If you are a student going into the IB Diploma Programme next year or in the future, subject choices are a big deal, and sometimes it can be very confusing when you look into it.
A full IB Diploma student needs to take all 3 core components, and in addition six subjects that can choose from six different areas: three at higher level and three at standard level. Most schools provide more than six subjects to choose from so students can select the combination of subjects that can match their future aspirations, interests, and abilities the best.
Choose your subjects with university entrance in mind
The most important aspect for your subject choice should be for your university choice, for example, students interested in studying engineering in most top universities around the world would at least require Mathematics HL and physics HL, medics will need Biology and Chemistry at HL. Even if you are not sure of what you want to study yet, choosing the right subjects and at the right levels for the courses you are potentially interested in, should be your utmost priority.
Research subjects you are unfamiliar with before you make your decision
If you are taking IBDP next year or in the future, most likely you are currently studying IGCSE, GCSE or MYP programme, and there are subjects in IBDP that are new to you, subjects like psychology, business, and environmental systems are not available previously are now open to you, before you rush in and choose these subjects blindly, try to find out more about them, you can do this by talking to the subject teachers, IB coordinator, or any personnel who have professional knowledge about the IB subjects (IB tutors/EE/TOK tutors), borrowing the subjects textbook form the library, talking to senior students who take the subject etc, often students interested in a subject only to find out that it was a great mistake and find it boring going deeper into the subject, or it is too rigorous to achieve a preferable grade, don’t let that happen on you.
Understand the difference between Higher and Standard level
Having the choice of HL and SL may be new to you, as 3 out of 6 of the subjects has to be HL, it pays to find out exactly what additional content and assessment is required for subjects at HL. Taking a HL subject means covering all the SL material and then an additional extension, in many subjects the HL extension material is much more extensive and challenging than the SL counterparts, for example, HL science subjects will have almost double the amount of subject content, and some art subjects will require more time on project work so make sure you have allocated enough time accordingly to avoid overstretching yourself with demands on your time.
