What subjects should I pick?

[Nooth]

Evening people,

I'll be starting the IB next year, but I'm unsure of what subjects I should pick. I'm interested in taking a major in either Law or International Affairs, in the US (if that matters). I'm strong in every subject but math. I've also heard that some uni's consider certain subjects to be "soft" - is this correct? Here's the Curriculum offered in my school clicky.

[dessskris]

Good evening as an initial suggestion, let me pick some random subjects for you

English A1 HL

Swedish A2 HL/SL

Psychology HL

Chemistry SL

Math SL

French B SL/HL

Which of the offered languages do you speak? Which is the language you are most fluent in? Which is the least?

Too bad your school does not offer Economics Psychology should help a bit although it might be considered as a soft subject.

Group 4 subject is not so important for Law, I guess. Since you are not so strong at Math, I won't recommend Physics. ES is sometimes considered a soft subject, so Chem should be the best for you.

Being not strong at Math doesn't mean you ought to take Math Studies. Go for Math SL if you could!!

Since Theatre is not related to Law in any way, and you don't really need another group 4 subject, I suggest a language B.

Tell us more about you and your opinion on the courses I selected so we could give you further recommendations

[Nooth]

Good evening as an initial suggestion, let me pick some random subjects for you

English A1 HL

Swedish A2 HL/SL

Psychology HL

Chemistry SL

Math SL

French B SL/HL

Which of the offered languages do you speak? Which is the language you are most fluent in? Which is the least?

Too bad your school does not offer Economics Psychology should help a bit although it might be considered as a soft subject.

Group 4 subject is not so important for Law, I guess. Since you are not so strong at Math, I won't recommend Physics. ES is sometimes considered a soft subject, so Chem should be the best for you.

Being not strong at Math doesn't mean you ought to take Math Studies. Go for Math SL if you could!!

Since Theatre is not related to Law in any way, and you don't really need another group 4 subject, I suggest a language B.

Tell us more about you and your opinion on the courses I selected so we could give you further recommendations

Thank you for your quick response!

I currently study French, but I'm thinking of switching to spanish since I have the feeling that I would perform better in spanish. I want to pursue a career as either a lawyer or working internationally, perhaps as a diplomat. But then again, I'm *not* sure. All I do know is that I don't want to take a major in any of the sciences, so I figured I should stay away from them.

Do uni's look at what subjects you pick, and what does it mean that a subject is soft?

Thanks!

Edited December 5, 2010 by Nooth

[dessskris]

Do you speak Swedish? You obviously speak English fluently so if you are okay with 3 languages, you can take English French Spanish or English Swedish Spanish... Up to you.

Are you capable of taking Chem SL then? Any experience/background? Or which of the sciences is most interesting to you?

I think it depends on the uni some courses have several prerequisites.. For instance if you want to study Engineering you must take Physics HL and Math HL. If you want to study Business you must take Econs HL and probably at least Math SL. But for Law... I don't think there is any prerequisite but I don't know! I'd recommend checking with a uni that you want to go to's website. See the prerequisites for Law for IBDP students.

Some unis look at the subjects that you pick, some just look at your total IB points. I heard US universities do not really care about the subjects selection, they just want to know the total IB points. But I might forget that information whether it is true or not, somebody please confirm that.. Since I'm not living in the US too so I am not really familiar with the system.

I myself am quite new in IB thus I do not quite understand what they actually mean when they say that a subject is soft, but I think soft subjects are subjects that are considered easy for some reasons although some students complain that those subjects are actually not so easy.. I hope somebody could give a better answer to this, though haha

EDIT: I found a discussion on soft subjects in the forum: even though it lacks of explanation what exactly soft subjects are

[Nooth]

Swedish is my native tounge, so perhaps I should go for the billingual diploma, is it worth it? And I'm quite good in the sciences, it's just not something I can see myself doing for a living. If I would have to pick one, I would go for Bio, but my school doesn't offer it. So perhaps sticking to ESS would be a better idea..

What would I gain on doing Math SL instead of doing Math Studies? And I suppose it isn't possible to pick two subjects from one group?

Thanks!

Edit: After some extensive searching on http://yale.edu I cant't find anything about any requirements for the IB, only that you recive somekind of credits.

Edited December 5, 2010 by Nooth

[dessskris]

Ooh then take Swedish A1 and English A2. Then Spanish/French B for group 6. The bilingual diploma is worth it! Don't miss it.. You have the option to take English A2 anyways, so I guess it'd still be better to do your mother tongue A1. Unlike me whose school doesn't offer English A2..so I end up doing English B HL.

Well Chem is not that hard but as I said ESS might be considered soft so you got to think about it..

Btw I just checked with another source and I think they would want you to take History. Go for HL if you could! Forget about Psychology

It's possible to take 2 subjects from 1 group, given that the second one is taken as a group 6 subject

I don't know but it's really subjective. FYI some uni do not accept Math Studies students and this made my friend to switch from Studies to SL, currently struggling in SL class.

Another friend of mine feels like Math SL is just for those who need Math..and she doesn't need Math for uni thus she is doing Math Studies

Yet another friend of mine didn't get to choose Math SL and can only take either Studies or HL. He couldn't take HL because he didn't finish Pre calculus or something..so he is stuck in Studies and finds it veeeeeeerrryyyyyy boring. He sleeps or does Bio HW during Math haha and he probably is very sure already that he would score a 7.

I think your school would let you change subjects until a few months after you choose. If I were you I'd try Math SL first and if I can't cope with it, I'll drop to Studies. It is worth the challenge, too. Who knows if the uni that you want to get into does not accept Math St students? Further discussion is available in the math forum, I think, if you are interested

Oh and you are welcome

[∫ Jorge δx]

Based on the choices you have, I'd certainly pick

English A1 HL

Swedish A2 (A1 if your school allows you to take two A1 subjects) HL/SL (depending on how much you like to read)

Psychology HL

Group 4 up to your personal interest really. You could take Physics SL if you want - the math is not too bad. HL is a whole other realm, and with the career you have in mind, I wouldn't tread around there... Unless of course, you suddenly discover a love for lab work and you think you can somehow use the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in a court case.

Math SL. If you find it too challenging, you could always drop to Math Studies, but a lot of universities don't even consider it a proper math class.

History SL/HL - I think you'll find looking at Stalin and the Moscow Show trials fascinating. Hell, I'm thinking of a computer science major and my EE focuses on this topic! If history is not your thing, then go for a language, preferably Spanish.

Edited December 5, 2010 by qliphoth93

[Nooth]

Based on the choices you have, I'd certainly pick

English A1 HL

Swedish A2 (A1 if your school allows you to take two A1 subjects) HL/SL (depending on how much you like to read)

Psychology HL

Group 4 up to your personal interest really. You could take Physics SL if you want - the math is not too bad. HL is a whole other realm, and with the career you have in mind, I wouldn't tread around there... Unless of course, you suddenly discover a love for lab work and you think you can somehow use the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in a court case.

Math SL. If you find it too challenging, you could always drop to Math Studies, but a lot of universities don't even consider it a proper math class.

History SL/HL - I think you'll find looking at Stalin and the Moscow Show trials fascinating. Hell, I'm thinking of a computer science major and my EE focuses on this topic! If history is not your thing, then go for a language, preferably Spanish.

Thank you for your input!

I'll most certainly go for English A1 HL, but I'm not sure about Swedish A2 at HL, since that would force me to choose between Psych and History, two subjects I feel very compelled to. Would it be possible to do four subjects at HL?

In group 4 I'm choosing between ESS and Physics SL. But I've heard that ESS is frowned upon, is this correct?

I think it would be a good idea for me to step up a notch to Math SL, after what I've heard about Math Studies.

Actually I just finished the chapter about the trials in Moscow, very interesting indeed!

I've also been thinking about a major in computer science, but I think it would be very monotone.

Thanks!

Edited December 5, 2010 by Nooth

[∫ Jorge δx]

It is possible to take 4 subjects at HL. I know a handful of people that do it.

As for Environmental Systems, it depends on the university... But even I frown upon it. Then again, I always claim "physics is the manliest of all sciences", so it's all up to subjectivity. Yeah, there we go, I just gave you some insight into ToK right there!

Edited December 5, 2010 by qliphoth93

[Nooth]

It is possible to take 4 subjects at HL. I know a handful of people that do it.

Is it worth it, in the sense that uni's would give me extra dubs for it?

[∫ Jorge δx]

Some unis, at least in the States, will allow you to skip a year or a semester of a course if you get a 5 or higher in its IB HL variant.

I'll most likely skip first year calculus if I get a 5 or higher in math HL.

[jbird]

In the US, universities treat IB differently than universities in other countries. Most high schools in America don't offer IB, so there aren't any requirements for admission regarding the diploma. Just having the diploma will look impressive. And there aren't specific requirements for IB classes. (Although they'll want you taking a foreign language, math, a science, a social scince, etc., but if you're doing the diploma, you have their minimum entry requirements covered.) Here, even if you didn't take any physics in high school, for example, you could still become an engineer. That said, you should be careful about your choice of classes, especially if you want to get into a very selective school like Harvard or Yale. Math Studies isn't the best choice because it's not seen as being very rigorous (which probably isn't fair). Take Math SL. It's not that hard. I'm terrible at math, but I pulled a 5 in Math SL!

Don't take ESS, either. It will be seen as easy, most likely, because the vast majority of high schools in America only offer biology, chemistry, and physics classes in terms of science. The university will wonder why you didn't take a "regular" science class and think you were trying to avoid a challenge. I'm in Biology HL, so I can't tell you much on Chemistry. I'm taking AP (which is a college level program for high school students in America, but it's easier than IB and also a lot more common) Physics, and I really enjoy it. The math isn't bad, there isn't too much memorization, and it's interesting. So if I were you, I'd take Physics SL.

As someone said before me, you should take History. It's really expected in the US that everyone has taken history, whereas the majority of people don't take psychology. History (although I'm doing History of the Americas, obviously, so I can't speak for European history) is fun and not that hard. It's basically a lot of reading and some writing, and obviously you'll do plenty of both in law school. Next to English A1, it's my favorite subject. I hear the difference between HL and SL in history is pretty small, too.

Taking another language for your sixth subject is a good idea, I think, and better than taking Theater or Psych, unless you're deeply passionate about them. I wish I could have taken a third language. All those languages will make you very attractive to American universities! Here most people applying to college just know 1 language besides English, and probably aren't fluent in that language. So it's amazing to me as an IB Survival user how all these people from all over the world know English so well. Anyway, if you have to choose between French and Spanish (sorry, I don't know anything about the bilingual diploma, for the above reason!), you might want to pick Spanish. With Mexico to the south of the US, there are a lot of Spanish speakers in this country. Knowing Spanish as a lawyer in America (do you plan to study and practice law here?) will make you more marketable. But if you like French better, knowing Swedish, English, and French will still look really good to American colleges.

Sorry for the wordiness and similarity to Marsupilami's excellent posts, but I wanted to add an American perspective. Good luck and hope you come to the United States!

[Nooth]

Thank you very much for the invaluable input, jbird!

I'm definetly going to pick History HL, but wouldn't psych make my application stand out if it's rather uncommon in the US? Here's what I've narrowed it down to so far:

English A1 HL

History HL

Swedish A2 HL (A1 if possible) or Psychology HL

Math SL

French B SL or Spanish AB inito SL

Physics SL or ESS SL (Probably Physics)

I'm thinking of doing 4 HL subjects, but I can't really see any direct benefits from doing that?

When it comes to extracurricular activites I'm lost, any ideas?

Thanks, all of you!

Edited December 5, 2010 by Nooth

[Daedalus]

Taking your own damn language at A2 HL is the cheapest and most embarrassing trick in the whole book, because, apart from the obvious reasons: a) if you get less than 7 you're a joke, and b) if you do get the 7 you're preventing somebody who's 2nd or 3rd language actually might be the lingua in question from getting it. Grade inflation at its worst, don't do it!

[dessskris]

I don't think taking 2 languages A1 is possible, but I am sure taking 2 languages A2 or B is possible. Lang A1 is hard btw so twice the challenge isn't really worth it. Imagine reading more than 20 books in 2 years..

@qliphoth93 if you look at his list of available subjects once more, his group 6 can only be Theatre, group 2 or group 4 so apparently he can't take both History and Psychology.

I am thinking of studying Comp Science too but still unsure of that. FYI you'll need Math HL and Physics HL for that if I remember correctly.

I was also thinking of taking 4 HL. My HL subjects were English B (a must), Math (my best subject), Physics (uni prerequisite) and Chemistry (I liked it). I was recommended to choose Physics over Chem but I just couldn't make up my mind so I ended up TRYING OUT 4 HL. After a month or so, I noticed quite a huge gap in IB Chem from IGCSE, I couldn't take it anymore and made up my mind: I should just take Chem SL.

The same thing can just happen to you, if you are interested in 4 HL. Well if the school lets you change levels.

Taking 4 HL isn't really worth it unless the 4 subjects are uni prerequisites. It might be extra stress instead or extra burden. You probably can score better in the 4th subject SL than HL, leading to a greater total IB points.

Physics is quite crazy in my class. Some people are lucky enough to pass, some people aren't. The grade boundaries are quite low btw, to score a 7 you need to score around 68% so that should be a quite easy 7 actually

[Nooth]

Perhaps I should settle for English A2 HL instead, and do Swedish A1 HL since I need a subject from group 1. To bad I can't do both psych and history, I'd love that.

@Daedauls It's not like I have any other choices since I don't want to do any of the sciences at HL and I can't pick both History and Psych, but I'll probably go for Swedish A1 HL instead.

@Marsupilami I see, I'll probably settle for three subjects at HL then. But since I'm more interested Physics it's either that or ESS. What is IGCSE the acrynom for, by the way?

Perhaps this would be a better choice of subjects?

-English A2 HL

-History HL

-Swedish A1 HL

-Math SL

-French B SL or Spanish ab inito

-Physics SL or ESS SL (probably Physics)

Thanks

[Bianca Gill]

Swedish A1 [HL]

English A2 [HL]

Psychology [HL]

Maths Studies [sL]

Chemistry [sL]

Env Systems/Soc. [sL]

Despite that Maths [sL] maybe considered easy, i beg to differ. I'm finding it quite difficult among my class and am really regretting not doing maths studies.

Edited December 5, 2010 by Bianca Gill

[AndreaRuiz]

I'd recommend you...

HL

-History

-Sweddish A1

-English A2

SL

-French B or Spanish B

-Math

-Physics

I'm sorry, I'm completely pro science But I must say I do love languages! I speak fluent Spanish (native language) and English, and i'm pretty good at French and German!

Some recommendations

-Read A LOT. If you're taking History, be sure to read Lenin: Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, read Kant, read Marx, read everything you can.

-Research further. Get the whole year's curriculum and in your weekends get ahead of your class

-Have good relationships with your teachers!

-Do study groups (Mine are on fridays haha, I'm such a nerdy)

-Instead of watching the new Pixar's movie, watch movies related to the current topic in History!

-Start loving The History Channel

Best of luck!

[dessskris]

I'd agree on this:

HL

-History

-Swedish A1

-English A2

SL

-French B or Spanish B

-Math

-Physics

IGCSE stands for International General Certificate of Secondary Education (if I am not mistaken)

if you get less than 7 you're a joke

doing your first language at A2 does not really guarantee you will get a 7. even my friend who is (kind of) equally fluent in both Indo and English is doing English B and only predicted a 6.

[Daedalus]

I don't think taking 2 languages A1 is possible, but I am sure taking 2 languages A2 or B is possible. Lang A1 is hard btw so twice the challenge isn't really worth it. Imagine reading more than 20 books in 2 years..

@qliphoth93 if you look at his list of available subjects once more, his group 6 can only be Theatre, group 2 or group 4 so apparently he can't take both History and Psychology.

I am thinking of studying Comp Science too but still unsure of that. FYI you'll need Math HL and Physics HL for that if I remember correctly.

I was also thinking of taking 4 HL. My HL subjects were English B (a must), Math (my best subject), Physics (uni prerequisite) and Chemistry (I liked it). I was recommended to choose Physics over Chem but I just couldn't make up my mind so I ended up TRYING OUT 4 HL. After a month or so, I noticed quite a huge gap in IB Chem from IGCSE, I couldn't take it anymore and made up my mind: I should just take Chem SL.

The same thing can just happen to you, if you are interested in 4 HL. Well if the school lets you change levels.

Taking 4 HL isn't really worth it unless the 4 subjects are uni prerequisites. It might be extra stress instead or extra burden. You probably can score better in the 4th subject SL than HL, leading to a greater total IB points.

Physics is quite crazy in my class. Some people are lucky enough to pass, some people aren't. The grade boundaries are quite low btw, to score a 7 you need to score around 68% so that should be a quite easy 7 actually

Lol about your friend. If she's equally fluent in English and Indonesian and she's predicted a 6 in English B then I feel pretty bad for her, she must not speak very good Indonesian either.

I took four HLs and switched to 7 subjects, and for me it *was* worth it. I would have taken physics HL if my school had offered it.. Your IB total points aren't the most important thing, and if you start building your IB program around what you need to get into university you should probably not be taking the IB in the first place. It's a program designed to actually teach you important and relevant things, to get you to a level of knowledge in most subjects at HL that allows you to understand a little bit abut industry and real-life processes. It's not supposed to be about maximizing your points and minimizing your work.

There's nothing preventing anyone from taking two A1s, in fact, it's a perfectly good choice in this case. More than 20 books in two years? Are you kidding? Do you seriously think that it takes, on average, more than 18 days to read a single book? Granted I want to be a writer but I know other people who read roughly 10 books a month and it doesn't kill them.

So Nooth do what you want, it's your choice, but if you want to salvage some self-respect go for English A1, at SL if you want - move the third language up if necessary. Just don't take a language you're fluent in at A2 ...