IBtookmylife Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 I'm currently near the end of my first year as an IB student and we are now required to select our HL and SL subjects. I'm taking Biology and Chemistry and am unable to decide which to take at HL and which to take at SL. Just some background information, none of the courses I aim to get into for University require me to do Chemistry or Biology at HL. Additionally my math is strong and I do not really mind all the memorizing that is required with the Biology syllabus. So which science is it wiser to take at HL keeping in mind that the aim is to achieve the highest IB score I can?Thanks. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink97 Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 (edited) If you believe you're really good at memorizing a ton of stuff then biology higher level would be easier as it mainly involves rote memorization and the regurgitation of information. Plus, the only difference between HL/SL biology is the amount of content you need to memorise/understand (very little increase in difficulty) where as taking chemistry HL means you'll learn more content that is substantially more difficult = more difficult exams. Seeing as chemistry HL is thought to be one of the three most difficult subjects you'll probably be doing yourself a favour by taking it as a SL subject. But if you prefer conceptual subjects then you'll likely do well in chemistry HL. Do keep in mind that doing both history and biology higher level may be too much as they're both very content heavy but if you are confident in your memorization skills then you'll be fine. Note: Difficulty is relative so you may very well do better in chemistry HL than biology HL. Do you have a preference for either subject - which do you enjoy more? You'll ultimately do better in the higher level subject you enjoy more as you'll be more willing to study. Or you could do the one which you've performed better in during the first year of IB. Edited October 8, 2014 by pink97 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CriCri Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 If you're looking for a subject that will get you a good grade, I recommend biology. Chemistry HL requires a lot of concentration and dedication, you would have to study chemistry every single day in order to achieve a higher grade. Biology is an easier subject, as the HL part is not complex to understand. In chemistry, the concepts that you learn in SL and HL are quite complex. From experience, as i take both biology and chemistry HL, i prefer biology as it is not such a demanding subject. Also keep in mind that, if you do in the end choose to take chemistry HL, you would have to study chemistry throughout the summer in order to ensure that you have both the core basics, and that you can carry these out easily. Also, as pink97 said, the chemistry exams are far more difficult than the biology exams. I hope this helped you, and if you have any questions or anything, feel free to PM me 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatislife Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Biology all the way. I'm doing biology and chemistry at HL, and biology is so much more manageable.Why?Well there's only simple calculations, you can scrape through by memorising things, some of the knowledge is common sense more than anything and a section of the exams are analysing graphs. They also repeat some of the questions in section B every now and then. Basically, if you have a choice, I would strongly recommend biology at hl 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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