International Baccalaureate

[queen of the caramels]

One of the schools we are looking at for DD1 offers IB.

Does any-one have experience of this programme? As student, teacher or parent?

I realise it will mean more work for her if she goes into IB. Is it worth it or not?

[PallasAthena]

DH does. I'd say go for it. It was a great challenge for him. IIRC from what he says, it involves some independant study projects. He was really into WWII history, so he did a couple of projects on that. It's also pretty prestigious to put on a college app. My school only had AP (pity) or I would've been all about the extra challenge!

[Jay Tea]

A superb programme, and I wish to this day that i'd had the opportunity to take it. I've known many students and teachers over the years who have made my wishes what they are and would recommend to anybody that they give it due consideration, and I say this with my academic/teaching hat firmly in place.

My own experience with pupils, both in front of and behind the lectern, suggest a programme which indubitably fosters discovery and enjoyment in those key academic years, and brings out the best in able, willing students.

Bear in mind I did UK A-Levels, which were essentially 4 block programmes well established and utterly uninspiring. Well, English Language was interesting but I snoozed through the rest - these years should provide focus and drive to hunt down future academic interest and passions for life beyond the classroom and i'd say the IB does a better job that many other options...

[Natalie]

My high school had IB and I was in the program for a short time. (Not engaged enough at the time to stick with it.)

Pretty much like anything, if the student is driven and engaged to do well, IB can offer a lot. If they're not checked in, IB won't fix that. And I don't think IB is necessarily the only way to get a challenging high school experience, so don't worry too much if she doesn't get in.

[zerocool]

Originally Posted by queen of the caramels

One of the schools we are looking at for DD1 offers IB.

Does any-one have experience of this programme? As student, teacher or parent?

I realise it will mean more work for her if she goes into IB. Is it worth it or not?

I took the full IB (completed in '03), and found it to be a great experience, but if I did it all over again I might have taken AP classes instead/as well. The reason for that is that the university I ended up going to did not give equal credit for IB courses. I did receive a lot of credit (almost a full year's worth), but it was mostly general credit and so I didn't really get out of a lot of classes, I just had upper level standing earlier on (basically I could sign up for classes earlier than most of the people that started at the same time as me).

If that is something that is important to you, you might want to look into potential universities and just see how the IB compares to some other options.

Other than that, it was a really good program. I took higher level English, math, chemistry, physics and French, and standard level history (I had to take the standard level exam for French, since the IB diploma only allows you to take 4 higher levels) as well as the Theory of Knowledge class, the required CAS hours (community/action/service) and the extended essay.

It was a lot of work, but I also ended up getting a full 45/45, so maybe I didn't have to work as hard as I did, but I was incredibly well prepared for college.

Another thing to consider is how experienced the school is with the program, and how many of their students are part of it. There can be some quirks (e.g. I could take the French higher level class but had to take the standard level exam), and you will want an administration that has a good understanding of the system to help guide you through it. At my school, probably 70% of the students did the full IB diploma and the rest did AP, so the administration was very good at running the program. Also consider what happens if you have to relocate - will your DD be able to continue her IB there? Is she going to take any IB classes that are not commonly offered (Indonesian for example)?

I went to an international school for high school, and while I knew I wanted to go to college in the US, many of my friends and classmates applied to schools across the world - the US, Australia, the UK, France, Singapore etc. I think they had an easier time because they had the IB, although most systems do recognize AP and A levels.

If you have more questions I'd be happy to answer them from a student perspective.

[Nick Theodorakis]

Our high school offers IB, and our dd's seriously considered it for awhile, as they both love languages. However, after reviewing the number of required courses, they both eventually decided the program was a bit too restrictive for their tastes and they decided to get their fix of advanced course with AP or honors courses. I would suggest that you review curriculum carefully and if the required courses largely correspond to ones your dd would like anyway, then go for it.

Nick