the lanterna blog
Below you will find in-depth reports, thought pieces on modern education, as well as hundreds of tips on how to excel at the IB.
The first year of IB, and how to help yourself through it
2016 has been a bit of a crazy year. Elections, referendums, Kardashian drama: we’ve had it all. Perhaps the craziest part of 2016, though, is that by ending, it means first year IB students (I’m talking to you class of 2018) have already completed a whole sixth of their diploma. And perhaps now, as the Christmas…
Let’s TOK this Part 2: Knowledge is… Power?
Hello again TOK-ers. In my first post of this series I talked a bit about HOW you find a real-life situation for your knowledge question. Continuing on with that theme, I thought I’d go into a little more depth about how you actually form that ever so tricky knowledge question. So my IB warriors, it’s time…
IB horror stories (and how to avoid them)
It’s the time when pumpkins grace the shelves of stores and a certain kind of latte becomes popular again. When some people think dressing up as clowns is just fun and games, and others freak out after watching The Blair Witch Project. That’s right, Halloween is upon us again. Here at the Lanterna offices, we are not ones…
Oxbridge Interview Tips
If you are reading this, then you probably know that the deadline for undergraduate applications to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge is coming up soon (the 15th October to be precise). And if you are reading this, you probably also know that in order to get an offer from either Oxford or Cambridge, you…
Let’s TOK This | Part 1: ‘Is this real life?’
I’m going to be honest with you all: when I was studying the IB (not too long ago I’ll have you know…), I would often moan to my friends about TOK. It wasn’t that I found TOK boring, far from it actually— I loved the full-blown arguments that would always ensue in a TOK class—…
The Secrets to Writing a Brilliant Personal Statement | University Series Pt 1
The Personal Statement is probably the most crucial element of any university application. It is the closest an Admissions Officer will get to asking ‘who are you really?’, ‘what can you bring to the course?’ and ‘why should I choose you over anyone else?’. That last question is a really important one. You want to…
The 80:20 Rule: How to spend less time studying but be more productive
We all know how it feels to be inefficient: spending many hours “studying” without getting much productive work done can be incredibly frustrating, and is a drain on time and energy for IB students everywhere. What if you could spend LESS time studying, but still get MORE done in your day? If this sounds too good…
IB University Applications: have you got it all under control?
It’s that time of year again when students in their last year of the IB are not only grappling with their Extended Essays and have IA deadlines coming out of their ears, but are also starting to look to the future and think about what will come next. Of course, I am talking about the…
The Extended Essay Step-by-Step Guide 8: Motivation
This week we have some short and sweet prompts to remind you all about that thing you may or may not have been putting off until now. Although it’s easy to lose momentum in the depths of summer when all you really want is to find a beach and drink lemonade and swim with dolphins,…
How to deal with CAS: Ideas for IB Students | Part 1
CAS. If that means something to you, you’ve probably heard the term a lot lately. Maybe you’re about to start the IB for the first time this Autumn. Or maybe you’ve already done a year of the IB but want ideas for how to make the most of it next year. We remember from our own IB experience…
