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CS HL or Physics HL?


Benji Jung

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Hello,

 

I am a new student to the IB programme. I took my IGCSE exams in May, and my results are as follows:

Maths (Extended): A*

Coordinated Science: AA

Business Studies: A*

History: A

English First Language (Extended): C

French First Language: A

 

I am not that good in languages and I don't like studying them either. In terms of maths and science, I love maths and physics, but I hate biology, and I think that is the reason why I only got AA in Science. I started studying Business 2 years ago, and I love the course too. Right now, I am considering to go to a Business School later, and I want to get as many IB points as possible, as I am aiming for at least 38.

 

These are the subjects I chose in IB for now:

 

English A SL

French B HL

Maths SL

Physics HL

Economics HL

Computer Science SL

 

Our school doesn't let us take neither bilingual nor irregular diploma. (The school is called Dulwich College Seoul btw, and it is in South Korea)

As far as I know, our school doesn't let students who did not take Further Maths in IGCSE to take IB Maths HL, which means I cannnot take the course. However, there are no restrictions or whatsoever regarding Physics course, so I decided to take Physics HL. In terms of second subject in Group 4, I took CS SL.

 

However, my tutor told me than Physics HL is not required for Business Schools and students only take HL if they want to do engineering later on. Besides, I have to get as my IB points as possible anyway, so I decided to change my programme. I am not good in languages and I don't like them either, and I cannot take Maths HL, so I have to decide between Physics and CS. But they also told me that CS HL is only recommended for the same purpose, i.e. students who want to do engineering later.

 

In my case, I do not want to attend an engineering school and it is not what I want to do later either, however the year (12) has started and I have to take a final decision for the programme. And I don't know which want I should take in HL.

 

When I asked my father about it, he told me to take both in HL and even Maths in HL, and he wants me to attend an engineering school later. (He is saying that only based on my official IQ tested at school: which is 149 in maths and physics but barely 100 in linguistic skills and 131 in average.) However, I don't have any background knowledge required to study Maths at HL, and I don't want to do engineering later anyway, so I need a help as I am new to the IB programme.

 

So should I take Physics HL or Computer Science HL if I want as many points as possible to attend a business school? i.e. which one is easier between Physics HL and CS HL? Please help.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Edited by Benji Jung
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So I don't know much about CS, but I do know that physics SL wasn't the easiest subject as is. So from the little knowledge, I can share, I can only say that physics HL isn't the best idea if your sole purpose is obtaining maximum points. Then again, do keep in mind that I know nothing about CS.

It might be wiser to post this thread in the "Experimental sciences" forum (https://www.ibsurvival.com/forum/13-experimental-sciences/), and not in the "Group 4 projects", considering your concern is subject choice and not something about the group 4 projects.

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Guest TheMagical7

I don't know anything about CS either. So you might want to search up "free 150 ib textbooks database reddit" and go through the URL to find CS textbooks and see what's inside. Check out Physics HL textbook as well. Remember with Physics, you need a solid understanding of the concept, and a solid understanding of how to put it into practice.

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On 2017. 8. 29. at 0:03 AM, Martijn.S said:

So I don't know much about CS, but I do know that physics SL wasn't the easiest subject as is. So from the little knowledge, I can share, I can only say that physics HL isn't the best idea if your sole purpose is obtaining maximum points. Then again, do keep in mind that I know nothing about CS.

It might be wiser to post this thread in the "Experimental sciences" forum (https://www.ibsurvival.com/forum/13-experimental-sciences/), and not in the "Group 4 projects", considering your concern is subject choice and not something about the group 4 projects.

No wonder no one was replying... Thanks for the info!

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I take both math, physics and cs hl and my tip is this: if you have done no programming in your life whatsoever (and by that I mean spend a few hours writing meaningful code) do not take cs, as you'll have a pretty rough time in the exams. Both physics and cs have a bulkload of theory (regardless of what some might say) but concepts in physics are a lot easier to grasp and manipulate. My advice is:

- dismiss cs if you don't feel comfortable in at least one language already, 

- ask ib2s in your school regarding the quality of the teachers, as they are a very essential part of your classes in spite of all the time you'll spend studying,

- remember that your goal is to get as many points as possible, so choose what you feel most comfortable with,

- get your hands on past papers asap, even if you don't know exactly how to use them in the beginning

 

if you need more info with regards to each of the subjects, pm me

best of luck (and don't get too nervous) :) 

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14 hours ago, NephKa said:

I take both math, physics and cs hl and my tip is this: if you have done no programming in your life whatsoever (and by that I mean spend a few hours writing meaningful code) do not take cs, as you'll have a pretty rough time in the exams. Both physics and cs have a bulkload of theory (regardless of what some might say) but concepts in physics are a lot easier to grasp and manipulate. My advice is:

- dismiss cs if you don't feel comfortable in at least one language already, 

- ask ib2s in your school regarding the quality of the teachers, as they are a very essential part of your classes in spite of all the time you'll spend studying,

- remember that your goal is to get as many points as possible, so choose what you feel most comfortable with,

- get your hands on past papers asap, even if you don't know exactly how to use them in the beginning

 

if you need more info with regards to each of the subjects, pm me

best of luck (and don't get too nervous) :) 

Thank you very much for the advice! I appreciate it a lot. I'll ask them how the teachers are.

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