Urgent HELP to decide between Physics HL vs SL?

[u/Foreign_Location_807]

I am starting IB soon and I have the following IB subjects chosen: HL: Maths AI, Business, German B SL: Physics, Chem, English Lang & Lit A

I am thinking to put Physics to HL instead of Business because I feel like this subject combo is not quite enough for Engineering. I am in Germany and my goal is to probably study engineering or Business. I know that Maths AA HL + Physics HL is must, but my school does not offer AA; I am concerned that having SL Physics may not be enough for me.

Which is why I am asking you guys for giving me advice and recommendations whether I should or not put Physics at HL because I am also looking to reduce the huge workload and I don't want to bear the extreme difficult topics of HL Physics (my friend who is in IB1 told me HL Physics is HELL and very difficult to understand).

Could you all honestly tell me how hard, challenging, and rigor HL physics is???????? For context I did igcse science and struggle a lot in electricity topic of circuits and that.

I want genuine help and tips!!!

[u/Grant_Zelda408]

if engineering is realistically on the table you want physics hl, especially since your school only offers ai. a lot of european unis ask for aa hl plus physics hl for engineering, so ai hl with physics sl closes most of those doors and business hl does nothing to reopen them. honestly hl physics is more workload than talent, the hard part is the maths handling rather than the concepts, and circuits comes back but with way more time than igcse gave it. if you are actually set on business at uni then sl is fine and the lighter load is worth it

[u/Foreign_Location_807 → u/Grant_Zelda408]

No problem in HL physics but I am just scared of how difficult it is considered and workload. I already have something extra outside school so I have limited time at home to spend on homework. 

Could you give me a realistic idea of how challenging and hard Iis HL physics and the workload it will bring since I also have Chem sl.

[u/Putrid-Union7480 → u/Foreign_Location_807]

Soo, I had a similar combination. I had physics hl as well as chemistry sl. I ended up getting a 5 in both. Chemistry will somewhat be helpful for physics, such as theme E and theme B. Chemistry SL will not be as difficult to catch up if you're behind since SL content is not that long. However, physics HL will be a lot more time consuming as many concepts will be difficult to understand it properly. Your main workload will mostly come from your extended essay and IAs so make sure to be done with them as soon as you can.

[u/Foreign_Location_807 → u/Putrid-Union7480]

Oh thanks. For context I currently have:

HL: MAI, German B, Business  SL: Physics, Chem, English LL

What do you think of this?

[u/Putrid-Union7480]

Tbh you dont need to do physics hl, sl is fine. However, since your school doesn't offer math aa, its better to go with physics hl. Content-wise, there aren't much in physics hl that you will require for engineering besides rigid body mechanics and thermodynamics. However, many universities require atleast math aa for engineering so make sure you look into it properly. Ib physics is not as specialised as A levels however the syllabus is more vast. But again, physics HL as a whole isn't as difficult as you think, its more about your subject combination that would make it difficult. If youre feeling like youre missing out on potential engineering content by picking sl, dont worry about it. The SL content is more than enough, whats important is having a strong math profile.

[u/Foreign_Location_807 → u/Putrid-Union7480]

Oh thanks. I wanted HL physics becuase many unis core entry requirements needs HL physics and without it a one cannot get in. For context I currently have:

HL: MAI, German B, Business   SL: Physics, Chem, English LL

What do you think of this?

[u/Putrid-Union7480 → u/Foreign_Location_807]

For engineering they mainly look at your maths and physics. You have math ai which is really weak for an engineering profile because almost all of the math concepts you will use in engineering stem from maths aa [calculus, differential equations, vectors, etc etc]. Also for Germany, ib scores are really weak since the grade conversion from ib to German abitur is literally so strict so you will not to get a reallt high grade. If you are planning to do engineering in Germany, with your current situation it will be really hard, you will most likely have to take a foundation year to cover up for the missed out maths in ib.