Reply to DCI or J-R?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would go with DCI hands down if your kid is considering the IB diploma track.  Strong writing and critical thinking skills in a comprehensive program.  In addition, a mini-thesis that will set him apart when applying to colleges.

[b]Your kid can take some HL exam junior year and get scores. [/b] Your kid can take a few AP exams too before applying to college.  Yoir kid will stand out and have a much better shot at getting into good colleges if he does well in the diploma program.  AP kids are a dime a dozen, not so IB.

JR is definitely way more chaotic, overcrowded, and bigger then DCI.  Also it’s very difficult to get into many of the courses needed.
[/quote]
False. IBD Geneva doesn't permit the taking of any HL exams junior year. Kids can take up to two Standard Level exams at the end of junior year, that's it. SL exams can be taken at the end of one-year courses, mostly in social studies classes, what IB terms the study of "Individuals and Societies." There are no US-specific social studies courses in IBD, so US history, US politics and government aren't allowed. Kids study world geography, environmental studies, economics, psychology etc.

If you're hard-core about trying for elite colleges from IB Diploma, your kid can apply Early Decision of Early Action in October of a gap year after graduating from high school, with all six IBD exam scores in hand. My sibling's kids did that from a private school and were admitted to Ivies and elite SLACs. Also untrue that IB Diploma studies beat AP in college admissions. Even colleges admitting in the single digits just want to see kids ace exams in whatever system them come up through, wherever they are, AP, IBD, Cambridge, British A Levels, French Bacca, whatever.

What's true is that top IBD students in this country commonly double up on some AP exams, and maybe Cambridge exams (given in June and Nov) in order to have a bunch of standardized test scores to submit when applying to college, particularly for sciences and math. The timing of the exams is geared toward the European college admissions calendar, where kids get conditional offers from universities predicated on their getting certain exams scores the summer after graduation. Unfortunately, the "predicted IB" exam scores Americans get from their schools aren't taken too seriously by highly competitive colleges. DCI's guidance counselors won't tell you this.

Just not true that it's very difficult to get into many AP courses at J-R.  Ask around.[/quote]

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