Lynxarin Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hi, I wonder if switching from Maths SL to studies will decrease my chances of getting into let´s say Harvard or Oxford to study law? The only subjects I have involving any kinds of maths is Economics HL and Physics SL. I feel like Maths SL is a bit hard but not at all impossible and maths studies would be an easy 7 and give me more time to focus on my other subjects. Thanks Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sonia Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hmm the course you want to do is not math-related... But still, this type of unis would want to see math SL. Try e-mailing them to be sure. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia. Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 On Oxford's website it says that "Candidates are also expected to have at least a C grade in GCSE Mathematics, or other evidence to demonstrate that they are appropriately numerate." I'm not sure what GCSE Maths actually is, but maybe it tells you something? 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sonia Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Ooh GCSE would be the national exams in grade 10 of the British system. So it's less hard than IB math, but it has a few syllabus similarities. C in GCSE math is not really hard to do. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Yeah GCSE is definitely miles below the level of IB Maths, although actually it's not that dissimilar to the level of Maths Studies! Studies does obviously have stuff in it that the GCSE doesn't, though. If you want to study Law in the UK, taking Studies is fairly unlikely to have any impact, so I would switch if I were you. Not sure about the US system. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Jong-Luftballong Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 (edited) Sorry for not really staying on topic, but why not take Swedish B HL instead of A SL? What are the benefits of not doing this? Edited November 30, 2014 by Kim Jong-Luftballong Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmi Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 In the US at least, law is a post-graduate program of study and you can't study it directly out of the IB. You'll have to study something else first. With law this can be pretty much anything you want: literature, history, sociology, a science, etc with the exception of patent law, which requires an undergraduate degree in a science, engineering, or math field. For Harvard they'll look at all of the courses and see if you took the hardest classes possible within reason. They're not expecting every student to be a genius in every single subject. Having the IB is usually enough to show them that you took a rigorous course load, and math studies shouldn't hurt you, especially if you apply to do a degree that requires no math (such as if you want to study sociology, history, literature, etc). Of course you should do well in all of your classes. A 7 in math studies is better than a 3 in HL math. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxarin Posted December 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Sorry for not really staying on topic, but why not take Swedish B HL instead of A SL? What are the benefits of not doing this?I would preferably not take Swedish at all but as it is my mother tongue I am "forced" by the school to take it as language A. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxarin Posted December 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Yeah GCSE is definitely miles below the level of IB Maths, although actually it's not that dissimilar to the level of Maths Studies! Studies does obviously have stuff in it that the GCSE doesn't, though. If you want to study Law in the UK, taking Studies is fairly unlikely to have any impact, so I would switch if I were you. Not sure about the US system. Hmm the course you want to do is not math-related... But still, this type of unis would want to see math SL. Try e-mailing them to be sure. Thanks everyone. I will email them and then think about it more. I will know my score from maths SL next week and and I have until April before I have to make the final decision. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Sorry for not really staying on topic, but why not take Swedish B HL instead of A SL? What are the benefits of not doing this? It's actually against IB rules to take a language you're fluent in as a B language. But they leave this up to people's own schools to enforce, so lots of people get away with it. It actually works out better for schools because everybody scores extremely highly and there is grade inflation, so the school's average IB points go up and it looks like a better institution. It's really therefore just up to the moral conscience of whichever teacher makes that decision. Until the IBO bother to start enforcing their own regulations, it will probably continue in this manner. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Jong-Luftballong Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Sorry for not really staying on topic, but why not take Swedish B HL instead of A SL? What are the benefits of not doing this? It's actually against IB rules to take a language you're fluent in as a B language. But they leave this up to people's own schools to enforce, so lots of people get away with it. It actually works out better for schools because everybody scores extremely highly and there is grade inflation, so the school's average IB points go up and it looks like a better institution. It's really therefore just up to the moral conscience of whichever teacher makes that decision. Until the IBO bother to start enforcing their own regulations, it will probably continue in this manner. Thanks! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.