tiffany_wu888 Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Hi guys,I'm currently a sophomore (year 11) and am going to be starting the IB program next year. We have to do our course choices now so this is what I'm planning to do:English A: Literature SLChinese A: Literature SLSpanish Ab Initio SLMath HLChem HLEcon HLMy question is..is it worth it to switch English to HL and have 4 HLs instead of 3???A lot of upperclassmen at my school have told me not to do it, but at the same time they've also said that english hl and sl is almost the same..there are only a couple more works studied so I am really conflicted :/I'd switch Chinese to HL, but I'm taking it a year early (anticipated student) so I can't...What do you guys think??Thanks!! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asbb96 Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) why are you doing two group 1 languages Edited March 26, 2012 by Summer Glau no text speak please! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffany_wu888 Posted March 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 err because both chinese & english are my native languages??i get a bilingual diploma this way toothe spanish ab initio is a replacement for my group 6 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jar Jar D'oh! Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 I vote 3HLs, IB is hard, don't underestimate it. Taking four HLs is like take a dump at the IB HQ They will make you suffer. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dessskris Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 I don't see any point in taking language A HL unless you need it for uni. just because it's your native language it doesn't mean you'll be able to ace it... many are native speakers here but we even struggle at SL. literature is NOT a piece of cake. it might be a whole new world to somebody especially because the level of analysis required here is quite advanced.I say it's not worth it to take it at HL... you'll have to study a few more books, and a few books is A LOT to read and comprehend.just do 3. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Where Love Died Laughing Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 whya re u doing two group 1 languagesThe new syllabus allows two Group 1s.. in case you were confused...I feel like such a stalker answering this on TSR and now going on here to reply and realizing you're probably the same person from TSR... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffany_wu888 Posted March 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 whya re u doing two group 1 languages The new syllabus allows two Group 1s.. in case you were confused... I feel like such a stalker answering this on TSR and now going on here to reply and realizing you're probably the same person from TSR... HAHAHAHAHAHA I AM, ACTUALLY! It's all good.. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffany_wu888 Posted March 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 I vote 3HLs, IB is hard, don't underestimate it. Taking four HLs is like take a dump at the IB HQ They will make you suffer. I don't see any point in taking language A HL unless you need it for uni. just because it's your native language it doesn't mean you'll be able to ace it... many are native speakers here but we even struggle at SL. literature is NOT a piece of cake. it might be a whole new world to somebody especially because the level of analysis required here is quite advanced. I say it's not worth it to take it at HL... you'll have to study a few more books, and a few books is A LOT to read and comprehend. just do 3. yeah, the only reason i considered to do 4 was because I'd be done with Chinese a year early and would have only 5 classes to take in senior year, but now that i think of it, 3 free periods sounds pretty awesome too and i can focus on my college apps! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Where Love Died Laughing Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 whya re u doing two group 1 languages The new syllabus allows two Group 1s.. in case you were confused... I feel like such a stalker answering this on TSR and now going on here to reply and realizing you're probably the same person from TSR... HAHAHAHAHAHA I AM, ACTUALLY! It's all good.. Oh goodness... I appear like such a stalker. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babydolleyes Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Hi guys,I'm currently a sophomore (year 11) and am going to be starting the IB program next year. We have to do our course choices now so this is what I'm planning to do:English A: Literature SLChinese A: Literature SLSpanish Ab Initio SLMath HLChem HLEcon HLMy question is..is it worth it to switch English to HL and have 4 HLs instead of 3???A lot of upperclassmen at my school have told me not to do it, but at the same time they've also said that english hl and sl is almost the same..there are only a couple more works studied so I am really conflicted :/I'd switch Chinese to HL, but I'm taking it a year early (anticipated student) so I can't...What do you guys think??Thanks!! I think you should definitely switch to English HL.. I don't understand people who take English SL unless all their HL's are used up, and they are really struggling with English to begin with. I'm taking four HL's myself, but I see you are taking Math HL which is unbelievably demanding and time consuming. The extra work from English is probably not going to make much difference to you at all, but at the end of the day your diploma is going to look SO impressive with 4 HL's an one of those being math HL.. thats insane! Very impressed haha Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 It might depend on where you want to apply, but if you intend to apply to the UK, having a 4th HL is like having a sticker saying you were brave at the dentist. Nobody cares, and you won't be rewarded for it by admissions to University or anything else. If you're good at English there's no harm in doing it at HL (as people have said, it's not really much extra work at all). However classically people struggle to do well in Literature unless they're naturally inclined that way. Or unless they're taught in the UK where the IB isn't any harder than GCSE so there's no jump to be made. A lot of people on this site will tell you English is one of the hardest subjects to succeed in. Equally a lot of people will tell you it's the easiest subject to succeed in. So it's quite a polarised issue and depending on your education up to this point, may or may not be difficult to get good grades in for you Most people start with 4 HLs, become overwhelmed towards the end of IB1/beginning of IB2 and drop one down. There's no harm in starting with more and dropping some out, provided you're cautious about the coursework and making sure you do an appropriate piece of coursework for whatever level you end up at. On the other hand, there's no actual gain from doing 4 HLs except for the rosy glow you can feel inside your own head, mostly. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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