Is the IB diploma worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine works at a top-25 college admissions office. When my child was looking at HS, one of them was an IB school, and I knew nothing about it so I asked her. She said admissions offices look very highly on kids in the IB Diploma Program. True, you don't get the diploma until after you've already graduated, finished the application process, etc. But she said it showed the admissions that the student could handle academic rigor

Your post sounds entirely made up.

NP. I find it believable. IB curriculums mainly appear in affluent, educated, liberal, globally-minded areas. They are very compatible with SLACs and top humanities programs.

At my mixed IB/AP high school, the IB kids often get a full year of tuition credit at in-state LACs. The parents love it because that saves them $30-$40K. None of these schools are on DCUM's radar but they are locally well regarded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Background: High school that offers both IBDP and many AP courses. I have 2 kids that graduated with IB diplomas.

College acceptances do not vary among the students. IB does not give an edge if you are already taking a rigorous courseload.

It may differ by school, but I agree with the teacher above. TOK is universally hated and viewed as pointless. Kids who care about education would rather take another class. And one of my kids loves philosophy/is a philosophy major. Hated TOK.

It prepares students for college writing and research better than AP courses.

My personal opinion is that it is not as good for STEM. Both my kids took HL level sciences. I thought Bio was rigorous, but by taking a 2 year bio class, students often skipped physics or doubled up on science (which can be tough given HS requirements) or took over the summer. HL physics (at least the one offered at our school) is not calc based.

This.

If you opt for diploma then you’re saddled with TOK, community activity and extended essay, when instead you could be taking real courses that align with your interests. Two years for an advanced course is too long, and I don’t think there are many students that can handle an HL/AP level class over the summer. IB HL Physics is indeed not calculus based and it’s not that useful for kids interested in engineering majors.

I’d skip IBDP to take more rigorous classes, either more HL, AP or for math DE.

It really does depend on your student. These classes and requirements termed a chore by this poster, were beneficial and enjoyable to my student.

Look at the course content and ask around about the teachers and I think your student can make a determination if it aligns with their interests.

I would add that the writing requirements are challenging. It is difficult to produce a good piece of writing but it is a skill that only improves with practice. It is very good preparation for college work.

I may be in minority but I am not impressed with the writing in IB, especially the internal assessments and extended essays for math and sciences. Too much of a one size fits all so kids end up writing absolutely everything like it’s a humanities essay. ChatGPT on what should go in la lab report and you’re light years ahead of IB writing. It’s really sad how bad it is.

Given the state of writing in American high schools, what you are NOT impressed with is still ahead of the pack.

It's also helpful to be able to practice fluidly composing longer essays for live tests instead of GPTing papers at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Background: High school that offers both IBDP and many AP courses. I have 2 kids that graduated with IB diplomas.

College acceptances do not vary among the students. IB does not give an edge if you are already taking a rigorous courseload.

It may differ by school, but I agree with the teacher above. TOK is universally hated and viewed as pointless. Kids who care about education would rather take another class. And one of my kids loves philosophy/is a philosophy major. Hated TOK.

It prepares students for college writing and research better than AP courses.

My personal opinion is that it is not as good for STEM. Both my kids took HL level sciences. I thought Bio was rigorous, but by taking a 2 year bio class, students often skipped physics or doubled up on science (which can be tough given HS requirements) or took over the summer. HL physics (at least the one offered at our school) is not calc based.

This.

If you opt for diploma then you’re saddled with TOK, community activity and extended essay, when instead you could be taking real courses that align with your interests. Two years for an advanced course is too long, and I don’t think there are many students that can handle an HL/AP level class over the summer. IB HL Physics is indeed not calculus based and it’s not that useful for kids interested in engineering majors.

I’d skip IBDP to take more rigorous classes, either more HL, AP or for math DE.

It really does depend on your student. These classes and requirements termed a chore by this poster, were beneficial and enjoyable to my student.

Look at the course content and ask around about the teachers and I think your student can make a determination if it aligns with their interests.

I would add that the writing requirements are challenging. It is difficult to produce a good piece of writing but it is a skill that only improves with practice. It is very good preparation for college work.

I may be in minority but I am not impressed with the writing in IB, especially the internal assessments and extended essays for math and sciences. Too much of a one size fits all so kids end up writing absolutely everything like it’s a humanities essay. ChatGPT on what should go in la lab report and you’re light years ahead of IB writing. It’s really sad how bad it is.

That sounds like an instructional problem. Are they not taught how to do a science lab?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Background: High school that offers both IBDP and many AP courses. I have 2 kids that graduated with IB diplomas.

College acceptances do not vary among the students. IB does not give an edge if you are already taking a rigorous courseload.

It may differ by school, but I agree with the teacher above. TOK is universally hated and viewed as pointless. Kids who care about education would rather take another class. And one of my kids loves philosophy/is a philosophy major. Hated TOK.

It prepares students for college writing and research better than AP courses.

My personal opinion is that it is not as good for STEM. Both my kids took HL level sciences. I thought Bio was rigorous, but by taking a 2 year bio class, students often skipped physics or doubled up on science (which can be tough given HS requirements) or took over the summer. HL physics (at least the one offered at our school) is not calc based.

This.

If you opt for diploma then you’re saddled with TOK, community activity and extended essay, when instead you could be taking real courses that align with your interests. Two years for an advanced course is too long, and I don’t think there are many students that can handle an HL/AP level class over the summer. IB HL Physics is indeed not calculus based and it’s not that useful for kids interested in engineering majors.

I’d skip IBDP to take more rigorous classes, either more HL, AP or for math DE.

It really does depend on your student. These classes and requirements termed a chore by this poster, were beneficial and enjoyable to my student.

Look at the course content and ask around about the teachers and I think your student can make a determination if it aligns with their interests.

I would add that the writing requirements are challenging. It is difficult to produce a good piece of writing but it is a skill that only improves with practice. It is very good preparation for college work.

I may be in minority but I am not impressed with the writing in IB, especially the internal assessments and extended essays for math and sciences. Too much of a one size fits all so kids end up writing absolutely everything like it’s a humanities essay. ChatGPT on what should go in la lab report and you’re light years ahead of IB writing. It’s really sad how bad it is.

Given the state of writing in American high schools, what you are NOT impressed with is still ahead of the pack.

It's also helpful to be able to practice fluidly composing longer essays for live tests instead of GPTing papers at home.

If you use AI to do your writing, why bother with the IB program? If you want to improve your own organizational and writing skills, you have to do the work. You're not going to be able to analyze when AI is producing garbage if you are uneducated about writing.

[Anonymous]

My kid went to a school that offered both, but did the IB Diploma program (along with 5 AP'S). Not sure how much - or if- it helped with college admissions, but it was a lot of work, especially at certain times. On the other hand, he found the academic transition to college pretty easy, compared to some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Firstly, PLEASE let’s not turn this into an AP vs. IB discussion. Or how FCPS should cut IB. Kids are slated for IB. I’m just curious if getting the full diploma vs. taking IB classes (but not getting the diploma) makes a difference in college acceptances. Not really concerned about getting college credits. Just wondering if the extra effort a) helps with admissions b) helps prepare for college, c) makes a difference for colleges abroad. There are mixed opinions on whether the full diploma is worth it. I would love to hear from IB parents, teachers, etc. Thank you.

Not sure for the US, but if you kid is applying to UK and EU schools, IB diploma is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to a school that offered both, but did the IB Diploma program (along with 5 AP'S). Not sure how much - or if- it helped with college admissions, but it was a lot of work, especially at certain times. On the other hand, he found the academic transition to college pretty easy, compared to some.

+1. If your kid can handle the requirements of the IB diploma, they are probably a good candidate for the workload at a competitive University. If they they find the workload of the IB diploma to be uncomfortable then I am guessing that the same would be true of the college workload at a competitive top school.

[Anonymous]

IB parent and IB teacher here.

I definitely think it’s worth it. I can’t think of a better class at the high school level for writing instruction than IB English.

My own DD started college with a ton of credits. More importantly, the transition of college was easy for her.

[Anonymous]

DD is an IB diploma candidate at a high school that offers both IB/AP. She chose IB starting from the junior year. She very much regretted that decision in the junior year. It was so stressful for her. IB is a lot of work. She seems to handle it better as a senior, but she says she regrets that her junior year was not fun. I do not think IB versus AP matters much for college applications. On the positive side, her writing, time management, or organizational skills have improved tremendously because of IB. She is not sure if she will try to get the diploma once she is accepted to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Firstly, PLEASE let’s not turn this into an AP vs. IB discussion. Or how FCPS should cut IB. Kids are slated for IB. I’m just curious if getting the full diploma vs. taking IB classes (but not getting the diploma) makes a difference in college acceptances. Not really concerned about getting college credits. Just wondering if the extra effort a) helps with admissions b) helps prepare for college, c) makes a difference for colleges abroad. There are mixed opinions on whether the full diploma is worth it. I would love to hear from IB parents, teachers, etc. Thank you.

Not sure for the US, but if you kid is applying to UK and EU schools, IB diploma is the way to go.

Not true, the top UK and EU schools worth applying to, will accept AP as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Firstly, PLEASE let’s not turn this into an AP vs. IB discussion. Or how FCPS should cut IB. Kids are slated for IB. I’m just curious if getting the full diploma vs. taking IB classes (but not getting the diploma) makes a difference in college acceptances. Not really concerned about getting college credits. Just wondering if the extra effort a) helps with admissions b) helps prepare for college, c) makes a difference for colleges abroad. There are mixed opinions on whether the full diploma is worth it. I would love to hear from IB parents, teachers, etc. Thank you.

Not sure for the US, but if you kid is applying to UK and EU schools, IB diploma is the way to go.

Not true, the top UK and EU schools worth applying to, will accept AP as well.

This isn’t an AP vs IB discussion but whether diploma helps get in…

[Anonymous]

If you look at Arlington, there is not a huge difference in admissions data between W&Ls IB program and kids at Yorktown taking the hardest level of classes/plethora of APs.

That being said- the skills you gain from the IB program are very helpful in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is an IB diploma candidate at a high school that offers both IB/AP. She chose IB starting from the junior year. She very much regretted that decision in the junior year. It was so stressful for her. IB is a lot of work. She seems to handle it better as a senior, but she says she regrets that her junior year was not fun. I do not think IB versus AP matters much for college applications. On the positive side, her writing, time management, or organizational skills have improved tremendously because of IB. She is not sure if she will try to get the diploma once she is accepted to college.

Reassure her that jr year is a slog for everybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of kids whose school offers both IB and many APs. They only school I've heard it matters for is UVA. It's very difficult to get in from our school if you are not full IB. The only ones I know of were wait listed first. On the other had I know kids at Ivies and top LACs (e.g., Williams) who did not do the full IB diploma.

What about William & Mary?

I'm the previous poster and no, plenty of kids from our HS (WL) go to William & Mary without the IB Diploma. It's really just UVA that it's hard to get into without IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IB parent and IB teacher here.

I definitely think it’s worth it. I can’t think of a better class at the high school level for writing instruction than IB English.

My own DD started college with a ton of credits. More importantly, the transition of college was easy for her.

The question is if the diploma is worth it, not the English class is good. I don’t think the diploma adds much.