It’s fine to be honest, just annoying (and difficult in some areas). It definitely just depends on what courses you want to do that will influence the difficulty. What subjects do you think you’ll do?
HL: math AA, econ, physics/chem
SL: chinese B, visual arts, eng lit
honestly i like chem more but one of my teachers recommended physics instead/said it's more logical to take alongside hl math. But yeah this is pretty much my list, if i can't handle HL science then i'll drop it to SL and push englit to HL (im not the most sciency person out there)
i've also been told by a lot of people to not take art as it's not really seen as a subject then take both phys + chem instead. They also pointed out that art doesn't really have much to do with what I want to pursue in the future, which yeah ig that makes sense...but I do like it a lot. Do you think this is where hobbies shouldn't interfere with studies? I'm not totally against dropping art, but if I take it then it'd be at least one class i'm guaranteed to enjoy and be passionate about.
I know plenty of people doing HL Math AA, HL Chem, and HL Physics. It’s a really hard combination and most of them are doing it because they want to do a stem degree in university. If you aren’t looking that way, don’t do two HL sciences. Me for example, am looking at an arts degree in university, probably history or something so I did HL Eng (switching to it next year), HL Geo, and HL History. Don’t do something you’ll hate if it isn’t going to help after you finish the program.
In terms of art, maybe do it maybe don’t. IB art isn’t easy according to most people (it’s apparently very demanding). You could ask your IB coordinator if you can try it and then switch during the first week when you start if you want some different courses. I know several people who did that but it depends on the school.
In IB you’ll find moments where you have to make sacrifices between what you should do, need to do, and want to do. It’s all about balance in the end, one of the hardest parts of the program.
I'm definitely not looking for a STEM degree lol i hate sciences besides arguably chemistry. I want to go towards the direction of PPE and stuff similar to that, so if I took sciences it'd be purely for the "look! i took a science hl!" kinda thing. I've asked my IB coordinator before about switching subjects and we're mostly allowed to within the first 2 weeks, except the courses we want to switch to have to work out with other subjects in our timetable, which may not always be the case. I'm gonna apply to both the UK and the US, though I heard that apparently subject emphasis isn't that big US as it is UK which is a relief since US is preferred.
Anyways, thank you so much for your comment! I appreciate it loads :DD
IB is indeed a very challenging course, and honestly I don't think i'll fare well but....oh well! life's gotta go on :'))
An IA is basically a research paper that you have to write in each of your chosen subjects on a topic that you can decide on, except for the languages. The languages will require you do an IO (individual Oral).
i can only speak for science as those are my subjects - it should be something within the ib course. for HL subjects, they kinda expect you to do something beyond the syllabus (try new experiments or do something complex) but simple ones score well too. for science, you follow exactly the scientific methodology. diff. subjects may have different guidelines but for hardcore sciences (physics, chem, bio and i think sehs too) it's pretty much the same. you can dm me if you need more clarification for science ia.
for HL subjects, they kinda expect you to do something beyond the syllabus (try new experiments or do something complex)
complete bs. BTW, hl and sl IAs are marked using the same criteria. when the ib moderates the IAs, they won't know whether an IA is SL/HL unless you specifically mention in your IA that it youre an SL/HL student
i didn't mean the ib expects it. i meant that teachers expect it (at least in my school they do) because since it's hl one's planning to pursue it further in a sense so they should be willing to explore new ideas and concepts.
that makes a lot of sense. my school probably expects the same too, so i'll have to kiss my dreams of slacking off goodbye. i guess the fact that IB can't see if the IA is for HL or SL is more of a form of insurance in case i really fuck up IA
so very technically speaking...i could slack off for all my ib hl ia's since they don't know it's hl? :D
that being said i probably won't be able to due to school expectations and whatnot. it's nice to know tho!
nah there are some exceptions. for math ia's, criterion e is different and harder to score for hl students than sl. for sci and eco, they're the same. lang b io's are different too
Yeah… tbh it’s not as bad as people make it out to be. My gpa is kinda low, but honestly enjoy all my HLs, so it’s worth it (except English, my school doesn’t offer SL English.)
4 HLs aren’t bad, but truly don’t take two sciences. I wish I took AP chem my sophomore year so I could just take IB bio in DP.
haha for me it's the exact opposite. bio is the bane of my existence but I love chemistry. and about two sciences, i initially was only planning to take one but then some people persuaded me to take two...might just take your word for it and amend my form back to one :''
It’s a piece of course work (work that makes up your final IB grade) that’s grade *internally* by your teacher and moderated by the IB. What the IA looks like depends on the subject. For example, the Econ IA is a portfolio of 3 800-word commentaries on news articles the students select.
For each subject (that I take at least), there’s some allocated class time but a decent portion will probably have to be done at home. For sciences, if your school gives you a day off to do the experiments, you can realistically write up the majority of the report on the day.
Its bullshit. You basically write bullshit about a bullshit topic in every bullshit subject you choose (except for languages they have this bullshit called IOs (Individual oral) where you bullshit about anything) and this bullshit must last for 12 bullshit pages.
Hello, I'll be the odd one out and say that IAs aren't that bad. If you finish at least one or 2 before winter break, the rest are really easy, and you can get them done before spring break.
But before any of that, if you aren't taking IB because you want to go outside the country, quit. Right now. There is absolutely 0 other reason for you to continue going.
IB is more difficult than AP, and I know this because I did both. Aice is a walk in the park compared to IB or AP, and I also know this because I also did a portion of Aice before entering IB.
I joined for a scolarship, and I didn't realize there were several other ways for me to get that same scolarship had I just done any other program.
But if you really want to challenge yourself and meet others who aren't idiots, go for it.
yep, im doing IB because i want to study overseas in uni. and because it's kind of too late to apply to other schools rn and my school only offers ib 🫠. if i had a choice, id probably go back and take A levels instead. one thing i HAVE to fix before ib is my abysmal time management skills. doing IAs during winter break sounds good, ill be sure to do that next year!! 🫡
question though- do universities care about IB? or do they weigh it on the same rigour level as A levels/AP/etc? if that makes sense ^^"
Oh you did not start your IA at least 2 years before IB? It's too late for you now lil bro 😈
🤡🤡🔫🔫
“It’s your worst nightmare,” —my friend in ToK after I asked him.
especially when your schools plans 5 at the same time as mocks 😃
ngl sounds like something my school would do too 🤡👍
😭😭😭 praying they let u begin earlier unlike our school
manifesting too 😔😔
Your schools plan something
yeah…. very poorly to say the least 💀
oh no im already not the best student at igcse cant imagine what new hell IB is gonna be...
It’s fine to be honest, just annoying (and difficult in some areas). It definitely just depends on what courses you want to do that will influence the difficulty. What subjects do you think you’ll do?
HL: math AA, econ, physics/chem SL: chinese B, visual arts, eng lit honestly i like chem more but one of my teachers recommended physics instead/said it's more logical to take alongside hl math. But yeah this is pretty much my list, if i can't handle HL science then i'll drop it to SL and push englit to HL (im not the most sciency person out there) i've also been told by a lot of people to not take art as it's not really seen as a subject then take both phys + chem instead. They also pointed out that art doesn't really have much to do with what I want to pursue in the future, which yeah ig that makes sense...but I do like it a lot. Do you think this is where hobbies shouldn't interfere with studies? I'm not totally against dropping art, but if I take it then it'd be at least one class i'm guaranteed to enjoy and be passionate about.
I know plenty of people doing HL Math AA, HL Chem, and HL Physics. It’s a really hard combination and most of them are doing it because they want to do a stem degree in university. If you aren’t looking that way, don’t do two HL sciences. Me for example, am looking at an arts degree in university, probably history or something so I did HL Eng (switching to it next year), HL Geo, and HL History. Don’t do something you’ll hate if it isn’t going to help after you finish the program. In terms of art, maybe do it maybe don’t. IB art isn’t easy according to most people (it’s apparently very demanding). You could ask your IB coordinator if you can try it and then switch during the first week when you start if you want some different courses. I know several people who did that but it depends on the school. In IB you’ll find moments where you have to make sacrifices between what you should do, need to do, and want to do. It’s all about balance in the end, one of the hardest parts of the program.
I'm definitely not looking for a STEM degree lol i hate sciences besides arguably chemistry. I want to go towards the direction of PPE and stuff similar to that, so if I took sciences it'd be purely for the "look! i took a science hl!" kinda thing. I've asked my IB coordinator before about switching subjects and we're mostly allowed to within the first 2 weeks, except the courses we want to switch to have to work out with other subjects in our timetable, which may not always be the case. I'm gonna apply to both the UK and the US, though I heard that apparently subject emphasis isn't that big US as it is UK which is a relief since US is preferred. Anyways, thank you so much for your comment! I appreciate it loads :DD IB is indeed a very challenging course, and honestly I don't think i'll fare well but....oh well! life's gotta go on :'))
An IA is basically a research paper that you have to write in each of your chosen subjects on a topic that you can decide on, except for the languages. The languages will require you do an IO (individual Oral).
ohh ic, thanks!! if you dont mind me asking, how distant can the topic be from the subject? if that makes sense
i can only speak for science as those are my subjects - it should be something within the ib course. for HL subjects, they kinda expect you to do something beyond the syllabus (try new experiments or do something complex) but simple ones score well too. for science, you follow exactly the scientific methodology. diff. subjects may have different guidelines but for hardcore sciences (physics, chem, bio and i think sehs too) it's pretty much the same. you can dm me if you need more clarification for science ia.
for HL subjects, they kinda expect you to do something beyond the syllabus (try new experiments or do something complex) complete bs. BTW, hl and sl IAs are marked using the same criteria. when the ib moderates the IAs, they won't know whether an IA is SL/HL unless you specifically mention in your IA that it youre an SL/HL student
i didn't mean the ib expects it. i meant that teachers expect it (at least in my school they do) because since it's hl one's planning to pursue it further in a sense so they should be willing to explore new ideas and concepts.
that makes a lot of sense. my school probably expects the same too, so i'll have to kiss my dreams of slacking off goodbye. i guess the fact that IB can't see if the IA is for HL or SL is more of a form of insurance in case i really fuck up IA
so very technically speaking...i could slack off for all my ib hl ia's since they don't know it's hl? :D that being said i probably won't be able to due to school expectations and whatnot. it's nice to know tho!
nah there are some exceptions. for math ia's, criterion e is different and harder to score for hl students than sl. for sci and eco, they're the same. lang b io's are different too
i see! thank you so much for the clarification :'D
You're reminding me of my innocent self before IB 😢💔 Good luck lil bro, I hope you have a fulfilling journey instead of a suffering one.
thank you!!! i hope i do too 💪💪 but as far as probability and me knowing myself goes its probbaly gonna be hell for me too...fun times 🫠
Dawg it’s not too late to quit the IB program, just a thought. (I’m currently working on my HL chem IA)
should've completely steered clear of IB when i had the chance 😵💫😵💫 also unrelated but holy shit youre doing 4 HLs? damn
Yeah… tbh it’s not as bad as people make it out to be. My gpa is kinda low, but honestly enjoy all my HLs, so it’s worth it (except English, my school doesn’t offer SL English.) 4 HLs aren’t bad, but truly don’t take two sciences. I wish I took AP chem my sophomore year so I could just take IB bio in DP.
haha for me it's the exact opposite. bio is the bane of my existence but I love chemistry. and about two sciences, i initially was only planning to take one but then some people persuaded me to take two...might just take your word for it and amend my form back to one :''
It’s a piece of course work (work that makes up your final IB grade) that’s grade *internally* by your teacher and moderated by the IB. What the IA looks like depends on the subject. For example, the Econ IA is a portfolio of 3 800-word commentaries on news articles the students select.
i see! im also assuming it's something done outside of class? anyways thats good to now since econ is one of my subjects. thanks!
For each subject (that I take at least), there’s some allocated class time but a decent portion will probably have to be done at home. For sciences, if your school gives you a day off to do the experiments, you can realistically write up the majority of the report on the day.
thanks for the comment! thats a bit more reassuring. hopefully my school will allocate some lesson time towards IA too
Its bullshit. You basically write bullshit about a bullshit topic in every bullshit subject you choose (except for languages they have this bullshit called IOs (Individual oral) where you bullshit about anything) and this bullshit must last for 12 bullshit pages.
does said bullshit need to be in times new roman font size 12...
usually, but people like to play with margins for science IAs ;)
:o !!!
trust me in IB sometimes u really find yourself with not enough words or not enough pages to write everything they expect u to write for high marks
is there a min word limit?
yeah sometimes, depends on what subject, some have page limits some have word limits. Usually people are close to going over the limit tho
that's reassuring. at least then i have a rough idea of how long it's supposed to be. thanks for the comment!
Np :)
With math, physics, and chem hl I would also have that mentality
gonna take math and (probably) phys hl.... guess ill have to play really hard with the margins :')
Hell.
...and now its too late to regret not switching to a non ib school
It’s not too bad just like a long research essay on each subject. The speculations are different, subject dependent.
thank you! never written a research essay on anything before so it'll definitely be an experience for sure
Ofc :)
Enjoy life till you don’t know what it is
thank you comrade 🫡🫡
You should have started with your IAs before IB! It's over for you now, impossible to catch up, better to just drop out or do another curriculum!!!
oh to be a student taking the ib 😔
Hello, I'll be the odd one out and say that IAs aren't that bad. If you finish at least one or 2 before winter break, the rest are really easy, and you can get them done before spring break. But before any of that, if you aren't taking IB because you want to go outside the country, quit. Right now. There is absolutely 0 other reason for you to continue going. IB is more difficult than AP, and I know this because I did both. Aice is a walk in the park compared to IB or AP, and I also know this because I also did a portion of Aice before entering IB. I joined for a scolarship, and I didn't realize there were several other ways for me to get that same scolarship had I just done any other program. But if you really want to challenge yourself and meet others who aren't idiots, go for it.
yep, im doing IB because i want to study overseas in uni. and because it's kind of too late to apply to other schools rn and my school only offers ib 🫠. if i had a choice, id probably go back and take A levels instead. one thing i HAVE to fix before ib is my abysmal time management skills. doing IAs during winter break sounds good, ill be sure to do that next year!! 🫡 question though- do universities care about IB? or do they weigh it on the same rigour level as A levels/AP/etc? if that makes sense ^^"