My IB Experience
Hi Readers! Welcome to my first post! As I’m sure you can tell by the title, I wanted to give you an honest review of IB for all my fellow and future IB students. For some context, I did the American high school curriculum in my first two years of high school, this made my transition to IB difficult, as I didn't have all the foundational knowledge I required in some classes.
TIP: Take MYP (The IB Middle Years Program), or try to learn as much foundation for your courses the summer before.
I will not stress this enough, if you are in IB, or thinking about joining, PLEASE read my posts because I promise I will tell you everything you need to know. The IB (International Baccalaureate Program) is a two-year program where students take six classes; three of them are Higher Level (HL) courses, while three are Standard Level (SL). In addition, students must pass CAS (creativity, activity, service), write a 4000-word essay called the extended essay (EE), and take Theory of Knowledge (TOK), a class that explores a bunch of philosophical questions about knowledge. The grading system is out of 7, with a total accumulation of 45 points. Each class can award a student with 7 points, which would give a student 42 points. The final three points are based on EE and TOK grading.
When I took IB, My classes were:
Chemistry HL
This class is deeply conceptual, about 25% of the curriculum requires memorization, while the rest is based on concepts like calculations and theories. For current IB1 students (Class of 2024) the syllabus includes twenty-one main chapters and one option. Options are ‘extra’ chapters students take after finishing the main content. Options only apply to the paper 3 exams. I did the biochemistry option which made the most sense since a lot of the content was similar to IB Biology HL; so studying for my option also allowed me to study for biology.
Biology HL
Biology is all based on memorization, so definitely don't take this class if you struggle with memorizing information. While it's a sad truth, the only way to walk out of the exam with a 7 is to memorize the mark schemes of all the possible questions, since most exam questions have very specific answers, and missing a keyword can cost you the mark. For the biology option, I decided to study neurobiology, as this chapter was very similar to the Psychology HL syllabus and allowed me to study for two classes in one.
Psychology HL
Like biology, Psychology is heavy on memorization. However, there are ways to reduce how much you need to know. In psychology exams, it's required to support every claim with a psychological study, and considering the number of topics, a student might have to memorize dozens of studies, however, there are ways to reduce the number (which I'll reveal in the future ;)). If you decide to take Psych HL, just go in prepared, knowing it's heavy on memorization and writing. For HL, you must take 2 options, I studied Abnormal psychology and Human relationships,
English: Language and Literature SL (English LAL SL)
This class explores visual and textual techniques through Non-literary and literary bodies of work. A literary piece would be a poem, or novel, while a Non-lit piece is a movie or poster. Through the class, you will explore both types of works and use your knowledge in the final exams. Your Paper 1 exam is based on a Non-lit text, while Paper 2 is based on Literary texts. The Individual Oral is based on both types of text.
Math: Analysis and Approaches SL (Math AA SL)
Math AA focuses a lot more on the techniques of math (approaches), this class is more for individuals going into STEM, or any subject that may require math in some form. The class is very similar to Algebra II, whereas Math: Analysis and Interpretation (Math AI) is a lot like statistics. Math AA is a big time commitment, involving a LOT of practice since a lot of the Exam questions are built to confuse the student. It's important to truly understand the mathematical concept instead of just memorizing formulas and responses, thus, if you are unwilling to give Math AA SL the focus it requires, definitely go into Math AI
Spanish ab Initio SL
A lot of people will say that ‘ab initio’ classes are for those who have ‘never learned the language’... that is completely false. The problem is, IB requires you to become slightly fluent in the language by the end of the two years, so I would suggest going into a language that you are familiar with and have somewhat of a background in. I did not know any Spanish, so I had to put a lot of time into this class which ended up damaging my other classes.
TIP: try to choose the easiest SL classes, you never want to waste too much time on SLs because your HLs will need more of your attention.
CAS: Creativity, Activity Service
In CAS, students are required to plan and carry out different activities and services to the community around them. The biggest part of CAS is the CAS project, which must be completed to earn your degree. For my CAS project, I did a podcast with some friends, talking about topics that we were passionate about, like true crime and the government. Other activities included: taking part in a bake sale, putting up flyers around the school about mental health, and helping out teachers with any projects they were doing. You're not graded on the class, however, there are certain requirements that you must meet to get a ‘Pass’. These requirements include completing the CAS project and doing enough CAS activities to meet all the learning objectives. If you do not complete and pass CAS, you will not receive your diploma, so the activities you decide to choose are very important.
EE: Extended Essay
Every student is required to write a 4000-word essay on a subject and topic of their choice. Each subject (English, math, psychology, etc.) has its own grading system that has been dictated by the IB itself. In addition, IB has described certain topics that are not allowed to be studied. For example, IB does not allow essays on ‘pop psychology’. For the EE, the student creates a question, then takes the next year to research and write their essay. The grade of the EE influences the 3 ‘extra’ points a student can graduate with. The Essay is graded on an A-E scale. The photo below describes how the EE and TOK grades can both affect the number of points a student can receive.
TOK: Theory of Knowledge
TOK is a philosophical class that explores knowledge. The class has 2 assessments that play into the final grade: The exhibition and The essay. For the exhibition, students choose a question from a list of IB-accepted questions, and respond using objects as examples… I know this is confusing, but you'll understand better when you take the class. For the essay, students choose one of six questions that are released by the IB the year they graduate. The student must answer this question using the tools and ideas they learn in class. TOK is also required to graduate IB and plays a part in the number of points a student can receive as seen in the chart.
IB is not for everyone, so please listen to those around you when they talk about their experience. You don't want to start IB and then regret it when it’s too late. Nevertheless, IB allows you to walk away with skills you may not have gotten in any other program. The time commitment and workload are harsh, but it is possible to succeed and get the grade you want. IB after Covid is definitely on steroids, so I would suggest taking as much time as you need to access your choice.