Which one should I choose-Chemistry SL or Biology SL?

Pre-College Issues International Baccalaureate (IB)
1

I am starting my IB DP course very soon but haven’t fully decided what to choose between chem and bio. I am considering majoring in politics at university, so either subject will not have a drastic influence on my college application. What matters for me now is which subject is easier to get a higher mark.

I don’t have any interest in both Chemistry and Biology, but I received A in IGCSE Biology and B in IGCSE Chemistry- I haven’t really revised properly for both subjects.

IB DP Chemistry teacher in our school has a lot of experience and the past graduates that had learnt Chemistry from him all had a successful grade. However, he might move to another school after this year so I have no clue who will teach in the second year. The biology teacher is actually our college administrator and he also has a lot of experience teaching IB Biology. Both teachers are strict and not that generous in grading… but great at teaching.

I also heard that IB Chem requires more mathematical skills and IB Bio requires more of an essay-writing and memorisation skills. I am a bit tilting towards Chemistry right now because I already take a memory-requiring subject (History HL) and it might be just too much for me to handle.

2

I would say IB Bio

  1. You got an A already in Bio
  2. You know the teacher is good

But also who else would be in your class? Woudl you be competing against all the top STEM kids in Chem? or would they be in HL?

3

Chem SL is pretty tough. It sounds like you are stronger in Bio, so I would do that. You might find yourself investing more time than you’d like in Chem for an ultimately lackluster grade – at the expense of other classes.