taolangpo Posted October 3, 2014 Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 First month of IBDP, first time in an IB school. Worried about CAS, but I can handle the material. I take English Literature, History, Economics and French at HL; Biology and Math at SL. Will I survive? I have dubious time management skills and work ethic. Tips? I think I want to do International Studies in university. Thank you! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisticsoul8 Posted October 3, 2014 Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 Well, taking four HLs is definitely hard but not impossible. I myself do that so I understand your position and worries English Literature and History are both something I have on HL so my experience with it is broad. History is not so much difficult as it is time consuming and there's plenty to memorise. Additionally, your writing skills should be really good since that is the core of IB History. English is also about writing and analysis (well, obviously) and if you're good at it and you enjoy it, I don't think getting a good grade is going to be much of a difficulty. Economics, as far as I know, contains quite a bit of mathematical calculations, graphs etc. I'm not a specialist in it since I've never had any econ class but my friends, who take it on HL aren't saying it's something incredibly tough. French should be fairly easy as well assuming you did have the required 2-3 years of experience. I think the subjects you chose on HL aren't extremely difficult so you should be perfectly okay but... since you mentioned you're having problems with time management, it could be tricky. See, in IB, especially with 4 HLs you should be quite good at putting your work well in time because when you're going to get to the tough part with, let's say, 4 IAs due to one and the same week plus homework, you're going to have to be able to get your work done in time. You should slowly start to organise your time a bit since it's only the beginning, and then progress throughout the course. I know it seems difficult (personally I have problems with that myself, I'm the master of procrastination ) but, trust me, it's going to pay off later. All in all, I think 4 HLs are pretty doable and the only thing you should do is to try to work on the time management. Try by simple steps, like, say to yourself that you're going to get some stuff done in some time periods. Maybe make a schedule of your work, that could be a lot of help. Find what works for you best. I wish you all the luck!!! 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Award Winning Boss Posted October 3, 2014 Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 I don't know. I don't know what you're looking for either. I'd always recommend against taking 4 HLs since the pay off is rarely worthwhile. There's nothing wrong with taking the standard 3 HLs and 3 SLs. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
taolangpo Posted October 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 It was either IB and A-Levels (which are useful if you know what you want to specialise in) and A-Levels here didn't have French or History. I don't know which one to drop: I really like History and want to take it upon myself to do well. Literature so far is fun because I love poems and analysing them; I might have to take it at HL if I want to do History or Law in uni. I wouldn't want to miss out on French literature, and the HL content. I suppose it's Economics I can drop, but I read somewhere there's very little difference between HL and SL Economics. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink97 Posted October 3, 2014 Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 (edited) In all honesty with the higher level subjects you've taken you should be fine as with economics, French and English literature there is very little difference between HL/SL. However, if you believe your time management skills aren't top notch then you will face some difficulties in the second year of IB as there will be many deadlines and everything will clash. I personally suggest you drop either economics or history to lessen your workload - better to drop economics in your case as you don't personally seem all that interested in it. As mentioned above there are no benefits to taking 4 higher levels when it comes to applying to university because unis don't care. It's best to stick with the traditional combination of 3 HLs and 3 SLs which will inevitably maximse your overall score. Edited October 3, 2014 by pink97 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight Posted October 6, 2014 Report Share Posted October 6, 2014 Hmm IB is all about time management and you say you aren't good at that exact specific skill. Interesting lol. Anyways Seeing that you are interested in law and IR, Literature, Econ and History is without doubt the ideal combination. I strongly suggest that you drop French to SL. It wount be much of a help for your degree and IMO will be an unnecessary burden. It would be advisable that you spend more time on crucial subjects such as History and Literature, which would be the subjects you need to score more for IR/Law. Hope I helped! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasneem Nagri Posted October 6, 2014 Report Share Posted October 6, 2014 Hey, I'm taking four HLs, however to ease the workload I have taken ab intio french. Make sure you have taken one subject that yuopu are effortlessly good at and won't take up much of your study time! And if you know you procrastinate try pretending you are under exam time pressure. you end up being more focused and give in better work Plus you could use the additional time left for CAS. I'm trying to get my CAS and EE done during the holidays Good Luck Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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