Hey,
I have to finalize my IB options by tomorrow and I was wondering what you guys think of my IB subjects:
HL Maths
HL Economics
HL English Literature
HL Geography
SL Biology
SL Spanish B
Do you think that my subjects look too easy for Harvard? Is there anything I should switch around (like taking History or doing an HL Science)? I’m an international student so the odds are against me anyway, but my problem is that my teachers grade REALLY harshly so if I want to have a perfect transcript I need to take easier courses.
I’m open to any suggestions! Thank you in advance.
well, I’m an applicant as well so I’m not exactly an expert but from what I’ve seen it’s a MUST to take the most rigorous courses available to you. I mean, if it’s a comparison between a perfect transcript in a relatively easy array of courses and a not so perfect one in the most rigorous course available, then certainly the second choice would win!
Harvard wants applicants to take the most rigorous courseload possible while getting the best grades possible. If your counselor marks your schedule as “most rigorous” on the Secondary School Report, that’s all that matters in terms of class selection. Harvard is not going to microanalyze your schedule with the assumption that you’ve followed their recommended guidelines for HS preparation in English, math, science, history/social sciences, and foreign language.
In addition to your grades and schedule, your extracurricular activities, standardized testing, recommendations, and essays all play a role in the decision process. Don’t get caught up in the minutiae.
Depends on what you want to study, but with a predicted score higher than 42, 4 HLs and HL Math included, you would definitely be in a good position. The only possible criticism I can make is that Geography isn’t as well recognized in the US as compared to in the UK, but it’s not too hard to score on so I would keep it anyway.