This is my first post on college confidential. I am a rising junior. I’m going for the IB diploma but I have my anxieties like I’m sure whoever first thought about going through the IB program has thought about.
Here is my schedule:
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IBH Physics (I'm not very good at math but I have confidence I can learn. I am worried, will I struggle in this class because I am not good at math? a.k.a. I took freshman year algebra 1 and got an 80 average and geometry sophomore and got an 85.) (Should I just take IBH Biology instead?)
IBH Asian Euro History (I’m good at history and enjoy it and got a 98 last year in APUSH.)
IBH English (I like reading books but I’m unsure if I will be too overwhelmed in other classes to read and do all the work.)
IBS Math Studies (I heard this is easy and I’m bad at math so I thought this might pad my schedule.)
IBS Film (Taking this class online @ pamoja edu and I’m experienced in Adobe Premiere and most aspects of filmmaking so it should be easy.)
IBS Mandarin (Taking this my senior year, mandarin III this year.)
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Basically, my question is whether or not that schedule is manageable and I’m asking anyone who has some experience and can shed some light on the whole situation for me. I really appreciate the help and I hope this fits in IB section. I am mostly worried about my IBH Physics question so it’s urgent that I get a response to that
I am very surprised you are allowed to take Math Studies + Physics HL. At our school it requires concurrent enrollment in Math HL.
I would never recommend Physics HL to a weak math student.
^very much agree.
You should not take Physics HL if you’re a weak math student. While IB Physics may be algebra based most students in that class will be much stronger in math than you seem to be. You’d be better served with the more qualitative Bio class.
Why not take Bio SL and film HL? You seem like a humanities oriented student so taking an HL science doesn’t realy make sense.
I’m taking IB Film from Pamoja Online and sadly they don’t offer IBH only IBS. I wanted to have a challenging schedule and physics has always interested me but I was never good in math because that didn’t interest me. Do the two have to go hand in hand? anyways, I really appreciate your response
I would have to say that physics and math go hand in hand. Last year I took the IBMYP Physics course and while there were some parts of units that were purely conceptual; a vast, vast majority of the topics covered required math. I’d say that I used math every single day. Just my 2 cents
There are some who go so far as to say “physics is nothing but applied math”. Of course they’re wrong, but the fact remains that physics is arguably the most quantitative out of the three pure sciences (Bio, Chem, Physics). At the high school level, most physics problems are something like 20% physics, 80% math - use the physics to figure out the equation, use the math to solve the equation.
I agree with the comment about HL Physics and math studies. At the very minimum I would have thought that you would enroll in mathematics. Also, HL Physics is very demanding and quite frankly very difficult. People in my school took Physics honors and got A’s but then moved to HL Physics and were happy with a high C.
My daughter is very strong in math and she said that the IB Physics class was the hardest one she’s ever taken. She needed a tutor for about 8 weeks to really solidify her understanding of the subject matter. I would not recommend it if you can at all avoid it given your stated math abilities and aversion. She currently has an A in the IB Bio HL class, and really enjoys it.
I took IB Physics SL last school year (as a sophomore). I had a bad teacher, so the tests in the class were ridiculously easy. I got an A, but when I went to take the IB test, I bombed it. (I’m a strong enough math student that I can pull As in math with minimal studying.) My IB coordinator never gave me my login ID, so I don’t know how badly it went, but it went BAD. There’s even a whole petition to the test that thousands of IB students and teachers have signed. If you’re not strong in math, I wouldn’t suggest taking the class, especially since your teacher will probably be better than mine and give you tests that are equivalent to the rigor of IB. I would suggest taking IB Bio or IB Environmental Systems.
There’s no point in having an IB diploma in the US.
Even at international schools overseas, many American students will take IB course but don’t bother with the diploma if they intend to attend college in tne US.
@PrimeMeridian Do you really think so? I’m a rising junior as well and doing the IB Diploma, and U of M admissions officers have spoken in my school about the advantages IB Diploma gives in admissions. If anything, it guarantees the “most rigorous load” checkmark.
Taking HL IB courses w/o getting the diploma will also get you a checkmark.
I have no idea which school U of M is, but if it’s a school in the US then I can absolutely guarantee the vast majority of students got admitted w/o an IB diploma, because the vast majority of schools in the US don’t even offer the IB program.
If you want an IB diploma, then do it. If you’re doing it just to get into college then don’t bother.
@PrimeMeridian University of Michigan (sorry, we refer to it as U of M here). And that is true. Majority (if not all) of the people from my school who get admitted are non-IB students. But this may have more to do with the individual cases, as oftentimes these people had lower grades and little involvement in school.
I’m doing it because I was going to take most of the classes in the program anyways. Might as well get a certificate for doing it, and the checkmark.
@PrimeMeridian
Some colleges in the US will give you 24 college credits (almost an entire freshman year) for the IB Diploma. Every college in my state does this.
If math isn’t your strong suit, take science SL and take another humanities/art HL.
In any case, Physics HL is NOT appropriate for someone who didn’t get a 90%+ easily in Algebra and pre-calculus (it’s more geared for students who got 95+).