math.

Also, I know taking B&M and Eco HLs together is frowned upon, but I have done both in my IGCSEs and I like both subjects, so I would prefer taking both.

Would I be able to get into a law programme with this subject combination, without taking History?

I would appreciate your feedback and opinions on which programmes I can study for uni with this subject combination.

This depends on which calibre of law schools you're looking at and where. In Britain, for most top law schools, B&M HL is considered a 'non-preferred' subject.

Other than that pesky detail, insofar as Law is considered, there is no prescribed subject combination that is essential or preferred over another. I did Law with English, History and Economics HL, a friend of mine on the same course did Chemistry, Physics and English. All that matters is that you have good grades and how you present yourself in your personal statement.

Reply 1095

Saoirse:3

19

Original post by tumblrfangirl

I'm going to be starting the IB Diploma Programme this September, and I am considering taking these subjects:

English HL
Economics HL
Business & Management HL

French SL
Math SL
ESS SL OR Physics SL (Please let me know which would be a better option for my subject combination as I know ESS and B&M are "soft" subjects and which would get me better university offers)

I understand that Math HL is a must for the top economics programmes, but I don't mind because I have done Additional Math in IGCSE and I definitely do not want to take HL Math.

Also, I know taking B&M and Eco HLs together is frowned upon, but I have done both in my IGCSEs and I like both subjects, so I would prefer taking both.

Would I be able to get into a law programme with this subject combination, without taking History?

I would appreciate your feedback and opinions on which programmes I can study for uni with this subject combination.

Seriously, get rid of the B&M for something else and you'll be fine. It has an awful reputation, party due to the A-Level equivilant, but is not good for a law application especially if you're already taking Economics. You don't have to take History by any means, but avoid B&M like the plague.

Reply 1096

tumblrfangirl

Original post by CLS94

Seriously, get rid of the B&M for something else and you'll be fine. It has an awful reputation, party due to the A-Level equivilant, but is not good for a law application especially if you're already taking Economics. You don't have to take History by any means, but avoid B&M like the plague.

So would it be okay if I chose Physics HL and did B&M SL? Or should I get rid of B&M completely and take ESS instead?

I really appreciate your help :smile:

Reply 1097

arrowhead

20

Original post by tumblrfangirl

So would it be okay if I chose Physics HL and did B&M SL? Or should I get rid of B&M completely and take ESS instead?

I really appreciate your help :smile:

UK Universities don't really care what subjects you took at SL, so long as you got high enough scores in them to boost your overall IB score.

Replace B&M HL with whatever you want, as long as it's a strong, traditional subject. That can be History, Physics, Psychology, Chemistry, etc.

Reply 1098

renren

2

Hi, I've been doing the MYP so I have a fairly good idea of how the IB works. As it stands, I've chosen to do

HL
English
Biology
Psychology

SL
Maths
French B
Chemistry

My quandary is Psychology vs French - which one would be most useful as a HL subject? I don't really know what i want to go into at uni, so I kinda want to keep my options open. Does anyone do psychology? How difficult and time consuming is it? The advantage I have is that I've lived in Switzerland for 8 years now, so my french is at quite a good level... I don't see what difference my decision would make but any input would be verrrrry helpful! :smile:

Reply 1099

tumblrfangirl

Original post by arrowhead

UK Universities don't really care what subjects you took at SL, so long as you got high enough scores in them to boost your overall IB score.

Replace B&M HL with whatever you want, as long as it's a strong, traditional subject. That can be History, Physics, Psychology, Chemistry, etc.

Okay so after taking your input into account and asking around some more, I have decided to take these subjects:
English HL
Economics HL
History HL

French SL
Math SL
ESS SL

I'm pretty confident with my choices now and I thank you all so much for your help!

The "Which IB subjects should I choose" Thread

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