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would you take IB again?


the_queen

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I am in IB1 this year and i feel like taking IB was either one of the best or worst decisions of my life :D Its very difficult and challenging, but i think if i am able to survive it, I will be more than prepared for the work to come during university. So yes I would probably choose it again. 

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Nope, I wouldn't. The only reason I'm doing IB is because the AP/A Level schools here aren't the best. If there was a better a level school where I live, I'd definitely would have gone there.  Reason is because I really dislike English (I don't suck it at, though) and would prefer taking a more narrower range of subjects. However, since I'm most probably going to go to university in the US, I might as well stick it out seeing as I'll need to take a wide range of subject for the first two years of uni.

 

I'm assuming you're deciding on whether or not you want to do the IBDP. Well I'd advise you to think long and hard about you're future plans (i.e. which country you'd like to go to university in etc) and you're personal preferences. If you know what you'd like to study at university and prefer to only take advanced classes in subjects that pertain to your intended major then do A Levels or AP (depends on whether you currently study the British or American curriculum) - that way you won't have to deal with taking things like English or Science if you don't want. Plus, if you're considering applying to universities in the UK, do A LEVELS, don't do IB, trust me. British universities give out IB offers that are higher than a level offers (they don't fully understand how hard IB is), so you'll need to work much harder to meet your offer. American universities view IB/AP equally but they do understand AP more and you'll likely get more credits from AP (depends on how many you take though) as credit isn't given for standard level subjects, only higher level subjects.  However, if you don't know what you want to study and/or prefer keeping your options open at this stage i.e. taking a wide range of subject, then you should probably do IB. But do remember that unlike AP/A levels you'll need to do extra components - CAS, EE, TOK. So if that doesn't interest you, don't do IB.

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Preparing for exams next year and freaking out a bit already, but still, definitely yes. For me IB involved leaving the country and living in the dormitory, learning the language of the country and generally having to learn to be independent and organised, but it is definitely worth it, both academically and personally. :)

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Yes I would, and if circumstances were different, one being that if I knew what I wanted to study at university from the beginning before it was too late, I would have also taken a different combination of subjects. But it doesn't matter because life has a way of sorting everything out, and I'm happy where I am :)

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I'd do it again for the high-pressure and intense situations that accompany it, for some reason I always performed (and continue to perform) better in them. I would also like to know if i would procrastinate the second time or not, because I sure haven't learned not to after the first year. (Heck, replying to this post is an example of me procrastinating!)

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Yes, the IB has taught me time management so it probably wasn't a bad decision to choose it as now I will (hopefully) have it easier at the university. However, I should have thought more carefully about my subject choices. I also regret not having put more effort in studying during IB1. The whole programme would be less stressful that way. So these are the things I would change if I decided to do IB again. :)

Edited by Sceptyczka
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Nope. Honestly, the main reason why I'm doing IB right now is that I moved to a country where I don't speak the official language so it was impossible for me to take any other education than international...

 

However, IB just like its other counterparts, have pros and cons and in my opinion it all depends on what you want to do in the future. Like, if you're interested in studying medicine or anything related to science actually, then IB is a way to go. But me personally... well, not only I have no idea what I want to study or if I even want to do so therefor IB is not a necessity for me.

 

It definitely helps with time management, just like everybody mentioned and teaches you how to learn efficiently and deal with multiple deadlines at the same time. It is very useful in your future studies as long as you get the required amount of points which for IB is usually a lot, and the admissions require high scores which are impossible sometimes (or at least very difficult).

 

The bottom line, I wouldn't recommend IB to people unless they're into science however it's just my opinion and as we all know (cause we have TOK) - opinions are very personal and aren't necessarily true  :clap:

 

Therefor, the main question again - never! I shall pass IB, get my diploma and I'm never going to retake IB nor would I if I were back in grade 10  :eek:

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Thank you for your honesty!

 

Yes, I am preparing for the UK unis, I am a hardworker but still.... after searching here and all the internet about IB... I still think about taking IB... if all the effort involved in it is worth it...

 

thank you again and good luck!

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I struggle with this question... I am still doing IB, and on the one hand, it has changed the way I think for the better. I think more critically, especially in history and literature, and have more global awareness, and ToK is cool, but I don't know if it pays off for me. The United States does not really care about IB like the rest of the world does. I'd get more college credit for AP for probably half the work. But, I think I would do it again, I'd just do things differently. I would start with 3 HLs and 3 SLs rather than starting with 4 HLs and then dropping one down, for example.

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I'm a 2009 graduate from Alabama, US. I did not receive my IB diploma, Due to health complications. I just received  the advanced academic  high school diploma. I Have honestly debated this question over and over, and to this day i don't know.

 

My Undergrad was easy as all get out. 

And even now that i'm in a Doctor of Pharmacy (pharmd) program... The content is several several (several) .... times harder than my time at IB.. But... because of IB i'm not as stressed.. 

 

I don't know, I feel like IB programs (atleast in America) are preparing you for Graduate school, not Undergrad. 

 

I Am glad I attended The IB program i did, and to this day, i Don't know the answer to the before mentioned question. 

 

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supersonic and sameera, how difficult is Chemistry HL? How many hours do you spend at school/lab for it? But Biology HL?

For me personally, chemistry was a breeze while biology was a nightmare. Chemistry is all about applying the same concepts in different situations and is more mathematically based, whereas biology was just memorizing too many different processes. Don't let your class grades fool you though, that's what happened to me. I was constantly getting 6s and 7s in chemistry and I knew that I could do it too in the final exam, but because of my confidence in the subject I lacked on my revision and I ended up with a 5 overall. It's something I definitely regret doing, and although it doesn't affect me much now, it's definitely taught me a thing or two for future exams come uni.

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@Sameera,

 

I'm also taking HL Chemistry (I started this year). Do you have any tips/suggestions to score a 7 overall? You said you scored 7s in-class, but ended up with an overall 5, so that kind of scares me, because I'm not even scoring constant 7s in-class (which means I'll probably manage a 5 at best overall; although I want to aim towards a 7).

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