The "Which IB subjects should I choose" Thread

That's great to hear! So I'll be going with

English Literature SL
French B SL
Economics HL
Biology HL
Mathematics HL (may drop to SL later)
Chemistry HL

Yeah, it's a lot of work, but it have good background on my HLs, and academics are my biggest forte. Let's see how I do!

We're taking the same HL's, except i'm not doing HL maths! I'll be doing:

-HL Biology
-HL Economics
-HL Economics
-SL English Language and Literature
-SL Spanish Ab initio
-SL Maths

I'm really scared about biology :/

It would help to not take Economics twice Haha, don't worry, one of those was Chemistry right? What do you plan to study at uni level?

Hahah, it was a typo. Yah, it's supposed to be HL Chemistry. I'm not 100% sure but i am interested in pharmacy and business. How about you?

Im probably going to study something related to genetics, like maybe genetic engineering. I'm not entirely sure if it's better to take Chem rather than Physics for that, what do you think? I definitely will be doing Bio haha!

One of my friends is interested in genetic engineering. She asked my biology teacher as to what the requirements would be and she said she highly doubt you'd need physics (IGCSE physics is probably enough). You'd primarily need higher chemistry and biology, which you've taken so all should be good. I also googled this and it seems like you don't need physics although there are closely related degrees that require it such as biomedical and biochemical engineering.

I'd ask your schools university guidance counselor about this as he/she would be able to give you the most accurate information on this since genetic engineering is not a common course.

Exactly! It seems like all three sciences are useful for it. That sounds pretty boring, as if I wasn't already annoyed by how I shouldn't pick an Art thanks to double sciences being very strongly preferred. I'm planning to uni in the US though, and I don't think there are subject requirements for undergrad courses. When I head to my sixth form, I'll find somebody to talk to about it, and in the mean time use Bio/Chem for my application ^^

I did GCSE Physics, so I've got that covered!

I'm thinking, do you think for something like this, having Mathematics HL is preferred? I mean, I don't see how heavy math is involved in what I'd like to be doing in the future. If SL considered equally though, I don't see the point in even bothering with trying HL! But if it is, maybe I should do Econ at SL instead. Which bothers me because almost everyone says it's THE easiest HL! I feel like it's a wasted opportunity to take it at SL hahaha

I think that if you intend on studying in the US, it doesn't matter if you don't take physics for IB. You'll have taken it sometime throughout your high school career, so it's fine. I really doubt HL Maths would be required for GENETIC engineering, however it would certainly be preferably for other engineering courses that are heavy on maths. So if you're not 100% certain on genetic engineering taking HL maths would keep your options open, but then again not taking physics would make it extremely hard to get into other engineering courses (that is if you're interested). I was going to take HL maths because i would need it to get into good economics courses in the UK but i decided against it because American universities don't require it for finance. From the advice others have given me, you shouldn't take HL maths if it isn't necessary because it's a huge commitment that requires heaps of passion/drive. But you won't get advanced placement/credit for SL maths in the US so keep that in mind when making your decision.

I'd say it best to start off with your 4 HL's, this is generally advisable when taking HL maths as most people drop it to SL because of hard it is. Just get a feel for both HL Maths/economics in the first couple of weeks (if your schools allows this) and drop whichever one you don't want to continue on with/don't require for your degree. I agree with you on the basis that it'd be a shame to drop economics to SL because of how easy it is.

That is really what I should be doing, yeah. Gonna make this work! You mentioned earlier you were scared about Biology, why's that. I see frequently that it involves a ton of memorisation haha, but I think it sounds doable

The only reason i'm scared of biology is because i've always doubted my ability in biology and my IGCSE biology gives us killer tests. Like for example NO-ONE got an A* (i got A) in our mocks, trust me when i say there are a lot of smart people in my year group! Her tests have literally destroyed my self esteem - okay that might be over exaggerated but i'm sure you get the point. I'm just hoping my IB Biology experience is nothing of the sort. Plus, it doesn't help that my biology teacher next year will be bad, great just great.

Ah I see, that doesn't sound good! You should turn into drive to work harder next time. You'll be fine! What year are you at? By having a bad bio teacher, do you mean for IB?

Yah, i hopefully will be. I'm currently in year 11. I mean't that my IB teacher will be bad - my current IGCSE teacher is amazing thankfully!

Hey!

Okay so I basically need some help.

I'm planning to pursue either vet med/med/pharmacy (but more likely pharmacy) and I picked these IB subjects:

HL
Maths
Biology
Chemistry

SL
Spanish ab initio
English A1
History



BUT, I recently got my IGCSE results - I only got an A (ie not A*) for Maths and a really horrible grade for Additional Maths and my school is now recommending that I drop Maths HL and take up either English or History.


I have 2 questions.


1. Is it advisable to drop Maths HL despite wanting to pursue the sciences at university? Will this make me a little bit more disadvantaged than other applicants applying for the same courses? I know Maths HL is not required as I've got both Biology and Chem at HL but.. is it preferred?

I COULD try my best for Maths HL - that is, work my butt off for it but I'd just like to hear everybody's opinion on whether it's worth it, and whether I even need it!


2. Also, IF I do drop Maths HL, which HL should I take up, English A1 or History? I love both equally, and scored A*s for English First Language, English Literature and History at IGCSE and I'm pretty much torn between the two. So I WOULD like to pick the one I love - but I love both so uhhh, yeah I kinda need help .

Can anyone out there tell me which HL they felt was better for them & why, whether the workload will be too much if I were to take one instead of the other..etc?


It'd be much appreciated, thanks!

Hey!

I'm taking the IB and want to study something in the direction of business in Uni.

The current classes I have chosen are

German B HL
English LangLit SL
Maths SL
Bio
Econ HL
History

But can't choose between History or Biology HL
Which one would be more advisable? I enjoy both equally and get the same kind of grades in both courses.

HELP!!!

Sorry, I was looking more towards a concentration of marketing, as I am just not good enough for HL Maths.
So the problem still persists!

What do you think of these subjects for Psychology at uni ? (Psychology is not offered at the moment by the school I will be attending for IB )
Biology HL
History HL
English literature HL
Arabic B SL
Math studies SL
Business and management SL

They're fine as you've taken HL biology (but fyi some universities might require HL chemistry too). I'd switch business and management with another subject that is more respected as it's seen as a 'soft' subject by universities.