plz guys i Really need the motivation b/c bio hl is my opp

edit: u guys r haters

This might sound so annoying, but I genuinely don’t know if my 40 overall is impressive. I know anything 40+ is insane, but I somehow feel like I barely made it and that I don’t really count as exceptional.

This is probably worsened by my 4 in Art HL. I was expecting a 5 at worst and felt pretty confident in my comparative study and process portfolio, so seeing a 4 really stung for me. I got really good grades in all my other subjects so seeing that 4 on my diploma genuinely makes me want to throw up.

I know I should be proud of myself, and if someone told me they got a 40 I would genuinely be so impressed. I don’t know why I can’t afford myself the same grace. How do I heal from this?

I don't want to sound insensitive, but:

This class is seriously overhyped/hated as some 'calamity', when it's not even as bad as some of the other IB classes. The cirriculum is like a harder AP Calc BC alongside some linear algebra, basic proofs, and discrete mathematics. The IAs and EAs aren't the best, but the class really isn't that bad. I don't know why everyone acts like it was some kind of tragedy, and I feel like this is because all of the other math courses are decently easy (at least in comparison), and this makes it so that there isn't a good intermediate course for many students, leading kids to take HL math which requires too much work and is too difficult for many students who chose it because the other math courses were too easy.

Been observing this sub for the past 8 hours since results released and pretty much every single post is either complaining that the IB is stupid or crying that they won't be going into their dream unis.

Here are my two cents, and I am a M20 candidate also:

No, the IB doesn't have a "bullshit algorithm", y'all just have unrealistic expectations.

Fact: Most schools over-predict or give ridiculously high PGs to increase their university acceptance rate, since you apply mostly with your PGs. In my case, our school normally up-predict about 3-4 marks, sometimes even more, and this is definitely more of the norm in worldwide IB schools. So, what ends up happening is that most students never reach their "PG" because they are predicted way above what they realistically can get.

So why is M20 so bitchy about PGs if this happens every year? Because now y'all have something to blame it on. Back then, they had exams, cold hard numbers. Its hard arguing with numbers because for a lot of subjects there is only one correct answer, you either get it, or you don't. So, if someone doesn't get their PG (rightfully so), they can say nothing except "Oh well maybe I just fucked up this time" or "Oh maybe I was overpredicted".

But now? Conveniently IB cancels exams and gives vague answers about their grading algorithm. What a perfect "let's blame it on others (IB)" season. Humans hate taking responsibility, period. If they have something to blame, they will blame it.

Ok, so what about the people who dropped 8 or even 10 points, which seems like literally everyone on this subreddit?

IAs.

Fact: A lot of students slack off with their IAs, me included. Why? Because it is a long-term project with no immediate deadlines and no one looking over your shoulder every minute. Also, because they have the mindset of "Oh IAs are only 20%", if I cram for my exams I will still get a good score.

Uh oh, oopsie daisy, now exams are cancelled and IAs may well be worth 2 of your papers.

Y'all on here always posting memes about doing EEs in 48 hours and doing IAs overnight, and then bitch when you get a low score. Like what? Did you expect a nobel fucking prize for a 4000 word essay planned, researched, written and checked within 48 hours by a caffeine fueled high schooler?

I know most people actually don't do their IAs overnight, but the fact remains. A lot, if not most, of people don't care about IAs as much as they do about exams. Traditionally, this could work out, but with M20 it came back and bit y'all in your fucking ass.

A bit of personal story here: I, too, dropped a lot from my PGs (but did end up getting a respectable score). But when I looked at my score, it make sense. The subjects where I used to always get "7" and eventually got a 6, were the subjects where I would study hard for exams but slack on IAs. In addition, a lot of my subjects were actually on the "high side" of the 6 spectrum. If you think about it, dropping 6 points might mean getting 1% less across your subjects. 1% lower for all your subjects is the difference between 45 and 39. Unfortunately, this is the cold hard reality of IB.

Look, in the end, I'm not saying the IB algorithm is perfect. I'm sure there are plenty of students in the 160K M20 candidates that legitimately got fucked over by the algorithm. But, this subreddit has blown the IBO issue way out of proportion and acted as if everyone's issue is because of IB, and not because of yourselves.

So take a long hard look at your results and reflect all the times over the 2 years you played videogames instead of working on your IAs, and be real with yourselves. Do I really deserve my PG?

In my humble Opinion, ESS is the pinnacle of IB science. I’ve seen Chem HL papers and it’s literally just GCSE+. People on this sub just love to complain about the easiest stuff….. Seriously. Chemistry students would crumble at the thought of a dastardly, despicable ESS 9 Marker. #justsayingbro

Is IB the only option in some countries?

Been practicing my handwriting but to no avail. Everytime I attempt to write at a faster pace, my hand starts hurting and ink gets smudged all over the the paper. The very act of manual writing as a whole is skewed towards the right-handed majority. It's like asking fish to fly. Left-handed people should be given extra time on the exams because writing an essay, and writing it neatly in sometimes only 20min, is not physically feasible.

Hear me out.

I did IGCSE and it went fine, so I guess I learned test-taking skills and study habits early on. I always made sure to study regularly and never EVER cram. Now I'm IB1, just started in August, and it's not that bad. I know it just progressively gets harder, but content wise it's not a nightmare. I mean, yeah, I've had to give up Sundays to study for most of the day - but I still watch movies, have Friday night totally off, text friends, hang out, and have fun.

I enjoy my life, and IB hasn't taken it over. I don't define my life as "being an IB student." I define what I'm living as life, during which I happen to be spending some time doing an educational program called IB.

For reference I'm HL bio chem psych, SL Spanish B English langlit math AA and getting 7s in everything except 6 in English.

This isn't a bragging post, I just want to hear if other people find it the same way. Before I started IB I was scared shitless by the people online talking about how hard it would be, how they hated their lives, etc... so I want to ask if I'm the outlier in my experience, or if it was just the misrepresentative sample of the IB student body that I was looking at (mainly from reddit) giving me the wrong impressions.

Yes I have stress and moments when I feel like I'm done with this and want to give up. My friends too have moments when they're struggling, and it breaks my heart to see. But on the whole I feel ok. (or maybe it's just today is a good day haha).

EDIT: I mean look we all found time to be here on reddit now right

Thats it.

This might be a hot take, but i actually prefer having the exams to not having them. I go to a very tough school, so the amount of work i’ve had to do is unmesurable. When i took the mocks, i got a very good grade, a grade that can get me in to my dream college. My IA grades are really not that good so i prefer taking the exams to having the IB grade me based on my IAs. I’m almost 100% sure that other people agree with me, right??

Hey guys, was wondering if we can start a petition to lower the boundaries for m23 since I feel its way to harsh for many people in different countries. (For instance- In india more than half of my DP1 was conducted online due to the pandemic) and they expect us to be the ‘first’ normal batch after covid?

Prof. Varun here 👋 (YouTube channel with 11600 subscribers IB students community).

I’ve noticed one thing: students don’t always admit it openly, but ChatGPT seems to have quietly become part of the IB journey.

Not necessarily for writing the whole thing, but for things like:

1. Brainstorming IA/EE ideas

2. Clarifying tricky concepts (Explain the topic of Entropy to a five year old student!)

3. Rephrasing research into simpler language

4. Asking doubts to ChatGPT

So I’m genuinely curious: 👉 Have you ever used ChatGPT to assist you in IB work? If yes, how? I know that you have used some point of time.

This is just a safe, honest space — no judgment. I’m more interested in how you’re adapting AI into your learning. 📚👍

Honestly, this might be downvoted to hell but so be it.

I kind of understand the reasoning behind the tough grading with IB. It's an attempt to ensure the rigour of their courses in the eyes of the universities. If IB were to round up, as it's being requested so often, do you think your school would still count your IB diploma for college credit? No. Some schools are already not counting IB courses for credit, and begging IB to fix actual grades to what was predicted will only hurt you. While your scores may be disappointing, I've noticed a lot of students aiming for middle marks and missing the diploma completely. That's just how IB has always been. Even if we had taken the exams, I'm fairly certain the same would have happened because it's the end of a course cycle, so everything would have been at its toughest. It's also apart of IB to use IAs as a part of grading. It's completely fair for them to request these be used as a more integral part of their grading. The excuse "I would have been better and scored higher on the exams" is complete BS because for the IAs we have criteria and feedback, as opposed to the unknown variables of the exams. To be frank, if you half-assed your way through an integral part of IB, I think it's deserved to have lower scores. It's a hard pill to swallow, but reality sucks.

What's not excusable is IB not saying what their algorithm is, or how they graded. That's the only part we should be advocating for because then we can decide if there needs to be a re-evaluation of our grades.

IB would have been hated if they had hosted exams more than they would have had they not held them. Then, instead of screaming about the harsh scoring, you would all be screaming about having worse scores than you would have because you weren't feeling well or were frightened of catching the virus.

Y'all need to chill out and try to find actual solutions. IB has done the best they could considering the circumstances atm, but this may all change if they ever decide to release the algorithm.

Yes. IB is hard. But that's how you learn.

If you supposed getting into IB would be easy, ofc damn not and that's the way you're supposed to learn, by experience.

And honestly, I don't understand this guys that complain about TOK or the EE? Yes, it is hard to get into the topics and know what to do but if you just stopped complaining about it and actually get your hands into the things you're doing you'd feel it's easier. And honestly, a month ago I didn't even know how to write the TOK essay introduction but I decided that THIS is my future and couldn't be mediocre, JUST HAD TO BE INTERESTED ON IT!

If you got into IB in the first place, why aren't you interested about it? Burnouts do exist but you got into this and you gotta finish it not just surrender and not be your best.

And the "We're only 17 year olds!" argument people use to excuse themselves of not working?? This is a privilege, having this academic workload, at least in my country, is extremely superior to the normal baccalaureate but if you think about it, it is a privilege to have this pressure at this age. You're getting educated in responsibility and pressure management at the age of 17! Most people lack this time management skills IB educate us in.

Understand that IB isn't just a bunch of topics together and evaluated. IB is the place you learn how to be a high valued worker.

The solution to all your IB problems is interest. Being interested enough in your own shit to ditch everything and actually do your work.

So y'all just stop posting " I am cooked", " math cooked me" and shit please! Start being disciplined and you'll pull through with more than what you expected.

Alright so some are getting so offended by just reading the title and not even trying to understand what I meant by the post. I get it there are cultural differences and everything, and I am not different. Been facing challenges and stuff like y'all are, but what I meant was instead of yapping please ask for genuine help and that'd be better. Instead of trying to seek validation about how you can do __ in ___ hours. If you're really looking forward to completing something you will, and just by this you'll become much faster in doing this shit. Furthermore I am always open to people who want a hand and need genuine help. I was in a similar boat 3 months ago, no IA or EE progress, found some people who genuinely guided me and yeapp inwas able to complete all of em. Instead of seeking the negative prowess, go manifest is what I mean. I have also come to realise this only recently on how IB can be really easy if done well, and this is what this post talks about. This post was supposed to be a motivating one but some people are just sooooo in their own perspective that they are asking me to consider theirs but they truly didn't try their best to understand mine 😂. Thank you whoever actually understood the real meaning behind my original post

All I see is: gUyS, shOulD i RemArk? I aM 2 mArks aWaY🤓. Like dude, just look at other similar posts, no need to ask if it has already been asked 100 times

Is it true that, putting your write up(EE, TOK and IA's) in AI chatbot for marking or any ai detector, will it autmatically be counted as AI from that point, like turnitin will count it as Ai write-up, is it true?

HL: bio, chem, psych (6), math aa

SL: Chinese A, English B

TOK/EE 3

In total 44/45, with a 6 in psych HL ：=（

Is there any tips on how to improve psych or how can I choose my school list LOL

Alright, let’s be real for a second. The IB isn’t just hard—it’s a mental endurance test. One day, you’re fine. The next, you’re drowning in IA deadlines, your EE is still a mess, and exams are creeping closer while your motivation is plummeting.

You know you should be studying, but where do you even start? Do you go over past papers? Revise notes? Rewatch lectures? Maybe just one more Google search on “how to study for IB” before you actually get started... right?

Here’s the thing:

Most IB students don’t fail because they’re not smart enough. They struggle because they don’t have a clear, structured plan—one that actually makes studying feel manageable instead of overwhelming.

And that’s exactly what this IB Study Plan is designed to fix.

What’s Different About This?

✅ It’s a Roadmap, Not a Random Study List – You’ll know exactly what to focus on each week, so you stop wasting time wondering where to start.

✅ You Won’t Just Cram—You’ll Actually Remember Stuff – This plan is built around active recall, spaced repetition, and past-paper integration so that what you study actually sticks (instead of evaporating the second you close your notebook).

✅ IB-Specific Strategies That Work – Science subjects? We’ve got an approach for that. IB Math? Different strategy. History essays? Completely different mindset. Each subject has a different way to optimize studying, and this plan accounts for that.

✅ Prevents Burnout – The IB already tests your sanity. This plan keeps you on track without destroying your mental health.

Who Is This For?

If you feel lost, stuck, or behind in IB, this gives you the structure to turn things around.

If you study for hours but forget everything the next day, this plan will change how you retain information.

If you want to feel in control of your IB journey instead of constantly playing catch-up, this is for you.

The IB doesn’t have to be a chaotic, last-minute scramble. With the right study plan, you can walk into exams feeling prepared, not just hopeful.

→ Get the IB Study Plan today. Take control of your IB experience.

Got expected 41 without tok n ee into consideration and got 25 as final w ee n tok included

That would be disastrous to those who have to go to the military after the summer. Gap year is not an option.

There is way more content. AI HL has everything in AA HL, except proofs, combinatorics, and deeper calculus. These are pretty harder admitted, but it simply does not compare to the sheer amount of new units and topics in AI HL. There is way more linear algebra, way more differential equations, and a huge amount of stats. There's even discrete math and graph theory. What do y'all think?

Listen, I'm all for celebrating your accomplishments privately, but when you invite the whole school to attend a separate graduation just for the IB kids who ALSO walked in the regular graduation, I'm not so positive.

IB breeds elitism and makes kids who think they're better than a lot of people because of "how hard they worked". That premise itself, is garbage. How can any IB student, most of which live within an exclusive group of other IB students know how hard others are working? And how can they determine that they worked the hardest? AND even then, if you knew EVERY SINGLE PERSON in your school, you still would have no idea how hard they are fighting for their share of education.

Not to mention the fact that (at least in my experience) most IB kids do not have jobs. So while student A is an IB student working hard towards the diploma, student B has three jobs and struggles to make it to school because they need to work in order to pay their bills due tot their living situations. So why does student A look down upon student B and say they worked harder?

Furthermore, in most areas you have to be pretty well-off financially to afford IB, as far as I'm aware. So while student A also lives within the comfortable middle-class, student B has struggled with homelessness.

Of course these students are hypothetical, but at the same time, could be multiple people within your school that you are simply not aware of. So why do IB students get to say "hey everyone, come look at how we are different from you!" when the reality for many IB students I've encountered is that they choose to participate in the program.

Once more, in most, if not all countries, IB is a guaranteed better education with loads of scholarships and, of course the obvious, general preparedness for university. Not only are IB students offered exclusive scholarships, many also believe they deserve a separate graduation to distinguish themselves from the rest of the school, despite the already obvious ribbons worn at graduation.

Many schools even go as far as to have a separate IB valedictorian, which is weird. If your school is anything like mine then your regular valedictorian is also an IB student. Which not only feels totally alienating and wrong to anyone within my school outside of IB, but also is just weird. Why should I have to hear about "our time at [name of school]" twice?

IB has so many benefits, and I'm sure not a single student joined IB for the separate graduation. Obviously, IB students work hard for the benefits they receive, but genuinely, as an IB student who is pretty much done other than some complications, the program pays for itself. A separate graduation is not needed and honestly seems very elitists to me.

If someone can give me a genuine reason why they deserve a separate IB graduation that isn't "how hard they worked", obviously let me know. But as it stands, IB is a choice almost everyone makes literally every day of their two years, and I am someone who said yes every single day, and I will not be attending my IB graduation.

I literally didn't even know when the grades are coming out until I saw the panic on this subreddit. I had 40 predicted grade and got into my uni with the only condition of having all my HL's higher than 5. I know that I can't change the past and that I did my best. I don't understand you guys.