melliflower Posted September 16, 2014 Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 Hi there! I'm Kaja and I'm from Poland. I plan to apply for the IB programme next year. My problem is that entrance exams are related to my choice of IB subjects, so I need to pick them first before I can start studying. Right now, I'm really interested in foreign affairs/politics/international relations. I would like to get a degree in that and then pursue a career in broadcast/paper journalism or do something else associated with those topics. The possibilities of subjects for me: BL Polish A - compulsory HL or BL??? English A HL History or Geography??? or Economics (only BL available) BL Biology BL or HL Mathematics or Math. Studies??? HL German B or Geography??? (these are the only courses offered, there's also French B, but I don't speak French)What do you think? Which subjects will prepare me best for college and which ones will look good? Should I take easy on maths (=take Math. Studies), so I can focus on other things? German is easy for me, will my college application suffer if I take it HL? Sorry for such questions, I just really need help in that. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
insert name here Posted September 16, 2014 Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 I don't really know about college applications and the effect of subject choice but in Australia, the courses on the university sites will say if there is prior knowledge needed and what it is so check out courses your interested in. Everyone at my school does our language A as one of our HL and often an art subject as another. As for choosing between history, geography and economics, this will be affected by subject level so sort that out first. After this, choose what interests you most. You will be more motivated to study and work hard on a subject you're passionate about! Maths might affect college (colleges in USA don't recognise maths studies as a maths topic) but if it doesn't, I think that doing studies can ensure an easy 7 (if you're really considering HL!). I think if you can easily get a 7 in German HL, that is the way to go! Hope it helps! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisticsoul8 Posted September 16, 2014 Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 Oh, I feel your pain. I was supposed to start my IB in Poland and go through a bunch of unnecessary entrance exams but I moved out Anyways, since Polish Lit in compulsory, you could consider taking it on HL since you're obviously Polish. If you, however, hate it and are just taking it because you have to, stick with SL. If you want to study in Poland, it'd be good to take it on HL though and then English B would be enough. HL History is a nightmare and I'm speaking from experience. So unless you truly enjoy it, don't put yourself through the torture. It's very detailed and only about facts. You don't learn anything else than dates, people and places. I know that's the point of History but standard level is much more straight forward if you want it anyway. Math studies is really easy so as long as you're not struggling with math you should go for standard level. Moreover, some universities consider students with standard level more appealing than studies but that depends on a country and a specific university. And DO NOT take Math HL!!! General trend is that you don't take it unless you need it. It's unbelievably hard and the struggle starts since the day one. If you love math or you like to push yourself to the limits, by all means, go for it, but I'm strongly against it If German's easy for you, you should just go for it because it's very relaxing to have some subjects that are not going to be a constant fight for survival. Anyways, in the end, it should always be only your choice and I hope you'll do well!!! Good luck! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBProcrastinator Posted September 16, 2014 Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 (edited) If German's easy for you, you should just go for it because it's very relaxing to have some subjects that are not going to be a constant fight for survival. I agree. If German is easy for you I really recommend taking it HL. I take it and it is an interesting course which really improves general German skills in all areas. In terms of History and Geography it really depends what person you are. If you have good essay writing skills I would say History is good, however I heard that HL history is difficult. Geography on the other hand is more relaxed and involves quiet a lot of graph drawing and memorisation, no matter if you take it HL or SL. In the regards to Math, I suggest taking Math SL unless you have large struggles in maths. P.S If you wish to study in Germany you need at least Math SL. Studies is not accepted. Edited September 16, 2014 by IBProcrastinator 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
melliflower Posted September 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 (edited) Anyways, since Polish Lit in compulsory, you could consider taking it on HL since you're obviously Polish. If you, however, hate it and are just taking it because you have to, stick with SL. If you want to study in Poland, it'd be good to take it on HL though and then English B would be enough. I'd like to study abroad (GB, USA?), so I think that English A is quite necessary (especially when taking into account that journalism really appeals to me and there are no real job prospectives here). Besides, I think English B would be too easy, because I already read serious works of fiction in this language. Okay, so perhaps: BL Polish A1 HL English A2 HL History or Geography (will decide on a later date, I'm going to have a very intense History course at my current school this year, so I'll see if it's something I can cope with and have continuous passion for) BL Biology BL Mathematics (don't want to risk) HL German B Thank you everybody for being so kind and helpful, and other opinions are still welcome of course! Muaa Edited September 16, 2014 by melliflower Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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