We have lived abroad for the entirety of our daughter’s schooling so I am a little out of touch with what a typical American course load would look like. Where we are there is a lot of emphasis on the sciences. Currently she is in an IGCSE program and takes Chemistry, Biology and Physics (three separate classes) for the two years of 9th and 10th grade. In 11th and 12th grade the school does the IB Diploma program and that goes down to only one science. However, they will let you drop the art/drama/music requirement to take a second science. I feel that one science is enough however my husband disagrees. My daughter does not yet know what she might want to study in college - maybe something in the sciences. What do you all think? More important to take the additional science? Or would you drop down to one?
As long as she has biology, chemistry, and physics, she can take whatever AP/IB science she wishes in the upperclassmen years. Is your daughter interested at all in art, drama, or music? The second science isn’t absolutely necessary especially since your daughter is unsure. Now if she KNEW she wanted to be a vet, doctor or pharmacist, that’s one thing. However, since she’s unsure, the whole thing is a toss in the air. She could love all the sciences or she could crave humanities. It depends on what kind of student she is and what subjects she likes.
What does your kid pick? She has 6 choices, the idea that only 1 of them would be science would give me the willies too, if she is aimed at science in college. As you won’t be able to pick up APs which US IB kids often do, all she will have is O level/soph level sciences. Is she planning on 4/2 or 3/3?
Are you asking the HL/SL breakdown? I think it will be 4 HL and 2 SL. She is in the advanced math track in the IGCSE program and that should lead into HL Math. Plus HL English, HL Econ or History and HL Science. She can do SL Hindi and SL Drama. Should look something like that.
You can take a look at the course requirement in individual US College and make a wise decision. It all depends on your daughter’s intended major and some may have specific subject requirement. In my son’s school, almost no one takes one science / one humanities. Most student takes 2 science subjects or 2 humanities subjects. Only students who intended to go to design schools or want to major in theatre/performance take drama/visual art/music. Some students take 3 language course plus environmental science{fulfill both science and humanities requirement}.
At my kids IB school in the US kids are pretty much obligated into HL english and history because they must do Jr and Sr yrs of those anyway, so science/stem kids will take 2 science HLs plus eng/hist HL, only math whizz kids take math HL but many kids take SL math and BC calc. Many IB kids will have taken an AP science as a soph so they have all 3. This is just a very public school and most kids end up at the local uni. I suppose I really don't hear as much about overall score IBD protection as one might in a euro school where admission to uni is based on the IBD score at the end. For the OP it will be important to clarify if the IBD score is going to be specified in a uni offer. Issues of GPA, SAT, SAT subject tests might all affect the outlook if it is US unis only in the running. So for my kids school, a 39 in the IBD is considered really outstanding, in euro schools, that might be a bit meh, because kids will choose their subjects to protect their overall score. IBD kids here will also be taking the diploma plus maybe 2 APs in jr and 2 APs in senior year and GPA will be more valuable than the IBD score.
@Alfonsia Wow - do I understand right? Kids in the US take the IBD 6 classes PLUS 2 AP classes?? How is there time in the day to do all of that?
They have an 8 period schedule over 2 days. Frankly the kids would be delighted if all they had to do was the IB classes. They mostly can get the SLs done in jr year if they choose to as my sr did, so as a sr he does his 4 HLs plus BC calc and AP stats and has a TA period and a study hall (also subjects double up so history and english HLs sit have the relevant AP tests too, some SLs match up to AP also but not for my kid). The set up with english and history reqs is probably awful for kids who are not really well rounded. I would love to see the IBD supercede local graduation reqs, I think some areas do that.