<p>i'm applying to yale, princeton, dartmouth, stanford, LSE. actually, i meant it when i said AC is doing well for their uni admissions. one would assume that given that its just the first batch that very few would be going to top tier schools, yet there are quite a few who have gotten places early in yale/ stanford as well as acceptances from cambridge (not too sure about oxford). AC is going to just get bigger in terms of acceptances as they make a name for themselves when AC alumni graduate from the respective schools. I would not be surprised to one day see AC on par with RJ in terms of percentage that are going to top schools and one of the smartest decisions that was made leading to this would definitely be adopting the IB instead of the A levels.</p>
<p>Let's not forget to mention CAS. Oh, how I suffered with that thing. The IB is charming in that sense, what with forcing +150 hours of community service and stuff like that to get the diploma.
I'm not familiar with A-levels as they don't offer them around here, but let me just agree with the previous posts that talked about the IB being 'broader'. I.. I kinda miss it already.</p>
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<p>wow thats certainly an intriguing choice....adding to the wow in your confidence levels, theres no safeties for the US, only one UK uni, and no oxbridge despite the amazingly convenient UCAS system</p>
<p>where did u get the info saying "quite a few" got into yale, stanford and cambridge? i'm certainly dying to find out for myself =)</p>
<p>umm, not as insane as most would think. i'm only going to university in 2009. so still have one more window of application. my point of view was that if i get into a safety this year, i probably wouldn't accept because there's still next year. also no oxbridge because i wanna do economics and i didn't think i would be able to get past the test cos i didn't take economics in JC (tried and tested in j2)</p>
<p>the info was through my teachers who are in the school. i taught there for quite awhile before enlisting and i pop by quite often cos i'm still involved in the school. so pick up once in awhile about who's going where. </p>
<p>Personally, I feel that the IB produces students who are able to learn new things quicker while the A levels produces students who are able to go deeper into what they are learning. both produce good students, just different types of students</p>
<p>As an American IB student, I can at least say that IB is much harder then American AP coures. I took two AP's as a sophmore and received fives with ease. The IB classes/tests appear much harder though, I'll find our for sure soon. (Are "A Levels" like AP classes? i.e. 1 year of learning and then a test, 1-5 or something?).</p>
<p>for the A levels, the preparation is usually 2 years long (you can have it longer or shorter if you are studying on your own) but in most schools in singapore we're scheduled to sit for the final exam in the 2nd year of school. for some most subjects, it is just a final examination split up into various papers. (e.g MCQ, Structured questions, essays). for the sciences, there is labwork that takes place over the 2 years and is internally assessed. </p>
<p>grading wise, A-E are passing marks while O/F are failing grades (O means that it is a pass at GCE O Level standard). In addition some students choose to do Special papers in the subjects they are more interested it. its a lot more independent study and much harder exams. the grades for these papers are Distinction, Merit and Ungraded. To put things in perspective, if i'm not wrong, placement credit wise an, A level grade A is equivalent to an IB Grade 7.</p>
<p>"more than half our school got 4As"
to lOngbOWmeN: this does not apply to the rest of sg. not every A-level student comes from RJ or HC where the stats are as such. making sweeping statements like "it doesnt take much work to get an A" insults the rest of the cohort who did not score As. and the ease of the A-levels is really a matter of personal opinion. ask a student from SRJC or YJC or even VJC and NJC and you will get a different answer.</p>
<p>hey everybody, a great topic here... but I still dont know what to do. I have to fail a decision A-levels or IB or German Abitur?!? I am looking forward to apply to Cambridge , want to do medicine there. What do you think will be the best choise to get in? Please help XD coz I am getting crazy!
And probably I should add that I hate my school(where I would do the Germany Abitur) but I am one of the best in the class for now))</p>
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<p>ehh so wats your point? wasn't it clear that it was a personal response to the suggestion from jhl?</p>
<p>besides, SRJC or YJC dont really fall into the picture here....we're toking bout the impact on gaining entry to top overseas universities pal....u shud head towards the "nus/ntu" forums if you wanted an all-encompassing discussion on the "difficulty of getting As in sub-par colleges" =)</p>
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<p>longbowmen, I really like your usage of the term "sub-par" on all schools which rank behind yours :)</p>
<p>Yes, IB > A Levels, definitely.</p>
<p>how would you know? yours is an unsubstantiated assertion just like mine</p>
<p>anyone who did both A-levels and IB?</p>
<p>A levels are not spoon-feeding at all.Last year Cambridge change all the science papers setup in my country and new topics such as nanotechnology, environmental chemistry, genetic engineering and drug design were introduced. To be able to answer the questions about these topics u have to lose some logic and apply your knowledge.The most "spoon-feeding" teacher will only prepare you to think logically and get you ready for any surprise in the paper setup. There's also a class where we study democracy,weaponry,history,politics, literature,environment.It's called general paper class. My point is that A levels are also broad and can be time consuming as IB. Students studying IB complain as much as those studying A levels. I guess that both of them are pretty hard.</p>
<p>errr muse00 you from SG?</p>
<p>SG???If by SG u mean Singapore,my answer is no ,</p>
<p>IB is surely harder than A-level!! even though I myself took A-level....
Also, it should be noticed that different examination boards in A-levelalso vary in difficulty. for example, OCR's science courses are much harder than AQA's.</p>
<p>^ yeah i think the difficulty for A-levels varies throughout the world, while IB is standardised across the board....its kinda hard to do a comparison</p>
<p>but in Singapore, IB sure isnt much of a kick compared to As</p>
<p>The Singapore A-levels are so difficult that I achieved 5 distinctions without taking O-levels and to be perfectly honest, without putting in much effort. I would say for recognition then the IB would be superior but the Singapore A-levels should be afforded more respect than the UK equivalent. The extra breadth of the IB over the A-levels is not particularly evident considering that most IB students only take 3 HL subjects or 3H2s in A-level terms. The 3 SL subjects would be equivalent to the 3 H1 requirement of MT, PW and a contrasting subject. The TOK and EE would then be considered the advantage over the A-level but then one could introduce the H3 option as added weight to the A-level argument. This is the Singapore A-level however, not the A-levels in general.</p>
<p>The onus is on the individual to select the most rigorous choice of subjects if He or She is to claim the best education preparation. Choose more subjects than whether it is IB, HSC or A-levels than you would be considered to be achieving more than most school leavers. In my opinion the NSW HSC is most rigorous 4 units of HSC English is much harder than H3 Lit + H2 Lit + KI or HL English. The HSC math is perhaps the only weakness but HSC students still win gold medals at the International Math Olympiads. 4 units of HSC Math are equivalent to H2 Math and HL Math but 2 units is the basic Math selection if you so choose to take Math for your HSC. HSC Physics, Chemistry and Biology are similar to H2 equivalents with H3 elements and superior to HL equivalents. HSC Economics is equivalent to H2 and H3 economics and so on.</p>
<p>Alevels are considered by many students here in the UK to be getting ridiculously easy!*</p>
<p>*Many = Several of my teachers, friends and I ;D</p>