Did IB get your kid anything in terms of college credit?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Now that this year's IB scores have been posted online, it's interesting to look at what sort of college credit (if any) the successful IB diploma candidates will get as a result of completing this rigorous program.</p>

<p>In my daughter's case, the amount of credit that her college (Cornell) will be giving her as a result of her IB scores is absolutely nothing, nada, zilch, zero. Her college gives no credit for any IB test score in two of her HL subjects. The college also gives no credit for SL scores of any kind. And in the one subject that she took HL where the college does give credit, only a score of 7 qualifies for credit. Very few people get 7s (far, far fewer than the number who get 5s on AP tests).</p>

<p>Of course, my daughter is not an idiot. She took the AP tests in four of her IB subjects, and is getting credit and advanced placement on the basis of all four of those scores (as well as for four additional AP courses that she took outside the IB program). She will enter college with 30 credits. But none of them -- not a single credit -- will be the result of an IB score.</p>

<p>There's something wrong with this.</p>

<p>How did things go with your IB student?</p>

2

<p>As a student who just discovered my scores:</p>

<p>Math HL: I could get some credit/placement for my score. Whether I use this or not depends on how I do on the BC test, I do not have these results yet, and it would potentially offer more credit, if I earned a 5, or a 5 AB subscore.</p>

<p>Chem HL: This earns me credit/placement. It awards the exact same as a 5 on AP would, and to be honest, I'm fairly sure I didn't make a 5 on AP, so I'm very thankful for this and will certainly be using it.</p>

<p>French B SL: On the sheet for my college, the languages are the only subjects that do not say "HL Only"...If it is true that they accept SL, then this would earn me the same credit as AP potentially will, pending my score.</p>

<p>History HL: Earns me nothing, though it would've had I scored higher. But I already have 5s on two AP History tests.</p>

<p>English HL: Earns me credit, though I don't need it due to AP scores...but the credit is the same either way.</p>

<p>Psychology SL: No credit, do have AP credit.</p>

<p>Physics SL: No credit, but also no credit awarded for Physics B AP.</p>

<p>Overall, had I taken no AP tests, I would have earned a credit in 4 classes. My APs can potentially add up to 4 additional credits, that IB would not give me. Had I only taken AP, I would have earned (pending 5s on my senior APs) 8 credits--the same as if I hadn't done IB. However, that is assuming I get 5s on my senior AP tests. It is possible that I will not earn the second math credit, or that had I not done IB, I would have no Chemistry credit.</p>

<p>So I definitely agree that in terms of credit, IB students are treated a bit unfairly. But my situation is definitely not as dire as your D.</p>

3

<p>It depends on the school. D's school gives no credit for IB, AP, etc. They can be used for placement only, but they don't recommend skipping, because the level is so much higher at her school, at least they say that that has been their experience.</p>

4

<p>Here is a link for MANY different colleges' and universities' IB policies. In the middle of the page, go down about three boxes, then use the drop down box. Every school has a different policy. As an example, look at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, then look at Harvard's policy. They are different as night and day.</p>

5

<p>By the way, I was awoken this morning by my D jumping directly upon me in my bed screaming, and hugging, and screaming, and hugging, and screaming!!! "I was awarded my IB diploma!"</p>

6

<p>Well, my daughter's situation isn't really dire -- it's just that she had to take an awful lot of AP tests -- and spend a lot of my money to do so -- in order to obtain credit that I think she should have gotten through the IB program.</p>

<p>But whatever works.</p>

<p>There was no jumping on the bed and screaming this time, although I did get that treatment on the morning when my daughter discovered that she had gotten an 800 on one section of the SAT (her one and only 800).</p>

7

<p>My daughter received her IB diploma last year. Receiveing college credit is dependent on the individual college. The same scores that got my daughter 8 credits, got some of her classmates 26 credits. Fair?...not really. Will it change as IB becomes better known in the US?...hopefully. Does it change the quality of education?...not in the least.</p>

<p>My daughter went into the IB Programme looking for the best education possible. She was not focused on college credit and neither were we. I firmly believe that kids need the four years to grow as people. Does having the extra credits help in case illness, etc necessitates dropping a course? Sure. Its insurance. But having those credits is certainly not a make or break proposition.</p>

<p>I think once you see how well prepared your child is for college level work, you'll feel that the IB money was well spent. We certainly did!</p>

8

<p>By the way ... here's the link:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ibo.org/country/US/index.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ibo.org/country/US/index.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

9

<p>Actually, I agree with you icesk8mom. IB kids are very well prepared for college, in my opinion. I wish I had been that well prepared.</p>

<p>I also liked the fact that being in an IB program meant that my daughter spent most of high school in the company of other kids who took academics seriously. </p>

<p>I just feel a bit ripped off in the test fee department, that's all.</p>

10

<p>I agree with icesk8--we picked IB because of the quality of the coursework with an eye towards great college preparation. All of our IB students are Full Diplomma Candidates and they become like a family. It is great both socially and academically. As the family of a rising senior, we know that it is much more difficult to be awarded credit at some of the schools at which we are looking. It might be possible, depending on the results of ED/EA, to plan on some AP tests in the spring in areas in which credit is desired. But this has never been a motivating factor.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
It might be possible, depending on the results of ED/EA, to plan on some AP tests in the spring in areas in which credit is desired.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>My daughter did exactly that. She was ED, and at the college where she planned to enroll, you can get out of one of the two semesters of Freshman Writing with either a 7 on the IB HL English or a 5 on either one of the AP English tests. She knew that getting a 7 on the IB exam was unlikely (English is her weakest subject), so she took the AP English Language exam with no preparation just for the heck of it. She got her 5 (heaven knows how, but it really isn't all that hard to get a 5 on an AP exam in general). Mission accomplished.</p>

12

<p>Many US colleges do not yet understand the value of the IB. At USC he received 18 general education credits for his 3 HLs, 2 credits for his diploma with a score over 30, and 4 credits for an AP. Nothing for SLs. </p>

<p>It didn't matter to us since we had no intention of using them to have him graduate early. He needed the seasoning.</p>

13

<p>My son got credit for SL and HL in terms of the diploma and the credit her received is applied for general requirements. He had sophomore status by 3rd term freshman year. He won't graduate early. Just gave him more flexibility with course selection. The schools will post how they handle IB credit if they do.</p>

14

<p>I can see two sides to wanting/not wanting college credits earned from an IB diploma.</p>

<p>It would be nice to get the credits, which in turn allows more time for a double major.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if one doesn't get the college credit and basically has to re-take classes from high school, you can pad your GPA with A's.</p>

<p>Either way, positive situations.</p>

15

<p>The IB is an approach to education, to learning, and to learning about the world. We were not interested in the getting college credits for it.</p>

16

<p>I'm gonna major in econ, and I managed to get a 7 on my econ HL so...I get to skip intro micro and intro to macro, thats 2 courses, I'm more than satisfied with that.</p>

<p>( Though I have to admit, I was a bit arrogant with preregistering for my classes this fall..I chose courses assuming that I would get that 7..but I did YAY! hahahah)</p>

17

<p>I don't really understand why so many colleges seem to prefer the AP. Our experience was the IB was really a lot more demanding and more like college level work. Of course I understand the programs may vary from district to district and schol to school but that is true of the AP courses too. IB seems to be a much more integrated and comprehensive curriculum. I was very happy with it. But if your goal is to maximize college credits AP is probably the way to go. Still I think the IB program does a better job of preparing students for actual college level work.</p>

18

<p>The thread on Colleges' AP credit policies provides links to websites that also include information about IB credit. Generally, an IB score of 6 on an HL exam is considered to be equivalent of a 4 on an AP exam. Whereas 4 AP scores of 5 are required for Advanced Standing at Harvard, only 3 IB scores of 7 are required, suggesting that Harvard considers the IB curriculum more rigorous than the AP menu.</p>

19

<p>ditto to tsdad, #15.</p>

<p>Son's IB was the first grad class and the IBers develop good relationships that are still present after 6 years.</p>

<p>Son's university had many foreign IB students. He got credit for one english class. IB prepared him for a much higher level of learning and put him easily on par with preps and magnet students. Also made first term easier so he could focus on finding new friend rather than classes. He did not like his roommates who were from feeder and magnet schools and had friends from their HS days.</p>

20

<p>My son's LAC's policy is the same as erj1's daughter's: no credit for either AP or IB. Possibility of advanced placement but not recommended as they feel that their introductory courses are beneficial in building a foundation for the upper levels.</p>

<p>I think the problem is that the colleges have already established policies based on the AP, e.g., one class, one test, and they have a hard time trying to fit the IB square peg into the AP round hole. IB is a holistic program and, in my observation, getting a 7 or even a 6, on an IB exam is a far greater accomplishment than achieving a 4 or 5 on an AP exam. </p>

<p>It's almost as if the US colleges need to start over again and have one system for AP and one for IB. </p>

<p>Inspite of getting no credit and choosing not to accelerate in any classes, I think the IB education was extremely helpful to my son. The writing discipline alone was worth the effort (especially the Extended Essay). The ideas and concepts gained through Theory of Knowledge were an excellent preparation for abstract and theoretical thought processes that are often the hardest part of the transition from high school to college.</p>