Is the IB diploma worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Is there any shred of evidence for this? The diploma results come much later than acceptance notifications.

[Anonymous]

IB parent here:

helps with admissions: yes, but I will say that while 2/3 of our school’s IB diploma candidates get in to UVA, my kid did not and I think it is because they did not take the more rigorous science and math - they were more interested in English and history

helps prepare for college: absolutely. My kid is at a state flagship and often surprised at how easy the work is and how hard it seems to be for others - I think it really prepared them well for college
c) makes a difference for colleges abroad- no clue - they didn’t apply abroad

My younger child is in 9th at this IB school now and if they want to do it, I am all for it.

[Anonymous]

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.

Maybe your TOK teacher sucks? My kid enjoyed it and the teacher is pretty popular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The diploma itself is irrelevant - but admissions can see that you took TOK and are enrolled in the 3 HLs senior year. So, no, they don’t know for sure if you get the diploma but they do know if you tried.

Is there any shred of evidence for this? The diploma results come much later than acceptance notifications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IB parent here:

helps with admissions: yes, but I will say that while 2/3 of our school’s IB diploma candidates get in to UVA, my kid did not and I think it is because they did not take the more rigorous science and math - they were more interested in English and history

helps prepare for college: absolutely. My kid is at a state flagship and often surprised at how easy the work is and how hard it seems to be for others - I think it really prepared them well for college
c) makes a difference for colleges abroad- no clue - they didn’t apply abroad

My younger child is in 9th at this IB school now and if they want to do it, I am all for it.

I’m the above poster and a Robo parent fyi

[Anonymous]

Our DS decided on pursuing the IB diploma even though we advised against it, we didn't think it was a great fit for him. He's a senior now and I really think the IB classes have helped his writing significantly. I've heard no complaints about TOK and he seems excited about the extended essay. I think he'll be better prepared for college than his parents were and will be successful on the first try...we both needed a retake lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Again the question wasn’t AP vs IB but whether getting the IB diploma vs just taking IB classes is worth the effort.

[Anonymous]

Anyone know what's required for most rigorous at Marshall?

[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.

No it is not. UK looks for AP classes.

[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.

No it is not. UK looks for AP classes.

You’re wrong. UK will look at BOTH from American kids and they will look for IBDP or its equivalent from other European Nationals.

[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.

What part? Weird retort but I promise it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the feedback. Kid 1 is humanities focused. Not targeting Ivy but good state schools (we are in Virginia) or LACS. Kid 2–based on some of the feedback-would probably not pursue the diploma bc she has an intense EC and some executive function issues. This is FCPS and I don’t know if they only check “most rigorous” for full diploma.

ask the college guidance counselor about the most rigorous issue

I think it helps:
a) for going to college abroad
b) for working abroad
c) for teaching in schools that have an IB program. When I wanted to teach abroad, it would have helped to be able to say I had an IB diploma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No it is not. UK looks for AP classes.

You’re wrong. UK will look at BOTH from American kids and they will look for IBDP or its equivalent from other European Nationals.

And this board is probably made up of families of American kids, so AP it is for American students looking to UK for higher ed

[Anonymous]

Honestly, it is it worth it? My kid did it and the amount of school work and then the exams, NO!

My kid would have done just as well without it when applying to college. They got into several T10 schools but not because of IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Is there any shred of evidence for this? The diploma results come much later than acceptance notifications.

The evidence is they see your IB courses on your transcript and know you are a diploma candidate, duh.