Pre - IB

Is IB right for me?

Though IB is a program that can open up many opportunities in life, it does not necessarily mean it will suit your career path in the future. It is important to recognise that if you want to have a specific career you may need courses in high school that our specific IB curriculum does not offer. The courses offered are: Biology, Chemistry, Math, History, English, French, and Art in our school. So, if you are planning to pursue a career or an education in a more artistic area, it is important to consider what you are getting yourself into. Is it worth the extra work when you are only able to have one real art class? It is completely up to you. There may also be complications that arise if your program in University requires credits in something our school does not offer in IB from our school. As an example, if you want to go into Engineering, you will most likely need to take a summer Physics course or an online Physics course in order to gain credits to be accepted into an Engineering program. As you can see, it is crucial to carefully consider all your options before jumping in head first, and realising later that it may have been more beneficial to stick with Academic classes.

The acceptance test into Pre-IB

Near the months of March to April, there will be quite a few meetings where the IB coordinator (Mrs. MacCorquodale) will come to your intermediate school to have briefing sessions and introduce you to the IBDP program in Colonel Gray. To enter Pre-IB, you will have to take a written test around April/May. Due to the increase in students over the recent years, another test is required for students to go from Pre-IB to IB. Grades will also be assessed.

What courses should I take during my Pre-IB year in order to help with IB?

This is completely up to you, it is recommended that you take courses that would help you in IB if you are certain that you would continue. Otherwise, it is recommended by the school that you take Gym and CEO in your Grade 10 year as you wouldn't enjoy having to take these subjects with younger students after you drop out. Most students choose to take Grade 11 Physics if they know they want to continue into the sciences in university. Although taking Grade 11 Chemistry as well isn't as common, it gives you an insight about whether or not you would enjoy this subject, giving you some idea as to which subject to choose upon entry to the IBDP. You can also take other academic subjects such as History although the history course is not the same as the one you will take in IB and isn't really correlated to the content studied in IB. You should also take French to keep up with the things you learnt before or have a head start if this is a new language to you. Band is also a common subject if you usually play an instrument or enjoy music.

Should I take Gym and CEO?

The answer to this depends on how certain you are that you will stick with IB throughout the rest of high school. If there is even the smallest chance you may decide to switch back to academic, then you should consider taking these courses in grade ten. It is not the end of the world if you drop IB and need to take them in either grade 11 or 12, but it is better to do them sooner rather than later, so you can focus on more important courses later on.

It may still be very beneficial to take these courses in grade 10 during pre-IB if possible. If you are doing band or physics, there may not be room in your schedule for both, but you should consider taking them. Career Exploration and Opportunities can help everybody with their future, with guest speakers working in different areas, and it also provides information on credit cards, loans, your first car, universities, etc. Even if you are 100% sure you'll stay in IB, CEO is a very helpful course for creating your life plans or even gaining a better understanding of money management.

What should I do in my Pre-IB year in order to prepare for IB?

Before beginning the IB Diploma Program, it is highly suggested that you understand what the IB program is. Look into what subjects you are taking and perhaps start looking into some of the topics in your spare time. If you have the opportunity to get your hands on the English books during the summer, read them! It will be highly beneficial for you if you already know what the books are about and can focus on the analysis portion when you are actually studying the book. Look into universities! You may not have as much time in Year 2 of IBDP, so beginning to look at them now may be a wise choice. You may not have a clue what you want to do after high school as Grade 10 may be too early for most to have made up their minds about their future. However, there is no harm in looking into potential programs that you may want to enrol in and what their admission requirements are! If you are debating between Chemistry or Art, it is vital that you check the prerequisites for multiple universities before making your decision! Since most universities require 2 sciences for a Bachelor of Science degree. Otherwise, have fun and enjoy your summer before you are immersed in the 2 year marathon of the IBDP.

The dilemma between choosing Chemistry or Art at the end of Pre IB

Our school unfortunately only offers the choice between Chemistry or Art and it may become a very difficult decision to make. As aforementioned, It may be helpful to look into possible universities that you may consider going to in the future. It may still be early on, but having the slightest idea would be very beneficial. Before making your choice, look into the Admission Requirements of your specific subject or a few subjects in the field you may consider pursuing. If you plan on taking Bachelor of Science, most universities require you to have two sciences, so it is strongly suggested that you take Chemistry. If you are unsure but plan on doing something science related then choosing Chemistry would be a safer route. It would be unfortunate if you find out later on in the year that the university you want to go into requires 2 sciences and you have to take chemistry in an online course or summer school. If you are choosing to take a Bachelor of Arts, then you may consider choosing Visual Arts instead of Chemistry. Keep in mind that Art isn't the "easy" route and won't guarantee you a 7 and isn't considered as an academic subject that would be beneficial for you applications to university. Please don't take Art just because you don't like Chemistry, you may regret your decision later. So unless you are certain that you aren't going to be taking a Bachelor of science, choose Chemistry.

Should I continue my IB journey after Pre-IB?

Choosing to continue into the IBDP depends greatly on the individual. You may have found that Pre-IB was too stressful or was just not the right fit for you. However, from a more biased perspective, as a student in my final year of IB, after going through PYP, MYP and now the DP, I would say that IB is a great experience despite the overwhelming workload and stress. The small IBDP community in our school allows students and teachers to be closer to each other and even have fun traditions and activities occasionally such as Cookie Fridays, Secret Santa, IB Trips, Study sessions, CAS, celebrations and many more. From laughing at the IB memes to the most stressful moments, the tight knit community allows closer lifelong friendships to be developed and great memories to be shared. Once again, IB is an internationally recognised program by many universities, so you may even get the chance of meeting friends from other parts of the world! Considering how competitive Pre-IB is getting in our school, and that you have finally made it through Pre-IB, why stop now?

All the best of luck,