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Preparation before the IB


Alina Gallegos

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I will be going into the IB this year and I am already worried. I was wondering what are some ways to prepare for the IB over the summer? What are some good studying habits and how do you manage your time?

Edited by Alina Gallegos
I choose to reedit this because I didn't like the way I phrased my sentence and I just wanted to get to the point
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First of all, don't worry - everything will be alright. I was in your position last year, and what I did is that I started to read the books for some of the subjects. We have a school library where we get the textbooks for all subjects, but we couldn't take the books with us over the summer, so I had to find them online. So throughout the entire summer I studied the books little by little (I personally focused on biology more than anything else). I took notes, watched youtube lessons about things I didn't understand, made flashcards etc. You obviously don't have to read all of the books before you start school, but going through at least some chapters in some of the subjects in such a stress-free time as the summer vacation will help you a GREAT deal. 

Also, since you have a lot of time on your hands now, I'd recommend you to try out new techniques for studying. You might have some techniques that have worked very well for you in the past, but since you have a lot of time now, I suggest you try something new and see how that works for you. Maybe you could find an amazing technique that will allow you to ace every single test in the future? That's what happened to me, but it can take some time to figure out. So use the time you have right now and not when you're in the middle of the IB! Looking around on the internet, or maybe on some of these studyblr blogs on tumblr, will give you many good suggestions :)

Another smart thing to do would be to look through subject guides for all of your subjects. See what kind of assessments you will have to complete, what are the criteria, read some samples from other students, and maybe also ask the IB teachers/students in your school when all of these things will happen? This will help you mentally prepare and to envision all of the things in front of you and help you make a plan. For example, if you know when your school is starting to work with the extended essay, you can start thinking about your subject choices/potential areas of research very early on and therefore be 100% prepared. I started thinking about it in the summer and pretty much had everything figured out. Some of the people I know however, did not, and were quite stressed. 

If you do all of these things and continue to work well throughout the year, I guarantee you that at least the first year will be a breeze for you. But most importantly, rest well and enjoy your summer vacation! Good luck ☀️😊

 

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Enjoy your summer!

Perhaps if you're the reading type, bookmark anything interesting you found that are related to your subject choices. You may want to investigate these more for your IAs and EE in IB. My takes were something like election language (Lang Lit / EE), the Matrix (TOK presentation), bracketology (maths). I may sound nerdy but keeping notes of random things like that help.

A good study habit (that I never have) is planning and sticking to your plan. Otherwise, relax and enjoy your summer. You will find your pace once IB starts.

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