Questions about IB

[Max Fung]

Hey guys, I'm about to start IB in August this year, theres a few questions I would like to ask you guys about.

1. Is choosing relevant IB subjects important towards what I would like to study at university? Or is IB scores more important?  

 

2. Do you think it's reasonable for a student to choose a subject that they have never studied before for IB? For example, do you think choosing Geography HL for IB is wise when the student have never studied Geography during IGCSE 

 

3. What subjects for IB should I choose in order to increase my chances of studying business/finance in University? I'm still unsure about my abilities currently as I have increased my effort levels for this year substantially, as a result, I am getting score 2 grade boundaries than last year in most subjects.

 

Here are my current selections for IB (1 HL and 1 SL not decided) 

1. Chinese B HL

2. English SL (Not sure)

3. Math SL 

4. Econ HL 

 

 

 

Thanks guys, any help is appreciated

[Acamar_]

I'm also in HK, and only a year ahead of you. Struggled with the same decisions.

It depends on what and where you're studying. You should check a few university websites to see if the course you want demands a specific subject. For example, Medicine demands HL Chem and HL Bio/Phy, but I'm not sure about finance. From what I've heard though, it's not that strict with subjects.

In Hong Kong, I think scores are pretty important. Slightly less so overseas, where extracurriculars and the interview are valued more.

Eh, I dunno about Geography.

Sorry I can't help much.

 

 

[alexalexalex]

1. Is choosing relevant IB subjects important towards what I would like to study at university? Or is IB scores more important?

This depends on two factors: what and where you want to study. For example, I know that the U.K. definitely cares a lot about which subjects you choose. It is highly likely that you will not get into a Engineering course without HL Maths and Physics, and it is also highly likely that you will not get into a Economics course without HL Economics etc. etc. 

On the other hand, and please do keep in mind that I am no expert, I believe that they are quite a bit more lenient in the U.S.

My absolute nr.1 advice for anyone choosing their IB courses is to TAKE 4 HLs!!  No but seriously, take 4 HLs (if your school allows you that is). Then, if you find out that you dislike one of your HLs you can always switch it down to SL.

I, for example, started off with: HL Physics, Maths, Chemistry and Geography. Now I've found out that I absolutely DESPISE geography (btw, I see that you're interested in taking Geo. Don't get discouraged by me, most people in my class like it/find it fairly easy so don't worry) and that I LOVE english (which is a subject I hated last year). So I switched down Geo to SL and English up to HL. I am still keeping 4 HLs throughout this entire school year as I am yet unsure of which one to drop.    

 

2. Do you think it's reasonable for a student to choose a subject that they have never studied before for IB? For example, do you think choosing Geography HL for IB is wise when the student have never studied Geography during IGCSE

I don't quite know what you mean by "no exposure". For example, at my school, we didn't do any IGCSEs in any of the social studies. We did one trimester Econ, one trimester History and one trimester Geo throughout 9th and 10th grade. If you mean no exposure as to this level I think you should go for it but I do not think that you should take a subject you have absolutely no idea what it is about.  

 

3. What subjects for IB should I choose in order to increase my chances of studying business/finance in University? I'm still unsure about my abilities currently as I have increased my effort levels for this year substantially, as a result, I am getting score 2 grade boundaries than last year in most subjects.

I'm not too well-informed regarding the humanities and their undergraduate courses but looking at the subjects you already have, I'd recommend choosing another humanities subject. 

 

Hope this all helped!! Good luck in the IB! 

[kw0573]

Adding to 1 and 3. Generally in terms of admissions the goal is to score the highest overall mark and meeting all the prerequisites, especially if your program is highly competitive. Usually I say you would benefit the most from exposed to a very diverse subject combination, but on a practical perspective if you are applying to highly competitive programs then it's safer to choose courses you know you will score well in. Also, it may be ok to avoid known "hard" courses that you don't need but that is not to say you should actively choose "easy" courses, because frankly the great majority classes are not easy 7s. 

[Ludwig S]

1) If you have a target university that you wanna get in, it is better to look at their requirements, because they may recommend you to take certain course. But it's also important to look at what you can do well at, because the overall score is the one that most universities care the most. 

 

2) For subjects like geography, it would start easy and will get harder as the course goes. So it would be fine if you have no prior knowledge in geography. And it would be a great choice if you are strongly interested in geography. 

 

3. Economics, business and management, ITGS, etc.. Those are some subjects offered in ib that may help you if you are going into a business program. Again, have a look of the university that you want to get in and see if there's any other recommendations. 

 

Also, chose a subject from group 6 (arts) would be nice if you are going a business program, because they like people being more created and open-minded.