Help! I am currently in 10th grade and we are to the point where we are picking out our classes for the upcoming year .My school offers the full IB diploma program, IB Humanities cluster, IB STEM cluster and AP classes. I have reached out to my counselor saying I want to take IB STEM which includes
-IB Math Studies SL
-IB Biology SL
-IB TOK
-IB French 4(language required)
This leaves holes in my schedule I was told to fill those holes with STEM related CTE or AP classes so I decide
-Zoology & Botany Honors
-AP Stat
I also have to finish taking my graduation requirement classes
English 3 Honors
AP American History
My goal is to get into UNC-Chapel Hill and get a major in Bio or something related to where then I can get into Vet school my point to this is ive heard the STEM courses are heavy in writing which scares I am not a confident writer so now I don’t know to just take all AP classes? Or IB Stem?Opinions or more helpful info on these IB courses
I am currently an IB senior and I too also long debated the “2 ib or not to ib” question. If you want to go into Bio at UNC-Chapel Hill, taking the IB would be immensely beneficial. From my college application/interview process I found that many school reps were intrigued about my choice to take the “Rigorous and daunting” IB program. Taking the IB program will definitely give you an edge, not only at UNC Chapel Hill but all other schools. It’s honestly because the IB program is not as offered and common as AP. When college admissions are looking into their applicant pools, the IB will stand out because the applicants who took full IB will be much less than the applicants that took AP/honors.
However, if you are worried about writing a lot…that’s a problem. The IB program is looked at so highly because it is very similar to college courses. Like actual college courses. I’ve had friends that go off to Ivies say that the writing and workload they get is much easier than the IB. For every class there will be a heavy writing load because you will have to write IAs, and if you are full IB you have the EE and CAS to do which is a lot more writing. Also the tests that you will take at the end of the year to receive credit for college and the IB diploma is heavily concentrated around writing. There is not much multiple choice in IB. You cannot evade writing in the IB.
My advice, for whatever its worth, is to take a risk. I have had much success as a full IB Diploma Candidate and have gotten into amazing schools. I honestly believe that if I hadn’t done the IB I wouldn’t have been accepted into Colombia. BUT whatever you do…stay away from IB Math Studies man. Its even looked down upon in the admissions process. Its basically algebra 2 again. Go for pre-calc or IB Calculus. Also, IB Bio Hl is an amazing choice since you want to study Biology. You do so much research in that class, which is so great to talk about during the college process! Talking to admission reps about how you conducted research on something like the effect of ibuprofen on liver enzymes will amaze them. You don’t get that in AP. At the end of the day, they are both hard. Yes, the IB is more rigorous…but both of them will not be easy.
I’m also a sophomore and will be doing the IB Diploma next year. As @Colombia2021 mentioned, IB will be beneficial to you, although I would argue that taking all AP classes would do the same. In terms of ‘rigor’, as colleges define it, you’re on pretty much equal standing with either program. Both are rigorous and well-regarded, so there really isn’t a ‘wrong’ choice here. What the previous poster mentioned about standing out as a full IB Diploma candidate may be true though; there are significantly less students taking the diploma compared to AP classes. But if you take the full diploma, you have to keep in mind that you’re competing with students from across the world for scores, and a wildly different academic program than you’re used to (assuming you’re in the regular American system now).
On second thought, your current schedule does not warrant you an IB Diploma. Maybe you should look into the full Diploma options and consider that too. The full diploma is often considered a lot more prestigious compared to the IB courses itself, since you’ll be doing the IB Core (EE, CAS, and TOK) along with the six subjects from different ‘groups’.
And I’m going to second the previous poster again here: try your best not to take Math Studies. It’s looked down upon in a lot of schools, more so because you’re a potential science major. Maybe elect to take Math SL instead (it’s not too big of a jump IMO). And I’m not sure what the previous poster means by IB Calculus, since it’s not an actual math course. I would highly recommend Math HL, actually, if you’re looking for a challenge — but since you did choose Studies, maybe SL will be less of a jump. You might want to consider doing a Biology Extended Essay if you’re looking to major in it. Huge points if it’s in a subfield you’re interested in.
Yes, the IB is writing-heavy. Yes, it’s a lot of hard work. But will it be worth it? I’d say so. Ask yourself if you’d benefit by taking the IB program, and make your decision with that.