A levels or IB???

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>if i were to apply to a US university, i was wondering which one would be more beneficial???</p>

<p>i have a choice to go to this school --><a href="http://www.worthschool.org.uk/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.worthschool.org.uk/&lt;/a>
offering IB</p>

<p>or a more prestigious school ---><a href="http://www.winchestercollege.co.uk/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?&pid=178&srcid=201%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.winchestercollege.co.uk/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?&pid=178&srcid=201&lt;/a>
but offers A lvl</p>

<p>thanx</p>

2

<p>I would choose IB if both schools were of same standard, but if the school offering A level is more prestigious then go for it. A levels and IB are treated almost equally in the US.</p>

3

<p>IB would be useful if you are set to go to the US for your degree.</p>

4

<p>I have the same dilemma !!!!!!!! I really want to go to the US aswell.</p>

<p>Next year (Year11) Im applying to 6th form and Im not sure whether to go for</p>

<p>Sevenoaks: <a href="http://www.sevenoaksschool.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.sevenoaksschool.org/&lt;/a> (IB)</p>

<p>OR</p>

<p>Westminster: <a href="http://www.westminster.org.uk/%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.westminster.org.uk/&lt;/a> (A Levels) -Slightly more prestigious</p>

5

<p>lol nice, well i was just wondering if the US univs would know the difference between the two schools, and hey i know Westminster!</p>

6

<p>cool. I think Im going to go 4 the IB (seems more interesting- e.g. Community Service, Ex Essay, TOK). R u applying to Westminster ?</p>

7

<p>BTW how many hours/days of community service do we have to have?</p>

8

<p>You have to do 150 hours of CAS (Creativity, Action, Service). Not all of that is community service though, since for example going to a gym (for action) isnt' community service.</p>

<p>Doing IB is definatly worth it, its a fantastic program.</p>

9

<p>Pros of IB:</p>

<ul>
<li>More interesting, since you take 6 subjects, CAS, EE, ToK,etc.</li>
<li>Its gradually gaining more recognition and respect. In the new tariff point system that will be implemented in 1 or 2 years time (or something like that), 35 IB points will be equivalent of 5 A's in the A-level.</li>
</ul>

<p>Cons:</p>

<ul>
<li>Stressfull...</li>
</ul>

10

<p>man I would totally go for sevenoaks.....It's like one of the very best IB schools in the world, their average is about 38 pts which is amazing (world average app. 30-32)..majority of the students there get 40+ (5% of IB population worldwide gets 40 pts. or more annualy...) and an IB score of 40+ looks very impressive....</p>

11

<p>Wow ! U know loads about 7oaks !! Are you thinking about applying ??</p>

12

<p>Please note that even with the IB or A-Level, if you want to study in the US, you will still have to take the SAT I and two or three SAT II Subjects Tests.
Also, the IB results only come out in July, the summer after your senior year, and US admission results are out in April.</p>

13

<p>nah....I just finished the IB....:) but if I had had the opportunity to go there, I would have definitely done it...coz then i might have gotten 45 points!!! :) (finished with 40 btw.)</p>

14

<p>Wow well done ! :-)</p>

15

<p>Definately take IB, I am a second year student in a IB program and I have to admit that you learn so much more by enrolling in a program that not only demands academic performance but also teamwork with other and CAS (300 hours!!!) Besides, IBers are fewer in the states. so~</p>

16

<p>If you're coming to the US, do IB</p>

17

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I'm a student from Malaysia. I'm completing my SPM a.k.a 'O' levels this Dec. I have a few pre-u courses in mind but I'm not sure which pre-u is the best for me. They are the A levels, IB and AP. I'm not sure what i want to do in uni, therefore I would like a pre-u with more flexibility which would allow me to switch courses easily. Hope to hear from you guys soon.</p>

18

<p>too bad the IB scores come out in July for my school. </p>

<p>Note: When u apply to US schools in Dec or Jan, you use PREDICTED IB marks which means that your SCHOOL teacher who may just be starting to teach IB gives you a guess mark and hope that you will end up getting that mark. So when your final IB schores come out in July, you would already know if you got in or not and they don't really matter anymore unless you're going for scholarships. By then, colleges don't really care what you got as long as it's not too low. So it's the predicted mark that really matters when you're applying.</p>

<p>For me, my teachers never liked me because I always said the wrong thing at the wrong time. lol. My predicted IB marks ended up to be FOUR marks lower than what I really got on the final exam. You can imagine how I feel now. Maybe thouse four marks could have MADE a difference in my decisions, but now who knows? The thing about predicted is that they're such a gamble and teachers don't really know what you're capable of. Last last year this girl got 45 on her final but her predicted was only about 35 or something. She ended up going to an average university. And last year a friend of mine got only 33 but her predicted was 38 and she's still going to a better college. So sometimes it depends on your luck a little bit. I just want to go back and tell those teachers what they did but hey school's closed and I'm leaving for US soon! So just take that into account when you're applying and don't make the mistakes I've made!</p>

19

<p>cannot agree more....</p>

20

<p>one thing that we often overlook is that teachers get penalized for prediting higher marks, but not the opposite. at least that's what my bio teacher told me if the IB headquarter finds that the grade is not accurate, they would lower the whole school's .However, I don't think teachers will be held responsible if someone turns out getting perfect score in the final exam. Haha, so the best way to go is to suck up really hard since grade 11 or Pre-IB.</p>