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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.[/quote]

This.

If you opt for diploma then you’re saddled with TOK, community activity and extended essay, when instead you could be taking real courses that align with your interests. Two years for an advanced course is too long, and I don’t think there are many students that can handle an HL/AP level class over the summer. IB HL Physics is indeed not calculus based and it’s not that useful for kids interested in engineering majors.

I’d skip IBDP to take more rigorous classes, either more HL, AP or for math DE.
[/quote]

It really does depend on your student.  These classes and requirements termed a chore by this poster, were beneficial and enjoyable to my student.

Look at the course content and ask around about the teachers and I think your student can make a determination if it aligns with their interests.[/quote]

I would add that the writing requirements are challenging.   It is difficult to produce a good piece of writing but it is a skill that only improves with practice. It is very good preparation for college work.[/quote]

I may be in minority but I am not impressed with the writing in IB, especially the internal assessments and extended essays for math and sciences. Too much of a one size fits all so kids end up writing absolutely everything like it’s a humanities essay.  ChatGPT on what should go in la lab report and you’re light years ahead of IB writing. It’s really sad how bad it is.[/quote]

Given the state of writing in American high schools, what you are NOT impressed with is still ahead of the pack.

It's also helpful to be able to practice fluidly composing longer essays for live tests instead of GPTing papers at home.[/quote]

If you use AI to do your writing, why bother with the IB program?   If you want to improve your own organizational and writing skills, you have to do the work. You're not going to be able to analyze when AI is producing garbage if you are uneducated about writing.[/quote]

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