Advice for DP1?

[Guest]

Hi, i'm currently in Grade 10, and about to enter the first year of DP in August 2017, from those who've just finished DP1 or DP2, what are some things you strongly encourage or advise us future DP1s to do, what are some general tips you can give us (e.g how to handle homework, stress, or procrastination :P) (By the way, i'll probably be taking HL: Psych, Art, and English A, and SL: Math Studies, ESS or Biology, French Ab/Chinese Ab)

[Shawn_DeMaldivianRedDragon]

hey Mr. BernOnFire, so yeah, i just finished my DP-1 ..

first, let me tell u that u are a brave lad for choosing the IB. let me tell u beforehand that the IB is the hardest possible course in the entire world. you'll undergo a lot of stress, and sometimes you'll feel like giving up or hanging yourself.. but i'll give u tips for sure.

1- choose your subjects wisely . you already have a wise selection. and yeah , i also advice u to take either Maths SL or HL, coz while applying for university,  students doing either SL or HL maths have an edge over those who choose math studies. i specifically advice math SL, coz  math HL is too tough and you'll die(not literally).

2- take breaks while studying. here's what i do: i take a 5-minute break after each hour of studying. and during the the break i watch a youtube video and then i continue studying. the thing here is that for every hour of study u get to watch a youtube video as a reward. you can try this if u want. its upto you to decide how many hours u study.(i study 4 hours per weekday) but make sure not to lose control of yourself, coz discipline is key if u really wanna succeed in the IB.

3- if u feel the urge to procrastinate, just stop what u are doing at that moment , lay on your bed, close your eyes, and think. imagine what your future is like, imagine that u achieve your dream of becoming the best "something(insert here)" in the world. visualize your dream, then work towards it, study like u mean it. and remember: there are are many other students around the world going through this. we all do this together as one world and one heart. As IB students we help each other instead of backstabbing each other. that's what IB is about: international mindedness .

4- if u really wanna do well in academics, don't take your homeworks and other stuff to study as a chore, coz that will only make it worse.  and yes, make a study plan for every exam, and on weekdays, just decide what subjects u gonna study before u start studying, and keep a certain time limit for every homework, coz that will help u speed up your work process.

5- i recommend u to decide all your IA and EE topics by january to avoid trouble in the future.

6- remember, IB is not all about studies, and u don't have to be a nerd studying 24/7. do some sports too.(since you are a brazilian i assume that u are a football lover), and try getting into at least one sports team, coz that will give u CAS points, and plus u get more credits while applying to universities.

7- plz don't freak out, coz freaking out will give u nightmares for no reason, be calm . and if u ever feel overwhelmed by your studies, just stop it right there and go for a run , or go play some football!!!(trust me this helps).

8- lastly , have fun!, coz these 2 years are gonna be special, and i can assure u that once u complete the IB, u will never regret it.

 

[MarcoED]

Survive.

 

Nice courses btw.

[mg22]

Listen to Shawn's advice it's pretty good. 

Within the first 2 weeks or so, you should be able to change courses if need be, so don't remain fixated on the courses you've chosen right now (just in case). I'm a DP2 now and this year I switched from Psych HL to Business Management HL because Business Management was more what er I wanted to do. It's an amazing course don't get me wrong, even though it is lots of memorizing and knowing studies, but it just wasn't for me.

So be open. During the first semester, you might think that the IB isn't that bad, but near semester exams in December (if you have them), and definitely in the second semester, you'll realize just how tough it is. and this is when you gotta stay calm and keep going.

Good luck man, and have fun

[Chirag]

On 05/07/2017 at 5:44 PM, Mario Grippay said:

Listen to Shawn's advice it's pretty good. 

Within the first 2 weeks or so, you should be able to change courses if need be, so don't remain fixated on the courses you've chosen right now (just in case). I'm a DP2 now and this year I switched from Psych HL to Business Management HL because Business Management was more what er I wanted to do. It's an amazing course don't get me wrong, even though it is lots of memorizing and knowing studies, but it just wasn't for me.

So be open. During the first semester, you might think that the IB isn't that bad, but near semester exams in December (if you have them), and definitely in the second semester, you'll realize just how tough it is. and this is when you gotta stay calm and keep going.

Good luck man, and have fun

Hi @Mario Grippay I am about to begin my Ib in couple of months, I want to know from you how is the first year gonna be? As you said will first semester be kind of easier than the rest? Can u plzzz explain.

 

[mg22]

On 7/17/2017 at 5:48 PM, Chirag said:

Hi @Mario Grippay I am about to begin my Ib in couple of months, I want to know from you how is the first year gonna be? As you said will first semester be kind of easier than the rest? Can u plzzz explain.

 

First few weeks usually happen by you just being oriented in what will happen over the next 2 years. For IB in general, this means getting a brief overview of the EE, learning about CAS and possibly starting TOK. In your courses, you'll most likely have a day or two of just discussing what you will learn, how you will learn and why it's important. 

This is extremely important because you can almost always change to another course within the first 2 weeks or first month if you find that the one you selected isn't actually what you wanted to do, so pay attention because you're gonna have to stick with these courses for 2 years. 

But yeah, first few months are pretty straightforward, nothing major. You might do poorly on the first few assessments as you adjust to the IB system, which is totally fine, and is something that happened to many of my classmates and is completely understandable (I didn't have this problem because I did MYP so I knew how IB would be.) 

Join activities, whether it's sports or arts or service join them. Not only do you need them for CAS (and you need a balance between the 3 branches) but it looks good for universities. 

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Good luck next year!

[Chirag]

1 hour ago, Mario Grippay said:

First few weeks usually happen by you just being oriented in what will happen over the next 2 years. For IB in general, this means getting a brief overview of the EE, learning about CAS and possibly starting TOK. In your courses, you'll most likely have a day or two of just discussing what you will learn, how you will learn and why it's important. 

This is extremely important because you can almost always change to another course within the first 2 weeks or first month if you find that the one you selected isn't actually what you wanted to do, so pay attention because you're gonna have to stick with these courses for 2 years. 

But yeah, first few months are pretty straightforward, nothing major. You might do poorly on the first few assessments as you adjust to the IB system, which is totally fine, and is something that happened to many of my classmates and is completely understandable (I didn't have this problem because I did MYP so I knew how IB would be.) 

Join activities, whether it's sports or arts or service join them. Not only do you need them for CAS (and you need a balance between the 3 branches) but it looks good for universities. 

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Good luck next year!

@Mario Grippay thanks soo much for ur response much appreciated.. regarding ur line where you said a person will struggle in their initial few tests coz they are still settling in ib program, I have 7 months of pre ib tutoring for my ib subjects like maths, physics and chem HL. Does that still mean I will struggle in IB even after a lot of studying, I mean is ib really that hard where u still can't do well in tests after a lot of studying? Finally, what did you do to prepare for any unit tests. Please share anything you did to help you to do well. Reply will be appreciated.

[mg22]

16 minutes ago, Chirag said:

@Mario Grippay thanks soo much for ur response much appreciated.. regarding ur line where you said a person will struggle in their initial few tests coz they are still settling in ib program, I have 7 months of pre ib tutoring for my ib subjects like maths, physics and chem HL. Does that still mean I will struggle in IB even after a lot of studying, I mean is ib really that hard where u still can't do well in tests after a lot of studying? Finally, what did you do to prepare for any unit tests. Please share anything you did to help you to do well. Reply will be appreciated.

No don't worry it isn't certain, and since you've done pre IB tutoring you should be completely fine don't worry. I'm not saying you can't do well don't worry. if you study well, you'll get the grades you deserve

When preparing for unit tests, and this is me personally, I read the textbook and study guide, and took notes of everything. Basically, in the textbook there's a page at the beginning of each chapter that shows you what you should know of this specific chapter or sub chapter, its in bullet points, and this is what you must make sure you have notes of so that you know extremely well. Once you've taken these notes (don't rush it, when I took bio notes it took me hours and hours) reread them, and quiz yourself. But even better than that is to quiz your classmates and have them quiz you. in the IB, your other IB classmates are your best friends to study with, especially those who understand the subject better than you so make sure to get them to help you. And don't worry, everyone's weaker at something so what you could try and do is to teach them a subject such as math where you're better in, and they can teach you psych where they're better in (just an example.)

AND ABOUT THE STUDY GUIDE: I highly recommend you buy the study guide for the courses you struggle in the most - for me this is bio, or even just courses you simply want to improve in because it helps a LOT when you want to take notes or want to read a more succinct and concise explanation than what's given in the textbook. This is the study guide I'm talking about: https://www.amazon.com/IB-Biology-Study-Guide-Diploma/dp/0198393512 - and just look for the subjects you're interested in.

 

and also, i really recommend you take Math SL because math studies is not that recognized by universities in general. some universities in the UK that I've visited this summer simply don't even look at it, so if you have it you can't even be considered. But of course this depends on the course you'll be taking in university, but just a heads up that not all university programs accept Math Studies. 

[Chirag]

4 minutes ago, Mario Grippay said:

No don't worry it isn't certain, and since you've done pre IB tutoring you should be completely fine don't worry. I'm not saying you can't do well don't worry. if you study well, you'll get the grades you deserve

When preparing for unit tests, and this is me personally, I read the textbook and study guide, and took notes of everything. Basically, in the textbook there's a page at the beginning of each chapter that shows you what you should know of this specific chapter or sub chapter, its in bullet points, and this is what you must make sure you have notes of so that you know extremely well. Once you've taken these notes (don't rush it, when I took bio notes it took me hours and hours) reread them, and quiz yourself. But even better than that is to quiz your classmates and have them quiz you. in the IB, your other IB classmates are your best friends to study with, especially those who understand the subject better than you so make sure to get them to help you. And don't worry, everyone's weaker at something so what you could try and do is to teach them a subject such as math where you're better in, and they can teach you psych where they're better in (just an example.)

AND ABOUT THE STUDY GUIDE: I highly recommend you buy the study guide for the courses you struggle in the most - for me this is bio, or even just courses you simply want to improve in because it helps a LOT when you want to take notes or want to read a more succinct and concise explanation than what's given in the textbook. This is the study guide I'm talking about: https://www.amazon.com/IB-Biology-Study-Guide-Diploma/dp/0198393512 - and just look for the subjects you're interested in.

 

and also, i really recommend you take Math SL because math studies is not that recognized by universities in general. some universities in the UK that I've visited this summer simply don't even look at it, so if you have it you can't even be considered. But of course this depends on the course you'll be taking in university, but just a heads up that not all university programs accept Math Studies. 

Thanks so much for your response @Mario Grippay. It is highly appreciated and a big motivation for me. I am doing maths hl, do you understand why people complain about that subject so much in terms of its difficulty?

Edited July 22, 2017 by Chirag

[mg22]

Math HL is a very accelerated course with an extremely vast amount of material, but you can do well in Math HL don't worry, you'll just need to study a lot!