tell me it gets easier

ib has SO MUCH WORK
WHEN DOES IT GET EASIER TO HANDLE? SHOULD I TAKE A LEVELS WHILE I STILL HAVE THE CHANCE?

Yo Bro, I'm very disappointed you haven't gotten a reply. I wanted to see what people had said.
I have just finished IB1 like you and let me tell you it was hell. I don't know if I should blame the school or blame the IB, or blame myself. I just hate it. I am asking the exact same question as you. Should I do A Levels while I still have the chance? I have faith I'll get an okay point score, but I want to study medicine! If I switch to A levels, it's not considered a retake and I still have a chance to get the grades I need. My EE supervisor was so incompetent, I haven't even finished my first draft even though my second draft was due before summer holidays began. TBH my school as a school is excellent and most of the teachers are great but I just don't know. I try so hard to get myself to work hard but I can't bring myself to do it. Seriously, it's lazy for schools to discount this as 'laziness', and just help students who don't need the help and act like those who are failing are doing so as a result of their own incompetence. I have a problem and I wish it could be addressed, but I feel I have no one and there is never an example of success to look at and listening to anyone and everyone doesn't help; because it's like the solution is internal. And I just can't find it.

I'm not lazy, I did so so well in my GCSEs and worked so hard but this year I just have had no motivation and I feel it's too late to turn it around. I haven't done so much of my coursework which is due when I get back. I feel like I am bound to fail.

Reply 2

hipsterrapunzel

I feel like the both of you need some life advice along with IB advice, so I'm going to blabber and hope something strikes a chord:P I'll try to address your individual points, but the advice does overlap, so do read it as a whole.

To gameofno, I find that "it gets easier" can be interpreted in a couple of ways, but the cliche and most true one is just that the difficulty doesn't change, you improve until it becomes easy. It's like learning how to walk when you were a child, stumbling and falling, versus how you walk today. So in short, yes, it gets easier the more you work at it.

Don't give up. I've never done 'A' Levels, so I don't like to make comparisons there. Nevertheless, with IB, I assume the "work" you're talking about refers to the IAs, EE, TOK and the deadlines that just come one after the other. I know. I've been there. IB is a lot of work because of this "continuous assessment" aspect that gives the programme its rigor. It is what it is, and it builds you not only as a student, but as a person. It's also the reason why many people take pride in being IB graduates. The quality of the schools teaching IB do make a difference, I agree, but I'll leave it at that. You can't change it, but you can learn to deal with it. Get a planner, schedule your time well, and focus. I believe that if you put in your best effort into what you do, even if the result isn't what you hoped for, it will all work out in the end.

Ask yourself, if I do everything I possibly can - everything - to improve from this point on, is it realistic for me to do well in IB? Because if the answer is no, then changing to A levels might be an option for you. If it's a yes, then start working harder. If you really want it, make it happen. Reflect. Reflect hard. This is your life, and you should know what's best for you. At least, better than me.

To cheaterstride, it seems like you're tired. Ask yourself: Am I done here? Can i not go anymore? Or can i push on? If I push on, will there be a favorable result? There is no shame in moving on. But only if you're sure that it's your best option. If you're absolutely sure that you'll excel at A levels, then go for it. No point ramming into a wall again and again if it doesn't help. The thing is, changing from IB to A levels isn't going to help you improve if you have other issues you need to sort out. You sound like you need support in your life. Maybe i'm wrong, but if you do, then reach out to your friends and family. talk it out. let your feelings go. One thing I've been trying recently, and you can try too, if you feel that it helps you: If and When you're alone, take 5 minutes of your day, whenever you can, to feel. Just feel. don't obsess about what you're feeling. don't obsess about stress. just feel. It's okay to feel sad. It's okay to feel stressed. Let yourself feel all those emotions.

Then move on.

Even if you have those feelings at various points in your day, allow yourself to feel them. Then pick up where you left off, and move on. Accept your feelings, and live on. Life goes on. I could go on for infinity about the idea of moving on, but a simple gist is this. Think through your options carefully, make your choice, and move on. If you stay on with IB and don't do as well as you would like eventually, don't despair about not switching to A levels. If you switch to A levels and find it even harder, don't despair about your mistake. It's okay to feel regret. But don't let fear stop you from making decisions. Pick one, throw everything you have at it, and be happy with your results. If you really did the best you could, you will have no regrets. Don't waste your time wondering about greener grass.

to close off, I'm generally a nice person, but I do believe in the reality of the harsh reality, so here is some tough love for you. (out of kindness, of course.) to quote the great rocky balboa, "the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it... but it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." Consider this: yes, sometimes things do work out in the end. Friends and teachers may notice you need help and help you. But what if it doesn't? What will you do then? What if you fail and fail and fail and fail even though you've tried so hard? Where will you place your breaking point? Will you let yourself go? I'm not going to paint rainbows for you, because there may come a point in your life when you have no one to turn to, and it will hurt, and it will suck, and the only person to stop you from breaking will be yourself. Dig deep, and find strength. The possibilities of life are endless. To me, hope is a vice and a virtue, but when it gets dark, I cling onto it. Because there is nothing you cannot do if you put your heart to it. Reach out and get help if you know you need it. You've already reached out by posting on this forum. You can do it. Talk to your family, your friends, anyone. They will help you. But you have to find the fire within you as well.

It's getting late. I'm pretty sure half of this is pure rambling but I need to sleep. Hope it helps. I'll be happy to talk if you have any specific questions. However, school's starting and I won't be here much, so I do encourage you to find someone in your personal circle if you can.

Be well, and all the best.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

Milo62

Wait are you in your first year?!? You're only like a week in oh my. No it doesn't get easier. The first 6 months is calm. Just keep up with the hw and revise for exams nothing else to it. After Christmas it gets hard. Your spring mocks will give a good indication for UCAS predictions and will be very important. They are designed to simulate real exams and are hard. You will have to revise very hard as failing to get a certain amount of points and you may have to repeat the year. After the mocks you'll start your extended essay and course works. Soon it'll get to the point where you'll have 7 deadlines for 7 pieces of work before summer and you'll still have to do regular work. All I can say is stock up on red bull and prepare for all nighters. Use your free periods to sleep and do DoE if possible as its a good way of getting CAS (I didn't and I regret it).

I'm going into my final year now and once I get the course works out of the way life should be easier, then it's just pure revsion. I've told you how it is. Surprisingly I've not actually found the IB that stressing or hard. I'm on 35pts predicted going into yr13 and I guess I'm on track to get 38 prediction and I didn't even work that hard. Like I said just do the work when it's set, leave revision for a month before the mocks.

Stay in the IB though it's incredibly rewarding. The extra effort is well worth it and it'll make you unique in the country

Hope this helped.

Reply 4

Stickies

As someone who was immature enough to be completely distracted by a toxic relationship during my second year of IB, I can say that it doesn't get easier but rather, it gets manageable. My priorities were so warped that I delayed my submission of my EE from May all the way till August and that too it was done in a rushed 4 days. In this sense, IB was hell for me because I made it that way. I still scraped a C for my EE and managed an overall 37. I was the type to find short cuts in everything I did. Hell, even my TOK essay which I got a B in (inclusive of my horrible presentation - 6/12) was more or less paraphrased from a friend's essay from the previous year that had a similar question.

That being said, if you're focused enough unlike the way I was, you'll figure out the way things work and eventually feel less overwhelmed. Different periods in the IB have a greater number of deadlines, so yes there will be periods of stress.

The most important piece of advice is: If you're taking HL math, drop it. If you're taking SL economics, upgrade it to HL because the gap between HL and SL for econs is the smallest, so it's more worth it to do it at HL. Learn from my mistakes :s-smilie: