The advantage of IB education is that you can choose the subjects you want to study, which can be from any stream. The board encourages interdisciplinary learning and in the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP), students attempt an Extended Essay on a topic that studies an issue from an interdisciplinary perspective. While Mathematics and English are compulsory subjects, students have the option to decide the intensity at which they will study these subjects, that is, higher level (HL) or standard level (SL). students have greater agency over their academics with IB which can pose a dilemma, especially when there are so many interesting options. Let us discuss 6 questions to ask before picking IB subjects.
In IBDP, you select six subjects from six subject groups and will study them for two years. These subjects have the potential to determine your future development. So, choose subjects that you find interesting. We all have our unique strengths and while some skills and interests can be cultivated, you cannot expect to be good at every subject. So, understand where your strengths lie and choose subjects that challenge you. It is important to strike a balance between strengths and interests when choosing IB subjects because the curriculum is challenging.
IBDP is a pre-university course where you will learn core concepts of the subjects and acquire skills that are relevant to a college education. The subjects that you choose in IBDP will lead to a logical progression to several college programmes. Many courses such as Medical Sciences and Engineering mention subject requirements for applicants in the 11th and 12th grades. So, you must shortlist the college programmes, understand their course requirements and accordingly choose subjects in IBDP.
The subject may sound interesting, but the course content may not cover all the topics that you need to qualify for a college programme. Further, the assessments may be difficult and overall requirements may be too time-consuming. It is important to shortlist the subjects that are important for your college application and the subjects that you have taken besides them. Select the level according to how much time you want to invest in studying it. Some subjects will be easier and they will help improve your overall scores. You can choose them to counteract the potential low-scoring subjects.
The faculty for the subjects matters because teachers can help to gain conceptual clarity, understand the objective of the programme and train you with appropriate tricks and guidelines to do well in your assessments. For instance, a good mathematics teacher can stoke your interest and kindle your love for the subject. Whereas a poor chemistry teacher can make you dread the subject and leave you baffled about the basic theories.
Each subject teaches you a skill. With English, you learn comprehension, articulation and awareness of culture and literature. Mathematics and science can teach you objective thinking skills and Art subjects hone your creativity. Steve Jobs took a Calligraphy class in college which helped in future to introduce an extensive choice of fonts in the Apple laptops, that we use in MS Word and other writing tools.
In IBDP, you choose at least six subjects and at least 3 subjects at HL. Often students like to challenge themselves and choose all subjects at HL. Many students choose 7 or more subjects. However, you must only take up as much course load as you can handle. IBDP curriculum can be rigorous and their requirements are varied and test a student’s learning and application thoroughly. So, you must be able to give it adequate time and balance the DP Core with your academic learning. So choose as much as you need to and you are confident that you can handle it without succumbing to performance pressure.
Whatever decision you make on picking IB subjects, never lose sight of balancing your mental well-being and ambitions. IBDP years can be intensive, however, balancing one’s academics and personal progress and mental stability must be of utmost importance.
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