i don't know whether do IB or A-Levels !!!

(edited 6 years ago)

Hi there, it seems you've worked yourself into a (little) panic!
I was in a similar situation last year, when choosing between IB and A-levels. First of all, I have to say that the IB is less hard than a lot of people are lead to believe- lets face it the year above is probably trying to scare you. It seems that in your situation- not knowing what subjects to do yet- the IB may be better in terms of keeping your options open. From my experience so far, IB subjects are almost as detailed (or in the case of maths more detailed certainly) as A-Levels, so you will not be missing out on material.
With regards to procrastination- the workload that you will have will ensure that you will simply eventually not be able to spend to much time procrastinating- a good mindset for uni as well.
I am taking geography in a mixed SL/HL class, and I have found it barely a step up from GCSE level. Also, if you are getting A*s in all your geography exams, do not worry, you will be fine. I must say however, that B languages at Higher Level seem to be a big step up (I take Spanish B), but again, with work and time, you will gain more from the course.
I was wondering if there was anyway you would be able to switch to A-levels if you decided that the IB was too much after a few weeks? Surely your decision will not be completely final by September? It may be worth simply trying the IB and then, if necessary, switching to A-levels.
Finally, Unis do realise that the IB is harder (but as I said earlier, definitely NOT impossible), and therefore will often require lower IB grades relative to A-Levels, particularly in Russell Group unis, e.g. Durham.
I hope this helps- I may be slightly biased towards the IB :P

Reply 2

karate-kid

Original post by sophie kwon chu

Thank you so much!! And with my school's constant IB propaganda, you don't seem biased at all to me! xD seriously, our school COMPLETELY disregards A-Levels; they state that we have them as a choice and then straight away go on and on about how amazing the IB is and its benefits xD

Yes, my school allows us to switch courses, I think within the first month(ish) so if I find IB disgusting then I can switch to A-Levels but after a lot of deep thinking today I think I'd like to stay on IB for now unless I really can't cope when I start it.

Yes, my French teacher said I can definitely cope with HL French and she did say it was a very big step up but since I love French so much, I know I'll work really hard for it. I'm just worried about Geography right nowe and English too since I'm thinking of (aiming for) Law.

What about you? How are you doing so far with IB and what subjects do you take? Which uni would you like to go to and for what course? What GCSE grades did you get? If you don't mind all my asking haha :P

Thanks again :smile:

You're welcome :smile:

The IB so far is going relatively well- there are things I need to work on, but hey..I'm doing English A, Spanish B and geography standard, and biology, chemistry and maths higher... So as you may have guessed, I would like to study medicine/biology at uni- I'm not entirely sure which! Before with A levels, there were so many subjects I wanted to do, so I'm glad I still have 6. I'm Not really sure where yet either :P I (somehow) managed to get 10A* at GCSE, but its not much of an indication of anything compared to the IB or A-Level system, but it will be useful in uni applications :smile:

Reply 3

Audiology-Med

I wished I knew about IB when I was choosing my options because my school only told us about A levels and all the six form around my area did Alevels only, I think IB would be more beneficial.

Reply 4

karate-kid

Original post by sophie kwon chu

I just noticed you do maths higher... MATHS HIGHER? oh god how do you even do that? wow

Maths is going fine, I think its more about the amount of time you spend practicing and revising- I like maths so it's not really a problem!

Relating to the earlier post- almost all girls in my year are coping with the IB as well, you don't just have to take my word for it :P

Reply 5

karate-kid

Original post by sophie kwon chu

oh my god you're smart as hell xD im now really doubting whether i should be taking advice from such a high-achieving student. i REALLY want to do well in my GCSEs but im seriously doing so terribly when the course i want to do at uni requires 8 A*s at GCSE :frown:

lol at my pathetic, sad life...

What course of you want to do at uni? Very few seem to specify GCSEs!

Reply 6

506rl

Firstly, you need to consider what you mean by "average". Does that mean you are getting mostly Cs? Bs? If you are getting mostly As and Bs or higher, that is definitely above average. There are people in my school (which has over 200 doing the IB in one year) who got mostly Cs and Bs (and maybe a couple of As) that are doing the IB and just about passing. (I know one friend who considers herself average even though she got all As and A*s at GCSE because she goes to an extremely good school where most people get mostly A*s so if that is the case for you, you don't have to worry about being "too average")

Either way, if you feel the IB will be too difficult (it's difficult even for the really clever students tbh) and you wouldn't particularly benefit from all the subjects, I'd say to avoid it. Honestly, a lot of unis don't really understand how much more work the IB is so they consider something like a 36 the equivalent of ABB which is a load of rubbish and 36 is more like AAA. Some universities like it, but in general not so much. Some universities don't even know what it is.

It gives you a wide range of knowledge, but if you won't have the motivation and can't handle a lot of work, it would defo be better to take A-levels.

On the brighter side, IB is perfect if you are interested or will benifit from all the subjects, and if you organise your time to get all the work done on time. It also will make your first year at uni so much easier, as well as your dissertation as the extended essay if basically a short version of a dissertation. All the A-level students will complain about how they don't know how to do the research and work, but you would be fine.

(whichever you choose, good luck! I don't know about your school but most schools which offer both will allow you to switch from IB to a levels if you decide you don't like it after a month or so, so maybe you could just try it out for the first month and see if you are okay with it?)