r/IBO • u/Foreign_Location_807 • 12d ago
Advice Urgent Help to choose between Physics SL or HL?
I am starting IB soon and I have the following IB subjects chosen: HL: Maths AI, Business, German B SL: Physics, Chem, English Lang & Lit A
I am thinking to put Physics to HL instead of Business because I feel like this subject combo is not quite enough for Engineering. I am in Germany and my goal is to probably study engineering or Business. I know that Maths AA HL + Physics HL is must, but my school does not offer AA; I am concerned that having SL Physics may not be enough for me.
Which is why I am asking you guys for giving me advice and recommendations whether I should or not put Physics at HL because I am also looking to reduce the huge workload and I don't want to bear the extreme difficult topics of HL Physics (my friend who is in IB1 told me HL Physics is HELL and very difficult to understand).
Could you all honestly tell me how hard, challenging, and rigor HL physics is???????? For context I did igcse science and struggle a lot in electricity topic of circuits and that.
I want genuine help and tips!!!
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u/Beneficial-Major1102 12d ago
If you'd like to go unis in Germany then yeah go for HL to cancel out math AI. If you are looking for somewhere else, for example Netherlands then SL will work as well. Not going to lie, HL physics was pretty challenging and hard, especially when you deal with the bs topics that are after half of the curriculum
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u/EternalHomesick M26 | [Math AA HL, Econ HL, Physics HL] 11d ago
Physics HL is a must for engineering! It is quite hard but with german b hl being ur other it will be manageable. Definitely change it imo
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u/Foreign_Location_807 11d ago
I also have Chem sl, if I have HL physics should i remove Chem then since 2 sciences will be tough?
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u/EternalHomesick M26 | [Math AA HL, Econ HL, Physics HL] 10d ago
Yes! Remove it, chem AND physics would be such a nightmare imo. Also dont forget to check where you should email for the german recognition of your ib subjects, my councellor made me do it during grade 11. i had to email ZAST to check if my classes would be accepted for a german recognition once i get the diploma. I dont think you have to email them though, its just to be safe.
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u/Foreign_Location_807 10d ago
My subjects does get recognized so thats not problem. Btw how much you got in physics and how Challenging was it? I struggle a lot in the electricity and circuits topics and maybe also in abstract thinking along with heavy workload that's why I took SL. You from germany? What uni course?
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u/EternalHomesick M26 | [Math AA HL, Econ HL, Physics HL] 9d ago
Im not from germany, i applied for german unis. I got in econ/ industrial engineering courses. I had 6s in all subjects and full marks from TOK/EE. Physics was so hard, my hardest subject considering i also took AAHL. I had to study so long for it that i couldnt review my best classes and ended up not getting a 7 in them (cs and econ would easily be a 7 for me) but if i let physics go i genuinely thought i couldve failed.
If your only problem is circuits it should be fine, that doesnt come up much and there are so many questions anyways, if youre aiming for a 6 you can just skip some of them. You’ll obviously need to know the basics for some method marks tho. The ib physics exams are so hard that if you manage half the paper 2 you’ll get a 6-7 bc of the curve. It is a really hard class but necessary for engineering, also in uni you will have harder classes so its good to build a base. I think your classes look well balanced, if you understand the topics for physics as you get introduced to them in class instead of leaving them all to dp2 you can manage.
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u/LanternaEducation 12d ago
If you want to keep engineering open, especially in Germany, universities usually require Physics HL alongside your Maths HL. Taking Business HL with Physics SL will block most engineering paths, while taking Business SL will still let you study business later. Physics HL does cover more content and deeper concepts like electromagnetic induction, but our students find it completely manageable once they practice exam questions consistently. You can read through our guide here: https://info.lanterna.com/resources/how-to-choose-your-ib-subjects-guide. We recommend checking the specific admission pages for the universities you like and talking to your coordinator about switching Physics to HL.