How do IB HL's compare with A levels?

In particular, History, Physics and English Literature. Do A levels go into more depth considering they have a lot more time per subjects?

Reply 1

knightmaire

Original post by cheeriosarenice

In particular, History, Physics and English Literature. Do A levels go into more depth considering they have a lot more time per subjects?

Hi. I've only just started the IB and I do HL Physics, but also have some friends who take history and English.
Compared to a-levels, ib history is apparently more interesting. My friend does a level History says it's boring because she's just relearning gcse History things in more detail, but my friend who does the IB, his course looks interesting and you actually learn new things. It's not as focused on the 1900s as gcse and a level. You get to learn about other history periods and countries as well. But be prepared to carry 3 text books...
I can't talk about English, but I can for physics. I feel as if IB physics gives me more of an understanding than a level physics because the IB isn't like A-levels in which you churn out information, but you have to understand the actual concepts fully. Even the tiny things like measurements are long winded.
I'm not actually undermining a-levels, because they are both hard.
What standards are you considering?

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

username1464313

2

Original post by cheeriosarenice

In particular, History, Physics and English Literature. Do A levels go into more depth considering they have a lot more time per subjects?

Hey,

Thought I'd throw my opinion in here.
I can't talk about History or Physics but I can somewhat speak for English as I took AS English then went on to do the IB. The short answer to your question: Yes, I do believe there is a lot of depth to the IB course. I can't say whether there is more because I never did the full A Level but, comparing my first year of IB to my AS, I'd say that there was a lot more to be learned. In my AS course, I felt like I was being spoon fed everything which I didn't enjoy because I wanted to develop my critical skills. With the first year of IB however, I did more books and had to take a more critical approach when reading the texts. In addition to this, the IB course has an element known as "Literature in Translation"/"World Literature" (they changed the name, can't remember which one it is now) that allows you to take your reading wider and examine things outside the English Literary Canon, which most of the A Level texts fell within. I won't say the A Level is that bad though - I did enjoy genre studies and it even introduced me to one of my favourite books, "The Great Gatsby" :heart:

.

As it just so happens, I actually asked a couple of my teachers the same question as this when I first started. The general consensus that I received was that "Your standard subjects are AS levels and a bit more. Your HL subjects are A2s and a bit more. Higher Level Maths is between A Level and Undergraduate. Math Studies is between GCSE and AS."

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 3

cheeriosarenice

OP

10

Original post by Alunzar

Hey,

Thought I'd throw my opinion in here.
I can't talk about History or Physics but I can somewhat speak for English as I took AS English then went on to do the IB. The short answer to your question: Yes, I do believe there is a lot of depth to the IB course. I can't say whether there is more because I never did the full A Level but, comparing my first year of IB to my AS, I'd say that there was a lot more to be learned. In my AS course, I felt like I was being spoon fed everything which I didn't enjoy because I wanted to develop my critical skills. With the first year of IB however, I did more books and had to take a more critical approach when reading the texts. In addition to this, the IB course has an element known as "Literature in Translation"/"World Literature" (they changed the name, can't remember which one it is now) that allows you to take your reading wider and examine things outside the English Literary Canon, which most of the A Level texts fell within. I won't say the A Level is that bad though - I did enjoy genre studies and it even introduced me to one of my favourite books, "The Great Gatsby" :heart:

.

As it just so happens, I actually asked a couple of my teachers the same question as this when I first started. The general consensus that I received was that "Your standard subjects are AS levels and a bit more. Your HL subjects are A2s and a bit more. Higher Level Maths is between A Level and Undergraduate. Math Studies is between GCSE and AS."

Hope this helps :smile:

Hey, thanks for your reply. What I don't get is, why are Universities saying 38 points = three A's? Doing the IB is much more than 3 A levels, unless they don't go into as much depth, but that is not what people are saying.
I've been told the same, and that SL's are actually 2/3 of the A2.

Reply 4

username1464313

2

Original post by cheeriosarenice

Hey, thanks for your reply. What I don't get is, why are Universities saying 38 points = three A's? Doing the IB is much more than 3 A levels, unless they don't go into as much depth, but that is not what people are saying.
I've been told the same, and that SL's are actually 2/3 of the A2.

You know it's really uncanny how all the questions you have are the ones I asked when I was applying to university :h:

It was like a massive scandal when we found out that the universities were giving offers to A Level students that were less than the ones IB students. It ridiculous how 3 A's at A Level are worth 360 UCAS points where as 38 points at IB is worth 567! The explanation we got for this was quite disappointing to be honest; universities were saying that they felt the others they made to A level students and IB were "academically equal". I don't believe this at all but you can't argue with the places you want to go to :tongue:

Another explanation is that, compared to A Levels, the IB is relatively new and takes time for universities to see the amount of effort that goes into it. I'm sure that somewhere down the line, there will be a more equal system (fingers crossed) :biggrin:

I think you are right to think SL's are more like 2/3 of A2s - it certainly felt that way sometimes :smile:

Reply 5

ozymandias24

I'd say A Levels do not offer more depth, although this varies from subject to subject. I am a DP History teacher and feel the Diploma course is similar to the A2 History course. In fact, A Level History is perhaps one of the few subjects where one might argue that the Diploma equivalent is slightly easier: you certainly get more choice of questions and open ended questions for your Diploma History essays. Also, the source work Paper 1 for DP History is more "user friendly" in its layout than the equivalent A Level source papers. My co-workers who teach Physics argue the opposite: DP Physics is much harder than the A Level equivalent.

How do IB HL's compare with A levels?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you