While the subjects you take in the MYP aren’t as important as the subjects you take in the DP, choosing the right subjects- ones that interest you and that you’re good at, could help you score much better in your finals than otherwise. Luckily, in the DP, you can often pick new subjects without already having a strong foundation in them. However, universities give a lot of importance to the DP subjects you take, so it would be smart to search up some universities you’re really interested in and find out what subjects they might require in general, or for specific courses which interest you. For example, some courses require higher level Math and some even specify whether they require HL analysis or applications so be sure to look out for that. This is particularly important for UK universities which have incredibly strict subject requirements for each of their courses.
Besides choosing subjects you need for universities or further studies, other subjects you take should ideally be ones you’re interested in or can excel at. The DP gets very stressful at times and you don't want to choose the wrong subjects which could place a heavy burden on you down the line, not only affecting your ability to perform well overall but also your mental health (and sleep schedule).
The importance of CAS properly starts to kick in once students enter the DP, which can sometimes be hard to manage. It's a pretty new experience for the majority of students as they're required to find ways to balance their studies alongside many other (often new) extracurricular activities. In the DP, you really have schedule yourself so you’re regularly uploading reflections and updating new experiences in your CAS worksheet, but most students manage to adjust within the first term.
It’s beneficial to experiment with as much CAS as you can in the first few months of the DP, such as participating in events, joining societies, doing internships, volunteering at organisations, exercising, learning new skills- the list honestly goes on-
you can pretty much link any extracurricular to CAS
. This will also come in handy if you apply to universities in the US, as extracurricular activities are a vital part of their applications.
We all spend way too much time deciding a topic for our IA’s EE and TOK. Remember that there are no criteria for how unique or how difficult your idea should be. Choose something that you completely understand and like- something that is personal to you and something that is simple and possible to do. You can always take a simple idea and make it more extensive, rather than choosing something that you struggle to understand. While you will get a lot of time to decide your EE Topic (and you'll be able to change it a bit in DP1 as well), its best if you start at least some of your baseline research the summer prior to DP1. You'll have a lot of free time and it would be beneficial to perhaps have a few different topics from a few subjects that would interest you. This would make your life a lot easier in DP, as all you would then have to do is narrow down your choices to the one that you feel you'd be able to write about the best.
If you are a dual national who plans on staying in Pakistan for your higher education, then it’s best if you take Islamiyat and Pak Studies. Even though you can still apply to Pakistani universities without them, you'd be paying international tuition costs (which are much more expensive and probably not worth it), because Pak Studies, Islamiyat and Urdu are required if you wish to apply as a local applicant.
However, if you're only looking to apply abroad then you don’t need to take these subjects. Of course, the choice is completely up to you- it never hurts to learn something new, and these subjects can help you later in the DP, as they teach you how to memorize large content in short periods of time.
The MYP doesn't have as many public materials as there are for the DP, yet you can often find some through a simple Google search or on IB SURVIVAL or IB Reddit. Though they’re not the most professional or reliable sources, they can still be immensely helpful. Reading about other students ideas and experiences can help you avoid the same mistakes in the MYP.
Specifically, for the DP, there's an entire active Sub-Reddit dedicated to the IB (r/ibo) that will save your life when it comes to finding resources and making decisions. I would suggest not to rely too much on the opinions that you see there though unless you fully agree with them, as again it's not really the most credible source. Quora is also an option that often has informative answers to the many questions that new DP students have. YouTube channels (like the ones below), can also really help you learn content efficiently.
YouTube: StudyNova (physics) Chris Doner (physics) The Organic Chemistry Tutor (all sciences and math) Eddie Woo (math)
Crash Courses (all subjects)
Jacob Clifford (Economics)
Some other websites which can really help with exam and IAs:
ibdocuments.com
ibpastpapers.com
ibresources.org
You should ideally start thinking seriously about where you want to apply in January of DP1 (especially if you’re aiming for prestigious universities, like IVYs and top tiers in the USA). Then, you should begin working on your college list and drafting your main essays in the summer before DP2- aiming to have them close to or completely done by September/October (DP2).
Deciding
what you want to study is of varying importance
based on where you plan to apply. If you’re aiming for the UK, you’ll be applying for a specific course and your essay will be centred around your interest in that subject area. In this case you have to be sure of what you want to do. Whereas if you’re applying to the US, you will have more time to decide because you can apply as an “undecided major” and even change your selected major (if you specified one in your application) in most universities once you attend.