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The "Which IB subjects should I choose" Thread

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Hey there, I'm interested in taking economics at Bath but am really not sure which other HL subject to take other than Economics HL and Math SL(we don't have math HL).

Here are my options:
Business mgt. HL
Physics HL
Chemistry HL

If I take business HL I must take a science at sl (probably Biology).Your reply would be a great help. + computer science SL perhaps.
-I took Arabic B Hl and English A sl too
(edited 8 years ago)
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Hey guys!

I want to study economics or finance.
For sure I will take Math HL, English B HL, Polish A SL, Geo HL
1. Is physics SL the easiest subject from science?
2. I would really enjoy taking Economics as my 6th subject, but it is unavailable in my school :frown:. Will history be a good subject for me? Is this really hard subject?
3. My level of English is B2. Will I have a hard time in IB?
Hey Jonymielony,

I'm not sure about the answers to your first two questions, as I am also starting the IB next year, but I've talked to my IB coordinator about foreign languages B at higher level (spanish in my case), and he said that they are absolutely doable for anyone who has A2-B1, provided they are willing to work hard. So you should have a headstart with your level B2.
Hi, I am interested in choosing the following subjects for my IB diploma programme:

English A SL/HL
Spanish B HL
Geography HL
Business Management SL/HL
Computer Science SL
Maths SL/HL

1. I have not had computer science classes so far, but we can choose between either biology, physics or computer science, and to me biology and physics were really boring. Is computer science manageable?
2. I am not sure whether I should take English, Maths or Business Management for my third higher level. I think I would prefer to choose Business Management, but that is a self-study online course and I haven't had any classes in the subject before. So should I go for English instead? Or perhaps Maths? Which is easiest?
3. Is this a good choice considering I am interested in studying business management at unit?
But, I am going to learn for example history in english. It is not my native language.
It may be difficult in the beginning, but it should be manageable, if you can easily understand conversations in English. And I am sure you will learn it very quickly.
Hello guys! I've pretty much got most of my IB options now, which are as follows:

HL: History, English Language and Literature, Chemistry
SL: Chinese B, Maths, Economics

But I'm having second thoughts about doing HL English Language and Literature - I'm considering switching over to HL English Literature. I tried looking up which course would be more suitable, and so far I've found that apparently English Language and Literature is easier, but English Literature more respectable. I also know that the workload for English Literature is quite a lot, but apart from that, I don't really know which one is "better".

Which English course would you guys recommend taking? I've been quite stressed over this, because I want to make sure my IB options are perfect, but the English teachers at my school haven't offered much guidance on this so I'm a bit stuck.

Thanks!
Original post by nusquam
Hello guys! I've pretty much got most of my IB options now, which are as follows:

HL: History, English Language and Literature, Chemistry
SL: Chinese B, Maths, Economics

But I'm having second thoughts about doing HL English Language and Literature - I'm considering switching over to HL English Literature. I tried looking up which course would be more suitable, and so far I've found that apparently English Language and Literature is easier, but English Literature more respectable. I also know that the workload for English Literature is quite a lot, but apart from that, I don't really know which one is "better".

Which English course would you guys recommend taking? I've been quite stressed over this, because I want to make sure my IB options are perfect, but the English teachers at my school haven't offered much guidance on this so I'm a bit stuck.

Thanks!



Hi!
Although I haven't done the IB yet (so I can't give you experienced advice), I have been to several open days for schools that do the IBDP, and I asked the exact same question, so here's what I think:

i think it depends on the person. I'm taking English lit next year, and that's because I'm the kind of person who loves reading, and the feeling I got was the lit course involved a lot more reading and lit crit than the language + lit course.
so, basically, if you don't like reading and writing essays, then take the language + lit course. if you do, that's great, then i'd recommend you take the lit course.

regarding the workload and the respectability of the course, I'm not sure as I'm only starting the IB in September. but usually if a subject is harder, then it will probably be more 'respectable'. but, that doesn't mean you should take it :wink:

hope this helps :smile:
Hi, I am interested in choosing the following subjects for my IB diploma programme:

English A SL/HL
Spanish B HL
Geography HL
Business Management SL/HL
Computer Science SL
Maths SL/HL

1. I have not had computer science classes so far, but we can choose between either biology, physics or computer science, and to me biology and physics were really boring. Is computer science manageable?
2. I am not sure whether I should take English, Maths or Business Management for my third higher level. I think I would prefer to choose Business Management, but that is a self-study online course and I haven't had any classes in the subject before. So should I go for English instead? Or perhaps Maths? Which is easiest?
3. Is this a good choice considering I am interested in studying business management at uni?
Maths HL is HARD.
I'd suggest doing either SL two year or math studies one year (if your school offers it). Universities do not see the difference as they both show as SL.
Thanks. Our school only offers Math SL and HL (not studies), and I am worried that my other subjects will seem too soft, if I don't take Maths at HL. Right now I have decided on starting off with 4 highers and two at SL:
Spanish B HL
Geography HL
Business Management HL
Maths HL
Computer Science SL
English SL

This will allow me to drop maths or business management, depending whether any is too difficult and depending on which course I prefer. Would that be a suiltable option?
Original post by astonky
Hi, I am interested in choosing the following subjects for my IB diploma programme:

English A SL/HL
Spanish B HL
Geography HL
Business Management SL/HL
Computer Science SL
Maths SL/HL

1. I have not had computer science classes so far, but we can choose between either biology, physics or computer science, and to me biology and physics were really boring. Is computer science manageable?
2. I am not sure whether I should take English, Maths or Business Management for my third higher level. I think I would prefer to choose Business Management, but that is a self-study online course and I haven't had any classes in the subject before. So should I go for English instead? Or perhaps Maths? Which is easiest?
3. Is this a good choice considering I am interested in studying business management at uni?


Hi there! I don't have much experience with IB, but I've done some research over the holidays on what IB subjects are best for studying a particular field at university.

Assuming that you've decided that you're going to study Business Management for certain in the future, I would personally go with these options, since they'd be the most useful for a business degree:

Economics HL (preferred) OR Business Management HL
Maths HL
Spanish B HL
and
English SL
Computer Science SL
Geography SL

From what I've heard, IB Business is considered a "soft" subject - IB Economics is the preferred subject you should be taking if you want to go into any finance/management field. However, IB Business is also alright - just bear in mind that you may be disadvantaged to someone who takes IB Economics instead, especially if you're applying to elite universities.

If you were to pick between IB HL English or Maths, I'd say Maths, but only because I associate business and management more with numbers. I think that if you were aiming to go into finance, definitely consider Maths, because you're probably going to be doing quite a fair amount of that in the future. In an ideal world, though, I'd recommend you do both IB English and Maths at H, since the combination of English, Business/Economics and Maths is very useful for the business field.

However, to answer one of your previous questions, there's really not much difference between IB English and Maths - they're both quite difficult subjects to take at HL. It honestly depends on what your strengths are. If you want to get a good grasp of what studying both subjects will be like, I recommend taking a look at some of the IB past papers for both subjects online.

Of course, if you still want to take IB HL Geography and Spanish, that would be perfectly fine as well. If you're sticking by those choices, then yes, definitely go for Business HL (or like I said, Economics) - if you definitely want to do Business in University, then it is either compulsory to do HL Business or recommended. Try checking some University's requirements to study Business Management.

Anyway, I hope this helped a bit! Good luck with picking your IBs! :smile:
Original post by astonky
Thanks. Our school only offers Math SL and HL (not studies), and I am worried that my other subjects will seem too soft, if I don't take Maths at HL. Right now I have decided on starting off with 4 highers and two at SL:
Spanish B HL
Geography HL
Business Management HL
Maths HL
Computer Science SL
English SL

This will allow me to drop maths or business management, depending whether any is too difficult and depending on which course I prefer. Would that be a suiltable option?


Oh haha wait, turns out you already made your decision. Ignore everything I said!
Oh, that's fine. Your advice is still useful, as we can change our options till the beginning of next school year. Unfortunately, our school does not offer Economics, but I hope business management is fine (since that is probably what I will study at uni). I would take English at HL, but I think math may be more relevant, and I really love geography and spanish. So as I mentioned before, I will start doing 4 highers, and perhaps swap things around a little when I start the course.
Hey guys, I'm suddenly having some doubts about my IB options, which are currently:

HL English LangLit, Chemistry, History
SL Economics, Maths, Chinese

I'm considering taking HL Philosophy. I don't take HL History at GCSE, but I take Philosophy + Religious Studies, so all the teachers are saying that I will have to study the GCSE History syllabus over summer (or else I will risk failing the first few months). I spoke with the HE Department today, and they have said that both subjects are generally regarded as prestigious - however, I still have some qualms over which to pick.

What do you guys think?
Original post by nusquam
Hey guys, I'm suddenly having some doubts about my IB options, which are currently:

HL English LangLit, Chemistry, History
SL Economics, Maths, Chinese

I'm considering taking HL Philosophy. I don't take HL History at GCSE, but I take Philosophy + Religious Studies, so all the teachers are saying that I will have to study the GCSE History syllabus over summer (or else I will risk failing the first few months). I spoke with the HE Department today, and they have said that both subjects are generally regarded as prestigious - however, I still have some qualms over which to pick.

What do you guys think?


Hi!

This is really just my opinion, but I'd say if you didn't take History at GCSE, it would be best not to go for History at HL, unless you are confident in your ability and know that you are capable of doing well. I am currently on my final year of (I)GCSE, and although I didn't choose it for IB, I have done the IGCSE History course, and for me, it's not a piece of cake (but I do score decent grades for most of my tests). I've heard that HL History is an extremely rigourous course however, so if it were me, I would decide to stick with Philo+RS, unless you're more or highly interested in History (I also think it depends on what kind of field you'd like to go into after IB).

I'm doing something similar for my IB choices too -- I picked HL Economics even though I've never taken the GCSE course, but I heard SL Economics is ab initio and the jump from SL to HL isn't that big so I decided to go for it! :smile: Ultimately, the decision is up to you, so don't take me word for word because my opinion is just one amongst many hahah x)
Original post by chenji
Hi!

This is really just my opinion, but I'd say if you didn't take History at GCSE, it would be best not to go for History at HL, unless you are confident in your ability and know that you are capable of doing well. I am currently on my final year of (I)GCSE, and although I didn't choose it for IB, I have done the IGCSE History course, and for me, it's not a piece of cake (but I do score decent grades for most of my tests). I've heard that HL History is an extremely rigourous course however, so if it were me, I would decide to stick with Philo+RS, unless you're more or highly interested in History (I also think it depends on what kind of field you'd like to go into after IB).

I'm doing something similar for my IB choices too -- I picked HL Economics even though I've never taken the GCSE course, but I heard SL Economics is ab initio and the jump from SL to HL isn't that big so I decided to go for it! :smile: Ultimately, the decision is up to you, so don't take me word for word because my opinion is just one amongst many hahah x)


Thanks so much for your advice! :smile:

I was wondering, what fields would IB Philosophy enable me to go into? I know History is useful for going into law (although it's not a compulsory subject). I have some degree of interest in doing law, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to do it with Philosophy instead of History. Like I said, I know that History isn't required, but it's recommended, and would it put me at a disadvantage if I were to take Philosophy instead?
Original post by nusquam
Thanks so much for your advice! :smile:

I was wondering, what fields would IB Philosophy enable me to go into? I know History is useful for going into law (although it's not a compulsory subject). I have some degree of interest in doing law, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to do it with Philosophy instead of History. Like I said, I know that History isn't required, but it's recommended, and would it put me at a disadvantage if I were to take Philosophy instead?


Okay, first of all, just a disclaimer because I am unfamiliar with philosopy and its career prospects and everything, so I'm resorting to good ol' google here! I've found that yes, it is rather possible to study law if you've taken philosophy. However, I am not sure if it is a better or worse option. (sorry about that :tongue:) I've also found that there is something called the philosophy of law! (Don't know if you'd be interested in that haha, but if you're interested, I guess it's something you can think about!) But once again, this information might not be accurate because a lot of the sites I looked at were about majoring in philosophy in university/college. But if you're looking to go to law school, majoring in philosophy is apparently a great choice! (http://www.umsl.edu/~philo/Undergraduate%20Program/Pre-Law/).

I'm sorry I couldn't offer much help -- for this aspect, google will probably be your best bet because I have pretty much no experience with Philosophy and its prospects x)
Original post by chenji
Okay, first of all, just a disclaimer because I am unfamiliar with philosopy and its career prospects and everything, so I'm resorting to good ol' google here! I've found that yes, it is rather possible to study law if you've taken philosophy. However, I am not sure if it is a better or worse option. (sorry about that :tongue:) I've also found that there is something called the philosophy of law! (Don't know if you'd be interested in that haha, but if you're interested, I guess it's something you can think about!) But once again, this information might not be accurate because a lot of the sites I looked at were about majoring in philosophy in university/college. But if you're looking to go to law school, majoring in philosophy is apparently a great choice! (http://www.umsl.edu/~philo/Undergraduate%20Program/Pre-Law/).

I'm sorry I couldn't offer much help -- for this aspect, google will probably be your best bet because I have pretty much no experience with Philosophy and its prospects x)


Ahhh you've been a massive help to me, thank you so so much! I've been indecisive for months about whether or not to take Philosophy or History to the point where all my teachers are just annoyed at me. :biggrin:

I've done a bit of a Google search, and the skillsets both subjects offer are similar, with the exception that History skills are more well-regarded (I might have to double-check this one again). Many people are saying that Philosophy is a lot easier than History - however, I've spoken to teachers before and looked at past papers, and honestly, the difficulty seems to be the same.

I still have several reservations about taking History (should I choose to do it), but some people are saying that although basic GCSE knowledge is useful, it is not compulsory, as a) social sciences/humanities are taught from scratch, and b) very little of the IB curriculum consists of GCSE information.

Anyway, I'll have a bit more of a look around. The only problem I have with this currently is that there isn't much information on IB Philosophy as there is on History - perhaps it comes down to the fact that History is a better, more popular choice?
Original post by nusquam
Ahhh you've been a massive help to me, thank you so so much! I've been indecisive for months about whether or not to take Philosophy or History to the point where all my teachers are just annoyed at me. :biggrin:

I've done a bit of a Google search, and the skillsets both subjects offer are similar, with the exception that History skills are more well-regarded (I might have to double-check this one again). Many people are saying that Philosophy is a lot easier than History - however, I've spoken to teachers before and looked at past papers, and honestly, the difficulty seems to be the same.

I still have several reservations about taking History (should I choose to do it), but some people are saying that although basic GCSE knowledge is useful, it is not compulsory, as a) social sciences/humanities are taught from scratch, and b) very little of the IB curriculum consists of GCSE information.

Anyway, I'll have a bit more of a look around. The only problem I have with this currently is that there isn't much information on IB Philosophy as there is on History - perhaps it comes down to the fact that History is a better, more popular choice?


Perhaps it is more popular, but don't take that as a sign that it is better! I guess it's true that you probably won't need tons of prior knowledge to taking History, as I think the topics you learn are a bit different, but having taken GCSE History, you'd be more confident in terms of exam/revision techniques and the way you learn the information. Then again, I am not exactly sure if there will be any overlap with any of the topics done at GCSE and IB, but obviously it would be helpful if you've taken the GCSE course.

Once again, it's entirely up to you to decide what's best for yourself, if you think you are capable of doing the HL History course, go for it! (But make sure that you've thoroughly considered everything!)

I picked the wrong subjects for my GCSEs, and I can tell you that right now I must say that I painfully regret my choices, but I have no choice but to stick with it. One of many reasons was because I listened to a student a year above who warned me not to take a certain subject, but now I realise that it was really just his opinion, and I regret listening to him. I also think it was partly due to my lack of consideration, and ultimately, it has affected my IB choice options as well (but not so much, which is a relief). So my point is to make sure you choose carefully, especially as this is IB and not just some lousy GCSEs that most schools won't even pay attention to! xD

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