Need some advice.

[Guest imperialbee1]

Hi. I'm having some serious doubts about my course selection for the IB. I'm currently in Grade 10 and in my last year of MYP and will be starting the IB program this fall.

I've chosen:

English Lit HL

Biology HL

Chemistry HL

Psychology HL

German ab Initio SL

Math SL

This course combination suggests that I am leaning towards the medicine track. Although, the thing is, I'm not sure if I want to be a doctor. My parents really want me to go down this path because of the stability it provides (financial) They are also in the medical field so they know the field and they know this path very well. I've talked with them a couple times about my doubts and it usually ends in a fight. In their mind, I can only become 1 of 3 things: a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer. 

*Engineering is pretty much out of the question because I suck at mathematics and I've taken two 'engineering style' courses (Intro to Computer Science and Design Technology) and I had to drop DT because I was failing the class. I am not doing too well in Computer Science either. 

*I'm not sure about being a lawyer too. I think I have the right skills for this career. And no, not the cliche 'I like to argue' one. 

 I have a real passion and natural aptitude for the humanities. I have always gotten good grades in subjects such as English and History and I enjoy learning about these subjects. Unfortunately, careers in the humanities (except for being a lawyer - and even some lawyers share their experiences about how they are struggling to find work) don't pay well and I am afraid of taking a risk and changing all my IB courses to fit this pathway and I am unemployed, full of regret, and hate my life. 

*I'm also afraid that if I stick with my courses, I won't do well in them and I'll ruin my university chances and can kiss all my dream schools goodbye. Honestly, what top university would accept a student who had 5's for their HL sciences? Or less than that?

Right now, I'm not doing badly in science. My grades range from an 88-92 but I have to try really hard to get this grade or even higher than this. In chemistry, my grades weren't bad I actually enjoyed it. Biology is okay up until you move past cell structure and you start learning about plants and anatomy and I find that really boring because of all the details & memorization. 

So, I would really appreciate some input on what course of action I should take. Should I listen to my parents, keep my course combo, and become a doctor despite the fact that I'm not sure if I want to be one?

Or should I change my course combination?

Edited March 12, 2017 by imperialbee

[Nomenclature]

1 hour ago, imperialbee said:

*I'm also afraid that if I stick with my courses, I won't do well in them and I'll ruin my university chances and can kiss all my dream schools goodbye. Honestly, what top university would accept a student who had 5's for their HL sciences? Or less than that?

Honestly, I think if you get less than 5's or less for any subject in IB you might as well just give up, become homeless, and panhandle. 

 

Okay, so you know that this goes far beyond course selection and that's good. It's natural to not know what you want to do in Grade 10. A lot of us in Grade 12 and first-year of university don't know what we want to do. The first piece of advice that I can give you is easy: don't put stock into what your parents say. Your parents have a large presence in your life right now and no doubt they want to help you, but as you become older they will probably not dominate your life and you likely will not want them to. There's no guarantee that you'll like the career that you choose, but I'd rather realize that I want to switch my career path and that my decision hadn't worked out as opposed to doing something to please my parents and not enjoying it.

You're course selection looks good. I thought I was going to hate biology until I took it and really loved it. Also, particularly relevant to your case, I loved literature classes but IB cooled my interest (I still love reading books just as much as I did, it's just that it has disenchanted me a bit from the academic study of literature). Thus, your tastes can change, and it's not a bad thing—it's natural. Taking Bio HL will give you ample time to decide if it's right for you. The one thing that I wonder about is Psychology HL. Is this a course that you really, really want to take? Taking Psych most likely won't be a requirement for any program you wish to do especially considering you're already taking two principal sciences. IB Psych features a lot of memorization, something that you said you disliked about a previous biology class (I don't remember a lot of rote learning for Bio SL, just the animal kingdoms. The other stuff we did was more conceptual). Perhaps you could substitute either History SL or History HL in place of that. Any university you go to will likely have a Gen Ed. requirement so either way Psych HL or History HL will count for course credit. I think that choosing history could potentially strike a nicer balance for you. Again, you want to be able to try different things.

P.S. If you're applying to Canadian universities, than they don't generally consider specific subject area scores for actual grades so you should't worry about sciences. They do consider them from you predicted grades, but your final diploma scores are much more along the lines of "Candidate got diploma and didn't score a 2 in any subject; we won't withdraw the offer of admission". And from experience, most teachers will give the benefit of the doubt when assessing predicted grades. Also, as a last note, I just want to say that a lot of professionals change careers. It's becoming a lot more common. Nothing is the end of the world, except the actual, literal end of the world. And in that case IB course selection will be the least of our worries.

 

Edited March 12, 2017 by Nomenclature

[agncsw]

Your selection looks fine. Just a tweak on the Maths SL and put it up to HL cause SL not get you anywhere near Medicine in any of the top schools. Medicine is a highly competitive degree to take on in university and I suggest you rethink it if you are not sure about getting 7's in all of the HL subjects.

I'm just a realist :'(, I know it sucks but it's the truth.

All of my friends who are planning to take medicine are in Maths HL. Just saying

[IB`NOT`ez]

2 hours ago, agncsw said:

Your selection looks fine. Just a tweak on the Maths SL and put it up to HL cause SL not get you anywhere near Medicine in any of the top schools. Medicine is a highly competitive degree to take on in university and I suggest you rethink it if you are not sure about getting 7's in all of the HL subjects.

I'm just a realist :'(, I know it sucks but it's the truth.

All of my friends who are planning to take medicine are in Maths HL. Just saying

Anecdotal evidence is flimsy at best – I know seniors who went into medicine at UCL, Exeter, St. Andrews with only Mathematics SL, though that hardly disproves your argument (nor does it strengthen mine).

But let's look at the facts: of all the top medical schools in the U.K., only Cambridge's Medical School recommends you to have two sciences and mathematics at HL. Even Oxford Medical School only requires you to have two sciences at HL for entry to medicine. 

The most important thing is that you study what enjoy. If you're not sure what you want, go ahead and experiment with different subjects (if your school allows you to do so). Hopefully by the end of the first semester in DP1, you'll have a fair idea of the subjects you want to continue studying further.

If you're not confident with mathematics, then don't feel pressured in thinking you have to take it at HL. Someone on this forums @VeronicaGmanaged to get into a top Biomedical Engineering program with only Maths SL. Granted you're not even planning to study engineering, which gives you less reason to take Maths HL apart from pleasing your parents or the myth that it's a practical requirement for medicine. 

Finally, I think you might want to consider Pharmaceuticals, Biochemistry, or Food Chemistry as possible fields for studying at Uni, given that they complement your Biology & Chemistry HL courses, and are less entrapping (relative to Medicine) in case you don't want to study them anymore. 

[erika__]

Er, I just wanted to slide in and say that getting a medical degree (or a law degree) is not a guarantee of future financial security - my mom is a doctor and my dad is a lawyer, but we've been on welfare twice in the last four years. So please, please don't think that pushing yourself this hard in high school with the stress of trying to get a 7 in so many difficult HLs. I'm not saying you won't be successful if you do decide to go for a medical degree, but try not to pin your entire future on two years of being stressed out in high school. 

[sjhingran]

Bit of very important advice: Don't do medicine unless you REALLY want to, it's so much work - long hours, odd shifts, by the time you actually start practising with a stable income you're already 30. But if you decide that's what YOU want to do then your current choice is great!
If Maths isn't your strong point, I know some medical schools in Australia accept Maths Studies as well! Might be different where you are. Another thing - just be wary of Chem, that's one subject you really should keep HL for medicine but often you either just get it, or don't - in that case really hone in on it and make sure you're getting a 7.

You mentioned an interest in the humanities, in that case don't do 2 sciences (especially at HL), instead do another humanities instead of Biology, I'd say History or Geography is your best bet.

Do what you love dude, this is probably the one time you shouldn't listen to your parents! If you still want to keep your parents happy, try a field surrounding Law, Med or Engineering. For example: biomedical engineering, psychology, physiotherapy

If I were you, I'd switch out Bio for History - just to keep my options open, try my best to do well and then go into whatever course I want to at the end of the 2 years.

Final choice is yours! Good luck

[JBTITO]

I am a grade 9 currently in Pre-IB too, and I am planning on the same courses so far. Maybe McMaster's Health Sciences, I dont really know.