r/IBO

Does anyone have advice for me? I am going to start my IB program very soon. I am going to be taking Math AA HL, Chemistry HL, and Physics HL. Am I doomed? (Avengers reference haha sorry)

I was only predicted 35 but got 38 at the final exam with 766 in HL subjects, which are economics, history, and English B

However, due to the predicted grade, the best university I can go to now is UCL. I believe it is a good university, but I am not satisfied with the course, which is education, society and culture. I believe that my grade deserves a better course.

Should I take a gap year for reapplication?

nah fr tho most ppl i know were forced by their parents, the other few just wanted to feel smart. so i'm genuinely curious

I used to be pretty good at maths at like secondary school - get about 85-90%
But now in year 1 - I only got a 47% for my final end of year and then now in my prelims - I got like 65%. How can I get a 7?
I will be taking my exams in November 2026

Hi, I am thinking of going into IB next year, but for my group 3 subject I wanted to do Psychology HL. However my school does not offer this as a course, so I could do Pamoja but I heard that was a horrible waste of money. I was thinking about just self studying and getting study periods to do it at school since I am already doing that for a subject this year and with Pamoja its pretty much self studying too from what I have heard, but I know IB can be strict and I am not 100% clear on the rules, so I was wondering is this actually allowed in IB? Thanks!

MAI HL 7
History (Americas) HL 7
English A LAL HL 7
Vietnamese A LAL HL 6
Business SL 7
CompSci SL 7
TOK A

majoring in law & social sciences
accepted to ucl, hku, etc.

random subject combo ik, would’ve picked differently if my school offered more subjects/ had them in separate subject groups, but it is what it is. still had a decent time w ib tho, so hopefully I can be useful to anyone going through it too.

edit: I also post my personal ib resources, advice, n tips on @ib.giarchive if you wanna check em out.

Okay so my situation is kinda complicated but like....my school offered AA HL for the previous batch of students but refused to do so for mine cuz of small batch sizes and there not being enough students for different math courses basically. Thing is I need NEED AA for uni so we came to an agreement that I'd get the resources given to the previous batch and like self study it but with teacher support if that makes sense (?)and then the school would have tests and stuff. Which was fine,I had made peace with that and was rather calm.The issue is the syllabus is so immensely overwhelming and like idek where to begin from or what to do. My school textbook (Pearson) has a completely different order from the stuff I find online and like idkkk. I'm lowk freaking out while writing this what even do I doooo like what do I do what do I do what do I dooo.

I'll admit it's partially my fault for walking in unprepared but like I looked at the textbook I did a few chapters over the summer and stuff I tried k? I just i dunno,like I don't know what to do,I'm freaking out while writing this and yeah. Like when my school presented it last year I thought there would be more from the school's side I guess I didn't think I'd have to SELF STUDY fricking math outta everything like....I just got a timeline for when to do stuff and a few practice worksheets and thas basically it.

Sorry for the long rant. I just had to get it out somewhere and ask someone ig, school started today and it's all....just so overwhelming,I can't relax I can't read my novel or doomscroll but whenever I sit down and try to do math,I have panic attacks and stuff. ANY advice at all would be appreciated, thanks a lot if ya read all of that and like....once again I'm so sorry for the long post

Tldr:-My school doesn’t offer AA HL to my cohort, but I need it for uni, so I’m self-studying it using the previous cohort’s resources with only a few school tests/mocks. The syllabus is overwhelming and the textbook doesn’t exactly line up with online resources, and I’m freaking out trying to figure out what to study, in what order, and how to make sure I don’t miss anything. Everytime I open the textbook I have a panic attack but I also have to start doing stuff. (I used AI for the tldr my apologies to anyone that's anti ai)

Hey! I’m in my second week of IB and I need some advice from others more experienced than I. For my classes, what are the best study plans, reasourses, thoughts on course selection? Also, as the title suggests our TOK teacher left after 2 weeks and we’re doing nothing. Stressed it’s gonna effect me long term when doing my EE and managing IB diploma requirements as I won’t be able to get experienced advice from someone qualified

My Classes:

HL: Biology, Lit and Lang, History of the Americas

SL: Math AA, Physics, Spanish B

Im a writing and history oriented person

I want to take HL physics (I have SL now) but I am worried that it will bring heavy workload and it will be super difficult to understand and get 7?

What do you think the difference is between HL and SL Physics?

For context, I have:

HL: MAI, German B, Business / Physics

SL: Chem, English LL, Physics/ Business

I also have Chem SL so I believe the woroad will be huge?

Here is my story. FYI, I have finished an IB school (internation baccalaureate) which was 2 years long and while doing it i was studying german. Our initial plan was to get atleast b2 german by the end of my highschool and also very good highschool grades in order to have a chance in being accepted into med school in germany. So by the end of the highschool, i could get between b2-c1 (TestDAF exam) but my highschool grades weren't enough, so we decided not to pursue the foundation year in germany as even if i have absolute perfect grades from there, combined with my highschool grade, i would still have no chance. So now i got accepted into two medical unis in my country, i rejected one and have been (99.9%) accepted to another one. Our plan is to study one year here, bring my german up to C1 level and get a very good grade from my IB diploma (40 minimum, retake november). Its currently summer and my father keeps on telling me to quit video games and study. FYI, i study everyday for atleast 3 hours on either ib or german or combined and i play video games usually 2-2h 30 min. My screen time is high tho, 4h+. Do you think I should quit video games? limit screen time? I know this post may seem stupid but i need some genuine advice bruh, i am tired.

Hey guys so Im a grade 11 student and literally my course selection ends TODAY. (specifically in 2 hours)

My current HLs are : Chem, ESS and Business and SL Math AA, French Lit, Eng L&L

And Im thinking of switching it to HL Chem, HL Bio, and HL Economics

In a perfect world I would have picked econ hl but my school's timetable doesnt allow me to take that class so I had no choice but to take Business. And after 2 weeks I just went with the flow but I found it really boring and a lot of reddit posts ive seen were talking about how Economics is more useful for the future rather than Business.

Ive also talked with my teacher and I could potentially still learn about climate change and all that in Bio. And people in my school have been dropping economics because of the teacher so at first I thought I might as well not change it but Im starting to realise how my Business teacher also sucks bum so I literally don't know what to choose and Im open for both .

Just saying I dont really know what I want to do for the future, but generally I am interested in DNA or Environmental Sciences. Also Im kind of open to anything as well My top priority is to keep my doors open to more possibilities, but I know how hard Econ and Bio probably is. But I also dont want to be bore to death these two years taking Business.

So yeah please help, any response would be useful and also first time using reddit so yeah😭😭😭7

I am currently stuck between taking Chinese SL or Spanish Abinitio SL. Here’s my situation:

I have been learning chinese since i’m small, but today I am at the same level as kids of my class. I have the basic communication means, meaning I can most likely have a very basic conversation. My may exam is probably going to be in writing, which is what worries me as I cannot even write my name in chinese.

On the other hand, I am french and speak fluently french, which is already similar to spanish. Since the course is abinitio, it means that they are starting from scratch like learning a new language. Another reason for this switch is I want to attend a french university, so while visiting my family that lives in the south during breaks, spain is very close and we go there for shopping/gas etc, I find that knowing spanish could be very useful to me.

Note: I have 2 weeks to switch as I just started the DP, and the longer i wait, the more i will miss out on.

Please help me!!! 🙏

controversial take for exam season: rereading your notes the night before does basically nothing except make you feel busy. it fades faster than you think.

what actually moved my papers was doing past papers under timed conditions and then grading myself against the mark scheme, line by line, the way an examiner would. not "did i get the vibe of the answer" but "did i hit the exact points that earn marks." you find out really fast that you were writing three paragraphs when the markscheme wanted one specific term.

the pattern that worked for me:

- print the paper, actually sit it timed, no notes

- mark it yourself with the official scheme open

- write down the specific sub-topics you dropped marks on (not "review the whole chapter," the exact thing)

- turn those gaps into active recall, quiz yourself on them again in a day or two before they fade

the last part is the bit people skip. one pass fades. you have to hit the gap again before it's gone or you're just cramming the same thing twice.

curious how everyone else uses mark schemes though. do you grade yourself as you go or wait til the end? and does anyone actually track which command terms they keep losing marks on, or is that just me being unhinged in may.

The calculators are super-expensive and I am not sure whether I should get a used one since they are half the price.

Is anyone selling old IB items in here?