minibowlmel Posted September 22, 2017 Report Share Posted September 22, 2017 (edited) I've always been interested in math and want to go into a science-based field. I'm a sophomore and debating whether when I go into IB1 next year to do IB Math HL; I'm doing well in Pre-Cal Honors this year and know for a fact that my HL math teacher will be good because I had them for Algebra II last year. However, I'm also juggling a lot of commitments that I also want to be able to put effort into (as well as ISR- my school has "academies" and allows students to do both the IBDP and ISR academies if they so choose -- both are difficult). I'm a straight-A student but have heard horror stories about HL so I'm getting nervous thinking about doing that and all of the other loads of activities next year. I want to do Math HL, but should I? Edited September 22, 2017 by minibowlmel Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomenclature Posted September 22, 2017 Report Share Posted September 22, 2017 (edited) If you like math and are prepared to work, I don't see why not. The best barometer is essentially measuring yourself up to current competition. I was probably slightly better than average against the general population at math–maybe 60th percentile, and I did okay in HL. I was below-average among the kids in HL, but there's no shame in that. The thing about math HL is not that the concepts are extremely difficult, they are difficult, but what gives it its notorious reputation is that IB demands that kids fully understand the underlying concepts. You get a lot of tricky questions come externals (finals), stuff that really tests if your knowledge is strong in the abstract and in practice. In terms of workload, I mean obviously IB math will take time, but it's just habitual work that isn't bad or annoying. Any other math class you take will also have lots of homework, so it's really not that bad. Oh, and the Math IA sucks. Everyone hates it. Even my math genius friends who like math hated it. **** it. But we got through it–Hell, I got through it–so you certainly can too. (Also, if you're planning to go to school in the states, don't worry about Math HL from a points standpoint, because your scores won't matter. You'll get a bunch of credit for Calc BC which is ridiculously easy compared to IB) Edited September 22, 2017 by Nomenclature 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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