Have I chosen the right subjects?

[sjhingran]

Hi! I'm hoping to do Medicine in Australia. I'm new to IB, I wanted to make sure I have chosen the right subjects, and if the workload will be too heavy. I'm in Year 10, however, I will start working on the content now.

HL Biology

HL Chemistry

HL English

SL Maths

SL Latin

SL Psychology (unsure of whether Economics is a better option?)

Open to suggestions and any information will be helpful! Thank you!

 

[ibprincess]

bio + chem is a must for medicine (sometimes only chem depending on the uni) and you have those which is good

 

are you starting ib this year or next? because if you're not starting until next year don't start doing the work until next year??

 

i think psychology is a better option to economics but there isn't really a difference because i don't think either is a perquisite for med 

[sjhingran]

bio + chem is a must for medicine (sometimes only chem depending on the uni) and you have those which is good

 

are you starting ib this year or next? because if you're not starting until next year don't start doing the work until next year??

 

i think psychology is a better option to economics but there isn't really a difference because i don't think either is a perquisite for med 

 

Thanks for your response ^

I am starting next year, but others have said it's better to get a head start on the topics.

I think I will stick with Psychology then, is there a difference between HL and SL? Should I consider HL (I do have an interest in the topic)?

[King112]

will be a difference in depth. I think if you take HL psych, drop HL english. also, interest, im sorry to say, doesnt always cut it. think about your aptitude. So, if you think you can manage, great go for it. but dont try a 4 HL-3Sl thing, it will probably drive you nuts. 

So to answer your question again, i think i went off track, HL is significantly more in depth (atleast mine are). SLs are easier, but thats not to say a walk in the park. And take an HL only if your willing to put in the extra blood, sweat and tears.

This make sense?

Hope it helps

[ibprincess]

literally the difference between hl and sl psych is so minimal that like i know at my school no one does sl in a class of 20ish?

 

i really don't think you should start early because

a) if you spend a year teaching yourself the material incorrectly, those habits will be hard to change when you start

b) seriously you will probably be so sick of your subjects by november 2017 making it harder to be motivated

c) if you go in with 1 years worth of knowledge acquired and all your class mates are starting at level 0, you will probably be bored in classes leading to unmotivation leading to procrastination

d) if you go in having done one year already you might have too much confidence and start thinking you don't need to make study notes or start ia's early

e) the ib is not made to be a self study course--e.g. for psychology, if you have one textbook and make all your notes entirely on the textbook, you will get a tragic mark because the textbooks do not have all the information you want to answer the questions correctly, you need stuff you get in class and explanations from your teacher to understand a lot of stuff

 

i don't recommend sorry

[sjhingran]

Thanks for both your responses. 

@king112 - That's what I was also afraid of; overwork. I will drop English HL, because the Psychology SL isn't much different to HL from what I have heard. Thanks

@ibprincess - I see what you mean Thanks. My parents have already looked into an IB tutor for me, should I discontinue this tutoring?

[ibprincess]

it is up to you but i know if it was me i would not be able to do the same content for 3 years straight especially because you would be learning one year worth and then being put in classes with people who have not done the one year before which could be kinda awkward?? thats just what i think..

[ellie]

If you have done well in school before the IB, you don't need any additional tutoring before -- however, I could really have used some additional work before, as I've never been strong academically.

 

Also, about your subjects -- I'd recommend keeping English HL, just because it's a subject with minimal memorisation and learning to analyse, which is what you do in English, will help you in other subjects, and since most of your other subjects involve a lot of memorisation (Psychology and Biology especially), it might be good to have one subject that isn't. A good IB mantra is, "take your 7s where you can" and it's much easier to get a 7 from English than from Psychology. Psychology seems fun and interesting, but really it is not much more than learning countless studies and boring details about them.

 

Good luck!

[IBfreakingout!]

Getting into medicine in Australia is not easy. Everything depends on a few criteria - your ATAR, your UMAT results and often an interview. 

Your UMAT percentile depends on not just how well you performed but more importantly how well you performed in comparison to others. So in one way you can't control it as much as you may control your ATAR and interview. 

 

The key is to balance a few maximise your ATAR and to pick both the prerequisites and the subjects you are good at, so that you know you will score well. However, your subjects should also be prerequisites for your back up option to Medicine. I live in Adelaide and in the 2 universities here that offer undergrad Medicine degrees have no prerequisites... so it doesnt matter whether you do chem or bio or neither. However I would suggest to take one of them at the least. If you really want to get into medicine or health then I'd say it is better to do psychology as its related to your future aspirations. 

 

So do check the prerequisites with the universities you want to apply to and figure out your back up plan as well. Change your subjects accordingly and don't forget to take subjects you think you will honestly really enjoy and excel at. 

Good Luck!  

[sjhingran]

If you have done well in school before the IB, you don't need any additional tutoring before -- however, I could really have used some additional work before, as I've never been strong academically.

 

Also, about your subjects -- I'd recommend keeping English HL, just because it's a subject with minimal memorisation and learning to analyse, which is what you do in English, will help you in other subjects, and since most of your other subjects involve a lot of memorisation (Psychology and Biology especially), it might be good to have one subject that isn't. A good IB mantra is, "take your 7s where you can" and it's much easier to get a 7 from English than from Psychology. Psychology seems fun and interesting, but really it is not much more than learning countless studies and boring details about them.

 

Good luck!

Thanks for your response! I have consulted with others who have done the IB and they also say to keep the English HL

[sjhingran]

 

Getting into medicine in Australia is not easy. Everything depends on a few criteria - your ATAR, your UMAT results and often an interview. 

Your UMAT percentile depends on not just how well you performed but more importantly how well you performed in comparison to others. So in one way you can't control it as much as you may control your ATAR and interview. 

 

The key is to balance a few maximise your ATAR and to pick both the prerequisites and the subjects you are good at, so that you know you will score well. However, your subjects should also be prerequisites for your back up option to Medicine. I live in Adelaide and in the 2 universities here that offer undergrad Medicine degrees have no prerequisites... so it doesnt matter whether you do chem or bio or neither. However I would suggest to take one of them at the least. If you really want to get into medicine or health then I'd say it is better to do psychology as its related to your future aspirations. 

 

So do check the prerequisites with the universities you want to apply to and figure out your back up plan as well. Change your subjects accordingly and don't forget to take subjects you think you will honestly really enjoy and excel at. 

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for your response! I am hoping to get undergraduate admission into USYD. As far as I know, they tend to look at the ATAR and interview more than UMAT. For UMAT preparation I will commence doing past papers with medical students.

Regarding my subjects, I am strong in the ones I have chosen. I would want to stick to HL English, for that I would need to drop HL Psychology (workload), would it be better to stick with HL Psychology and SL English?

Thank you so much!

it is up to you but i know if it was me i would not be able to do the same content for 3 years straight especially because you would be learning one year worth and then being put in classes with people who have not done the one year before which could be kinda awkward?? thats just what i think..

I see where you are coming from, I will have to consult with my parents. 

Thanks

[IBfreakingout!]

 

 

Getting into medicine in Australia is not easy. Everything depends on a few criteria - your ATAR, your UMAT results and often an interview. 

Your UMAT percentile depends on not just how well you performed but more importantly how well you performed in comparison to others. So in one way you can't control it as much as you may control your ATAR and interview. 

 

The key is to balance a few maximise your ATAR and to pick both the prerequisites and the subjects you are good at, so that you know you will score well. However, your subjects should also be prerequisites for your back up option to Medicine. I live in Adelaide and in the 2 universities here that offer undergrad Medicine degrees have no prerequisites... so it doesnt matter whether you do chem or bio or neither. However I would suggest to take one of them at the least. If you really want to get into medicine or health then I'd say it is better to do psychology as its related to your future aspirations. 

 

So do check the prerequisites with the universities you want to apply to and figure out your back up plan as well. Change your subjects accordingly and don't forget to take subjects you think you will honestly really enjoy and excel at. 

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for your response! I am hoping to get undergraduate admission into USYD. As far as I know, they tend to look at the ATAR and interview more than UMAT. For UMAT preparation I will commence doing past papers with medical students.

Regarding my subjects, I am strong in the ones I have chosen. I would want to stick to HL English, for that I would need to drop HL Psychology (workload), would it be better to stick with HL Psychology and SL English?

Thank you so much!

 

I don't think it matters a great deal if you do Psychology HL or English HL. However, if you pick Psychology HL you will have 3 science HLs... (psychology is a social science sure but still has that science aspect) and that might be a bit much. Think about that too.

Also I am pretty sure that your school should let you try out your subjects first, all at SL for a year or so (maybe less) and then make you decide what your HLs will be. Once you see the work load in the different subjects and which ones you're better at/finding more interesting, you will be in a better position to decide which HLs to do and which SLs.