<p>Hello,
I'm currently a sophomore, and I'm planning to go into the IB Diploma next year. Please comment on my course selection for my junior and senior years. Currently, my school has a lot of issues with my course selection (given that I have the most peculiar one out of all of my peers). I have also provided my sophomore year course selection. If this helps, I'm a premed-oriented person. Here it goes: </p>
<p>SOPHOMORE YEAR:
-AP Biology
-IB Chemistry SL
-IB Math SL
-US History
-Spanish 2
-English 10
-Music</p>
<p>I have two sets of junior/senior year schedules:</p>
<p>JUNIOR YEAR (PLAN 1):
-IB English HL
-IB Math HL
-IB Chemistry HL
-IB History HL
-AP Statistics
-IB Spanish SL
-TOK</p>
<p>SENIOR YEAR (PLAN 1):
-IB English HL
-IB Math HL
-IB Chemistry HL
-IB History HL
-IB Physics SL (replacing AP Statistics)
-IB Spanish SL
-TOK</p>
<p>OR, here's my second set:
JUNIOR YEAR (PLAN 2):
-IB English HL
-AP Statistics
-IB Psychology SL
-IB Chemistry HL
-IB History HL
-IB Spanish SL
-TOK</p>
<p>SENIOR YEAR (PLAN 2):
-IB English HL
-IB Math HL (replaces AP Statistics, since I've taken Year 1 of IB Math this year)
-IB Chemistry HL
-IB Psychology SL
-IB History HL
-IB Spanish SL
-TOK</p>
<p>Which one do you think is better? I need help from those who have successfully achieved the IB Diploma program, and those who are also interested in premed. Thanks.</p>
<p>you take TOK junior year? at my school it’s only for seniors. hm. take it senior year, just because it really is a “bridge” class that takes you out of the “high school” way of thinking that you’ve been used to and gets you more prepared out of the box analytical discussions that come in college.</p>
<p>i think you mean this year you’re taking pre-ib chem, as you can’t take an SL course sophomore year. everything freshman and sophomore is pre-ib.</p>
<p>your plan 2 is a lot easier, and i mean it, TAKE THE EASY ROUTE. you don’t want to burn out on what isn’t that difficult of a program. unless you’re very fantastic at time management. and make sure the universities you want to go to accept IB credits. BTW taking the AP class isn’t worth it. AP is structured so differently from IB, i feel that IB is less about rote memorization and more about critical thinking and connecting everything you’ve learned into a bigger mindframe. less facts, more real-world application and “why is this important” rather than just memorizing stuff. i’d go with the second plan but take out the AP class.</p>
<p>No. I’m really taking two official IB classes (SL) at my school. At least, that’s how they are printed on my transcript. Every IB World School is structured differently, so that explains everything. The main problem is that my school may not allow me to take Year 1 of Math HL because 90% of the content would be repeated. That’s the reason why that AP class is there. Or, if I can, I can replace it with a regular Physics class. I just have to ask my counselor.
HOWEVER, I was thinking, since I’m also going to take around 6-7 AP’s next year, is it better to take that extra AP class? Would it reduce some of that stress of self-studying for the AP exams? Or, should I replace it with regular physics?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Your school can’t give SL courses to sophomores. You’re not able to take the IB Exam. Without fudging some things. It’s a diploma course, and those are available to the last 2 years of high school.</p></li>
<li><p>4 HLs is eh. Time management.</p></li>
<li><p>TOK is 2 years for you? wow. What sort of premed focus do you want to have… like if you get to med school? I’m gonna lean towards option 1, because you’re going to have to take physics as a premed.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You can take SL classes but you can’t use that test for your diploma.
I took IB Chem SL as a soph, used that class and AP chem to get the corresponding chemistry credits. But unrecognized in my IB Diploma.</p>
<p>If you’re good at/like math, take Math HL. If not, don’t take it.</p>
<p>Is your TOK 1st sem snr year and 2nd sem jr year? 2 years of tok… >_>; annoying.</p>
<p>Wait. I don’t get what you guys mean. Are you saying that even if I take 2 years of IB Chem HL and two years of IB Math HL in my junior/senior years, I still can’t get the Diploma? I’ve asked my counselor, and she said if I retake the Year 1 course content, I still can get the Diploma. Plus, I get to use my Group 4 project score and my Internal Assessment grades. I know that I’m not allowed to take the IB exams for those subjects this year. Or, am I completely wrong? @Ktk: TOK at my school is two years, all-year round. Yes, I know it’s completely redundant, but I can’t force my school’s admins to change that. @MIThopeful16: After giving Plan One much thought, I think it’s a bit too much work for me. Do you think it would be a good idea to cut off one year of IB Math and replace it with Physics or AP Stats? If I plan to take this course of action, am I still allowed to get the IB Diploma? I want to double-check this with anyone who has gone through the IB Diploma Program because all the things that I’ve heard about the IB come from the teachers at my school.
BTW, is it worth it to take IB History HL? I heard it’s a lot of work, and some say that colleges will look down on you because that is considered as “World History.” Should I focus on another subject then?</p>
<p>You can do whatever you want years 11-12, but nothing you do in years 9-10 will be counted towards your IB Diploma, not even the Group 4 project, which you will likely be forced to do (effectively for nothing) anyways. </p>
<p>
Not if those are from year 10, well, at least not in my school.</p>
<p>On your Plan 1 if you cut HL math for an extra year of physics (thus you are effectively taking IB Physics HL, right?) you’d still be fine on ib diploma either way, since you’d be on 3HL / 3SL. And is IB Spanish SL 2 years for your school as well? Man that blows.</p>
<p>History HL is hell here, but I heard it’s okay other places… It’s a rather large field, and colleges won’t look down at you for taking it… Don’t know where you heard that from. There’s an AP World history too, and colleges won’t look down at you for taking that?</p>
<p>Um…no. I carried out a petition with 20 names on it for requesting my school to offer IB Physics, but my stingy HS principal won’t do it. She said that it would only be regular Physics, so it would be one year. So, do you think it’s still worth it? Or, should I go for AP Stats?
Yes, IB Spanish SL is two years for me. Is it only one year at your school?
I’m just wondering: Which IB SL courses last only one year?</p>