Jump to content

A good ib schedule?


Arabgirl88

Recommended Posts

Hi! So I'm new here and I'm really not sure this is in the right topic but I'm a raising junior and I'm starting IB in August and I'm still debating on my schedule:

HL:

Bio

Arabic

Psychology (or maybe Econ)

SL:

Chem

English

Math

I'm hoping to do medical when I graduate. I can't decide if I should take psych or Econ cause in our school psych is apparently the hardest ib class you can take from the humanities once. I was also thinking maybe I should take IB Econ and take psych as an AP class so it won't effect me getting my diploma!

For everyone who finished IB, was it worth it? Do you feel satisfied that you took it?

And how can IB students manage to study for SAT/ACT while doing all that IB work?

Link to post
Share on other sites

You need HL Chemistry if you want a shot of studying medicine

 

Whilst I agree that HL Chemistry is probably useful for medicine, it's not necessarily a pre-requisite for all medicine courses. Since medicine is post-graduate in the US, I'm not sure if you actually need HL Chemistry - though I'm not entirely familiar with the US system so I'm not sure. In Australia, for instance, HL Chemistry (and indeed chemistry as a subject even at SL) is not required for most medicine undergraduate courses. However, it is definitely the case that in the UK you need HL Chemistry to have a shot of studying medicine at the undergraduate level.

 

In terms of Economics vs. Psychology, I didn't take either of those subjects. However, from what I've heard, eco appears to be one of the easier subjects you can take, especially at HL. What I've heard about psych doesn't suggest that it's that hard (I personally think history would be the hardest of the humanities, though that's just me), but it definitely does require memorisation and writing. 

 

It's definitely possible to prepare for SAT/ACT whilst doing IB - lots of people manage it! Personally, I did the SAT, and I didn't spend very much time preparing for it. IB is a far more rigorous and difficult course and syllabus in pretty much all areas, so you'll find doing the IB will already prepare you for the content of those exams pretty well. What you just need to spend time on is filling in any content gaps, familiarising yourself with the different test format, and hopefully doing a bit of practice. Whilst for me I knew that SATs and US applications weren't really high-stakes, I think that even if you do know SATs/US applications matter a lot for you, there isn't too much need to get overly-stressed about it. In terms of finding time to prepare, intensive blocks in the holidays are often good.

 

I definitely found IB worth it! But ultimately, it does depend person to person, so I can't answer that question for you. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

You need HL Chemistry if you want a shot of studying medicine

 

I would definitely take HL Chemistry but I haven't took Chemistry before and in our school that is really a hard class to take! I dont know what to do, maybe I should take SL Chem and at the end of year 12 I'll take an AP Chem test with some self studying to fill in the gap with what I dont know! Is that a good idea? 

 

 

 

You need HL Chemistry if you want a shot of studying medicine

 

Whilst I agree that HL Chemistry is probably useful for medicine, it's not necessarily a pre-requisite for all medicine courses. Since medicine is post-graduate in the US, I'm not sure if you actually need HL Chemistry - though I'm not entirely familiar with the US system so I'm not sure. In Australia, for instance, HL Chemistry (and indeed chemistry as a subject even at SL) is not required for most medicine undergraduate courses. However, it is definitely the case that in the UK you need HL Chemistry to have a shot of studying medicine at the undergraduate level.

 

In terms of Economics vs. Psychology, I didn't take either of those subjects. However, from what I've heard, eco appears to be one of the easier subjects you can take, especially at HL. What I've heard about psych doesn't suggest that it's that hard (I personally think history would be the hardest of the humanities, though that's just me), but it definitely does require memorisation and writing. 

 

It's definitely possible to prepare for SAT/ACT whilst doing IB - lots of people manage it! Personally, I did the SAT, and I didn't spend very much time preparing for it. IB is a far more rigorous and difficult course and syllabus in pretty much all areas, so you'll find doing the IB will already prepare you for the content of those exams pretty well. What you just need to spend time on is filling in any content gaps, familiarising yourself with the different test format, and hopefully doing a bit of practice. Whilst for me I knew that SATs and US applications weren't really high-stakes, I think that even if you do know SATs/US applications matter a lot for you, there isn't too much need to get overly-stressed about it. In terms of finding time to prepare, intensive blocks in the holidays are often good.

 

I definitely found IB worth it! But ultimately, it does depend person to person, so I can't answer that question for you. :)

 

 

Thank you for your reply! :) You have a good SAT strategy for studying! I do want to go on an accelerated program in the US and those are rather competitive, so I would guess HL Chem is required for that? But do you think taking an AP Chem at the end of 12th grade after having SL Chem?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I would definitely take HL Chemistry but I haven't took Chemistry before and in our school that is really a hard class to take! I dont know what to do, maybe I should take SL Chem and at the end of year 12 I'll take an AP Chem test with some self studying to fill in the gap with what I dont know! Is that a good idea? 

 

If you can't handle HL Chemistry, you can't handle medicine.

Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Thank you for your reply! :) You have a good SAT strategy for studying! I do want to go on an accelerated program in the US and those are rather competitive, so I would guess HL Chem is required for that? But do you think taking an AP Chem at the end of 12th grade after having SL Chem?

 

 

I'm afraid I don't know that much about applying for medicine-related courses in the USA, so I'm not sure how HL Chemistry is viewed versus SL + AP. I think that generally HL Chemistry would be preferable, if your school offers it - even if it is hard it is supposed to be good preparation. In terms of how hard SL + AP would be vs. HL Chem, I don't really know because I didn't do chemistry or AP!  The best way to get some idea of how different chemistry courses are viewed by the places you want to apply to is to try and ask them directly, or ask people familiar with the admissions process. With persistence, hopefully you can get some answers. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...