A Few Words of Wisdom

You're in the middle of it all right now and it sucks, right? Well, it's possible to survive, I guarantee it. Many of us have already been there. It won't be easy and it won't always be fun, but most every IB student is capable of completing the program. So how did the graduates make it through? Well, here's some advice. (If you have some advice to share, please email it to me!)

Katie's Advice:

I have the same advice you're getting from all your teachers, because they're partly right. I know it's hard to admit that, but some of their advice is valid.

Time Management - Sounds clichÈ, but it's true. Schedule your day and put everything in there. Don't just say "Oh, I'll squeeze it in there somewhere," because you might not. Try and leave yourself some free time, as much as you can (within reason, of course).

Sleep - Many of you get little more than 4 hours a night. Over time, this really screws with your body's chemistry. Aim for 8.5 hours. If you don't get that much, you'll live, but don't make it a habit to get less than 7.5. I usually don't get that much, in all honesty, but I'm being idealistic here, and ideals make good goals.

Procrastination in Moderation - Ain't nothing wrong with waiting a while to start that English paper until a day before it's due! I do it often. BUT make sure you're capable of completing it in the last minute. Don't start so late that you don't get any sleep (see rule 2).

Have Fun - Find some way to amuse yourself. Picking on teachers is a favorite method of mine. But I know which teachers will play along and which will send me to the administrator. Know the difference first. And keep a sense of humor at all times. If you feel shitty, talk to someone and find something to cheer yourself up (if you're seriously depressed, talk to your psych teacher, she'll help a ton). I give you permission to blow off your homework (in moderation) when you're super-stressed and need a break. Go watch Smallville and be normal for an hour.

You Are Not Perfect - If you come short of a 100% on your calc test (this is for you, Allen), LIFE WILL GO ON! You may not get a 4.0 this semester. LIFE WILL GO ON! ToK may be over your head today. LIFE WILL GO ON! Your chemistry teacher may appear to speak in tongues. LIFE WILL GO ON! Get over yourself.

Luke (IB 2002 graduate) on "How to Succeed In IB":

Keep a sense of humor. Don't get your panties in a bunch regarding grades, otherwise you'll die of stress. Always tell yourself you're the best damn student at your school, so as to uphold the IB stereotype and make sure you can spell words correctly. BS a lot and when you're not BSing in school, you should be practicing. Watch Monty Python frequently and just shoot pillows to release hidden aggression (use shotguns so you can increase the strength in your writing hand at the same time!).

Rae (IB 2002 graduate) writes:

Success in IB really depends on what sort of person you are. From what I've observed, there are only three kinds of people in IB - those who got there by dint of being workaholics, those who got there by dint of being really really smart, and those who really don't belong there at all.

If you're the first type, you don't need any help. Just keep working really hard, do all of your homework on time, study for tests, and see your teachers at lunch for extra help. You won't have much of a social life, but you'll get A's and B's, and that's what really matters, right?

If you're the second type, you don't need any help. Don't bother with doing your homework at home (that's what boring classes are for), only study for tests in classes you like, and spend all of your non-school time sleeping or partying. Get a girlfriend or boyfriend - or both! Not only will you pass all of your classes & exams with flying colors, but your social life (and your health) will be the envy of all the other IB kids. Except, of course, for those others who've figured out that whether you get a 110% or a rounded up 89.5, it's still an A, so the extra effort's not always worth it.

If you're the third type, you need more help than I could ever give. May God have mercy on your soul.

Party on,
xoxoxoxox,
Rae

Kevin (IB 2002 graduate) writes:

I have discovered one very simple ingredient for staying successful in IB. You must maintain your work ethic. And if you never had one, you had best find one quick, because you will not survive without it. Even the smartest of us can have some serious-a** trouble if we don't do our homework. Oh, yeah. That's the other ingredient. Do your homework. Maintaining your work ethic is useless if you don't work at the things that will keep you in IB. And also, you must learn to write in a stream of consciousness format, so as to confuse your reader. This is especially good for Theory of Knowledge. It is even better for English because if you are capable of writing in a stream of consciousness format for an English paper, you obviously know your s***. That's probably enough out of me for tonight.

Allison (IB 2001 graduate) writes:

My advice (as an IB Senior who has turned in all her required essays and finished her orals):

No matter how much work you have to do, always remember to have fun. Go hang out with friends, play a sport, even get a job - you need to do something to take yourself away from the stress that none of your parents really understand that you are under. Believe me, I know...

When you have to do that Extended Essay, make sure you LIKE your topic. I know several people in my IB class of nearly 90 people who hated their topic but didn't realize it until it was too late. I loved mine, but then again I am crazy enough to enjoy analyzing poetry...

Get to know your IB peers well enough so that you feel comfortable asking them for help or giving it in return. And, don't lock yourself away from your non-IB friends. They can be pretty cool, too, even if they have no clue what you are talking about when you mention the affect of the Blue Shirts in the rise of the single party state in Spain...

Don't worry if you do not so well your first quarter of IB English 12, no one does. You'll get better, and you'll find that as the teacher starts grading harder your grades WILL get better.

The Oral: The foreign language orals are not that bad. You pick a topic (like the extended essay) that you are interested in and talk about it for all of 3-7 minutes. It's over before you know it.

English: Not bad either. I should know, I took mine today. It is easy once you get into it, and your teacher will be nice to you. He or she doesn't want you to fail.

Kim (IB 2001 graduate) writes:

One tip to surviving IB: take it day by day. I'm a senior, with only a few more months left, and I can honestly say it was worth it. However, if you had asked me that while sitting through ToK or our disastrous Chem 1 class, I may not have said that! But definitely, the way to survive is moderation. If you don't keep up that social life and level of fun, you'll drown in nerdy-ness. Also, realize the benefits of having everyone online doing the same assignment the day before it is due...not that we share answers, of course. We'll just call it "using resources wisely" for now...

Bridget writes:

The best IB survival tip is to balance a social life at the same time. It may sound kinda dumb, but if you sit at home and do homework the whole day (even though some days require that), ease some of the stress by getting out of the house. The gym is always a good way too. Do some extracurricular activities, it will help you stay sane.

DON'T take anything to help you stay up. Sometimes it can do the opposite like burn you you. If you want to take something, drink coffee (in moderation). NoDoz is very popular at my school. I see IB kids as hyper as circus midgets the first 2 periods, but by lunch time they're falling asleep at the table.

IB exams: spread them out as much as you can. I took 2 junior year and the rest I am taking senior year. I have so much less stress than the rest of my class.

Speaking of exams, here's a few tips for the ones I took:

Chemistry: Good luck. This is a really hard test. I took it junior year, and studied my brains out. Don't go over chemistry essays that much, most of the test is based on the facts.

Math Studies: This test is decent. Even if you only read the math book you should be able to pass it. Being able to analyze math concepts is majorly important.

English: As long as you write well, you'll be okay. IB examiners are very loose, and they actually look to GIVE you points. Choose an argument and support it and you should be okay.

Spanish: Also a decent test. The oral is simple, you can talk about whatever you want. Then you write an essay and answer questions based on articles they give you. In the essay, Spanish IB examiners are looking for: connecting words (although, even if, on one hand, etc.), different verb tenses (subjunctive, past, future), and, of course, that your essay is grammatically correct.

History: Know a lot of dates and historians with opinions about the subject you're concentrating on. You write 5 essays in all, and the Documents test is like reading the editorial section of a newspaper. Be a good detective and be able to pick and analyze a part of a speech or treaty.

Biology: Whoa...don't take this test unless you plan on going to med school! Its super hard, somewhat like the chemistry one. Study the topic you are taking FIRST, and then the other notes you have.

It can be done! The amount of work you put into the tests is the amount of rewards you will get at the end. Just think how wonderful summer will be with no summer assignments...GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!