IB (International Baccalaureate) help!

[Juan TS]

For the ones who know what the IB is and have already done it, I would appreciate some help...

I am on my First IB year and I need to choose now my HL's subjects. But I really don't know which to pick!

Before all, my current subjects are:
Portuguese A1, English B1, Mathematics, History, Economics and Envrionmental Systems and Societies.
I want to follow Business Management for sure and I want to study abroad, like in the UK (I live in Portugal).

So, bearing in mind that I want to follow Business Management (or pretty similar) and that there is no HL Economics on my school, what subjects do you think that I should follow? and what subjects are required by the recognized universities for these type of courses?

(BTW, I don't think HL Mathematics will be necessary, and if Economics is a must of then I'll find a way to get some classes out of school!)

Thanks!

 

[Daffodil]

For the ones who know what the IB is and have already done it, I would appreciate some help...

I am on my First IB year and I need to choose now my HL's subjects. But I really don't know which to pick!

Before all, my current subjects are:
Portuguese A1, English B1, Mathematics, History, Economics and Envrionmental Systems and Societies.
I want to follow Business Management for sure and I want to study abroad, like in the UK (I live in Portugal).

So, bearing in mind that I want to follow Business Management (or pretty similar) and that there is no HL Economics on my school, what subjects do you think that I should follow? and what subjects are required by the recognized universities for these type of courses?

(BTW, I don't think HL Mathematics will be necessary, and if Economics is a must of then I'll find a way to get some classes out of school!)

Thanks!

HL Math is really tough. Take it from someone who did it - unless you really love math, and are prepared to spend a lot of time on it, don't go there. You'll learn calculus in depth in college if you need it, and SL math still prepares you pretty well for university-level mathematics.

I'm assuming you'll do your A1 language HL, and if you're planning on going studying abroad you could consider doing English HL too. History HL is really interesting, and might provide you with a useful perspective, but you need to have a good teacher for it to be enjoyable. Since your school doesn't offer Economics HL, which presumably would be the most relevant to you, perhaps you could do your Extended Essay in Economics to get more in-depth knowledge before uni?

Other than English, all my HLs were science, but that probably not too relevant for you. Either way, good luck getting through the IB!

 

[Juan TS]

HL Math is really tough. Take it from someone who did it - unless you really love math, and are prepared to spend a lot of time on it, don't go there. You'll learn calculus in depth in college if you need it, and SL math still prepares you pretty well for university-level mathematics.

I'm assuming you'll do your A1 language HL, and if you're planning on going studying abroad you could consider doing English HL too. History HL is really interesting, and might provide you with a useful perspective, but you need to have a good teacher for it to be enjoyable. Since your school doesn't offer Economics HL, which presumably would be the most relevant to you, perhaps you could do your Extended Essay in Economics to get more in-depth knowledge before uni?

Other than English, all my HLs were science, but that probably not too relevant for you. Either way, good luck getting through the IB!

I really appreciate your answer!

What I mean with "not having Economics HL" I mean the teaching, but I can have the exam.

Mathematics, well, I'm a good student, I actually enjoy it, but I'm not a "mathematics lover" as you said, and knowing that I won't need it that much discourages me to take it.

Yes I have an excellent History teacher, really demanding and really,really good!

So your opinion would be to follow History HL, English HL and Economics HL as well?

 

[Demosthenes X]

I did History and English HL and enjoyed both.

If you plan to study economics in university, I would strongly consider HL Math. It will be hard, but it will make upper-level Econ courses much, much easier down the road.

 

[Daffodil]

Yeah, HL vs. SL Math can be a kinda tricky decision... So much depends on the individual. The way it was set up at my school, they taught everyone SL math in the first year and we all took the exam, then the people who wanted to continue with HL continued with it the second year, but only the HL grade showed up on your diploma.

It's sort of a strategic thing - a higher grade will help you get into a better uni, but you generally only get college credit for HL classes. I got a 7 in SL and 5 in HL, so the 5 pulled down my GPA, but the HL got me past basic math. Honestly, knowing what I know now, I'm unsure if I would've done things differently. Maybe studied more...

So apply that to how well you think you can do, how high you're aiming for university, how much you're willing to study (potentially at the expense of your other classes) and only that can give you an idea of whether HL math is a good fit for you or not...

Finally, at least at my university, they only gave credit for HL classes, so you should probably take Econ HL if at all possible.