The &quot;Which IB subjects should I choose&quot; Thread

Hey guys!

Can you look at my combination and tell me if it's too hard?

English HL
History HL
Biology HL

Math SL
Chem SL or Music HL
Mandarin SL

I want to study econ or arts in uni, so I'm not sure if I should take 2 sciences...which one is harder: Chem SL or Music HL? I've played piano for 10 years, so i THINK I should be okay for music, but since it's a group 6, it's so subjective, and my main goal is to get a high mark.
Are my subjects too tough?

Please help guys!

Reply 1142

Original post by midnightgurl12

Hey guys!

Can you look at my combination and tell me if it's too hard?

English HL
History HL
Biology HL

Math SL
Chem SL or Music HL
Mandarin SL

I want to study econ or arts in uni, so I'm not sure if I should take 2 sciences...which one is harder: Chem SL or Music HL? I've played piano for 10 years, so i THINK I should be okay for music, but since it's a group 6, it's so subjective, and my main goal is to get a high mark.
Are my subjects too tough?

Please help guys!

Well, your subjects are not easy, but I wouldn't say they're unmanageable if you keep yourself organised.

English HL is all about technique and if you have a decent teacher, it shouldn't pose too much of a problem. While it is difficult to get a 7, 5s and 6s are fairly common enough.

History HL is notoriously difficult to get a 7 in. It has a lot of content. I did History HL and it was a challenging course. The key is to study past exam paper patterns and predict which questions will come, then study selectively accordingly.

Biology HL...well. I'm confused? If you want to study Economics/Arts are university, why take Biology at HL? Oughtn't you
rather benefit from Economics or Maths HL? But from a difficulty perspective, Bio HL has a lot of content to memorise, if you're good with that, you shouldn't struggle in the course.

Maths and Mandarin SL, both manageable. The level of challenge you face for each of these depends on your own aptitude.

Chemistry SL - again, why take a Science if you don't want to pursue Sciences? Chem SL is hard, but not impossibly. Again, organisation and staying in top of things is key.

Music HL, like you said, the grading is extremely subjective. Do it if you want to, but there's a fair amount of music composition in the course (from what I've heard), so if that is something you think you'd be good at, go for it.

Reply 1143

Original post by arrowhead

Well, your subjects are not easy, but I wouldn't say they're unmanageable if you keep yourself organised.

English HL is all about technique and if you have a decent teacher, it shouldn't pose too much of a problem. While it is difficult to get a 7, 5s and 6s are fairly common enough.

History HL is notoriously difficult to get a 7 in. It has a lot of content. I did History HL and it was a challenging course. The key is to study past exam paper patterns and predict which questions will come, then study selectively accordingly.

Biology HL...well. I'm confused? If you want to study Economics/Arts are university, why take Biology at HL? Oughtn't you
rather benefit from Economics or Maths HL? But from a difficulty perspective, Bio HL has a lot of content to memorise, if you're good with that, you shouldn't struggle in the course.

Maths and Mandarin SL, both manageable. The level of challenge you face for each of these depends on your own aptitude.

Chemistry SL - again, why take a Science if you don't want to pursue Sciences? Chem SL is hard, but not impossibly. Again, organisation and staying in top of things is key.

Music HL, like you said, the grading is extremely subjective. Do it if you want to, but there's a fair amount of music composition in the course (from what I've heard), so if that is something you think you'd be good at, go for it.

Thanks for your advice! The reason I'm taking Biology HL is because I am somewhat interested in it, but also because my school does not offer economics. We have B&M, but that class is already full.

And do you know if there's a lot of memorization in chem?

What courses did you take and which ones did you find the hardest?

Thanks again!

Reply 1144

Original post by midnightgurl12

Thanks for your advice! The reason I'm taking Biology HL is because I am somewhat interested in it, but also because my school does not offer economics. We have B&M, but that class is already full.

And do you know if there's a lot of memorization in chem?

What courses did you take and which ones did you find the hardest?

Thanks again!

I don't know much about Chemistry since most of my IB friends did Biology or Physics. I had one friend in Chemistry HL and he struggled to maintain a 3, then he dropped down to Chemistry SL and he flew by with a 5 with minimal work. So it shouldn't be too bad. From what I've heard, it's the HL options in Chemistry that are really hard. But I would strongly advise you to speak to someone from your school who is already on the course. The relative difficulty or not of a course is often mitigated if you have an experienced IB teacher who knows what she/he is doing (and the opposite is also painfully equally true).

I did English, History and Economics HL and Maths, French Ab Initio and Environmental Studies SL. None of my courses were particularly hard, but that's in large part due to the fact that I deliberately chose easy ones for my SLs. History was challenging but memorising things has always been my strong point, so I was one of the only few students in that course who didn't constantly struggle. French was really hard for me since I had never studied the subject before in my life and picking up languages is not, as I soon discovered, my greatest skill. Other than that though, nothing in my IB experience particularly stands out as challenging or anything. The IB is a high school programme at the end of the day.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1145

Ahhh...I see. How did your friends find Biology? And if you don't mind me asking, how did you study for History? It's rumored to be the hardest course at our school, so I'm kind of scared :colondollar:

do you mind sharing some of your study techniques?

Reply 1146

Original post by midnightgurl12

Ahhh...I see. How did your friends find Biology? And if you don't mind me asking, how did you study for History? It's rumored to be the hardest course at our school, so I'm kind of scared :colondollar:

do you mind sharing some of your study techniques?

As I had said earlier, Biology was mostly memorisation. Once you get the hang of labs, all that you need to worry about is retaining all the information for your exams.

Well, History was my best subject (I was the first person to get a 7 in a really long time in my school). PM me when you've actually started the course if you feel you're having trouble. History HL was also one of the hardest courses in my school too, but I never really struggled with it because I loved the subject. Difficulty varies from person to person based on their interests.

Reply 1147

LukaLG

I'll start IB next school year, but now I have to decided subjects.

I think about studying Business or Law.

My subject:

English HL
History HL
Math HL

Physics SL
German SL
Polish SL

Is it good combination or mayby it'll be too hard ?

Reply 1148

Original post by LukaLG

I'll start IB next school year, but now I have to decided subjects.

I think about studying Business or Law.

My subject:

English HL
History HL
Math HL

Physics SL
German SL
Polish SL

Is it good combination or mayby it'll be too hard ?

The level of difficulty depends entirely on your aptitude in this case. I'm assuming you have some background in german and Polish? Depending on the level you're taking those subjects, the challenge will vary. Same for English. History HL is time-consuming with a lot of memorisation, so you ought to be prepared for that. Maths HL is considered one of the hardest HL IB subjects, so practice practice practice! Physics SL shouldn't be to bad, especially if you have an aptitude for Maths.

As for your career aspirations, I would think your subjects should adequately meet university entrance requirements (strictly considering the UK). The rules are, of course, different, for different countries.

Reply 1149

N Kay

Arrowhead, I was just wondering which English you did at HL. Lit or Lit and Lang?

Posted from The Student's Room iPhone/iPad App

Reply 1150

Original post by N Kay

Arrowhead, I was just wondering which English you did at HL. Lit or Lit and Lang?

Posted from The Student's Room iPhone/iPad App

They changed the syllabus from when I did the IB. I did English A1 HL and I'm told that this is roughly English A Lit in the new syllabus, while what used to be English A2 (for non-native speakers with high proficiency) is now roughly English A Land and Lit. If that helps at all.

Reply 1151

LukaLG

-English B HL

-About polish and german, Polsh is my mother language, german I have been learning for 4 years ( I'm on A2/B1 level )

Some people said me conntection History and Math on HL isn't good, but I think these conection can give me bigger oportunity, so I want to hear Your opinions.

Reply 1152

Do unis look down on Eng SL since most people do HL?

Reply 1153

Original post by LukaLG

-English B HL Some people said me conntection History and Math on HL isn't good, but I think these conection can give me bigger oportunity, so I want to hear Your opinions.

It's hard. It's not impossible. If you're committed to your work and remain organised, there's no reason for your to feel overwhelmed at all. I knew someone who did Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology HL, she did fine, got a 42 in the end.

Original post by midnightgurl12

Do unis look down on Eng SL since most people do HL?

No. Not at all. Maybe in your school it might be a trend to do English HL, in my school, for example, the HL classes combined had less than 10 students, while the SL classes had over 30 combined.

No university is going to look down on you for taking English SL, unless, of course, you apply for an English degree, then they might just be confused as to why you took English SL.

Reply 1154

Farin

Okay, so I took
Higher level: English language and literature
Physics
Maths
Standard level: French an initio
History
Chemistry
I want to be an astronomer. Should I take higher level chemistry instead of English?

Reply 1155

gravesy

Original post by Farin

Okay, so I took
Higher level: English language and literature
Physics
Maths
Standard level: French an initio
History
Chemistry
I want to be an astronomer. Should I take higher level chemistry instead of English?

Personally I would, but then I hate english and loved the HL Chemistry course. Best thing to do is look at a few unis you might hope to go to on UCAS and see what their requirements are, however in the UK I don't think it is completely necessary.

Reply 1156