My class's video about IB in a nutshell!

I Survived: IB Diploma Programme

Hey there fellow IB Students!

Yes, as you may know, students around the globe enrolling for the May 2015 examinations are currently having their exams. Quite obvious, isn't it. And for that matter, I wish you all the best of luck, even though you can't really rely on luck in IB, but hey, who knows right. Fortunately for me, however, today is, or actually, was the last of my exams. Chemistry SL Paper 3 that is. And now, I can finally know how it feels to be Dobby when that Potter kid gave him a sock. For whatever purpose I do not wish to know. BUT, nonetheless,

YES. I am finally free. Free from all the IA deadlines, free from the fear of not finishing my EE, free from having to question everything thanks to TOK.

As an IB student, I consider myself lucky. Why?

First:

Out of the six subjects, only one of my IA is being sent as a sample. Economics.

Second:

My TOK presentation was not sampled, which is amazing (considering the fact that I blew my presentation because of my lack of research. The lesson is: don't do your work the night before it's due IB juniors).

Third:

I'm pretty much done with everything now. Looking at my schoolmates, most of them still have exams next week (Geography, Business, Math HL).

So yeah. Just a note for IB Juniors and IB Students to-be, don't pull back from your decision. Don't be scared or intimidated by the heavy load of studies and work demanded by the Swiss. Just don't. Because now that I'm at this ending point, looking back at all the memories throughout the programme, IB is actually doing us a favor.

Staying up late with your mates to finish an work, staying back at school for tutorials or to do work (again), oh and of course, the CAS activities. They're not only unforgettable, they teach us valuable lessons for us that'll make each one of us a better person later on.

So with that being said, I just want to say it again:

Do not, I say, DO NOT, be scared to take the risk. Take IB. Jump off the cliff. Who knows what you'll find at the bottom, eh?

And I guarantee you, when you graduate IB, you'll have all the bragging rights to say that you've survived IB

Like a sir.

Oh, and also to those taking the November exams, I wish you all the very best as well.

The Only Ex You Hate

......I'm so sorry guys, I'm running out of banters. Blame the exams for coming so fast.

This is the real deal. The big boss fight. The Bowser in Mario games. The confession time (brothers in the friend/brother zone, I'm winking at you right now). Yep. The exams. Doesn't matter what kind of exams, the semester exams, mid-term exams, final exams, internal exams, external exams, they make us cringe, don't they. Exams are very important, especially in grades 9 to 12 since universities will look at scores from those grades. I know some of you are like, "Ah, shiitake mushroom, my grades back then were so bad" and cry in the corner of your room. Don't worry, the IB will help you by a lot. Now, I know my recent posts weren't exactly encouraging you or anyone to join the IB, but now I'll tell you, IB is an internationally recognized curriculum, which means most universities will take your IB Diploma into account (they said) that it's an advantage since they (the university admission) know what IB is all about. Except American universities. Only some of them take in IB scores, but most of them don't so...yeah. The land of freedom can do whatever they want.

Examination times are always the most stressful for us students because what we've studied are going to be tested and we have to be able to  pass the test. If not, then we've been going to school for nothing. However, there are some ways for you to not be stressful in exam period.

First, you have to be prepared. Study study study. Ask your teachers, clarify what you don't understand, practice past papers, read some notes and books. Sacrifice some free time for your studies. It's for your future.

However, studying non-stop can damage your brain and soon enough, you're going to be mental. So, once in a while, rest. Breathe in, breathe out. Go outside for a while, to get some fresh air. Take a little nap. I do not suggest playing video games or watching the telly though, because you might get carried away and whoopsy daisies you forgot to study, you're too tired, you overslept, and you are doomed for the exams.

So basically, study hard but don't force yourself. That's it for now, got to go study.

IB: It's Banter

You choose 6 subjects, at least 3 Higher Levels, plus Extended Essay and TOK. Oh, and exams, of course.

Uni: 1 major, exams, a thesis. Maybe some essays (like research thingy or experiment, I don't know, I'm not in uni yet remember).

I don't know much about university life, but that's what I think of university. Hopefully it's accurate. Let's just say it is, okay.

Judging from the things that you need to do, the IBDP seems a wee-bit more of a pain in the head. Okay, maybe not a wee-bit, a LOT more of a pain in the head compared to uni. I mean, you don't have TOK in uni and that itself  makes uni 100 times better already. Also, in uni, you can have afternoon lectures instead of the early ones. In IB? Well, we don't really have much choice, do we. Our school sets the class time. If your school starts late, then you're lucky. If not, well, I know your pain. I mean, now my classes start at 7.25am. Back when I was in a public middle school, classes start at 6.30am. Yeah. 6 flipping 30. I remember when was a few months away from my national exams, I have to come at 6am for extra lessons. Yeah, the school is kind enough to give extra lessons but the idea to give it BEFORE class time is just....diabolical. To put the icing on the cake, the teachers rarely came for the extra lessons! They came 10 minutes before the whole thing ended. How effective.

However, despite the "effective" way of learning back in public school, we used to have shortcuts. My national curriculum only requires students to answer 50 multiple choice questions from 4 subjects (English, Indonesian, yes I'm from Indonesia, Math and Science). Students who have cash and was not the best kind of students, they buy answers. However, this is not good. This is bad. It is cheating. Therefore, you should never do it. Being a good boy I was, of course I didn't do that. Besides, I didn't have much money. The shortcut that I took was by studying everything overnight and hope for the best. Yes, I wasn't (and isn't) exactly the most diligent student.You have 25% chance of getting the correct answer in each question and for me, 25% is good enough. Surely, I passed middle school without breaking a sweat.

In the IB, it doesn't work like that. My English teacher once said, "I used to have shortcuts in University, there must be some sort of shortcut in the IB too". I want to tell you what he did, but I don't want to get myself in trouble, so let's just not.

Well, sir, that is incorrect.

Actually, there are some shortcuts. It's not exactly shortcuts, really, more like alternatives (for those who are not yet in the IB and still choosing which path to pick).

First, don't take the IB. Simple. After you passed your GCSE, IGCSE, O-Levels or whatever it is, go to college or uni-prep classes. Or, instead of IB, take the A-Levels. They said it's hard, but still, you don't have EE or TOK and you only have 3 subjects. Awesome.

Second, if you insist on taking the IB, take the IB Course. You won't be awarded with a diploma, but you'll still get an IB Certificate. No EE, no TOK, not as hard as the Diploma Programme. The IAs are still waiting, though.

Third, this is the actual shortcut. Have an older family member who took the IB and survived, ask him or her all about it, take the same subjects and just get as much help as you can. Ask for notes, everything. Annoy them, make them cry. Not for real, of course, it's a metaphor. So yeah. I know this is not quite a shortcut either, but that's the best I can think of. Other than that, time management, which I've talked about in my previous post. It really makes your IB life easier, seriously.

What Is Sleep

This is a major problem for IB students. Yes, including myself. To be precise, especially myself. I often go on an all-nighter to finish some (not one, some) work and also study. Once you survive IB, you'll probably get used to this habit of "no sleep, no problem" and became an evolved human being that can survive without sleep, as you can see from one of the IB student in the Chat Box I provided. Can we avoid this? Yeah, totally. How?

It's called managing your time wisely. Time management.

If you're thinking that, "oh, that's easy, so I just need to make my personal timetable and everything will go right by itself, right?" I hope that's how the world works too, man. I really do. Sadly, it's not. You have to put in your effort and self discipline into it too.

So, how do we do this time-managing thingy?

Well, first off, of course, know your tasks and prioritize them. Know which one is more important. Not saying that you should take any work lightly though, maybe you can prioritize the one that is near the due date, or if the due date for the work is still quite far away, you can study for the upcoming test, even though you shouldn't be studying only for tests or exams. Every free time, just make sure you revise because boy oh, boy, there are lots of things to revise. If not, finish the work so that in future free times, you can do other things.

But wait, don't force yourself to study or do work if you feel extremely tired

Aside from managing your work, you must also manage your relaxing time. Yeah, seriously. I know people often say, "Oh, I'm in IB, there is no relax". Come on. It's called "hyperbole" or "overstatement" or "exaggeration". As long as you're not relaxing TOO much, then it is fine. That is why you need to manage your time, so that you know when to stop relaxing and start working. Vice versa. See, it's all connected.

Peter Plan

Off to take the IB without any planning of what I'm going to do!!
(taken from http://tumblr.com)

Oh dear God, I'm really sorry for the bad pun I put in the title.

Yes, it's the very first thing I'm going to talk about. And you've all failed this. As a matter of fact, we've all failed this. I mean, look at us. We're in IB.

Yes, as a human being, we wanted to get what's best for us and sometimes...okay, maybe not sometimes. Often times, we get persuaded so easily, especially when it comes to something that has a big plank in front of it that says "I WILL HELP MAKE YOUR FUTURE BRIGHTER THAN THE STARS IN YOUR CRUSH'S EYES". It's a metaphor. And a little bit of exaggeration. So yeah, that is what everyone said about IB. I've mentioned this in my previous post, about how persuasive people are. When they talk about the good things that IB will give you, it sounds like your life is going to be a breeze. Why?

There are three possibilities:

• They've passed the cloudy days of IB
• They didn't take IB
• They're from Switzerland

Well, it is fair to say that people, such as our teachers, our counselors and our seniors, DID say that IB is a pain in the opening tip of our large intestine. Not directly, of course, but you get my point. It's just that we choose to only listen to the good parts of the IB, which are the results, but not the process. Yes, I know, we were too young, too ignorant, blinded by the glamorous things that are promised by this so-called International Baccalaureate without considering the pathway that we should go through. Wow, that went dramatic.

Okay, back to the whole planning thing. The first planning that should be done is actually BEFORE you jump into IB, and we've talked about that. If you feel like a mad genius then yeah jump right in. IB requires you to take 6 subject selections and among those 6, you have to take at least 3 Higher Level (HL) subjects in order for you to get the diploma and 1 language A subject (most probably your first language). In choosing these subjects, you should really keep in mind the major that you want to take in university so that your selections fulfill the requirements given by the university/ies that you want to apply to. Don't just choose random subjects willy nilly, you silly Billy. I feel like a rapper already. Anyway, if you want to do more, you might want to rethink your whole decision. And life. If you're very sure of it, then okay, props for you mate. If you want to do less, then you'll only be taking IB Course, not IB Diploma. There are 2 more things (as if 6 subjects are not enough) that you need to do to complete the IB Diploma. Extended Essay (EE) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK). In doing your Extended Essay, you'll face yet another situation where you have to plan everything before you make a decision. You have to choose the subject that you're actually passionate in. I know it sounds a bit silly, but it really does matter. For example, if you like sciences, then you might consider doing Biology, Chemistry or Physics.

But what if I don't have a passion in any subjects?

Well, I don't know, why did you consider going to school on the first place, brother. Haha, just kidding, don't get all sensitive like that. Well you can always ask your EE supervisor or your counselor to help you, so go ahead and talk to them. For TOK, uuhh....hey, let's just leave it for now. You'll learn it eventually, so I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

If you choose not to do both of those, then again, you won't be awarded with a diploma. So, in conclusion to this pre-IB planning, you can choose between doing more to earn a diploma or make your life easier but not get the diploma

As you know, the IB is not all about the exams and I mentioned before about the EE. However, that's not the only essay you'll be writing. There are more essays waiting for you in each and every subject. Yep, essays, with an 's'. A whole lot of essays. However, for those who are in the first year of IB or planning to do IB, I think there were some twitches in the curriculum that decreases the number of essays that should be written. You lucky batches, but anyways, let's carry on. In every subject, you'll be writing Internal Assessments (it might be only one, depends on the subject really). For sciences, you have lab reports. For languages, you have written assignments. Humanities have some researching to do. Math? Hahahaha oh come on Rory, you can't be writing an essay about math, right?

Right?

Wrong. 

Absolutely wrong. 

The IBO somehow came up with this brilliant idea called mathematical explorations. You make an essay about some math-related problems. Sounds like a lot of fun, isn't it?

To tackle all of these things, you really have to plan ahead of yourself (wait, wha?). Yes, that's how important planning is. The easiest way for you to stay on track is to make yourself memos or reminders. In that memo, you write your plans, such as when will you do the work. Don't forget that you still have to study for tests, so you might want to divide your time efficiently on when to study and when to do work (I'll talk more about time management in another post). If you are slightly more diligent, then you might want to make yourself a simple timetable. Plan on what you want to do on what day, what time. Also, don't forget to plan on how you're going to do your work or study because that'll make whatever you're doing easier since you know the details. Oh, and don't forget to keep in mind the due dates of your assessments or any other work that you have so that you can finish it before the due date or at least on the due date. As long as you don't miss the deadline, it's all good.

However, even with all this planning being done, I'm afraid you'll still have to work overtime. I'm not talking about sleeping early....in the morning every single day. No, you can avoid that if you actually plan your things. What I meant is that your weekends, well, let's just say they're not exactly weekends anymore. They're just the "2 days for you to do all your work that you didn't finish during the weekdays" basically.

Finally, the most important thing:

Do not, I repeat,

Do not procrastinate.

I admit, I sometimes procrastinate myself. Sigh, okay fine, I admit, I procrastinate a lot of times. Don't judge me.

So yeah, it's an advice based on a personal experience. Yes, I do procrastinate a lot, but believe me that is the worse decision to make. There's no use of planning if you procrastinate in the end, so why plan on the first place. I'm going to talk more of this procrastinating thing along with the time management post some time later.

In conclusion, basically just plan ahead, pay attention to the details of your plan AND the details of the activity you're going to do, and don't procrastinate! Yeah, that's it for now. Ciao.

Welcome, My Dear IB Friends

Ah, yes. Hello there everyone. I assume you, who happen to end up in this blog, must be very desperate facing all the Internal Assessment dues that are not far away, the Extended Essay draft that you still have to finish, and to top that off, the so-called Theory of Knowledge that just doesn't make any sense, yet you still have to make a presentation AND write an essay about it. You must be here to seek some sort of help, yes? Well, buddy, what did you expect from taking the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme or the one we usually call the I B D P? Did you see yourself prancing through the the peaceful, grassy plains as you swiftly score IB7s in all your subject selections? Hahahaha, oh dear me.

Seriously though, if that's what you actually thought of the IB, then you are just awfully wrong. You're not even close. Picture this. The IB is our solar system. Your thought of IB is as far as the Andromeda galaxy. Times ten. Thousand.

Oh, what am I talking about, I shouldn't be scaring you off like this. To all of you fresh IB students, I do apologise. Please don't run off.

Yes, if you're still wondering what IB is (even though by now you SHOULD know since you're taking it for the next two years), it is basically two years of torture fun and totally enjoyable academic programme that prepares you for university life.

I'm sorry, I lied. It's not entirely fun. Or enjoyable. Wait, no, please don't run away.

So, as I quote from the IBO,

The IB Diploma Programme (DP) is an academically challenging and balanced programme of education with final examinations that prepares students, aged 16 to 19, for success at university and life beyond. It has been designed to address the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students.

The official logo of the IB. Taken from: http://ibo.org

Extra information: it was made by the Swiss! I'm not sure how this information is relevant towards the content of what I'm going to talk about here, but just in case any of you want to punch someone in the face, you know where to go.

Hahahah, just kidding, please don't. Violence is never the answer. Don't punch people. No one will like you.

Anyway, I happen to be an IB student myself and believe me, it is the absolute worst BEST decision I have ever made in my life. EVER. NO JOKE. I am now in the stage where I'm almost there. Yep, I'm in my second year of IBDP, which makes me an IB expert. You know, in a way. And that is why, my first year friends, this blog is made. I, the not-yet-an-IB-graduate-but-soon-will-be, will guide you through this programme. We will strive together and we will, eventually, thrive together.

So, to sum it all up in a less dramatic way: I'm going to give you some tips, tricks, and maybe some inspiration to get you going through the IB. They will mostly talk about how to handle things demanded by the IB, how to keep yourself away from stress, and last but not least, how to stay healthy! Trust me, I'm a second-year IB student and a very reliable source when it comes to tips and tricks on how to handle the IB.

Yes, IB is a very demanding programme which requires a lot of things to do, taking away all your energy and time, but hey, it's not entirely impossible! Besides, it's going to be worthwhile. Well, at least that's what my seniors, teachers, and the Swiss said, but let's not make any assumptions here. We have to think positively, ladies and gents, and with that mindset, let's stand firm, show our fierce faces and shout, "Bring it on, Switzerland IB!"