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HL dilemma! Physics or Psychology!


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HEy there! I'm in a really big dilemma now.. i'm not sure what subjects to take.. i live in india and am going to do my IBDP here.. 

 

i'm anyways going to take

Biology HL

Chemistry HL

Literature SL 

Spanish ab initio SL

MAthematics SL

 

 

its the third HL i'm worried abt.. i heard that univs in india require all three sciences... but takin all three sciences as HLs would be really hard.. i dont know hwat to do.. i have no academic experience in psychology but it seems interesting... so shuold i take Psychology HL>

?

 

 

PHysics or psychology... i'm leaning more towards psych but people have said that i'll need al three sciencesbut wouldnt that be a burden.. pl help me!!! :D:(

 

will taking psychology be easy even if i have no idea about the topic...?? i want to join med school... mostly us, uk or in india( for undergrad)

 

pls help me at the latest

 

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The IB Psychology course is started from scratch and you don't need to have prior knowledge. You'll learn as you go and it is definitely interesting. The only thing that makes psychology (especially HL) difficult his the vast breadth of information that needs to be learned. I've taken it at SL and even i'm finding the information a bit much but if you're interested in it and you can express your information in writing well then its definitely a good subject to take. About the three sciences I don't think thats even possible, The IB only allows two sciences to be taken (one in place of an art)

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Yeah, I've never heard of three sciences being taken. My two cents would be to take physics, simply because I self study it and love it! But, it is a lot of info, and don't try and ruin yourself by stressing over three sciences. You're in high school! Enjoy it, and don't try and overwhelm yourself too much.

 

Oh, and have you contacted your coordinator? He or she may know the answer about how many sciences you can take. I am fairly certain, though, that the max is two, unless you were to take certificate subjects in addition to the DP.

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You can take three sciences, but then you'd have to apply for special permission from IBO. 
Swedish universities require all three sciences if you want to study medicine. What my classmates and I do, is that we take biology as a Swedish course (much easier than IB Bio :P). Maybe you could do something similar if it turns out you need all three? But I agree with IBidiot, check with your coordinator! Can't be the first time this has happened. 

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As far as I know, it hasn't been done at our school. 

 

I personally chose Physics and it is definitely a challenging subject, but if you have a passion for it, it is worth all the work. That said, if you have an interest in Psychology then take it. As it is I don't know if you are allowed to take 3 sciences, so if I were you I would take Psychology. 

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Hi 

 

I'd take the subject you feel most comfortable with- I took SL physics and a lot of my friends said HL was not easy at all! 

With the pyschology course it starts at the very beginning as very few people have studied it prior to IB, so I guess that's a plus.

 

I can't talk for Indian universities, but in the UK there are no courses which require all three sciences in IB- most ask for HL in Chemistry and Biology, but they very rarely ask for physics unless you want to study something really physics related.

 

Hope this helps!

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HEy there! I'm in a really big dilemma now.. i'm not sure what subjects to take.. i live in india and am going to do my IBDP here.. 

 

i'm anyways going to take

Biology HL

Chemistry HL

Literature SL 

Spanish ab initio SL

MAthematics SL

 

 

its the third HL i'm worried abt.. i heard that univs in india require all three sciences... but takin all three sciences as HLs would be really hard.. i dont know hwat to do.. i have no academic experience in psychology but it seems interesting... so shuold i take Psychology HL>

?

 

 

PHysics or psychology... i'm leaning more towards psych but people have said that i'll need al three sciencesbut wouldnt that be a burden.. pl help me!!! :D:(

 

will taking psychology be easy even if i have no idea about the topic...?? i want to join med school... mostly us, uk or in india( for undergrad)

 

pls help me at the latest

Hey! 

If you're seeking for undergrad admission in India, I'd suggest you do CBSE, ISC or any other state board. The reason is-

1) Not many Indian universities recognize IB as a board, just a few in Kolkata do. This makes it REALLY hard to get into a good university in India.

2) Applying to Indian medical/engg universities, you have to give exams like JEE and NEET, whose portion is different from IB curriculum. The tests are based on the CBSE curriculum but there are many coaching classes if you decide to do ISC etc, keep in mind that these coaching classes take up a lot of your time (One of my friend would bunk college and attend coaching classes from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm) and doing the IB course, you won't have a lot of time. 

3) Indian universities have a lot of tests and interviews that mainly happen during your IB finals. This is extremely problematic because in the end you risk either not having admission, or failing your boards. However you can take a gap year but most students who do this fail to procure admissions. 

 

I honestly suggest you to drop the IB as a whole if you plan to stay in India. Take up CBSE or ISC, they are as good as the IB.

 

However if you want to continue, I'd suggest you take Psychology at HL because you need to take one humanities subject (group 3) in the IB or take 7 subjects instead of 6 (but why would you kill yourself by doing that?) 

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