Anonymous
04/08/2015 19:44
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You must have young kids. Your post is pretty much based on hearsay and is way off.
Not the PP, but he/she makes several valid points.
* Many kids who think they want IB don't end up pursuing the full IB diploma.
* Many IB courses are two-year courses, with exams after senior year.
* If you transfer out of an IB school in FCPS, you end up having to make up courses that kids at non-IB schools take earlier (you'll have sophomores taking standard freshmen classes, juniors taking classes typically taken by sophomores, etc.)
* Some kids consider the IB writing requirements excessive and/or find the diploma program too much of a pressure-cooker.
The IB program doesn't start until junior year.
The IB schools have pre-IB courses for freshmen and sophomores, and they follow a different course sequence than the AP schools, at least in social studies.
And, further to the point, if you pupil place into an IB school, you have to commit to take a minimum number of those pre-IB courses; otherwise, the school can boot you back to your AP school.
Part of the reason is because so many kids want to transfer in to take the IB at some schools that the admin. views it as unfair since you're taking a full IB slot that some other kid might want. I know that at Marshall, for example, they've just started enforcing this because there are so many kids from nearby schools wanting to people place.
Marshall was seriously under-enrolled for a long time, so they probably didn't enforce the rules as carefully as other schools. But Marshall gets a lot of pupil placements because it's surrounded by AP schools. Other IB schools like Annandale, Lee and Mount Vernon that aren't surrounded by AP schools tend to see more students transferring out for AP than placing in for IB. If you take care of transportation, you might save money by, say, buying a less expensive home in the Lee district and pupil placing to West Springfield for AP.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 19:29
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You must have young kids. Your post is pretty much based on hearsay and is way off.
Not the PP, but he/she makes several valid points.
* Many kids who think they want IB don't end up pursuing the full IB diploma.
* Many IB courses are two-year courses, with exams after senior year.
* If you transfer out of an IB school in FCPS, you end up having to make up courses that kids at non-IB schools take earlier (you'll have sophomores taking standard freshmen classes, juniors taking classes typically taken by sophomores, etc.)
* Some kids consider the IB writing requirements excessive and/or find the diploma program too much of a pressure-cooker.
The IB program doesn't start until junior year.
The IB schools have pre-IB courses for freshmen and sophomores, and they follow a different course sequence than the AP schools, at least in social studies.
And, further to the point, if you pupil place into an IB school, you have to commit to take a minimum number of those pre-IB courses; otherwise, the school can boot you back to your AP school.
Part of the reason is because so many kids want to transfer in to take the IB at some schools that the admin. views it as unfair since you're taking a full IB slot that some other kid might want. I know that at Marshall, for example, they've just started enforcing this because there are so many kids from nearby schools wanting to people place.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 18:33
Subject: Re:AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:12:32 poster again - wanted to add that Robinson's website has a lot of great info. there to help you learn about IB and the differences between AP vs. IB.
Also, you can take IB classes but not pursue the IB diploma. The diploma is the part that requires the service hours, extended essay and Theory of Knowledge class.
I would be reluctant to send a kid to an IB school if he or she was not getting the full diploma. It is just too easy for colleges and universities to distinguish between students applying from IB schools on that basis.
Knew several kids who got into UVA last year who didn't take the full IB diploma and several who did the full IB and didn't get into UVA. It's one data point, but shows it's hard to make blanket statements. It does depend on the kid.
You will often hear admissions directors say that they expect to see students taking the most challenging program available at their school. You are not penalized if your school has AP rather than IB, or vice versa. However, it is easier for an admissions staffer to conclude that the diploma program is the most challenging program at an IB school than to put a fence around what the most challenging program is at an AP school.
That does not preclude some discretion at a school like U. Va. My understanding is the same as yours - we know diploma candidates at IB schools who've worked like crazy and been turned down at U. Va., W&M and Virginia Tech. If you don't have good SATs/ACTs, no amount of TOK is going to get you into those schools.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 18:27
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You must have young kids. Your post is pretty much based on hearsay and is way off.
Not the PP, but he/she makes several valid points.
* Many kids who think they want IB don't end up pursuing the full IB diploma.
* Many IB courses are two-year courses, with exams after senior year.
* If you transfer out of an IB school in FCPS, you end up having to make up courses that kids at non-IB schools take earlier (you'll have sophomores taking standard freshmen classes, juniors taking classes typically taken by sophomores, etc.)
* Some kids consider the IB writing requirements excessive and/or find the diploma program too much of a pressure-cooker.
The IB program doesn't start until junior year.
The IB schools have pre-IB courses for freshmen and sophomores, and they follow a different course sequence than the AP schools, at least in social studies.
And, further to the point, if you pupil place into an IB school, you have to commit to take a minimum number of those pre-IB courses; otherwise, the school can boot you back to your AP school.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 18:26
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You must have young kids. Your post is pretty much based on hearsay and is way off.
Not the PP, but he/she makes several valid points.
* Many kids who think they want IB don't end up pursuing the full IB diploma.
* Many IB courses are two-year courses, with exams after senior year.
* If you transfer out of an IB school in FCPS, you end up having to make up courses that kids at non-IB schools take earlier (you'll have sophomores taking standard freshmen classes, juniors taking classes typically taken by sophomores, etc.)
* Some kids consider the IB writing requirements excessive and/or find the diploma program too much of a pressure-cooker.
The IB program doesn't start until junior year.
The IB schools have pre-IB courses for freshmen and sophomores, and they follow a different course sequence than the AP schools, at least in social studies.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 18:25
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You can take the IB courses a la carte for the same result as the AP a la carte. We know a lot of AP parents got upset when colleges but IB on equal footing as AP a few years a go because it threatens their housing values and choice to shun IBs. Get over it.
I think you and PP are talking past each other. Students now can often get similar course credit for good scores on IB exams as they can for for good scores on AP exams. That's different from addressing which program is viewed as a better fit for more kids. In FCPS, it's AP. That why Woodson rejected IB, you don't see parents at Langley, McLean or Madison pushing for IB, and the number of IB diploma candidates is so low at most of the schools in FCPS that have IB. I will say that, if the OP decides IB is right for her kid, she's lucky because he/she will go to either Marshall or South Lakes, and they have two of the better IB programs in the county.
I'm so glad we have someone like you around to tell us what the best fit for our kids is.
I have no idea what the best fit is for your kids. But, county-wide, there's been a clear preference for AP for some time. Judging from the low number of students at some IB schools pursuing IB diplomas, it seems like FCPS would be better off having IB at a smaller number of schools than is presently the case.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 18:14
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You must have young kids. Your post is pretty much based on hearsay and is way off.
Not the PP, but he/she makes several valid points.
* Many kids who think they want IB don't end up pursuing the full IB diploma.
* Many IB courses are two-year courses, with exams after senior year.
* If you transfer out of an IB school in FCPS, you end up having to make up courses that kids at non-IB schools take earlier (you'll have sophomores taking standard freshmen classes, juniors taking classes typically taken by sophomores, etc.)
* Some kids consider the IB writing requirements excessive and/or find the diploma program too much of a pressure-cooker.
The IB program doesn't start until junior year.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 18:12
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You can take the IB courses a la carte for the same result as the AP a la carte. We know a lot of AP parents got upset when colleges but IB on equal footing as AP a few years a go because it threatens their housing values and choice to shun IBs. Get over it.
I think you and PP are talking past each other. Students now can often get similar course credit for good scores on IB exams as they can for for good scores on AP exams. That's different from addressing which program is viewed as a better fit for more kids. In FCPS, it's AP. That why Woodson rejected IB, you don't see parents at Langley, McLean or Madison pushing for IB, and the number of IB diploma candidates is so low at most of the schools in FCPS that have IB. I will say that, if the OP decides IB is right for her kid, she's lucky because he/she will go to either Marshall or South Lakes, and they have two of the better IB programs in the county.
I'm so glad we have someone like you around to tell us what the best fit for our kids is.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 18:10
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You must have young kids. Your post is pretty much based on hearsay and is way off.
Not the PP, but he/she makes several valid points.
* Many kids who think they want IB don't end up pursuing the full IB diploma.
* Many IB courses are two-year courses, with exams after senior year.
* If you transfer out of an IB school in FCPS, you end up having to make up courses that kids at non-IB schools take earlier (you'll have sophomores taking standard freshmen classes, juniors taking classes typically taken by sophomores, etc.)
* Some kids consider the IB writing requirements excessive and/or find the diploma program too much of a pressure-cooker.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 18:02
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You can take the IB courses a la carte for the same result as the AP a la carte. We know a lot of AP parents got upset when colleges but IB on equal footing as AP a few years a go because it threatens their housing values and choice to shun IBs. Get over it.
I think you and PP are talking past each other. Students now can often get similar course credit for good scores on IB exams as they can for for good scores on AP exams. That's different from addressing which program is viewed as a better fit for more kids. In FCPS, it's AP. That why Woodson rejected IB, you don't see parents at Langley, McLean or Madison pushing for IB, and the number of IB diploma candidates is so low at most of the schools in FCPS that have IB. I will say that, if the OP decides IB is right for her kid, she's lucky because he/she will go to either Marshall or South Lakes, and they have two of the better IB programs in the county.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 17:57
Subject: Re:AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:
Colleges will take IB credit the same as AP courses one by one regardless of the diploma. The diploma is an added bonus.
Not sure this is accurate. Aren't IB classes two year courses?
I can only speak anecdotally. Both of my kids(AP) had college roommates who went to IB schools. Both of their roommates felt like IB was not worth the effort they put into it. Neither college gave the credit to IB that it did for AP. Pretty sure that both got the IB diploma-but not positive.
1. Many colleges are moving away from awarding actual credit for IB or AP exams. They often just allow the corresponding lower level classes to be skipped.
2. Most colleges will not allow any credit given to IB or AP coursework to count toward courses required for a student's major.
3. Many graduate programs, medical schools, etc do not count IB or AP courses in their prerequisites. For example, if a med school requires biology, chemistry, calculus, and statistics, those courses must be completed in college, not as AP/IB high school courses.
Choose your high school program based on the education you want your child to receive...not on how much of a discount you think you're getting on college.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 16:56
Subject: Re:AP vs IB
Colleges will take IB credit the same as AP courses one by one regardless of the diploma. The diploma is an added bonus.
Not sure this is accurate. Aren't IB classes two year courses?
I can only speak anecdotally. Both of my kids(AP) had college roommates who went to IB schools. Both of their roommates felt like IB was not worth the effort they put into it. Neither college gave the credit to IB that it did for AP. Pretty sure that both got the IB diploma-but not positive.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 15:04
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:What school did you xfer from to go to Robinson?
Well, it's not official yet - we're still waiting on paperwork from the school - but from Chantilly HS. Also a great school. It was a tough call.
A few other notes to add as I'm reading this thread:
* The IB information nights are over for this year - they do them every year at (I think) every IB school. Robinson posts their presentation on their website and it's up all year - in case you don't want to wait until next year. We started looking for info. when DD was in 7th grade and I found the info posted on Robinson's website to be very informative.
* Note that when you do a curricular transfer to IB, you sign papwerwork committing your child to take a certain number of IB courses (some at the higher level) - just an FYI. They don't have to do the full diploma, but they do have to commit to some IB coursework (which makes sense, since that's why you're transferring!)
* I was interested in the PP's thoughts on why it wasn't worth it to transfer if you weren't pursuing the full diploma. I did talk to a few people about this - whether it was worth transferring or not - and was generally told it wasn't worthwhile unless you were at least considering the full diploma (but it was a pros/cons of transferring consideration - not that students that only took IB courses a-la-carte were at a disadvantage vs. kids who took AP courses a-la-carte. Mainly I was told that if you are just doing a-la-carte IB courses, just do AP courses a-la-carte. That the main advantage was in the full diploma.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 14:51
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You can take the IB courses a la carte for the same result as the AP a la carte. We know a lot of AP parents got upset when colleges but IB on equal footing as AP a few years a go because it threatens their housing values and choice to shun IBs. Get over it.
Anonymous
04/08/2015 14:49
Subject: AP vs IB
Anonymous wrote:IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses. Not going to do it. I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further. There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it. These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it. Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course? Even in college kids don't commit to two years. Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.
In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.
I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.
In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes. As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).
There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.
You must have young kids. Your post is pretty much based on hearsay and is way off.