12 replies to this topic

[Aditya Subramanian]

As you can see in my siggy I have 4 HL's whereas I only need 3. Eventually I want to drop one of the HL to SL since I have heard most universities don't really care if you took 4 or 3 HL and adding the 4th HL is just extra unnecessary work. I find Math HL fun and relatively easy (the reason I took 4 HL was due to Math and school highly recommending to take 4 in case you want to drop Math HL), Economics HL is easy and fun while Physics I need for various engineering courses. It turns out that I have to chose between Econ HL and Chem HL since I need Math and Physics for most engineering courses.

I have always loved Chemistry but the IB Chemistry HL syllabus as you all know is very demanding and I am certainly struggling. Not so much with the lab reports etc but just ridiculous amounts of information to take in and it seems its not letting me do justice to my other subjects especially Physics and English.

So my question is what do I lose in terms of Uni. courses if I drop Chem HL to SL and Econ HL to SL. I am mainly planning on applying in the US but information for UK universities would also be very helpful and appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Trololol Marf]

I am not knowledgeable of those universities, but I would say drop the course that you don't need! o_0 What are you going to do in university? It seems to me some type of engineering. You probably know which type. Figure out which university you want to go to, and do research on the program in which you're interested. Find out which courses they require, and other mark requirements, etc. I think you're capable of doing that research on your own.

If the program you're interested in needs chemistry, you may be put under a lot of strain as I've heard there's a lot of stress associated taking two HL sciences. But as far as I can tell, you'll be able to trek through it anyway since you enjoy chemistry. I encourage you to really think about what you want to do, and how willing you are to work for it once you find out the requirements. If you don't need chemistry (for example civil, computer, maybe mechanical or electrical engineering probably don't) I'd suggest you don't take it! Your mark for economics will help you make your profile look better. Good luck!

Wow, you think everything is fun! Where do you get that kind of mentality? I'd certainly make use of it.

[Aditya Subramanian]

That is exactly the problem for me at the moment. I do have an aim to do Engineering (not decided what kind of specialization) among other courses like Law and Gaming Media. Perhaps I should reformulate my question to "What courses REQUIRE Chemistry HL and/or Economics HL in the US and UK?"

[King Glau]

Since you have Math HL, Physics HL and chemistry SL, i don't think that you will have a problem in entering any engineering specialization. I think if you have a doubt that you may enter law or gaming media, then keeping eco will be a good move. But i am telling choosing one specialization such as engineering and taking Chem HL can give you a chance for more credit hours.

[Vol de Mort]

You don't need any course for engineering in the US. In the UK, you probably would want Math HL. I would say drop chem to SL.

[kiwi.at.heart]

Chem SL is significantly easier that HL in my opinion so while also taking away a lot of the workload, your grade will most likely improve. I very much doubt that unless you are doing chemical engineering that you will need HL Chem for engineering so I would recommend dropping it for basically what everyone else is saying

[Aditya Subramanian]

How do these credit hours work? Does it mean it is actually beneficial to do 4 HL?

[flinquinnster]

If you do like sciences, maybe keeping Chem HL is a better idea in case you suddenly decide to switch to a science course in uni that requires Chem HL. But I think the odds of that are quite low, and you don't seem to like chem as much as your other subjects, so keep Economics at HL! Doing maths, chemistry and physics at HL could be somewhat interesting... I've heard that economics HL isn't that much extra work, so you should be fine. Plus, you get to cut out a lot of the extra chem HL work!

[Desy Glau]

AFAIK if you go to the US you get credits for some modules if you get above 5 at HL. but if you want to take engineering, you're not likely to have any economics modules so taking econ HL wouldn't gain you any credits <_< but for chem HL yes you may get some credits. I initially wanted to take engineering too and was taking Maths, Phy and Chem HL together with English B HL. I later found out that I didn't need Chem HL and dropped it down to SL. and now, you have no idea, I'm VERY HAPPY with Chem SL as it's pretty easy for me now. however I'm suffering in Phy HL it's super duper difficult!! well I'm not saying you'll find it difficult too. I don't know you, but you might... cause most people find Phy HL difficult. I'm not knowledgeable about US uni requirements, but I've heard that nothing is required by them. however you'll need to take SATs and my friends who are applying for engineering took Maths and Physics only methinks. they didn't take Chem subject test. FYI Chem HL would be very helpful for SAT Chem and Chem SL would not suffice. but for the UK, I wanted to apply there for Engineering so I know a lot. they only require Maths HL and Phy HL. for Chemical Eng, Chem HL is preferred but it's certainly not a must. if you want to go to Singapore just in case, they require Maths HL for sure and either of Phy HL or Chem HL. generally, with Chemistry HL you could go into chemistry for sure, and probably engineering in a few (not good) universities. with Econ HL you can go into business and econ for sure.

Edited by Summer Glau, Feb 12, 2012 - 19:51.
please don't use text speak. thanks!

[Aditya Subramanian]

Looks like Im going to drop Chemistry HL then. Are these credit things really worth worrying over?

[brofessional]

Aditya Subramanian, on Feb 12, 2012 - 19:42, said:

Looks like Im going to drop Chemistry HL then. Are these credit things really worth worrying over?

I thought you needed a certain number of credits to graduate from university in places like the U.S.A.?

[Sandwich]

Aditya Subramanian, on Feb 12, 2012 - 19:42, said:

Looks like Im going to drop Chemistry HL then. Are these credit things really worth worrying over?

To my understanding, if you get a credit for a course in the US then you no longer have to earn the credit at University. And in the US a degree seems to be gained via accumulating credits from doing courses. So if you earn the credit in advance you no longer have to sit through the same thing again and be examined in it at Uni. So in that sense it just saves you extra time if it turns out that the IB course you earned a 'credit' for is also one you would have had to do in a compulsory manner at Uni. For Engineering they probably won't make you earn credits in Economics, but perhaps in Chemistry. I don't actually know 100%, it may depend on the University.

To be honest I'm not 100% sure about exempting yourself in this way - just on the basis of your own understanding. Either Universities teach idiot-level stuff for a long time in the US or you're exempting yourself from a course where actually it would benefit you to repeat it and there might be a few extras in there which would come in handy for you.

In the UK you don't repeat any school-level stuff at University because they have minimum subject requirements for any necessary knowledge, so there's no credit system where you can use school-level work to count for University level education

[Aditya Subramanian]

Guess it makes it hard to decide when Ive not chosen the course I want to apply for. Im in a dilemma, either decide which course to take in Uni. and drop either  Chem/Econ and potentially regret it or continue labouring through with 4 HL.. Oh IB I hate you