Suicide courses..?

[alexalexalex]

Hello! so I soon have to choose my IB subjects and im kind of stressing out about it.

Currently im doing the IGCSE course and getting 7 in physics, 5-ish on additional maths (started getting 6s now that I realised that I have to actually put in work which I didnt have to before when I didnt have additional) (usually 7 on the extended/standard work and tests that we do as homework) and 7 so far in chemistry. Im doing a subject my school calls Social Studies and on the small part of economy we did this year (economic commentary) I got a 5.

So, as mentioned I have to choose my IB subjects relatively soon.

I want to take HL maths as most universities require this. Before I started Chemistry it was 100% I wanted to take HL physics. This trimester im doing chemistry which I really enjoy. So the thing is I want to do HL maths, physics, and chemistry but i've heard that these courses combined are an absolute killer..

So what I then thought was to change one of the sciences to HL economy.. but then I feel since I get better grades in chemistry (and im kinda really bad at essay writing as well) maybe I should take the science after all... Im kind of freaking out about what to do cuz I want to get high (6-7) grades in my HL (and economy ive heard is easier) so... yeah... Thank you sooooooo much for answers... thank you!!

[IbTrojan]

Seriously, if you really want to take HL Physics, Chem and Math knowing that you love those subjects, need them and are able to work well for them, do it. 

Just because someone tells you they're a suicide combo, doesn't mean they are Prove them wrong. If you don't like writing, do it. Work for it because it's definitely possible. Yeah it's challenging but IB is meant to be challenging. Take the challenge, work hard and next thing you know, you'll be killing it (in a good way). I know I make it sound easy and it's most definitely not but don't let people telling you something's next to impossible get to you. 

Not sure if all of that made sense or not, but hope it somewhat helps you 

[ellie]

If you're willing to give up almost all of your free time and work very hard for two years and are very interested in all these subjects, you can opt for the killer combo. However, SL can be very challenging as well. I suggest you think about what you might want to study in university and see requirements for these subjects. There's no point in making life hard for yourself (it's called killer combo for a reason). Not trying to scare you––every year people do it and get high results. It's just that honestly, what you choose isn't as important as it seems right now––and anyway, you'll understand more about which subjects you want to learn with your first week actually in IB than with a year's worth of research. Your school will probably allow you to switch subjects in the first few weeks.

 

Another thing you may want to try are 4 HLs. Drop one of them as soon as you can, right after you've figured out which subjects you want to learn most about.  

[alexalexalex]

Okay, thank you so much guys.. im still not sure what to do. if anyone reading this is taking these three courses (or not and just want to say their opinion) pleeeaase do not hesitate to comment. Luckily we have a meeting (all the students individually) with the school where we get to talk about what courses we want to do..

[Sofia.]

I'm taking all three at HL, and I'm still alive (although I technically haven't finished all my exams yet ) 

Honestly, I'd start with what you want to do and try it out. If it doesn't work out, you can change your HLs later. HL Chem and Physics are kind of nice to have together, since there is more overlap than between Physics and Economics. 

[alexalexalex]

I'm taking all three at HL, and I'm still alive (although I technically haven't finished all my exams yet ) 

Honestly, I'd start with what you want to do and try it out. If it doesn't work out, you can change your HLs later. HL Chem and Physics are kind of nice to have together, since there is more overlap than between Physics and Economics.

Oh okay thank you! About how much time do you spend on it every day? yes i think i'm going to try all of them since I seem to have a better aptitude for these than for Economics.. and also, what course/programm did you take before starting the IB? Thank youu!

[Sofia.]

Um, I don't know, way too little probably! I don't spend time on each every day - I probably spent ~3 hours on maths at home, and maybe 2 each for chemistry and physics? Well, pre-IB Don't you have that? Thought it was a Swedish thing! Also did one year in Spain.

[kw0573]

Hi I finished HL Math, SL Physics, and HL Chem (my three best subjects at school) this year. Note in order to earn the provincial course credit for physics I learned something with coverage between SL and HL I think I spent around 1.5-2.5 hours for math per day, 5-8 hours on chem per week and 3-5 hours for physics per week. In year one I spent around 7-10 hours per week for physics because the grade 11 physics course load was heavier at my school. These numbers do not fairly portray how much I spend RIGHT BEFORE a test or mock-exam. 

I also don't really read any of the course companions (our school don't buy them for us), I just go on Youtube or do Questionbank questions and worksheets from class (for all three subjects). Having access to IB resources (Questionbanks, past papers) will save TONS of time.