What subjects are you taking/did you take?

[Heysoulsister]

Hey,

I'm going to choose my subjects, and I really would like to know if you regret any of your subject choices and why, or if you don't regret any.

It would be great if any of you are taking/did take business & management, ITGS, English A2 HL, Biology or History HL. - I'm going to choose either ITGS HL, B&M HL or History HL and I would appreciate any advice!!

- Thanks!

[Dr. Polaris]

Hi there! I'm starting IB this year too, in September, not sure if you are too.

Anyways, I can't answer your questions in your post, but I'll tell you what subjects I'm going to take (I hope there won't be any regrets!)

Biology HL

Chemistry HL

English A1 HL

Psychology HL

Chinese A2 SL

Math SL

Here you go

[elmar]

English HL

History HL

Biology HL

Spanish SL

Math Methods SL

Visual Arts SL

I'm only taking History HL because it's the only Humanities course my school offers at HL. I noticed you didn't post your A1 and math courses. What are you planning to take there?

[Summer Glau]

My subjects are in my sig too, but I'll post them here:

English A1 HL

Biology HL

Chemistry HL

Economics SL

French B SL

Math SL

Edited June 5, 2010 by fire.realm

[The Economist]

Ok well I'm taking:

Math HL

Economics HL

Chemistry HL

Biology SL

English A2 SL

Greek A1 SL

I think I haven't regretted for any of my subjects, especially for my HL ones because I really enjoy them the most. The thing is that I'm quite passionate for economics, math and chemistry and probably this is

why I 'love' them. English A2 could be quite boring, but I think that depends on the teacher. I'm in a mixed english class (both SL & HL together), so I'm covering all of the HL material as well. What I've noticed is that

all of the HL students are into social issues, cultural, etc. and if you are as well I'm pretty sure that you'll not regret choosing english A2 HL. The thing is that not a high percentage of students manages to get a 7

and if you are aiming for the highest possible grades, you should consider the possibility that you may not actually manage to reach them. Of course, I'm not here to discourage you, but what I'm trying to say is that if you feel that you are not so strong at english, you'd better choose one of the other HL subjects.

From what I've heard B&M is not really demanding, you just need to study a lot (as for almost all subjects).

Biology is not difficult either, but I'm taking it as a second science so I chose it at SL. From my experience, it is a straight foward subject, but I think there are quite a lot of HL extensions, so there is much more studying to do compared to me.

Now History. A really good friend of mine is taking it as a HL subject and she's really enjoying it. There is A LOT of studying, but all of the history kids at my school are fascinated with the subject. I highly recommend it.

ITGS is considered to be an easy subject, but it is not offered at my school so I haven't formed an opinion on it.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help, but you should wisely choose your subjects, be sure that you like them and that they are related to your intended field of study.

*I'd definitely recommend economics. I'm in love with the subject, even though there are almost none mathematical principals integrated in the syllabus.

Good luck with the IB, it is really fun if you organize your studying carefully.

If you need any help or have any questions on the subjects I'm taking, please feel free to pm me (:

[sprintdominator]

How about...

HL Chemistry

HL Biology

HL Math

SL English A1

SL History

Sl Chinese B

Is it conisder tough? Advices please

[Tsubaki]

Well, my subjects are in my signature, but I'll talk about them anyway.

English A1 HL - Required at my school, though I would have taken it anyway. I like that there are two world lit. papers instead of one because the first one is comparative but the second isn't, and I hate comparing books. Also, it gets me through my required university English courses. You don't need to be great at it to get a good mark, but you need to be astounding to get a 7.

French B SL - I was required to take this because I didn't do French Immersion. Also, due to a hilarious scheduling mishap, I ended up anticipating this exam instead of writing it in my final year as planned. Worked out nicely, because I ended up finishing IB a week earlier than I would have (my final exam was biology this year, instead of French) and didn't have to write an exam on a holiday. It was great.

History of Europe and the Islamic World HL - HATE THIS COURSE! My school requires this course as well, so I was very unhappy. I fail at history because I have no interest or memorization ability, and also I can't write very quickly. I would have done History SL or some other Group 3 if my school actually offered a variety of courses. That said, I still did a History extended essay despite not liking it, and I suppose the course helped me.

Biology HL - When I got to my school, biology was also a required IB course. The class starting the year after us has the option to take any two of Biology, Chemistry, and Music, but our schedules didn't allow for it. I actually really don't like biology, but I wanted the university credits (otherwise, I'd have to take it in university) so I did HL. That said, the whole class did HL anyway, so if I had done SL it would have been somewhat terrible.

Chemistry HL - We had the option to take either Music SL or Chemistry, and because I did really well in Chemistry and hadn't taken any music courses since elementary school I chose Chemistry (also because taking Chemistry gets the better free period in grade 12 , although I took AP Physics in my free). I took HL because SL barely gets any credit at the university I'm going to, and I would like to have my science electives complete by the time I get there. It's a decent course, but of my class of 7 (3 HL and 4 SL), only one person was predicted higher than a 5. Most of the class will likely get a 3 or 4, I predict.

Math SL - Also required at my school, because we're only ever able to offer AP Calculus or IB Math HL in any given year, and AP Calculus wins out every time, despite the fact that IB Math HL is a genuinely better course (both in terms of topics covered and how much credit universities will offer for it). I really enjoy math, and was upset to hear that, once again, we would not be offering IB Math HL. SL was, to me, an absolute joke of a course; I came out of it with a 97% (would have been 100% if I had done my homework). Though, the exam this year was a little though, so I'm not confident I'll get the 7 I was predicted.

Reading over my post, it seems like I am a bit too intent on getting university credits, but it's all over now anyway, and I didn't have too terribly hard a time with my courses. It was a decent couple of years.

As for the topic creator, I will suggest that you not do History HL. Based on my very little experience, Paper 3 is a grade-killer, making History HL all the worse. Generally, the smartest thing to do is to take HL courses which are very similar to SL courses, but which are different enough to benefit you in the long run. English A2 HL is probably a good choice.

I've heard good things and bad things about Business and Management; my university is in love with it, and will offer 12 credits to anyone who has done it successfully at HL. However, many universities treat it somewhat like Maths Studies, which is not good. I would recommend avoiding it if you can, just for safety's sake.

I know nothing about the rest of your courses, but it's hard to go wrong choosing your courses unless you take things you hate or are terrible at at HL. I'm sure you'll be fine no matter what you take.

[The Economist]

How about...

HL Chemistry

HL Biology

HL Math

SL English A1

SL History

Sl Chinese B

Is it conisder tough? Advices please

I can talk to you only about chemistry and math HL.

IB1 is almost over (we are having our final exams these weeks) and honestly, chemistry HL has been my easiest subject. The 7s kept coming effortlessly and I had time to study for my other subjects.

Math HL is tough. I haven't really felt a lot of pressure yet (we have a really good and experienced teacher), but the material that we covered is a lot and you'll need to devote a lot of time for this subject.

I can see that you have chemistry and bio HL, if you are going for medicine, I'd advise you not to take math HL, because the extensions of bio also need a lot of work.

If you are a math geek , then you'd really enjoy math HL. I would definitely NOT switch math for any other subject!

If you like it, go for it!

Edited June 9, 2010 by Watermelon =3

[Wernie]

Heya, only halfway through my first year, but here we go...

HL:

Biology (for which I've appealed a switch to Geography *crosses fingers*)

Chemistry

Economics

SL:

Mathematics

English A1

Chinese B

The most important thing in choosing your HLs is your level of interest in the subjects. It will help propel you further. (:

The only killer thing about Bio HL is the IAs. In my school we have weekly practice ones, each requiring a full report (they've been growing steadily in length-- started the year with 2 pages, but next year's will probably need 20.) But if the subject interests you, you'll probably enjoy it anyhow. (There's a guy in my class that churns out EE-like reports every week, goodness knows how much he spends on coffee each week.)

You seem pretty sure of what you want and like to do, so that's pretty much settled! Most important is to know what you like, what you want to do in uni, and what careers you want to pursue.

EDIT: Would just like to say that not really knowing what I enjoyed or what I wanted to do had led me into choosing Bio HL, as a "safe" option (if I had wanted to go into Medicine, I'd be alright).

Took it because I generally enjoyed it during GCE Os, but the depth the IB Bio course goes into... too much for me to handle. Since it holds no appeal for me, nor any use, it's been a pain for me. On the other hand, I'm really loving Econs, which you may want to consider to complement/take in place of B&M

All the best! (:

Edited June 5, 2010 by Wernie

[Heysoulsister]

Heya, only halfway through my first year, but here we go...

HL:

Biology (for which I've appealed a switch to Geography *crosses fingers*)

Chemistry

Economics

SL:

Mathematics

English A1

Chinese B

The most important thing in choosing your HLs is your level of interest in the subjects. It will help propel you further. (:

The only killer thing about Bio HL is the IAs. In my school we have weekly practice ones, each requiring a full report (they've been growing steadily in length-- started the year with 2 pages, but next year's will probably need 20.) But if the subject interests you, you'll probably enjoy it anyhow. (There's a guy in my class that churns out EE-like reports every week, goodness knows how much he spends on coffee each week.)

You seem pretty sure of what you want and like to do, so that's pretty much settled! Most important is to know what you like, what you want to do in uni, and what careers you want to pursue.

EDIT: Would just like to say that not really knowing what I enjoyed or what I wanted to do had led me into choosing Bio HL, as a "safe" option (if I had wanted to go into Medicine, I'd be alright).

Took it because I generally enjoyed it during GCE Os, but the depth the IB Bio course goes into... too much for me to handle. Since it holds no appeal for me, nor any use, it's been a pain for me. On the other hand, I'm really loving Econs, which you may want to consider to complement/take in place of B&M

All the best! (:

Thanks a lot! I know that the most important thing in choosing my HLs is my level of interest. However, my school doesn't offer the subjects I really would like to take. I would be so happy if I could take social and cultural anthropology, psychology, peace and conflict studies or philosophy... Instead I'll have to take B&M, Econ, ITGS or History.. Anyway, what do you think of chem? Better than bio?

Thanks again

[Heysoulsister]

I'm only taking History HL because it's the only Humanities course my school offers at HL. I noticed you didn't post your A1 and math courses. What are you planning to take there?

My A1 is Norwegian SL (self-taught) and I'm going to take math SL, I think..

Something like this:

Norwegian A1 SL

English A2 HL

Biology SL/HL

Maths SL

Econ/B&M/ITGS SL/HL

spanish B SL/History HL/chem SL/HL

[Austin Glau]

This year:

ToK

Spanish

Phsyics SL

World Literature SL

AP Computer Science

Maths HL

History SL

Took the Maths SL and Physics SL exam

and a bunch of AP exams

[Wernie]

Thanks a lot! I know that the most important thing in choosing my HLs is my level of interest. However, my school doesn't offer the subjects I really would like to take. I would be so happy if I could take social and cultural anthropology, psychology, peace and conflict studies or philosophy... Instead I'll have to take B&M, Econ, ITGS or History.. Anyway, what do you think of chem? Better than bio?

Thanks again

Aw, I feel your pain. ): Chem's alright, am keeping it because it's a pretty useful subject. As long as you're able to understand and apply what you've learnt, you'll be fine.

You may want to check on your school's policy and practices when it comes to IAs, though. My Chem teacher's pretty lax when it comes to practice IAs, as long as you know your stuff, but my Bio teacher was crazy and super on-the-ball when it came to them. (: And that can make all the difference when it comes to workload.

[Tilia]

My subjects are as follows

Swedish A1 HL

German B HL

Philosophy HL

Physics SL

Mathematics SL

Chemistry HL

I sort of regret that I didn't take maths HL instead of philosophy, since I want to study chemistry/chemical physics and now I have to study pure chemistry. I suppose I ought to have taken physics HL then, but I know that it was no chance that I would have done that, considering how difficult I found it in the beginning of my DP years. But I'm not sure I would have gotten as high marks as I expect now if I had had maths HL and I don't really mind study chemistry (even though chemical physics would be even better), so I'm fairly content with the subjects.

But I was weighing chemistry HL against music HL and I'm exceedingly glad that I decided to take chemistry, since that's my call in life

[moladude]

Anyone out there with experience!

Hey I'm gonna be taking IB the following September and these are my choices:

HL Biology

HL Chemistry

HL Math

SL English

SL History

SL French Ab Initio

I'm hoping (fingers crossed) to study medicine and I chose what I thought was best, after considering all the advice given to me, but now I'm starting to get frightened about next year as people are telling me "you're going to die in higher level math!" So I was wondering if anyone out there has any advice for people like me. Personally I really love the sciences and I think I can do well in both science classes, been getting full marks in grade 10 and below for as long as i can remember, but I'm sort of confused between HL math and SL English, whether to switch them or not. Both teachers, for math and English for this year, told me that I have a 'good' work ethic and that I should be fine in both classes but I'm not sure whether I'm making the right choices or not. And my English teacher told me if i do take higher level english I'm going to be getting a high five the first term and work toward 6 midyear :\ So would you guys think its better for me to take Higher Level Math or Higher level English (btw i would also like the highest possible marks) and any advice would be appreciated!

Please please help

[Naiya]

my subjects are listed below in my signature

the question about whether i regret taking them or not..... i don't regret taking any of my subjects.

the thing is you should like your SL subjects while have a passion for your HL subjects.... nothing is easy or difficult its just how you take it..

i m a BM HL student and can say that it is not easy but even not so difficult if you understand certain things like how to attempt your exams and all the subject matter obviously..

i don't have any idea about history so can't suggest between the choice of history or bm at HL.

also if you have any questions you can definately ask me...

So would you guys think its better for me to take Higher Level Math or Higher level English (btw i would also like the highest possible marks) and any advice would be appreciated!

i think math at HL is a bit complicated..(from my experience, i was a HL student first but dropped down to SL because i thought it was taking lots of time of mine) so personally i feel math sl is better.

english HL is very interesting. it depends upon the skills which you possess that takes you to a subject....

It is appreciated that you are good at both the subjects.. hope you make the best choice

[Tilia]

Anyone out there with experience!

Hey I'm gonna be taking IB the following September and these are my choices:

HL Biology

HL Chemistry

HL Math

SL English

SL History

SL French Ab Initio

I'm hoping (fingers crossed) to study medicine and I chose what I thought was best, after considering all the advice given to me, but now I'm starting to get frightened about next year as people are telling me "you're going to die in higher level math!" So I was wondering if anyone out there has any advice for people like me. Personally I really love the sciences and I think I can do well in both science classes, been getting full marks in grade 10 and below for as long as i can remember, but I'm sort of confused between HL math and SL English, whether to switch them or not. Both teachers, for math and English for this year, told me that I have a 'good' work ethic and that I should be fine in both classes but I'm not sure whether I'm making the right choices or not. And my English teacher told me if i do take higher level english I'm going to be getting a high five the first term and work toward 6 midyear :\ So would you guys think its better for me to take Higher Level Math or Higher level English (btw i would also like the highest possible marks) and any advice would be appreciated!

Please please help

Sounds like a good medicine combination. If you really like maths, do it HL, and you seem to be a science person. Chemistry HL is fun and not as hard as people say, in my opinion. As for English HL, I've heard that it is very hard too, so I'm not sure that it is a better choice than maths when it comes to getting good grades. I took maths SL and the exams were actually easier than I expected, so I think you should stick to thid combination. Don't change subjects just because other people say those subjects are hard. YOU decide, and what others find hard might be easy stuf to you. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you feel like taking maths HL, do so.

[Laraa]

I'll be taking Malay SL(compulsory cause I'm a Malaysia dweller)

English HL

Biology HL

Chemistry HL

Econs SL

Maths SL.

but I'm planning to take 4 highers. so, I might be taking maths HL. but some of my friends said, nooo, it's like a highway to hell. I won't have time to revise and whatnot. and I'm still considering.. what d'ya say? dya think I should go for it or 3 highers is enough?

[Zibblay]

English A2 HL

Maths HL

Physics HL

Chemistry SL

History SL

Finnish A1 SL

Starting IB in August. Our math teacher retired this year so we'll have a new math teacher. Too bad the new one is the worst maths teacher in the whole city, alas I have math HL Well, we'll see what happens.

[Chocaholic]

These qre my courses that I'm starting next september...

Eng A1 HL (Required)

Bio HL

Chem HL (Required for sciences)

French HL (Required as I am in Immersion)

His SL

Math SL (My school does not offer Math HL)