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1 Year of SL will prepare me for 2 years of HL?


dubyawhy

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Okay so I'll be switching schools 1 year into IB, and the 2nd school requires that I complete the 2-year IB course over again - but I'll have to do 4 HLs. I've thought about it, and I think thats pretty good, as it'll let me get higher grades in the end by having 1 extra year of IB.

So my question is:

If a student completes the first year of Math SL, how much of an advantage would that student have if they joined the 2-year HL course? Would it mean HL would be easier? Or would it mean I'd do less work because of the course overlap?

Thanks!

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Guest Soiboist

Wow, that's really unfair by the school that you're moving to. One of the big things about the IB is that people should have an easier time moving across the world, it seems quite contradictory to the policy of IBO. I wouldn't want to do it as spending a whole year learning things you'll anyway do again would be quite pointless. Yes, it might mean that you'll get high grades, but you could've gotten that anyway with hard work.

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As Soiboist said, it is really unfair that the school you're transferring to is making you repeat the first year.

But you definitely do have a better chance of getting better grades in math, not to say you will still have to work as hard. I think that you will be more comfortable and familiar to certain topics in HL and may not stuggle with them as much but remember the difference between HL and SL is that HL does more topics and so YES you may be familiar with some topics but not with all of them so there will still be quite some work to do despite the overlap.

PS: Math HL also does some Math SL topics with greater depth so you may realize that you didn't learn some things despite having learned the topic before.

Hope that helps. :)

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  • 1 month later...
Guest Red XII

There's quite a difference between Math HL and Math SL, so you won't be able to breeze through HL from having taken SL, but it'll definitely be helpful to have that background. You'll probably have an easier time in HL than students who haven't taken anything comparable to SL prior to starting HL.

My school actually requires a year of SL before starting HL so that students are more prepared for the course, so it's definitely an advantage.

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I disagree with Soiboist who actually didn't make any point without any explanation besides you might get higher grades with a background in Math SL.

just want to emphasise that every HL chapter is more in depth than the SL chapter it corresponds to. having learnt the SL one is equal to having learnt the basic of the HL chapter. so actually you will still learn new things in HL even if you've finished the SL syllabus. HL also has some chapters that are not taught in SL.

also want to tell you that in math HL you need to pick one option topic out of the 4. this might be the tough and useless part if you don't need anything mathematical in university..

if you don't need it I honestly don't suggest you to take it. you better off pick another HL, unless you need some math in uni (like business or econ..)

to directly answer your questions,

how much of an advantage would that student have if they joined the 2-year HL course?

if you are doing very well in Math SL then it would be advantageous, but still not that much. you'll only be familiar with the basic of some chapters. but if you've covered all SL topics, you can finish the HL syllabus in only one and a half year.

Would it mean HL would be easier?

no, not really...

Or would it mean I'd do less work because of the course overlap?

yes less work because you won't need to re-learn the basics of some topics. didn't you take Additional Math IGCSE though? if you did then doing Math SL ≈ doing IGCSE.

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Guest Soiboist

I disagree with Soiboist who actually didn't make any point without any explanation besides you might get higher grades with a background in Math SL.

My point wasn't about Maths specifically, but rather that he will need to go over the same material again for all courses except Maths which he changes (why he then wouldn't choose Maths HL from the start at his first school I don't know). I think it's equivalent to wasting a year, IB is supposed to be for two years and taking it for three might give you better grades but won't be an advantage later in life anyway. Of course HL will be easier for him if he already has done one year of SL, and if there's no other option than re-doing it all again that's what he has to do I guess. But I would definitely try to persuade the IB coordinator or whoever could give an exception for the school's policy, because it seems rather pointless to me.

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