ladyrosie Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 HI all, I am currently reaching the end of my first year of IB, with my mock exams being next week (which our predicted grades will be based on) and the subjects I am doing are HL maths, physics and chemistry and SL psychology french A and english A (bilingual diploma). Now I know it's been a year already but I have just realised that I wasn't doing entirely the subjects I wanted to do. I am not doing very badly in anything at the moment (well, let's see how exams go). But I have come to the conclusion that I do not enjoy HL physics very much. I don't understand the concepts very well and it takes me a lot of extra time to revise it for the upcoming exams. To be honest that's the same way I feel about maths too, but if i had do drop one it would be physics. I love chemistry and I have decided I want to study biochemistry at university. Therefore, I was thinking of changing from Physics HL to Biology HL and catch up everything I have missed in biology over the summer, and do some kind of entry exam at the end of summer. (What our school does is let some students resit the exams for subjects which they failed in the mock exams, so i could sit the biology one instead and hopefully get a good enough grade to let me enter the course). The question is, do you guys think it's a good idea to change at this point? Keep in mind Biology would be more useful for what i want to do later on and physics is not something i enjoy to be honest. Also, would the school agree with my plan and let me try to change course after the summer? 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellziess Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 It would be difficult for you to change seeing as you have to catch up an awful lot but it is not impossible. However, I would not recommend it... 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Befuddled Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 I'm sorry to hear you're in this situation.... But it would be difficult to say what exactly would be the best choice for you. If you DO change to Biology HL please remember the following: In year 1, more than 60% of the course is completed. And it is VERY heavy in terminology. If you are good at memorising words and are willing to put in 100% of your energy into Biology, it would still take you more than a month alone. As for the school allowing you, I believe they wouldn't be thrilled with the idea. If you are able to convince them because of your uni plans it may be possible. However, if you sticked with Physics HL, it will impact your whole career even if you get through IB. I recommend you think about whether you would rather take Biology or push yourself a little harder in Physics. If you remain with Physics, fields such as technology development for Medicine/laboratories may still provide a link to Biology in your career. Speak to an adult and without mentioning, your school. Best of luck 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyrosie Posted May 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 6 hours ago, Befuddled said: I'm sorry to hear you're in this situation.... But it would be difficult to say what exactly would be the best choice for you. If you DO change to Biology HL please remember the following: In year 1, more than 60% of the course is completed. And it is VERY heavy in terminology. If you are good at memorising words and are willing to put in 100% of your energy into Biology, it would still take you more than a month alone. As for the school allowing you, I believe they wouldn't be thrilled with the idea. If you are able to convince them because of your uni plans it may be possible. However, if you sticked with Physics HL, it will impact your whole career even if you get through IB. I recommend you think about whether you would rather take Biology or push yourself a little harder in Physics. If you remain with Physics, fields such as technology development for Medicine/laboratories may still provide a link to Biology in your career. Speak to an adult and without mentioning, your school. Best of luck my memory is pretty good, the only concern i have is the whole is-it-too-late-to-get-a-6-or-7 in bio now scenario. I will be aiming or either 6 or 7 in biology if i take it. i am very frustrated because i know if i took it from the start i could have gotten 6 or 7 easily, i was just so undecided back then. however I am leaning very much towards changing to Bio HL right now rather than sticking with physics, i do not want my whole future to be determined over some mistake i did in picking my subjects at the end of year 10. and plus i am getting 5-6 in physics right now in class and i have a strong feeling the exam will go miserably since i literally do not understand half of the content at this point, so it can't really get worse than that in bio i don't think. my parents support me in this decision, and i will talk to the school on monday about it too. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC2Player Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 As others have said, it's really up to you. If you do feel that physics HL is not really suited for you and you'd do better in bio HL, then I'd say go for it. Seeing that I don't take Bio HL myself, I can't say much on the difficulty. I'd suggest you try going through the syllabus and/or sit down and try the first few chapters of the textbook to see how you go. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camille Lv Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 I wouldn't say it's a good idea. I'm taking Biology HL and it's really HEAVY in terms of contents. The syllabus is HUGE. Around 60% percent of the contents are done in the first year. I have similar situation as you because I'm taking Chemistry HL as well but I don't enjoy it at all. But I will just stick to it because it's too late to change subject. However, I have heard of cases of successful subject switch after the first year. So if you're determined to do bio HL and willing to put a LOT of effort into it during the summer. Then go for it. I know the feeling of doing the wrong subject. Best of luck 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Befuddled Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 5 hours ago, SC2Player said: As others have said, it's really up to you. If you do feel that physics HL is not really suited for you and you'd do better in bio HL, then I'd say go for it. Seeing that I don't take Bio HL myself, I can't say much on the difficulty. I'd suggest you try going through the syllabus and/or sit down and try the first few chapters of the textbook to see how you go. I agree. Check out the textbook, and remember HL Biology has 17 topics + 1 option. Most people find topic 2 difficult: Molecular Biology so don't forget to read through it a little more. A good place to definitely check out is http://ib.bioninja.com.au/welcome-to-the-bioninja/ On youtube, Alex Lee has some great videos which will help you if you go through with Biology HL! 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyrosie Posted May 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, Camille Lv said: I wouldn't say it's a good idea. I'm taking Biology HL and it's really HEAVY in terms of contents. The syllabus is HUGE. Around 60% percent of the contents are done in the first year. I have similar situation as you because I'm taking Chemistry HL as well but I don't enjoy it at all. But I will just stick to it because it's too late to change subject. However, I have heard of cases of successful subject switch after the first year. So if you're determined to do bio HL and willing to put a LOT of effort into it during the summer. Then go for it. I know the feeling of doing the wrong subject. Best of luck the thing is, right now i am in a situation with physics where i don't actually know more than half of what we did anyway, and it would take me a long time to catch up all those topics over the summer anyhow, and seeing as i don't enjoy it, it may actually take me more time than it would to do bio hl from scratch. it's just how i see it. 54 minutes ago, Befuddled said: I agree. Check out the textbook, and remember HL Biology has 17 topics + 1 option. Most people find topic 2 difficult: Molecular Biology so don't forget to read through it a little more. A good place to definitely check out is http://ib.bioninja.com.au/welcome-to-the-bioninja/ On youtube, Alex Lee has some great videos which will help you if you go through with Biology HL! thank you so much! i have a couple of friends who do bio hl who offered to help sort of tutor me in the summer on it as well so that's great. i love molecular biology (links in with chemistry) so i'll enjoy that topic most probably. now all that's left is for the school to actually let me do the entry exam in august and i'm good to go. Edited May 28, 2017 by ladyrosie Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Befuddled Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 2 hours ago, ladyrosie said: thank you so much! i have a couple of friends who do bio hl who offered to help sort of tutor me in the summer on it as well so that's great. i love molecular biology (links in with chemistry) so i'll enjoy that topic most probably. now all that's left is for the school to actually let me do the entry exam in august and i'm good to go. That's great! It has a few units that are VERY similar to chemistry, but there's also information about proteins/lipids and DNA structure/replication you need to do. AND, if you choose the biochemistry option in chemistry, life will become that much easier for you 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac117 Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 Contrary to the popular opinion I'd say biology won't be that hard if you put your mind into it. It is (sadly) mostly memorisation and reading graphs/charts etc. which doesn't require *that* much critical thinking if you're used to such question from igcse etc. It's going to be a hassle, as it is just a lot to basically remember and be able to recite for the exam (and the essay questions in sections B are really specific on terminiology), but it'll be easier than redoing everything in physics as it relies much more on application of concepts... and if you don't get the concepts you're kinda in a dead end. Good luck. ps. If you switch, check out bioninja and Oxford revision guide for biology. They'll help you out a lot! 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyrosie Posted May 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 5 hours ago, Befuddled said: That's great! It has a few units that are VERY similar to chemistry, but there's also information about proteins/lipids and DNA structure/replication you need to do. AND, if you choose the biochemistry option in chemistry, life will become that much easier for you 5 hours ago, mac117 said: Contrary to the popular opinion I'd say biology won't be that hard if you put your mind into it. It is (sadly) mostly memorisation and reading graphs/charts etc. which doesn't require *that* much critical thinking if you're used to such question from igcse etc. It's going to be a hassle, as it is just a lot to basically remember and be able to recite for the exam (and the essay questions in sections B are really specific on terminiology), but it'll be easier than redoing everything in physics as it relies much more on application of concepts... and if you don't get the concepts you're kinda in a dead end. Good luck. ps. If you switch, check out bioninja and Oxford revision guide for biology. They'll help you out a lot! thank you so much guys! i'll let you know tomorrow whether my school will allow it or not. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camille Lv Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 19 hours ago, ladyrosie said: the thing is, right now i am in a situation with physics where i don't actually know more than half of what we did anyway, and it would take me a long time to catch up all those topics over the summer anyhow, and seeing as i don't enjoy it, it may actually take me more time than it would to do bio hl from scratch. it's just how i see it. 5 Then I would say switching may be a good idea. I understand how it feels to do the wrong subjects, I switched subjects and levels three times in the first year. So follow your heart and go for the subject you like. If you decide to switch to bio, I strongly recommend Alex Lee's channel on Youtube, it's a lifesaver for bio. He makes complicated things super easy. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquilina Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 On 5/28/2017 at 11:42 AM, Camille Lv said: I wouldn't say it's a good idea. I'm taking Biology HL and it's really HEAVY in terms of contents. The syllabus is HUGE. Around 60% percent of the contents are done in the first year. I have similar situation as you because I'm taking Chemistry HL as well but I don't enjoy it at all. But I will just stick to it because it's too late to change subject. However, I have heard of cases of successful subject switch after the first year. So if you're determined to do bio HL and willing to put a LOT of effort into it during the summer. Then go for it. I know the feeling of doing the wrong subject. Best of luck For me, I would like to change math higher level for business higher level. Way easier to get a higher score. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyrosie Posted May 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 (edited) 9 hours ago, Aquilina said: For me, I would like to change math higher level for business higher level. Way easier to get a higher score. business is taught at the same time as chemistry which is my favourite subject lol so i ain't going to do that. besides i don't need business for later on. i agree it is easy to get a high score with it, yes (from what i've heard). if you are referring to yourself, then go for it. do what i did, ask your school if it is possible at this point and go for it. as for the physics to bio change, i have talked to my school about it and they said they would get back to me. fingers crossed Edited May 29, 2017 by ladyrosie 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
agncsw Posted June 5, 2017 Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 The physics and bio change was the one that caught my eye. Are you sure? Because Physics and Bio are too different from each other (?) But honestly if you really like bio then sure why not... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyrosie Posted October 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 On 6/5/2017 at 3:41 AM, agncsw said: The physics and bio change was the one that caught my eye. Are you sure? Because Physics and Bio are too different from each other (?) But honestly if you really like bio then sure why not... Well my school said no before the summer because they didn't seem to understand the situation.... but i'm trying again now by speaking to the counsellor, hopefully someone can understand where i'm coming from Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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