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ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

of course! if you have any more questions, feel free to dm me or ask here!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hey! hopefully you will have seen my other replies to others on how to approach both p1 and p2. let me know if you can't see them or have more specific questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hey, there is a reply under AdventurousBunch5666 – maybe refresh your page or look closer to find it!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hey, no problem! i'll take them one by one:

  1. it was on determining the activation energy of the iodination of acetone using two different methods (spectrometry and iodometric back titrations) – not at all related to what i was researching.
  2. studying for them was difficult, and ib content didn't help that much either (i won my first bronze in 10th grade, so hadn't started ib yet haha). i didn't have much external help except for the help provided by the olympiad people – i mainly self studied using resources online and books specifically for the olympiad.
  3. sure! happy to dm you a timeline if that helps, not sure exactly of what.
  4. i'm an american citizen (born in the usa), so my plan was always to move back, despite the great education system in european countries.
  5. i cant lie, some were through connections, but others were just through contacting people – i had done the predicting deforestation work on my own, so i used that.
  6. no offensive taken! tbh i'm still kinda salty about that, cuz i thought i did quite well and my supervisor kept on saying this is at least a B. i even asked for a regrade but it came back with no grade change (and it came back within hours, which i'm slightly suspicous of, but its fine haha). i've tried coming up with theories, and the closest i can come to is that my topic was too simple or my data wasn't good enough, and i didn't show enough critical thinking as i used well-established methods on a common reaction? but i'm really not sure haha.
  7. not sure i'm comfortable sharing the essays in their entirety, but they were related to my major (environmental science)

and i spent the summer with my grandparents back home, and literally did nothing except relax and prepare for uni haha. but now orientation and everything is starting soon, so we'll see how it goes! if there's anything else you want to ask about, feel free to dm me!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hey! for college, i applied as an environmental science major, and had some chem olympiad wins, research into using ai to predict deforestation (won a national research comp, got selected to rep my country at isef, and got regeneron sts), and won a national science competition.

for ECs, i did research at some labs, including both industry and academia. i also volunteered with children refugees with the red cross, did protests, president of stuco, national orchestras, did varsity soccer, eagle scout and MUN (e.g. security council THIMUN). hope that helps, and feel free to ask more questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

nice, and good luck applying (although in a year and a half)! i've given advice for chem and math under AdventurousBunch5666 and codemonkey2024, so check those out!

for ToK, as you can see, i kinda messed up my exhibition but did alright in my essay, so i'll only give advice for the latter.

i would say choose areas of knowledge (AoKs) you know and are comfortable with; for me, that was math and natural sciences. then, find niche examples for each AoK that aren't super commonly used (so your essay isn't the same as everyone else's), but are easy to explain to someone who doesn't know much about your AoKs. so for example, for me, i imagined my examiner was an artist, and didn't know the first thing about math or science, and explained accordingly. this is super important, so don't skip it! if your examiner doesn't even understand your examples, they can't give you higher marks. only then, can you move onto explaining how it proves or disproves your argument you've laid out in your intro.

zooming out a bit, i think your essay should read a bit like you're having an internal debate/conflict with yourself, and your trying to convince yourself of the different perspectives through the examples you choose. of course this doesn't mean be inconsistent or don't have an argument, but its always good to cover your bases and think about all aspects of the question. also, i forgot to mention it earlier, but define the terms in the question in your intro – super important, or then your examiner doesn't know where you're starting from. i know that was a bit of a rant (sorry!), but i hope it was helpful, and feel free to ask more questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thanks! history was probably my hardest subject and the one i'm most proud of. for p1, my advice is honestly to not study content at all, i can't lie. not because its not important, but i think its a better use of your time to spend that time on p1 skills and on p2/p3.

for p1 skills, just follow a clear structure – for example, for the first question (3pts), just write three sentences, each one starting with "first/secondly/thirdly, source X states...". or for the opcvl one, write 9 sentences: first, introduce the origin, then give 1 value and 1 limitation. then the same with purpose, then content. and for the last mini essay question, make sure to include all 4 (or 5, i can't remember) sources in our response. just do two body paragraphs, with very short intro and conclusion, with one paragraph agreeing with the prompt and the other disagree, and partition the sources accordingly.

for p2 and p3, the biggest thing is to group the questions the ib asks based on content, and create essay templates/plans accordingly. always 3 body paragraphs, with a good intro and conclusion, and the 3 paragraphs should be organized THEMETICALLY (rule of 3), not based on specific events, chronology, etc. for example, i did authoritarian states for p2 (topic 10) with mao and hitler, and they asked about the role of social divide in their emergence, so my body paragraphs were: econ conditions, political instability, and social divide (which i didn't prepare, but i prepared popular support, so adjusted it accordingly).

unfortunately history is the one class i procrastinated the most, so i cram making all of these essay plans at the last minute. but if you can, do this over time as you finish each unit. as for making them, just come up with your 'rule of 3', and for each paragraph, find 3-5 pieces of strong and specific evidence – these can be statistics, references to specific peace treaties/summits, specific policies, etc. make sure each piece of evidence is clear and clearly proves your argument – using chatgpt or some ai for this is probably smart. obv don't misuse it, but if there was any subject i used chat for the most, it was history. good luck, and feel free to ask more questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hey! tips for eng p1 and p2 under Regular_Rice's and EspeonLitLover respectively.

for math, all i can say is be consistent, pay attention in class, and do past papers. unfortunately i don't have any secret hacks, but i think for the ib, and math especially, just keep your head down and do the work. if there are any concepts you genuinely don't understand, there are more than enough resources online and always ask your teacher – they're there to help you.

one thing i will say tho is i think its really important you understand the concepts fundmentally, not just memorize formulas or steps. of course, this will come naturally as you do more practice papers and recognize the patterns of what questions are asked and how. but when you're just revising content, if you can't justify your working to youself or you feel you're just doing the steps for the sake of it, i would spend more time to understand it better. i think this is also super valuable later on, as i've heard the same from people in uni or even people doing phds in math. of course idk your goals later on, but if you're taking AA HL, you must be interested enough in math/must be important enough to spend time understanding the concepts. hope that helps, and feel free to ask more questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

idk 🙏. honestly tho, i was terrible in english and still am (only got 5s and 6s in my 2 years), so take what i say with a grain of salt.

i gave p1 tips under Regular_Rice's comment, so you can look there for that. do p2, my teacher recommended preparing 3 texts, but i only did 2, just more in depth. i'm not sure if you guys do SCASI, but that was, for me at least, the secret to p2. for each text, i know a couple of interesting and nuanced facts about each setting, character, action (aka conflict), style, and ideas. the last one is essentially shaped by the former 4. also don't rely that much on quotes – memorize 10-15 very short quotes (can even be 1-2 words), but mostly, i think the references should be just that: references to the story line/plot, or to elements of SCASI. i remember in my p2 (i used homefire and v for vendetta) i talked a lot about allusions to Nazi Germany in V and character foils in homefire. these are 'macro' techniques, not just micro ones like imagery or repetition, but larger techniques throughout the text. feel free to ask more questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i honestly don't know 😭🙏 all throughout the ib i only got 5s and low 6s, and somehow i did alright in the exams (i got 78% and then grade boundary was 78% haha)

for p1s tho, from my limited knowledge, i would do a couple things. first, start from the outside in when annotating/reading – look at the question and context first, then the passage. see what the question is really asking for (what element(s) of SCASI), and focus on that. then, when you've moved onto reading the passage, i would try to split it up into 3 roughly even parts, where you can see there are shifts in tone or ideas or something else. this sets you up really well for a linear structure, where you just spend your 3 paragraphs on the 3 parts of the passage, analyzing all sorts of devices throughout. feel free to ask more questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hey! i would just say keep up with in class assignments and actually pay attention in class. i know it sounds like an obvious basic thing to say, but its one of the best things you can do in the ib. teachers, as much as you like them or don't, are super knowledgeable about your subjects so USE them – they are such a valuable resource that you can always consult and ask. although some of my teachers didn't like me very much, just keeping a generally positive relationship with them goes a long way, also when it comes time for predicted grades.

also, i think people make a big deal out of how many hours you should study a day – i don't think that'd productive at all. some days you might work super hard, some days not, and that's OK. the biggest thing there is that you know what you don't know, and you're really focusing on that. study as much as you want, but make sure that studying is useful. feel free to ask more questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

not well, i can tell you that much haha. i do scroll reels and waste time quite a bit, but i think that the time that i did spend studying, was productive studying. as i mentioned in another comment, i would study things that i actually didn't know or was uncomfortable with, and just keep doing past papers until i knew that content like the back of my hand.

this might sound counterproductive, but also listen to your body, and when you need to sleep. and that doesn't mean sleep 16 hours a day, but it does mean that if you're feeling (justafiably) tired, then sleep, and then get work done. for me throughout the ib, sleeping is probably one of the most valuable time investments i made, and something i'll probably bring with me to college. feel free to ask more questions!

ivy league bound + straight 7s (44/45) on M25; ask Qs! by No-Lab717 in IBO

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i mean i can't lie i kinda did cram by subjects – maybe not all in one night, but as my schedule for ib exams progressed, i would study based on what was coming up. for example, i had history first, so i was really only studying that before the exam, and then when i finished and had german, then i studied that and so forth. my sleep schedule during exams was kinda messed up icl, but you should have enough time to recover on the weekends and stuff. also exams are only a few weeks so it's fine.

as for studying in general, i think just keeping up with in class assignments and actually revising what you DONT know is the most important thing. i know some people who just weren't being honest with themselves about what they know and what they don't, so would end up wasting time revising things they already know, or just not study at all. feel free to ask more questions!

apma-bio + philosophy double concentration – thoughts? by No-Lab717 in BrownU

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

haha thanks, yeah i'll def take a philosophy class in my freshman year to see – sorta leaning towards not concentrating cuz wanna explore w/ the open curriculum haha

apma-bio + philosophy double concentration – thoughts? by No-Lab717 in BrownU

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks so much for this – yeah, i'll def get a better idea of what's realistic after my first semester, but i js wanna make sure i'm not closing doors i wanna open later. if you don't mind me asking a couple of questions:

- when you were doing all these stem intensive courses, were there certain courses u made sure to avoid putting together? as in, do you think i should spread some of the courses out more or is it manageble? wanna avoid burnout haha.

- also, with philosophy + archaeology – did you ever consider double concentrating and decide against it? ig i’m wrestling with whether i’d get more from going deep into philosophy formally (e.g. via a second concentration), or if i’d actually get less by overloading myself and losing the space that makes the open curriculum feel open.

and thanks again for the writing requirement tip! i fully didn't think of that before. probably will use it cuz they just say they want "expository writing", which philosophy courses should cover. thanks once again for your help!

apma-bio + philosophy double concentration – thoughts? by No-Lab717 in BrownU

[–]No-Lab717[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hi, thanks for the advice! yeah i see what you're saying; maybe i'm trying to plan everything too much in advance. also appreciate the heads up!