Subject help for indecisive me

[NoireCzarkasm]

Hey guys! 

Although I'm merely a freshman, my sophomore year classes dictate what my future IB subjects are, so I have to get this figured out. 

I'm leaning toward a major in engineering or computer science, but I've always loved literature since I was young and it's extremely hard for me to find a focus. Assuming I were to major in something like CS when I'm in college though, would the following IB subjects work? 

Math AA SL 

Economics SL

Spanish SL

Physics HL

English HL

Design Technology HL (Our school's Computer science teacher doesn't exactly do her job well...) 

 

Thank you for your insight!

[ImFine]

Hey!

I am currently in 11th grade and went through the subject choosing process which I know is quite difficult. For me, it was also difficult because, at the time, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.

Your subject choices look like they have a good balance between the directions you might want to go into!

However, if you`re quite indecisive and have a liking towards literature, the only thing I might want to say is that HL physics is DIFFICULT. I have personal experience in that subject and if you're not quite sure whether you enjoy and need it, you could save yourself a lot of time and sweat by reconsidering.

But otherwise, it looks like your all set!

Good luck in the IB, you'll need it

[Jaysun]

A few thoughts on your course selection from a current engineering undergrad:

1, Change your mathematics to HL if possible. You will find that engineering/CS departments heavily favor Math HL students, and professors will teach like you have the background of HL, especially the calculus part. Both of your aspirations are extremely math heavy, and I have seen firsthand SL Math students struggle with just first year mathematics courses in Eng/CS.

2, Keep in mind most universities have both Computer Science and Computer Engineering. The differences between the two are not so subtle. Anyhow, almost ALL engineering departments, and many CS departments, require chemistry for AT LEAST the grade 12 level. Check with your adviser and the schools you wish to apply to. If you do not meet a pre-requisite for a program, your application won't be considered for it.

3, If CS is a course option for you, take it, regardless of who your teacher is. CS is one of those subjects with massive amounts of resources online, and teaching yourself technical knowledge is a precursor to university (you can't just "switch" courses in uni if your prof is bad). AFAIK design tech may not be even seen as a valid science course by some STEM faculties, and it won't help your case for comsci. It is possible (and I think likely), that they will find it very strange that a CS applicant took Design Tech even though CS was an available course. Trust me, they won't give a damn about your reason that your teacher "doesn't do her job well".

It's good that you're not yet in IB. You have a few years to figure out what you want. Based on the courses you chose, I felt you feel conflicted about what your courses, since you have HL Physics but SL Math (Physics is literally applied math), and taking Design Tech based on teacher. Take some time to do some research about programs you're interested in, and note their pre-requisites.

And maybe most importantly, have some fun and live a little before IB starts!

[kw0573]

Yeah, DT is not a useful course. Take COMP SCI HL, then "compensate" for math at SL by getting a good score on the SAT math II subject test. A third science in chemistry or biology is not as important for American students as it is for Canadian students. but if you can fit it in during summer/night school then do it as well.

[NoireCzarkasm]

2 hours ago, kw0573 said:

Yeah, DT is not a useful course.

I was wondering, would DT be useful for an engineering applicant, or is it just sort of a subject that just exists? 

The reason why I'm not taking HL math is because you have to finish AP Calculus BC (there's AB and BC in America, both take one year to complete) before HL math and since I'm a first-year taking Algebra II, I still have pre-caculus to knock out before I can reach the AP maths. I asked my teacher however, and they were confident that I could sign up for the BC exam in my third year and do reasonably well so I was planning on using that to tell colleges that 'hey, I can do math'.  I took biology over the summer before my first year, so I am in chemistry right now. 

[kw0573]

AP BC Calc is more than sufficient. They say BC students are slightly less prepared than current HL students who get the same grade (AP 5 vs IB 7) but it's not too significant. It's good you are or have taken biology and chemistry, as one expects from the US system.

I don't know of any university that actively seek DT students. Universities care more about students who can handle the math and sciences for an engineering program, as there is no point in engineering design if you do not know the concepts. As such, design is one of the final courses in an engineering curriculum (but they might have an intro project in freshman year that is very basic and rudimentary). 

[NoireCzarkasm]

10 hours ago, Jaysun said:

 

AFAIK design tech may not be even seen as a valid science course by some STEM faculties, and it won't help your case for comsci.

Thank you so much for such a detailed response! 

2. I've already taken chemistry this year as a freshman (I took biology over the summer right before my freshman year) so that would mean I would be on track. 

3. Now that I look back on it, my post didn't explain the full situation well. By the time I get to IB, I've already taken all (2) of the AP Computer Science courses that the AP Board offers so I wouldn't be completely lacking in CS courses. Also, American universities require two teachers from (preferably) your junior year to write your college recommendation letter, and those hold an insane amount of weight. Our DT teacher is also our robotics mentor, and he would definitely write a much better letter, and that was the other reason why I was looking into DT. 

Out of curiosity, do you know anyone that's taken DT and lived? I keep hearing that it's fun but nasty work. 

[kw0573]

Glad you have all the science courses under your belt.

I am not familiar with DT in general. Maybe you can find more using the search bar at the top right. Robotics definitely helps with applying to engineering/cs programs. Since you will have AP CS credits, maybe you don't really need either DT or CS in IB. AA HL might be a better choice (eg with DT or CS at SL). Not all math is calculus and IB incorporates non-calc topics very well with calculus. For someone who will have so many AP credits, IB is not as useful unless you take the most challenging courses (and I assume CS is harder than DT). There could also be options of not doing full IB and take AP Physics C instead of Physics HL. IB Physics is a lot more broad and is a good overview course into everything from mechanics to waves to particle physics to climate modelling. AP Physics C is more about solving problems using calculus (while IB physics is algebra based)

[NoireCzarkasm]

4 minutes ago, kw0573 said:

. For someone who will have so many AP credits, IB is not as useful unless you take the most challenging courses (and I assume CS is harder than DT). There could also be options of not doing full IB and take AP Physics C instead of Physics HL. IB Physics is a lot more broad and is a good overview course into everything from mechanics to waves to particle physics to climate modelling. AP Physics C is more about solving problems using calculus (while IB physics is algebra based)

I've tried, but there's pretty much only one small thread on DT, which gives the impression that very few people do it. 

Ah... oh dear that goes back to the whole question of "Is IB worth it?" From a standpoint of a student wanting to do IB because of the broad perspective and projects you can do, I am considering IB because it's supposed to be beneficial in uni admissions. What would be your opinion on uni admission 'advantage'? 

[kw0573]

IB sets a student above average. But there are other options in getting admitted. You need to be doing additional things to get into world's best schools

[Jaysun]

2 hours ago, NoireCzarkasm said:

Thank you so much for such a detailed response! 

2. I've already taken chemistry this year as a freshman (I took biology over the summer right before my freshman year) so that would mean I would be on track. 

3. Now that I look back on it, my post didn't explain the full situation well. By the time I get to IB, I've already taken all (2) of the AP Computer Science courses that the AP Board offers so I wouldn't be completely lacking in CS courses. Also, American universities require two teachers from (preferably) your junior year to write your college recommendation letter, and those hold an insane amount of weight. Our DT teacher is also our robotics mentor, and he would definitely write a much better letter, and that was the other reason why I was looking into DT. 

Out of curiosity, do you know anyone that's taken DT and lived? I keep hearing that it's fun but nasty work. 

Ok, now with more context I can see the reasoning behind your course selection.

To answer your question about DT in engineering. I took a quick look at the DT curriculum, and it seems like a conventional first year engineering course that most school makes compulsive for all students. In my humble opinion, I don't think that a lot of engineering schools care about "design" when you're just starting out. Very few, if any, engineering students get a design job for their first job/internship. Obviously, it's great to know design principles and engineering economics/project management, and I think DT lends a bit more toward entrepreneurship, but I also don't think it's worth using two years of schooling on this early. Much of design is based, and limited on, an engineer's technical knowledge and skills. However, this is just what I think, and I'm sure there will be engineering students who'll disagree with me

I know the common app grind pretty well since I also did it, so I can see where you're coming from with recommendation letters. However, if you do robotics with this teacher, but don't take DT, I think they are still able to write your recommendation letter, and it doesn't make it any less valid. Congrats on the AP ComSci credits though, they will definitely help. I think gives you a bit more flexibility, in that you can probably take DT and meet all pre-requisites and be fine since you have a diverse course record.

At the end of the day, unless you get like 100% in every course, what'll set you apart from other applicants will be what you decide to do with your time outside of school!