Guys, and LightningFist Many thanks for the enlightenment.

Now the critical question, does Fairview International@Wangsa Maju have competent enough teachers?

Hi, just curious, what subjects do u intend to take at A-levels or IB and what course do u intend to pursue at degree level?

Also, for example if u are not into languages u wouldn't want to take IB. Besides u cant take 3 sciences in IB (correct me if i am wrong).

personally i would prefer ib than alevels.
ib is more on project based compared to a-levels.
you will get to learn more and gain experience that will you in future.
all my friends who took ib told me so.
enjoy at the same time stress.

How many sciences you can do depends on the school. For example, although it's not common, it's possible to do 4 HL and 2 SL subjects, or more Sciences and fewer Social Sciences/Humanities/Arts. Another thing is the languages available depend on the school. This is the same for A Level - your combination and subjects depend on the school unless you don't go for tuition and take the exam independently.

Not sure about Fairview International, you might wanna wait for other people to answer that question..


Yeap, I would agree with the above two. Like ffnbnj said, you can't take 3 science or humanities subjects. The maximum is two. But of course whether you can take them or not will depend largely on the subjects your school or college offers. That will be important too. Because basically the first five subjects have to be language A, second language (or another A1), science subject, humanities subject, math and also the last one could be another science subject, humanities subject or the arts. Sorry if the order is wrong by the way. I wouldn't recommend anyone doing 4 HL or 2 HL subjects though unless you are really interested in those subjects, aiming for any scholarships or meeting any university's requirements for your dream course, otherwise it is stressful. Also 4 HLs have different passing grades as far as I remember and it really won't give you any advantages over those who take 3 HLs and 3 SLs by the end of the course. So I guess that's why it's not common although there are still a lot people out there doing it.

This post has been edited by vcj1992: May 8 2012, 06:52 PM

Wow! Sorry for being absent for sooooo long! I was busy recently.


Exam can be only taken half a year later? Then forget it! I can't wait that long considering that IB takes 2 years, which is already long enough!

The problem is that there are only 2 subjects available in Group 3 in Taylor's, namely Economics and Business Management. I'm interested in taking both but I'm not sure if it's the best idea. Sri KDU International School offers Psychology as well but...I already registered in Taylor's. Kinda a rushed decision I made.


Subjects, I am still unsure but I'm planning to pursue either Economics or Actuarial Science in the future. So, a combination of Physics, Economics and Maths at HL sounds reasonable. But I'm not interested in Physics! For some reasons, I'd rather take Bio even though I really dislike the subject.


I like the sound of that!


Funny you should mention that coz I was actually planning to take 4 HL subjects. Bio, Chemistry, Maths & Economics, maybe, just to open more doors in the future. Is it possible to pursue a degree in Economics if you study it in SL in IB? If so, I might do just that.

You could refer to the Actuarial thread.

Basically you don't even need SL Economics to do an Actuarial or Econ degree.

But since there is only HL Maths available to you (not like in A Level where there may be the option to do AS or A2 Further Maths), for which you must get a 7 (similarly if you take A Level you must get an A or at some schools an A* for Maths), then I would highly recommend HL sciences, particularly Physics, secondarily Chemistry, and if you want to/can, HL Economics.

Obviously interests are important, but I feel that Biology (although perfectly acceptable) will not compensate for the lack of Physics at HL.

In fact, I believe Physics has more value than Economics, since for A Level sometimes Biology or Geography takes preference over Economics, for entry into an Economics degree.

You also need to get 7 for your HL subjects because this will most likely be specified (and obviously 7 for Maths is a must).

You should aim to get 38 to 42 at IB before bonus points... that's at least 777665 or 777755 unless they specify you cannot have less than a 6 for anything, or how many 7s, or whatever.

You dislike Biology, then best not take it at HL - it's the least relevant.

If I did IB and had Actuarial/Econ in mind but wanted to be open to other things (Engineering, Science) then a good combo would be HL Maths, Physics, Chemistry, SL Economics. Swapping HL Chem for Econ is acceptable, but like I said, even though Economics has more relevance second to Maths, you don't even need SL... it doesn't instantly improve your chances (if at all). Whereas I could argue Chemistry could (and certainly Physics).

I totally understand what you are saying. The reason I am keeping Biology HL as an option is because if I were to somehow venture into the science field in the future, I would rather go for Pharmacy/Dentistry rather than Engineering. To make it clear, I have NEVER been interested in Engineering whereas I have interest, albeit just a tiny little bit, towards Pharmacy/Dentistry. And you did mentioned that "sometimes Biology or Geography takes preference over Economics, for entry into an Economics degree." Is this considered a complicated situation?

Oh wow. So many 7's. Let the pressure begin!

Judging from your own self evaluation, i would say do a levels.

Yeah I would say it's a complicated situation. But it is not the same for IB because you don't have 2 different Maths subjects (7 at HL is always A/A* in A Level).

They prefer Further Maths. But not everyone takes it. But just because a candidate doesn't have it doesn't mean they aren't amongst the best for the course. So a small number get selected because so many have Further as well as a few of the others (most commonly Physics, often Chemistry or Economics, rarely Biology). To have more than 4 is truly impressive but note they do it in a longer time. So sometimes, because of the common denominator (Economics), they seem to select certain subjects over Economics (but never softer ones like Accounting or Law). That goes to show Geography can be considered on par with Economics. I don't why this is done, it is strange because I heard A Level Economics is hard. To be sure though, at top specialty schools and other schools that teach Business, Economics is not easy. Maths is not easy. Whatever you did at IB or A Level, might help, but only so much.

I get that you're infinitely more interested in Pharm or Dentistry than Eng. But consider that Physics may help (a little) decide if you get into the programme (Economics or Actuarial) or your choice, while Biology would be infinitely more useful and relevant and important for Pharm/Dentistry.

This is where IB may present difficulties and why I still encourage A Level very strongly. I could take 3+1 (Maths) Sciences and still have all those options open, although I'd be more than a bit disadvantaged for Econ or Actuarial. Then if I was more certain about Actuarial/Econ and less about Engineering I would surely drop Physics in favour of Further Maths (ironic since Further is usually used for Engineering, and essential for Mathematics).

From my observation (didn't do IB) 4 HLs in 2 years is very doable... although, if you wish to get the grades I suggested, i.e. 38-42, it's probably easier with just 3 HLs. To get just below 38 with 4 HLs is not hard if I'm right. Ask other post-IB students.

Well, I have actually registered for IB, so A-levels is no longer an option.

I just got myself stuck in a sticky situation, didn't I?

For now, I think it would be better if I take Physics since I am more inclined towards Economics/Actuarial than Pharmacy/Dentistry but passion can change at any time, that's why I'm trying to keep my options open. 3 Sciences and 1 Maths in A-levels don't appeal to me though, coz I have trouble with Science subjects. My interest in Pharmacy/Dentistry is somewhat questionable. Well, I'm really giving myself a big headache over this matter.

Another thing, it's quite hard to find post-IB students around here.

Anyhow, thank you so much for your input! Really appreciate it!

Judging from what you've written, I guess Physics HL and Biology HL will be the best combination. You'll probably need Math HL as well like someone else has said if you wanna take Actuarial Science. But again, if you are having trouble with Science subjects, you might struggle again because it basically means you're inclined towards a more Science subjects. Sorry that I couldn't give you more advise on that subject combination besides giving you an idea how IB was like even though I'm an IB graduate, don't know too much about Actuarial and Economics! Good luck choosing though, please ask again if you have more specific questions and I'll see if I could help.

Well, you may think so, but I would disagree.

He/she indicated his/her interest in Biology was not very substantial. Further, Biology may be highly relevant to any future in Dentistry, Pharmacy, or a related Health Science, but Chemistry is possibly even more important for entry. Physics, on the other hand, could influence entry for any of the Mathematically rigorous social sciences, which is what he/she has in mind. So HL Maths, Physics, and Chemistry would be a suitable option, with SL Economics. The science subjects supersede Economics at every turn for the degree subjects in consideration (unless one considers stuff like Law). Yet Biology is the least important or relevant for any of them.

Yes, I do agree that Chemistry is a MUST in this case, or in most cases really. This should not contribute to the final decision but out of the three Sciences, I highly prefer Chemistry.

I'm still considering Physics. If it isn't really needed for Actuarial Science, then I might as well drop it and choose Business Management SL(with Economics HL) instead? And I think that I could score better in Economics + Business Management than in any Science subjects. Then again, as LightningFist stated, "The science subjects supersede Economics at every turn for the degree subjects in consideration". Oh, I don't know.

By the way, I'm a 'he'.

I agree that I've seen mostly Physics and Chemistry combination rather than Biology when three of them are offered in the school/college. I guess it really depends whether Physics (or other science subjects) is one of the prerequisites for Actuarial Science before you decide. If it isn't, my advise is to take whatever you are interested in and confident that you can score higher points. But again some others might think otherwise, so someone else who knows about this field might be able to answer you instead. Apologies for my rather limited knowledge in Science field. hehehe

Yes, actually, in almost EVERYWHERE, even in Form 6, Chemistry is compulsory in Science stream because both the medical and engineering field needs knowledge in Chemistry. Correct me if I'm wrong.

And don't apologise! It's no problem at all! I really appreciate your comment, so THANKS!

That's because you need both Maths and Physics (usually) for Engineering, but while you need Chemistry and/or Biology for the Health Sciences, but sometimes they allow applicants to not have full A Level Biology or Chemistry as long as they have 1 AS and 1 A Level. So partial Chemistry or partial Biology.

The only prerequisite for Act Sci or Economics at a top school is HL Maths. Nothing more. Which is why I say Physics can help because they will favour sciences like these especially when there is no Further Maths option (they don't make A Level candidates take it, only ask for an A or A* - and they only ask IB students for HL Maths 7, so you can see where I'm going).

I'm sorry, I just have to disagree with that. Yes, it's doable, but it's highly strenuous!! I've met a girl who studied 4 HLs and 3 SLs, but even with her perfect score, she admitted it, it was really tiring!!

It's tiring enough just by getting perfect for standard 3 HLs, 3 SLs. You do understand that each subject has their own internal assessments. These internal assessments are on-going throughout the 2 years, literally give you lesser time to study.
Sciences = 1 lab report per week per 1 science subject, must follow uni format from abstract to bibliography;
maths = maths portfolio x2;
Languages (more like literature) = read novels (at least 1 novel per semester per language), memorise poems (a number of them), analyse novels, oral exams on the novels and poem, write an essay (1,800 words) on world literature;
Social sciences = e.g. economics, find 4 articles and write pages of commentary reports;

These IAs constitute a percentage depending on the course, some 25%, some 30%.

Then, every week have to write a CAS report for Creativity, Action and Service. Every activity that you do, you need to write a report in order to get the required 150 credit hours. Need to do voluntary work such as volunteer in a hospital, school etc.

Then Tok (Theory of Knowledge) essay (I think 2,000 words) which requires lots of research, reading, thinking ... ToK is actually a small part of philosophy.

Then finally (I hope) is the Extended Essay (4,000 words) [some ppl churned out 80 pages stuff] which requires research, experimentation (if sciences) etc ... EE, ToK essay, World Literature essay require a lot of work, because it's not a 1-time finish task! You need to submit draft, amend, draft, amend, draft, amend, then submit!! Need to submit at least 2 drafts ...

Then you also need to spend some time with you mentor, so that he can get to know you, and write you a reference letter, and you need to apply to uni. If you're applying to US, ... then ... be prepared for an arduous application!!

I hope that summarises it ...



Definitely Physics and Chemistry, even if you want to do medicine or dentistry. There's no problem entering uni without Biology, doctors said that, so were my friends who studied medicine. You need bio is you're doing biology degree.

This post has been edited by TSOM: May 16 2012, 11:58 AM

Understood! Physics, it is! Thanks!


Oh wow! That is so tedious! I wonder how did that girl manage with...7 subjects?! Incredible! And what you mentioned is just a summary?! Great, now I'm getting worried again...but I'll still with my decision to take IB. Hope I don't regret this.

So Physics + Chemistry is the safest option. Great! 2 Sciences. Yikes...I hope I survive.

By the way, thank you!

Well, like I said, it all depends on what schools you're aiming for. If partial Biology is required, I think Chemistry + Biology is better if you absolutely cannot take 3 sciences. They look on Physics favourable, and probably would accept it in place of Maths, not that they require Maths, but many see Maths as a very basic, must-have subject in addition to Chem and Bio.

I think it's not a good system if students have to take Physics but not Biology if they intend to study Medicine or related health sciences... this is what people in Malaysia seem to suggest...