Depends on the school – at my kid’s IB program, he works hard, at real work – no busy work there. Writing weekly about the literature they are reading, reading college texts, not textbooks, for IB History etc. The amount of work, with the regular internal assessments, is really demanding. It has been a challenge for my kid, but as a parent, I see the value.
Every school, every interview, college reps mentioned IB is strong preparation for successful transition to college. They also remarked that IB kids are well-rounded, with essentially a liberal arts high school preparation, plus the demands of CAS and the Extended Essay. For my kid, who was focusing only on LACs and is not a STEM kid, it was the perfect fit. Not that it kept him from complaining about the workload, however.