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Are courses im taking managable?


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I quite literally take all of those subjects- same HLs and SLs!

They are definitely manageable, but it just depends how much work you are willing to put in! I don't know how hardworking you are, but you need to be quite resilient, as History and Bio in particular are quite content heavy.

English HL is hardly any more work than SL- there's just a higher standard expected from you. The IOC is more challenging, but it's definitely an advantage to have 2 hours to complete Paper 1 and 2 than only 1.5 hours for SL.

History HL is a lot of work and reading, so be prepared for that. The standard of your essays required is higher, and there is an extra paper (Paper 3), which, not to scare you, is 3 essays in 2.5 hours. I recently did that in my trial exams, and it was tough, and there was a lot of content, but I got through! It really isn't as scary as it sounds. With History, you will need to learn to write fast. Very fast. Be prepared to be writing 4-5 page essays in 40 minutes!

Bio HL is literally double the content of SL, so you need to be prepared to revise and remember a really significant amount of content.

Maths SL isn't that bad if you're prepared to put in the work. It's all about practice, practice, practice. It's super challenging at first, so expect your grades to drop by up to 50% from what you're used to- it happens to everyone! I was getting over 90% on tests prior to starting IB, and my grades dropped to 50%. They have slowly gone back up.

Chemistry SL is the same. You will stop learning content about 1/2 way through IB2 which gives you quite a lot of time to revise. Make sure you use it! It is so tempting to use this time for you other HLs, but definitely spend it refining your notes and making summary cards or other forms of revision.

Finally, French SL can be challenging, and it's difficult to say whether it's 'hard' or 'easy'. Some people find it easy, others hard.

I think that if you aren't good at memorisation then Biology will be the most difficult. Understanding History at first can be challenging. For me, my strongest subjects are Bio, English and History (my HLs), but everyone is different, so I recommend getting a couple of opinions. Is your decision final?

I am quite hard-working, so the combination has been fine for me, but with Bio and History HL especially you really do need to put in the work to get the grades- lots of notes, summaries and more summaries.

If you would like any more advice then let me know :)

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