4 HL's

[Victoria Lawal]

I currently have 4 HL's listed below and I'm wondering if this is a good idea.

[GirlwiththeBlueBox]

Seem fine to me.

[carpediem]

The question is: do you feel you can handle all the workload? Not only are you taking 4 HL subjects, but 7 subjects in total.

If you are in IB1, I'd suggest you stick with your subjects (you want to study them, which is why you picked them right?) for a bit as a trial period, and if you can't handle the workload in IB1, then you need to re-arrange your subjects or drop one.

[aangel]

Stick with them for now.

Drop one in your final year perhaps, trust me...

Also I strongly suggest doing a Group IV (chemistry) EE, if you can come up with an original topic. Certainly was the best decision I made doing the IB.

[CrimsonRed]

Depends, if you can cope with the workload, then having 4 HL courses will work fine. Of course, there will be more work to do and more effort on your part. I myself currently doing 4 HL classes and it seems quite fine. If you find it difficult to balance in your life, drop one of your HL classes to SL. Like I said its all about you and you're feelings towards the class.

[Emmi]

Stick with them for now.

Drop one in your final year perhaps, trust me...

Also I strongly suggest doing a Group IV (chemistry) EE, if you can come up with an original topic. Certainly was the best decision I made doing the IB.

Please do not follow this advice. Consider what YOU are good at before you even decide on a subject. If chemistry is one of your better subjects, then perhaps consider it. But it's hard to come up with a good topic for a chem EE (believe me, I was doing a chem EE for a month before I gave up because I couldn't come up with a good topic). Think about your own strengths. Even though I liked chemistry a lot, I chose history instead because it was easier for me (I'm decent at history). Do not feel obligated to do a chem EE.

[LadyIn5an3]

I don't fully understand why people stress on how hard the IB is, I started it this year and it seems pretty ... normal... ._. do 4HL's as well, in fact, I wanted to do 6, but my school didn't let me. =(

[Emmi]

I don't fully understand why people stress on how hard the IB is, I started it this year and it seems pretty ... normal... ._. do 4HL's as well, in fact, I wanted to do 6, but my school didn't let me. =(

Just wait a few months.

[twilight]

I think IB1 is still fine. It is IB2 that is way tougher, since deadlines just seem to come one after another.

[Babydolleyes]

I generally support the concept of having 4 HL's. A lot of people drop one of their HL subjects are time progresses (usually in the beginning of IB2), and the funny thing is that more often than not people tend to change their minds (e.g in the beginning of IB1 you thought History HL was your favourite HL subject but by the beginning of IB2 you have started to hate History and you really love Psychology HL, then you can drop History down to SL, which is something you couldn't have done if you had gone with Psychology SL in the beginning of IB).

I know 4 HL's is more work than necessary, and I'm sure my overall final score will reflect this, unless I'm an exception to this ''rule''.

You will do well no matter what if you stay positive!

[aangel]

I would like to comment again on both my own post and the response to my first comment.

I think your subject choices are fantastic and I would love to do all of them, if they were offered at my school. Again I say, I strongly suggest you continue with them until your end of IB1/beginning of IB2. Then consider dropping one, but keeping all four as HL would be great for college credits.

@Victoria Lawal: Please don't let the advice above discourage you from a chemistry EE. I think your EE choices are good becuase everyting you learn in class can be applied to your EE and pretty much your EE is the best preperation you can have for your exams, this is for both Music and Chemistry.

Music especially because it requires so much analysis, and that is exactly what your exam is about. Though I would say do an EE on a HL subject is preferable, there is nothing stopping you from doing a fantastic EE in music while doing music at SL.

@Emy Glau: Please do not comment on my advice, when everything you stated was covered in my response. The fact that the person stated they're considering a chemistry EE, meaning that they most likely believe it is one of their strong subjects. I did state that chemistry is only good if you can come up with an original topic. If you had considered it for more than a month, you would know it isn't hard to come up with a good topic... your thesis would also become your own after being altered to match your experimentation and research. In addition to this, EEs are a good way to gain a better understanding of a subject so that should be considered, not just taking an easier subject. I agree with you saying not to 'feel obligated to do a chem EE', and I'm sure, as a smart enough person to do studying the IB, she wouldn't anyway.

[Emmi]

I would like to comment again on both my own post and the response to my first comment.

I think your subject choices are fantastic and I would love to do all of them, if they were offered at my school. Again I say, I strongly suggest you continue with them until your end of IB1/beginning of IB2. Then consider dropping one, but keeping all four as HL would be great for college credits.

@Victoria Lawal: Please don't let the advice above discourage you from a chemistry EE. I think your EE choices are good becuase everyting you learn in class can be applied to your EE and pretty much your EE is the best preperation you can have for your exams, this is for both Music and Chemistry.

Music especially because it requires so much analysis, and that is exactly what your exam is about. Though I would say do an EE on a HL subject is preferable, there is nothing stopping you from doing a fantastic EE in music while doing music at SL.

@Emy Glau: Please do not comment on my advice, when everything you stated was covered in my response. The fact that the person stated they're considering a chemistry EE, meaning that they most likely believe it is one of their strong subjects. I did state that chemistry is only good if you can come up with an original topic. If you had considered it for more than a month, you would know it isn't hard to come up with a good topic... your thesis would also become your own after being altered to match your experimentation and research. In addition to this, EEs are a good way to gain a better understanding of a subject so that should be considered, not just taking an easier subject. I agree with you saying not to 'feel obligated to do a chem EE', and I'm sure, as a smart enough person to do studying the IB, she wouldn't anyway.

Just a tip - if you'd like to quote a person and have them receive a notification that they have been quoted so they can respond to a post, you can hit the "quote" button on the bottom of their post, or if it's multiple people you can hit "multiquote," select all the posts you want to quote, and then you can respond to all of those at once. Just so the person you responded. Gets you a quicker response that way

I didn't say don't do a chem EE. I'm just saying that Group IV EEs tend to be harder to do, and if you're struggling to find a topic, it might be worth it to switch to a different subject. I love chemistry, I'm even studying it right now in uni. It's just a tough subject to do an EE in. That's why I went with history (which I still enjoy). I admire the people who do/did Group IV EEs because of all the work they do and how well you have to do to get a good mark on them.

[Arrowhead]

3 out of 4 HLs you're doing (English, History and Economics) are really quite easy. English and Economics are technique-based, and History is complete rote-learning. You can actually prep for the final exams for these in 3 days each. In terms of their IAs, Economics commentaries are a joke really, English IAs in terms of your WLs, IOP and IOC can be a little challenging, but if you've developed skills of literary analysis (which you should if you have a half-decent teacher and you're motivated), it won't be hard at all, and the History IA will take some work, but on the bright side, it's only one 2,000-word paper that you can churn out in one caffeine-driven weekend, and then work on editing from thereon out.

So, your 3 HLs are hardly challenging, that frees up enough time to deal with Chemistry, and your SLs.

Best of luck!

Arrowhead.

[aangel]

I would like to comment again on both my own post and the response to my first comment.

I think your subject choices are fantastic and I would love to do all of them, if they were offered at my school. Again I say, I strongly suggest you continue with them until your end of IB1/beginning of IB2. Then consider dropping one, but keeping all four as HL would be great for college credits.

@Victoria Lawal: Please don't let the advice above discourage you from a chemistry EE. I think your EE choices are good becuase everyting you learn in class can be applied to your EE and pretty much your EE is the best preperation you can have for your exams, this is for both Music and Chemistry.

Music especially because it requires so much analysis, and that is exactly what your exam is about. Though I would say do an EE on a HL subject is preferable, there is nothing stopping you from doing a fantastic EE in music while doing music at SL.

@Emy Glau: Please do not comment on my advice, when everything you stated was covered in my response. The fact that the person stated they're considering a chemistry EE, meaning that they most likely believe it is one of their strong subjects. I did state that chemistry is only good if you can come up with an original topic. If you had considered it for more than a month, you would know it isn't hard to come up with a good topic... your thesis would also become your own after being altered to match your experimentation and research. In addition to this, EEs are a good way to gain a better understanding of a subject so that should be considered, not just taking an easier subject. I agree with you saying not to 'feel obligated to do a chem EE', and I'm sure, as a smart enough person to do studying the IB, she wouldn't anyway.

Just a tip - if you'd like to quote a person and have them receive a notification that they have been quoted so they can respond to a post, you can hit the "quote" button on the bottom of their post, or if it's multiple people you can hit "multiquote," select all the posts you want to quote, and then you can respond to all of those at once. Just so the person you responded. Gets you a quicker response that way

I didn't say don't do a chem EE. I'm just saying that Group IV EEs tend to be harder to do, and if you're struggling to find a topic, it might be worth it to switch to a different subject. I love chemistry, I'm even studying it right now in uni. It's just a tough subject to do an EE in. That's why I went with history (which I still enjoy). I admire the people who do/did Group IV EEs because of all the work they do and how well you have to do to get a good mark on them.

As you can see, it would have been a terribly long post. Plus people on IBS seem to find responses quite quickly...

AND i know you didn't say that, I just pointed out that you said not to listen to my advice yet gave reasoning that was implied in my advice anyway.

BUT with this, I should probably leave this topic alone... left enough spam here already.

Edited September 16, 2012 by aangel