Does a full IB diploma make a difference?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not valued very much at UVA. My nephew did not get many credits for is full IB diploma.

The value it highly in terms of admissions. Often the kids that get in from our HS are the full IB students.

Our IB director said that there are many schools that don't hand out the credit for IB classes like they do for AP -- that's a real problem if you want to/need to graduate early. But if you are on the 4 year plan anyway, why not retake the Calc class, etc and have an easier time of it in college rather than advancing through to the next course right away.

If your school offers the IB Diploma, completing that is the "most rigorous" program offered at the school and for highly selective colleges that want you to take the most rigorous program, not taking it would count against you.

This is correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is STEM focused and wants to go into math or engineering. Looking at the IB curriculum, it seems very heavy on humanities, so she is declining full IB. If anyone can correct me or fill me in, TIA.

IB is great for lab sciences--a lot more lab-work than AP--and more like college labs than canned labs. But I wouldn't say it's particularly strong for engineering. IB Physics is a very good course. IB used to have the hardest HS math class (harder than AP Calc BC), but they no longer offer it--I think the current HL course is kind of like combining AP Calc AB and BC, but throwing in some topography and linear algebra and not covering everything in BC--but I can't remember for certain. It doesn't precisely align with the US way of teaching math--it's more integrative.
Doing IB does involve a lot of writing though--so if your DD doesn't enjoy writing, it might be a struggle. But on the other hand college involves a lot of writing--even for STEM majors, so it's good preparation.

Thanks, I'm the PP. she has been led to believe that she is limited in the number of HL courses she can take if doing full IB. So for Junior year she wants to take HL English, French and History, then AP Physics, Chem and Calc BC. She thinks this is more rigorous than full IB, but I am clueless.

It is true that you are limited in the number of HL courses in the diploma, but SL courses are advanced also--and considered AP equivalent. That said, it sounds like she's putting together a rigorous course load (may be too heavy--does she have experience with IB/AP?) Just confirm with HS counselor. I think IB Chem is a better course than AP Chem personally, but it's two years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is STEM focused and wants to go into math or engineering. Looking at the IB curriculum, it seems very heavy on humanities, so she is declining full IB. If anyone can correct me or fill me in, TIA.

IB is great for lab sciences--a lot more lab-work than AP--and more like college labs than canned labs. But I wouldn't say it's particularly strong for engineering. IB Physics is a very good course. IB used to have the hardest HS math class (harder than AP Calc BC), but they no longer offer it--I think the current HL course is kind of like combining AP Calc AB and BC, but throwing in some topography and linear algebra and not covering everything in BC--but I can't remember for certain. It doesn't precisely align with the US way of teaching math--it's more integrative.
Doing IB does involve a lot of writing though--so if your DD doesn't enjoy writing, it might be a struggle. But on the other hand college involves a lot of writing--even for STEM majors, so it's good preparation.

Thanks, I'm the PP. she has been led to believe that she is limited in the number of HL courses she can take if doing full IB. So for Junior year she wants to take HL English, French and History, then AP Physics, Chem and Calc BC. She thinks this is more rigorous than full IB, but I am clueless.

It is true that the IB diploma requires taking at least two SL courses. But it also requires TOK and the extended essay. If your daughter’s school offers both IB and AP (some IB schools don’t offer many or any AP courses) then she could probably craft a schedule as rigorous as the full IB diploma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is STEM focused and wants to go into math or engineering. Looking at the IB curriculum, it seems very heavy on humanities, so she is declining full IB. If anyone can correct me or fill me in, TIA.

IB is great for lab sciences--a lot more lab-work than AP--and more like college labs than canned labs. But I wouldn't say it's particularly strong for engineering. IB Physics is a very good course. IB used to have the hardest HS math class (harder than AP Calc BC), but they no longer offer it--I think the current HL course is kind of like combining AP Calc AB and BC, but throwing in some topography and linear algebra and not covering everything in BC--but I can't remember for certain. It doesn't precisely align with the US way of teaching math--it's more integrative.
Doing IB does involve a lot of writing though--so if your DD doesn't enjoy writing, it might be a struggle. But on the other hand college involves a lot of writing--even for STEM majors, so it's good preparation.

Thanks, I'm the PP. she has been led to believe that she is limited in the number of HL courses she can take if doing full IB. So for Junior year she wants to take HL English, French and History, then AP Physics, Chem and Calc BC. She thinks this is more rigorous than full IB, but I am clueless.

It is true that you are limited in the number of HL courses in the diploma, but SL courses are advanced also--and considered AP equivalent. That said, it sounds like she's putting together a rigorous course load (may be too heavy--does she have experience with IB/AP?) Just confirm with HS counselor. I think IB Chem is a better course than AP Chem personally, but it's two years.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is STEM focused and wants to go into math or engineering. Looking at the IB curriculum, it seems very heavy on humanities, so she is declining full IB. If anyone can correct me or fill me in, TIA.

IB is great for lab sciences--a lot more lab-work than AP--and more like college labs than canned labs. But I wouldn't say it's particularly strong for engineering. IB Physics is a very good course. IB used to have the hardest HS math class (harder than AP Calc BC), but they no longer offer it--I think the current HL course is kind of like combining AP Calc AB and BC, but throwing in some topography and linear algebra and not covering everything in BC--but I can't remember for certain. It doesn't precisely align with the US way of teaching math--it's more integrative.
Doing IB does involve a lot of writing though--so if your DD doesn't enjoy writing, it might be a struggle. But on the other hand college involves a lot of writing--even for STEM majors, so it's good preparation.

Thanks, I'm the PP. she has been led to believe that she is limited in the number of HL courses she can take if doing full IB. So for Junior year she wants to take HL English, French and History, then AP Physics, Chem and Calc BC. She thinks this is more rigorous than full IB, but I am clueless.

It is true that the IB diploma requires taking at least two SL courses. But it also requires TOK and the extended essay. If your daughter’s school offers both IB and AP (some IB schools don’t offer many or any AP courses) then she could probably craft a schedule as rigorous as the full IB diploma.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

For admission? I’ve heard mixed things. But I read and have been told it really prepares students for college work.

[Anonymous]

IB diploma totally prepared my kid for a selective college and she reported that she was better prepared than other college kids in her classes, many of whom went to fancy private schools. She was much more able to write and connect concepts and speak logically in class discussions. I am sure the full diploma made a difference in her getting the merit scholarship, as well.

That being said, it was a lot of hard work, and part of me wonders if not doing it and going to a state school would have been good enough. Junior year was the hardest, and she’s a humanities kid all the way.

They don’t need to take all college-type classes in high school. They are in school all day with six classes. In college, they will not be in class all day and won’t be taking six classes. Why do they need to work so hard now? Let kids be kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IB diploma totally prepared my kid for a selective college and she reported that she was better prepared than other college kids in her classes, many of whom went to fancy private schools. She was much more able to write and connect concepts and speak logically in class discussions. I am sure the full diploma made a difference in her getting the merit scholarship, as well.

That being said, it was a lot of hard work, and part of me wonders if not doing it and going to a state school would have been good enough. Junior year was the hardest, and she’s a humanities kid all the way.

They don’t need to take all college-type classes in high school. They are in school all day with six classes. In college, they will not be in class all day and won’t be taking six classes. Why do they need to work so hard now? Let kids be kids.

They need to work hard now so they won’t be shocked when they have to work hard in college. Kids who cruises through public schools with lax grading standards and do-overs on tests are in for a rude awakening when they get to an elite college and they are less prepared than the other students, especially if they are STEM majors.

[Anonymous]

My kid (HS class of 2022) did the full IB Diploma at W-L. Its not clear whether it benefited him from an admissions perspective, as he aimed really high with his applications and didn't get in to many places (though he did end up in a very good spot), despite straight A's through HS, the IB Diploma, and an additional 5 AP classes. He did not get into UVa. He has been very well prepared for college, however, and continues to do very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is STEM focused and wants to go into math or engineering. Looking at the IB curriculum, it seems very heavy on humanities, so she is declining full IB. If anyone can correct me or fill me in, TIA.

My DC graduated from an IB magnet, STEM focused kid, double majoring in STEM field.

Colleges don't care about IB diploma since you don't actually know whether you passed the IB exams to get the diploma until July. A lot of IB credits also don't transfer, so from that perspective, it's not really worth it.

Having stated that... the IB program is heavy on writing because of the heavy critical thinking and analysis that is required in ALL classes, including the STEM classes.

DC is now in college and says that the IB program really helped with their writing, critical thinking and analysis, and time management. DC has gone to internship fairs already, and the recruiters there were very impressed with DC's communication skills (another benefit of being in the IBDP, IMO).

I had often wondered whether DC should've gone to the STEM magnet instead of the IB magnet, and when I shared this with DC, they said that they were glad that they did the IBDP because it made the more well rounded, gain better time management skills, and be a more effective communicator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB diploma totally prepared my kid for a selective college and she reported that she was better prepared than other college kids in her classes, many of whom went to fancy private schools. She was much more able to write and connect concepts and speak logically in class discussions. I am sure the full diploma made a difference in her getting the merit scholarship, as well.

That being said, it was a lot of hard work, and part of me wonders if not doing it and going to a state school would have been good enough. Junior year was the hardest, and she’s a humanities kid all the way.

They don’t need to take all college-type classes in high school. They are in school all day with six classes. In college, they will not be in class all day and won’t be taking six classes. Why do they need to work so hard now? Let kids be kids.

They need to work hard now so they won’t be shocked when they have to work hard in college. Kids who cruises through public schools with lax grading standards and do-overs on tests are in for a rude awakening when they get to an elite college and they are less prepared than the other students, especially if they are STEM majors.

+1 and at least when they are in HS, they have the support at home. Better for them to be stressed with support at home than away at college with no familial support. They then go off to college and find it not that hard.

[Anonymous]

UVa Engineering definitely prefers students with good writing & communications skills. Some engineering schools do not put as much emphasis on that as UVa Engineering. One’s essay quality will weight heavily in any UVa application, for any school of the university.

AP courses in Physics, in Chemistry, and ending with Calculus BC sounds like a strong foundation for a STEM applicant. Of course, As and Bs are better than Cs.

Also, always sit the actual AP exam. A favorable AP exam score (for almost any subject, but especially in STEM subjects) can strengthen one’s admissions chances (this is true even if the college does not grant college credit for the AP exam result).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVa Engineering definitely prefers students with good writing & communications skills. Some engineering schools do not put as much emphasis on that as UVa Engineering. One’s essay quality will weight heavily in any UVa application, for any school of the university.

AP courses in Physics, in Chemistry, and ending with Calculus BC sounds like a strong foundation for a STEM applicant. Of course, As and Bs are better than Cs.

Also, always sit the actual AP exam. A favorable AP exam score (for almost any subject, but especially in STEM subjects) can strengthen one’s admissions chances (this is true even if the college does not grant college credit for the AP exam result).

DP: If your kid chooses IB, you can sit for the AP exam for that subject if you want to ensure credit/get scores in earlier. Many kids find that they don't need to study extra to do well on the AP exam--and their scores are often higher on AP than they end up being on IB.

[Anonymous]

My STEM focused kid also decided to decline full IB. Very hard to get exposure to all the hard sciences and do IB. Impossible to then also take an engineering course or two. And truly prohibitive if you want to continue band or orchestra. It’s a great thing, but it for all kids, or even all high achieving kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not valued very much at UVA. My nephew did not get many credits for is full IB diploma.

The value it highly in terms of admissions. Often the kids that get in from our HS are the full IB students.

Our IB director said that there are many schools that don't hand out the credit for IB classes like they do for AP -- that's a real problem if you want to/need to graduate early. But if you are on the 4 year plan anyway, why not retake the Calc class, etc and have an easier time of it in college rather than advancing through to the next course right away.

If your school offers the IB Diploma, completing that is the "most rigorous" program offered at the school and for highly selective colleges that want you to take the most rigorous program, not taking it would count against you.

This is correct.

Yes, this.