IB Subject choices and question about mandarin ab intio

[Lynxarin]

Hello everyone,

Question 1:

I am interested in studying law, engineering or business at univesity but I don't really need what subject to choose that would be a good base for my university studies..

So I would like you to make up a subject choice list like this one above that would prepare me well for atleast engineering and law studies, preferrably all 3 subjects that I would like to study at university.

I have come this far myself:

HL/SL Physics

HL Psychology

HL Economics

SL/HL Maths

SL Swedish

SL/HL English/French B

Note: my school does not offer Business and Management so I cannot choose that.

Question 2:

I am interested in studying mandarin ab initio but my school does not provide it? Is it possible to study it as an online course or will that make it alot harder to learn it? how hard is it to learn mandarin as I am a swedish native speaker?

Question 3:

How will the universities count my ib diploma points if I take 7 subjects?

//Daniel

Edited February 22, 2014 by Lynxarin

[sameera95]

Hello everyone,

Question 1:

I am interested in studying law, engineering or business at univesity but I don't really need what subject to choose that would be a good base for my university studies..

So I would like you to make up a subject choice list like this one above that would prepare me well for atleast engineering and law studies, preferrably all 3 subjects that I would like to study at university.

I have come this far myself:

HL/SL Physics

HL Psychology

HL Economics

SL/HL Maths

SL Swedish

SL/HL English/French B

Note: my school does not offer Business and Management so I cannot choose that.

First of all, I'm not knowledgeable in these subject areas but I'll try my best to help.

For Law/Business I would suggest HL English/Swedish (A1, depending on where you want to study - in Sweden or abroad?), HL Psychology and HL Economics

For Engineering I would suggest HL Maths Physics & Chemistry (I know it's not on your list, but it's your best choice for engineering in my opinion)

Question 2:

I am interested in studying mandarin ab initio but my school does not provide it? Is it possible to study it as an online course or will that make it alot harder to learn it? how hard is it to learn mandarin as I am a swedish native speaker?

Your best option would be to do a B language which your school offers rather than self study. You need to consider the fact that you'll need a mandarin teacher in school who would be willing and able to carry out the written assignment and the speaking exam with you. If you don't have a mandarin teacher, I doubt you'll be able to do this subject.

Question 3:

How will the universities count my ib diploma points if I take 7 subjects?

//Daniel

You need 6 subjects to gain the IB diploma, there really is no point in taking an extra subject unless you think it will give you a great advantage for university entry. But most people apply with a regular IB and manage to get into uni.What I usually suggest is, if you're really interested in the 7th subject (I'm assuming this is mandarin ab inito?) you can do it as an extra-curricular activity for CAS, without worrying about IAs and assessments.

Hope this helps!

[Lynxarin]

Hello everyone,

Question 1:

I am interested in studying law, engineering or business at univesity but I don't really need what subject to choose that would be a good base for my university studies..

So I would like you to make up a subject choice list like this one above that would prepare me well for atleast engineering and law studies, preferrably all 3 subjects that I would like to study at university.

I have come this far myself:

HL/SL Physics

HL Psychology

HL Economics

SL/HL Maths

SL Swedish

SL/HL English/French B

Note: my school does not offer Business and Management so I cannot choose that.

First of all, I'm not knowledgeable in these subject areas but I'll try my best to help.

For Law/Business I would suggest HL English/Swedish (A1, depending on where you want to study - in Sweden or abroad?), HL Psychology and HL Economics

For Engineering I would suggest HL Maths Physics & Chemistry (I know it's not on your list, but it's your best choice for engineering in my opinion)

Question 2:

I am interested in studying mandarin ab initio but my school does not provide it? Is it possible to study it as an online course or will that make it alot harder to learn it? how hard is it to learn mandarin as I am a swedish native speaker?

Your best option would be to do a B language which your school offers rather than self study. You need to consider the fact that you'll need a mandarin teacher in school who would be willing and able to carry out the written assignment and the speaking exam with you. If you don't have a mandarin teacher, I doubt you'll be able to do this subject.

Question 3:

How will the universities count my ib diploma points if I take 7 subjects?

//Daniel

You need 6 subjects to gain the IB diploma, there really is no point in taking an extra subject unless you think it will give you a great advantage for university entry. But most people apply with a regular IB and manage to get into uni.What I usually suggest is, if you're really interested in the 7th subject (I'm assuming this is mandarin ab inito?) you can do it as an extra-curricular activity for CAS, without worrying about IAs and assessments.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for your help. I do want to study abroad, preferrably at national university of singapore. What would be the best subject choices as a kind of mixture so that I have chances of getting into both engineering or law. I have taken the extra physics and chemistry course in the pre-ib, but not biology but I will most likely not need that anyway so. Also if it is necessary for law to take a language at HL, english will definitely be the option I prefer.

And since the school does not have a mandarin teach I won´t be able to do mandarin then.. But I guess I can study it at home just for fun

So now I would just want to know what subjects to choose so that I have good chances to get into both engineering and law I would be very very thankful.

[sameera95]

Thanks for your help. I do want to study abroad, preferrably at national university of singapore. What would be the best subject choices as a kind of mixture so that I have chances of getting into both engineering or law. I have taken the extra physics and chemistry course in the pre-ib, but not biology but I will most likely not need that anyway so. Also if it is necessary for law to take a language at HL, english will definitely be the option I prefer.

And since the school does not have a mandarin teach I won´t be able to do mandarin then.. But I guess I can study it at home just for fun

So now I would just want to know what subjects to choose so that I have good chances to get into both engineering and law I would be very very thankful.

This is difficult as Law and Engineering are completely different fields. I believe that a HL language is preferred for Law, but not for Engineering. See, from what I know people who usually take Engineering take HL Maths, Physics & Chemistry and those who take Law take HL English History & Philosophy/Psychology.

[Lynxarin]

Thanks for your help. I do want to study abroad, preferrably at national university of singapore. What would be the best subject choices as a kind of mixture so that I have chances of getting into both engineering or law. I have taken the extra physics and chemistry course in the pre-ib, but not biology but I will most likely not need that anyway so. Also if it is necessary for law to take a language at HL, english will definitely be the option I prefer.

And since the school does not have a mandarin teach I won´t be able to do mandarin then.. But I guess I can study it at home just for fun

So now I would just want to know what subjects to choose so that I have good chances to get into both engineering and law I would be very very thankful.

This is difficult as Law and Engineering are completely different fields. I believe that a HL language is preferred for Law, but not for Engineering. See, from what I know people who usually take Engineering take HL Maths, Physics & Chemistry and those who take Law take HL English History & Philosophy/Psych

How about like this?

HL Physics

HL English

HL Psychology

SL Maths

SL Chemistry/ French B

SL Economics

wouldn't that be kind of a suitable option for both law and engineering? Because I don't want to decide now already whether to go for law or engineering at university later on..

[sameera95]

You can't do 2 humanities AND 2 sciences, because you must do a B language. So if you do Physics & Chemistry you must drop either Economics or Psychology. However, I would suggest the following (if your school allows 4 HLs):

HL Physics

HL Maths

HL English

HL Psychology (History is preferred for Law)

SL French B

SL Chemistry/Economics (your choice)

Another point, what kind of engineering are thinking of? Because some will require HL chemistry, and some won't

[Lynxarin]

You can't do 2 humanities AND 2 sciences, because you must do a B language. So if you do Physics & Chemistry you must drop either Economics or Psychology. However, I would suggest the following (if your school allows 4 HLs):

HL Physics

HL Maths

HL English

HL Psychology (History is preferred for Law)

SL French B

SL Chemistry/Economics (your choice)

Another point, what kind of engineering are thinking of? Because some will require HL chemistry, and some won't

But don't you think that I will manage HL Physics with SL Maths? mechanical engineering or energy engineering or some kind that involves buildings and stuff like that.

Our school allows 4 HLs but I do not want to put so much extra effort since ib is hard as it is..

HL Physics

HL English

HL Psychology

SL Maths

SL Economics

SL French B

[sameera95]

You can't do 2 humanities AND 2 sciences, because you must do a B language. So if you do Physics & Chemistry you must drop either Economics or Psychology. However, I would suggest the following (if your school allows 4 HLs):

HL Physics

HL Maths

HL English

HL Psychology (History is preferred for Law)

SL French B

SL Chemistry/Economics (your choice)

Another point, what kind of engineering are thinking of? Because some will require HL chemistry, and some won't

But don't you think that I will manage HL Physics with SL Maths? mechanical engineering or energy engineering or some kind that involves buildings and stuff like that.

Our school allows 4 HLs but I do not want to put so much extra effort since ib is hard as it is..

HL Physics

HL English

HL Psychology

SL Maths

SL Economics

SL French B

You can manage HL Physics with SL Maths, the only thing is that Universities may require you to do HL Maths to consider you for entry into their engineering course. This is where you have to carry out your research, go look at unis and their offer criteria for law/engineering and see how your subjects match, and then choose your subjects accordingly. Good luck!

[Lynxarin]

You can't do 2 humanities AND 2 sciences, because you must do a B language. So if you do Physics & Chemistry you must drop either Economics or Psychology. However, I would suggest the following (if your school allows 4 HLs):

HL Physics

HL Maths

HL English

HL Psychology (History is preferred for Law)

SL French B

SL Chemistry/Economics (your choice)

Another point, what kind of engineering are thinking of? Because some will require HL chemistry, and some won't

But don't you think that I will manage HL Physics with SL Maths? mechanical engineering or energy engineering or some kind that involves buildings and stuff like that.

Our school allows 4 HLs but I do not want to put so much extra effort since ib is hard as it is..

HL Physics

HL English

HL Psychology

SL Maths

SL Economics

SL French B

You can manage HL Physics with SL Maths, the only thing is that Universities may require you to do HL Maths to consider you for entry into their engineering course. This is where you have to carry out your research, go look at unis and their offer criteria for law/engineering and see how your subjects match, and then choose your subjects accordingly. Good luck!

But wouldn't the best solution for me then be the subject choice I just mentioned and taking SL Maths because I don't want to take 4 HLs, because I can take SL Maths but still go all the HL Maths courses andwrite in my application to unis that I have read HL Maths but wrote the SL final test.

Thanks alot for all your help!

[twilight]

Thanks for your help. I do want to study abroad, preferrably at national university of singapore. What would be the best subject choices as a kind of mixture so that I have chances of getting into both engineering or law. I have taken the extra physics and chemistry course in the pre-ib, but not biology but I will most likely not need that anyway so. Also if it is necessary for law to take a language at HL, english will definitely be the option I prefer.

And since the school does not have a mandarin teach I won´t be able to do mandarin then.. But I guess I can study it at home just for fun

So now I would just want to know what subjects to choose so that I have good chances to get into both engineering and law I would be very very thankful.

If you want to go to National University of Singapore, you will unlikely be able to major in law. Law has a very limited intake there and is a highly competitive course with most of the vacancies given to local.

If you want to do engineering in NUS, you must have Math HL and Physics HL or Chemistry HL. Only more specific engineering courses like Chemical engineering will need Chemistry HL, Physics HL and math HL.

I don't think there are any fixed subjects you have to take in order to read law. I have friends who will be studying law (in the UK and NUS) and they had Physics HL, math HL and Chemistry HL as their subjects.

[Lynxarin]

Thanks for your help. I do want to study abroad, preferrably at national university of singapore. What would be the best subject choices as a kind of mixture so that I have chances of getting into both engineering or law. I have taken the extra physics and chemistry course in the pre-ib, but not biology but I will most likely not need that anyway so. Also if it is necessary for law to take a language at HL, english will definitely be the option I prefer.

And since the school does not have a mandarin teach I won´t be able to do mandarin then.. But I guess I can study it at home just for fun

So now I would just want to know what subjects to choose so that I have good chances to get into both engineering and law I would be very very thankful.

If you want to go to National University of Singapore, you will unlikely be able to major in law. Law has a very limited intake there and is a highly competitive course with most of the vacancies given to local.

If you want to do engineering in NUS, you must have Math HL and Physics HL or Chemistry HL. Only more specific engineering courses like Chemical engineering will need Chemistry HL, Physics HL and math HL.

I don't think there are any fixed subjects you have to take in order to read law. I have friends who will be studying law (in the UK and NUS) and they had Physics HL, math HL and Chemistry HL as their subjects.

Are you really sure that my chances are that low to get into law? Because I would really like to go to university in singapore.

But are you really sure that I will need HL Maths? So I will have no chance to get in if I take it as SL..?

[Emmi]

But are you really sure that I will need HL Maths? So I will have no chance to get in if I take it as SL..?

Yes. Take HL math if you want to do engineering. Especially since you want to go to uni in Singapore and they all require HL math as an entry requirement. Applying with only SL math to a school that requires HL math when you do not have a good reason to have not taken HL math (i.e. it is the only math your school offered) is one of the quickest ways to get rejected from that school.

Also the math you will do in an engineering course goes way beyond HL math.

[Lynxarin]

But are you really sure that I will need HL Maths? So I will have no chance to get in if I take it as SL..?

Yes. Take HL math if you want to do engineering. Especially since you want to go to uni in Singapore and they all require HL math as an entry requirement. Applying with only SL math to a school that requires HL math when you do not have a good reason to have not taken HL math (i.e. it is the only math your school offered) is one of the quickest ways to get rejected from that school.

Also the math you will do in an engineering course goes way beyond HL math.

Thank for your opinion Emmi! I searched NUS homepage for half an hour and found that I do not need anything more than atleast a 4 in SL English to be considered while all the Engineering fields required HL Maths accompained by either HL Physics or HL Chemistry.

Which of Physics and Chemistry is easier at HL?

[Emmi]

But are you really sure that I will need HL Maths? So I will have no chance to get in if I take it as SL..?

Yes. Take HL math if you want to do engineering. Especially since you want to go to uni in Singapore and they all require HL math as an entry requirement. Applying with only SL math to a school that requires HL math when you do not have a good reason to have not taken HL math (i.e. it is the only math your school offered) is one of the quickest ways to get rejected from that school.

Also the math you will do in an engineering course goes way beyond HL math.

Thank for your opinion Emmi! I searched NUS homepage for half an hour and found that I do not need anything more than atleast a 4 in SL English to be considered while all the Engineering fields required HL Maths accompained by either HL Physics or HL Chemistry.

Which of Physics and Chemistry is easier at HL?

I did not take HL physics because my school didn't have IB physics, so I can't comment on this. However, I took HL chemistry and while parts of it are difficult, some parts of it aren't. Scoring well in HL chemistry is a lot of work and will require a lot of constant practice, but so will HL physics. HL chemistry has parts of the course that you must memorize, and then parts of the course that you must learn an equation for and use that to solve questions. HL physics is concepts plus a lot of equation transformations. HL physics is also algebra-based, not calculus-based like a real physics class in uni is, so you shouldn't have to touch any calculus stuff in physics. The key to doing well in both is knowing the concepts well and doing lots of past papers and practice problems.

Generally HL physics is thought to be harder than HL chemistry (but not by much), but this may be different based on your prior experience in both subjects, your aptitude for those subjects, and your teacher's ability to teach the material.

[Lynxarin]

But are you really sure that I will need HL Maths? So I will have no chance to get in if I take it as SL..?

Yes. Take HL math if you want to do engineering. Especially since you want to go to uni in Singapore and they all require HL math as an entry requirement. Applying with only SL math to a school that requires HL math when you do not have a good reason to have not taken HL math (i.e. it is the only math your school offered) is one of the quickest ways to get rejected from that school.

Also the math you will do in an engineering course goes way beyond HL math.

Thank for your opinion Emmi! I searched NUS homepage for half an hour and found that I do not need anything more than atleast a 4 in SL English to be considered while all the Engineering fields required HL Maths accompained by either HL Physics or HL Chemistry.

Which of Physics and Chemistry is easier at HL?

I did not take HL physics because my school didn't have IB physics, so I can't comment on this. However, I took HL chemistry and while parts of it are difficult, some parts of it aren't. Scoring well in HL chemistry is a lot of work and will require a lot of constant practice, but so will HL physics. HL chemistry has parts of the course that you must memorize, and then parts of the course that you must learn an equation for and use that to solve questions. HL physics is concepts plus a lot of equation transformations. HL physics is also algebra-based, not calculus-based like a real physics class in uni is, so you shouldn't have to touch any calculus stuff in physics. The key to doing well in both is knowing the concepts well and doing lots of past papers and practice problems.

Generally HL physics is thought to be harder than HL chemistry (but not by much), but this may be different based on your prior experience in both subjects, your aptitude for those subjects, and your teacher's ability to teach the material.

okay, I will consider which one to choose then. Thanks for the good answer!

[munsteroar]

Hello everyone,

Question 1:

I am interested in studying law, engineering or business at univesity but I don't really need what subject to choose that would be a good base for my university studies..

So I would like you to make up a subject choice list like this one above that would prepare me well for atleast engineering and law studies, preferrably all 3 subjects that I would like to study at university.

I have come this far myself:

HL/SL Physics

HL Psychology

HL Economics

SL/HL Maths

SL Swedish

SL/HL English/French B

Note: my school does not offer Business and Management so I cannot choose that.

Question 2:

I am interested in studying mandarin ab initio but my school does not provide it? Is it possible to study it as an online course or will that make it alot harder to learn it? how hard is it to learn mandarin as I am a swedish native speaker?

Question 3:

How will the universities count my ib diploma points if I take 7 subjects?

//Daniel

Hello,

I'm actually Singaporean (so I'm familiar with the NUS requirements) however I am studying in Australia. Anyway, I would suggest that you take HL Maths, HL English, and HL Physics (depending on how good your physics is, this can be tough, but it's important for engineering I would think). If you're set on engineering, I wouldn't recommend Psychology HL unless you are really good at Psych and it's an easy 7. In NUS math is very important, as is getting a high overall score (more important than taking lots of HL subjects or extra subjects). Also, taking Mandarin will not help or hurt your chances - it won't likely make a difference whether you do Mandarin Ab Initio or not, unless you're really interested in it. I would save the time and go with doing Swedish B or whatever other B language is more accessible for you.

[twilight]

Thanks for your help. I do want to study abroad, preferrably at national university of singapore. What would be the best subject choices as a kind of mixture so that I have chances of getting into both engineering or law. I have taken the extra physics and chemistry course in the pre-ib, but not biology but I will most likely not need that anyway so. Also if it is necessary for law to take a language at HL, english will definitely be the option I prefer.

And since the school does not have a mandarin teach I won´t be able to do mandarin then.. But I guess I can study it at home just for fun

So now I would just want to know what subjects to choose so that I have good chances to get into both engineering and law I would be very very thankful.

If you want to go to National University of Singapore, you will unlikely be able to major in law. Law has a very limited intake there and is a highly competitive course with most of the vacancies given to local.

If you want to do engineering in NUS, you must have Math HL and Physics HL or Chemistry HL. Only more specific engineering courses like Chemical engineering will need Chemistry HL, Physics HL and math HL.

I don't think there are any fixed subjects you have to take in order to read law. I have friends who will be studying law (in the UK and NUS) and they had Physics HL, math HL and Chemistry HL as their subjects.

Are you really sure that my chances are that low to get into law? Because I would really like to go to university in singapore.

But are you really sure that I will need HL Maths? So I will have no chance to get in if I take it as SL..?

Yes I'm very sure that it's very difficult to get into law in NUS. Law and medicine are the most competitive courses in Singapore, and so it is obvious that they will give all their slots to qualified locals rather than foreigners.

If you really want to do engineering, I strongly suggest you do physics. Even for engineering courses that sound less physics based, like Chemical Engineering, it's actually 90% engineering and 10% chemistry, and engineering means physics and calculus. If you think IB physics is too difficult for you, then I don't think you're cut out for studying engineering.

[Lynxarin]

Hello everyone,

Question 1:

I am interested in studying law, engineering or business at univesity but I don't really need what subject to choose that would be a good base for my university studies..

So I would like you to make up a subject choice list like this one above that would prepare me well for atleast engineering and law studies, preferrably all 3 subjects that I would like to study at university.

I have come this far myself:

HL/SL Physics

HL Psychology

HL Economics

SL/HL Maths

SL Swedish

SL/HL English/French B

Note: my school does not offer Business and Management so I cannot choose that.

Question 2:

I am interested in studying mandarin ab initio but my school does not provide it? Is it possible to study it as an online course or will that make it alot harder to learn it? how hard is it to learn mandarin as I am a swedish native speaker?

Question 3:

How will the universities count my ib diploma points if I take 7 subjects?

//Daniel

Hello,

I'm actually Singaporean (so I'm familiar with the NUS requirements) however I am studying in Australia. Anyway, I would suggest that you take HL Maths, HL English, and HL Physics (depending on how good your physics is, this can be tough, but it's important for engineering I would think). If you're set on engineering, I wouldn't recommend Psychology HL unless you are really good at Psych and it's an easy 7. In NUS math is very important, as is getting a high overall score (more important than taking lots of HL subjects or extra subjects). Also, taking Mandarin will not help or hurt your chances - it won't likely make a difference whether you do Mandarin Ab Initio or not, unless you're really interested in it. I would save the time and go with doing Swedish B or whatever other B language is more accessible for you.

Okay, the reason i suggested HL Psychology is because my psychology teacher handed out a paper with comments about the ib psychology and there was a girl studying law and she said it was very helpful for her university studies to have studied psychology at the IB. But if you think I will have better use for English HL then I will choose that instead. I also like English more than psychology so

Edited February 24, 2014 by Lynxarin

[Lynxarin]

Thanks for your help. I do want to study abroad, preferrably at national university of singapore. What would be the best subject choices as a kind of mixture so that I have chances of getting into both engineering or law. I have taken the extra physics and chemistry course in the pre-ib, but not biology but I will most likely not need that anyway so. Also if it is necessary for law to take a language at HL, english will definitely be the option I prefer.

And since the school does not have a mandarin teach I won´t be able to do mandarin then.. But I guess I can study it at home just for fun

So now I would just want to know what subjects to choose so that I have good chances to get into both engineering and law I would be very very thankful.

If you want to go to National University of Singapore, you will unlikely be able to major in law. Law has a very limited intake there and is a highly competitive course with most of the vacancies given to local.

If you want to do engineering in NUS, you must have Math HL and Physics HL or Chemistry HL. Only more specific engineering courses like Chemical engineering will need Chemistry HL, Physics HL and math HL.

I don't think there are any fixed subjects you have to take in order to read law. I have friends who will be studying law (in the UK and NUS) and they had Physics HL, math HL and Chemistry HL as their subjects.

Are you really sure that my chances are that low to get into law? Because I would really like to go to university in singapore.

But are you really sure that I will need HL Maths? So I will have no chance to get in if I take it as SL..?

Yes I'm very sure that it's very difficult to get into law in NUS. Law and medicine are the most competitive courses in Singapore, and so it is obvious that they will give all their slots to qualified locals rather than foreigners.

If you really want to do engineering, I strongly suggest you do physics. Even for engineering courses that sound less physics based, like Chemical Engineering, it's actually 90% engineering and 10% chemistry, and engineering means physics and calculus. If you think IB physics is too difficult for you, then I don't think you're cut out for studying engineering.

Okay, well I enjoy physics more than chemistry so I'm pretty sure I will go for HL Physics then.