Musicalhearts Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Hi, I'm sort of having a dilemma with my courses for next year. I'm currently in pre-IB (grade 10) and am entering IB next year. We already picked our courses, but there will be a day where changes to our courses can be changed. So currently, my courses for the next two years are: HL English (Lang/Lit) HL BiologyHL History SL Chem SL Math SL French But, the thing is, I'm debating on switching HL History to HL Business. I'm going into sciences, so neither will really help me. I pretty much have no interest in either business or history either, but they're the only HL humanities that my school offers. Now, HL History is a hell lot of work. That I know. But the History program at my school is really good, and the class average coming out of exams is usually a 6-7 (97% avg). But I have no interest in history, as it bored me to death this year, and I really have no time or patience for the amount of work that HL history is perceived to have (essays every other week..? No thanks) But I do think that it might be worth it for the 7. HL Business is a different story. It has less work, and I'm slightly (very, very slightly) more interested in business than history. But, the business program at my school is horrible--since the course is new. It's disorganized and the marking system is messed up. The average coming out is usually really low. Really, I just need a placeholder since I have one HL left. And I have no clue which one I should chose because they both have their pros and cons. I know I won't be happy in either, but I have no choice. So which do you think is the better choice? Which option would I benefit most from? Which has less work? Which one did you enjoy more? Thanks! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedino Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 First off, everything is extremely subjective and ultimately depends on your personal preferences. Having said that, here's my personal view: I think Business is a lot easier and has less work. I always found a lot of the content very common sense such that even if you didn't study much you could still answer the questions and do well to a certain extent. In History you've got to memorise all these facts, dates, names and events, and I just found that so much more work. Although I wasn't a massive fan of either subject, I enjoyed Business more, simply because, like you, history pretty much bored me to death... I think that your personal interest in the subject should trump the quality of the teaching, as if you're more passionate about the subject you're more willing to do extra work to do well in the subject. If you're sitting there bored in class, then you're not going to be listening to the excellent teacher anyway, whereas if you want to do well in a subject despite horrible teaching, you'll go learn from your textbooks or ask people here on IBS for help. Obviously, people may disagree with what I've said, but this is just my view. From what you've said, it seems to me that you just want to pick the subject you'll do better in, so I'd recommend you consider which subject you think you'd be more likely to do the work and study for. One last thing, you mentioned you're going into sciences - is there a reason you're doing SL Chem instead of possibly doing HL Chem and a SL humanity? I'm assuming you're more interested in the Sciences as well, and I feel that Chem HL is pretty important if you want to go into Sciences... Ultimately, it's up to you, but hopefully what I've said helps a little 3 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicalhearts Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Thank you for your input! I'll definitely take it to consideration. But, yes, I did originally plan to take HL Bio and HL Chem, but I spoke to a guidance counsellor and she said that doing double HL sciences was "the suicide route" because there's simply too many labs to do. I personally have a hatred for labs, but I know that if I take SL Chem there's still going to be quite a few hours of labs anyways so it might not matter? So I don't really know right now. I'm confused and hoping that some more input and experiences from IBS will help me decide. But for now, I'm thinking of switching to HL business or taking both HL bio and HL chem.Which one do you think would be the better route? :/ Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedino Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 (edited) I think that if you want to do sciences after the IB, it makes a lot more sense to take HL Chem and HL Bio. I'm also saying this in the assumption that you're more interested in Chem than History or B&M. Even if you do SL Chem as compared to HL Chem, you still have to do very similar hours of labs and IAs, and I personally don't think this matters much if it's a big reason blocking you from doing HL Chem. HL Chem is just more content. As for your counsellor telling you double HL sciences was "the suicide route" that's pretty silly in my opinion. I'm pretty sure lots of people have done double HL sciences and done well. What is a 'suicide route' is different for each person. For someone who absolutely hates and struggles at math, taking Maths HL would be a suicide route, while if you were a mathematical genius Maths HL would be a very smart route. If you're interested in science, passionate about it, and willing to put in the work, then HL Chem + HL Bio may be less of a suicide route than you taking HL B&M/History where you might just as easily die of boredom. Basically, from the info you've said so far, I think HL Bio + HL Chem would be the better route. Edited June 7, 2014 by bluedino 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicalhearts Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Yeah, I see how that makes sense. Thanks for helping, you probably just saved me from death in the next two years. :') Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_corrina_f Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 I know your counsellor says its hard, but I would do the two HL sciences! Worth the effort as it looks extremely good on applications! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicalhearts Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 I'm not completely sure, but apparently universities around here don't look at whether you take SL or HL, so taking two HL sciences wouldn't seem much different to the university. The only benefit from taking two HL sciences would be to prep more for university... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_corrina_f Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 For example, in the first point:http://www.adm.utoronto.ca/adm_pdf_files/ibutsc.pdf^ Most universities I have seen say something along the lines of "transfer credit will be given for HL only" Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicalhearts Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 The transfer credit would definitely be a bonus too, but I heard that it wouldn't be wise to take the credit, since universities do teach new content in first year bio and chem so you should probably refuse the transfer credit. But, double HL sciences still sounds appealing since I can get out of business/history :') Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricketcrazynerd Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Just saying... HL bio and chem is not a suicide route! If you really enjoy the subjects (like i do), studying for them is fun. And, they really aren't that difficult if you work hard Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicalhearts Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Studying can never be fun, haha! But yeah, thats true. I'm all in for bio but chem not so much, which is why I'm discouraged to take HL chem. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricketcrazynerd Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Studying can never be fun, haha! But yeah, thats true. I'm all in for bio but chem not so much, which is why I'm discouraged to take HL chem. Ok HL Chemistry is the best thing in IB according to me. It's the one subject that just all makes sense and keeps me sane (other than maths)... Fun, well that depends on perspectives When you have millions of things to do in IB2, the chemistry lab report is the first thing you choose to do coz it's 'fun'... 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicalhearts Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 (edited) Wow really? I never really considered that. I thought bio labs would be more fun; though labs in general are my worst nightmares. And how in the world did you manage to get 7's in HL bio, chem and math? What kind of mastermind are you omg Edited June 7, 2014 by Musicalhearts Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munich Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 I am currently taking Business HL, and it is one of my easiest classes. Overall there are more people who get 7's in Business than History, and from my experience it seems that History is a lot more work. If you do want to do sciences after high school though, I would recommend doing to HL's. Lots (maybe even the majority) of people at my school take double science HL's, and though there is a lot of course work, scoring well on the exams isn't actually all that hard. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrashmaster Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 2 sciences does sound like it would be right up your alley, so consider that.But for business vs. history, I'd go history for sure. You make it sound like history has a great program there, and that's worth it. I disliked history as well, and then I started taking HL history and it changed my whole view of history, as a class and an area of knowledge. A good history program and teacher can change everything for you. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicalhearts Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Yeah, definitely! IB's currently in grade 11 have all heard of how torturous and hard HL History is; but take it regardless because the program is so well defined and organized; and because the teachers who teach it are really good at their job. That's one of the only reasons why I'm even considering HL History. But I'm sort of leaning towards double HL Sciences now.. so I'm hoping I make it out alive Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricketcrazynerd Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Wow really? I never really considered that. I thought bio labs would be more fun; though labs in general are my worst nightmares. And how in the world did you manage to get 7's in HL bio, chem and math? What kind of mastermind are you omg There's a lot more discussion possible, in general, in chemistry labs and you can really manage to connect different parts of the theory together.Practise and good notes (: Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjy Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 If you do take your Group 3 at SL, do history. SL history is SIGNIFICANTLY easier as Paper 3 is absent, and that's the hardest and most time consuming part of the HL course 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicalhearts Posted June 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Would SL history be as easy as another SL group 3, like ITGS? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjy Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Would SL history be as easy as another SL group 3, like ITGS?ITGS would probably be easier, but history is a lot more interesting Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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