Advice on subject choices.

[Quiescence]

Hi, I'm starting the IB DP in the fall and plan on majoring in chemistry/biochemistry in college.

Based off of that, I would be grateful if some of you commented on my subject choices and the main thing to focus on to succeed in that particular subject.

Note: my school requires HL English Literature for the DP, so there's no way I can get away with not taking the dreaded subject.

HL:

English Literature

Chemistry

Math

SL:

French B

Environmental Systems

Computer Science

I would be open to changing my Group 2 subject (currently ESS). 

[kw0573]

Hey I took 4 classes same as your current choice!

ESS is not a Group 2 subject, but instead Group 3/4 interdisciplinary. If ESS is the only course you are switching, then you have to switch to a Group 3 course. Though it looks to be a good mix right now. Physics and CS are both choices for 6th subjects. Perhaps you can look to take an SAT II in Physics and do CS in IB. Depending on how competitive of a school you are looking to get into, Math HL may not be necessary. SAT Math IIC and at least AP Calc AB are much below HL level. I do think that HL Math will be quite useful to get used to college workload.
 

[Quiescence]

22 hours ago, kw0573 said:

Hey I took 4 classes same as your current choice!

ESS is not a Group 2 subject, but instead Group 3/4 interdisciplinary. If ESS is the only course you are switching, then you have to switch to a Group 3 course. Though it looks to be a good mix right now. Physics and CS are both choices for 6th subjects. Perhaps you can look to take an SAT II in Physics and do CS in IB. Depending on how competitive of a school you are looking to get into, Math HL may not be necessary. SAT Math IIC and at least AP Calc AB are much below HL level. I do think that HL Math will be quite useful to get used to college workload.
 

Thanks for the help! I got my groups mixed up (silly me). 

I'm on the HL math track at my school, and it would be pretty obvious to colleges if I dropped down to SL. The class I took was called "IB Pre-HL Math," and that's what will appear on my transcript. Unfortunately, physics is only offered as an HL course at my school (weird, I know) and that's something I would not dare attempt. 

How difficult was French B, and what are some of the concepts that need to mastered before going into the class? My French 1 and 2 teachers took a very laid-back approach and didn't cover much material. My French 3 teacher tried to drill us on the basics, but it was too little, too late.

[kw0573]

8 minutes ago, Quiescence said:

Thanks for the help! I got my groups mixed up (silly me). 

I'm on the HL math track at my school, and it would be pretty obvious to colleges if I dropped down to SL. The class I took was called "IB Pre-HL Math," and that's what will appear on my transcript. Unfortunately, physics is only offered as an HL course at my school (weird, I know) and that's something I would not dare attempt. 

How difficult was French B, and what are some of the concepts that need to mastered before going into the class? My French 1 and 2 teachers took a very laid-back approach and didn't cover much material. My French 3 teacher tried to drill us on the basics, but it was too little, too late.

As somebody who took Math HL, I don't actively encourage you to leave for Math SL. However you must be realistic and only continue if you have faith in yourself to do well. Physics, just like math, is very fundamental to appreciate and understand both chemistry and biochemistry, and you should be exposed to some in high school. You should not expect others to evaluate course difficulty same as you. French B is above all, about effective communication, that means you need to produce organized, convincing, and persuasive texts in the written and spoken forms. 

If not already, you should read the course guides (which contain the syllabi and grading criteria) at http://www.ibsurvival.com/files/category/14-ib-syllabus-amp-data-booklets/.