IB students: Was It Worth It?

gypsyblue
Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:56:21 +0000

I graduated with a full IB diploma (33 points) last spring and just received my first semester college grades, so I feel that by now I can make a pretty good assessment.

IMO, it was totally worth it. The pressure forced me to learn how to study and manage my time. I didn’t really feel the advantage until the end of my first semester at university, when a lot of my hallmates were falling apart over papers and exams that were reminiscent of my senior year in IB. I felt like I had done only an average job at college compared to how hard I had worked in the IB, but in my first semester I ended up with a 4.0 GPA and three A+s on my first university transcript! Definitely worth it in my case. :D

Depending on your college of choice, too, there could be extra benefits to completing the diploma. My university awarded me a full years’ worth of transfer credits for IB so although this is my first year, I’m considered a sophomore for administrative purposes. Hence, I get access to classes not usually available to freshmen, priority for class registration, priority for housing, and I get to start my faculty’s co-op program a year early. Definitely a sweet deal. ;)

(I’m attending university in Canada, where IB credits are more easily accepted, I believe. I’m not sure how generous the transfer credit situation is in the US.)

Oh, and a note of warning… I think the IB is only really an advantage if you approach college with the same intensity that you put towards your diploma (assuming you were serious about it). A lot of my former IB classmates went on to do very poorly in their first semester of university because they felt so cocky coming out of the IB that they felt like they were entitled to put off studying and party. Avoid that pitfall.