Future IB students

[Bishup]

Hello my fellow soon to be IB students.

I've setup this topic just to see and find out what subjects you guys are doing next year. If I get to know some of you guys and your subjects than we will be able to help each other out steadily for the up and coming two years.

I'll start, I'm doing : HL Biology, Chemistry, Maths

SL French A1, Japanese Ab initio, History

[herong2x]

Well im half way through my 1st year in ib but next school year my brother is going to join it

my brother is taking

SL - Math, English A1, Mandarin Ab Initio

HL - Physics, Business & Management, Theater Arts

hes basically following my steps but its kinda different

wish you the best of luck to you!

[TidusBlade]

Starting next year as well it seems

HL: Computer Science, Business & Management, Arabic B

SL: Physics, Math, English A1

Still might switch Physics to HL and drop something else, still deciding I was actually hoping to do Japanese Ab Initio but guess I was out of luck

[Tilia]

Might I ask why you're not doing English? As you can see, I'm not doing it either, but it's so unusual, wanted to know your reasons

[Bishup]

Reason number 1 :I adore French, it's more related to passion than anything else. Also I lived nearly all my life and France and friends over there are doing their Bac in French now which made me want to do French A1. I reckon my ability to write and my vocab is higher in French than in English.

Reason number 2 : is because I'll get the bilingual diploma without making the slightest effort since i'm doing all the other subjects in English.

Reason number 3 : I have heard that there is harsh competition to get a 7 in English due to the amount of people doing it therefore the amount of high flyers pushing the grade boundaries up. Perhaps this is just a rumour.

In case you were refering to English as a second language it's because English bores me, I mean I speak and write it but I live in the Uk so I won't be missing out on English. Also I'm doing my English GCSE which kind of proves that I can speak and write it to a native standard.

Besides what were your reasons for not doing English?

Edited May 13, 2009 by Bishup

[Cynthia]

Heya,

I'm starting next year as well, my subjects are

HL Finnish A1, English A2, History and Maths (probably dropping to SL by the end of first year, I don't really need it)

SL Economics and Biology

Are you people planning to do something over the summer? I'll probably focus on studying for my Finnish final examinations that I will take this autumn for a couple of subjects but I'll also read my World lit books and do some revision for Maths (:

[Bishup]

I only plan to read loads of French books and the word lits if I grab hold of the list and possibly learn a bit of Japanese.

Nothing major or too demanding.

(Suomi on paras)

[Erleuchten]

HL- English, History, Biology

SL- German, Math

ToK and AP Chemistry

[Sandwich]

HL- English, History, Biology

SL- German, Math

ToK and AP Chemistry

Just out of curiosity, why would you do all those subjects but then stop short of a full diploma? O: Couldn't you sit SL/HL Chemistry?

Unless you've taken one already, that is.

[herong2x]

Might I ask why you're not doing English? As you can see, I'm not doing it either, but it's so unusual, wanted to know your reasons

well im not talking about me but i have a batchmate who is not taking english

he is taking

Pilipino A1, Theater Arts, Biology, Math Studies, Business, Mandarin

he had his reasons cuz he wasnt good at it and he felt he does not need it. instead of english, he took mandarin

our IB coordinator agreed

but right now, he dropped mandarin (cuz its hard for him and he had to memorize lots of stuff)

and is now taking english A2 but he is kinda struggling :<

[Abu]

Well you won't know your flunked your GCSEs just yet, but if you have failed your GCSEs, why are you doing the IB? The IB workload compared to GCSE workload is infinitely higher.

The CAS hours can't start pre-IB, you need to start the diploma to start CAS.

Start researching your EE? You can't really do that much, just enjoy the summer before IB starts. You won't stop working for the next 2 years.

[Ruan Chun Xian]

Ok is "flunk by" some slang that we should know? Because "flunk" (no by) means you failed. i.e. you failed the IGCSE. In which case I wouldn't recommend you to do IB.

[Mahuta ♥]

i'm just really excited about taking IB, i've been surfing this site all day

I like your enthusiasm, but as Aboo said, IB is alot of work and you MUST enjoy your holiday, because next summer holiday you will be working the whole time to finish EE and CAS.

IGCSEs are important for you to decide wether or not yuo're able to do IB. I have done my IGCSEs and have 'flunked' two subjects which I didnt take in IB (Business: 'D' and french 1st language: 'E'), yet i still did IB and expecting good results (except for math ).

I would say it depends on the grades you're getting for every subject. You are planning on taking Biology HL, I assume that you have taken it in IGCSE as extended. Honestly, if you dont get at least an 'A' in it, I might consider taking SL, because being very good at IGCSE BIO EXTENDED is a very good way of succeeding in IB BIO HL, at least in my case.

Same goes for math, although, IGCSE math is almost nothing compared to IB math in all its levels ; its much harder and more demanding.

One thing I would say I regret not doing, is doing a bit of math in the summer before IB . So if you are really keen to do something this summer, strengthen your mathematic abilities, it will help you throughout trust me.

Goodluck anyways .

[Christina C. ♥]

Hey

I've already handed in my IB Application and I'll be starting IB I in September.

I was wondering if any of you previous IB or current IB students have any advice for me entering IB next year.

Also, in my school, we have a summer reading list. It's sort of a list of books I should read over the summer to get ahead before the year starts. Do you think I should have those books read over the summer or I'll be okay reading them during the year? Thanks

[__inthemaking]

I read mine over the summer and it definitely helped because my teacher only gave us like 2 weeks for Crime and Punishment (which is 600+ pages) so I'm definitely glad I didn't have to read it for the first time when it was assigned.

[Forester]

Enjoy your first year of IB.

[Cynthia]

You should actually probably check with your school if you can start filling up the CAS hours during the summer because it varies - for example we can start the 1st of August though the first day of school is the 12th.

What I'm planning to do over the summer is Maths as Mahuta mentioned, reading my Finnish world literatures 1 more time and maybe read random interesting History stuff Also, attending some summer courses etc in the beginning of August which will give me sweet sweet CAS hours (probably around 40) before school has even started.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Cynthia

[r a i n b o w stardust]

I'm beginning IB in September '09 and I'm very excited to begin!! Unfortunatly at my school we can't do CAS before starting IB (nobody mentioned it). I'll be spending half my summer taking a chemistry course and the rest will be spent on reviewing grade 10 math, practicing my french (alot of that to do) and maybe doing a little bit of prep for the rest of my IB courses. I'd rather not have too much free time on my hands, otherwise I'd be stuck indoors all day babysitting and wasting time on the computer.

Anyways if I were you I'd enjoy some summer air and get some review and practice done for your hardest subjects. History- maybe go over the syllabus and read some history books at the library. Two months of summer break is alot of time and I personally would not want to use it all on relaxing. Enjoy your break!

[CommeDesEnfants]

Yeah, you should definitely have them read. It helps a lot with your understanding, since you will have had already read them once, and you could do a much more critical, IB-type reading of these books once the actual school year starts. However, the more important thing to remember is to enjoy your summer at all costs, because the next 2 years... well...

[CommeDesEnfants]

For History SL, you could ask which region you're doing, and maybe go to your local library and pull out some books.

At my school, we can start CAS hours during the summer before IB starts - in fact, I technically got all of mine during that summer (I had 150, but I could only credit 60 of them. ). Try asking your IB coordinator at your school.

If you have something specific to do, such as an English reading list, definitely do it to the best of your ability. However, like everybody said, remember to just relax during that summer - you won't be getting too many opportunities later to do so. It's great that you're enthusiastic about it though (unlike me, as I was super fearful... haha).