Does it look bad to not do the IB diploma at an IB school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can he take IB classes without going for the IB diploma? That’s what they do at DDs school. She took maybe 10 IB and 3APs.

This is what my DS is doing. He is doing IB Math, IB Spanish, and IB Biology + AP World History this year (and honors English since it is super challenging for him.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:rigorous AP = IB @ same school

define "rigorous"? Wouldn't the "AP" mean rigorous already?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

Rigor doesn’t mean just one thing. You can get an IB diploma with no physics and no calculus. (Of course you can take those courses as well! But they are not required to get the diploma.)

[Anonymous]

If your child wants to apply to a competitive school...IB is a must or transfer to a non IB school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

Rigor doesn’t mean just one thing. You can get an IB diploma with no physics and no calculus. (Of course you can take those courses as well! But they are not required to get the diploma.)

This! They only allow 3 HL classes at BCC, and English is a given HL, so a kid can’t take IB a history HL, Physics HL and Math HL.
They can take multi calc(above AP) AP Physics C and IB history and IB English etc, and you are telling mw the second option is seen as less rigorous than full IB with perhaps no physics or only 3 HL classes? Makes no sense to me. A private college counselor told me that what you say isn’t the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

Rigor doesn’t mean just one thing. You can get an IB diploma with no physics and no calculus. (Of course you can take those courses as well! But they are not required to get the diploma.)

This! They only allow 3 HL classes at BCC, and English is a given HL, so a kid can’t take IB a history HL, Physics HL and Math HL.
They can take multi calc(above AP) AP Physics C and IB history and IB English etc, and you are telling mw the second option is seen as less rigorous than full IB with perhaps no physics or only 3 HL classes? Makes no sense to me. A private college counselor told me that what you say isn’t the case.

That stinks. My DS (at an FCPS) is taking HLs in math, physics, English and history this year, and SLs in foreign language and an elective. His foreign language is not offered in an HL, but would’ve done that also, if possible. It’s a lot of work, but what he wanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

Rigor doesn’t mean just one thing. You can get an IB diploma with no physics and no calculus. (Of course you can take those courses as well! But they are not required to get the diploma.)

This! They only allow 3 HL classes at BCC, and English is a given HL, so a kid can’t take IB a history HL, Physics HL and Math HL.
They can take multi calc(above AP) AP Physics C and IB history and IB English etc, and you are telling mw the second option is seen as less rigorous than full IB with perhaps no physics or only 3 HL classes? Makes no sense to me. A private college counselor told me that what you say isn’t the case.

That stinks. My DS (at an FCPS) is taking HLs in math, physics, English and history this year, and SLs in foreign language and an elective. His foreign language is not offered in an HL, but would’ve done that also, if possible. It’s a lot of work, but what he wanted.

No he wouldn’t have, not if he wanted a IB Diploma. The International Baccalaureate organization will not allow a student to take more than 4 HLs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

Rigor doesn’t mean just one thing. You can get an IB diploma with no physics and no calculus. (Of course you can take those courses as well! But they are not required to get the diploma.)

This! They only allow 3 HL classes at BCC, and English is a given HL, so a kid can’t take IB a history HL, Physics HL and Math HL.
They can take multi calc(above AP) AP Physics C and IB history and IB English etc, and you are telling mw the second option is seen as less rigorous than full IB with perhaps no physics or only 3 HL classes? Makes no sense to me. A private college counselor told me that what you say isn’t the case.

That stinks. My DS (at an FCPS) is taking HLs in math, physics, English and history this year, and SLs in foreign language and an elective. His foreign language is not offered in an HL, but would’ve done that also, if possible. It’s a lot of work, but what he wanted.

what your son is taking sounds like what a rigorous ID program would be. What I don’t understand is the people who are saying that any IB diploma is automatically more rigorous than the sort of schedule I listed out above .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

Rigor doesn’t mean just one thing. You can get an IB diploma with no physics and no calculus. (Of course you can take those courses as well! But they are not required to get the diploma.)

Rigor only means physics and calculus? It can’t mean biology, chemistry? Even SL math will give you some calculus, and yes you do have to take math to get the IB diploma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

Rigor doesn’t mean just one thing. You can get an IB diploma with no physics and no calculus. (Of course you can take those courses as well! But they are not required to get the diploma.)

This! They only allow 3 HL classes at BCC, and English is a given HL, so a kid can’t take IB a history HL, Physics HL and Math HL.
They can take multi calc(above AP) AP Physics C and IB history and IB English etc, and you are telling mw the second option is seen as less rigorous than full IB with perhaps no physics or only 3 HL classes? Makes no sense to me. A private college counselor told me that what you say isn’t the case.

That stinks. My DS (at an FCPS) is taking HLs in math, physics, English and history this year, and SLs in foreign language and an elective. His foreign language is not offered in an HL, but would’ve done that also, if possible. It’s a lot of work, but what he wanted.

what your son is taking sounds like what a rigorous ID program would be. What I don’t understand is the people who are saying that any IB diploma is automatically more rigorous than the sort of schedule I listed out above .

I question the premise that college admissions committees will downgrade an IB diploma as “less rigorous” if it doesn’t have the “right” IB courses in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my sons MCPS school which offered both IB and AP, 9 APs counted for the same as IB and “most rigorous”

Do you mean IB classes or the IB diploma?

My kid is at RMIB, and there is no way 9 APs = IB diploma.

If you mean just the classes and without the diploma, then maybe. But IB classes do require a ton more writing than AP classes. My kid took both IB and AP courses.

Rigor doesn’t mean just one thing. You can get an IB diploma with no physics and no calculus. (Of course you can take those courses as well! But they are not required to get the diploma.)

This! They only allow 3 HL classes at BCC, and English is a given HL, so a kid can’t take IB a history HL, Physics HL and Math HL.
They can take multi calc(above AP) AP Physics C and IB history and IB English etc, and you are telling mw the second option is seen as less rigorous than full IB with perhaps no physics or only 3 HL classes? Makes no sense to me. A private college counselor told me that what you say isn’t the case.

That stinks. My DS (at an FCPS) is taking HLs in math, physics, English and history this year, and SLs in foreign language and an elective. His foreign language is not offered in an HL, but would’ve done that also, if possible. It’s a lot of work, but what he wanted.

I don't know about BCC, but at RM it doesn't work that way.

DC taking
HL IB physics, IB math, IB CS and IB English
SL history and foreign language + TOK

Even at BCC if you are going for the IB diploma, you have to take the IB STEM courses, too, but you can choose to SL, not HL in those courses.

[Anonymous]

IB diploma candidates have a leg up at W-L in Arlington. Sure non-IB diploma students get accepted, but they are always competing against the full diploma students. The results speak for themselves. Is it worth it? DC went through it and got into a good college. Not sure we’d have him do it again. It was a lot of work, lots of it busy work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IB diploma candidates have a leg up at W-L in Arlington. Sure non-IB diploma students get accepted, but they are always competing against the full diploma students. The results speak for themselves. Is it worth it? DC went through it and got into a good college. Not sure we’d have him do it again. It was a lot of work, lots of it busy work.

W-L college admissions are better than Yorktown but no better than some of the AP schools in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The full IB diploma is a ton of writing. It’s not my impression that kids who opt not to do IB at a school that offers IB are penalized for that but I don’t really know. But if he hates writing he probably will be miserable in an IB program.

Parent of a student who did full IB diploma (not at Robinson). The PP above is right. If he hates writing he will be miserable.

But OP, Robinson is a rarity -- most high schools here offer ONLY either IB or AP, not both. Since he's at a school where he has the option to do either one, he should do whichever one will help him flourish. Talk to the Robinson academic counselors. Your son absolutely won't be the first student to come to them to discuss this so they'll be ready to help. His APs will look fine to colleges!