While I’m not pursuing the IB diploma, my course load for next year will be
IB Lit and Lang SL
IB History of the Americas HL
IB Psychology SL
IB Biology SL
IB Math Studies SL (or math SL)
I’m not strong in calculus and I want to keep a high GPA but do colleges dislike math studies? Thank you!
Do you expect to take calculus in college?
IB math studies appears to be an overview of various math topics for those who will not need to take more math in college.
I’m a senior who takes Math Studies and if you’re not a “math person” (AKA pretty awful at math) like me and also uninterested in ever doing anything with math career-wise it is a great option. However, if you are decent at math and are considering a career in a STEM field, Methods SL would probably be better. The highest math covered in Studies is basic calc for one unit, with the rest being review topics or statistics.
My goal is to go to medical school, but the only math requirement is stats
Some medical schools require calculus (or higher) math as well as statistics.
Some other pre-med courses (e.g. physics) may require calculus as a prerequisite. Physics for biology majors sometimes requires calculus, sometimes not.
Some majors that are popular with pre-med students, such as biology, usually require calculus.
Why did you decide to do IB courses instead of AP if you are not going for the diploma?
Some high schools only offer IB courses and do not offer AP courses in the same subjects that they offer IB courses in.
^ that’s the case for my high school, it doesn’t offer any AP classes.
I took SL math as a junior and am taking AP Calc AB as a senior. I don’t particularly think colleges dislike SL math, but you most likely won’t get any credit for it, since it seems like most IB credits are only for HLs.
Math SL and Math Studies are different IB courses. Math Studies are for people who do not want to pursue a Science major in college. A student who score a 5 in Math SL can easily get a 7 in Math Studies.