<p>One of the comments I heard about the full IB diploma is that it is very difficult to get good grades in it since the content is more demanding than regular HS courses. As a result IB students will have a lower GPA compared to the other non-IB students in their school. How true is this? And wouldn't college admission officers be able to distinguish between IB and non IB in order to compensate for this?</p>
<p>This could be the same argument as a student who takes all easy subjects and gets straight As vs. another student who takes more challenging subjects and gets B or B+. how can colleges distinguish between the two?</p>
<p>Colleges look at students’ transcripts to distinguish.
Also, many schools give IB weighted grades as well as AP. The weighted policy completely takes away the problem you stated above definitely will not give IB students lower GPAs.
However in the event that your school does not weigh IB classes then you still should be fine. IB students should have roughly the same grades they have earned before, maybe just a little lower. Not a full letter grade unless they really sick at managing their time.</p>
<p>To answer your last question, colleges always look more at the RIGOR of the courses, not the grades you get. They’d much rather see a person who got a B in a very challenging course (say Chem HL) than one who got an A in, say, Environmental Science or Ab initio languages or whatever. Colleges prefer students who have challenged themselves in high school, so most of them would go with the latter student. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should aim for a B (in other words, a score of 3-5). If you can get a score of 6-7, well, that’s even better :)</p>
<p>No, IB does not equal a lower GPA. It didn’t for our D, nor for IB classmates. Keep in mind colleges look at rigor…did you take the most challenging courses at your high school?</p>
<p>I do not think that IB students have lower GPA’s. If a student is taking advanced classes during freshman and sophomore year and is doing very well, as long as that student keeps on top of the work then his/her grades should continue to be good. At the parent meeting that I attended most of the students reported an increase in their GPA because there are papers, projects and oral presentations and not just tests. Some students thrive when asked to write and present. In addition, a common theme from these students was that the teachers were not there to " trick " you. I was also told ( by recent graduates )that some students do not belong in IB, and they subsequently either drop out or do poorly. In my daughter’s HS the top students who choose IB over AP seem to shine. My daughter is looking forward to it, although I am quite sure that when she is in the thick of it there will be nights when she is complaining. The one piece that puzzles me is that in my daughter’s high school the teacher recommends you for AP, yet the IB program is open to all and is considered equally as rigorous. The one thing I noticed this year over previous years is that the school is now sending personalized letters to the honors kids to try and encourage them to be in it, even though it is open to all. AP and IB are weighted the same, and " most rigorous" is checked off for both. I really think it becomes a matter of personal choice.</p>
<p>The paperwork that was given to us states that students who have A’s in regular classes or A’s and B’s in honors classes, and who manage their time wisely, have the most success in IB.</p>
<p>My son is in the full IB diploma program. He has a 3.83 GPA and has been accepted to some great schools. And his GPA isn’t even among the top 5 in his class (though it is in the top 10). To answer your question, yes it is possible to get good grades and a high GPA In the IB diploma program.</p>
<p>I’d say about 2-3 hours a night max- he always gets to bed at 1030-1100, and while he is doing exceptionally well, I would not classify him as a brainiac or anything of the sort. He’s just a hard-working kid.</p>
<p>That is good to know. My daughter takes honors and advanced honors now. She works hard and does well- I think she puts in more hours than necessary but it is good practice. I really feel that she made the right decision.</p>
<p>^Because nearly all American high schoolers (at least in my county) procrastinate until they know they can survive doing all that work late in the wee hours of the morning.
I think many American students in general just procrastinate a ton, and that’s why we all complain about the workload. But we definitely are able to get enough sleep. (I’m in pre-IB right now at my school, so we get bits and pieces of DP life :p)</p>
<p>I agree- the coursework has not been overwhelming for my son- however, the HL Math at his school is a real killer (he was smart and did SL Math). Where it can get really crazy is if the students procrastinate with the internal assessments, extended essay, and the IB exams. If the student has discipline and is organized, I don’t think it’s that bad.</p>
<p>My daughter is definitely not a procrastinator. The teachers actually email her and tell her to put her books away and go get a manicure! The sal at our school did IB. I think it will be fine.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with you there. I’m in the IB diploma program (just started senior year, so 2nd year of IB) and at the start of last year everyone’s grades dropped MASSIVELY. I have always been an A student and although I remained at the top of my classes generally, the top of my classes was no longer 95% it was like 70-80 or even 50 in the case of history. Its improved over the year but still. Of course, the IB program is in a way set up for this because an 80 in most subjects translates to a 7, which is a perfect score.</p>
<p>Are you in the US? The students that I spoke with in our school told me that their GPA went up. Additionally, the teacher gives you a grade in the class, and this grade is totally separate from the IB transcript.</p>
<p>I’m beginning to believe this could be by school - some teachers ate very hard and rigorous and others are not. Also I have heard some schools actually have class time set aside for working on the extended essay instead of working many nights and weekends at the local university with the best library.</p>
<p>Yes I am sure that this varies by school, just like AP does. I also think that a top student with an outstanding work ethic will continue to thrive.</p>