IGCSE/GCSE/O & A Level/IB/University Student Forum

Qualification => IB => Queries => Topic started by: s-j-123 on September 29, 2009, 05:16:09 am

Title: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: s-j-123 on September 29, 2009, 05:16:09 am: I still have a chance of doing IB (continental school in jeddah) this year.
I plan to go to CAnada and study some kind of engineering.

Is A level better or IB.
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: MissDE on October 02, 2009, 11:13:28 am: IB is good for you if u've gotten A's and starred A's in ur IG's...

I had the same prob b4 but finally decided to do IB..

Good luck
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: astarmathsandphysics on October 02, 2009, 11:46:22 am: Ib may be better cos a levels are being devalued. Too many get As.
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: Saladin on November 26, 2009, 05:44:58 pm: But then again IBs are actually easier.
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: astarmathsandphysics on November 26, 2009, 06:23:33 pm: The extended essay?
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: MaNa on November 26, 2009, 06:42:20 pm: IB is not easier says who!?
in A level u r confined toyour books thats all
where as in IB u are doing everything
community service ,co cular activity, 6 subjects excluding 1 which is ToK n the bomb 4000extended word essay
u leave one u dont get ur diploma
yes the course is not as DEEP as A levels hoever the study hours r more then A levels
Ib is more broad where as A level is length
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: MaNa on November 26, 2009, 06:46:12 pm: However i advice you to do IB since it gives you more broader vision furthurmore enables you to think 3 dimensionally
i am doing Ib myself and i find myslef completely different 4m A level students
secondly by doing Ib u have privilage of having a back up plan since u will take 6 subjects
it makes urcollage(university ) life easier as well
so go for Ib its challenging but worth it=]
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: staceyboy3 on November 26, 2009, 07:14:47 pm: In IB you do more work during the two years of study. Your final assessment will be based on your exam as well as your work. A-levels is just based on your exam results.

IB is worth more than A-level, so go for it while you have the chance!
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: MaNi_DaDuDe on November 26, 2009, 09:51:11 pm: Since you are going to Canada, I suggest IBs.

The coursework will own you though.
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: omega007 on January 26, 2010, 08:06:45 pm: Don't make this mistake: A Level sucks bad. It has no reputation at all. You'll understand when you go into the real world of university admissions.

Here are numerous links to prove this:

1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/3346299.stm

2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/5156108.stm

3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/aug/17/schools.alevels

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCE_Advanced_Level#Criticisms_and_reform

The above four are the most important ones. You can see various forums commenting on them also.

1. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/220714-levels-ib.html

2. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/519031-ib-results-compared-level-results.html

3. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/460467-ib-levels.html

4. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/658229-levels-ib.html

5. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/38081-i-b-vs-levels.html

6. http://www.mydaughter.co.uk/educating-your-daughter/11-16/education-choices/sixth-form-choices-a-levels-or-ib/
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: murtaza101 on January 27, 2010, 12:29:49 pm: 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. :)
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: omega007 on January 27, 2010, 08:13:54 pm: @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).
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: murtaza101 on January 28, 2010, 07:16:05 pm: 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 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/4398668/Teenager-gains-22-A-levels-in-12-months.html)

P.S. - I'm from Pakistan too :)
Title: Re: Should i do A level or IB
Post by: omega007 on January 29, 2010, 07:54:03 pm: 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.