Choosing IB Subjects and HL Combinations

Six subjects, one from each of five groups plus a sixth choice, three at Higher Level and three at Standard Level. HL means more teaching hours and more depth. Add TOK, the Extended Essay and CAS.

This is the step families skip. Subject choice should be made against the entry requirements of the courses a student might plausibly apply to, and those requirements are specific.

• Medicine generally requires Chemistry at HL and usually Biology, and requirements differ between UK and Hong Kong medical schools.
• Engineering requires Maths, in practice Analysis and Approaches, often at HL, plus Physics HL for many courses.
• Economics at competitive UK universities frequently requires Maths at HL, and some specify AA.
• Computer Science requires Maths HL at most selective universities, and rarely requires Computer Science itself.
• Architecture often wants a portfolio, which needs building over two years rather than assembling at the end.

Requirements move year to year. Check the current published requirements for the actual universities on the list rather than relying on what was true for an older sibling. Our admissions consultants do this check as a matter of course.

Taking AI when a course requires AA

The single most common irreversible error. Read the AA versus AI comparison before the form goes in.

Three HLs chosen for prestige

Three heavy HLs, all with substantial IAs landing in the same term, is a workload decision more than an intellectual one. Nobody is rewarded for having chosen hard subjects and scored 4s in them.

Dropping a language too early

Some European universities, and some Hong Kong programmes, expect a language. It is a small risk and it is free to avoid.

Choosing a subject you have never studied

Psychology, Global Politics and Economics attract students who have not met them before. Sometimes that works well. Sometimes the student discovers in November of Year 12 that the subject is not what they expected, and by then switching costs a term.

Most schools allow changes early in Year 12, and the window is shorter than families assume. If something is not working, raise it in the first term rather than hoping it improves. Moving from HL to SL within a subject is usually straightforward. Changing subject entirely gets hard once teaching has moved on.

Before switching, be clear about the cause. A student struggling in HL Chemistry because the underlying content from IGCSE is shaky has a fixable problem, not a wrong subject.