freshfaced333 Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Hello guys, I was just wondering if it is possible for one for improve by 2 grade points by november of this year? I am applying to US universities in the fall, and I need at least a 5, preferably 6, in math HL. The problem is, I am getting a 4. I have been studying and doing many practice problems, and I actually understand concepts, but when tests come, I usually have a freakout because my teacher is really precise about the timing (like if the test is 23 marks, it is 23 minutes, no more, no less), and my mind blanks and I can't seem to do the questions. Also, most of the time, the IB questions are actually really challenging, and I had difficulty applying the concepts I have learnt to all these complex questions I took HL math because I wanted to challenge myself, and I really am being challenged I just want to know if anyone is in the same boat, or if anyone WAS in the same boat, and if you have improved, what did you do? Did you have a summer study plan? I am already planning to study math over the summer, on top of doing EEs, two IAs, and studying for the SATs. oh joy Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Award Winning Boss Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 What are your priorities? There's no point in having a plan of loads of things to do, then later doing none of it because there's too much. (it happens) So if maths is low on the list of things you need to do, you'll have to allocate less hours to it which makes it less likely to get a higher grade. Not to discourage you, I'm just saying what you probably already know. For improving maths (or any subject really), it's important to identify your weak points and bring them up to a better level. What you musn't do here is give up and say 'everything' is a weak point, no matter how honest that might feel because it's a worthless statement. You need to identify an area you're going to work on and stick to it until it becomes comfortable. If it's a topic you need to work on (e.g addition) then it'd be worthwhile to compile questions of varying difficulty then go back to whatever textbook and make sure you can make sense of how to do it. However, you should spend most of your time doing questions. The really difficult questions you've compiled should be a challenge even if you think you're up to a comfortable level. Then repeat that for other topics and after a while you'll be able to apply the skills to more difficult questions. Also, make use of the internet because there are loads of tutorials out there. If it's more of a skill (like completing exams on time) you don't need to worry too much just yet because currently it looks like the biggest problem is actually doing the maths rather than doing maths within a time constraint. By doing more difficult questions, the easier stuff will come quicker and you'll blank less in the exam. Oh and talk to your teacher about improving your predicted grades. You should make sure that she's willing to change your predicted grades. 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshfaced333 Posted June 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 thank you so much for the advice! over the summer I plan on brushing up all the concepts I have learnt this year, so that I can be really 'fluent' in them come september. it's just that its so hard to retain so much information? I would study and know a topic really well, but once we move on to the next topic, the topic I learnt before starts slipping away as my brain makes more room for the new information I think this is also one of my big problems and I don't know what to do, because I can't simply keep revising old stuff while learning new things - there simply isn't enough time! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 It's good to keep going over and over things, but the main point is that you brush up on it all in time for the exams. Make really good notes on things, so that even if it leaves your head completely, you've got really good notes and you can bring it all back very quickly. Then before your exams, whip out your notes and re-familiarise yourself with all the things which completely left your head! That's how my brain works as well.. you've just got to make sure you have an information 'peak' around exams and not worry about anything else! If you don't know if it a month before the exam, don't worry. Just be sure you know it the day before, and carefully plan your time to allow for this. Just prepare yourself so that you can re-learn it all very efficiently and in time for when it actually counts. In one ear and out the other It's a sad affliction! 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasad Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Just out of curiosity, has there ever been a recorded history (that you know of) of a student going from a 4 to a 6-7 in Maths HL? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul34 Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 I know of people getting 4s and bringing it up to the bare minimum of 6. One exerted prodigious efforts to learn and apply all the concepts and it took him hours and costed a fortune in tutoring cost (the math teacher was a cretin) and the other picked up his act and actually started caring. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshfaced333 Posted June 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 @sandwich, do you have suggestions as to how to make good math notes? my teacher only gives us handouts; we do not really write our own notes because we just fill in the blanks on the teacher handout. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedino Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Hopefully my story will somewhat inspire you.. ? I'd definitely say I improved my grade by 1 or 2 from the start to the end of IB, but I did spend a lot of time (towards the end) revising and doing past papers, because Maths was one of my priorities I wanted to improve in. In my very first HL Maths 2 hour paper exams in the middle of year 1 of IB (IB1 I think some call it), I got 60/120 for both papers. I think that's around a Grade 4 level when comparing with past Grade Boundaries. The first Paper 3 I did.. I got 15/60 (Grade 3 I think). I simply didn't understand some of the concepts well enough yet, and at that stage, I had done lots of textbook practice problems (so I thought I understood the concepts, though honestly, it was only superficial understanding), but I hadn't yet started doing past papers. So if you want to improve your grade, I believe that's what makes a lot of difference - doing past papers. The most important thing though, is a genuine desire to improve your grade - if you really, really want to improve your grade, you'll have to put in the time and effort to do so, and you will. In the weeks before my final IB exam, my study plan was firstly to revise all the topics and make sure I understood all the concepts, the formulas, the theory. Once you know the theory, it's only then that you can apply it to questions (if you don't know the theory you can't apply it). I then basically did at least 20 past papers of each (so around 60 past papers ), all under timed exam conditions. I feel that doing multiple past papers gives you great practice, and each year, although the questions are different, the more you've been exposed to these questions, the more likely you'll know the method to answer them because you might have done a similar question on a past paper. Also, I find that the more past paper questions you do, the more you really understand the theory, and the longer you'll retain the theory/information/topic. Anyway, my end marks for the papers was 97/120 for Paper 1, 115/120 for Paper 2 and 45/60 for Paper 3. So I ended up getting a Grade 7 I think having maths notes is up to you, it's not a necessity, but if it'll help you learn, then they're a good idea. When I said I revised all the topics/relearnt theory, what I mainly did was just reread my textbook from front to end. Depending on how well your textbook/teacher handouts explains the material, your notes could be a simplified, more concise version of all the topics? Anyway, not sure how much my post even helps, but best of luck to you! ~ it is entirely possible to improve your grades, but it won't happen without putting in some time and effort. 4 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasad Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Hey bluedino,Thanks for sharing your motivational story.However, my concern is getting my predicted grade up, since I will apply to US universities.How much did your predicted grade change from end of IB1 and after the first 3 months of IB2? 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flinquinnster Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 The reality is that it's quite hard to say that you can improve your predicted grade by X marks by doing Y - because it does depend on your teacher. Really, the first thing I would do is to ask your teacher how they intend to award you a predicted mark. From what I understand, I got predicted grades based on two sets of exams we did in IB2 - however each school/class has their own policy. If the teacher tells you which exams they'll be determining your grades from, then do your best to study well in the time before the first 3 months of IB2. Otherwise, work on acing whatever exams/assessments they'll be basing your predicted grade on. And try to give the impression that you're studying hard and good at maths to try and influence your predicted grade. Otherwise, the annoying thing is that predicted grades don't necessarily reflect the marks you can reach by the end of IB. And US universities annoyingly place very little weight on those final marks! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshfaced333 Posted June 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 oh wow bluedino your story is truly motivational! I'm currently trying to study for my last test of the year. i have spent the whole day today reviewing and doing past textbook questions, but now I think I should actually look for past paper questions... flinquinnster your marks are amazing!!! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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