There's an understatement if I ever heard one.(Original post by pink giggle)
i'm quite sure math, physics and chem all at HL might be a bit of a pain
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arrowhead
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- 24-02-2011 22:47
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pink giggle
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- 27-02-2011 07:15
(Original post by arrowhead)
There's an understatement if I ever heard one.
obviously i don't take either of them, which i think was a pretty smart choice. -
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- 27-02-2011 15:58
(Original post by MinorDisaster)
Could I manage 7 subjects? One regular diploma and the extra as a Certificate. I chose pretty easy(non science related) HLs, so I'm pretty confident.
English HL
History HL
Psych HL
Mandarin SL
Math SL
ESS SL
+ Economics SL/HL
I guess it would depend on what you want to do in university. If you want to pursue something like English or history, your subject combination is fine, even without a 7th subject. Trust me, you don't have to take more subjects for the universities to realise you're doing a really challenging course... -
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- 04-03-2011 20:40
Here's an answer for all you IB hopefulls out there... DON'T DO IB!
I wish someone had told me.
I'm not kidding
Yes blah blah blah it's hard but not that...
Universities do not give a **** about the IB because they don't even understand it! They ask for MUCH MUCH more that you'd be asked for in A-Level.
seriously, I would never recommend it. It's a fabulous course on it's own and in theory, and yes i've really enjoyed it, but it doesn't make up for the whole university thing...
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- 04-03-2011 20:43
(Original post by HarryJo)
Here's an answer for all you IB hopefulls out there... DON'T DO IB!
I wish someone had told me.
I'm not kidding
Yes blah blah blah it's hard but not that...
Universities do not give a **** about the IB because they don't even understand it! They ask for MUCH MUCH more that you'd be asked for in A-Level.
seriously, I would never recommend it. It's a fabulous course on it's own and in theory, and yes i've really enjoyed it, but it doesn't make up for the whole university thing...
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- 04-03-2011 20:48
yeahh it's awful! I hate it.
And the thing is- i really enjoy my subject. Like I ENJOY school! That's the point surely?! That should count for something... but no. just no.
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- 06-03-2011 17:04
Currently, I'm choosing my options for IB. So far, I have chosen:
English HL/SL
Spanish HL/SL
Psychology SL?
Chemistry HL/SL
Maths SL
Biology HL/SL
I haven't picked which subjects for HL yet, the only confirmed level is maths (I'm good at maths, but not that good at maths). I want to go into the medicine/vet field, but I'm open to other career options. Also, I'm planning to go to a US liberal arts college, so I'm not sure how much my options will affect me.
So, what do you think?
Are my options a good combination? Or are there too many sciences? (Does psychology count as a science?) -
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- 14-03-2011 17:26
(I've posted this on another thread, hope that reposting it is not a violation of rules, if it is please do delete this.)
Hey all,
I'm currently an 11-year Greek student, and next year I'll enroll in the IB programme. I'm pretty sure I want to study PPE, and of course my aim is to get in Oxford, and I'm interested in Balioll college. The subjects I'm planning to take are the following:
Economics HL
History HL
Modern Greek SL
English HL/SL
Experimental Science SL (Either Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Environmental studies)
My main concern is whether I should take Maths HL instead of SL. If I do so, I'll take English SL, and if I take Maths at SL i'll take English at HL. But I'm not sure if I can cope with taking a 6/7 on HL Maths, I'm not too mathematically inclined.
Is Maths SL sufficient enough for getting an offer, as well as managing the Economics branch? Does it tie to A2, or is HL more advised? And also, what experimental science would you guys propose? I'm not specifically interested for any, except Environmental Studies. Will it harm my chances of getting in, as it is considered a 'soft' subject, and PPE is one of the most competitive courses around?
Looking forward to your responses,
Achilleas -
shardulk803
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- 15-03-2011 18:51
I wish to pursue Engineering or something along those lines.
I am thinking about
English, French & Economics at Standard level
Physics, Chemistry & Maths at Higher level.
Is this a good choice? Till now I have been fabulous with numbers.So hopefully Math should be just fine.
But what about Economics? Is it easy? I have only done IGCSE Economics and I scored a poor A within the 86th percentile.
I have been hearing you have to be crazy to do Physics & chemistry with Math at HL. Is it true? Is it SOOOOO difficult? -
jacksonriddle
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- 16-03-2011 13:07
(Original post by shardulk803)
I wish to pursue Engineering or something along those lines.
I am thinking about
English, French & Economics at Standard level
Physics, Chemistry & Maths at Higher level.
Is this a good choice? Till now I have been fabulous with numbers.So hopefully Math should be just fine.
But what about Economics? Is it easy? I have only done IGCSE Economics and I scored a poor A within the 86th percentile.
I have been hearing you have to be crazy to do Physics & chemistry with Math at HL. Is it true? Is it SOOOOO difficult?
your higher levels however....
i have to warn you, higher level maths is very very hard. I have a friend who is doing the same combination of highers, he's crazy smart (as in 100% in maths GCSE and he's done it a year early). if you're thinking of mechanical engineering or civil engineering, or even electrical, it's worth knowing that you DON'T NEED CHEMISTRY AT HIGHER. i'm currently doing higher level physics, the theory is very difficult to grasp, but the internal assetments are easy (28% of the final grade are IAs). My friends tell me that higher level chemistry has easier theory, but the IAs are really hard.
I must warn you again that my crazy smart friend is also chinese and doing second language standard in that, so he spends literally no time on that, meaning that he has lots of time to spend on his highers.
also it's important to know that english, french, maths, physics and chem will be a huge step up from the GCSEs.
hope i helped. -
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- 16-03-2011 14:25
I've confirmed my choices! They are:
Chemistry HL
Biology HL
English A1 HL
Spanish B SL
Maths SL
Psychology SL
I wasn't quite sure whether taking English Higher was a good idea; I enjoy Spanish, but I wasn't sure if I could balance both Chem and Bio Higher (I heard it's a lot of work, especially Chem and Span Higher). I'm predicted to get As/A*s at GCSE (A* for all the subjects I have chosen for IB except Psychology - never done it before). Should I have taken Spanish Higher instead?
I think I might be a doctor/vet/something of the like, but I want to keep my options open - do my Highers allow me to do that? -
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- 21-03-2011 14:13
(Original post by Achilleasrn)
(I've posted this on another thread, hope that reposting it is not a violation of rules, if it is please do delete this.)
Hey all,
I'm currently an 11-year Greek student, and next year I'll enroll in the IB programme. I'm pretty sure I want to study PPE, and of course my aim is to get in Oxford, and I'm interested in Balioll college. The subjects I'm planning to take are the following:
Economics HL
History HL
Modern Greek SL
English HL/SL
Experimental Science SL (Either Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Environmental studies)
My main concern is whether I should take Maths HL instead of SL. If I do so, I'll take English SL, and if I take Maths at SL i'll take English at HL. But I'm not sure if I can cope with taking a 6/7 on HL Maths, I'm not too mathematically inclined.
Is Maths SL sufficient enough for getting an offer, as well as managing the Economics branch? Does it tie to A2, or is HL more advised? And also, what experimental science would you guys propose? I'm not specifically interested for any, except Environmental Studies. Will it harm my chances of getting in, as it is considered a 'soft' subject, and PPE is one of the most competitive courses around?
Looking forward to your responses,
Achilleas -
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- 22-03-2011 16:00
Yeah, I'm kinda sure I'll pick maths HL after all.. What about my experimental science question? Which is the easiest one? Also, is English A2 as a 4th HL advisable? How's the workload, and does it add anything to my CV? I'm pretty good with English for a foreign student so I doubt I'll have any problems, but is it worth it?
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- 27-03-2011 20:06
um do i need ib bio hl to become a doctor?
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cookiemonster101
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- 31-03-2011 11:57
(Original post by ad astra.)
I've confirmed my choices! They are:
Chemistry HL
Biology HL
English A1 HL
Spanish B SL
Maths SL
Psychology SL
I wasn't quite sure whether taking English Higher was a good idea; I enjoy Spanish, but I wasn't sure if I could balance both Chem and Bio Higher (I heard it's a lot of work, especially Chem and Span Higher). I'm predicted to get As/A*s at GCSE (A* for all the subjects I have chosen for IB except Psychology - never done it before). Should I have taken Spanish Higher instead?
I think I might be a doctor/vet/something of the like, but I want to keep my options open - do my Highers allow me to do that?
Also, psychology is meant to be very difficult to get a good grade in, just sayin. But the rest of your subjects look good - if you want to be a doc/vet you basically have to do Bio and Chem HL but the courses compliment each other and a lot of people do it, and it's quite possible. Stick with English HL - the course is totally amazing. Good luck. -
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- 31-03-2011 14:32
(Original post by cookiemonster101)
A higher level B language is in another realm - don't do it. My boyfriend will be lucky to scrape a 4 in HL Spanish despite having lived in Spain. From my experience, Brits just can't handle it.
Also, psychology is meant to be very difficult to get a good grade in, just sayin. But the rest of your subjects look good - if you want to be a doc/vet you basically have to do Bio and Chem HL but the courses compliment each other and a lot of people do it, and it's quite possible. Stick with English HL - the course is totally amazing. Good luck. -
cookiemonster101
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- 31-03-2011 14:42
good luck - it can and has been done, and if languages are your focus then you'd have a better chance than somebody with, for example, two sciences and french.
but it's very tough....not a personal recommendation! -
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- 31-03-2011 23:22
(Original post by cookiemonster101)
A higher level B language is in another realm - don't do it. My boyfriend will be lucky to scrape a 4 in HL Spanish despite having lived in Spain. From my experience, Brits just can't handle it.
Also, psychology is meant to be very difficult to get a good grade in, just sayin. But the rest of your subjects look good - if you want to be a doc/vet you basically have to do Bio and Chem HL but the courses compliment each other and a lot of people do it, and it's quite possible. Stick with English HL - the course is totally amazing. Good luck.I understand how difficult a higher language B is, because I have a friend who speaks a bit of Chinese at home and is taking higher, and is finding it very difficult.
Do you know why psychology is difficult to get a good grade in, by any chance?
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- 31-03-2011 23:40
(Original post by ad astra.)
Thanks!I understand how difficult a higher language B is, because I have a friend who speaks a bit of Chinese at home and is taking higher, and is finding it very difficult.
I'd recommend it for somebody wanting a good grade, although i believe the syllabus is changing significantly for the may 2013 session (they're taking away part of the oral component or something of the sort and introducing a timed, internally-examinated long essay) -
cookiemonster101
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- 01-04-2011 09:29
(Original post by ad astra.)
Thanks!I understand how difficult a higher language B is, because I have a friend who speaks a bit of Chinese at home and is taking higher, and is finding it very difficult.
Do you know why psychology is difficult to get a good grade in, by any chance?
Good luck!(Original post by Pigeon93)
Umm, I beg to differ. I'm doing French B HL, and it's a total breeze compared to my other subjects. Literally all i've done for my two IB years is sit and do past papers in class... I find the course extremely boring, and it's a rather poor test of your command of the language, but scoring well isn't a problem if you just learn the right exam technique.
I'd recommend it for somebody wanting a good grade, although i believe the syllabus is changing significantly for the may 2013 session (they're taking away part of the oral component or something of the sort and introducing a timed, internally-examinated long essay)
The answer is that the language B exams are getting MORE difficult next year - because the IB want to avoid grade inflation as so many bilingual people are taking their second language at B level (from what I've heard this is mainly in the USA with Hispanic students taken Spanish B as an easy option). They are making the B languages loads more difficult than they already are (which I think is veeeeeeery difficult).
Also, it's a fact that Psychology is just a lot more difficult than people think - if you check out the IB statistical Bulletin you'll see the SL Psychology has an average grade of 4.27, compared with History at 4.49, Economics at 5.04, etc. And it's known among students - people doing psychology often expect a low grade. Not saying you shouldn't do it, go for it, but make sure you don't see it as an easy option
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