Reply to Madison HS or the IB program at Marshall HS?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The only reason many prefer AP is because it is easier to be able to pick and choose AP courses than to take all IB courses for the diploma. However, a full IB diploma graduate is much more rare and desirable in the eyes of most colleges. The amount of credits awarded at some schools may be fewer, but they do recognize that it is the most rigorous program available.

My son in planning on majoring in pre-med, and most medical schools will not accept AP or IB credits in lieu of any of their undergrad requirements (4 years of college science, 2 years of calculus, etc). For that reason, he wants to do IB instead of AP. [/quote]

Many AP courses are considered more demanding than their IB counterpart, and some have no IB equivalent.  Colleges will not necessarily know when students are applying for admission whether an applicant will receive an IB diploma because that decision is not made until after the student graduates.  If you really believe what you write here, you should make sure your child both obtains an IB diploma and then takes a gap year so the schools to which he's applying know he received an IB diploma.

Colleges aren't necessarily blown away by an IB diploma.  They also look at SAT/ACT scores and the overall academic reputation of the secondary school.  What does concern many parents is the perception that non-IB diploma candidates at IB schools are relegated to the bottom of the candidate pile in a way that isn't true for students who take a healthy, but not exclusive, selection of AP courses.  Also, before you get too enamored of your own rhetoric, you should realize that the most prestigious universities may have pre-med programs, but not pre-med majors.

I have nothing against IB for those prefer its Euro-centric perspective and comparatively rigid curriculum, but when the county is paying extra money for IB program coordinators and dues at schools where the percentage of students getting IB diplomas is ridiculously low, I think it requires closer examination.  I'd rather see Falls Church HS getting renovated earlier, for example, rather than continuing to spend extra money on IB at each of Annandale, Edison, Lee and Stuart.  [/quote]

That's a mighty high horse[/quote]

And that's an awfully weak retort.  I know people who are thinking of pupil placing their kids to Marshall from Falls Church not because they like IB, but because Falls Church is in poor physical condition.  Resources in the county are limited, yet we spend a lot of money on IB programs at eight high schools, even though the total number of IB diploma students at those schools could comfortably fit in one high school.  Why not spend the money on something else - if not renovations at schools like Falls Church, more teachers and smaller class sizes elsewhere?
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