6 replies to this topic

[nanon]

Hi,
I commence the IB in a few weeks and I am yet to finalise my subject choice for Maths.
It's a toss up between Maths Studies and Maths SL.

Firstly, I don't really like maths. I certainly do not enjoy it, and I prefer written humanity/english/language subjects over maths/sciences.

That being said, I am not bad at maths either. I can grasp concepts pretty easily, and whilst I would NEVER be able to handle Maths HL, I am fairly confident that I could cope with SL, if only just.

Another factor to consider is that I am going to do Economics HL. My school does not require us to do Maths SL for Econs, but what are your opinions on that...?

Lastly, I am applying to an Australian university where they don't care about the subjects- just the overall score. Maths Studies would definetly enable me to both score higher in maths, and to spend time on other subjects. So essentially, unless i am looking to do maths/science/engineering at university (which i'm NOT) then Maths Studies is still appropriate.

It is for this reason that I am currently inclined to take Maths Studies...

Opinions?

Thanks in advance

[kiwi.at.heart]

If you are absolutely certain about what course you want to do at university and know that it doesn't have a prerequisite of the equivalent to SL Maths, go for studies. You've got a better chance of getting a better grade which will just help to improve your ATAR rank.

However, a lot of people end up at some point questioning what they want to do in the next couple of years, and end up changing their mind. One of my friends ended up doing this after taking studies to realise her course needed SL and that she couldn't do what she now wanted to do unless she went to the local crappy uni. So my advice would be to maybe start out in SL. If you don't like it then you can drop down, but at least you aren't cutting down options straight away. And SL isn't that bad as long as you aren't completely useless, which I assume you're not.

[Desy Glau]

So my advice would be to maybe start out in SL. If you don't like it then you can drop down, but at least you aren't cutting down options straight away. And SL isn't that bad as long as you aren't completely useless, which I assume you're not.

I agree. enough said.

[Kaydotelle]

I'd say take up math studies if you want a higher overall score. I know math studies kids who did economics and had no trouble whatsoever. If you don't need maths, do studies!

[nanon]

So my advice would be to maybe start out in SL. If you don't like it then you can drop down, but at least you aren't cutting down options straight away. And SL isn't that bad as long as you aren't completely useless, which I assume you're not.

I agree. enough said.

Thanks for that.... Im probably being a bit difficult here, but I am really hesitant to take Maths SL because at our school, that requires an extra subject per semester, which means that I won't have any frees... Now, I know that is not what I should be basing my decision on, of course.

I am fairly confident that I won't need maths in university, I am just worried that I might change my mind a few months later...I will talk to my IB coordinator to get another opinion, but I have to concede that I agree with you... I just don't want to do Maths SL!

Is there an advantage/disadvantage of doing some SL maths before Maths Studies? Would any assessments completed in Maths SL 'carry over'?

Thanks for you're advice, I really appreciate it!

[MonaM]

Nope no assessments get ''carried over" the only advantages of doing SL math over studies is that some courses do not accept studies but check carefully the requirements before choosing

as for the econ, I take econ HL with maths studies and see no problem

[Drake Glau]

I'd take SL either way. I can almost promise you that 90% of studies is stuff you have already done. The other 10% would be the chisquared test and maybe the linear line/pearson's coefficient, those are kind of new since earlier math classes don't really go into statistics.
Idk if it's different in Australia but pretty much EVERY university in the US requires at least a basic math credit for every major and most of the time Studies won't cut it.