IB program and college admissions?
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Anonymous
| We are currently slated for an IB school, but since theactual IB diploma is an all or nothing deal, I would love to hear from parents of kids who attended an IB high school. Did your child complete the full diploma or not? How did they do in college admissions? |
Anonymous
| I did the IB program 20 yrs ago. I'm not sure if my experience is still true today. But back then, the college application deadline was somewhere around late Dec/mid Jan and notifications came out mid April. The IB exams weren't until May/June and then they were sent off to be graded. I didn't find out my results until Aug/Sept. If I remember correctly, I was already away at college when my mom called me. |
Anonymous
Do you know the bolded is true for your specific school? My kid will start at BCC in the fall, and kids can take some, all or none of the IB classes. If they do less than the full diploma they get a certificate. Right now, if I had to guess, my kid will be a certficate kid. She's taking a language which doesn't have an AP track, so if she sticks with it for all 4 years she'll take that exam, but she's also a really arts focused kid, and I suspect she'll want to double up an arts electives in her last year (orchestra, chorus, theater) which wouldn't leave enough time for Theory of Knowledge. |
Anonymous
Our school has a certificate option as well, but the diploma requires taking the entire IB course of study. |
Anonymous
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I have experience with one of my DC who did the full IB.
In addition to 6 rigorous classes and Theory of Knowledge class, your DC will need to write an Extended Essay on a topic of their choice. They will have an advisor, but they will write this ON THEIR OWN. If your child does not have good writing and organizational skills, I would think this type of assignment at age 17 would be alot to take on. My DC was overseas for the IB, so we had nothing to do with any academic work. DC was totally on her own. She was able to succeed in full IB because of her strength in writing, and overall academic strengths. This would not have been the right diploma program for her siblings, who would have needed more guidance. And yes, excelling in IB does have a positive impact on college admissions. |
Anonymous
| My Class of 2013 kid completed the requirements for the IB diploma but as a PP noted this year's test scores won't be available until the summer, and so I doubt that getting the IB diploma versus IB certificate significantly helped with college admissions in my kid's case. My kid applied to 12 schools: 2 publics; 2 of the top 5-USNews ranked SLACs; 4 of the Ivies; and 4 of the top 10-USNews ranked non-Ivy privates; was accepted at both publics and SLACs, 2 Ivies (rejected at 1; wait-listed at other), and 3 non-Ivy privates (WL at the other). I think that my kid's actual performance/grade in the particular class had more of an impact on the college admissions decision than whether the class was also labelled IB, AP, Honors, etc. |
Anonymous
| We had visits to DS school from 3 IVYs who told us that they prefer IB programs because they know what they are getting. AP classes vary more from school to school and don't produce the same strength in writing even for those who graduate with certificates. DS is at a school that is non-IB. We are now looking at IB schools for our next DS, FWIW. We are not very familiar with them yet. |
Anonymous
Many kids who are doing AP send the AP test scores in with their applications. Provided that the scores are good (4s or 5s), that is. You will have test results for any AP tests taken freshman (unusual), sophomore or junior years. This helps answer colleges' concern about the quality of teaching in AP classes. (As an aside, I imagine will spread to IB programs now that tons of schools offer IB.) I know IB kids who have taken AP tests too. |
Anonymous
| Colleges look down on kids at IB schools who aren't going for the full diploma. There aren't many local public high schools with IB programs where a sizable percentage of students are diploma candidates. Overall, it's good for the kids who go that route, but not so great for the others, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. But the teachers and IB administrators like it because they get to travel to different places for IB training programs. |
Anonymous
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Although the exam scores will not factor into the college admissions decision for any U.S. colleges due to them coming out in the summer after graduation, U.S. colleges and universities actually do look favorably at students who are in the full IB diploma programs. Unfortunately it is true that they do not look at IB certificates the same. They are certainly not viewed badly, but they are viewed as generally equivalent to AP classes. I heard the Admissions Director from UPenn speak last fall and he said that they view IB diploma students in a stronger light because the requirements of the curriculum are complete. They consider AP courses as more of a "buffet" since kids are allowed to pick and choose what they want to take - there are no guidelines for a full curriculum. They know the IB diploma students will truly come out with a well-rounded education. He also specifically mentioned the quality of writing they see with IB diploma students. The IB has a long list of requirements as listed above, but also has CAS (creativity, action and community service) requirements.
My DD just finished her 11th grade year and still has the 12th grade year to complete the diploma. I won't lie - it was a very tough year, but will be worth it. The quality (not to mention quantity) of writing that is expected will serve her very well in college and beyond. I know several families with kids in IB diploma programs and all had wonderful college admission experiences. It was universally well-received by all of the colleges. It is a tough curriculum, but worth a try if its possible. |
Anonymous
| OK, let me get this straight, colleges look favorably upon active admission in the I.B. program, but results come out too late to be of any actual statistic in the application process? |
Anonymous
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The grades along the way matter in the IB diploma program. Sticking with that program counts for something, even if you do not get college credit for courses. There are colleges that do not accept AP courses for college credit. Brown is an example of one that won't give credit for AP classes, just like that the kids take the Ap classes.
(Sorry, incoherent, bring on the AM coffee.) |
Anonymous
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Yes - it does sound strange, but colleges do look favorably on a student in the diploma program even though they won't have their final grades until too late for admission. However, many colleges will give credit for the final scores.
Also, maybe I didn't make it clear - the kids are getting grades along the way for the work they are doing so there is a transcript. The only grades the colleges don't see before admissions decisions are the final scores. However, colleges really do recognize the difficult work and account for that. Interestingly also is that some U.S. Colleges are beginning to accept predicted IB scores (NYU is one of them). Essentially, they are working the same way the U.K., Canadian and other schools around the world do - asking the teachers to provide them with a good estimate on how the kids will do on their final exams and then giving conditional offers based on this. It is standard practice for many other countries. The main difference is that NYU is not necessarily as strict as the U.K. schools if the scores are not reached. The admissions counselor told us that they find the teachers are very good with their estimates (and of course look at the transcript that is sent and know the work the student has been doing along the way). He indicated it was a conditional offer in the same way that any student is expected to do well their 2nd semester of senior year - if they bomb the grades after admission the school may take away their offer...students may choose to send in SAT, ACT or predicted IB scores. |
Anonymous
| Interesting. I'm 08:58 and didn't know about predicted IB scores. |
Anonymous
I am not aware of any college that accepts AP courses for college credit. I do know that there are colleges that accept AP exam scores (usually of 4 or 5) that can apply to college course credit or (and I believe more frequently, especially in the sciences) allows students to start at a higher level in coursework and therefore able to take additional electives. For example, in Brown's engineering program: http://brown.edu/academics/engineering/undergraduate-study/admissions
Another link on Brown's Engineering page regarding Advanced Placement and Transfer Credit: http://brown.edu/academics/engineering/advanced-placement-and-transfer-credit |