Just want have a general outlook on the difficulty of IB.

[creepia]

   Hi all, I just wanted to know how difficult it's going to be for me to study and succeed in IB. I'm currently studying in grade 10 and I'll most probably start studying according to IB's curriculum next year. 

   I'm currently studying the Holt McDougal Modern Chemistry, English Literature/writing, Biology, and Phyiscs. The McGraw Hill Algebra 2 on top of social studies, Farsi literature/writing and Arabic.

   I find all of the subjects I'm studying relatively easy (except Farsi. Even though it's my mother language), and I aced all of my finals last term. But I'm kinda stressed to be studying IB as I have no idea about the difficulty level. The hl subjects that I'm gonna pick are biology, chemistry, Farsi and English (I have no idea whether it's gonna be A or B; it's mandatory to study Farsi and English hl at my school) 

   I want to study medicine and I looked at dozens of university admission requirements for the said course; most of the universities I'm interested in require a minimum of 6 in bio hl and chem hl on top of an overall score of 38/45. 

   As I said, I just want to know how much energy I'll need to exert on my studies and how difficult it'll be to meet the mentioned requirements. Your insight would be appreciated!

Edit: Do I need to study physics as wrll to get into medicine? I'm already picking Math sl so not sure how that'll work.

 

Edited April 10, 2018 by creepia

[Sleeping Dude]

Hey creepia! As a current grade 12 student, I'm willing to tell you about the experience of IB. Generally, the study that you are doing in the IB is not necessarily harder than the OP or whatever system you were previously in, but the IB is searching for students with the ability to handle multiple tasks that are generally seen to be extraneous. In terms of IAs and EEs and TOK, these are additional tasks you will have to do while you study your subjects. Generally, if you want to succeed, ensure that you time manage well. In terms of differences between SL and HL, there are only some subjects when you actually have to try harder than normal (e.g. English and Language HL as the only difference is a harder criteria than SL, which there isn't an option for you. I currently take English HL and its pretty swell, just more explanation, analysing, etc), but with most subjects, its generally just more content, which is easy if you just study like you normally do for subjects. Don't feel pressured about HL and SL, these are generally there so universities can see what you majored in which could help you with your career pathway, but don't fret if this isn't the case for you (as you want to go into medicine. Bio HL and Chem HL are both pretty good, but my friends say that Chem HL is better for university applications - just pick what you like the most in my opinion though. The fact that you are studying all three sciences will increase your university applications by a lot so don't worry about HLs requirements for you).

Additionally, you will probably learn new things in the IB  that are different from your previous system. Remember as IB is for your final grades, don't stray away from irrelevant information and just learn what you learn in the IB, but you could still integrate skills that you learnt into the IB system. In terms of meeting criteria, the teachers will explain thoroughly on how to achieve a 7 or 6 in Chemistry, English Literature/Writing, Biology, Physics, Farsi and Arabic, so just listen to them.

If you are worried about the energy to exert for studies, I generally haven't changed my habits from my OP system. When I want to relax by going on a walk with my dog, listen to music or like watch Youtube, I just do it. You shouldn't feel as though the IB stops you (causationally) from these things, but rather more stuff piles on you that you minimise these things (correlational). This stress of changing to a high education system normally gives students the perspective that they have to change everything and try superhard, but this tends to lead to easy burnouts and lower grades (people at my school that are doing well generally aren't stressed by studying and find the IB system doable). 

I hope this helped! 

[creepia]

Thanks a lot for giving your thorough opinion on the matter, sleeping dude.