IB vs A-levels

Hi, I am in Y10 rn. Can someone tell me the differences between IB and A-levels and how they can affect my future career?

Reply 1

idklol4523

In short, IB has six subjects with three at higher level and three at standard level. You additionally have to write an EE (extended essay) on a subject of your choice, pass TOK (a class called theory of knowledge) and fulfill CAS (creativity, action and service - aka, extracurriculars) to get your diploma. IB is out of 45 points, where each subject has 7 points and CAS, TOK and the EE add up to 3 extra points.

Meanwhile, A levels focuses primarily on three subjects in depth, where you can possibly take four or five (eg. Extended maths, physics, regular maths would be suitable for pursuing engineering). You get three-five grades on a A*-U scale.

Being biased, I think IB is perhaps slightly harder than A levels, seeing as I'm planning on taking it next year, and from what I've heard, the balancing of six subjects is incredibly difficult.

Additionally, deciding on which one to take is quite important. If you're planning to go to the UK, taking A levels is probably your best bet. However, if you're planning to go anywhere else, IB might be more favoured as it is an international diploma. You'd have to check on that.

Reply 2

marti3x

I agree with everything mentioned earlier. I will be going into year 2 of IB DP in September and this past year has been very difficult. I dealt with a lot of stress due to the workload that the IB comes with and whilst it depends a lot on how your school organizes deadlines, generally the second year is worse due to all the IAs and your EE that you need to complete whilst still going through a lot of content.

This program could be beneficial for getting into universities internationally but if you are planning on studying in the UK DEFINETELY do A-levels instead. It is easier and more widely recognized in the UK. UK Universities usually translate A* to 7s, A to 6s and so on, which from my understanding of both curriculums do not recognize the IB's larger workload and therefore not fully equivalent. Additionally, some top universities may require you to take HL maths simply because they require A-level students to be studying maths in college and SL maths isn't always recognized.
Even if you are applying internationally take a look at university requirements and consider your options thoroughly.

Reply 3

idklol4523

Original post by marti3x

I agree with everything mentioned earlier. I will be going into year 2 of IB DP in September and this past year has been very difficult. I dealt with a lot of stress due to the workload that the IB comes with and whilst it depends a lot on how your school organizes deadlines, generally the second year is worse due to all the IAs and your EE that you need to complete whilst still going through a lot of content.
This program could be beneficial for getting into universities internationally but if you are planning on studying in the UK DEFINETELY do A-levels instead. It is easier and more widely recognized in the UK. UK Universities usually translate A* to 7s, A to 6s and so on, which from my understanding of both curriculums do not recognize the IB's larger workload and therefore not fully equivalent. Additionally, some top universities may require you to take HL maths simply because they require A-level students to be studying maths in college and SL maths isn't always recognized.
Even if you are applying internationally take a look at university requirements and consider your options thoroughly.

Totally agree, with the UK A levels is definitely more suitable, and although I'd like to go to the UK, my school sadly does not offer A levels. :frown:

(( good luck with the second year of IBDP!!