General IB Subject Choices Questions

[nanon]

Hi

So I am planning on doing the IB next year and just had a few questions, any answers would be appreciated

1. Econs or History? Either way, I would be looking to do it at HL. I have looked at the Statistical Bulletin and found that Econs is a higher chance to get 7 in, but i was just wondering about any personal information? Any suggestions?

2. Can you study a Language A (English for me), a Language B (French) and then ALSO a Lanugage Ab Initio as your 'free choice' subject from group 6/ other groups? Also, is this advisable? Its either this or History AND Econs

Thankyou for your time and help!

[Access Denied]

1) i would choose ecos over history. history is a lot to memorise, and i mean a lot and since your in aus im going to take a wild guess that unless your at MLC you ll be doing route two and some of it is quite dry. i dont do ecos but heard its fun and easy to learn, then again you could just love history, however if its hard to decide i would go with ecos.

2) you have to do english, A2 is only ONE second language so you can do either spanish or french. not both. sorry

IB is better than the HSC btw, if your struggling choosing, although you need to work consistently in both, the IB is easier in terms of you can slack off for a lot of it as long as your notes are up to date and you try in the things that count while hsc is constant assessments that all count- however IB is harder overall with all the different subject areas and content

good luck choosing

[nanon]

Um im not sure what MLC is? Thanks for that advice, I notice you are doing history, is it particularly hard? Seeing as I can't do two languages I will end up doing both anyway. Would it be too much to do history, econs, and history at HL, or would you recommend doing a Science at HL instead? I really don't mind what I do, im just looking for the best mark possible- I enjoy almost every subject (apart from maths!)

I'll probably do French B then, not because it is easier (which it isn't, apparently, we rarely get students who get a 7 at our school) but because I am currently enjoying it and feel like i am making progress...

I'm not in NSW so I won't be doing the HSC anyway, but my alternative (being in SA) would be SACE *shudder*- four subjects!

Thanks for you help, much appreciated!

[dessskris]

1. Definitely economics. There have been a lot of discussion on this (in this forum) so please search around

2. Actually I thought you could I think Bishup is taking 3 languages. Are you sure that we can't take 3 languages Lexi? I seriously thought we could.

@OP what do you want to study in uni? if it requires you to be good at languages then I suggest you to take Language ab initio as your Group 6 subject. otherwise...umm it's quite fine but in my personal opinion is not really worth it, unless you really really want to be able to speak 3 languages fluently.

econ VS hist also pretty much depends on what you want to study in uni, and your interests.

but yes econ is easier

[nanon]

hm thanks Desy. I looked on the IB website and I quote "Students must take a minimum of one subject from group two..." and "students can choose an additional subject from groups 1-5". I think this well and truly implies that you could take a third language, however I am not 100% sure.

For Uni, international law. The sooner i get out of Australia, the better. Languages are a bit of a priority for me, and yeah Econs sounds interesting. I'll further talk with my IB coordinator, because Spanish is taught off-site at out school, so that adds more complications...

Thanks for your time and help!

[dessskris]

You're welcome!

Oh you've got a proof there, so yeah I'm sure you can take 3 languages maybe it's just Lexi's school policy or something :/

Oh, Law! Interesting! Good luck with that!

I just did a little research on what subjects are likely to be prerequisites for this course, but many say there are no prerequisites however, there are some recommended subjects that are likely to help you if you want to study law. For the complete information, click here http://lawschool.about.com/od/preparingforlawschool/a/undergradcourse.htm

Just have a look and see which ones actually interest you! Take interesting subjects. Don't take it if you don't like it because you are not going to enjoy it...

or would you recommend doing a Science at HL instead? I really don't mind what I do, im just looking for the best mark possible

I don't think a Science HL would be helpful for Law, so don't take it! and it's not easy, so don't risk yourself for something you aren't sure of

Good luck with choosing your subjects!

Edited June 27, 2011 by Desy Glau

[Gaby]

hm thanks Desy. I looked on the IB website and I quote "Students must take a minimum of one subject from group two..." and "students can choose an additional subject from groups 1-5". I think this well and truly implies that you could take a third language, however I am not 100% sure.

My friend is taking tree languages (A1 lang and 2 B languages) and nobody at our school said it's not possible so it must also be possible with IBO.You should check with your IBC.

[nanon]

Wow thanks for all that help , thats really useful

The only problem with taking three languages would be that I would have to take my science, or my maths, at HL. I would'nt take French B at HL (that's suicide according to my french teacher) and you CANT take ab initio at HL, so it would have to be Maths or Science... I'm not bad at science so that doenst really matter, but it's just annoying.

Thanks again

[miha]

Yes, you can definitely take three languages. Half of my friends do it.

[dessskris]

which science did you pick, sorry?

if i could be honest, French B HL shouldn't be like a suicide your teacher is definitely exaggerating. why? because language B HL and SL don't really have much difference. HL is more difficult, but not so much more difficult. it's just...fair, i think.

what about this: try taking 4 HLs first in the beginning (groups 1, 2, 3 and 4) and then if you think French HL is not difficult, drop your group 4 (science) to SL. if you think French HL is more difficult than your science then, okay, drop it to SL.