A step-by-step framework for the decision your child makes in Grade 10 and lives with, until University.
KS Academia Prep is an IGCSE and IB tuition centre on Orchard Road, five minutes from Orchard MRT. We specialise in preparing students for university admissions worldwide.
Work backwards from the degree, not forwards from the subject. Subject choice is made once, usually in Year 10, and it is very hard to undo. A focused consultation with an experienced IB educator turns a guess into a plan — matched to your child's strengths and the universities they're aiming for.
Held in English · 简体中文 · 한국어 — so parents and student both take part
Three things make this different from any other choice your child makes at school. Understanding them is the difference between planning and guessing.
01 — Irreversible
Once teaching begins, switching a subject — especially Higher to Standard Level, or across groups — means making up months of content, if the timetable even allows it. Most students are locked in within a few weeks of starting.
02 — Weighting
Universities read Higher Level grades far more closely, and specific degrees demand specific HL subjects. Three HL slots is a small budget for a big set of ambitions — every one has to count.
03 — The blind spot
A student locked into HL Chemistry they'll never use, missing the HL Economics a business or PPE course expects — the most common and most costly error, and it stays invisible until application season.
Identify the courses your child might apply to, read the published subject prerequisites for those courses, and choose Higher Level subjects that satisfy them. Only then filter by interest, strength and workload — because a subject your child loves is worthless if it locks the degree they want. This is the order we work in, and the order matters more than the steps.
STEP 01
You don't need a career plan — you need two or three plausible directions, because each implies a different Higher Level spine. A student keeping both medicine and engineering open needs HL Chemistry, HL Physics and HL Maths, which is already three HLs and leaves nothing to negotiate.
If no direction is clear, choose the combination that closes the fewest doors: HL Maths Analysis and Approaches plus one HL science keeps most STEM and most non-STEM routes reachable.
STEP 02
Universities publish exactly which subjects they require, at which level — this is not guesswork. Below are NUS's stated IB prerequisites for programmes Singapore families ask about most.
| NUS programme | Stated IB prerequisite |
|---|---|
| Medicine | Pass in HL Chemistry, and either HL Biology or HL Physics. A portfolio is submitted separately; UCAT is required when applying on predicted results. |
| Law | At least a 5 in SL or HL English (Language and Literature, Literature, or English B); or SL Literature and Performance. |
| Business Administration & Business Analytics | Pass in HL Maths Analysis and Approaches. |
| Business Administration & Business AI Systems | Pass in HL Computer Science; or a good pass in SL Maths AA or HL Maths AI. |
| Landscape Architecture | Pass in SL Chemistry, SL Maths AA or SL Physics; or HL Maths AI. |
MAA = Maths: Analysis and Approaches, MAI = Maths: Applications and Interpretation. NUS states prerequisites are revised annually — confirm against the current NUS programme prerequisites before finalising. NTU and SMU publish their own, and they do not match — check a combination here.
STEP 03
Maths constrains the most degrees, so decide it first. Analysis and Approaches is the theoretical route — algebra, calculus, proof. Applications and Interpretation is the applied route — statistics, modelling, data, with technology built into the assessment.
| Analysis & Approaches | Applications & Interpretation | |
|---|---|---|
| Emphasis | Algebra, calculus, formal proof | Statistics, modelling, interpreting data |
| Technology | Calculator and non-calculator papers | Calculator central throughout |
| Typically suits | Engineering, physics, computer science, mathematics, economics | Business, social sciences, design, psychology |
| The trap | HL AA is the heaviest maths in the Diploma. Taking it to look strong is a common source of grade slippage. | AI is not the easy option — it's a different one. Choosing it can quietly close STEM routes. |
| Rule of thumb | When a university lists "IB Mathematics HL" without qualification, it almost always means HL AA. Never assume HL AI is accepted in its place — check. | |
The three local universities disagree about this, which almost nobody writes about. NTU states that where Mathematics is a prerequisite, both Analysis and Approaches and Applications and Interpretation are acceptable, with no preference. NUS names the course explicitly, and several programmes require HL MAA specifically. SMU requires Mathematics only for Economics and Computer Science, at either level. So HL Maths AI keeps NTU Engineering open while closing several NUS business degrees.
STEP 04
A subject your school doesn't teach is not a choice, and neither is one that clashes on the timetable. Schools also set rules on top of the IB's: some Singapore international schools do not permit four Higher Levels at all, except for a small number of language students. If a required Higher Level isn't available, that's a conversation about changing schools — and it has to happen in Grade 10.
Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents carry an additional constraint. MOE's bilingual policy places Mother Tongue Language alongside the Diploma rather than inside it. NUS allows applicants who meet everything except the Mother Tongue requirement to apply without prejudice, admitting them provisionally on condition they satisfy it before graduating. NTU accepts a pass in Mother Tongue Language A or B at Standard or Higher Level within the Diploma itself. Confirm the specifics with your school's IB coordinator.
STEP 05
Only now bring in interest and strength. A Higher Level subject runs 240 teaching hours against 150 at Standard Level, and the Diploma stacks three core components on top of six subjects. The failure mode is not choosing a hard subject; it's choosing four of them.
| Element | What the IB requires |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Six, one from each group. The arts group may be swapped for a second science, humanities or language. |
| Higher Level | Minimum three, maximum four. 240 teaching hours each. |
| Standard Level | The remainder. 150 teaching hours each. |
| Extended Essay | A 4,000-word independent research essay, within one of the six subjects. |
| Theory of Knowledge | A 1,600-word essay on a prescribed title, plus the TOK exhibition. |
| CAS | Must be completed. No CAS, no diploma — regardless of grades. |
| Total points | 45. Six subjects at up to 7 each, plus up to 3 from TOK and the Extended Essay together. |
| To be awarded the diploma | At least 24 points, at least 12 from HL and at least 9 from SL. No grade below 2, no more than two grade 2s, and no more than three grades of 3 or below. |
| TOK and the Extended Essay | Graded A–E. A grade E in either is a failing condition — the diploma is not awarded, whatever the subject grades. |
Structure and passing criteria as published by the International Baccalaureate. Three Higher Levels at grade 6 beats four at grade 4 — for the diploma, and for admissions.
A conversation starter, not a prescription. Every university publishes its own requirements — these are the shapes we most often build from.
| Intended degree | Typical HL spine | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine | Chemistry, Biology, and one of Maths AA / Physics / English | Chemistry HL is near-universal. A few countries require three sciences, forcing a non-regular diploma. |
| Engineering | Maths AA, Physics, and one of Chemistry / Economics / a language | NTU accepts either Maths course. Most universities outside Singapore expect AA. |
| Computer science | Maths AA, Computer Science or Physics, plus one open HL | Competitive programmes assume HL AA. Some accept HL Computer Science in place of a science. |
| Economics or business | Economics, Maths (AA or AI), and one essay-based HL | Top programmes increasingly expect HL Maths. NUS lists HL AA for several business degrees. |
| Law | English, History, and one of Economics / a language / Philosophy | NUS asks for at least a 5 in SL or HL English. Single-honours History often wants History HL. |
| Undecided | Maths AA, one science, one humanity | The maximum-optionality combination. Costs workload, buys time. |
Already studying Economics? Our IB Economics programme covers HL and SL alongside the Internal Assessment.
Subject choice closes before the Diploma begins. Everything after it — coursework, then applications — inherits that decision.
Most schools allow subject changes only in the opening weeks of Grade 11, and every week of delay costs teaching hours. Treat the Grade 10 decision as close to final — the useful research is worth doing a full term early.
Almost no subject-choice guide written for a global audience covers this. Group 1 is studies in language and literature; Group 2 is language acquisition. Taking a home language as a Group 1 Language A rather than a Group 2 Language B changes what the Diploma is worth.
The bilingual diploma. The IB awards a bilingual diploma to a student who completes two Group 1 languages with a grade of 3 or higher in both — or who completes a Group 3 or Group 4 subject in a language different from their Group 1 language, again with a 3 or higher. For a fluent Korean or Mandarin speaker in an English-medium school, this is often achievable within the six subjects they were going to take anyway. Most families never learn it exists until it is too late to arrange.
School-supported self-taught Language A. Where a school doesn't teach a student's home language, it can often be studied as a self-taught Language A at Standard Level — how students keep Korean, Japanese or Dutch inside the Diploma. It requires planning in Grade 10 and a school willing to register it.
English is not optional for NUS. NUS requires English to be one of the subjects taken at the IB examination, and asks for English test scores where at least three IB subjects are taught in a language other than English. SMU, by contrast, states it has no language requirement.
Our consultations can be held in English, Mandarin or Korean, so the parent making the decision understands every trade-off — not only the student.
Your child's school counsellor may be advising two hundred students at once. Here, the consultation is led by Li — founder of KS Academia Prep, a National University of Singapore Life Sciences graduate, and an IB educator with more than 22 years teaching Biology and Chemistry in Singapore, now leading the centre's academic advisory work.
Li's former students span generations of doctors, dentists, pharmacists and researchers, alongside entrants to Law, Economics and the sciences — at universities including Cambridge and Oxford, across the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore. The starting point is always the same: your child's genuine interests, weighed honestly against the pathways each combination opens or closes, with parents in the room as part of the team.
The boundary we keep
This is academic planning: which subjects, at which level, and how they map to course requirements. We do not run admissions, personal statements or placements — just a sound subject foundation your child builds two years of work on.
A signature service at KS Academia Prep
Not a generic template and not a sales call — a focused working session that ends with a plan you can act on, and keep.
A structured review of your child's strengths, interests and current subjects — not a one-size template applied blindly.
Six subjects with the HL/SL split spelled out — and the reasoning behind each choice, so you understand it, not just receive it.
Which IB subjects medicine, law, economics or engineering actually require — and how the combination lines up with entry requirements in the UK, US, Singapore or Korea.
A clear recommendation on Maths AA or AI for your child specifically, given their strengths and intended pathway — not a general rule of thumb.
The plan, the rationale and any flagged alternatives, written down — so the thinking survives the meeting and you can revisit it as things evolve.
Held in English, Mandarin or Korean, so both the student and the parents can take part fully — including parents who prefer not to work through it in English.
Find the one that sounds like yours.
Grade 10
"The subject form is due next month and nobody has explained what each combination closes off."
Grade 10 – 11
"She's set on medicine — or engineering — and we can't tell which HL subjects actually keep it open."
Grade 10 – 11
"There's no fixed plan yet, and we don't want to shut doors by accident before he's decided."
Not a fit: we don't write essays, coursework or applications on a student's behalf, and we're not a university-placement or study-abroad agency. This is academic planning — which subjects, at which level, and how they map to course requirements. Everything a student submits stays their own work.
Our free checker takes six subjects with their levels and grades, works out the total from the IB's official core points matrix, runs it against every diploma award criterion, then tests the combination against the published prerequisites at NUS, NTU and SMU.
A framework narrows the options. It can't weigh your child's strengths against their school's timetable, or against a degree they haven't settled on. KS Academia Prep runs IBDP seminars and one-to-one consultation sessions — for parents and students alike.
For groups
Sessions for parents and students together — how the Diploma is scored, where points are lost, and what each subject combination opens and closes.
One to one
Your child's actual grades, actual school, actual shortlist. Subject selection, Maths AA vs AI, prerequisites and long-term pathway planning. Parents welcome to sit in.
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Far East Shopping Centre, #15-06 · 5 min from Orchard MRT · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
