TL;DR: I got a 45 because I 1. never took it for granted and 2. let myself have fun. Also, I had a pretty neat spreadsheet.

As DP2 students begin their academic year, so do all the posts about how to get X score, and though that's a genuine and valid question, I feel like it really misses the point of IB altogether. It was created to be a transformative education curriculum, and that can still be true if you don't take it for granted.

I know a lot of people dread and complain about the DP online, but to me it was MAGICAL. I went to a public school in the Global South and had never been schooled in English until I got a scholarship to study the DP in an international school abroad (and no, it was not UWC). Even disregarding the opportunity to be in a different country, the IBDP gave me a chance to choose what I studied instead of memorizing countless formulas for my country's national exam. It gave me a chance to write about what I learned through IAs and pursue questions that were interesting to me. It allowed me to learn a third language when most people in my country never learn a second. I had so many friends back home that would have done anything in their power to get a chance like this, and so many people on this sub seem to regard the DP solely as means to an end rather than the great opportunity for learning it is. I really didn't care about what grade I'd get, nevermind aim for a 45 (all my teachers told me it was basically impossible and lol).

Most of the time, I was just having fun. I didn't know anyone who had taken the program and I didn't know about this subreddit, so I chose all my subjects out of sheer interest. It was so much easier to enjoy my assignments because I actually cared about the content they covered. I spent extra time reading literary articles for my Eng Lang&Lit works because I did love stylistic devices and transliteration. I wrote my Global Politics IA on an NGO with a mission I cared about and I ended up partnering with them until I graduated (they even took me to the UN General Assembly this year). My CAS project was eligible for a entrepreneurship program that covered a three-day trip in Eastern Europe as well. Both my TOK essay and exhibition were based off of my favorite Tumblr memes. I didn't love all my subjects — I took Math and Bio because I had to — but the IAs were broad enough I still got to tweak them toward my interests (baking and ceramics, respectively). I was also open to changes, and ended up switching my High Level courses mid-way through because I felt like I could take more from French B than Global Politics, even though I had written my EE in the latter.

[Also, a 45 didn't mean anything after I graduated. I got a few pats on the back and flew to the college that had accepted me with a predicted 43, and that would probably have still accepted me if I had gotten a 40.]

All of this to say that the DP was a rich, wonderful time of my academic life (better than many semesters at uni), and it was seldom ever boring. I am glad I enjoyed every second of it, and I advice the DP1 and DP2 students to do the same. Have fun in the process. Explore your interests if you know what they are; be open to joy in places you wouldn't expect.

That's all.

Some more practical considerations (for those who still want to know how):

• NO AI. ChatGPT was released when I was midway through the DP and, once again, I enjoyed learning, so I never felt the urge to use it for anything. The entire IB is about you being able to show either novel ideas through your IAs or your quick thinking through the papers. AI, whether it is summarizing content or writing an example essay, does nothing but stand between you and the content/task at hand. Trust me, it's wasting your time. The only exception I can think to this is if your teachers are unable or unwilling to give you proper feedback in your work.
• If I was "prepping" for the exams, then I was prepping for the exams, especially for STEM classes. I didn't do busy work by reading other people's notes or watching videos on other people's results when I could just be taking past papers and getting near-instant feedback (by marking them myself). I did spend a lot more time doing "indirect" prep for English and French, mainly by reading academic analysis of my target books, and watching language immersion content for French. That helped me get the vocabulary I needed for a 20/20 on my Higher Level Essay and a pretty high 7 on my oral assessment, respectively. But again, I loved those subjects, and I didn't see any of this as real work.
• For exam prep: make your own mock exams. Time yourself and go through the entire paper in one sit. Then get the markscheme and mark your answers yourself. What did you get wrong? Why did you get it wrong? Were you distracted and subtracted a number twice, did you not understand the question, or did you just not know the content to solve it? I uploaded every self-marked score with the questions I got wrong and the reason behind it on a single spreadsheet, mapping mistakes by subject unit.

They've been commenting long passages under each post to advertise their services. While I know that these checks aren't accurate, I ran several of their responses through Turnitin and they all came out 60%ish AI (and it's pretty obvious from how they write too). Hence, we have a random bot account giving potentially inaccurate feedback just to advertise themselves, I don't see why they aren't banned yet. If I wanted chatgpt to tell me how many trials I need for an IA, I wouldved asked chatgpt -- people come here because they need human feedback, not some bot pretending to be authoritative.

This sub isn't the right place for them to market like this. If they're that desperate, pay for Reddit ads.

u/lanternaeducation, before you comment

"Our advice was written/checked by humans"

No it isn't. Its either checked by a very incompetent person who knows half to nothing about IB, or it's written with a bot with the syllabus guide uploaded and has no experience in teaching.

Last submissions for IA's is 20 October. My IA's were done already a month ago. And guess what, our Global Politics teacher decided to send our FIRST turnitin key at 18th October. My IA is hand written but the turnitin says it is %58 AI. She said well start writing from beginning. TWO DAYS BEFORE FINAL SUBMISSIONS! She told the same thing to like half of our class, not just me. My roommate wrote her IA right next to by hand and turnitin says hers is %93 AI. TWO DAYS BEFORE! They just want us to fail at this point...

I am kind of freaking out because I have my economics and SEHS IA Final IB deadline for the teachers submitting to the IB in less than an hour. I have no chance of finishing the Economics IA by then. Over the past 2 years of the course, I have had a genuinely comical amount of circumstances which continued to push my IAs back justifiably. I still already struggle with organisation, and I wasn’t perfect, but I still tried incredibly hard through the entire course.

I don’t mean to make this a sob story, I just want to know what is the protocol/process of retaking exams in May 2027. Also following-up with that, For a course like Psychology which is getting complete change of the entire syllabus, would I have to take and learn the new syllabus content and exams for may 2027? Or would I get an exam from the syllabus that I took?

Thanks for the help.

I’m an IB certificate candidate (testing in at least one IB course but not a diploma candidate) in the US. I plan to major in Biology and I have already taken Biology SL and I got a 5 :( likely due to my poor IA and potentially having missing pages out of my answer packet during the exam. This year I am planning on testing in Math AA HL and English A: Literature HL as well as Chemistry. I am torn between HL and SL chemistry. Chemistry is definitely my hardest subject and my teacher has described the HL exam as “degrading”. I’m applying to about 6 colleges and at most of them I would not get any credit for SL or I would get much less. All of my friends are testing HL and I feel like testing SL is admitting defeat, but I’m also scared of trying HL and failing miserably.

So for a little background im an M27 and currently taking french hl, BUT I haven't had a proper teacher for 2 years now and the one I currently have is completely clueless, so my french is horrendeous. Does anyone have advice on how to learn french as quickly as possible? I just want to pass.

I gen dont wanna spend a bunch of money on AI slop if i can js command like chatGPT to grade me with a specific prompt
pls help thanks

I take Math AAHL, Bio HL, Chem HL, Chinese B SL, English Language and literature SL, and Business SL and I'm freaking out rn, I feel as though I haven't done enough past papers for any of them (but I've finished all the content) and your advice would be really appreciated

Hii! I’m in Math AA HL DP1, and my main problem is applications. Once I learn a concept, I understand it well and am able to apply it in familiar situations, but I just can’t get my head around unfamiliar ones. Once I look at the answer, it all makes sense, but I just can’t seem to figure out the working on my own. I know practicing as much as I can is really important, but what are some things I can do to bridge that gap and reach a higher level? I really need (and want) to succeed in math HL, so I would appreciate any advice, resources, etc!!

Hi guys! Once I finally got my IB choices finalised, I was told that I have to change one of my options. What I chose originally is:

Math AA HL / Physics HL / Spanish Lit HL / Eng Lang Lit SL / Chemistry HL / Digital Society SL

I’m the only one in my year who chose Digital, so it won’t open. I’m 90% sure I’m going to switch it out for History (unless you guys can vouch for it being a bad combination?). What I have to decide now is whether to keep Chem HL and have History SL, or History HL and Chem SL. Basically, the only reason I chose Chem HL was because my school makes us choose one SL and one HL language, and wants us to start with four HL classes in the case that we might drop down to Math AA SL. So, my options were to have my Group 3 HL or my Group 6 (Chemistry) HL. I wasn’t convinced by any Group 3 and ended up choosing Digital (only offered at SL in my school), which made me have to choose Chem HL. What I’m trying to say is that having Chem HL isn’t something I specifically want, unlike Math or Physics.

What are your experiences with both subjects? What’s the courseload / content difficulty for each? Any general advice?

Thanks in advance :)

I used to be so stressed and on top of things, because I cared but I kinda feel numb after the stress IB and its loads of work its put on me. It's like the continuous stress just resulted in complete numbness, and I have zero motivation or care about deadlines.

I still care about my grades deep down but I'm just numb to do anything about them.
I was the kind of person who would worry about an unfinished assignment and feel so so guilty about procrastinating, and push myself to get things done because my grades and impression mattered so much to me. I was always on top of things and everything, and always put my 100% into this program and its courses.

Nowadays, I know an assignment is unfinished and I know its important and I know I should be doing it and I know I will regret leaving it until later... but i just lost my urgency entirely. It just isn't there anymore. I miss the person who I was in this program, I'm definitely not the same anymore.

I feel like the IB has put irreversible damage on me and my work ethic, and becoming who I once was again just doesn't feel possible and it feels so tiring to become what I was before.

Hey everyone! I really need good tips or advice on how should I go about for preparing for the IB Exams in may. For my subjects that I need the most help is in Economics HL, Eng A lang lit HL, Math aa sl.

My goal is to get a 42/45, and so far I even have a high 6 in English but still need tips for paper 1. For Econ I need tips more on how do I revise and study the units and for Math what approach should I take to revise concepts should I study watching youtube videos or any website?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Currently taking Econ SL, and the teacher's kinda leading me to failure. He didn't introduce a paper 1 until like a week before the summative and taught us the format and made us "practice" it in 1 class. Also didn't give us any valid examples until the night before the summative. The study guide he gave us is just a summary and he decided to tell us after the exam that studying the slides and notes we took isn't enough. We somehow gotta do the entire textbook cuz he can't teach everything, but meanwhile in class he repeats market equilibrium for like 3 classes. He promised he'd give me feedback on the practice if I sent it to him, and he never responded. After asking him in person for feedback, he genuinely couldn't even describe how to do better, just took over my laptop and started writing 😭. Said he's open to adjustments, but by the way he's speaking, I don't think anything is gonna change at all, so thinking of changing to a better Group 3 I can self-study if self-studying doesn't work out this unit is safer, cuz apparently all Group 3 teachers in our schools are not the best except for ESS.

Originally wanted to choose Glo Po cuz it seemed the most interesting, but I ended up choosing econ cuz it has the highest 7 rate and everybody around me said it's a guaranteed 7 if you study. However, I'm spending a ridiculous amount of time on an SL class to not even get a decent grade, which led me to realize econ SL and HL are basically the same.

My school offers Econ, History, Glo Po, Psych, ESS. I don't want to take psych cuz all my friends taking psych SL say it's their worst class purely due to the amount of content. History is also out of the picture because I believe it's the hardest Group 3, combining memorization and analysis, formatting skills, and emphasizing all of them. Although I'm not sure if the new syllabus is way better. So Glo Po and ESS remain. I'm def more interested in Glo Po, but apparently this teacher is also new and always reads off slides the entire time. But at least she is organized and gives resources. Will my interest power me through Glo Po and get me a 7 cuz part of the reason I don't like or care for econ is cuz it's taught boringly. Will I be fine for Glo Po if I'm not constantly reading the news but just like engaging in debates, etc.?

Rlly don't know what the better option is

Currently taking AI HL, finding it weirdly light after 2 units. Was recommended for AI/AA SL but took Math HL due to uni requirements. All math teachers strongly advised me from taking Math HL, claiming it's more than 2 times the speed of Math Accelerated (which I didn't excel in but did ok in). However, I feel like this year is way easier than last year, also scoring way higher when not studying as much. Was wondering if it's a good idea to challenge myself more by taking a more rigorous course, AA HL, since I want to pursue design engineering. Or is it good that I'm comfortable where I'm at rn, cuz I have other courses to focus on?

Currently taking Physics HL, thinking of switching over to CS HL. Think I have a higher chance of getting predicted and scoring a 7 in CS compared to Physics. Struggling in physics, I mainly don't understand the graphs; the algebra and theory are fine. However, the teachers are the main issue. Physics teacher keeps presenting slides and skipping through. He makes us play Kahoot or Gimkit instead of teaching us. No HW and no resources whatsoever. He reads his slides for 2 lessons and makes us do his AI-generated problems for the entirety of class for weeks. In my experience, CS teacher never taught and just left students to figure it out by themselves. Past CS students warned me not to take his classes because he doesn't teach the IB content, but he does give out a lot of predicted 7s. Imo, CS is way easier to self-study than physics; please tell me ur opinions. Also, I think the CS IA would be way more fun than the Physics IA for me, cuz it's more practical. I have a strong basis in Python, but haven't properly programmed for around a year. Want to pursue design engineering/product design, and I'm already taking AI HL instead of AA HL, so the main worry for me if I change is that UK universities won't view my courses as rigorous.

I just did the worst exam I've ever had math aa hl and how do I rebound after this to improve for future exams I wisj to achieve 6 to 7 average but this exam i dont think I touched 4 any tips where can I find midterm past papers etc

Apparently after huge gaps between the predicted grades and the actual grades received, my school will be implementing grade caps, so ESS students wont get higher than a 6, art students wont get higher than a 5 etc. Do you have any experience with anything similar? Is it even allowed? My main concern is uni applications because my total predicted will probably end up dropping.

What subjects I'll choose for IB:

Math AA HL

Chem HL

Physics HL (or raise Eng B to HL if I don't get a grade high enough)

Econ SL

literature A SL (own language)

English B SL

We will choose/apply for our subjects next February-March and I am a bit worried about some of my grades. I am the most locked in on math, chem and somewhat physics, but I know I have to improve on that a lot more to get the needed grade. I am on a good level in math and chem already, so those are safe for now. The grading system is from 4-10 with a 4 being fail.

For an HL subject, you need to keep atleast an 8 GPA (except for Math you need a 9 and for English A L&L you need an 8,5) during the Pre-IB in the subject. And for an SL you need atleast a 7 GPA in the subject you're choosing. My math is a 9, my chem is a 7 and physics is prop barely an 8 rn, it just started a couple weeks ago. Econ hasn't started yet, but I think I can get a 7 in that without a lot of work, my own language atm is a 6 (ouch) and English is an 8.

I know my grades aren't a disaster in those subjects, but the thing i'm worried about are the subjects I won't have anymore next year like history, bio, (our another official language that's currenly like a 5-6 for me), psychology and philosophy. I know I have to just pass for those subjects, but I got punched in the face with the grades I got from our first exams and now I'm a bit scared about even passing some of them lol.

My question is how much time should I sacrifice to these subjects to pass, without having to take that time from practising physics, chem and math that I will actually need to do a lot to keep a good enpugh grade in?

Hello, Ive tried to reach out to a couple subreddits but they didnt let me post it so maybe if u guys know people from Spain whose parents may own an electric car PLEASE
PLEASE IM DESPERATE
BYD survey data collection – Fill in form
This is the link, i really need ppl to fill it out its about electric car owners (battery)

i applied for HSPS. is it likely for me to get an interview?

Turkish A HL - 5

English B HL- 6

Global Politics HL - 6

Biology SL - 6 (can be 5 too)

Math AA SL - 6 (can be 5 too)

Spanish ab initio - 5

TOK + EE - 3

Does anyone have last minute tips plss

Hi yall. Do you think save my exam is appropriate for past papers? Idk what resources i need to use to study for hl chem. im 2 months into IB so i havent covered much so i can rlly solve using a full paper.

basically I need to choose whether to take the ib or not very soon.

my local education system (new zealand, ncea) is recognised by my dream university (LSE), and the grade requirements are MUCH more lenient towards ncea than ib, because of ncea's comparative easiness.

however, I still feel like I'm missing out on valuable learning if I don't take the ib. school has always been incredibly easy for me, i don't study and still get top marks in my assessments, and i think ib would be a rewarding challenge. especially because i'm already interested in the subjects offered at my school, as well as the TOK and EE component.

but I just have really bad time management skills -- on one hand, ib could probably help me lock in, but on the other hand, my grades might suffer for a bit. i also participate in a LOT of extracurriculars to a high-commitment level, as in 3 days after school aren't free for me.

ncea is literally so easy, you can get top marks without truly breaking a sweat. should i maxx out my grades w ncea or actually challenge my learning with ib???

My teacher doesn't know what he's doing and i don't know where to start like if I dont do self studying im gonna fail math overall :(((( If anyone who has taken this class or understands what they are doing it in, please recommend me any online resources that could help

i have a paper 1 practice tomorrow and i need to rant a bit / ask for help because i am so cooked (for the most part)

i understand the concept so far , but paper 1 requires us to work with sources and i can not for the life of me understand what to write / what the paper expects from me. i always end up summrizing the content and context rather than "analyzing" it and its like ?&?&?' i guess im just more confused at what its expectimg from me because its my first time in an ib school 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲 if anybodu can give me some tips / a good structure i would greatly appreciate it