Seniors on IB Exams

It is only one month until our beloved seniors graduate and head off to whatever college they chose. It is paramount that we spend and cherish the moments we have with them right now. However, before they are able to put an end to their high school career, they are required to take their IB exams, which will be held on the Monday of the following week. The only students who aren’t required to do well on these exams are those who will be going to the United States and aren’t taking a full IB diploma since their score won’t affect their future to a very high degree. However, just like people want to choose their own path and do them own thing with their lives, every senior who I asked about their stresses during exams, said something different.

Starting with Jacky L, who is taking the IB diploma, he is most nervous about his Biology and Psychology exams since “the majority of the tests for both are on one day”. On the day he takes these exams, which are two of his HL’s, he will “be writing for about 6 hours and 15 minutes”, he goes on to say that it “stresses [him] out just thinking about it”. When reflecting on the exams he wants to do well on, the first things that come to mind are all of his science papers: Chemistry and Biology as well as his social science paper; Psychology. This is because they are relating to what he will be doing in university.

 

Moving onto another senior, Elly A is much less stressed about these exams than some of her other peers. But this doesn’t mean that she’s all fine and dandy. She admitted that she is “most apprehensive about [her] English exam because for Paper 1, they can give me any type of text they want, whether it be an ad, a screenshot of a website, or a radio broadcast from 1930, and I would have to analyze it”. And for this reason, it is pretty understandable why she is so concerned. Another exam she is nervous about is her Psychology paper “because there is a lot to memorize for each question they may ask”. However, as far as doing well on her exams, she doesn’t care very much about it considering she is “headed to the US next year for university and I am not doing a full IB diploma”. But she still cares about doing well on her exams since if “[she] were to do worse than expected, [her] own self-esteem may go down.”

Aakaash K is very nervous about his Biology exam since there is a “large amount of content [students] are required to learn” and compared to any other subject, he feels that “biology has the most content that [students] have to learn and remember.” Stating the fact that he would greatly appreciate doing well on all of his exams, he goes on to say that he would really like to do well in English “because [he] feels like [he] improved a lot during the last two years”.

 

I received a very thorough response of the thoughts Jerry J has on his exams. He is very concerned about his math and all his science “(Physics, Chemistry, Biology)” as well as his Math exam. Jerry seems very preoccupied about Physics because “physics past paper questions can be ridiculously crazy, and they are so tricky, one word can change the whole meaning of a question”. He has the same reasons for being concerned about Biology with the things mentioned above. He said that he hopes all of his exams go well but “[he’s] focusing mostly on the sciences because [his] further steps involve [him] going to med school, in which good grades in the sciences are one of the main requirements for being eligible to enter”. However, Jerry isn’t really focusing on Chinese B or English but “that does not mean that [he doesn’t] care about doing well on them”. And hopes for the best in all of his exams.

Belle F is nervous about her History and Psychology exams because those are the most content-heavy exams and are the ones she cares most about. She said that “in all honesty, [she really doesn’t] care about [her] IB exams. They don’t really affect [her] future, it is just something [she] has to do.” If she had to pick one exam to do well on, it would be Psychology since it’s what Belle wants to do major in, and if she does well enough, it’s possible for her to get college credits.

All in all, IB exams are clearly very stressful to all students since they are all required to take them at this school, but they impact some students much more than others. Each exam has a different degree of importance to each student taking it and brings light to how each student on how they will do in the future. I can speak for everyone by saying we wish the seniors luck and great opportunities in their lives to come.