<p>My D16 is in the first year of a pre IB program. She is currently taking Honors Bio (she was able to place out of the standard freshman preIB science class which is 1/2 Chem, 1/2 Physics). Her school only offers one science (Bio) at the HL. In order to test for the diploma, she will have to take three years of Bio in High School. Her other science class will probably be IB Chem SL, but she'll take that as a sophomore so won't be able to take the test (I think?). She doesn't plan to go into science (wants to write), but has enjoyed the Bio and Chem she has had and gets As. She doesn't want to take two science classes in one year.</p>
<p>My question is, is this normal? Will colleges understand why she hasn't taken Physics? Will three years of Bio just be boring and repetitive for her? Thanks for your perspective.</p>
<p>For me the first half of Bio HL was titled “Anatomy & Physiology,” so your daughter’s school may have something like that. But, to answer your question, I think it’s fairly normal for schools to push students into three years of biology. Not that many programs have a “Physics A” for students to jump into freshman year, or at least in the South (the only physics courses at my program are AP, but not every IB program offers AP classes), and the most popular overall IB HL courses are English, Bio, and History. Considering the unpopularity of physics and that most IB programs are too small to furnish many IB classes, I’d say there’s a very good chance that a majority of IB students have been in this situation. Generally, selective schools will have admissions offices experienced enough to know this, and non-so-selective schools either won’t care or will have enough experience locally (in case of in-state) to understand the scheduling.</p>
<p>I did that and colleges didn’t care too much. They were pretty impressed with the rigorous programs I put myself through in high school. Plus HL bio was immensely interesting and I loved it.</p>
<p>I think colleges view IB graduates a bit differently because the program is so different. I was always under the assumption that US colleges like to see Physics, Chem and Bio on an applicants HS transcripts. I, too, was concerned when I discovered that my D will graduate with an IB diploma having only 1 year of physics and 3 years of Bio. And she never took chem. Apparently this seems to be ok with the colleges she applied to. So far she got into all her EA colleges.</p>
<p>I will be graduating with 3 years or biology, 1 year of chemistry, and 1 year of physics. I didn’t want to take physics, but my state requires a physics credit, so my junior year I am taking 2 sciences. Plus in IB you have to come with the understanding that Pre-IB and IB are different.</p>