Hey guys!! I’m in IB Diploma, and I just wanted to know a) whether I’ll crash and burn with this courseload and b) anyone’s personal experiences with these classes.
Here it is:
-IB English Literature
-IB Math SL
-AP Calculus AB
-IB Biology HL Year 1
-AP US History
-Theory of Knowledge
-IB Spanish IV
-IB Choir SL
I know choir in my school is a joke, and many people even take the IB class as a blowoff class. I’m in regular choir right now and the teacher said IB was basically the same thing. I took AP European History this year, and it was a ton of work, so I’m assuming US History will be just like that but slightly harder. However, I’m not sure of the rest. Any comments would be appreciated.
You don’t need to take calculus ab alongside math sl. Just take the AP test in May using what you’ve learned in sl + minimal self study. (as math sl is a 2-year class you may want to wait till may senior year to take the test. Note that sl 's don’t get credit so if you want it to count in college, you have to take the corresponding AP exam.)
Can you choose between IB history and apush ?
Strangely, I’m going to respectfully disagree with MYOS1634 for once. I’ve taken Math HL, Calculus, and TA for a Math SL class (one yr in my school). I would not advise taking the AP Calc test with just Math SL, it’s really geared toward different things, and you’re going to need a lot of very specific preparation to do well on the AP test.
What is your IB Group 3? (History, psych, etc.)
I think two AP + full IB is a bit overkill, IMO.
I’ve taken IB English Lit HL and IB Spanish, so if you want specific details, PM me.
Since you did hl - Have you looked into calc ab vs. Math sl ? Math sl has analysis, some calc, some stats/probability.(I’m not talking Math studies but Math SL). It looks to me like there’s decent overlap for analysis and calc.
I’m genuinely curious because math sl /calc ab seems doable due to that overlap.
(and math hl seems infinitely harder than call bc.)
In our school math SL is a one year class and then the next year you go on to HL. And it’s apparently like pre-calculus, which is why I’m taking AP calculus along with it so I can be ready for ib math HL, which I heard was DEATH.
@MYOS1634 There is some overlap for sure, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with someone taking Math SL then the AP exam. The AP one goes way more in depth into calc and graph analysis while Math SL sort of just skims the surface. It also includes a lot of pre-calc, as well as learning theory vs. the application approach of AP. Of course, this could just be the way that my school structures it, and despite efforts to standardize, every IB/AP class is a little different.
Math HL is infinitely (pun intended) harder than every other IB class - excluding subjective fine arts - in my opinion. The only thing harder would be Further Mathematics, where you do every single HL Math option. :))
@imagineheaven Your Group 3 is your history/social studies subject, and it seems like you’ve got that covered with APUSH/IB History.
What math class did you take before SL? If you don’t know precalculus/trig yet, you won’t do well in AP calc unless you study over the summer. Also, I don’t think calc AB will really help much with HL since only a small part of it is calculus. You’d probably be better off just focusing on your SL class.