Hi, wonderful people on College Confidential! Do you think that I should transfer to the IB program? Here’s the situation. At my school, we do our birthday and grade cut-off differently than the IB does. So I’m basically considered a Freshman going to be a sophomore according to the IB rules. That would mean that next year would be my “Pre-IB” year. I’m excited but I don’t know if this will impact the decisions that colleges have on me. By the way, my proposed schedule is below.
Sophomore Year (According to IB)
Pre-IB English 10
Pre-IB Trig/Pre-Calc
Pre-IB Biology
Pre-IB Chemistry
Pre-IB Physics
Pre-IB United States History
Pre-IB Spanish
Junior & Senior Year
IB English A: Literature SL
IB Mathematics HL
IB Biology HL
IB Chemistry HL
IB Psychology HL
IB Spanish AB SL
Theory of Knowledge
Hey! I am a current IBDP student- I just finished Year 1.
I take:
IB Math SL
IB Mandarin B SL
IB Bio HL
IB Psych HL
IB English Literature HL
IB Theatre HL
TOK
I don’t know exactly what you mean by “Pre-IB year” because at my school we are transitioning to the MYP so we take “Pre-Diploma” classes beginning in 9th grade, but I would recommend only taking two out of the three sciences in the “Pre-IB year”- the two that you are most likely to pursue in the actual programme. In my opinion, it won’t be worth your time learning a subject for a year that you won’t need to know for the next two years.
At my school we are automatically placed into HL Eng A Lit unless we specifically ask to be put into SL. I personally think that SL is not worth it unless you really struggle in english because the classes are almost the exact same. On your list you have Psych as HL which I think is a good choice.
Moving forward, I would move either Bath, Bio, or Chem down to SL. Math HL is no joke- it is one of, if not the, hardest class in the whole programme. Bio HL fine- it is a lot of material but if you are interested in the subject then go for it. I would only take Chem HL if the teacher is good for the “Pre-IB year”. My friends who I took Pre-Diploma Chem HL (10th grade) with who now take HL Chem say that without a good foundation they would be screwed right now because the class is very fast paced and the material is difficult.
I hope my suggestions help you in your decision! (Sorry, I’m a little wordy!) I don’t really know how colleges will view you because I haven’t applied to college yet, but I know that any IB classes are impressive and will most likely help you stand out in your future college applications.
I did HL chemistry and HL math, I just graduated last week. Honestly the workload is a LOT, and even though I completed AP Calc AB before doing HL math, it was a real challenge because the curriculum goes beyond Calc BC and the exam questions are in a world of their own. Talk to your counselor and ensure you have a good foundation in Chem and math, and be prepared for some really hard work (don’t forget about IAs, CAS, EE, and TOK).
My DD did Math HL, PHysics HL, Chem HL but she ended up being a Math Major and now a HS Math teacher. SHe was very very busy Junior year and very busy Senior year.
My DD had English HL, Bio HL, Econ HL, Theatre HL, Math SL and French Ab. It was a LOT of work. The IB has so many components (not to mention the Extended Essay and CAS) that it will be two tough years. I’m not trying to discourage you - I think my DD got a great foundation for college work.