Things I wish I knew before DC started at FCPS IB High School
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Anonymous
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Is there anything you wish you knew when your DC started at IB high school in FCPS, either in terms of course selection in MS, courses to take in the summer, course selection for IB diploma, course selection when your DC don't want to work for the IB diploma, or when to transfer to AP, that you'd like to pass on?
My first DC is in MS. Our base school is IB. Threads about course sequence and summer online classes made me wonder what else we should know before high school. Please share your experience. |
Anonymous
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We've been happy with the IB program and it didn't require any special preparation in MS other than just develop good learning/study habits like you would for any college prep coursework. If you are intending to do a full diploma it can be helpful to get a full year of language done in middle school but even that isn't too hard to work around if it doesn't happen.
Our HS has IB and AP and so you can do full IB diploma or do a combo load of selected IB classes and AP classes and still be considered having the most "rigorous course load" for competitive colleges. I like how IB has some courses you do standard level and some higher level, and there's choices of different courses--so there's flexibility even if you are doing the full diploma. The course weighting makes a huge difference in GPA and FCPS only reports weighted GPA (though different colleges may re-calculate on their own admissions). |
Anonymous
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OP here. DC is looking forward to attending IB high school. I'm looking to learn about obstacle to getting an IB diploma. This thread touches on what I was looking for - http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/60/656383.page#11256376
Helpful to know - there is 5 years language requirement. Start in MS. - There are sequence classes. Would like to hear thoughts on taking summer online classes (for example PE9, PE10, others) to free up for other classes. Helpful to do or not? |
Anonymous
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First of all,
You have to learn to completely ignore the anti-IB posters on this board. It’s a very strong program, and a very rigorous program, but colleges recognize this. Posters here will tell you that the students at an IB school who are not completing the full diploma are at a disadvantage, which is simply not true. After speaking to several college admissions reps as I toured schools with my kids, they have all told me that in regards to admissions, they view AP and IB courses as being on the same level. So, if your kid is only taking certain IB classes, it is no different than a student who is only taking certain AP classes. A handful also told me that they view the full IB diploma as the most rigorous high school program available. So, ignore the naysayers and do your own research. I have a junior and a sophomore at a FCPS IB school. My junior is well into the program, and my sophomore is planning o completing it. My junior is a math and science kid, and my sophomore loves history and art. Both have become very strong writers and aren’t intimidated by 15 page papers or multiple-essay tests. What we did, was sit down and plan out what the 4 years of HS would look like with the full IB diploma. Other than starting language in 8th grade, there are no other prerequisites. My junior did the EPF requirement online over the summer, and my sophomore will do the same this summer. They both took regular PE at school as a welcome break in the day. My juniors course load has been as follows 9th Bio Honors Algebra 2 Trig/Honors English 9 Honors World History 2 Honors French 2 Computer Science PE 10th IB Chem SL 1 IB Math SL 1 English 10 Honors US Govt Honors French 3 Sports Medicine PE 11th IB Bio SL IB Physics SL IB Math HL 1 IB Lang and Lit SL 1 IB History HL 1 IB French SL 1 IB Therory of Knowledge 12th IB Bio HL IB Physics HL IB Math HL 2 IB Lang and Lit SL 2 IB History HL 2 IB French SL 2 IB Theory of Knowledge The requirements are, 3 HL classes (all require a 2 year sequence), 3 SL classes (some are 1 year, others are 2), and the IB TOK class. Outside of school, they do 150 hours of creativity/action/service hours over their junior and senior year. They also complete a 4,000 word extended essay (which seems like a huge deal, but they are ready for it and they pick a topic they are interested in and are assigned a faculty advisor) I’d be happy to answer any further questions. Best of luck! |
Anonymous
Not the OP but thank you for this! This is so helpful!!! |
Anonymous
| OP, there will be many any-IB posters. You need to decide for yourself what's a good fit for your child. Your child should take a year of a language in MS. If you are in FCPS, if you have an IB base school, opting for AP would mean that you would have to provide transportation to and from school on a daily basis, which leads many to stick with IB. My DC are zoned for an IB HS and most of the families I know are very happy with the program. I opted to go the AP route because I thought it would be a better fit for my oldest DC and I have the flexibility to handle the transportation. I think you should find families in your pyramid with older kids and ask about the specific school. I think that information would be more helpful than the general anti-IB comments that pop up whenever any asks about IB. |
Anonymous
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I teach in a STEM program and my kids went/are going through the IB program. Like the PP who posted a schedule said, it's writing intensive, it focuses on critical thinking across disciplines, it focuses on depth over breadth of knowledge and there's a faculty adviser for the EE, which is a good exercise in working with faculty prior to college.
And to the poster that claimed the program was inferior because it doesn't cover post-calc math? Listen, there is a huge issue in over acceleration in math. When students arrive, many have re-do these courses because they did not have the depth of knowledge necessary. I much, much prefer building depth (IB) over breadth (AP). It's a matter of preference of course, though. |
Anonymous
| The high school we are zoned for is IB. I have heard nothing but great things from our neighbors with high school age kids. |
Anonymous
| IB was great for my kid, who is not strong in math and did not choose the HL track. She lived her courses and I loved how interconnected the classes were. She was very ready for a top rated liberal arts school where she earned a scholarship that included an interview in a group setting where she had to read essays and discuss them with other students. After IB, she knew how to take a position and defend it well. If your kid is a math person, AP might be better, but the full IB program was rigorous and well regarded by the universities. |
Anonymous
| My DD graduated from an IB HS in 2016. She did not go for the full diploma. She still did really well and us at Princeton. She says it's easier than HS. She wasn't a great writer in elementary school or middle school. She improved by leaps and bounds in IB. My recommendation would be to take a language in MS. That's it. It's a great program. Our son is still in HS and also isn't going for full diploma but taking IB classes. |
Anonymous
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If you are zoned for one of the many mediocre at best IB schools, your child will have to fall into one of the following two categories to get the attention s/he needs:
1) Pursue the full diploma. Being in this category will elevate you to God status where you earn the favor of the administration and you can do no wrong. 2) Be an "at-risk" student. Being in this category gets you into all kinds of intervention programs that just may get you across the stage after 4 or 5 years. Anything in between and your child will spend 4 years at the school unnoticed. And Lord help you if you take regular math - good luck finding a course sequence with the appropriate rigor if you plan to attend college. And if you do take IB, your situation had better not change during your second year in the course sequence. Because if you do move into an AP school, you'll be starting over. Same for the reverse. BUT... I can promise that at least one IB school offers multivariable calculus. |
Anonymous
This is simply not true. All these people speaking of IB have no kids in IB. My child did not fall into 1 or 2. He's at UVA going into his junior year of college there. Meanwhile he has friends that went to TJ that did not get into UVA. We're white, no legacy, not poor, not rich, he's not there to pkay sports. Just regular people who no special sauce to get him in. He had a rigorous HS life but had plenty of fun, let him tell it. He had excellent SAT scores and he's happy. |
Anonymous
| My friend’s son did the IB diploma in FCPS. It seemed like an awful lot of extra work with no appreciable return. He got great grades and had solid test scores and long term ECs which all netted him 2 college acceptances to schools he could have gotten into easily without all the extra work. I can’t speak to how the program helped him transition to college. |
Anonymous
| It is still possible to the the easy road in a full IB diploma (math studies, business, anthropology, and environmental systems are widely known as the easiest classes), which explains the difference between some admissions results. Admissions officers know the difference in courseload, even within the diploma program. |
Anonymous
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My daughter did the fill IB diploma program at Marshall HS. She thinks it was completely worth it and that it more than prepared her for college work. She came into college with 33 credit hours completed and waived out of freshman writing requirements because it was evident from placement tests that here writing skills were superior to those of most incoming college freshmen.
IB basher, IB may not be for you, but please stop trying to ram your once size fits all AP approach down everybody's throats. Your kids don't want IB, then that is their choice. We are happy with ours. Thank you very much. |