Kaeroze

Hello fellow IB Students! Anyway I was on IB Survival reading all the tips and advice and I realized that I had more to do than I thought. It's not much of a problem, but it had me thinking, how do other people in IB feel about the program? Do you think it will be worth it in the end? And what will you classes be for IB?

My classes:
IB US History
IB Math
IB Biology
Pre-AP Physics(No AP and required to graduate)
IB Psychology
IB Spanish 3
IB English
IB TOK
Band

allshewrote

My classes this upcoming year:
HL Psych
HL English
HL Contemporary History
SL Math
Theory of Knowledge
and two free periods I'll likely fill up with online AP classes.

I took my first two exams this past May - SL Spanish and SL Chem. It was sort of a slap in the face on how much I've come to expect good grades to fall in my lap. Getting a 5 and a 4 wasn't exactly what I had in mind this time last year. That in mind, I'm heading into my senior year with a bit more drive to succeed.

That said, I feel like IB will definitely be worth it. I've heard from graduates in college that it prepares you - with the Internal Assessments, the EE, the ToK work, etc. - in a way AP really doesn't. And I'm getting college credit, and that's on top of the 5-7 AP classes I'm also graduating with! So, yes, worth it in the end.

(but there are definitely days I just want to throw my notebooks out the window... and then I tell myself it's just one more year.)

squishytofu

Hi, I'm going to be a junior this year, so I'll officially start taking IB classes. Here's my junior year schedule...

IB English HL
IB Biology HL
IB History HL
IB Philosophy SL
IB Math SL

For students who already started our went through IB, do you guys have abby advice? To answer the OP's question, I would say IB is definitely worth it from what I'm told. I think it challenges you more and gets you ready for college.

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neuchimie

I finished IB four years ago, and it honestly was the best decision I've ever made. It made me take myself seriously and not just slide through school, like I would have in an easier program. The biggest part, for me, was being around other people who actually enjoyed learning and wanted to do well. Without IB, I'd end up in a regular public school likely surrounded by people who may or may not graduate.

I volunteered for CAS, but ended up doing more than 500 hours throughout high school because of it. Not only did it look great on college apps, it was actually a nice experience. Very few people in my program hated their volunteering experiences. TOK at my school ended up kind of being a joke (we had a crazy teacher who got kicked out), but it helped with public speaking and debates a lot.

In terms of classes, I signed up for my HLs mainly because my other options were subjects I considered myself bad at (and we had very limited options in my school). Yet I discovered how much I absolutely loved those subjects, and that I was good in them. Combine that with great professors (especially for my HLs) who really challenged us, and it was an incrediable experience.

In case you're interested, I received the diploma after taking the following subjects:
Mathematics HL
History (of the Americas) HL
Chemistry HL
Physics SL
French SL
English SL

I went on to study Math and Economics in college (because of my IB subjects) and am applying to law schools for 2013 after working for a year in banking.

squishytofu

I heard that the Math HL test was impossible. Even a teacher at my school who teaches it admitted that the test was hard for him too. That's one of the reasons why I decided not to do math HL. Can I ask what colleges you applied to and got accepted to? I want to know what colleges other IB students applied to. I am so confused with my college search.

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neuchimie

It's relative. We had 13 kids in my class (I was the only girl), and only one actually failed the class- but still got the diploma because of the points system. People I met in college got 7s and couldn't understand why I was so shocked.

I scored a 5, and was insanely proud of myself. It is a very difficult test. I think I got as high as I did because I did statistics in Option 3, which is a personal specialty of mine.

I know of several people who were actually smarter and better than me at math in high school who chickened out and didn't do HL Math because they heard how hard it was. They definitely could have passed, and choose not to do it anyway. I'm glad I stuck it out, because it gave me the feeling like I could hold my own even in super hard classes that made me want to cry after exams. Real Analysis, a notoriously hard math class in any college, was my favorite class- and I took it as an elective because it reminded me of HL Math.

But if you'll hate yourself for taking it, then obviously don't take it. That was just my (stubborn) choice.

My GPA wasn't that great in high school because I pretty much considered homework to be more of a suggestion than requirement. I would ace tests, but get Bs because of homework. Super stupid, and I was a complete idiot. I graduated with a 3.6 unweighted (although 4.5 weighted because of the IB stuff). I applied to a lot of top state schools (U Florida was one) and a smattering of Ivies. But I did NO clubs, and had to beg my way into NHS. So I got waitlisted at the Ivies, and full scholarship at the states. I ended up going to Northeastern U in Boston with a decent scholarship. Most of my IB friends went to UF, but that's just how it was at my school (public). UF was free for most IB students. Others went to Wash U St Louis, MIT, Columbia Engineering, Davidson, Emory, G Tech, Boston U (the early med program), Boston College... I imagine they did their homework more than I did.

Mom2M

Our D just graduated, and earned her IB Diploma. Her entire class earned the Dipolma, Yea!

I have been on the board of the IB Boosters at her school for 4 years, we have tracked college acceptances for 10+. In general, the kids with reasonable ECs do well at most schools. Generally one or two Ivys a year, multiple UC admissions (UCLA and Cal), Washington at St Louis, USC, etc.

squishytofu

@Neuchimie your reply made me laugh, lol. Reminded me of myself. My friends go crazy about homework and have to get it done or else. As for me, I do some of it and find ways to get credit for the rest of it. For example, last year in pre-cal I didn't do all of my assignments I just wrote random stuff to get credit, same for spanish. Trying not to do that this year. I guess if I raise my gpa and keep working hard I'll be able to get into a good college. I'm working on my EC too. Weren't you required to do volunteer work to get the diploma? Shouldn't that count as EC too? I'll take math sl my junior year then decide if I want to transfer into hl, after. I'm not good with tests though, -__-. Thanks for the reply!

@mom2m
Congratulations to your daughter and your family! Thank you for sharing that info! Now, I won't have to worry so much about whether IB is worth it or not. I have to really push myself this year.


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neuchimie

In most cases, you can't transfer to an HL after a year. Check with how your advisor does stuff.

Volunteering does look good, but everyone volunteers. You can be perfect, have perfect grades, be the president of every club, and volunteer five hours a week and you might still get rejected at Ivies. Sad but true.

squishytofu

I remember my advisor said something about being able to get into HL after SL because the first year ofHL is math SL. If I dont take HL my senior year I might take AP Calc, which is the only AP class my school offers.

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allshewrote

Squishytofu, something a lot of kids at my school do is take IB Math at the SL, which more or less equates to Calc 1. Then, senior year, they take AP Calc BC. Or you could take AP Calc AB next year and SL/HL math senior year (at least, at my school, you can take an SL exam even if you take it two years, provided you have other exams at the HL needed to get the diploma). Talk to your counselor and see what's doable.

Philovitist

I really suggest against doing IB if you have an equally large or larger AP program at your school.

IceQube

And the reason is?

neuchimie

I had a very, very strong AP program at my school, and IB was definitely well worth it anyway.

allshewrote

Or you could do what I did and manage both. I'm a full diploma candidate, but I'll also be graduating with 5-7 AP courses.