whippersnapper Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 I'm forecasted for IB Diploma next year. What do you think are the hardest and easiest classes?Here is planned schedule for now:English A1 HLBiology HLHistory HLMath SLTheatre SLSpanish SLExtended essay topic would likely be on the cultural influence of the Wizard of Oz.CAS is easily taken care of (swim team, acting, zoo volunteering).Is this too unrealistic, in your opinion?What did you find to be the hardest and easiest classes? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammie Backman Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 (edited) That's very doable. English A1 and History at Higher Level are both rumoured to be quite demanding subjects with high workloads, but if you are good at writing analytical essays, they shouldn't be a problem. I do Biology HL, and it's quite easy. This is all, however, subjective as not everybody has the same strengths and weaknesses. In biology and history you should really have good notes, as there is quite a lot of stuff to remember!For spanish, it's good to practice the languages outside of school; reading books and watching movies in Spanish, maybe get a Spanish-speaking pen-pal or something will help.Maths SL is very doable if you have any talent for maths whatsoever. Theatre on the other hand might be quite hard, but as you mentioned acting as one of your CAS-activities I assume that you have previous experience. The general consensus seems to be that the hardest classes are HL Maths/Physics(/Chemistry) and the easiest ones Math studies and Biology SL.Your subject combination should be fine, as long as you are willing to do all the work.EDIT: My easiest classes so far are Biology and Maths, while the hardest one is Swedish Lit... Edited September 9, 2011 by Sammie Backman 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dessskris Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 I also think it's manageable. your quite heavy HL subjects are balanced with the easier SL subjects, so it's very realistic.are you asking about the hardest and easiest subjects in your chosen subjects, or for us? I think your most difficult subject would be History. the easiest being Spanish or Theatre. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xydan Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 (edited) Hmm... I'm wondering if it's OK to stick my schedule on and ask for opinions as well. English HL Math Enriched Sl (It's just Math SL but for people who already did gr 11 Math) History SL (might decide to take HL) Art Hl Physics HL Japanese AB initio SL Is it too easy? I'm really hoping to go to the States for Post-Secondary, but I'm worried my Schedule is either too light or looks like crap. Should I take a Science instead of Art? Help please! Edited September 10, 2011 by Xydan Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dessskris Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 it depends on what you want to study at uni. I'd say don't take up another science at HL, it might be tough. but what are your favourite subjects? what subjects do you need for uni? it would be wiser to choose based on uni prerequisites than on well-roundness. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 English HL will make you put in a LOT of effort.I find ITGS HL pretty easy...then again I'm a bit of a techie.I KNOW for a fact the ESS SL is one of the easiest sciences...and BIO HL is pretty tough. So in case you plan to dump a science, take ESS. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xydan Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the help! About taking another Science Hl, I'm actually already done GR 12 Chemistry because I skipped a grade in Science and took it in the summer, so I'm thinking Chem HL can't be 'too' bad. The problem is that I'm reluctant to give up HL Art, as it mgiht be my only leverage to get myself into a top notch Ivy league school. (I can't compete in Math or Science, as there's too many gifted Asians out there) That's why I'm left in a connundrum, and as I have no siblings in IB before, I have no idea how hard each course really is. I'm planning on taking AP chem if I'm not taking HL Chem, but I'm not sure quite what to do. Plus only the 3 core sciences are offered at my school.The reason I've dabbled in such random stuff is because I have an interest in Architecture/ Engineering, Law, and Medicine. O.O They are all so different, hence the Chem and Physics, Art and English. Edited September 10, 2011 by Xydan Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
holly Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Of course, it all depends what are your strengths and weaknesses. I think Math SL would be fine for me, if I had a better teacher. If your teacher is good at teaching and you're not afraid of asking questions, you should be fine. It's mostly Calculus, I think. I'm a theatre person, so I'm not sure if my answer is biased. I take HL theatre and I love it. People who take SL/HL theatre at my school are those who are usually involved with theatre, so we're all very open and close to each other in class. That gives class a really comfortable and relaxing environment. I think this is one of my easiest classes, even with the RI and TPPP and PPPP whatever they're called. Make sure you don't procrastinate in this class, and you have to have at least some passion in theatre or you won't enjoy it. I hate science, so I can't say much for HL Biology. It's one of my worst subjects. In my opinion, for me to do well on the tests, I have to memorize the objectives really well. To me, HL Bio is more about memorizing than actually learning. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokesz Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 Biology SL, although I was one percent from a 7, is one of the hardest subjects. It's similar to Maths SL in this sense. They require way much more than a A1/A2/B subject or even History (with your notes and some selection of what to learn...). Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chase01 Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 I think that the hardest course is English HL, at least at my school English has a lot more time consuming things and more homework than my other IB classes. Also, I think the easiest course I have is Visual Arts HL but I'm an artist so I enjoy it more. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom321 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Yeah art HL isnt the easiest at all. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 5, 2011 Report Share Posted October 5, 2011 Out of your selection above, i'd say the hardest subject is definitely English A1 HL. In general, I believe that the hardest four subjects are: English A1 HL, Mathematics HL, Chemistry HL and Physics HL. But then again, it depends a lot on where your strengths lie. E.g whether you perform better in time-consuming subjects or more practically challenging subjects. Good luck with your two years of IB; I personally think you've picked a well-balanced set of classes Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kala Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 And how about such choice?Geography HLEnglish B HLGerman B HLPolish A1 SLBiology SlMath Studies SL Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbangfan Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 And how about such choice? Geography HL English B HL German B HL Polish A1 SL Biology Sl Math Studies SL It seems a pretty manageable combination that does not require great amounts of studying as other possible combinations. Two languages B at HL can be very easy if you know the language in depth, and let´s be realistic, you don´t actually study for languages B. Biology SL is plain memory and Math Studies SL is math made easy, so you´re good. With these subjects you should get more than 35, no pressure at all . Good luck! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aberrant_apple Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 As stated before, what you take and how hard you find it really depends on you. Your interests, your strengths and your motivation. Well, that and how good your teacher is at teaching the material.My advice is to take the courses you think will help you get to where you want to be. For example, if you don't want to go into Math-Sciences at all, don't take the more difficult courses in those subjects because you feel you have to. The same applies for those not into the Arts/Humanities or Social Sciences. That was you can focus on what you want to do, rather than struggle with something you don;t like or find particularly difficult.Personally, I find Math Studies SL to be the easiest course, especially after switching from Math SL when I realized I didn't need it. Although from what I've heard of it, the calculus units are the most demanding and the rest isn't too hard. History HL, or any history for that matter, is pretty easy, but that really depends on the teacher and how well you know the material. The hardest classes for me were probably French SL due to the oral component (even despite studying it minimally throughout grade school) and Chemistry HL, but not to a great extent. Art SL was something I thought would be easy, but really it is probably involves the most actual work and consumption of time of all the subjects I'm taking. English HL could go either way. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
khalid Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 The maths classes are very hard. At HL, it is one of the hardest subjects in the IB Diploma if not the hardest, Even at SL, it can be quite demanding. Same goes to physics and chemistry. Easiest classes would be Environmental Systems and societies, as well as Economics.. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hehe101 Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I'm forecasted for IB Diploma next year. What do you think are the hardest and easiest classes? Here is planned schedule for now: English A1 HL Biology HL History HL Math SL Theatre SL Spanish SL Extended essay topic would likely be on the cultural influence of the Wizard of Oz. CAS is easily taken care of (swim team, acting, zoo volunteering). Is this too unrealistic, in your opinion? What did you find to be the hardest and easiest classes? For you SLs: I personally don't find SL Math that challenging at all to be honest. It's very doable, even if you're not that good at math. If you're good at math, you can easily get a 7. If you're not so great, you can still probably manage a 5 or a 6 if you put the practice into it. For me, Math SL had some hard concepts but with a month of practice in April, the exam was super easy. I can't say anything about Theatre SL or Spainsh SL but I'm taking French SL and so far it's pretty easy, especially since I've been doing extended French since grade 6. Don't worry about Spanish SL, if it's anything like French SL you should be fine. I have the exact same HL's as you. For me, HL History has about 4 times the work as any of my other HL's. I know a lot of people here said that English A1 HL is the hardest..but maybe it's my teacher or school or whatever but I definitely find HL History to be not only the most work but the most challenging. HOWEVER, it's an awesome course if you love history like I do HL Biology is a pretty good..not too hard. Just need to know how to answer questions Your success in your HL courses will be based on how well you can write and memorize. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 I'm struggling with English HL, and finding Math SL to be the easiest Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeekChloe Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 I'm in grade 11 but doing 12 Math SL and not finding it bad at all. I'm also in HL history in english which yes, are hard, but I'm also in HL chemistry which is also pretty bad. I see people on here with IB classes that look ........ FUN....like theatre, psych, environmental stuff...unfortunately my school doesn't offer any of this but I'd say this is pretty doable! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
milk Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 (edited) someone wanna do me? haha. i start the program next year, but this is what i plan on signing up for- HL history- americas HL english A1- lit or lang&lit, not sure which yet HL biology HL/SL spanish B* SL social & cultural anthropology SL math studies just want to clarify i'm NOT a math/science person. especially math! *i really really love spanish and i really want to major in it. i am not fluent. i am currently in SL1 with an A. this is my only area of confusion because i know lots of natives take HL B rather than A2 and i don't want that to mess with my exam score hard/easy/med/doable? Edited November 26, 2011 by the window 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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