IB or A levels

i am currently doing o level and planning on studying abroad in Germany i just wanted to know whether i should do A levels or IB it’s really hard for me to decide

Reply 1

Erika_G

I think German universities accept both A-levels and IB. I think it's a common consensus that IB is harder than A-levels. If you want to challenge yourself then IB would be a good choice.
I did IB and I can only speak for IB. I think IB is a good programme, but the experience really depends on the teaching quality and how good the school is. So if your options of schools have good facilities, good IB teachers and high average IB exam scores in the past, I think your IB experience would overall be good.
Also, IB requires a lot of self-management, if you can manage your own time properly and able to work independently, I think you would be fine for IB.

Reply 2

thegeek888

Original post by Alvina9

i am currently doing o level and planning on studying abroad in Germany i just wanted to know whether i should do A levels or IB it’s really hard for me to decide

Maths, Economics and Chemistry would be 3 good A-Level subjects to keep your options open.

What degree do you want to pursue in Germany?

Reply 3

iL1L

Volunteer Team

For studying abroad in Germany I would definitely recommend the IB.

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 4

Alvina9

Original post by thegeek888

Maths, Economics and Chemistry would be 3 good A-Level subjects to keep your options open.

What degree do you want to pursue in Germany?

I am planning on going to Germany straight after o level but i am not so sure about which degree i want to pursue

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Alvina9

I am planning on going to Germany straight after o level but i am not so sure about which degree i want to pursue

Note that many undergraduate degrees in Germany are taught in German and theyvfirmally require you to pass an official German language test at the equivalent of C1 or better (near native proficiency- this is certainly beyond A-level German standard) to enrol (although you can usually apply with just B1 German initially you need to achieve C1 by starting or you can't start).

There are however a number of English language taught undergraduate degrees, theae are mainly in business/STEM type subjects though. These may not require any German officially before starting although you'd usually be required to take German credits in the degree, and remember you'd be living on Germany and need to get by day to day life (shopping, getting buses etc) which is all done in German there.

On the plus side other than one state, German degrees are free, you just have to pay a semester fee of a hundred or so euro for your student union type stuff and a student travel pass. However you won't get any funding for SFE or German bodies for your rent/food/etc costs so need to plan for these. It's also I gather much more normal for German students to live in private student rentals than university owned accommodation.

I'd recommend looking at the daad.de site which has a lot of info about studying in Germany and a course search with filters for language requirements etc :smile: