inhale.

ok, to answer your ask, i entered my school which has the full ib system (pyp, myp and dp) when i was in grade 6 so before my diploma began. and since my school is an international school, i had to take both an english exam and a math exam. which i completely failed at lol. ((im sure i got in with the trashiest entrance exam results because i was still 11)) because my school follows the full international baccalaureate curriculum, we don’t have an entrance exam particular for the IB. (yes, it sounds weird i don’t know the reason either)

but, i have friends who entered my school since the 11th grade, which is when “ib” starts or the “ibdp” diploma begins. so ill only be able to answer your ask based on what i know from them… which is for maths and english!

the math section of your entrance exams will be to determine which math course you are suitable in. so in ib, whether you already know or not, there are 3 classes for mathematics! ((there is actually 4 in the entire curriculum but im excluding the course called “further mathematics” because that is only for those who are like ‘uni level math? already mastered. and i have so much time for maths and i love maths’ geniuses)) and the results from the math exam will put you into; math studies, maths standard level or maths higher level.

you will have to make your own decisions on whether to study for maths or not but, just know that most universities require math standard level or higher for you to enter without SATs or extra standardised test results. especially if you are aiming for a science course or an economics course in university, you have to pass the maths standard level in ib!

next is for english. in ib, again just for information as you may know already, there are two main english courses. one is english a, which is an english subject offered for those at a native english speaking level. in english a, there is the literature only course and a language & literature course. the difference is the type of analysis you will do in class. the other one is english b, offered for those whose 2nd language is english. in other words, for people who are better at their mother tongue (that is not english).

again, i can’t clearly state whether you will need to study for this since i have no clue what kind of english exam you will have to take nor your english level but university requirements wise, you will need to take english b higher level or english a. if you choose to take english b (standard or higher), you will often need to submit IELTS or TOEFL results along with your ib english grades.

i hope this answer will help you in some way. again im so sorry this is such a late reply and that i couldn’t answer your ask in detail ;-; if you have a follow up question, just send another ask to me :))

let me cry in peace while i study; y’all future ib students, don’t be like “oh man i got into uni, finals will be fine” uh nope. legit when you realise its a month away, you have to just do it. no matter how much you hate to sacrifice your time to study for the 5/6 subjects, YOU GOTTA DO IT. ((this is what i keep telling myself lmao))

[side talk: the ‘i don’t have to worry about my finals’ incident happened to the previous grade in my school and their grades dropped by approx. 4 to 6 points (average) or smth like that and the school heads were pissed]

i took a literal break during the spring holiday; ok i know everyone is like holy christ exams exams exams panic!! no resting!! don’t do that. i was thinking the exact same thing before the spring holiday. me: ok, im gonna study about 6 hours everyday and be confident, finish revising everything. that didn’t happen. ok its not like i didn’t study at all, i just gave myself a break. i procrastinated and spent time with my family, then began studying when i felt like my brain was ready for it.

you will realise how exhausted you are when your holiday starts. up to this last semester, you’ve been intensely working, kept on working because you had to not only study but do IAs, CAS, TOK and so on. your brain is in the “intense mode” until the very end of the semester. you won’t notice in school but once you take an actual break, not a weekend, your brain will tell you how tired you’ve been. SO TAKE A BREAK. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK. PROCRASTINATE ON TUMBLR. but don’t forget the entire existence of exams. cool.

chilling & revising, my studying style; i study on my couch, on my bed, on the floor etc with snacks & music i like. not on a desk in my room with total silence. more like, i don’t have a desk oops. yes, my house actually doesn’t have a desk lol. i tried different styles/locations to study in but i settled on my couch/bed in the most coziest/chillest mood. this method actually helps me study. since i’ve never been an “i like studying!” person, (yes i slack off a lot), i took a long time trying to find the most suitable option for me when i study. and instead of me settling on a dining table, i study at cozy places because i learned that it helps me concentrate the best when my brain is calm & relaxed. 

so find your best studying style. don’t just think that your desk is the best because it’s made for studying purposes. (i mean it kinda is but you know what i mean) try experimenting when you study! start early and you will master the best way to revise for your mocks/finals. do whatever you like :))

extended essay will be like a really long version of personal project (but without making the product) and involves bunch of redrafting processes to the point you feel like you contemplate about life no joke, with a couple more meetings with the supervisors.

please for the millionth time, you will benefit from using your holidays wisely for the extended essay!!((my friend had internships to complete over the summer holiday when it was supposed to be spent on finalising the first draft and he had to postpone the final deadline/viva voce because he couldnt finish on time))

i hate to say it but STUDY STUDY STUDY. i mentioned here about how note taking and revision is important.

i recommend you to really take notes from as many textbooks as possible because every book adds a new piece of information to what you already know. knowing as much as you can becomes crucial in final ib exams; sometimes one small detail can give you a point and bring you up the borderline! 

and lastly, this is a message i want to send to myself and all other ib students; believe in yourself no matter what. you cant quit half way so do it, there is no other way out than actually completing the ib. you did it until here so finish it. 

quite many of my friends are from other education curriculums or from local schools, and they suffered so much in the first semester of grade 11. since you are in myp now, you may or may not have realised how different the international baccalaureate education system itself is, from pyp all the way to dp. 

i came to a thought after completing my personal project that ‘oh so this is how it feels like to do a huge project alone in less than a year’, which is what ibdp students are required to do. so by doing personal project and suffering for it, you are definitely preparing yourself for the ib. 

my friends told me about how they need help with every single thing, and i actually did a group project on submitting how we can improve our school. they told me about a couple things;

bibliography - myp constantly asks you to do citations and you go into ibdp knowing what you need to do and how you do it.

formatting - i realised this only half way too but ib has a specific way to format presentations, essays, assignments. you will have in mind, the how-to of those things when you submit IAs and investigations/reports and so on.

pressure/suffering - you already have experience cooping with vast amount of pressure you receive from teachers/parents when you are doing exams and assignments, you know what it feels like to suffer.

personal project is mini extended essay - despite how extended essay is a thesis like long essay and not a report, the research you do for your personal project is very similar to the research you will do for the extended essay!

from reading your message and just peeking through your blog a little, i dont think English as a language is a problem for you. this means that you can really focus on the content in class rather than worrying about not understanding the meaning of every little detail you are studying about!! (i used to struggle and i still do… im jealous of my friends ;;) 

putting the main class things aside, i say procrastination is a huge issue in ib, i really mean it. ib in general, is a very fast paced programme.

everything is crammed in the 2 yrs of ib and it is inevitable to be drained from homework, assignments, exams etc. but once you are behind on one thing, you can easily fall behind on all the other things. i emphasised this in my CAS post too but keeping CAS until the last minute is the last thing you want to do! 

always ask for help! no matter who it is, even if your friends are taking different subjects, we all go through the same struggle.

this sounds general but it really helps to just check in with a teacher who knows you really well or just update your ib coordinators on how you are doing in class and with extended essay especially. extended essay is time consuming, so you will end up spending quite a lot of time on it, i personally took around 6 months from research to my final draft. i really have no clue how teachers at your school arrange the schedule for the extended essay but if you don’t know what to do, go ask! but unfortunately, some teachers are not expertised in things other than the subjects they teach so friends and internet helps you. (go to ib reddit ;))

finally (because it’s really long for the 15234516th time), reading and note-taking is the key to survival.

never relax just because you are completing given assignments and homework. the most difficult thing about ib is the final exams, it is every single detail of 2 years content from all 6 subjects. thus, taking notes is very very important. read the textbooks well and honestly, read until you understand what you are studying in class. you won’t be given enough time during class for notes, so it will be at-home work. my best advice for exam preparation i can give is; gather as many textbooks as possible and take notes until you understand. 

summary:

never keep anything until the last minute, especially CAS and EE

keep yourself going by asking for help constantly

take notes from multiple sources, both books and internet

i think at one point, most of the ib students will question; why am i in tok? what am i doing right now? is this philosophy? is this even necessary for my education?

and the answer to all those questions, i don’t know. i am still very lost in the process with tok even though this is my second year! (i should be mastering with how to link real life situations and all but nope) i do have to admit, theory of knowledge is the most confusing part in ib.

it must vary in the ways each of ib students are taught how to do tok but the general idea of it is that every real life situation you choose, it will in some form end up being philosophical with at least a little of psychology involved.

it does sound kind of horrible to those of us who don’t really enjoy philosophy and would love to explore things in the way it is without questioning it from a whole another universe. (okay im exaggerating a little here but trust me this is how i feel right now)

so, when you get to the “it’s almost time for the final presentation! pick your topic!” part, here are some tips you maybe want to remind yourself:

choose a simple topic!

okay, if you want to do a topic related to politics, law etc. and if you really really love the situation/case you picked, i won’t stop you. BUT i will make this clear; the simpler the topic, the more you can explore.

you will be likely to regret that you should have picked a little simpler one than what you chose, if you begin the whole process with a huge topic.

relate your claims/perspectives to the Ways of Knowing and to the Areas of Knowledge!

again, tok is all about how much you can question the situation and explore different perspectives based on your knowledge question.

if you cannot find some good tok behind the topic you chose, think of your knowledge question simply, and come back to the ways of knowing later.

i recommend you to really be flexible with what and why you are questioning your real life situation. don’t get caught in the idea of thinking only from the tok perspective. go simple!

significance is one of the important sections!

i feel like people mistreat the last “significance” section, which is actually one of the most important part to impress your tok teachers and examiners.

ib examiners want you to show how impactful your conclusion is. it doesn’t matter if you exaggerate it, think of your significance section in terms of both your topic (local level) and the world (global level). ib will surely like it, if you evaluate the impacts from a global point of view!

When you join/start new experiences (activities) for CAS, record them into your documentation location (for me its Managebac) even before you begin the actual process!

Once the term/semester begins, you will be participating in the activity but forget to record things or gather evidence pieces, so earlier the better.

The first thing you do when you choose an experience/activity for CAS, get the supervisor’s contact and let the supervisor know you are doing the activity for CAS.

(if you are doing something outside of school, make sure to explain what your main goal is and what they need to provide/do for you)

Evidence is actually, for real, important!

Your teachers, CAS advisers, DP coordinators... I think all of IB students have been told to not forget the evidence pieces when it comes to CAS.

I have to tell you that you will, at one point, get bored of CAS (unless you really love recording, writing about things you do after school??) so get evidence in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd week of the activities, the sooner the better~

Evidence can be literally anything to prove your participation; pictures of you physically doing the activity, videos (especially for Action), screenshots of contacts with the supervisor, screenshots of documents you have created/modified etc.

Reflections, try to not be lazy!

I know it feels very very time-consuming and bothering to write a whole bunch of reflections just on the things you did... There are few tips I learned in the 1.5 years of DP;

When you write reflections, quality > quantity. Honestly, you don’t have to write a huge paragraph every single time, it’s more about how frequent you update your CAS! Record as many as possible, rather than few & too long.

In the end of each reflection, write about how you met the outcomes! It makes it easier for the CAS advisers, DP coordinators and final examiners, to check whether your CAS is corresponding to the requirements.

Show reflections to your activity supervisor(s)! If you want a well written comment from your supervisor, show them what you did (if they do not understand English, explain briefly what you did instead)

...I hope these help :)

and finally, check whether you have chosen the right activity for the right outcomes. The 7 strands of outcomes are somewhat difficult to achieve so ask your CAS adviser whether your activity meets more than one of them!