Guest Shezadi SK Posted April 19, 2002 Report Share Posted April 19, 2002 Hello, I'm a grade 12 student taking partial IB and going to the U of Alberta next year. I decided to take the IB exams for bio, chem, physics, and english. If I get a 6 or 7 on an exam, I'll have to skip that first-year course in university. Is it likely that I'd fail if I took a second-year course in my first year of university? (I've recently heard horror stories) If anyone here has skipped a course or knows anyone that has, I'd appreciate some info. Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 You could retake those courses in first year university if you wanted. What's the rush in skipping most of your first year courses? Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anup Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 hey shezadi, I'm in the same boat too... grade 12 ...partial IB UofA next year (see ya there!) anyways...about skipping first year...a lot of the counsellors recommened NOT doing it... But then again.... I've heard students say that first year courses are pretty much IB all over again (oh dayum....) Hehe..that probably wasn't very useful...but just my 0.02 -anup- anup@shaw.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shezadi SK Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 The problem is, if I get a 6 or 7, I have to skip the course. The university doesn't give you a choice. I don't understand why; it's a strange rule. So now I have 2 choices: do my best on the exams and possibly get to skip those courses, OR purposely get less than 6 to be on the safe side in university. Has anyone here tried second year courses in their first year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 9901birdie Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 Hey I took partial IB in hi school and got a 7 in chem phys and math...while i could choose to skip first yr chem in UofT i decided not to so I didn't send them my IB transcript and that worked don't know about UofA tho... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anup Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 are u sure u HAVE to skip??? is this for honours or specialization ?? or just BSc general? -anup- anup@shaw.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shezadi SK Posted April 21, 2002 Report Share Posted April 21, 2002 Thanks for the replies...! As far as I know, it's not specifically for BSc general. When I applied for conditional admission, I was told that if I got a 6 or 7, I wouldn't be given a choice. My stupid mistake: Before finding out about that, I indicated on my application that I'm taking the IB exams. They're expecting my transcripts from both IB and Alberta Ed. I don't know if I'd be in trouble for not sending my IB one. It looks like that's my only choice. :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YongQ Posted April 21, 2002 Report Share Posted April 21, 2002 Hi Shezadi, I didn't take IB, but I did take enough (U.S. College Board) AP exams to skip first year at UBC. My advice: think very carefully before you do it. Even though I made it through that experience, my undergrad experience was quite harrowing and not as socially rich as my peers', which I see now that I am in the same class as them. Mind you, everybody's different, AP is not IB, and universities are different. Also you probably won't take as large a course load as I did. But I see now that I was somewhat mentally unprepared to take something heavy like organic chem in my first year out of high school, and wouldn't recommend it unless you're pretty darn confident and you have quite a bit of study time on your hands. Nightie-night. YONGQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shezadi SK Posted April 22, 2002 Report Share Posted April 22, 2002 Thanks a lot for the input, YongQ. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense to just start from the beginning like everyone else, rather than rushing through university. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anup Posted April 26, 2002 Report Share Posted April 26, 2002 I called up the UofA registrar's office today... coz I wasn't sure myself....of whether or not u have to skip the junior level courses. I'm doing partial IB as well... and www.registrar.ualberta.ca...hart6.html has all the info as to which courses allow u to skip etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EB Posted April 27, 2002 Report Share Posted April 27, 2002 hey, i'm in the u of a right now... i was in IB in high school, and i have a lot of friends who were in the program as well.... none of them had to skip anything, and one of them got one of the top marks in the world on her english exam... my advice is not to skip ANYTHING... trust me, you will NOT be adequately prepared for higher level courses such as Chem 211 or Bio 201... the only thing I'd consider skipping is English if you can. Look, don't make your first year tough on yourself... skipping classes and having to take the higher level versions will lead you to a nervous breakdown... guaranteed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CoolM Posted April 27, 2002 Report Share Posted April 27, 2002 Hey YongQ, what did you study during your undergrad at UBC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Praeludium Posted May 1, 2002 Report Share Posted May 1, 2002 Hi. I did full IB and ended up going to McGill. I wasn't aware of this potential problem until my second year (I just finished my degree) when my friend who did higher level science courses got screwed over not only in scheduling conflicts, but also she lacked the background of first year courses that I took. (I did a science degree, but did HL humanities, and didn't make the cut off for math). I know U of A integrates IB credits much better so there's less potential for scheduling conficts, but just the same, I'd consider it carefully to use IB credits to skip these courses. First, HL IB is NOT equivalent (in my experience) to university level courses. 2nd, taken them again in the university setting doesn't hurt...not only that, but you'll do better than those who didn't take IB (and since U of A marks on a bell curve stanine system...). And if you're really concerned about saving one year of univerisity...don't. It's been the best 4 years of my life so far, and really, who are you racing against? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shezadi SK Posted May 3, 2002 Report Share Posted May 3, 2002 Praeludium, You make some very good points. Maybe I shouldn't be so concerned with time, but I'm just determined to get into med after 3 years. Then again, if I compromise my GPA, it won't matter how fast I'm going, will it? Thanks a lot for the reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.