Choosing IB subjects: the decision that quietly closes doors two years later
Higher Level choices are made at sixteen and checked by admissions offices at eighteen. Get the required combinations right first, then optimise for points.
Competitive courses do not just ask for a total score. They ask for specific subjects at Higher Level, and no amount of points elsewhere substitutes for a missing one. This is the only part of the IB where a choice made early is genuinely hard to undo.
Combinations that are effectively compulsory
| If you might want | Take at Higher Level |
|---|---|
| Medicine | Chemistry, plus biology at most universities |
| Engineering, physics | Maths (Analysis and Approaches) and physics |
| Computer science | Maths (Analysis and Approaches); CS itself is rarely required |
| Economics | Maths — at many universities Analysis and Approaches specifically |
| Architecture | Varies widely; art or maths, plus a portfolio |
How to choose the remaining slots
- 1Lock in every Higher Level subject that a target course requires. This is not negotiable and comes before anything else.
- 2Fill the rest with subjects you are good at. A 7 in a subject you enjoy is worth more than a 5 in one that looks impressive.
- 3Keep one subject that is genuinely different from the others. It gives you something to write about and somewhere to rest.
- 4Do not take a Higher Level subject purely because it is considered hard. Admissions reads the grade, not the reputation.
Can you change later?
Schools usually allow a move between Higher and Standard Level in the first term, and almost never after that. Dropping from Higher to Standard in a subject a course requires ends the application for that course, whatever the final total. If you are genuinely undecided about a field, the safe move is to keep the Higher Level that keeps it open.
What to remember
- Required Higher Level subjects come first; points come second.
- Check whether a course needs Analysis and Approaches specifically.
- A 7 in a subject you like beats a 5 in an impressive one.
- Dropping a required Higher Level ends that application, whatever the total.
Sources
Read next
IB and A-levels8 min readIB or A-levels: how to tell which one fits you
Universities accept both and have no secret preference. The real question is which two years you can survive without burning out — and that depends on how certain you already are.
Read →
IB and A-levels6 min readWhat an IB score actually buys you: 45, 40, 35 and below
The average diploma score sits around 30. Universities know this; the panic in most families is calibrated to a scale that does not exist.
Read →