How to get a 45 in the IB (part 2)

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6. Tutors

Many say tutors are essential to do well. This is not true, but they do make it far easier to get good grades. Most of the students I know who get a 43+ score did tutoring for all their subjects, but I also know students who did not do any tutoring but still got a 45.

Ultimately, your results depend on your hard work.

Personally, if a could get even a 1% boost of my grade, a tutor would be worthwhile and while it is hard to find truly good tutors, ultimately a tutor is someone you can ask any question to and ask for resources - so it depends on how well you utilise your tutor.

Additionally, I definitely recommend learning content ahead of time so you can spend more time on revision. A tutor is very helpful in that regard as it is a bit hard to keep yourself accountable for learning by yourself.

If you are unsure about getting a tutor but have the financial capacity to afford one, I would probably recommend trying it out especially for your weaker subjects. In year 11 and 12, everybody is giving it their best shot. Students and families are putting everything on the line and those are the kind of people in your cohort - so why would you purposely let yourself take the harder route if you know how to make it easier for yourself.

If tutoring is not something you can afford, there are many free resources online and also ensure you take advantage of your teacher by asking for extra help and clarifying all your doubts.

7. Keep your mind in good shape

This includes getting some sunlight and fresh air, staying active and getting a good amount of sleep. Also, keep your space clean (a cluttered room = a cluttered mind) and avoid stressing. This is tricky, but find ways of reducing your stress such as drinking tea, spending time with friends and family, journalling, meditating, listening to music etc.

Year 11 and 12 is a long journey so keep yourself mentally and physically fit for the process.

8. Group study

If you are lucky enough to have smart students who are happy to help around you - use them! There are many ways of doing this such as sharing notes, sharing essays and teacher feedback, working through a past paper together and brainstorming ideas (especially for language A and humanities), teaching each other the topics, having a discord group or FaceTiming while studying to keep yourselves accountable also motivating each other to study by comparing results (does depend on the group).

While most people will love to join this mutually beneficial study group, just be careful, because not everyone will be your well wisher.

9. Now you are probably thinking, is all this effort really worth a 45?

Maybe, maybe not. Your year 12 marks only count for the uni and course you get into and after that, nobody cares.

However, getting a top mark means you can get into any university and course of your choice with a scholarship. If you decide to be a tutor afterwards, it will be a lot easier for you too. Most importantly, you will learn that you are the kind of person if you put your mind to something, you can and will achieve it which will help you enter the world with your best foot forward.

And if you are here already, with the idea of getting a 45 (or 99.95 ATAR), it is hard to forget about it so you may as well do your best to get the score you truly want.

Good luck!