What IB Subjects for Mechanical or Electrical Engineering?

[rish1420]

Hello! 

I am an IB Year 1 student, and I am aiming to pursue either Mechanical or Electrical Engineering. As of now my subjects are HL Math, Physics, Chemistry and SL Spanish ab initio, Economics, and English LangLit.

I was wondering if it is possible to either drop chemistry and replace it with computer science HL, or make chemistry an SL subject, and make Economics an HL subject. How would this affect my application for top universities? Would they prefer HL chemistry for what I want to do? Or is it perfectly fine if I make it SL, or change it with Computer Science HL? 

Another question would be, IF it is perfectly fine to take computer science instead of chemistry, could I make computer science an SL, and Economics an HL subject? How would this affect my application for what I want to pursue?

Overall, how would all these different options affect my application for applying to top engineering universities in the UK and US??

Thank you so much in advance, for your answers!

 

 

 

UPDATE: I narrowed down my subject options to these 2 combinations:

1. HL Math, Physics, Economics, and SL Chemistry, English LangLit, and Spainish ab initio?

                                                               OR

2. HL Math, Physics, Economics, and SL Computer Science, English LangLit, and Spainish ab initio?

Are these options okay for applying to a top university in the engineering discipline (Mechanical or Electrical) I want to pursue?

Which option would look the best? Or should I my third HL subject be a science subject?

Edited October 11, 2016 by rish1420

[IB`NOT`ez]

Just from what I know from my friends planning to enter engineering, HL Maths & Physics are the prerequisites. Chemistry is generally preferred, although SL is fine. In some cases, especially if you want to enter computer/electrical engineering, Computer Science is a viable alternative, and it's a very respectable subject to take at HL.

Taking Economics at HL won't hurt your application, although it might be better, especially for the UK, if you take Chemistry, Computer Science or a more related subject as your 3rd HL as they'd prioritize highly academic subjects that tie into your interested major. 

Edit: You'd still best double check with someone who's also planning to enter engineering/is enrolling at an engineer undergraduate course. People like @kw0573 would know a lot about these things. 

Edited October 10, 2016 by IB`ez

[ChocolateDrop]

For mechanical and electrical engineering in the UK, not having Chemistry should not impact your application at all. Your application will be just as competitive if you replace chemistry with computer science, it doesn't matter which one you take. As mentioned above Maths and/ or Physics at HL tends to be the prerequisite for many Mechanical and Electrical Engineering programs. 

Edited October 11, 2016 by ChocolateDrop

[kw0573]

On 10/10/2016 at 8:59 AM, rish1420 said:

UPDATE: I narrowed down my subject options to these 2 combinations:

1. HL Math, Physics, Economics, and SL Chemistry, English LangLit, and Spainish ab initio?

                                                               OR

2. HL Math, Physics, Economics, and SL Computer Science, English LangLit, and Spainish ab initio?

Are these options okay for applying to a top university in the engineering discipline (Mechanical or Electrical) I want to pursue?

Which option would look the best? Or should I my third HL subject be a science subject?

For some schools in Canada, they do require chemistry in a lot of engineering classes, whereas in the US they only need physics and math. Not sure about other places. I would go with option 1) The third HL subject and overall course choice should allow you to score the best score you can achieve. 

[rish1420]

3 minutes ago, kw0573 said:

For some schools in Canada, they do require chemistry in a lot of engineering classes, whereas in the US they only need physics and math. Not sure about other places. I would go with option 1) The third HL subject and overall course choice should allow you to score the best score you can achieve. 

Thank you for your answer! I would just like to confirm that for the engineering disciplines I want to pursue, SL chemistry is fine right? I don't need to take chemistry as an HL? Would it look better if I did though?

[kw0573]

On 10/11/2016 at 10:44 AM, rish1420 said:

Thank you for your answer! I would just like to confirm that for the engineering disciplines I want to pursue, SL chemistry is fine right? I don't need to take chemistry as an HL? Would it look better if I did though?

So I spot checked some unis and Chemistry HL is not a requirement for mechanical or electrical engineering. SL Chemistry is sufficient. You should verify with universities you are applying to. 

HL Chemistry may look slightly better, but you should pick the combination that will net you the highest IB score out of 45. Hypothetical situation: HL would not be worth it if you can only get a 5, whereas you might be able to get 6 or 7 in SL.