IB Course Selection

[PurpleSheep]

Heyy guys, 

 

I'm in Grade 10 Pre-IB, and I'm wondering if I should change my courses while I still can. I've got 2 weeks to make changes, and then they're set in stone. 

 

My courses are: 

 

HL Chem

HL Bio

HL Math 

 

SL English

SL French

SL Econ 

 

I'm hoping to enter the medical field, specifically neuroscience.

 

My dilemma, however, is mainly between HL Math and HL English, and whether I should swap one for the other. In my school, if I do HL Math I have to do SL English, and if I choose SL Math, I have to take HL English. I find that I do much better in English without much work, because for some reason I'm more comfortable with the subject. On the other hand, mathematics has never been something that comes naturally; I've always had to put in hours of studying and practice in order to get the grade I want. 

 

I'm very willing to work hard in HL Math, but I'm scared that since I'll also have to put a lot of effort into chem and bio, I'll be completely overwhelmed and will essentially have no time for anything else. I've emailed some universities that I've been hoping to get into, and while they say HL Math isn't required, they said that it looks good if I take the more challenging courses. They also mention that they look at the applicant holistically, and I'm worried that HL Math will take away time for extracurriculars and other activities that I'd also need to put on an application. 

 

So, I'm looking for some advice regarding my courses and whether or not they look alright for my future. I figure that y'all have been through this before and hopefully have something to say. Sorry for the essay, though. 

 

Thanks!! >(^-^)<

Edited March 22, 2015 by PurpleSheep

[ShootingStar16]

hmm the only classes I can truly give you advice on are bio HL and English HL. I find bio to be the easiest out of all my IB subjects. As long as you have a good teacher, you will be ok. You just need to know your command terms and there are specific ways to get full marks on written response questions. Try not to cram everything the night before a test (I do that a lot and I'm usually ok, but don't make it a habit). 

 

From what I've been hearing, HL math is super hard. Only 4 grade 12's at my school are actually in HL math and my math teacher told me it was pretty difficult. Otherwise, I don't know much about it. HL English is one of my favourite subjects because of the books we get to read, but annotation and commentaries can be a pain if you get a passage you don't understand (there will always be those passages you don't understand). Make sure to take notes on the books you're reading so that you can keep track of important literary devices, themes, motifs, quotes etc (what I'm doing with English right now). With analyzing for English, make sure you actually discuss the literary devices (you can sometimes look at the title of something because the title can say so much about the meaning of the text). Don't simply list the literary details. Discuss them in relation to your argument. If you're strong at English, you'll be fine. It's completely up to you, but if I were you, I'd definitely play on my strengths a bit. If you know you're better at English than you are at math, take English at HL. Hope I helped!

[Howl]

I mean, HL maths is pretty serious. From what I understand, it's taken by people who want to be mathematicians, engineers, accountants etc... To go in to a medical field, I wouldn't think HL is required, but you should check that to be sure!

 

Imo, maths SL was quite a bit of work (I took it at the beginning of the year and was in extended maths at my old school), and maths HL was really only for people who planned to pursue a directly math-related field. Two people are doing it in my year (of about 30 people total). SL maths is sufficient for most things, and I'd say that if you don't actively enjoy maths, HL wouldn't be a good option.

 

I'm probably really biased because I like English more than maths, but from your post it seems like you feel this way too - if English comes more easily to you than maths (and you like it more) then take it as a higher level subject, would be my advice. 

Edited March 22, 2015 by Howl

[IbTrojan]

Okay well if you're already putting in hours to do well in math, then honestly, I don't think HL math is the course for you. Like Howl mentioned, SL Math is sufficient enough for most uni/college programs unless you want to do engineering or a math-related career. 

 

As for choosing SL English because it's less work, from the SL English course in my school, that's not entirely the case. Okay fine so it's one less semester but the two semesters cover almost everything the HL English semester covers in three semesters. So I would also suggest switching your HL Math to SL and English SL to HL. 

 

SL French is fun course I'm taking it now and I love it. I also just love french, it's fun for me. But insight on the course, there are quite a few tenses, you're just learning new formats of writing. So letters, blogs, emails, articles...etc. It focuses on how you write rather than what you write...The vocabulary portion is very independent, you have to expose yourself to French outside of class to be able to do well.

 

I'm taking HL Bio as well and I absolutely love it! It all depends on if you like the science though. For this one, just stay on top of your lessons and read the notes you take everyday for review so you always have the vocab in your head (you don't have to read, review them however you study best). You'll find that comes in handy for tests and the exam. They changed the syllabus so it's more focused on the use of certain terms so it's literally memorizing them (and understanding the concepts). 

 

Chemistry- I took SL but you cover all the SL topics in HL anyways so here it goes. One useful thing I found about taking Chem and bio is that they're interrelated in many aspects. There are quite a few topics that you'll learn in bio that will help you understand chem and vice versa. For chemistry, you just need to keep doing the practice. It's very much like math in that sense. And the theory, ask questions. Sometimes, it may get a little confusing but if you use your teacher and all the resources that are available to you as a student, you should be fine  

 

Don't procrastinate for labs and IAs either!! Bad choices....

 

Whatever you end up choosing, I wish you all the best

[TDgen47@IB]

Difference between syllabus of math HL and math SL = huge! Also - not required for medicine. Math SL should work out fine.

Difference between syllabus of English HL and English SL = relatively small! Should help better for medicine indirectly.

I Vote for English HL and math SL.

At the end it's your choice!

[marti55]

Especially at my school HL Maths is extremely hard, and is only advised to those who thoroughly enjoy math. Even SL Maths is quite challenging when IA and Exams season rolls around. I'm currently taking HL English, and I enjoy it quite a lot! I've never been that great at writing essays or anything else english related. I find the class to be fun and the course load has never been too heavy or unbearable. With all of the other difficult classes that you seem to be taking, I would advise SL Maths and HL English. Again, it's all your choice!

[biotonic]

If you're thinking of doing neuroscience, Math SL should cover it because Math HL (and Further Math) is designed for people looking to go into engineering/math etc. I opted for Math HL before I started IB and it was a bit difficult for me and I wasn't getting good grades so I dropped, because I also need to spend time working on Biology and Chemistry. Drop Math HL.