#smartbrl

Hey there :) These are the answers to the questions that you sent earlier. And also, since this turned out to be such a long post, I’m going to publish it, so that other people can get my take on the IB as well :)

1) what subjects are you doing for HL and SL ? (if i am planning on doing the same subjects as you - be prepared for most questions haha)

HL:

English A Language and Litterature

Norwegian A Language and Literature 

Economics

SL:

Chemistry

Mathematics

Modern World History

2) how do you manage to stay organised during the process?

I use my planner and rely on it for my life. If I had lost it this year, I would have broken down completely. And that is not an exaggeration.

Also I take care to collect every piece of paper that we get, file it away and keep it so that I can use it in studying later. This helps a lot as I have more explanations of the materials, examples, tasks etc.

3) what advice would you give people who are interested in doing the diploma whilst they are in the process of considering it?

It doesn't matter how smart you are, but how motivated you are. You can be a genius and still fail because you can't be bothered to do work. I'm not the smartest person around, but my grades are pretty good, and it's all because I'm so motivated to get stuff done. 

So when considering if you want to do the IB, think about your level of motivation, rather than if you think you're smart enough. 

4) how do you manage to fit CAS hours in despite so much work?

Spoilers: I fakes half of my action hours.

No, but seriously, get your CAS down the first year. I've hardly done any CAS at all this year, because I've been hella busy. However, the first year, I got 70 hours of both Creativity and Service, and 26 of Action. Just make your CAS activities something you enjoy and doing them will be a breeze.

5) what’s your Extended Essay Topic

I wrote my ee in English A Lang&Lit, and my topic was "To what extent was Dr. John H. Watson an unreliable narrator of A Study in Scarlet?"

6) pros and cons of IB 

Okay, this is going to be very subjective, and mostly compared to the Norwegian school system, as that is what I would have done if I hadn't done the IB.

Pros:

English educaiton

Preparation for univation

Preparation for studying abroad

Cooler people

More in dept education

Better teachers

Cooler subjects

Better class environment

More academically driven students

eNGLISH

Cons:

Stress

Like major stress

Meltdowns

Lots of crying

Outside of going to school I left the house like once a month this year

The only relationship I was able to have was with my planner

You are completely dependable on your planner

It can be overwhelming

sTRESS

Despite the cons list looking pretty massive, I would have chosen the IB a thousand times over if I was going to choose again with the experiences I have now.