Qualification > Queries
Should i do A level or IB
murtaza101:
The curriculum dilemma! I faced the same a year ago, and actually both options ain't bad! yes IB is a bit advantageous but even A-Levels have some breadth although not encouraged. It all comes to which exam board's A-Level are you planning to take. I'm taking Edexcel but in my opinion CIE is better. The Theory of Knowledge in IB is apparently same as writing the General Paper. for the Extended essay its same as the Research Paper, and for CAS there is no option though you can take some steps by doing community work/ activity urself like myself it does pay off. In Edexcel, General Studies is more like ToK. finally for subjects the thing is that every subject assumes that its the only thing (tht's same for every subject though), so try doing five A-Levels and then its equivalent of IB. :)
omega007:
@murtaza101: With 5 A Levels, it will be quite strenuous to achieve the highest possible grade i.e. A* under the new system. And to be equivalent to 45 points on IB's, you need 6 A Levels as proposed by UCAS (refer to one of my links above).
murtaza101:
5 A-Levels being strenuous??? Check this then
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/4398668/Teenager-gains-22-A-levels-in-12-months.html
P.S. - I'm from Pakistan too :)
omega007:
It was possible back then because the highest grade was A which could be easily achieved by anyone because you had to get 80% of the mark. But, with the introduction of A*, which was aimed for better discrimination between good and outstanding students. For this, you've to get 90% in the A2 units. This new grading system was imposed because there were a lot of students getting A's and that too with many A-Levels. This aims to bring a standardization like the IB's because IB's allow 6 subjects only. Therefore, it is very tough to achieve an A* with many A-Levels. I personally took five A Levels but had to drop the A2 of my fifth subject because of the huge pressure of getting A* at A2.
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