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Is Physics Required if I want to take CompSci?


AvinAziz

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Generally, yes, you could do computer science without physics.

In my country, two schools that are good for studying computer science (Waterloo and Toronto) only require English and Math.  I was unable to find admission requirements for universities in Indonesia, sorry about that.

I would still highly recommend taking an IB computer science, physics, or chemistry - in that order - at higher level.  You plan to get into STEM, so prepare yourself well for it.  Remember that HL courses are usually the ones that universities allow transfer credits for.

But it all depends on what your school offers.  If you can't take a certain course at IB level, universities will understand if you take it in an alternative way (such as online, summer school, night school or at a private academy).  There is always the option of dropping IB Diploma for IB Certificate, so you can take certain classes alongside your IB ones.  Or, if you are really set on taking a certain IB class, you could take it online with Pamoja, but there is a separate fee for that.

Might I ask what your chosen IB subjects are?

Edited by DiviDivi
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5 hours ago, DiviDivi said:

Generally, yes, you could do computer science without physics.

In my country, two schools that are good for studying computer science (Waterloo and Toronto) only require English and Math.  I was unable to find admission requirements for universities in Indonesia, sorry about that.

I would still highly recommend taking an IB computer science, physics, or chemistry - in that order - at higher level.  You plan to get into STEM, so prepare yourself well for it.  Remember that HL courses are usually the ones that universities allow transfer credits for.

But it all depends on what your school offers.  If you can't take a certain course at IB level, universities will understand if you take it in an alternative way (such as online, summer school, night school or at a private academy).  There is always the option of dropping IB Diploma for IB Certificate, so you can take certain classes alongside your IB ones.  Or, if you are really set on taking a certain IB class, you could take it online with Pamoja, but there is a separate fee for that.

Might I ask what your chosen IB subjects are?

1

Thanks for the advice! Currently, I'm registered under Math HL, Econ HL, English A SL, French AB initio, and History SL. Moreover, I am planning to hopefully apply to a university overseas.

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1 hour ago, AvinAziz said:

Thanks for the advice! Currently, I'm registered under Math HL, Econ HL, English A SL, French AB initio, and History SL. Moreover, I am planning to hopefully apply to a university overseas.

I was just looking at computer science at McMaster University (another Canadian school) and saw that they require two of bio, chem or physics.  While this is just one school, other universities might also want you to have taken two sciences.

So, given your current selections, I would suggest that you definitely keep the Math HL, English SL, French AB initio.  After that, things get a little complicated.

Econ and history both satisfy the Group 3 - Individuals and Societies requirement.  I would suggest dropping history, I believe econ would be more useful for you, as computer science is a rapidly expanding industry and there are many job opportunities in tech start-ups.

There are a number of factors to consider here, so I must ask you: What IB subjects does your school offer?

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1 hour ago, DiviDivi said:

I was just looking at computer science at McMaster University (another Canadian school) and saw that they require two of bio, chem or physics.  While this is just one school, other universities might also want you to have taken two sciences.

So, given your current selections, I would suggest that you definitely keep the Math HL, English SL, French AB initio.  After that, things get a little complicated.

Econ and history both satisfy the Group 3 - Individuals and Societies requirement.  I would suggest dropping history, I believe econ would be more useful for you, as computer science is a rapidly expanding industry and there are many job opportunities in tech start-ups.

There are a number of factors to consider here, so I must ask you: What IB subjects does your school offer?

My school used to offer Computer Science, but due to the lack of participants, they shut down that department. I at least need 10 signatures for them to reopen it, however, many people in my batch are not interested so that's most likely out of the picture. However, they do offer an alternative which would be ITGS. 

Other subjects that my school offers include Bahasa Indonesia, Theatre, Arts, Chemistry, Biology, and Bussiness Management

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/12/2019 at 9:56 PM, AvinAziz said:

My school used to offer Computer Science, but due to the lack of participants, they shut down that department. I at least need 10 signatures for them to reopen it, however, many people in my batch are not interested so that's most likely out of the picture. However, they do offer an alternative which would be ITGS. 

Other subjects that my school offers include Bahasa Indonesia, Theatre, Arts, Chemistry, Biology, and Bussiness Management

Hello again, sorry for the super late reply, I had to "procrastinate on procrastination" this past week due to having two IAs at the same time.

I'm sure you can agree when I say that choosing IB subjects is most definitely not easy, so let's start from the beginning.  Your choices already satisfy the requirements for groups 1, 2, and 4 (literature, second language, and math):

1: English SL

2: French AB initio

4: Math HL

(You also listed Bahasa Indonesia, but I'm not sure whether it fits into group 1 or 2)

 

Now we get to the hard part.  Let's review your options:

Group 3 - Individuals and Societies: Econ, Business Management,  ITGS

Group 5 - Sciences: Chem, Bio, ITGS

Group 6 - The Arts: Theatre, Art, OR any other subject

(ITGS, being an interdisciplinary class, can satisfy either group 3 or 5)

 

Okay.  To start, I'll recommend that you replace one of the group 6 options with something from groups 3 or 5.  If have a really good plan to get all requirements, and you have a strong interest in either theatre or art (perhaps you are very interested in design?), then you should waive my suggestion and consider an arts course.

That said, let's get into the meat of this:

The most important science is chemistry.  It's not my personal favourite, but it's the one that is most requested by universities, based on what I have seen (I'm currently looking into many universities myself as I will be applying next winter).

If biology is offered at SL at your school, take it in the place of an arts course.  If HL, I would suggest that you skip bio.  Why?  One word: balance.  I chose to drop to the IB Certificate program for that reason - it was not worth it for me to invest so much energy into HL History and HL English, when I could spend that time studying more science classes at the "regular" level, allowing me to gain experience that will better prepare me for my future in STEM.

Now onto group 3.  I very highly recommend that you choose ITGS, as it is your closest option to a computer science class.

Here's a quick update on where we are now:

Group 3: ITGS

Group 5: Chemistry

Group 6: Biology if SL, if not, see below

 

Ah, yes, the group 6 question!  Two of your course selections were Econ and History.  If biology is really not your thing, take one of those instead.

As I mentioned before, I think Econ would be of more beneficial to you in the long run than History.  Business Management also seems like a good choice, but you seem to have a greater interest in Econ.

I think I have mentioned everything that I needed to say.  Here's my final list for you:

Group 1: English SL

Group 2: French AB initio

Group 3: ITGS

Group 4: Math HL

Group 5: Chemistry

Group 6: Your choice.  My suggested rankings for you:

1) Econ

2) Business Management

3) History

4) Theatre or Art

(I'm not too sure where I would place Biology on this ranking, as I do not know if it is HL or SL, and more importantly, this decision is dependent on your own interests)

 

So there you go.  I would like to apologize once more for such a late reply, hopefully this is not too late.

There is always the option of dropping to an IB Certificate in order to take any classes that aren't offered at IB level at your school, which could prove beneficial.  This is speaking from experience, trust me.  My school has a very small IB program, so small that there are no subject choices.  Most of the IB students at my school go "Partial," including me.  I dropped in order to have the time to take physics at the "regular" level, as it was not offered at IB level.  Without physics, I would be unable to apply to engineering programs at university.  Also, as a Partial IB student, I don't have to write the EE, study TOK, or do CAS - perhaps not having to complete the IB core would give you more time to strengthen your coding skills?

Or, if Partial is not for you, maybe Pamoja?  I know that I mentioned this (as well as Partial IB) earlier, but I really think it's a good option if you're passionate about computer science.  You already have a bit of an advantage, because computer science is quite easy to take online, given that the content of the course is already 100% digital.  I've taken a CS course online before (not IB level, though), and I found that the online environment actually enhanced my experience, as I was truly immersed into the "techy" experience.

I really hope not to overwhelm you with all that I have said here... it's quite a lot to take in.  If you change your mind at anytime leading up to the beginning of IB, you will always be able to make the changes that will work best for you.

I wish you the best of luck in deciding on courses, and IB in general!

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