Reply to Possible to switch from AP to IB program after freshman year?

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Reply to "Possible to switch from AP to IB program after freshman year?"

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[quote=Anonymous]OP, your child absolutely can start at an IB school in sophomore year. As PP says, the IB courses themselves don't really get going until junior and senior year (many are two-year classes) though yes, there are some kids that take a class or so in sophomore year. My kid took the first year of a two-year IB class last year as a sophomore and is in the second year of it now as a junior. But students definitely can come into the program as sophomores or even juniors. I'd say it's smart to move to an IB school as a sophomore since the schools (ours, at least) can structure sophomore classes like IB courses with similar assignments, so kids are well prepared for junior and senior year.

It's good that you know already that a student can just take IB classes and does not necessarily have to do the full IB diploma program. Many parents initially don't realize that students can take IB classes "a la carte" and are not required to do the full diploma.

As for your nearest IB school being closed to academic transfers -- my kid is an academic transfer student who left the assigned AP school for the nearest IB school and when we did the transfer, we were advised that even if the FCPS "dashboard" web site says a school is "closed to transfers," contact the school's IB office directly and ask if they're taking new IB students. The dashboard site is not always up to date and really doesn't reflect the fact that principals at IB schools do want to accommodate kids who want to be there for the academics.

Tip: I think transfer requests have to be finished in the early spring so stay on top of deadlines for transferring if you want your child to go to an IB school next fall. The request has to go to your assigned HS first and they must pass it on to the other (IB) HS so you need to stay on top of ensuring the school that will "lose" your child is doing its job with the paperwork and is staying on deadline. Talk to your current school's counseling office and the IB coordinator at the school your student wants to attend and they can guide you. You will have to renew the request every year your child is at the IB school. And you must provide transportation, OP -- high school students who transfer are not entitled to bus transportation, and this is an issue for some families.

I also want to warn you that DCUM has a contingent who will turn any thread, even one like this where you already are sold on IB as the right choice for your child, into a thread where they post about how awful they think IB is, how AP is better for every student, all the time, etc. Just letting you know that you may get posts here that do not answer your question about logistics. [/quote]

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