IB Program : college choice?
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Anonymous
| DD roommate at WM had IB diploma and almost no credits. DD had 29 credits from AP. |
Anonymous
| I'm OP. Let me explain where I stand. My husband and I went to good schools: DH went to MIT, I went to U of Michigan-Ann Arbor. No, no Ivy Leagues. We had an AP course here and there, nothing extraordinary. When we moved to this area and had our DS pursue, by his choice, the IB program, we expected to see the rigor of the program match college placement. So yes, I was rather surprised to see second and third- tier colleges on the list one of the PPs provided. I am sorry, I just don't think JMU, GMU and Marymount are worth killing yourself over in IB program. |
Anonymous
Times have changed. In the 90's, a couple AP classes and a 3.75 could get you into a great school. Now a kid with a full IB or AP course load and a 4.5 weighted gpa might have a hard time squeaking into somewhere like UVA. I graduated from FCPS in 1995. At the time, kids with a great GPA and SAT were a shoe-in for UVA or W&M, JMU was a notch or two down and Tech was where all the party kids went. If you wanted to go to GMU or Mary Washington, you were in. And NOVA was known as "the high school that you pay for." |
Anonymous
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The Marshall IB program is excellent and my kids excelled at the school. A PP brought up a great point to focus on how specific colleges grant credit for the individual IB courses. VT gave much more credit to my kid who took mostly IB courses but didn't complete the diploma than W&M gave to my other who did complete the IB diploma. VT is really generous with IB/AP credits compared to W&M/UVA.
Since the IB diploma isn't actually in-hand for students at the time of college application, I think its "pull" varies. I will say that it requires A LOT of work and dedication, and for my less-focused one the individual courses were a much better option. |
Anonymous
| Another factor to consider is that some of the Marshall kids in the IB program may have opted for "lesser" schools for financial reasons (e.g., scholarships or special honors programs). For instance, look how many kids are going to Univ. of Ala. -- case in point. |
Anonymous
| Or maybe Marshall just doesn't have much clout with admissions officers. |
Anonymous
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Note, the list from the GCM paper lists only where students enroll, not where they were accepted. My daughter attends GCM and we personally know students whose families opted for "lesser no name" schools b/c their kids got a full ride there.
I am facing a minimum $100K for a state school here in VA, and twice that for a private school and teo kids to put through school on an HHI of $130K (single income), you are damn straight I'm going to have my DD look at all offers |
Anonymous
| Has anyone even considered having their kids take out student loans? Because if my DC faced an opportunity to go to MIT vs. UVA, damn straight I would kick his ass to go to MIT. With student loans and everything. |
Anonymous
Why? UVA is a fine school. And, don't forget, there are LOTS of extra expenses involved in going to a school so far away: plane tickets, more expensive area, etc. |
Anonymous
| I would go to a lesser cost school for undergrad and save the big $$$ for graduate school. |
Anonymous
That is one reason why a lot of schools with IB offer AP as well in order to give students a choice of programs. College credit for IB is a lot better than 10 years ago, but not yet at the same level as AP. |
Anonymous
So true. I had a 3.75, took only two AP classes, algebra I in 9th grade. Decent SATs and SAT IIs. Went to UVA in-state in '98. In the 90s there weren't a lot of AP options, and you needed a teacher recommendation for AP classes. |
Anonymous
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Below is a list of the top schools by application numbers for last year's class at GCM. Note: This is for all students, not just IB. Note the very high scores and GPAs needed for the top three Virginia schools.
School Applied Admit Accept GPA Combine SAT 2400 GMU 135 77 29 3.67 1763 JMU 101 44 12 3.87 1844 VATECH 91 40 17 4.03 1924 NVCC 90 83 83 2.61 1427 VCU 78 53 25 3.54 1751 UVA 66 24 15 4.23 2051 WM 50 21 8 4.19 2056 CNU 39 22 3 3.64 1786 UMW 34 27 4 3.68 1809 ODU 29 21 6 3.14 1606 When I have more time, I will break this data out further by applications to Ivies or other highly regarded schools, as well as simply out of state schools and general overlaps. If I find information on IBP applications and acceptance I will put this here as well. |
Anonymous
There are a number of problems with this idea for upper middle class families. First, the standard deferred student loans are capped. An undergrad can only borrow about $25,000 total (over 4 years). Plus, to be eligible for these deferred loans, you have to be eligible for financial aid. Lots of upper middle class kids won't be. Even if you get the $25,000, to go to MIT over UVA you are going to need to come up with another $125,000. That means loans that aren't deferred--payments start right away. Also, these loans must be co-signed, so parents are on the hook. These loans never, ever go away. And it is IMO a huge burden to graduate with $125,000 millstone around your neck. That kind of debt will cramp a young adult's style for years to come. It will dictate what kind of jobs they can consider and whether they can buy a home. And if the parent takes on that debt? Well, if you've got more than one kid, you are talking about the equivalent of another mortgage payment, only for an investment that has no return to live on in retirement. (Unless your plan is to have your child support you.) Is MIT $150,000 better than UVA? Debatable. (For a STEM education, I'd argue that VA Tech would be the place to go.) At any rate, it doesn't matter. That's too rich for my blood. Some people do take on this kind of debt. I think it is insane. |
Anonymous
| Our friend's daughter graduated IB in another FCPS and she is going to W&M. It worked for her. |