IB students: Was It Worth It?

glassesarechic
Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:04:16 +0000

I’m a Diploma junior, but I’ve been in MYP since sixth grade. I’ve found that the most important aspect of IB has been the community. When I sifted past the grade-grubbers and the unintelligent S/D of overbearing PTA moms, I found a really charming group of people, some bright, even brilliant, but some not so much. My group of friends is a strange conglomerate of people who love and fit the IB program, those who don’t but are still in it, and those who have chosen an AP/honor class-ridden schedule instead. In my approximately 2500-person high school, it’s nice to have classes with the same 100 or so kids every year. Teachers who have taught both IB and non-IB (whether that be AP, honors, or regular) complain that we’re too comfortable with one another and that our chit-chat gets in the way of classwork, but, hey, what are you going to do?

I also appreciate the EE. I have yet to start it, but we’ve begun brainstorming topics already, and as someone with a humanities bent, it’s nice to have an opportunity to delve into topics that interest me. It gives me a reason to talk to local college professors and other experts and explore fields (in my case, language/linguistics, creative writing, and politics) that there aren’t any courses for, IB/AP or otherwise. I think that it’s impressive that a program that prides itself on creating well-rounded kids has simultaneously produced, at least at my school, kids who are passionate in specific areas of study. IB grads have gone on to win UNC’s Morehead scholarship, NC State’s psychics-something-or-other scholarship, worked for NASA, gone into film, drafted health care bills that got sent to Congress, gone to design school, etcetc.

However, there’s no denying that IB can spread you thin. At my school, we take eight classes a year. I’m currently in 4 HLs, 3 SLs, and an AP (Euro–I wanted to take the significantly easier Human Geography, but it wouldn’t work with my schedule). For someone who avidly pursues writing, debate, and french outside of school in addition to my nerdy penchant for reading anything and everything that comes my way, this can become somewhat of a strain. There’s never a lull in my workload, even now, and it’s winter break! I’m lucky that I thrive on constant momentum and am fine with 4 or 5 hours of sleep, but even when I spend every waking moment meaningfully working (never mind the fact that I just contradicted myself by being on CC), it’s sometimes literally impossible to get everything done.

Oh, and did I mention that my chemistry grade is horrible? Sometimes, it’s tough knowing that adcoms weigh IB and AP equally (excluding schools like Florida who have developed quite an affinity for IB grads) in the admissions process, and yet, I’ll likely have imperfections on my transcript that someone in AP, who was able to tailor their classes to their interests and strengths, won’t have. Sure, all IB grads have proclaimed that college is infinitely easier for them than for their non-IB peers, likely because of IB’s emphasis on writing and lab reports, but doing well in college and getting into college are two very different things.

And a quick complaint about CAS: As much as I appreciate what they’re trying to do with this requirement, it makes it difficult for the student who doesn’t have an established commitment to community service (or, for that matter, action–I have no clue how I’m going to get those hours considering I am not involved in any school sports). Sometimes, I wonder if IB promotes too heavily the Renaissance-man type at the expense of allowing specific interests to develop.

Just my two cents. As a whole, I’m glad I’m in the program, if only for the community aspect. As much as I’m self-driven, I still like to be surrounded by bright, passionate peers. But were I in a setting with a strong offering of AP classes and the same EC opportunities that I have at my current school, AP may have allowed me to more fully explore my strengths.