Online French ab intio? Math HL or SL?

[tashadorr11]

Hi! I'm a pre-ib sophomore and I'm new here. I need to decide my subjects for next year soon, and I want to make sure I choose the best classes for me. My main questions are what I should take for my sixth subject and whether I should take Math HL or Math SL. I plan on taking Bio SL, Spanish B HL, History of the Americas HL, Math SL or HL, English SL or HL, and French ab intio online or something else as a sixth subject.

The only sixth subject options at my school I believe are Econ HL and Visual Arts HL. I found pamoja and saw that they have online options for sixth subjects. I love languages and want to study them in college. I am definitely going to take Spanish B HL next year at school, and I have regular French 1 this semester. I thought French ab intio would be a good online option for a sixth subject, but I saw a lot of people saying that they had a lot of problems with that class with pamoja. My dad and sister know quite a bit of French and I have friends who will have French B HL that could help me, but that might not help if I'm stuck with a bad teacher. Would Mandarin ab intio be a better option? Or should I just take art or econ at school? 

I also need to decide if I should take Math HL or SL. For my other two HL subjects I want to take Spanish and History of the Americas, so for my third I need to choose English or Math unless my sixth subject is HL. I don't really want to study math in college, and I don't really like math. However, I am pretty good at math and I already have taken AP Stats and currently have AP Calc AB. Our Math HL teacher is ok, but if the class would be easier than English HL since I already have had AP math that would be nice. Does anyone know how much the AP classes and IB Math HL overlap?

Additionally, I have a lot of extracurricular activities because I dance about 5 days a week (hopefully 6 days next year), and I lead a club and participate in other clubs and volunteering activities. I want to learn, but I also need a lot of sleep; I try to get 8-9 hours on a school night. I don't mind a challenge, but I also don't want to overload myself with unnecessary work. 

Sorry for my super long post and thanks for any suggestions! 

[astonky]

We really can't make subject choices for you, as we don't know your personal interests and aptitudes nor the quality of your teachers at school. Nevertheless, I'll give you a few points to keep in mind when deciding which of the subjects mentioned above you want to take.

As you love languages I would definitely suggest that you take either French or Mandarin. As you already seem to have a bit of experience with French, this will most likely be the easier option for you. I have a friend who takes French ab initio with Pamoja and she said that even though the quality of the Pamoja courses isn't very good, she enjoys the course because she already has a bit of prior experience. So if you love languages, go for it! But do keep in mind that the quality of instruction at Pamoja is probably not as good as at your school (if your teachers are semi-decent that is). Or at least that's what I feel taking business management online with Pamoja.

As to whether you should take Math or English at HL is a difficult decision, I ultimately ended up taking both alongside Spanish HL and Geography HL. Do you enjoy problem-solving and logical puzzles? Do you like playing with numbers? Then Math HL is for you. Do you love reading? Or are you passionate about literature and writing? Then go for English. Or you could also try out both (all schools need to let you change your subjects within 2 weeks of starting the IB if this is possible with the scheduling) and decide later. In the end it is up to you. You probably know which subject you enjoy more and which has a better teacher at your school (trust me, the last factor can influence whether you love or hate your IB classes).

As for the similarity to the AP classes I can't really help you, but maybe another user can give you more advice on that.

[tashadorr11]

Thank you so much! They don't offer ab intio at my school, but it sounds like if you're a pretty motivated student you can succeed with pamoja. I'm not usually that passionate about writing for English class, so maybe I would enjoy Math HL more. I really appreciate your advice; it's scary going into IB! 

[Lixter]

9 hours ago, tashadorr11 said:

My main questions are what I should take for my sixth subject and whether I should take Math HL or Math SL. 

For advice on Math HL or Math SL, I would strongly suggest you to reflect on your current mathematical abilities. Are you above than average in your mathematics class? If not, you will be struggling a lot in Math HL and perhaps you will be better off in Math SL. I've seen many of my seniors, who have a terribly weak foundation in mathematics, attending this course while failing the course at the end.

9 hours ago, tashadorr11 said:

.... but I also need a lot of sleep; I try to get 8-9 hours on a school night. I don't mind a challenge, but I also don't want to overload myself with unnecessary work. 

Just a heads up, you will not get 8-9 hours of sleep on a school night in IB. Even if you possess incredible time management skills, you would probably still get only 6-7 hours of sleep (if it is not the exam period). So, mentally prepare yourself for the nightmare to come.  

Hope this helps!  

[Nomenclature]

Having taken Calc AB math really does bode well for you going into year 1 of Math HL. I only really had "Calc AB" upon completion of my first year in HL. That being said, IB does a lot of stuff outside of calc. and even though you know 50% of calc., some would say the remaining 50% is harder than the first 50% is that makes sense.

Personally, I really liked integration (the remaining 50%) and thought it was fun, but I'm somebody who liked math (in a weird love/hate way), and who was below average in my HL class, slightly above it regarding entire IB sample. The math HL IA does suck though. You will get good transfer credits for having done math HL though.

Also, I'm glad to meet another linguaphile (wow, that sounded a lot less pretentious when I said it in my head). I'd highly recommend supplementing your learning by trying watch movies, read books, listening to music, etc. outside of class. It's something I love to do.

[khalidh]

I take French Ab Initio online and I have quite a good prior experience with French so, I've been doing well so far, but the grading by the teachers in French Ab initio is so harsh, I feel like no matter what I do, I can't make it above 80%.