EE in Chemistry/Biology or better neither?

[ssseva]

Dear associates,

I need your help. My Extended Essay subjects & topic are due soon, but I am struggling with the choice. I am determined to study medicine after graduating, and thus I want my EE to be relevant. However, when it comes to related sciences, Biology and Chemistry, teachers in my school strongly advise against them, claiming that students get the lowest grades for these subjects. I am interested in them but not much competent in either Bio or Chem, as I picked them only a month ago (this is another story 😂). 

Those of you who are experienced in the sciences or anyone willing to help, please give me your advice! Is it true that it is nearly impossible to get a high mark (A or B) in EE in experimental sciences? Do I better choose an interdisciplinary subject? Could you probably share some thoughts about medicine-related topics in EE?

I would be genuinely grateful for any reply 😊

[Sandwich]

It is of course possible to get a high mark in a science essay although I would agree it's probably harder than other subjects. In all honesty if I were you, I would pick a subject you know you're going to score a high mark in and do that for your EE. The University doesn't actually care if you do an EE based on medicine or not - but they will care if you have a low IB score. Of course if you do an EE based on medicine you can use it in your application, where I guess it's helpful as something to show interest, but honestly unlikely to make a massive difference. Especially in the UK if you are considering applying here, most people do A Levels and there is no EE equivalent, so not only may they not fully understand what the EE is, they won't be looking for it. 

You can do a subject you know you'll score well in AND also try to desperately get medicine in there. I did that myself, I did a Philosophy EE and purposely chose a topic within medical ethics. I don't know if it made any difference as nobody ever asked me about it at my interviews or any other time. You could equally do an essay in History relating to History of Medicine, in English using novels that relate to Medicine... I mean you can get creative with it. But like I said, I have no idea if it counts for anything much.

TL;DR do your essay in whatever will get you the best marks as that matters most. If you got an offer for medical school predicated on 40 IB points (or whatever) and you had forced yourself to do an EE in Chemistry but scored low marks for it and so that lost you the point which would have made it 40 instead of 39 and you missed your offer, how would you feel.... think of it that way!

[ssseva]

Thanks a lot @Sandwich ! I was thinking this way, and you convinced me even more 🙂

41 minutes ago, Sandwich said:

purposely chose a topic within medical ethics

 By the way, let me ask you how did your medical prospect materialise? It should be extremely tough to get into Medicine, especially in Europe.

[Sandwich]

2 hours ago, ssseva said:

Thanks a lot @Sandwich ! I was thinking this way, and you convinced me even more 🙂

 By the way, let me ask you how did your medical prospect materialise? It should be extremely tough to get into Medicine, especially in Europe.

Glad to help. Yes I was lucky and got into medical school. To be honest (in the UK at least) I think it's tough in a sense, but also somewhat random as to whether people get in or not. Most people who apply will have good grades, have done the relevant work experience, have extra-curricular activities and so on, but there's still a proportion of people who have all that stuff and are just unlucky. I know plenty of people who didn't get in the first time round but did easily on the second (annoying as it is to have to wait a year). There's a certain amount you can control - grades and so on, as I mentioned above - but a lot of it feels quite arbitrary.

Also if from your response you meant you are planning on doing an EE in Philosophy, I would be a little cautious unless you actually take IB Philosophy (which I did) as without that you may not get the approach they are looking for. My EE is actually somewhere deep in the files on this website if you want to see what kind of thing they are after. Not saying it was a perfect example but should show the approach. If you don't do Philosophy but are determined to strong-arm medicine into your EE I suggest thinking about the subjects you *are* taking.

Anyway, good luck!