Need help with S's HS schedule (IB)...

Marian
Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:29:17 +0000

I know my older S applied to 7 selective schools two years ago, including one ivy, and the only school that asked him specifically about the diploma vs. an all IB schedule was Davidson in NC



At my daughter’s school, information was enclosed with the transcripts of IB diploma candidates indicating that they held that status. In the few instances where students who were not diploma candidates were taking IB courses (an unusual situation because this was a diploma-oriented magnet program), the student’s records would not indicate that he or she was a diploma candidate, which would send a clear message to anyone familiar with this high school.

On the other hand, at many U.S. IB schools, being an IB diploma candidate puts impediments in the way of students whose main interest is science (or preparing for a science-focused career such as medicine) because they are often required to take two of their HLs in English and History (requirements that are imposed on them to reconcile the IB diploma requirements with state graduation requirements). Thus, they have limited room in their schedules for advanced science courses, unless they take 4 HLs or take APs on top of a full IB schedule, both of which are extremely demanding things to do. Probably, college admissions officers know this.