IBnewbie144 Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 Hey there! As is quite obvious by my username, I'm new to the IB. I'll be starting my IB programme this year, but the school I'm going to attend will have MANY extra curriculars that we need to participate in, and I won't have that much time to study. So I though I would utilise my summer to do so. Is there anything I could do to start preparing for the IB in advance? I don't mean starting my EE or anything, but just going over the topics/the scope etc? Any particular websites you recommend?My (tentative) subjects are:Math/ Chem/ Physics HLFrench/ English Lit/ Econ SL Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB . Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 To be honest, I would just relax!!! The 2 years in itself will allow you to get everything you need to learn and get done for the IB. But if you reallly want to prepare beforehand, look up some subject specific youtube videos. For example, Richard Thornley is great for IB Chem. Anyway, try to enjoy your summer because you'll be working hard when IB starts! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djsporting Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 I was in the same boat as you last year, wanting to prepare and all that. Ended up, wasting quite a bit of the summer doing stuff which did not came of great use during IB1. Do not panic, the good thing about the IB is you're eased into every course (Even Math HL, and Physics HL, Although I was not eased into Math HL since the first topic was Trig ) Nonetheless, just relax. Enjoy your time. I'm sure you'll do great. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxarin Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 Sleep and relax while you have the time for it Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida42 Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 I'm also in Pre IB, and I too have felt like I should try to prepare for the coming years to the best of my ability. I got the TOK and Biology textbooks we're using next year, just so I can cover some of the basics, get to know the course, etc. That way next year I might have some more time for harder stuff, since I already know some of the basics. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrodinger's CAS Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 Try watching Crash Course videos for chemistry. That will give you an overview of what you will be doing in IB chem, and they are also way more interesting than textbooks. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 (edited) like many have already said my advice to you would be to get as much sleep as you can. rather than trying to learn the material now. It is not a bad idea to start now. You can go to your teachers and take the books that you will be using next year to make sure that you have mastered the basics especially for Chem and Physics. Edited May 9, 2015 by Zulu Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBnewbie144 Posted May 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 Thank you for all your replies! I am taking it easy and sleeping a lot (I'm trying to stock up, tbh.) but I literally don't have much to do and wasting 3 months is...not very nice. I don't know what textbooks we'll be using, so I can't get those. But the content covered for IB physics/chem/math is the same, right? So maybe I could just do some practice problems/learn some definitions that would help? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackcurrant Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 (edited) As I've always said ... If you're really keen, why not capitalize on that feeling? For me, twiddling my thumbs and waiting to start DP was not an option. So during the summer, I browsed thru material to understand the programme, course aims and even did a little studying on the side. I enjoyed doing that -- it didn't feel like work. And I still went to the beach and hung out with friends. The advice about catching up on or getting as much sleep as you can only makes sense if you're a sleep-deprived IB-vet (you qualify after 6 months of DP). Like the ones here. They're thinking back nostalgically to those soft, care-free day's of down-filled dreams. I get it. But that's not where you are. Besides, you can't store up on sleep, so it won't make any difference whether you max out on sleep beforehand or not. You'll only know (and wish) that you could sleep WHEN YOU'RE IN the programme. That's where sleep really counts. Whatever you did before DP won't matter a jot. So I say harness that desire+ energy, while it is still there. Fail-Safes for the Keener: - You could do worse than buying (or borrowing) the subject guides and reading through them. Get the lay of the land. - Ask your teachers (those teaching the courses) what they recommend you do. Also, find out also what books you'll be reading. - You could get ahead and do some reading for your English and History classes (these subjects often have the heaviest reading load) so that when you come round to the same topics during the term, it will be review mainly. Review=Less stress. Less time spent studying also. Maybe you'll be able can catch up on sleep when it really matters. - Do not try to prepare for a course. That's not the purpose here. - Also, don't exhaust yourself: keep it fun and light. Sit back and let it all sink in. That's when learning really happens. It may be the only time you have to do this, and do it well. Edited May 9, 2015 by Blackcurrant 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBGAL Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 Hi all sorry but i am forecasted to take IB next year and i am still slightly concerned about my subject choices...at current i plan to take: HL English lit HL Psychology HL Design technology SL Spanish ab SL Math SL Theatre does anyone have any advice or just comments on my subject choices? are they too easy/ too hard? anything that i should be looking out for? also i am considering switching theatre to HL and design technology to SL as I probably will study liberal arts in university and Design technology is time consuming and not related to liberal arts. is this wise? thank you so much! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBnewbie144 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 As I've always said ... If you're really keen, why not capitalize on that feeling? Fail-Safes for the Keener: - You could do worse than buying (or borrowing) the subject guides and reading through them. Get the lay of the land. - Ask your teachers (those teaching the courses) what they recommend you do. Also, find out also what books you'll be reading. - You could get ahead and do some reading for your English and History classes (these subjects often have the heaviest reading load) so that when you come round to the same topics during the term, it will be review mainly. Review=Less stress. Less time spent studying also. Maybe you'll be able can catch up on sleep when it really matters. - Do not try to prepare for a course. That's not the purpose here. - Also, don't exhaust yourself: keep it fun and light. Sit back and let it all sink in. That's when learning really happens. It may be the only time you have to do this, and do it well. Thank you so much for this advice, I got the subject outline (is it called that?) from Reddit, just to have a general idea or the scope. Now, I'm watching khan academy videos for Econ (as I've never done it before) and revising physics basics. I've tried asking about the books for English, so we'll see. Are there any sources/specific books that I should have or something? Not to memorise ofc, just to read through. I DO NOT want to prepare for the exam. But I also want to keep in touch with academics Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShootingStar16 Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 Yeah you can't really do much but yeah what previous posters have said.. for IB chem: look up that Richard Thornley dude on Youtube and idk about the rest except English Lit. I'm in HL for English Lit and it's not something you can really prepare for and you also can't prepare for it because you won't know what books you will be reading exactly. Also, it's either you got the skills or you don't (you can always practice annotating poems/prose passages though). It's a lot of fun as well and I suggest once your teacher starts mentioning the IOP (individual oral presentation on topic of your choice based on part 4 works), come up with a topic ASAP cuz it'll suck if someone else snatched your topic or if you don't have a topic the night before you present. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezoc Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 For Maths HL, I'd advise making sure you're confident with everything you did in Maths before the IB. Solid grounding in GCSE-level maths (I'm sorry, I don't know the names of the levels outside of England) is really important so that you can understand the more advanced concepts in IB HL, which really tripped me up when I went into it expecting that there would be a lot of review of previous years' topics. Certainly my maths teacher, at least, dives into advanced concepts and expects you to have done your background study. (Which is not at all unreasonable, but it did rather throw me off balance for a couple of weeks until I wised up and did a bunch of pre-IB level revision) Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle turtle Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 Before I started IB, I thought I could go crazy reading my books and preparing really well. It didn't work because until you get into the IB program i.e. in your first term, you won't really know what it's all about. You won't know how to structure yourself till you start. IB is a busy 2 years and you're better off not tiring yourself just yet. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
unicornication Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 My friends and I mostly just stuck to cramming off of Accelerated Study Notes last minute. Yikes. Good luck! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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