<p>These are my course selections for IB,
SL
Math
Spanish B
Art (over Music)</p>
<p>HL
Bio
English
History
I was wondering, will this schedule be too rigorous for me to handle? I know I am good at memorizing concepts, but is this needed to major in Biology in college?</p>
<p>I’m going to take those 3 HLs, too! I’m not sure how hard it will be, but at my school, I heard that IB English is suppose to be pretty easy, or at least the first year is. I think it’s ok for a Bio major, as long as you’re taking an advanced Biology class.
As for the schedule itself, are you good at those HL subjects, or are you kind of “forced” to take them because the selections are limited and some other factors (there’s no Sl versions or something)? Just curious.</p>
<p>**I see by your username that you like Kpop, too! :D</p>
<p>Considering that IB requires three HLs I’m not sure that there is a significantly easier option inside of IB. </p>
<p>I wanted to major in something biology related too so I chose:
English HL (mandatory)
History HL (mandatory)
Spanish SL
Math HL (sort of mandatory because I was in advanced math)
Chemistry HL
Biology SL (substitution for the Arts)</p>
<p>Because I could only choose one more HL, I had to choose whether to HL in chemistry or biology. I ultimately choose to HL in chemistry even though biology seemed more relevant and here’s why: a teacher told me that college biology and IB Biology were at about the same level, but that college chemistry (which is required to some extent in almost any biology major) was a lot harder and taking IB Chemistry in high school might be some useful prep. Regardless of how accurate that was I’m really glad I followed her advice because IB Biology was the easiest class ever for me (a combination of being literally easy and me loving biology enough that work didn’t feel like work) and I don’t think I would have gotten much more out of it at the HL level. I basically self studied because I read the book and took notes on my own and ignored the class lectures, and I worked my butt off on the labs, and came out with a 6 almost 7. I struggled more in Chemistry HL and I feel like I got something out of it because of it.</p>
<p>Long story short, if you’re concerned about things being too hard, the schedule you’ve got looks good. I know nothing about your work ethic but anything in IB is possible, it’s just a matter of how much suffering you’re willing to let yourself go through for the sake of bettering yourself. You don’t seem to be too enthusiastic about taking the most challenging route, but if you do want the maximum preparation for college, consider taking IB or AP Chemistry and/or Math. </p>
<p>To answer your second question: No, it is not needed. You can take AP and be golden, and probably get more credits along the way. Both AP and IB look good to colleges depending on how much AP you’re talking about, though I think IB looks a bit better. The purpose of IB is to prepare you for college by forcing you to challenge yourself in all core areas rather than picking a couple of advanced classes and to give you a global mindset. If this doesn’t matter to you then make sure that you’re in IB for the right reasons. </p>
<p>Dang, I’m sorry all my posts are so long. I have a lot to say I guess :)</p>
<p>Sorry for not coming across as enthusiastic, I really am, but everyone I’ve talked to said that History and Bio were their hardest HLs. Thank you for your response and I am confident in my course selections once again.</p>
<p>@Animefan1998
I WAS kind of forced into English HL, but Bio and History are my strong points.</p>
<p>** 
and I do!</p>
<p>It’s really hard to gauge something like enthusiasm from a couple of sentences posted on the internet so I was trying not to make any assumptions. I hope it didn’t sound like I was judging you or anything because there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to go overboard.</p>
<p>I think that which classes are hardest varies from school to school, but IB Biology actually has a reputation for being one of the easiest classes (Have you seen the Hitler Takes the IB HL Math Test YouTube video?) I am not kidding when I say that I completely ignored the class lectures, took my own notes out of the book and sailed through SL with a 6. Follow the book closely and you should be fine for the IB exam, though I obviously can’t tell you what kinds of grades you’ll make in the class itself.</p>
<p>I took HL Chem, Bio and Eng Lit and bio was most definitely the easiest. There are so many online resources like ibguides, sweetibnotes and ibscrewed4bio. Ultimately the only difficult part is the final exam and pray that your schedule give you enough time to cram. Good luck!</p>