Am I making this too hard?

[creepia]

  I’m trying to decide the subjects to pick for my IB studies next year. Biology and chemistry hl have already been decided as I’m trying to get into medicine. My current placeholder of a choice is studying psychology hl, maths sl, and language A lang and lit, and ab initio Arabic (on top of bio and chem hl). I honestly don’t know if it’s a good idea to study three sciences (yes, I’m counting psychology) at hl! I didn’t get to study psychology during my middle years as my school didn’t offer the subject, but I’m really interested in the subject. Am I setting myself up for misery and anxiety ridden nights before and after the exams or is the combination that I’ve currently chosen feasible enough? 

And by the way, does an ab initio second language count as an SL subject and bear the same grading weights or am I supposed to study an extra subject??

Edited April 12, 2018 by creepia

[yara560]

Hi there, I'm taking HL Bio, Chem and Psych, and honestly, psychology at HL is not that hard.

There's a lot of memorization and essay writing required, but I believe that if you're interested in the subject memorization will be easier because you understand the concepts. The concepts themselves aren't hard, the main issue is just memorization. At HL, for paper one you have 4 essay responses, 3 of them being short responses and 1 long essay response. Paper 2 requires two essays from both option units studied, and paper 3 involves answering 3 questions based on a study that is provided. 

The only issue is that you have to be careful with the two sciences, make sure you are on top of your work and your notes and that you are keeping up to date with the topics that you are covering in class. Personally, I only have trouble with Chem HL because I find the concepts and questions hard to understand and answer, but if you have a look at the syllabus now and try to get your head around things I think you should be fine. Biology requires an understanding of topics and memorization, which I don't find too bad. 

The 3 HL subjects you've chosen is feasible, but you have to be willing to put in work and commit to your choices. I don't think there's much difference with another HL humanities subject though, you have to work hard for all of them. This is definitely doable. 

Ab initio does count as an SL subject so you don't have to worry about that! For the grade boundaries and things like that, it depends on the subject. 

Hope this helped, and if you need more help, feel free to PM me!

[voh26]

You'll do just fine! All your subjects are well chosen for what you have in mind and Yara hits the nail on the head when advising about putting effort into what you do. Take what you are interested in -- interest carries you far and makes it easier to dedicate time and effort to what you like doing. So do that Psychology. IB is about learning, not just cramming and thinking of exams and med school later. You have to choose what suits your desires, interests and aims. Good luck!