Lion Tips: Application Process and the IB

By: Nina de Lima and Dora Fernandes

Handling the IB and the application process can feel extremely stressful and never-ending, but with the right tips and strategies, you can master your schedule and year. You can work on time management, perfect your study techniques and even find the best college for you! In the first edition of Lion Tips, Dora Fernandes shares her 10 essential pieces of advice to help present and future IB students stay on track and succeed! 
 
Tips by: Dora Fernandes 
 
1. Don’t procrastinate: you’ve been hearing this since the dawn of time, but it really is that important. As soon as you get a task, start it, because the main thing about the ib is that there will always be more, and before you know it, everything has piles up.  
 
2. Understand your priorities: not everyone is made for everything, and that’s fine, it’s important to know where you stand, what is real, and what isn’t. If you’re not an academic person, don’t push yourself towards an extremely rigorous and academic university, that is ego talking, and not yourself, and you may regret it.  
 
3. Study with past papers: at the end of the day, exams are about understanding how they work, not the actual content. Your lessons, teachers, insights are what make school worth it, and the content will be important someday. But the exam is about the exam, so use past papers.  
 
4. Choosing an ED: the most important thing here is to be smart. I can’t even explain how smaller your chances get when betting on an EA or RD. Ideally, if the school is really competitive, you should be the only person applying in your year group. It may seem hard letting go of that Wharton dream but it will be better for you in the future.  
 
5. The myth of the predicted grade: if you are one of those people who thinks that your predicted grade is the only thing that will put you into college, you’re wrong. Nearly every person who was massively bumped up on their predicted, and did not have the same score on their grade sheet, was not that successful when applying to college. Having consistent grades is much more important than one standalone, made up number.  
 
6. Quite nearly everything you do is a formula: yes this applies to maths, sciences, etc, but it is also relevant to all other exams. Your paper 1 and 2 language papers are a formula, your “why us” college essay is a formula, and as soon as you have someone explain this formula to you, or figure it out yourself, your life will be 10 times easier.  
 
7. Pay attention in lessons: if you’re the person who drifts off during lessons relying on your pre-exam revision, chances are you won’t do well. That’s because your teachers are everyday giving queues and insights into what questions, exams, and the subject is truly about. And as someone who pays attention in lessons, I can safely say that I can keep my revision to a minimum and still get good grades. It is more sustainable.  
 
8. Be organized: if you’re using a text book, use it for every subject, if you’re using OneDrive, create a different folder for every subject. There is so much going on that sometimes even finding, or understanding your notes becomes an issue, don’t let it get that way.  
 
9. Have a relationship with your teachers: the best way to have a somewhat smooth ride on the ib is having people to support you. Maybe you’ve had a tough day and couldn’t meet a deadline, if you have absolutely no relation to your teacher, this could be a big problem, but if you do, you just made your life 10 times easier because this person knows you, and will hopefully trust you too.  
 
10. Follow basic rules: there are some things just not worth fighting over. Choose your battles and choose them wisely, because there will be many. 
 
 
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