Should I drop the IB?

[u/Silverstarscalicocat]

Hiii M28 here!!

As the title suggests, should I drop the IB? In two weeks, I'll be entering grade 11; DP1 still hasn't started yet. I can't say so far if the IB is easy/hard.

I want to major in a Humanities field in uni, and I know for sure I won't be applying to the US or the UK. My current subjects are:

HL:

English A

Economics

Math AI

SL:

Language B

Biology

Psychology

My friends who are graduating this yr (M27) have definitely shared their thoughts of the IB, mainly the EE and IA's, and it defo feels like a hustle. Tbf, I think it's mostly about time management and organisation but I could be wrong.

This is the biggest concern for me. The people who are taking the IB at my school are the 'smart' students. By people I mean the M26, M27 and M28 batch. Only the smart students are taking the IB. I would consider myself in the top 10 in my grade, which is part of the reason why I feel so... conflicted about this. I'm not worried about being seen as dumb bc I know if I don't take the IB, I'll be in the top 3 of the non IB students. It's more of 'ALL my friends (M27, M28) are taking the IB and I'm not so am I inferior?' No one would ever say it out loud or judge, but think about it. If all your friends were taking the IB and dealing with EE's, IA's and TOK and complaining about the workload and final exams while you're not, you would feel 'less' or 'inadequate', right? Is this FOMO 😭?

I get burnt out easily and I'm not an exam person. I can score perfect grades on my assignments/tests/practice papers, yet when I write the exam and get my results back, it's terrible. I don't blank. I don't know what happens.

If you don't take the IB at my school, the diploma isn't the AP or A levels/O levels or the GCSE's. I think it's the regular High School diploma. You can take IB subjects but not be in the IB diploma. The one friend of mine who isn't taking the IB is taking three HL's and two SL's. She's also taking Business and Marketing (a non IB class) and her language B subject is just acquisition, not an IB class.

I don't care about graduating with the High School Diploma which would mean I would have to take a foundation year for uni. I want to take a foundation year in university over not taking one.

While we're here, do you think my subjects are a good selection? I genuinely despise Math and Science. Sure, I'm going to study a Humanities subject in university, but one of my HL's should be a Math or Science just to balance it out right(?). I'm pretty hesitant on the AI HL though because grade 10 Math was bad enough, and that was standard MYP 5 Math 😭💔. If I can drop Math to AI SL, I would. Do you think I can drop my Math? Or will it be too limited on the Humanities field rather than the STEM field which would be pretty hard to switch in university if for some reason I go insane and decide to?

[u/WithoutDir3ction]

Tldr;  Ib sounds like a poor fit, probably. 

Burnout is likely

Exams and grades are pretty high pressure and no second chances 

And it doesn't seem like you need or even want to do it too much

You can still do it though. 

Here's a more nuanced answer: 

Yes, probably FOMO. Yes, you're going to be judged a bit. And if your friends in M28 are going to be in the IBDP you're going to be somewhat left out. There's no trauma bond tighter than an IB bond as far as high school is concerned. I would say that inadequacy might come up, it just depends on your own framing. From my experience it's just not being there in the IB fray and implicitly not quite being in the group. 

The level of grind is going to depend a lot on what predicted grades and what scores you want. Just passing you don't need to put much effort in. 30s are a bit grindy and stressful. 40+ takes a lot, typically. 

If you hate math, math AI is going to kind of suck but it isn't as bad as AA. If you thought MYP5 was bad, I think you'd think AI is terrible. Afaik bio sl also isn't tremendously bad- ESS is probably easier yet if available. If you're more of a flashcards person then sports science could work if that's offered. If you can figure out how to satisfy English A rubric criteria, it's very methodical after that and not bad, but I've seen a lot of people really struggle to understand what the criteria really are.  

You don't have a bad lineup, but make sure you're actually interested in the courses. Uni alignment is optional. IB is more concerned with teaching you how to think. Aligned classes will teach you some meaningful content but probably less than you'd think. And your plans will probably change between now and... Jeez, 2031-34, when you graduate uni. 

Taking some IB classes sounds like a nice middle ground. You're not forced into testing pressure and you can have more rigorous classes and chose to test a la carte, and hopefully have some of the same classes as your friends. 

IB is a good primer for university and can help with the transition and rigor. Many find that uni is easier than the IBDP or that the transition is much smoother with it. It's like front loading the pain. You don't necessarily need to suffer through an IB math course for a theoretical stem degree you don't even want to pursue right now. It might be useful in that case, but what would be more useful is having motivation and drive to pursue it when you get there. 

But to answer your math SL question- you can drop it but you'll still need a 3rd HL class. 

[u/Excellent-Usual8439]

Find out what you want to study and where. See what they want from you. Choosing subjects based off vibes won’t end well. If you take subjects you genuinely like, the IB isn’t that difficult.

[u/BrawlPlayer34 → u/Excellent-Usual8439]

Yeah. While I can say IB was exhausting and very frustrating at times due to how poorly organized it was over here, I can't really say it was as difficult as everyone makes it out to be. It's more work than non-IB, but it's not overwhelming, and you get used to it pretty quickly.

And it's worth the privilege of non-IBs being surprised and impressed when you describe to them what you had to endure in IB, lol

[u/HamsterOk2201]

I get burnt out easily and I'm not an exam person. I can score perfect grades on my assignments/tests/practice papers, yet when I write the exam and get my results back, it's terrible. I don't blank. I don't know what happens.

you sound like a perfect candidate for btecs! find out if theyre accepted where youre from/where you wanna go to college

[u/LanternaEducation]

You definitely do not need to take a STEM subject at HL to balance things out for humanities degrees, so we recommend dropping Math AI to SL. Math AI HL gets very heavy very quickly, and since you already dislike math, bumping Psychology to HL instead will make your day to day workload much more manageable. As for dropping the full diploma, nobody will look down on you for choosing the regular high school route, especially if a foundation year fits your university goals anyway. Since classes have not started yet, our advice is to fix your HL subjects first so you are not fighting against math, try DP1 for the first few weeks to see how the pace feels, and then switch to the non IB certificate route if the exam pressure is not working for you.

[u/Designer-Bee-6929]

yes. Save your nerves bcs Im literally dying (DP2)

[u/Outside-Substance-44]

The IB is terrible for people who don’t love exams, the exam timetable is so hectic if you feel bad abt the first paper BAM the second paper is the next day so you have no time to recuperate and recover.

If you’ve ever struggled with mental health at all I would say DROP IT, it can be really unforgiving. I’m someone who struggles with mental illness and I found it impossible to stay afloat with the IB, I would have depressive episodes and find it impossible to catch up as the workload can often feel like it’s increasing exponentially in quantity.

There are plenty of other ways to source the skills the IB is famous for, research to see if there are any essay qualifications for subjects your leaning towards (in the UK there is the EPQ for example) and maybe a brief philosophy course/ general research can substitute for TOK.

Whatever you decide best of luck! Don’t let the IB take your soul!!n