General IB Knowledge - Ask mini-questions about IB here

[Amber]

For specific questions, I reccommend talking to your coordinatoer. But you need 24 points, usually 3 HL and 3 SL courses.

[phnuggle]

Okay, so I am going into IB2 next year, and a question has been bothering me for a bit. When do you recieve your IB diploma? At graduation? We are the first year of IB at our school, and I doubt that our coordinator knows that much about the program. Can anybody here tell me?

Sometime at the end of August or the beginning of September.

except if your in oz (australia) then you recieve it on the first monday of January...

its my schools first year too, and our co-ordinator got pregnant and left. GOOD LUCK THOUGH!

[JMR]

I was wondering when doing past papers as revision, how far should I go with them so that they stay within the same syllabus or does it matter? For example for history, the syllabus changed for 2010 so are questions from previous final exams somewhat irrelevant?

How about math and biology? Did the math syllabus change in 2006 so I can go up to then? Biology in 2007?

[Sandwich]

The new Biology syllabus actually only started to apply for exams in 2009 (when you think about it, if it was put in place in 2007 people needed 2 years to go through it prior to being examined). However a lot of changes are only minor. Nearly all of the Biology questions from previous years apply to the exams you'll be sitting if you take it this year, so there's no point in making a cut-off for a certain year as to some extent it'd be arbitrary. You'll find relevant questions in papers even if the syllabus isn't the same, and the same for any subject.

[JMR]

Ok thanks.

Do mock grades affect our final IB grades in any way? Do they have any deeper purpose instead of just preparing us for the finals?

[Austin Glau]

I don't believe so. I pretty sure that mock Grades are just for practice.

IB probally takes your Mock scores (how else would they get mock vs. real IB exam statistics), but i don't think they turn the Mock Grades into anything significant.

[master135]

I was wondering when doing past papers as revision, how far should I go with them so that they stay within the same syllabus or does it matter? For example for history, the syllabus changed for 2010 so are questions from previous final exams somewhat irrelevant?

How about math and biology? Did the math syllabus change in 2006 so I can go up to then? Biology in 2007?

Math also had an exam format change in 2008 (which is the latest published syllabus) so consider that too. Unlike biology, physics had a more dramatic change in syllabus content, and same with chem ( a bit less than physics) - May 09 onwards.

Ok thanks.

Do mock grades affect our final IB grades in any way? Do they have any deeper purpose instead of just preparing us for the finals?

They may affect predicted grades. If your predicted level differs by more than 1 from your final IB level, IB will investigate into why it happened (ie. re check your papers etc)

[JMR]

They may affect predicted grades. If your predicted level differs by more than 1 from your final IB level, IB will investigate into why it happened (ie. re check your papers etc)

So lets say theoretically I got a 5 for a subject as my predicted and on the finals I got a 7, what would happen? Or vice versa?

[Sandwich]

They may affect predicted grades. If your predicted level differs by more than 1 from your final IB level, IB will investigate into why it happened (ie. re check your papers etc)

So lets say theoretically I got a 5 for a subject as my predicted and on the finals I got a 7, what would happen? Or vice versa?

In the UK there's a system called Adjustment for people who've achieved more than expected ( http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/nextsteps/adjustment/ ) but to my knowledge it's not common to get what you really wanted through Adjustment, as most competitive courses have had places taken up and haven't got spares. You can also try going through Clearing (all spaces still open -- lots of places where people have missed their grades), but again it's not common to get what you wanted and hardly any competitive courses are even available through clearing. So in the UK you'd generally have to wait and do a Gap Year. Sucks, but it's just how it is. Teaches you to work really hard in your mocks!

[JMR]

They may affect predicted grades. If your predicted level differs by more than 1 from your final IB level, IB will investigate into why it happened (ie. re check your papers etc)

So lets say theoretically I got a 5 for a subject as my predicted and on the finals I got a 7, what would happen? Or vice versa?

In the UK there's a system called Adjustment for people who've achieved more than expected ( http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/nextsteps/adjustment/ ) but to my knowledge it's not common to get what you really wanted through Adjustment, as most competitive courses have had places taken up and haven't got spares. You can also try going through Clearing (all spaces still open -- lots of places where people have missed their grades), but again it's not common to get what you wanted and hardly any competitive courses are even available through clearing. So in the UK you'd generally have to wait and do a Gap Year. Sucks, but it's just how it is. Teaches you to work really hard in your mocks!

What about the other way? A 6 or 7 predicted and 4 on finals? Any effect?

Edited April 14, 2010 by JMR

[master135]

They may affect predicted grades. If your predicted level differs by more than 1 from your final IB level, IB will investigate into why it happened (ie. re check your papers etc)

So lets say theoretically I got a 5 for a subject as my predicted and on the finals I got a 7, what would happen? Or vice versa?

I am pretty sure IB will just double check that your exam papers were marked correctly/there was no error etc. If its a common thing with your school they may take some action. Thats it.

[Ruan Chun Xian]

The papers are marked and then double checked by head examiners. But that doesn't mean they mark you up if you fall short of your predicted, or they mark you down if you get too high in your real exam. If you are predicted a 5, but get a 7, then 7 is your grade. Same as the opposite. They either assume you got nervous and did worst, or you improved. Predicted grades serve only as an indication for the school, or universities (sometimes) and it only serves as your grade under very special circumstances when you can't take an exam - or it goes missing.

I doubt they really do anything if it's a common thing because a lot of the time it might just be that the teachers making the prediction have no accurate feel for the IB grading system. It probably happens quite often. IF it becomes a pattern at the school, they might take a look at the training the teacher at that school have, but not the students. Because the exam you hand in to the IB is what you are capable of, as far as they're concerned. They mark it to their mark scheme, and that's the grade you're going to get.

[hanniexx]

I know schools do it differently, but when it gets down to it, we all get the same sheet.

I was just wondering what it says on the sheet?

I've heard that it comes out with your highers first, then standard, then Tok/EE THEN the final grade.

Is this true/anything else? Like: Diploma awarded/failed, stuff like that?

Also, question #2, for the grade boundaries each year, are they average? Because different timezones could be harder/easier, so why would the boundaries be the same? If I'm making any sense.

Thank you

Edited May 17, 2010 by hanniexx

[meh]

Do non-diploma students have to do the group 4 project? I'm just a certificate student and I'm hoping the answer is no.

[sweetnsimple786]

I think it depends on the school and teacher. My friend did certificate. She only took Biology HL, but my teacher made her do the Group 4 Project because the lab report was a grade in the class.

You're not required to do Group 4, so if you can talk to your teacher to get out of it, do it!

[sweetroll]

Hey Im a 10th grader and I'll start IB as a freshman in september and since we are on summer holiday Im thinking about what can I do to get prepared for my first year in Ib diploma program? Have any ideas or any experiences that may guide me ? Thanks a lot!

[Sonneteer_Trombonist]

Hey Im a 10th grader and I'll start IB as a freshman in september and since we are on summer holiday Im thinking about what can I do to get prepared for my first year in Ib diploma program? Have any ideas or any experiences that may guide me ? Thanks a lot!

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it, I personally feel that doing prep in the summer will just psych you out. That's just my own opinion though, many other people have different ideas and strategies that worked for them. I say listen to several different views and decide what works best, but don't feel like you will be behind if you go into the IB not knowing your material beforehand.

The students at my school that did well in English did lots of reading and writing just for fun. And if you're taking History and you're interested in that, maybe read up on the World Wars or something. I say just enjoy your summer though. Good luck to you in the IB

Edited July 8, 2010 by Sonneteer_Trombonist

[Tilia]

Hey Im a 10th grader and I'll start IB as a freshman in september and since we are on summer holiday Im thinking about what can I do to get prepared for my first year in Ib diploma program? Have any ideas or any experiences that may guide me ? Thanks a lot!

If you know what books you're reading for A1 language, you might want to read those. Checking up something that interests you, such as history or quantum physics or psychology or whatever could also be helpful. But otherwise I agree with the above post, don't be too ambitous. Personally, I almost weared myself out in the beginning of IB1. But I ended up with 44, so I didn't have to worry

[Pepe]

Hi!

I'm going to start my preIB class in September.

I have a question about English level you had when you were starting.

Mine is not as good as i want. I'll sit FCE in December or March. Do you think, i can do English A2 HL after 3 years?

And do you know if i have to do any Cambridge Certificate after English A2 HL to apply on Oxbridge or other UK University? Do i need certificate for interview?

From Oxford website, english requirements:

Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): grade A

Cambridge Certificate for Proficiency in English (CPE): grade B

International Baccalaureate Standard Level (SL): score of 5 in English (they say about English A1, ya?)

I want to know. I'm so scared that i won't be able to do CAE and get A in my last year.

[IB_delusion]

Hi!

I'm going to start my preIB class in September.

I have a question about English level you had when you were starting.

Mine is not as good as i want. I'll sit FCE in December or March. Do you think, i can do English A2 HL after 3 years?

And do you know if i have to do any Cambridge Certificate after English A2 HL to apply on Oxbridge or other UK University? Do i need certificate for interview?

From Oxford website, english requirements:

Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): grade A

Cambridge Certificate for Proficiency in English (CPE): grade B

International Baccalaureate Standard Level (SL): score of 5 in English (they say about English A1, ya?)

I want to know. I'm so scared that i won't be able to do CAE and get A in my last year.

I think you can do either English B or English A2. A2 is a bit more to literature while B is more to language.

Also, because you do IB English A2/B so you don't really need other certificates such as CAE or CPE. the english requirement normally is for English B or A2, unless you want to do English Literature at Oxford (which obviously not this case!)