The Student Room Group

A level vs IB

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(edited 8 months ago)
Original post by thesuperpaws
I keep wondering whether or not to choose A level or IB next year and have changed choices about 3 times already 😂
my a levels would be:
maths, further maths, physics, chemistry
my ibs would be:
HL maths, physics, chemistry
SL english, spanish, geography
I’m predicted grade 9s in every subject in my GCSEs so how well I’d do isn’t rlly comparable, i’m more concerned with whether IB is useful considering i already know what i want to do in life (space industry) and what degree i want (physics/nat sci)
my concern is really whether the IB workload (which i’ve heard is horrendous) would detract time from preparing for uni entrance exams and doing my hobbies and getting sleep more than 4 alevels would. also, whether doing extra subjects would be a waste of time considering ik what i want to do.
is IB genuinely better than a level, do universities like it more? my main incentive would be to show that i’m an all rounder who likes humanities as well but idk if that’s even a good idea.
for context i am aiming oxbridge/russel group + considering year abroad courses for uni (fingers crossed those GCSEs work out 😭) and want to permanently move to the US at some point for work.
can provide more info if you need it, i just rlllyyy need help deciding as i’m so indecisive and parents are nagging!!
and P.S: would doing a levels but dropping further maths for spanish make me less competitive for uni? is that a bad idea? u can tell i rlly don’t know 😂
Have you applied to sixth forms?
Did you manage to find a school that offers IB?
If you see a course on uni website, they list their A Level and IB entry requirements.
To the uni they are equal.

If you are aiming for uni’s that have AAA/AAA*… entry requirements for A Level, it is best to do 3 A Levels (if at the end of year 12 doing the fourth A Level causes your predicted grades to be lower then needed).
For A Levels you just need to meet entry requirements.
If university X needs A*AA, including maths. It means as long as you have A*AA with maths, they would not care about the subject of your other A Levels.
(edited 8 months ago)
Original post by BankaiGintoki
Have you applied to sixth forms?
Did you manage to find a school that offers IB?
If you see a course on uni website, they list their A Level and IB entry requirements.
To the uni they are equal.
If you are aiming for uni’s that have AAA/AAA*… entry requirements for A Level, it is best to do 3 A Levels (if at the end of year 12 doing the fourth A Level causes your predicted grades to be lower then needed).
For A Levels you just need to meet entry requirements.
If university X needs A*AA, including maths. It means as long as you have A*AA with maths, they would not care about the subject of your other A Levels.

in answer to ur question I am staying at my current school that has a sixth form and offers both a level and ib
I would say it boils down to whether your primary objective is university preparation or general learning. Doing A-Levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry will mean that you will (at least to my understanding) cover much more relevant content to Physics than you would with IB where you have more subjects to cover. However, if you are genuinely interested in other subjects, you may prefer IB.

The universities won't really have a preference as students often don't have the choice to do one over the other (this is particularly true with how few UK state schools offer IB).

Also, if you're aiming for Physics at Oxbridge with A-Levels, not doing Further Maths will make your application less competitive as Physics has a lot of advanced Maths in it and most other competitive applicants would have it.
Reply 4
Original post by thesuperpaws
in answer to ur question I am staying at my current school that has a sixth form and offers both a level and ib

In that case I would recommend A levels. IB is much more busy and stressful than A levels because in addition to the six subjects, you have to complete CAS, ToK and the Extended Essay, as well as Internal Assessment for each subject. If you know for sure which area of study you want to pursue in uni, then taking A levels will be much more efficient.
Reply 5
Original post by SedraS
In that case I would recommend A levels. IB is much more busy and stressful than A levels because in addition to the six subjects, you have to complete CAS, ToK and the Extended Essay, as well as Internal Assessment for each subject. If you know for sure which area of study you want to pursue in uni, then taking A levels will be much more efficient.

I completely second this.
Reply 6
Original post by username7079722
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HIII!! I AM IN THE EXACT SAME POSITION OMG I AM TORN BETWEEN THE TWO AND ALSO THE EXACT SAME SUBJECTS AS YOU!! (apart from geography): i would do physics, maths, FM, chem or HL maths, physics, chem
SL spanish, history, english!!!!

I also want to go into the space industry!!!! And want to do astrophysics at cambridge or maybe an american uni!!

What did you end up choosing??!

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