Advice on IB choices

[Animal]

Hi guys, I just wanted to know what you think about my planned choices.

Right now I'm pretty sure on these 5 subjects:

SL English A

SL Japanese ab initio

SL Maths

HL Biology

HL Chem

I realize that the two HLs I've chosen already will take up all my time but I'm thinking about HL History. I'm doing Chinese, Food Tech, PRS and Geography for iGCSE but I might not carry on any of them because I'm interested in History, I wanted it as a 3rd humanity for GCSE but wasn't allowed to.

First and foremost, I need to get a 7 so should I:

Do History HL?

Do Maths HL (I'm in top set right now but I realize it's not nearly enough) and History SL?

Do English HL ( not interested at all but could possibly do it) and History SL?

Forget about History and do Geography HL?

Thanks, any replies will be much appreciated

[Arrowhead]

You should try to choose your subjects based on what you hope to study at university.

Any particular idea which course you'd like to apply for? In which country(/ies)? And generally which universities?

We can give you much better advice on the appropriateness of your subject choices with that information.

Arrowhead.

[Animal]

I want to do Medicine and here in Hong Kong the offers go for 776776. HL Chemistry is compulsory while Biology is preferred and nothing else is explicitly stated

I don't think I need this 3rd HL for Uni, only as a consideration of personal interest / chances of getting a 7

[Arrowhead]

I want to do Medicine and here in Hong Kong the offers go for 776776. HL Chemistry is compulsory while Biology is preferred and nothing else is explicitly stated

I don't think I need this 3rd HL for Uni, only as a consideration of personal interest / chances of getting a 7

In that case you should definitely keep Chemistry and Biology HL.

History HL is a demanding course. If you're good with your time management and memorising a lot of information, you will be equipped for this course. Statistically, less than 3% of IB students get 7s in History HL around the world.

English HL is not that hard. The workload is manageable and the reading isn't too much of a bother if you enjoy reading. While getting a 7 can be very difficult, 6s are fairly common.

Maths HL is very demanding and arguably one of the hardest courses in the IB. Only do it if you really like Maths. I would suggest History over Maths personally.

For a third HL, I would encourage you to consider Economics because statistically, students have an unusually high rate of 7s and 6s in this course. As a former IB Economics HL student myself, I can tell you that is a fairly manageable course with the workload never becoming too much or uncontrollable as long as you're able to grasp the concepts. I didn't have any background in Economics prior to the IB and I managed just fine in the course. The fact that the first section is an introduction to economics that goes through all the basic definitions and concepts and such is really helpful.

Arrowhead.

[Animal]

Thanks!! That's really good advice, I forgot about the statistical bulletin.

and wow. I'd be twice as likely to get 7 for Geography than History so that's something I'll keep in mind. 3% of people getting 7s for SL History though... O.O

[sarah95]

I would recommend economics as well, it's pretty straightforward yet strangely well respected! If not, from your choices I'd say geography if you're simply aiming for a high score. If possible, you should also check the breakdown of percentages from your school (I know all the ESF ones publish theirs if you're in an ESF school in HK!), because some schools happen to have better teachers in some departments, which makes it a lot easier to do well!