<p>My school doesn’t have IB either. I wish it did though.</p>
<p>But it wont affect college admissions, as my school didn’t have it to offer.</p>
<p>About 99% of the public schools in NYC does not have IB. It’s mostly a budget issue.</p>
<p>Mine doesn’t, though many of the schools in nearby counties do.
It’s not a budget problem, really. My school is the only high school in the city, and we’ve got tons of money. The entire building was renovated, even. The reason why we don’t have IB is probably because the school is focused more on helping the students that are behind than the students who are ahead.
The middle schools are preparing to introduce IB-MYP though. That’s not fair at all, really…</p>
<p>@LikeSomeJelly: Some things just aren’t fair and I hate it when it’s like that. Like the exclusive Honors Program at my school will only include the rising freshmen and the coming classes and not include any of the other classes. My class (2014) will be the guinea pigs because we are trying stuff out for them. Like when AP Physics comes to our school, we have to take it online and see if we recommend the program for the next class. Plus, test scores will be taken into consideration whether they keep it or not, but who knows what will happen?</p>
<p>Is it detrimental to me that my school doesn’t offer AP Chemistry, because I want to major in biochemistry? I would self-study it, but I’ve heard it’s extremely difficult to do so because of the labwork involved.</p>
<p>@sardonyx827: I am the same way. I want to major in Pharmacy or Biochem but my school does not plan to offer AP Chem anytime soon unless its online. So, I will just watch labs instead of doing them. I really want to do an AP in class so that I can do labs and have the full experience. But, my school has 63% EOC proficiency rate and most schools where I live that have APs have at least 70-80% proficiency rate. We are lucky to have three APs at my school.</p>
<p>Wow, you guys have it tough. It’s pretty impressive that you all don’t let that get in the way of your motivation.</p>
<p>As for me, well i guess i’m luckier in the sense that i had an option to apply for the IB program and a magnet school. When i got into both, i turned down the IB/went to the magnet school because I had heard that in IB, all you do is write essays and it is supposed to be extremely english oriented. (later i found this to be false, my friends who went say it’s more well-rounded than we initially thought) Since I wanted to major in something related to the sciences, and the Magnet school was for Math/Science/Computer Science, i thought it was the best choice. However, it’s really competitive (as expected), and the classes you can take freshman and sophomore year are very limited (the only AP is AP NSL). Also, as a magnet school, it encourages students take the /magnet/ classes (and as a result there are also fewer APs available). Sometimes i can’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision. But I guess I have to do what i can with what i’ve got. :)</p>
<p>[The</a> Nation’s Most Elite Public High Schools - Newsweek](<a href=“http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/13/america-s-best-high-schools-in-a-different-class.html]The”>The Nation's Most Elite Public High Schools)
^go to one of these >_< super selective no regular classes no ap classes all classes are created based on their idea of ‘challenging’. its hard to say the least but i really wanna go to northwestern and then med school :3</p>
<p>Oh how i wish i was enrolled in one of those highschools. 
Must be really intense though, with such excellent students competing with each other. I also want to go to med school, but i don’t know what i’d want to specialize in. What about you?</p>
<p>I’m thinking pediatrics maybe a G.I. but everyone changes what they wanna be when they actually go to med school apparently. wanna switch schools with me >_< too much pressure lol</p>
<p>True. When i was younger, my dad always peppered me with amazing stories about successful surgeons, pediatricians, ophthalmologists… I guess I’ll figure it out when the time comes. Lol, well pressure pushes me to get to work, especially when my motivation fails me. >_></p>
<p>In addition to procrastinating a ton, I’ve always had a motivation problem. It kind of comes along with my fear of failing. For multiple things, I’ve passed up opportunities that i should’ve taken, but didn’t because i was afraid if i put in my effort, it’d all go to waste in event that i failed. This summer i’m actually much more motivated to do work and try things even if i’m not guaranteed success (pressure/competitiveness really brought it forth). 
Any plans for the summer? (e.g. self studying, volunteering, etc.) I’ve been trying to find a hospital to volunteer at, but I procrastinated on that too long, and now all the positions are booked. D:</p>
<p>@taneeshie: I want to go to one of those schools (NCSSM). Good thing they do it by congressional district instead of the whole state because I know I probably wouldn’t cut it against kids from better schools in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Charlotte. But, NCSSM does offer APs, but they have way more classes that go in depth in a certain subject matter (ie Bio breaks off in human body, environmental science, genetics, and molecular leveled classes). </p>
<p>@upinflight: I can imagine it being pretty competitive, but I think that competition isn’t a big thing at those schools since everyone is “exceptional” in their own way, either academically, socially, mentally, physically, or a combination of them. </p>
<p>Also, I seem to be in the same boat as you upinflight. A lot of people, including my parents, want me to go into the medical field because of the glorious amounts of money and the knowledge that they possess. But sometimes, I feel like education is more of my niche because I like the direct interaction with other people in academia. Also, my motivation is slightly slipping because I am dreading learning sometimes, but all of my teachers say that “I am the most dedicated student that they ever had.” But, I forget that it’s different in their eyes than in mine.</p>
<p>I always found being a doctor was boring.</p>
<p>@nothingto: I just recently started contemplating my dream of becoming a doctor. I feel like doing research projects would be much more interesting.</p>
<p>I can relate to you guys, evanb1996 & upinflight Due to my mother’s push towards a career in Medicine, I’ve grown to loathe the whole field. I do love Science itself, but that obviously isn’t as good as “going to medical school”, in my mother’s opinion. Not to sound weird, but that whole last statements by both of you are statements I can wholeheartedly agree with and relate to. My only problem is, I’m still procrastinating this summer. I would love to go to a top school, and the academic pressure coupled with the “am I good enough?” feelings don’t really help my motivational skills, as childish as that sounds.</p>
<p>On that note, what do you currently see yourself doing as a profession when you’re older? This doesn’t have to be restrictive to what you’ll major in during your college years. Just whatever you think you’ll be doing to support yourself, etc.</p>
<p>I think I want to be a Lawyer and then possibly a Federal Judge. </p>
<p>Or become a politician. </p>
<p>A manager/top position inside a company. </p>
<p>These are the three professions I pondered around.</p>
<p>I’d like to do tech support or work for google or some company like that. Then eventually own my own restaurant. And I too was put off about the medicine field because you hear about it so much and the fact that many other people go to be doctors. Also blood = gross. :)</p>
<p>
What I like to think about is how proud I’ll be once I’m OUT of college. I love that my parents push me, but whilst doing so, they also tell me to relax. It’s a very nice balance. I’ve come to understand that even if I don’t get into the school I’m aiming for, or on a smaller scale, if I don’t get the grade I wanted on an exam, if I tried my best and I know I gave it my all, I won’t regret a thing. The worst feeling ever is regret. It’s a really horrible feeling because you get it, and then you think about the things you could have done that would’ve helped you avoid that feeling. I mean, what I’m trying to say is even if I get into a lesser-known college, one that isn’t one of my top choices, I’ll most likely be proud of myself because I’ll know that I worked hard and I won’t feel like I “should’ve done this” or “if I had done this better…” All those “if-then” statements are awful. I motivate myself by thinking of how awesome it will be once all my hard work pays off and I obtain my PhD and use it in a job I enjoy. </p>
<p>This summer, I’m studying Algebra II from a textbook to get a sense of what the class will be like in my sophomore year so that I won’t be as unprepared for it as I was for geometry this past freshman year. I’m also self-studying AP Psych and AP Stats. Why? Well, because I’m motivated to do better in Algebra II next year than in Geometry this year, I want to make the best of what tools I have since my school doesn’t offer many APs, and I know that this will all pay off in the end. </p>
<p>When I’m older, I want to research in neuroscience. It’s broad, but that’s the gist of it.</p>
<p>Also, @upinflight:
You could try looking for a local summer job! A ton of small businesses in my town look for bored teenagers to help them do some summer work. This summer, I’m volunteering at two hospitals, going to a summer program at a local university, self-studying Algebra II and two APs, and reading books that I didn’t get to read during the school year. (Did I mention summer reading? Yeah, I have to finish that, too.) Also, if your town has a local shelter, they usually look for 16+ year old volunteers.</p>
<p>@ anaychi: I completely understand. For the longest time, I wondered if i even had a shot at getting into my dream colleges, since i have been stuck with such a bad procrastination habit. My family taught me the importance of good education/grades, so it’s been built into me, but i found that the only effort I made was to maintain my straight A’s, and never work beyond that. I’d never seriously study for tests (except for last minute cramming), and self-studying a subject was just out of question. </p>
<p>Just last week actually, it dawned on me that i seriously need to pick it up if I want get into my choice college. As daunting as it seemed, i think the thing that motivated me was when i realized if i actually put forth all my effort i may have a chance. Harvard would probably be a pretty big stretch (realistically, lol), but until I do everything i can, i’ll never know. Like Sardony said, regret is the last thing i want. I’ve experienced it enough, by passing opportunities because of my lack of motivation/confidence. The hardest part is maintaining the motivation though. </p>
<p>Anyway, I’m sure that once you believe you have the potential to get into a top school (and make sure you don’t fall back into procrastination - the hard part), you’ll have the motivation. I like to browse threads where people post their stats and if they got accepted to _____ uni. When i see how much i need to do, it makes me want to start /now/.</p>