Should I take HL bio??

[Ofeliaa]

I have to choose my subjects this week and am wondering if HL bio is worth it for me. I wouldn't consider myself a very science-y person, although i am very interested in plants, evolution, dna, neurobiology and that kind of stuff. I am not at all interested in the human body, (find it unpleasant, really) and just the thought of dissecting something makes me queasy. I don't have any big problems with memorising content, i am more scared of writing lab reports. Will this be a big problem? Also is it very hard to use microsoft excel in bio for graphs and such? Would very much appreciate any guidance and advice on the matter, thank u

[Certified_IB_Cultist]

If you're not a very sciency person, I wouldn't recommend an HL science. I'm currently in SL Physics, and that was the worst mistake I've made. I hate the class, I understand nothing, and the teacher is just awful, but that's just for my school. Someone in a different school in IB Physics probably loves it, it's all based on the experiences in individual schools. See if you can find a way to talk to some of the IB seniors in HL biology, they'd be able to tell you more about how the teacher runs the course, what they struggled with the most, and how exams are/were (my school doesn't have HL biology so I don't know when those exams are). Remember that it's going to be a 2 year course, and you're going to have to remember stuff you learned the beginning of your IB journey at the end of your IB journey (which for a lot of people is very hard. It's hard to even remember stuff I learned at the beginning of this year). If you have to take a science to graduate, I would suggest an SL, perhaps Environmental Science since you said you don't like dissecting and the human body. For any HL, make it something you enjoy, or at least something you don't hate with every fiber of your being. At my school, everyone in IB has to take HL English. I chose HL History of the Americas (the only HL History class offered at my school) because history is interesting to me, and I chose HL Philosophy because it sounded interesting (best thing I ever did in IB). Hope this helps! Good luck!

[IBYeehaw]

I am a Bio HL student currently and I can help!

Firstly, is biology the only science you are considering for your options? How about the rest of the sciences like Chemistry? Secondly, are you set on doing a science at HL? Or are you okay with doing it at SL and are just looking for advice on which science to take? Lastly, do you know what you want to study in uni? Will it require bio? If it doesn't, then I suggest you take SL.

I'm not a very sciencey person (like I don't love science, I just tolerate it) and personally, I find Biology HL okay. I don't love it till death and tbh it seems a little obscure from what I'm going to study at uni (I'm going to study Law lol). I did biology because I wanted to keep my doors open in the future, incase I decide to take a path concerning Medicine (This was back in Year 11 when I was undecided on what to do in the future. I wasn't sure if I wanted to study Vet Sciences or Law). 

If you're okay with memorising content, I think Biology would be a good fit for you. In biology classes, you are bound to have to dissect something at some point (for me, I remember only doing 2 (maybe 3) dissections, but one of them was a flower so idk if that counts). If you decide to take biology as a subject at all, you will HAVE to learn about the human body (e.g. digestion systems, heart, immunity, hormones etc). It won't be as content-heavy as compared to HL if you decide to take SL. 

Also if you decide to take HL, there are 5 more topics you have to learn (plants, DNA/genetics, metabolism, and human physiology). Bio is actually one of my slightly better subjects (I also take Chem HL and I'm struggling in that way more). In terms of difficulty, I'd say Biology is the easiest out of Chemistry and Physics. It's really just memorising and with practice, the processes and content will come to you naturally. I don't stare at my book for hours trying to cram processes or cycles in my head as I already know them from continuous practice. It's just the finer details that I try to remember as it may get you extra marks. 

I didn't have a very good teacher for bio, but bio is quite an easy subject to pick up. Just give a little more time to it and literally just memorise. Its application concepts will come to you naturally (tbh most of the time its common sense).

The link is a site for both Biology HL and SL topics, which is quite popular with bio students for revision:

http://ib.bioninja.com.au/welcome-to-the-bioninja/

If you decide to take HL, you need to learn all topics 1-11, but only 1-6 if you take SL.

I hope my answer has given some sort of insight and all the best!

[Ofeliaa]

Hi! Thank you for replying! To answer your questions: yes, bio is the only science i am considering. Its my only option, as i didn't take the optional courses required for either chemistry or physics. I would prefer to do bio at SL, but then i would have to take HL Finnish A that i don't really want. Also if i were to take HL bio i could take french B, which is one of my favourite subjects. I have no clue as to what i want to study at uni, so im kinda just running with what i like at the moment. Also, i have a great teacher, which i think helps a lot. 

And just in case its relevant, the subjects im sure about are: HL English A lit, HL History, SL math analysis, and SL visual arts

If i take bio HL, i can take french B, (since i can't take french B HL), but if i take bio SL, i can't take french and i will have to take Finnish A HL which i would rather not do. 

I guess my question is whether bio HL is doable for me. 

Also i asked my teacher and he told me we aren't required to dissect anything so that's good :)

[benjeren]

Hi, I'm also planning on taking Biology at HL. My subjects are:

HL: Biology, Chemistry and Economics

SL: Math AA, German B and English LangLit

I'm 100% planning on studying science at university, not medicine although it is still an option but for now, I'm opting to study biochemistry, pharmacy or biology (maybe even biotechnology). I decided to choose IB Biology because I love it! I enjoy both biology and chemistry classes BUT I've just been informed that one of my biology teachers for next year, is terrible! However, I'm not going to let that ruin my subject selection because I might biology in the future despite if I have a bad teacher (which I hope I don't and praying not to have). For me it was actually Economics I was unsure about because I was torn between Economics and EnglishLangLit and HL. What I would recommend is that just surf through the internet on some universities you like the look of or with a reputation (anything really) and browse through their courses. If you find one to be interesting, see if they have any subject requirements.

What I did was I ringed the admissions desk at Imperial College London and King's College London and asked if they had any preference towards any of the courses I stated above. Turns out, they prefer HL Economics over HL English LangLit (only because SL English LangLit equally proves that I can speak English fluently as well) which I didn't know as it wasn't on their website, although they did say that the third subject did not matter as much as Biology and Chemistry. I hope this helps!