For background I’m an engineering student at a top 20 university who graduated with an IB diploma two years ago.
You should take IB if you:
- want a program that’ll prepare you for the rigors of college and teach you time management. The sheer amount of work that goes into obtaining an IB diploma helps you get a feel for what your schedule will be like in college. The type of work may not be the same, but the amount is comparable. Additionally the writing, presenting, and critical thinking skills you learn in IB are very useful in college. Finally some of the classes (specifically History HL) prepare you well for the format of college classes (in class essay exams, seminars, etc).
- have diverse interests. The IB requires you to “specialize” in 3-4 classes from different subject areas. Students who are only interested in one subject find this difficult.
- have decent writing and presenting silks or are willing to learn how to write and present. IB isn’t just worksheets and problem sets. There are a lot of presentations and essays in various subjects (especially English HL). These skills also help a lot in college.
- have diverse extracurricular interests. The IB mandates that you spend 50 hours doing community service, 50 hours in an athletic activity, and 50 hours in a creative activity (this is known as CAS). If you’re not inclined to spend the time, you’ll be miserable. It’s worth noting that the activities you do for CAS can go on your college app.
- are interested in research. The IB requires that you complete a 4,000 word extended essay in a subject that you’re interested in. This is a legitimate research paper and can be published - or it should be if done correctly. Additionally many IAs (internal assessment) are research based. This isn’t restricted to science either, Math, Econ, and History IAs are research and analysis based.
Don’t take IB if you:
- want lots of college credit. Some universities give credit simply for completing the IB diploma, but often times that’s “empty credit” (doesn’t exempt you from pre-reqs or gen eds). Most schools only give you “usable credit” for 5-6+ on HL exams of which you can take a maximum of 4. AP students (at least high achieving ones) can take 12+ AP tests which gives them a lot more usable credit.
- are only interested in one subject. IB forces you to take a lot of diverse classes which you may not want to do if you’re only really interested in one subject. You would be better served taking AP, DE, and college classes to pursue that subject instead of spending countless hours on subjects you hate/don’t care about.
- hate writing. Writing in a huge part of the IB as mentioned above.
On the math debate, take SL if there is any chance of you ever taking or using math again.