How IB works and how to prepare for it

How to understand the internationally recognised IB system

Confused about the IB (International Baccalaureate) and not sure how it actually works or whether it would be the better curriculum for you? Not to worry, join us as we take a dive into everything IB! How it's structured, how it's graded and the benefits!

What is the IB?

The International Baccalaureate, or more commonly known as the IB, is a secondary school credential founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland. It was designed to provide a universal, standardised and more importantly, transferable diploma for students who would move abroad. It is now taught in over 3000 schools in 140 countries worldwide and is recognised globally by universities. In Australia, the program is offered by both public and private institutions. Some will offer a choice between IB or HSC while others designate themselves to only the IB diploma.

The IB advertises itself as creating global-minded and well-rounded students after the completion of the two-year diploma. It forces students to think creatively and work in a variety of subject areas to ensure they have the best preparation going into whatever career path they may choose.

Structure

The IB diploma consists of six core subject areas that every student is required to choose from. There is a wide variety of course options, however, your school may not offer all of them. These subject areas are:

  1. Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature (English)
  2. Group 2: Language Acquisition (Foreign Languages)
  3. Group 3: Individuals and Societies (Humanities)
  4. Group 4: Sciences
  5. Group 5: Mathematics
  6. Group 6: The Arts

All of these subjects are required, with the exception of The Arts which can be swapped out for an additional Science, Humanities, or Languages course.

IB or ATAR? Which is the best option for me?

The choice between IB and ATAR depends on a variety of factors both external and internal to the student.

Speaking from personal experience, the IB Diploma has a lot to offer. It helps you advance in independent management, creative thinking and personal development mainly through the way it is structured. If you are still unsure about whether IB is the right choice for you, consider signing up for a free 30-minute study skills consultation with one of our many expert IB tutors.

Many students in Australia choose IB because of the generous grading when converting into ATAR or simply because they are looking for a different challenge. It generally suits students who are well-rounded and can adapt to different challenges presented by the different subject groups. If you want a full detailed analysis of how IB differs from ATAR make sure to check out our blog post on that!

Continue reading...

The IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma has a lot to offer. It helps you advance in independent management, creative thinking and personal development mainly through the way it is structured.

The IB system can be confusing and overwhelming for new students and their families. If you need help with IB studies or have specific subject-related questions, KIS Academics tutors are knowledgeable about their subjects and can assist with understanding curriculum requirements. To get a better understanding of how the IB works and how each subject affects your final score, you can refer to the resources listed below.

FAQ's

What are the benefits of taking IB?

The IB Diploma Programme is recognised worldwide, meaning it increases adaptability and mobility for IB students. Furthermore, the IB programme encourages students to participate in active, creative and service-oriented activities outside the classroom through their CAS requirement. Lastly, many students in year 10 are uncertain about their vocational or future career options causing them to not enrol in certain subject areas and limiting their tertiary choices. The IB Diploma requirement is that students take subjects from each area of the curriculum. IB students end high school more well-rounded and with their university degree choices boundless.

Where can I find schools in Australia that offer IB?

The IB curriculum is becoming increasingly popular in Australia. Find a comprehensive list of every school in Australia offering IB here.

Do students need to have exemplary grades to enrol in the IB for years 11 and 12?

No.  According to the IB Mission Statement, it aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. Hence, there is no exam or formal requirement for students to undergo the IB.

Is the IB program harder than ATAR curriculums?

The course intensity will vary between students and their strengths. Both curriculums seek to prepare students for tertiary education and should theoretically be of the same level of difficulty. Some students have felt the IB to be more demanding given its added requirements (TOK, EE and CAS) but its conversion to ATAR to be a bit more generous. Furthermore, ATAR allows students to play to their strengths while IB forces students to tackle each subject area. If you are unsure of which course is right for you book a free study consultation with one of our expert IB tutors today.

Understanding the

IB

system 🧠

The first thing we recommend you do is understand how the curriculum works. This will help you choose subjects, understand marking schemes and how it all impacts what university course you can do:

Calculating your

IB

ATAR 📊

Once you've got an idea of what subjects you want to do and how you'll approach your studies, you can experiment with a predicted ATAR using an ATAR Calculator.

Get your

IB

Marked ✅

In-school assessments are a common and important part of your final ATAR score. If you want an expert to look over your work and provide feedback before your teacher does, you've come to the right place!

Getting the right

IB

resources 📚

Knowing how things work is only half the challenge. You'll need to make sure that you find the best resources available for each subject you choose to do. Here are some of the most popular resources for common subjects:
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Finding the best

IB

tutors 🎓

The best way to improve your chance of success is by finding a great mentor or tutor. Finding a good one can be difficult, but we recommend looking for a tutor who:
1️⃣ is young and relatable so lessons are engaging
2️⃣ has a good academic record, achieved a high ATAR themselves is an expert at your subject
3️⃣ loves teaching and genuinely cares about their students.
Here are some of our most popular tutors who fulfil all three criteria themselves:

Andy Dai

99.95
ATAR
Hey there! My name's Andy and I tutor students across years 5 - 12 in mathematics and years 11 & 12 in physics.

I graduated as the Dux of my high school with an ATAR of 99.95 and along the way I have picked up many different tips and tricks that have made studying mathematics and physics for me much more enjoyable and effective. My goal is to be able to share these tactics with my students and guide them through their studies, so that they can achieve the best results possible for them without having to compromise their social life or extracurricular commitments.

For me, I believe the number one attribute that constitutes an excellent tutor is their superior communication skills. A great tutor should, for example:
-engage with their students on a personal level, making learning an enjoyable and stress-free experience
-be able to explain their ideas using simple, understandable language so that the student can more easily grasp complex concepts

These are the reasons why I believe I have managed to produce such consistent results with my past students, improving not only their grades, but also their confidence and eagerness to learn.

Outside of high school and tutoring, my passion for physics and mathematics has led me to study electrical engineering at the University of Melbourne via Chancellor's scholarship and I hope to share this passion with my students as well.

Charli Horchner

99.95
ATAR
Hi friends!

My name is Charli and I am studying the joint Bachelor of Medical Science/ Doctor of Medicine program at Griffith University. In my free time, I love hiking, reading, swimming, and searching for the Gold Coast's best croissants.

I graduated high school with a perfect IB score of 45/45 in the International Baccalaureate program, which is within the top 1% of scorers worldwide and translates to a 99.90-99.95 ATAR equivalent.

During high school, I was House Captain, volunteered, frequented the gym and beach, and spent quality time with friends. I also never once pulled an all-nighter. This leads me to my next point...

You may have heard of the 'academic triangle', where one must choose only 2 out of the 3 categories: studying enough, sleeping enough, or socialising enough 😱. It is my mission to disprove this!

During tutoring sessions, we will not only go through active learning exercises and master the curriculum content - we will build upon effective study skills that maximise efficiency, minimise study time, and prepare you for academic life beyond high school. 📝🌷🏃

Whether your goal is going from failing a dreaded subject to passing, or to getting that ATAR 99, I am here for you and your academic journey. High school is a stressful, high-intensity time, so let's tackle it together shall we?

Hannah Pruscino

99.00
ATAR
Hi! I'm Hannah, a student at the University of Melbourne studying Biomedicine. I love all things science and understand how stressful studying can be sometimes. Throughout high school exams and now uni, I have learnt the importance of quality over quantity when it comes to studying, and that just because you spent hours looking over notes, it doesn't mean you will get a good result. I'd love to help other students master this skill and really focus on what matters.
I have plenty of tutoring experience and believe that most of the time, all it takes is to have someone explain something to you in a simple way that makes all the difference. I got an ATAR of 99.00 and would love to help other students do the same!
Outside of studying, I love playing basketball, reading murder mysteries and meeting up with friends to drink bubble tea.
Can't wait to meet with you :)
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As a year 11 student doing ATAR, I was looking for a tutor that could help me with French. KIS Academics was incredibly helpful and fast at finding me a wace french tutor who could assist me with my studies. My tutor Eliza Carey over the past few months has helped me so much not only in French but in biology and maths as well. I’m incredibly grateful for the effort and commitment she has put into helping me be more comfortable and less stressed about the subjects I was having difficulty with. It’s been nothing but an honour to be tutored by Eliza and I strongly recommend her as a tutor

Maddie M.
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I got the top mark for my SAC which was really nice, and I think that’s all because of my tutor”

Medha / Year 12 Student

“It's been absolutely fantastic and it's just been a very positive environment for learning”

Amanda / Parent of a Year 7 Student

Manoj Arachige

Founder

Why should you even listen to us?

Hello there! I'm Manoj - the founder of Keep It Simple Academics (Or KIS Academics for short).

KIS Academics is an Australia-wide tutoring company that has helped thousands of students achieve their academic potential. Through these last few years, I've learned a thing or two about how tutoring works. Now it's my goal to grow KIS Academics and help more students across Australia achieve their dreams (and somehow complete my medical degree in one piece 😅)

In the last three years:

✅ We've helped C students get straight As.

✅ We've helped wannabe doctors get into Australia's best medical schools

✅ We've helped students who live in rural towns gain opportunities to go to metropolitan universities.

✅ We've helped students who hate maths find their passion for it

✅ We've even helped some students get into an IVY league college.

But rather than listening to me ramble on about how great KIS Academics is, book a free study skills consultation with one of our tutors and experience it firsthand!

KIS Academics
It's the people around you that help you achieve your potential

That's why we set out to hire only the best tutors in Australia.

High quality tutors at competitive prices.

We have hundreds of amazing, qualified online tutors offering top quality services, starting at just $47 per hour. Whether the student is in high school or primary school, we cater for all. So, why are our tutors so amazing compared to other companies? It's simple, we pay them better. We take a low commission so you can get top scoring private tutors at the best rates. Discover our team of dedicated tutors who specialize in various subjects, from Chemistry and Maths to English and UCAT, as well as offering support for high school, HSC, and VCE, and many more. View all tutoring locations.

What is Private Tutoring?

Private tutoring is the best option for anyone looking for individual, personalised help with their academic performance, especially for subjects like English, Math and Chemistry.

Private tutors can provide you with structured lessons to teach curriculum content, while also being flexible enough to answer questions as they come up, help look over assignments and assist in exam revision.

A high quality private tutor from KIS is not only a knowledgeable teacher who can answer all your questions, but an understanding friend who once had to face the same struggles that you are facing now.

Are your tutors any good?

You bet - you should check out our reviews!

KIS only hires the top tutors in each state.

We specifically hand pick and recruit the best tutors and top scorers of every year level, vet them with a thorough interview and application process, and then we take them through an intensive training program so that they become the best, most compassionate tutors who really know how to teach.

On top of that, we don't just hire the best, we treat our tutors well with top rates, personal development opportunities, plentiful resources for their subjects, and 24/7 administrative support.

Are your tutors qualified teachers or graduate students?

KIS Academics aims to hire young tutors who are relatable, friendly but also super smart tutors who are great at explaining things.
We firmly believe that tutoring should be delivered by someone with a different perspective to teachers at school. This ensures that tutoring doesn't just become another few hours of school, but a completely personalised time where students are taught in a very different, and better way.
You can read more about this in our blog post: Should I get a graduate tutor, or a teacher?

Why are some tutors more expensive?

KIS Academics has an extensive process for hiring tutors. When deciding whether a tutor should be Gold ($70/hour), Platinum ($90/hour) or Executive ($150/hour), our team evaluate factors such as academic performance, years of tutoring experience, feedback and reviews from students, university experience and degrees, other qualifications and overall performance within KIS Academics.

The biggest consideration when upgrading tutors to Platinum or Executive is years of teaching experience and positive feedback and results from past students.

As tutors develop their skillsets further and gain more experience and feedback, they progress through the three levels- ensuring high quality services to match the price they charge.

Here's more info on our pricing

How do payments work?

Payments with KIS Academics are super easy.
Your 30 minute study skills consultation with your tutor is free

After your first lesson, we'll send an invoice to your email. You can pay it with your credit or debit card, or using Google or Apple Pay, just like when you buy something online! You can also pay via direct debit. Please note that we don't accept any other types of payment method.

Please make sure to pay this invoice within 3 days of your it being emailed to you.

All future invoices are billed after and only after lessons. We can save your card details to make payments easier, but if you don't want us to, just let us know at [email protected]. We'll never charge you before a lesson, and you'll always receive a receipt via email.
Here's some more information on how our payments work: How should I pay my tutor?

How long are lessons?

Lessons can be as long as you'd like them to be!

Because we provide private tutoring, all our services are personalised to you. So... if you'd like to do a 2 hour lesson in one week, just let your tutor know. If you'd like to do a 30 minute lesson in another week because you're really busy, just let your tutor know. If you want to make all of your sessions 1.5 hours instead of 1 hour... you guessed it! Just let your tutor know.

We're flexible and lessons can be the perfect length of time for the student.

How can I contact my tutor?

To request a tutor, just press the "Contact Me" button on your tutor's page and send them a message.

Your tutor will get in touch with you directly by giving you a phone call or sending you a text message.

We recommend you save their mobile number as a contact in your phone, so you can get in touch with them easily in the future!

What happens during the study skills consultation?

Study skills consultations are a free, 30-minute meeting with your KIS Academics tutor.
While we are 100% certain that you'll love our tutors, students and tutors also need to have what we call a personality-match. Students need to like their tutor and be comfortable enough to share difficult problems, frustrating questions, and see them for a few extra hours every week.

So, during this consultation session, tutors will focus on getting to know their student, finding out what their strengths and weaknesses are and then building a plan on how to get the most out of tutoring. You can read more about it here: Free One-to-One Study Skills Sessions

How do I organise lessons?

You can organise lessons directly with your tutor - no need to download any apps or go to any websites, text message and email will do the trick!

Your tutor will be in contact with you via text or email to organise all lessons, meaning you can reschedule and reorganise lessons whenever you need to just by contacting them!

What happens during lessons?

Our lessons are completely personalised to the student.
Every lesson is unique, and the sole focus of the tutor is to help a student find their weak spots, then help them overcome these.
Because our lessons are completely personalised, what happens during lessons is entirely up to you!
If you have specific content or questions to go over with your tutor, you can do that with them.
If you don't, your tutor will have a vast array of curriculum resources and content to go through with you.

We usually recommend our tutors to spend the first part of the lesson working through any questions the student has, then to go through curriculum content together, and finally summarise and make plans for the next lesson at the end.

I want a different tutor, can I ask for someone else?

Yes of course!
KIS Academics prides itself on matching students with the best tutor for them . We are successful at doing this 92% of the time.
We rarely have people ask for a different tutor.
If you do need someone else, for whatever reason, please contact us by emailing [email protected] or calling us on +61 485 868 009.

What if I need to cancel a lesson?

That's okay! We know life gets busy, so we can be flexible around your schedule too.

All you need to do is get in touch with your tutor directly and reschedule the lesson for another time.

However, please keep in mind that we have a cancellation policy - if you cancel a lesson less than 1 hour before the time you arranged with your tutor, you'll get charged 100% of the lesson fee. This is to ensure our tutors' time is respected.

So please, if you need to cancel or move a lesson, do it well in advance!

You can find more details about this in our Terms of Service and Cancellation Policy

Can I get access to the online resources?

Yep! All KIS Academics Private Tutoring students will get access to KIS Plus. KIS Plus gives you access to 25+ Online courses for the Australian Curriculum worth over $12,000 dollars.

As a private tutoring student, you'll get access completely for free! Learn more about KIS Plus resources

Are there any terms and conditions?

Yep! You can find all the details in our Terms of Service.

The 3 main policies you should know for private tutoring are:

1. Regular lessons generate results. If you skip more than 3 consecutive weeks of lessons with us, you'll lose your tutoring position with KIS Academics
2. Lesson timing is flexible, but if you fail to show up or cancel less than 1 hour before a lesson, you'll be charged a last-minute-cancellation fee
3. Payments are all done online via TutorPay, and you'll only ever be charged after a lesson. Please make sure to complete any lesson payments within 3 days.
Free 30 minute Study Skills Assessment

Paying for an initial lesson with a tutor you've never met is absolutely crazy! And surprisingly, that's what most tutoring places will ask you to do. We think you deserve to meet your tutor and make sure they're the right fit for you - free of charge. Request a tutor and they will reach out to you to organise this free trial session!

Online courses to rival any classroom

Skeptical about online courses? Trust us, you won't be for long. With tutors specifically trained to deliver content online and use the latest and greatest teaching tools, we'll make you wish you had done things with KIS from the start. You can watch, rewatch, revise and review content as often as you need to. Starting at only $8 per week.

We're proud of our reviews.

It's hard to express just how much we care that you have a great experience with us. We invite you to look us up on Facebook, TrustPilot, Instagram and Google. There's plenty of amazing stories from our previous customers.
Click below to see all our reviews on posted on our Wall of Love ❤️

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