Weighing out my options

Pre-College Issues International Baccalaureate (IB)
1

Hi Friends~

i’m having a really hard time deciding my next year ( my senior year of highschool ahh >.< ) courses. So far I’ve decided on these classes for sure
IB Eng HL
CIS Econ ( “college in the schools” program where i’m basically getting college credit without taking a test at the end )
IB Math SL
Bio Hon II : Anatomy and Physiology ( an elective )
Medical Terminology ( also an elective )
and 3 other irrelevant electives

The two classes that i’m struggling between are IB Biology HL vs AP US Gov’t and Politics. Some of you reading may be wondering why I’m debating between two totally different subjects but to me it’s a concern. Part of me wants to take both of the classes to challenge myself, but at the same time I don’t want to overstress myself because i won’t be able to maintain my gpa

A little background

  • i have yet to receive a grade below an A- in highschool
  • i’m a typical hon/ib/ap student
  • this year i decided to not take ap/ib euro because ap us history scared the living crap out of me ( but i still passed the apush test ) and instead took ib bio 11 sl/hl ( because my school doesn’t specify in junior year
  • i would like to go into the medical field

I’m worried about IB Bio HL because apparently the passing rate is extremely low at my highschool ( I’ve heard that its about 7% ) but i like learning about biology ( even though i haven’t had part B of the class yet )

AP Gov’t is a concern because because as mentioned above, i took a break from the higher level social studies class this year. I feel like i wont be able to get back into the groove of an AP class and just flat out fail. At the same time, my school does offer a review trimester for this class and i’d like to challenge myself a bit.

Any opinions on which class i should take or not take and your experiences in the classes? Should i just suck it up and take both classes?

2

I wouldn’t take both. Remember that you have college apps to do in the fall. Don’t overextend yourself; you want to have enough time to do a good job.

My experience is that social studies is more “stand alone” – not as much of s building block subject as sciences. And that 7% rate would concern me.

3

Are you looking for rigour? Because I don’t see it unless you have the HL bio (you only have 1 HL in an IB school?) . What is your end plan? What univ’s and what major? Medical field can cover a lot of ground. Specifically?

4

Don’t take medical terminology - it’s a fluff class and it’s got nothing to do with what premeds need. (it may help if you’re going into cna or perhaps nursing.)
You need to make sure you’ve had all three of biology, chemistry, and physics. Premeds have two semesters of required bio, but five semesters Of chemistry-related requirements, and many get stumped by chemistry, so you need to have the strongest possible background in that.
I’d drop anatomy and physiology and take ib bio instead, plus if you can chemistry hl/sl/ap/honors depending on your preparation.
As long as you’ve reached level 3,4,or AP in a foreign language you’re good with the above + current schedule.

5

I think HL bio (or HL chem or some advanced science class) is really necessary if u want to go into the medical field. I take HL Bio and it’s been a lot of work, but it’s not as hard to grasp as Chemistry!