How IB Students Can Still Significantly Improve Their Scores in the Final Months Before their May Exams

As May moves closer, IB candidates and their families increasingly feel a sense of overwhelmedness and urgency. Anxiety builds while Internal Assessments, Extended Essays and college applications all need to get out the door. With so much to be completed, it can seem as though there is little room to make meaningful progress before the actual exams in May. That being said: this final stretch is not only crucially important – it can also be one of the most rewarding and impactful periods of the entire IB Diploma Programme, provided students focus on a few straight-forward strategies. 

Establish A Healthy Daily Study Routine

Create a regular weekly study plan for each of your six IB subjects and make sure to add time slots for enjoyable relaxation, friends time, healthy meals, regular exercise and 8 hours of sleep at night.

Establishing regular study times per subject will help you build momentum and reduce the mental effort required to wrap your head around “what to do” on a daily basis. It is imperative to have a study plan and then stick to it (even if you need to tweak it at times). When your study becomes part of a forseeable routine, it is so much easier to follow through, build know-how, and stay on it. Why: because you will not exhaust yourself thinking about what to do. A good structural base helps you get things done.

It is important to mention here that studying requires a lot of brain power. Focus on a healthy diet with fresh fruit, vegetables, healthy carbs and a lot of protein. Avoid sodas and processed foods as much as possible. Try to get at least two warm meals per days, drink a lot of water and find ways to exercise (eg go for a light enjoyable run after school or a quick mindful walk in a park you like). Exercise allows you to relax and dispose of built up stress during a day of work at school.

Simple routines such as studying in the same place and following a consistent daily (and weekly) structure pay off. They help reduce a sense of anxiety and feeling stressed while contributing to a sense of being in control of the situation and feeling good about yourself and what you have accomplished each day.

Strong IB Revision Goes Beyond Content Alone 

Your IB subject syllabus is an essential studying partner along the way. Print it for every subject and use it alongside your revision practice. Also crucial is to focus on exam technique. Understanding IB command terms and how marks are rewarded for your answers is an essential necessity to be well prepared. IB is a standardised examination and you can prepare for that! Lost marks come not simply from missing knowledge, but from answers that fail to meet the precise requirements of the IB. 

Another important area of study to implement while reviewing is to combine knowledge aquisition with exam paper practice and then to analyze your responses using the mark schemes. 

Last not least, allocate your study time according to the relative weight of topics. Not all topics are weighted equally in IB. Some are frequently tested, while others more rarely. Frequently tested areas and high-mark questions should be prioritised in your study. 

Use Focused Revision Courses to Accelerate Your Confidence & Performance

For many students, structured revision courses provide a highly efficient way to consolidate course knowledge in a short period of time. High-quality revision intensives offer dedicated time away from distractions in a new setting, guided by experienced IB educators who understand the IB exam requirements and pitfalls precisely. They often place strong emphasis on exam technique, understanding the mark scheme, question interpretation, answering skills and effective content revision.

Courses may be offered online or in-person, and their value lies in helping transform student knowledge, exam technique, and confidence which ultimately will together significantly impact any student’s IB exam performance in May.

About the Author

Nora Schuster is the Director of IBWISE, a longstanding IB revision provider based in Vienna, Austria, offering exceptional IB exam revision intensives and ‘one-to-one’ coaching, online and in-person since 2006. Having experienced the IB as a student, a parent, and a teacher, she understands the programme from the inside out. She and her team of renowned IB Diploma educators and examiners work closely with students, parents and schools to support them throughout their IB Diploma experience and to ensure excellent score outcomes at their IB. 

For parents: If you feel an excellent IB Revision Course could be the right fit for your son or daughter as they prepare for their IB exams, you can find more information on the IBWISE Spring ONLINE and Spring ON-GROUND (in Vienna, Austria) IB Final Exam Revision Intensives on their website: www.ibwise.com.