I’m a sophomore, and I’m taking the IB Diploma Program next school year. For science, I’m taking IB Biology. This means I won’t take physics at all during high school, since I took biology freshman year, I’m taking chemistry now, and I would have IB Biology for the next two years. I hope to major in psychology on a pre-med track in college. Would this hurt me when it comes to my academic life in college/college admissions? Should I ask my counselor if I could switch biology with physics, or is this unnecessary?
Pre-meds need to take physics in college as a medical school prerequisite. Competing for the limited number of A grades in college physics may be more difficult if you have not had physics in high school before.
In addition, some colleges prefer to see at least one each of biology, chemistry, and physics in high school when reviewing applicants for admission.
I agree with this. I feel like every student needs chem, bio, and physics in high school–especially if they are going into STEM (regardless of what type of STEM major). You’re going to need to take physics in college, and many professors will asume you already have some sort of background in high school physics. Who knows–you might even really like the class.
Can you take Bio HL and physics SL?
I’m not sure, because my school is small and there might be some schedule conflict. But I’m not crazy over taking IB Biology, so if I have to take Physics I’ll just switch it out. I’ll talk to my counselor tomorrow to see if it would be possible for me to switch
My counselor told me that our school wont offer IB Physics for next school year, so I have no choice but to take IB BIology for the Diploma Program. Thank you all for your advice!