If your child is assigned to an IB HS…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB was a lot harder than college was for my kid. They could write a college paper half asleep and the professor lauded over the quality of writing and analysis.

You often hear the argument that IB kids thought college was much easier than high school, as if it’s a positive. To me it means those kids did poorly for college admissions and ended up at less rigorous majors or universities. High school shouldn’t and isn’t easier than college, because the curriculum is much harder and professors are more demanding.

I’d believe it if the posters named the high school and major/college they got into, but somehow they never do.

My kid was in the IB program before switching to TJHSST and he rarely (never?) writes at the quality and level he was in his middle school. Which is disappointing because most STEM majors have to be very proficient in writing beyond test taking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB was a lot harder than college was for my kid. They could write a college paper half asleep and the professor lauded over the quality of writing and analysis.

You often hear the argument that IB kids thought college was much easier than high school, as if it’s a positive. To me it means those kids did poorly for college admissions and ended up at less rigorous majors or universities. High school shouldn’t and isn’t easier than college, because the curriculum is much harder and professors are more demanding.

I’d believe it if the posters named the high school and major/college they got into, but somehow they never do.

Um, no. They often go to top schools. Of course, not all IB schools are the same.

I know a few who went to Harvard, Cornell, Duke...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB was a lot harder than college was for my kid. They could write a college paper half asleep and the professor lauded over the quality of writing and analysis.

You often hear the argument that IB kids thought college was much easier than high school, as if it’s a positive. To me it means those kids did poorly for college admissions and ended up at less rigorous majors or universities. High school shouldn’t and isn’t easier than college, because the curriculum is much harder and professors are more demanding.

I’d believe it if the posters named the high school and major/college they got into, but somehow they never do.

My kid was in the IB program before switching to TJHSST and he rarely (never?) writes at the quality and level he was in his middle school. Which is disappointing because most STEM majors have to be very proficient in writing beyond test taking.

My CS/math major IBDP grad easily cranked out papers in college. I know a few IBDP kids who went on to major in STEM fields.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB was a lot harder than college was for my kid. They could write a college paper half asleep and the professor lauded over the quality of writing and analysis.

You often hear the argument that IB kids thought college was much easier than high school, as if it’s a positive. To me it means those kids did poorly for college admissions and ended up at less rigorous majors or universities. High school shouldn’t and isn’t easier than college, because the curriculum is much harder and professors are more demanding.

I’d believe it if the posters named the high school and major/college they got into, but somehow they never do.

Tell me you have no idea about the IBDP without telling me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB was a lot harder than college was for my kid. They could write a college paper half asleep and the professor lauded over the quality of writing and analysis.

You often hear the argument that IB kids thought college was much easier than high school, as if it’s a positive. To me it means those kids did poorly for college admissions and ended up at less rigorous majors or universities. High school shouldn’t and isn’t easier than college, because the curriculum is much harder and professors are more demanding.

I’d believe it if the posters named the high school and major/college they got into, but somehow they never do.

Um, no. They often go to top schools. Of course, not all IB schools are the same.

I know a few who went to Harvard, Cornell, Duke...

Yep mine did IB at an international school - the top IBDP kids went to Oxford and Cambridge, the next group went to LSE, etc. In European CVs the IBDP is listed in the education section and it’s highly regarded. It’s more than just a regular HS diploma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And opts to pursue an advanced degree instead, do colleges frown upon this? Is it considered not rigorous enough, or do the high grades matter more?

What colleges? If you are intersted in pursing the top level admits, take the most rigorous courses available. For less competitive institutions, it is not needed. IF your student is not wanting to take the IB classes, pay attention to that and try to find a good college match.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT and did the IB Diploma

Is it true what they say that MIT was easy by comparison to the high school IB diploma? Asking for a friend.

[Anonymous]

Not sure when this was published, but per this survey, the acceptance rate at top unis for IBDP grads is a lot higher than general acceptance rates.

https://pages.crimsoneducation.org/rs/039-NBM-750/images/FL-10-2018-ib-student-acceptance-rates-at-top-us-universities.pdf

A survey of more than 4,000 students conducted by the International Insight Research
Group in partnership with the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) showed that
the acceptance rate of IB students into Ivy League universities is up to 18% higher than the
total population acceptance rate. The gap is even more significant for top-ranked universities
outside of the Ivy League, where it is 22% higher, on average

[Anonymous]

here's another

https://ibwritingservice.com/blog/average-ib-acceptance-rates/

University Name Location Overall Acceptance Rate IB Acceptance Rate
Yale University New Haven, Connecticut 6.3% 14.3%
Stanford University Stanford, California 4.65% 17%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, Massachusetts 7.2% 23.1%​
Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 5.1% 12.2%
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Pasadena, California 8% 28.3%
University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 7.9% 60.3%
Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey 6.5% 17.2%
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, Michigan 28.6% 70.8%​
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California 17.5% 45.5%
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 13.7% 69.6%
Columbia University New York City, New York 33% 46.8%​
Brown University Providence, Rhode Island 9.3% 19.2%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:here's another

https://ibwritingservice.com/blog/average-ib-acceptance-rates/

University Name Location Overall Acceptance Rate IB Acceptance Rate
Yale University New Haven, Connecticut 6.3% 14.3%
Stanford University Stanford, California 4.65% 17%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, Massachusetts 7.2% 23.1%​
Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 5.1% 12.2%
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Pasadena, California 8% 28.3%
University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 7.9% 60.3%
Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey 6.5% 17.2%
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, Michigan 28.6% 70.8%​
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California 17.5% 45.5%
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 13.7% 69.6%
Columbia University New York City, New York 33% 46.8%​
Brown University Providence, Rhode Island 9.3% 19.2%

What are these stats? I agree that overall and I b high school education is very rigorous and will well prepare you for college. But there's something wrong with the stats in this list. 33% of all applicants are not getting into Columbia and then 47% if they have an IB.... that is nonsense. This seem off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wasn't so sure about IB, but the amount of writing makes it highly rigorous, almost too much. DS was very well prepared for college and said that it was easier than HS. 100% acceptance rate for colleges where he applied. Only big drawback was that he had earned a lot fewer college credits than we had expected.

Yeah, it's funny. My IB kid had a more demanding HS experience and was better prepared for college, but my AP kid started college with ~twice as many credits. (If I had a third kid, I'd go IB if they could handle it.)

NP here and didn’t read the whole thread, so this might have already been addressed.

At my kid’s magnet IB program, most IB students also take the equivalent AP tests (self-study for any differences) to maximize college credit options. However, unless they are going to a public school, it might not really matter. Many private schools don’t accept a lot of AP/IB credit. Complete the IBDP for the experience and rigorous education. Take the AP tests to keep college credit options open, but don’t expect to use them at all schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:here's another

https://ibwritingservice.com/blog/average-ib-acceptance-rates/

University Name Location Overall Acceptance Rate IB Acceptance Rate
Yale University New Haven, Connecticut 6.3% 14.3%
Stanford University Stanford, California 4.65% 17%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, Massachusetts 7.2% 23.1%​
Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 5.1% 12.2%
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Pasadena, California 8% 28.3%
University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 7.9% 60.3%
Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey 6.5% 17.2%
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, Michigan 28.6% 70.8%​
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California 17.5% 45.5%
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 13.7% 69.6%
Columbia University New York City, New York 33% 46.8%​
Brown University Providence, Rhode Island 9.3% 19.2%

If you’re dumb enough to believe that 23% of the kids in IBDP get into MIT, then sure, IB is the right program for you. Come on, put that information through a common sense filter!

I’m wondering why IBO comes up with these “studies” that are clearly not true. Maybe to deceive parents and students, either way it doesn’t look good on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB was a lot harder than college was for my kid. They could write a college paper half asleep and the professor lauded over the quality of writing and analysis.

You often hear the argument that IB kids thought college was much easier than high school, as if it’s a positive. To me it means those kids did poorly for college admissions and ended up at less rigorous majors or universities. High school shouldn’t and isn’t easier than college, because the curriculum is much harder and professors are more demanding.

I’d believe it if the posters named the high school and major/college they got into, but somehow they never do.

My kid was in the IB program before switching to TJHSST and he rarely (never?) writes at the quality and level he was in his middle school. Which is disappointing because most STEM majors have to be very proficient in writing beyond test taking.

Really? Just to understand it correctly, your kid took courses in AP English, and AP History at TJ and these courses didn’t raise to the quality and level of his middle school writing. Please, come up with a better lie than this.

IB may be a good program, but the lies and hyperbole surrounding it makes it so off putting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wasn't so sure about IB, but the amount of writing makes it highly rigorous, almost too much. DS was very well prepared for college and said that it was easier than HS. 100% acceptance rate for colleges where he applied. Only big drawback was that he had earned a lot fewer college credits than we had expected.

Yeah, it's funny. My IB kid had a more demanding HS experience and was better prepared for college, but my AP kid started college with ~twice as many credits. (If I had a third kid, I'd go IB if they could handle it.)

NP here and didn’t read the whole thread, so this might have already been addressed.

At my kid’s magnet IB program, most IB students also take the equivalent AP tests (self-study for any differences) to maximize college credit options. However, unless they are going to a public school, it might not really matter. Many private schools don’t accept a lot of AP/IB credit. Complete the IBDP for the experience and rigorous education. Take the AP tests to keep college credit options open, but don’t expect to use them at all schools.

Colleges will generally give the same credit for IB HL courses as to the AP equivalents. IB SL courses don’t get that much credit because they don’t raise to that level, not because colleges favor AP.

Self studying for AP classes while taking IB is not as easy as it is claimed. It works for some classes, but it will be a disaster for others like math and physics. Doing that for IB SL classes is ill advised. Go the AP route if you want college credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wasn't so sure about IB, but the amount of writing makes it highly rigorous, almost too much. DS was very well prepared for college and said that it was easier than HS. 100% acceptance rate for colleges where he applied. Only big drawback was that he had earned a lot fewer college credits than we had expected.

Yeah, it's funny. My IB kid had a more demanding HS experience and was better prepared for college, but my AP kid started college with ~twice as many credits. (If I had a third kid, I'd go IB if they could handle it.)

NP here and didn’t read the whole thread, so this might have already been addressed.

At my kid’s magnet IB program, most IB students also take the equivalent AP tests (self-study for any differences) to maximize college credit options. However, unless they are going to a public school, it might not really matter. Many private schools don’t accept a lot of AP/IB credit. Complete the IBDP for the experience and rigorous education. Take the AP tests to keep college credit options open, but don’t expect to use them at all schools.

Colleges will generally give the same credit for IB HL courses as to the AP equivalents. IB SL courses don’t get that much credit because they don’t raise to that level, not because colleges favor AP.

Self studying for AP classes while taking IB is not as easy as it is claimed. It works for some classes, but it will be a disaster for others like math and physics. Doing that for IB SL classes is ill advised. Go the AP route if you want college credit.

My kid took ib physics only and self studied for both ap and ib exams. Got a 5 on ap.

The reason why some ib exams aren't given credit in college is because some of these classes go very in depth on certain subjects and don't cover enough breadth. Like ib history will cover two or three global events in depth whereas ap world covers more content but only surface level.

I've had one kid take ib history and another take ap world