Should I take IB HL Geography or History?

[HenryFeddersen]

Hi, everyone.

I’m taking the bilingual IB diploma and I don’t know whether I should choose HL Geography or HL History.

I want to study Economics, Political Science or International Relations.

For the moment, my other IB subjects are:

• HL Maths
• HL Economics
• HL English Lit
• HL Geo / History
• SL German A
• SL Biology

What do you think would Harvard prefer? Would HL History be too much work, considering that I also have SAT prep to do?

[renaissancedad]

I thought IBD limits you to 4 HL subjects. In any case, either would be fine - you should take whichever most interests you.

[gibby]

I want to study Economics, Political Science or International Relations.

While Harvard asks about a student’s “intended major,” the majority of US college student’s switch their major at least once during their four years of school. So, Harvard Admissions cannot use your “intended major” for the purposes of recruiting students. As a result, all student’s apply to Harvard College as Liberal Arts Majors and select a major, called a concentration, during their sophomore year. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_education

A liberal arts education is a term that refer(s) to certain areas of literature, languages, art history, music history, philosophy, history, mathematics, psychology, and science. The term generally refers to matters NOT relating to the professional, vocational, or technical curriculum.

This is a very different system from the UK and other countries.

What do you think would Harvard prefer?

Harvard prefers student’s who have had a rigorous all-around track record of academics, and who have done well in those courses, which include: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/choosing-courses

• The study of English for four years: close and extensive reading of the classics of the world’s literature
• Four years of a single foreign language
• The study of history for at least two, and preferably three years: American history, European history, and one additional advanced history course
• The study of mathematics for four years, including the particular topics described
• The study of science for four years: physics, chemistry, and biology, and preferably one of these at an advanced level
• Frequent practice in the writing of expository prose

Various important secondary school subjects, such as art and music, are not specifically mentioned in our recommendations. The omission of these subjects should not be interpreted as a value judgment. We are concerned only with secondary school subjects for which we have data that suggest they are specific prerequisites for college work.

How much of that have you already accomplished? What remaining courses would you need to take to accomplish all the above? Your post doesn’t address this question, so it’s difficult to answer with any specifics.

Notice that economics is not listed in what Harvard seeks – not even from student’s interested in economics. It’s nice that you are taking economics as you have an interest in it, however you should not take economics at the expense of another year of history (unless you’ve already taken 3 years of history).

[T26E4]

This is one of five posts (out of 8 total) where you’ve asked about your selection of HL IB courses and if they will affect your admissions chances. Each time, you’ve rec’d the same answer… Maybe you should demonstrate some of that Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Columbia spirit and choose the one you’d enjoy the most or would intellectually challenge you the most and stop worrying about how you “appear” – since you’re predicted to have all 7s and possess a 4.0 GPA.