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The "Which IB subjects should I choose" Thread

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Lang & Lit is generally considered easier; there is a lot less reading to do than in Literature – although since you said you'll be taking English at SL you'd have to read less books than the HL Lit students anyway. I've understood that in Literature you mainly just look at… well, literature, whereas in Lang & Lit you also focus on the context of the novels as well aspects of media etc.

However, Lang & Lit is also a much newer subject so there are less past papers and teachers have less experience etc. (Although by 2016 teachers will have a lot more material and a better idea in general, so I guess this wouldn't be too much of a problem for you anyway..) I have Lang & Lit at HL and I'd say it's an enjoyable course :smile:

Thank you very much :smile:

Reply 1241

justintsang

Here are my IB options

Econ HL
Bio HL
Chem HL

Eng Lit SL
Chinese B SL
Maths SL

I originally wanted to do Medicine, but I really don't want to stay in school for 11+ years or so. (too much for me)

Now I aim to do something Chemistry related or Business related (Hence the choice of Economics HL, assuming that it would open up pathways to the Business industry)

P.S I also have an interest in Film and Media/Communication, my school has the option to choose Film SL/HL. Is it worth choosing it or does universities don't respect this subjects

Reply 1242

username941859

Original post by justintsang

Dont bother with film, you can get into a film degree without having done Film HL or SL

Reply 1243

emilys7

Will these options be okay. I'm not entirely certain on what I want to study at Uni. Possibly something like Economics, Finance or Architecture. I was planning to take Maths at HL but after my GCSE Mocks I only got 1A*,2 A's and a B in maths. In all my other subjects - with the exception of Economics as it isn't offered at GCSE, I've got A/A* mock results.

French HL
Physics HL
Economics HL
Maths SL
English SL
Biology SL

Thanks!

Reply 1244

L'Evil Fish

Original post by emilys7

Should be fine, but perhaps consider Maths at HL again for Economics.

Perhaps swap it with Physics/French ?

Reply 1245

ctrls

Original post by emilys7

With economics, the requirements vary depending on the type of course you are going for, at least from what I've gathered. Some courses that aren't very maths-heavy will be fine with SL maths, but other courses may not.

Architecture may be a problem with your subject choices though, you'll need a portfolio (so taking art would be helpful), plus HL maths tends to be a requirement depending on the uni. Don't know too much about finance, but I would imagine HL maths would be preferable/required depending on the uni given it's a maths-heavy course. This however only applies for top-unis in the UK (top ~15 or so), so YMMV.

My general recommendation in this case would be to give it a try at HL first (taking 4HL's to being with) and drop it later if it becomes overwhelmingly difficult.

Reply 1246

justintsang

HL Econ
HL Chem
HL Chinese B
SL English Lang & Lit
SL Maths
SL Physics/History

I am in Year 11 and currently doing Double Award (Core + Additional) Science in GCSEs, predicted A* A*. I am also doing GCSE History but I got a B for mocks. However, I really think I could get at least an A or A* for my final exams.

I have no prior knowledge in Economics, but I want to pursue a business related career. However, I also want to pursue a science related career (not medicine).

I'm planning to do 4 HLs, cause Chinese B HL is just way too easy for me.

So...here are some questions.

Should take 2 Humanities subjects in IB, or 2 Sciences in IB?

Option 1: HL Econ + HL Psychology/History
Option 2: HL Econ + SL Psychology/History
Option 3: HL Chem + HL Physics/Biology
Option 4: HL Chem + SL Physics/Biology

Which option is more respectable? Regarding to my pursued business or science career.

and finally...

Which option is most likely to get the most points?

Thanks for your time

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1247

AquisM

Original post by justintsang

If you want to do science, then of course logically two HL sciences would be better, preferably with HL Maths as well (though of course that is very hard). If B HL Chinese is easy, maybe you should consider A SL Chinese.

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Reply 1248

ctrls

Original post by justintsang

All of your 5 options look fine for business, though I personally would go for HL economics since the difference between the two levels really isn't that large. Don't worry about any prerequisites - the course is designed so you don't need any prior knowledge. I personally took it at HL without taking a single class beforehand, but it really was not an issue for me. The concepts themselves are generally logical and easy to understand, plus it'll be beneficial for your application when applying for business-related courses.

As mentioned above, taking a second science and/or HL maths would be beneficial for a science-related subject. This however, will strongly depend on what field you end up going for.

Reply 1249

justintsang

Original post by ctrls

Would you advise taking Maths HL for pursue in business?

Reply 1250

gravesy

Original post by justintsang

Would you advise taking Maths HL for pursue in business?

I think doing economics, especially if your taking it at HL, means that SL maths will be absolutely fine. At HL it becomes a different kind of maths to what you need in economics.

Reply 1251

ctrls

Original post by justintsang

Would you advise taking Maths HL for pursue in business?

Depends on whether you enjoy the subject and want to, really. I don't think most of the content covered is particularly relevant for business, but it's not totally useless either. If you enjoy maths and are willing to take the time studying it, then take it by all means.

It is worth noting of course, that there is a substantial gap between GCSE maths and taking it at HL. Low marks at the beginning is generally the norm, well over half of my class dropped down during IB1. For this reason, I would recommend taking it as a 4th HL to start if you do - it just keeps that option open just in case.

Reply 1252

Slab

Hello, I'd like to ask for some advice on which of these subject choice combinations would be more manageable to take at IB. In terms of background I'm doing well in all subjects, and achieved A* in 11 of 12 subjects I'm doing currently in mock exams (let's hope I can keep it up ;p) but our school is already pressing us to choose IB subjects.

I don't really know what job I'd ideally like to do but I enjoy science subjects, maths, languages and computer science. I have some interest in engineering after going to a lecture about it.

Currently what I have put down as my subject choices are (with my 6th form offering 3 HL 3SL no exceptions):

HL: Chemistry, Physics, Psychology
SL: Maths methods (and A level maths bolted on), Mandarin Chinese, English lit.

My dilemma is that doing the A level maths bolted on would mean having to do a lot of extra work but I've heard that it is easier than higher maths at IB.
Another combination that I was toying with would be:

HL: Chemistry, Physics, Maths
SL: Mandarin Chinese, English lit and Humanities.

The problems with the 2nd subject choices I'm facing would be that I can't do psychology as it is only offered at higher level, and I would be stuck doing either economics, philosophy or history (or are you required to have done history at a prior level?). The 2nd set, however, means I do 1 less subject worth of work (not having to do the A level bolt on ).

So my question is whether the extra work that the bolt on would cause would outweigh doing a subject I don't think I'd particularly enjoy (history, philosophy, although I think economics would be OK, and definitely not Geo), but less work.

On a final note can anyone comment on the difficulty of the subjects? At open evenings Lower sixth form students were speaking (who had essentially on had a term in sixth form) and it didn't reassure me when the person doing higher maths, physics and chemistry only had to say that it was "Fine."

Many thanks

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1253

ctrls

Original post by Slab

I would say taking HL maths would be a better choice over SL+A-level. Taking it as an A-level really doesn't make much sense, there's only a few more topics you will have to cover over SL (if you take the stats modules, that is) and it's generally comparable in terms of difficulty. The question style of HL maths is generally harder and there's a wider coverage of topics, so it'll not only help from an admissions perspective, but those skills will also be useful for when you get into university.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily recommend giving up on psychology is you really want to take it. It's worth asking your IB coordinator if it's possible about the possibility of taking it at SL. Generally speaking, the difference between HL and SL subjects are that you have extra topics topics to learn and for some subjects, more papers to write. I don't take the subject myself so I may be missing something, but I really don't see why you can't attend classes for the SL parts and have frees for the HL parts.

As for subject difficultly, it really depends on what you're good at. The workload will be pretty high at times, but I'm sure it'll be manageable. HL maths would probably be difficult at first given the large gap between Y11 maths, but it'll probably get better as you progress through the course.

Reply 1254

gravesy

HL maths and physics are the 2 hardest IB subjects but they do tend to complement each other. HL Chemistry is also a lot maths maths compared to SL chemistry. As long as you're very strong at maths you should be okay. In my honest opinion I actually think A level maths is easier than SL maths so you wouldn't really have to study another subject doing it that way :smile:

Reply 1255

AquisM

Original post by Slab

...

Hi. I'm in IB2 right now and I take HL Maths Physics and Chemistry. I just wanted to say that while the three subjects are definitely hard, they are most definitely not impossible. If you are getting A* in science right now you have a good chance of getting a 6/7 in Physics and Chemistry, depending on the quality of your teachers and your organisation. Even if your teachers aren't good, it's possible to self study a lot of the syllabus. What you would have to focus on are your IAs (internal assessments I.e. lab reports) because these don't exist in GCSE.

HL Maths is a bit different, even getting an A* in GCSE Maths cannot guarantee a 5 because the question are difficult. Note the content isn't really difficult per se, but the way the questions are worded often require a lot of thinking and aren't always very straightforward, you need to know the content well and how to combine different parts of the syllabus in order to do well. This sounds scary, but as you go through the course, do past paper questions and you'll get a feel of the questions, and then you'll understand what to do.

Really the main problem that most people face is procrastination and lack of organisation. All three of thexe require quite a bit of time and effort, and when coupled with deadlines from other subjects and EE and TOK, it WILL get overwhelming. My advice to you therefore is to combine a few 'easy' subjects along with your HLs (SL Econ is a good choice, I didn't take it in GCSE and I find it easy because a lot of it is very logical and just common sense). Good luck!

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Reply 1256

justintsang

HL Econ
HL Chem
HL Film

SL Chinese B
SL Eng Lang Lit
SL Maths

Do I still have my doors open for business/econ major?
Is HL chem basically useless without the combination with HL Bio?

Reply 1257

chickenonsteroids

Original post by justintsang

HL Econ
HL Chem
HL Film

SL Chinese B
SL Eng Lang Lit
SL Maths

Do I still have my doors open for business/econ major?
Is HL chem basically useless without the combination with HL Bio?

Major? Do you want to study in the US? If the UK, depending on the universities you want to go into, HL maths in needed for economics. HL chem isn't useless without Bio.

Reply 1258

db24

Original post by gravesy

I think doing economics, especially if your taking it at HL, means that SL maths will be absolutely fine. At HL it becomes a different kind of maths to what you need in economics.

^I completely disagree with that statement. If you are planning on applying for programmes in economics, especially in the UK, HL math is extremely beneficial --> in terms of preparing you for your university coursework in economics, as well as maximizing your chances of getting into a top econ programme.

I myself graduated with an IB diploma last May, studying HL Math, and applied for some of the top econ programs in the UK.

Reply 1259

333obi

I plan on studying nursing and I am unsure what subjects to pick.

I am thinking of picking:

HL

Pshycology
Business studies
Visual art

SL

Maths/Maths studies
English
Swedish

Would I be able to apply to nursing courses in the uk with said subjects?