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Choosing IB subjects


NadinaCastro

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Hi,

I am currently studying my last year of MYP and have been asked to start making some choices regarding my IB subjects. My aim is to get at least 42 points and to apply (and hopefully go to) Cambridge, UCL, King's College, Durham university, University of Bristol or Bath or East Anglia. I am thinking of studying psychology but am not 100% sure so I would like to keep my options open to be able to switch to an english based degree instead. 

My current options are: 

English A HL Literature

Spanish B HL (Spanish is my first language)

Business HL (maybe History HL)

Biology HL 

Math SL

Drama SL

Would these subjects make a good enough IB for Cambridge? Would I be able to get 42/45 points? Should I change business to history?

Thank you so much for your help <3 

Edited by NadinaCastro
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UK universities usually require "at least one, but preferably two" HL sciences for Psychology. So if I were you, I'd drop Business to SL (or History, doesn't really matter much, but I'm guessing business is easier to score high in), drop drama and take another HL science, such as Chemistry or Psychology (if your school offers it). Since you're planning to apply to some of the most competitive universities, I wouldn't risk applying with one science (although having one science won't kill your application, most likely). 

As to whether you can get 42 points, that only depends on you and your ability, and how you study. As we don't know you,  none of us can really answer this question. 

Edited by Gaby
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1 minute ago, NadinaCastro said:

Thanks for your reply, I had considered taking psychology at a higher level but the fact that it is an online course pushed me back. I also thought it would be less valued by universities because of this reason and it has an extra cost so I didn't know if it would be worth the risk. I thought of drama since it is something that I love doing but already do as an extra curricular activity so I wouldn't mind dropping it. 

Regarding the IB points you're completely right but my question is whether this would be the best options to achieve more than 40 points and just a general opinion on how hard these subjects are.

Thank you again for replying. 

History HL is notoriously hard to score a 7 in. Spanish B HL (since you're a native speaker) will require roughly 0 effort, so that's your "free 7". English A HL - probably not the easiest, but it's not the hardest to score high in. Drama - I've no idea. Maths SL - depends on your ability, some say it's laughably easy, some say it's deadly hard. Biology HL - arguably the easiest science, but requires memorisation. Business - might not be regarded too highly by UK universities, but I think it's not difficult to score high in. 

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21 minutes ago, Gaby said:

UK universities usually require "at least one, but preferably two" HL sciences for Psychology. So if I were you, I'd drop Business to SL (or History, doesn't really matter much, but I'm guessing business is easier to score high in), drop drama and take another HL science, such as Chemistry or Psychology (if your school offers it). Since you're planning to apply to some of the most competitive universities, I wouldn't risk applying with one science (although having one science won't kill your application, most likely). 

As to whether you can get 42 points, that only depends on you and your ability, and how you study. As we don't know you,  none of us can really answer this question. 

Would it be as good for me to take a higher science and a higher math as it would be to take two higher sciences? 

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2 minutes ago, NadinaCastro said:

Would it be as good for me to take a higher science and a higher math as it would be to take two higher sciences? 

Yes, probably, but do check with specific universities and their requirements. 

 

This is from the UCL website: 

IB Diploma

Points
38-39
Subjects
A score of 18-19 points in three higher level subjects to include grade 6 in at least one, preferably two subjects from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology, with no score lower than 5.
Edited by Gaby
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