<p>IB Italian and AP Calculus run during the same period...I want to major in Econ/math in college, and with the IB Diploma I'm forced into taking Math Studies...plus my Italian teacher is absolutely horrible and will make my life miserable...my grade in AP Calculus will probably be ~99-100 while in Italian I might get lucky and get a ~90-92 or so...assuming that they have no impact on rigor of my classes (both ways it will be considered "most rigorous") and will have no impact on class rank (will be #1 either way), what should I do? Should I drop the diploma to make my senior year happier or will this bite me in the butt for college admissions?</p>
<p>As the mom of a former IB-er (now college student), it makes me hurt to think of you dropping out of IB at this point. You have come too far and worked too hard. Stay the course and then take whatever classes you want in college. </p>
<p>And BTW, your senior year “happiness” will not be determined by this one class. You’ll have a great year if you make it a great year!</p>
<p>I just don’t want to be behind in college…and I hate Italian with a sick passion…+ the schools I’m applying to give no credit for SLs or the Diploma anyway.</p>
<p>So take whatever catch-up class you need in college, and the Italian class will be good practice at something we adults know: Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, in order to get where you want to be. :)</p>
<p>Seriously, the Diploma is so hard to earn, and those who do have some “sparkle” in the eyes of college admissions, rightfully so. You don’t know what future opportunities you might miss of you make a decision based on short-term factors. “I didn’t like Italian, so I quit IB” isn’t going to look good to selective colleges. They’ll figure, “This is a student who gives up when things get tough, or walks out when everything isn’t exactly how he/she wants them to be.”</p>
<p>The diploma is not hard to earn at all…6 out of the 10 kids that went for it received it…& my school didn’t send any of them to a top tier school bc they aren’t smart at all.</p>
<p>& It is because italian ran during the same period as calculus…my academic dean and gc will both note that</p>
<p>OK then, just do whatever is easiest and most pleasant at the moment. Don’t worry about consequences or the future.</p>
<p>I am worrying about the consequences…that’s why I posted about it?
I’m worried about college admissions if I drop italian
but I’m worried about college itself if I don’t take calculus</p>
<p>Many colleges use SL scores in FL for placement and/or credit. If you can’t take AP CAlc because of IB conflicts, that is a perfectly reasonable thing to ask the GC to address in her rec letter. </p>
<p>S2 was also a full IB diploma student. Took Math Studies, but had AP Calc and Stat for math placement/credit. If you are planning on math or Econ in college, you will want to have a really good math foundation in college anyway, and that can happen at college. Think of the Math Studeies exam as a way to score high points totals for the diploma.</p>
<p>Colleges know IB is tough and the coursework is prescribed. Hang in there.</p>
<p>& I’m a predicted 39 without EE or Tok paper, so it clearly wasn’t the academics</p>
<p>I just hate IB so much…I really regret doing it from the beginning but my school only offers 7 APs…so all of the smart (haha don’t exist in my school) kids take ib</p>
<p>Are you a senior? Are you just doing the Diploma, or did you do MYP as well? Did you already do the EE and CAS?</p>
<p>I am a senior; I am just doing the Diploma, I didn’t do Middle Years, & I already did my CAS hours, but I’m only in the primitive stages of my EE.</p>
<p>It’s not the credit that you get later on but the rigor and prestige of the Diploma that colleges know about, which might ultimately help you get into the colleges you’re applying to.</p>
<p>Don’t drop IB…</p>
<p>This girl at my school dropped IB after a few months. She had stellar extracurriculars and grades but was rejected from all of the ivies. Granted, I didn’t see her entire application so I don’t know if her rejections were attributed to her dropping IB. However, I would suspect that that was the case. </p>
<p>Besides, a 39 w/o EE and TOK is really impressive. You don’t want that to go to waste :)</p>
<p>I just feel like I’m wasting my time in Italian.</p>
<p>any other ideas?</p>
<p>Can anyone else offer me some guidance?</p>
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<p>I feel like I’m wasting my time when I get up at 5:30 am five days a week to go sit at a desk for 8 hours. And yet it’s worth it because of what I get in return. Same with your Italian class. Consider it part of the price of admission to a good college.</p>
<p>I feel like there’s more going on here than you’ve mentioned. Dropping out of IB just seems like a really drastic reaction to having to take one class you don’t like. Has something happened in the class? Is the prospect of EE too daunting to face? What else is going on?</p>
<p>I think many high schools don’t always have the best language teachers. I do think Italian is one of the easier languages to learn especially for a brilliant students like yourself. Why don’t you supplement the class with language tapes or a language program? You won’t be so dependent on the teacher and you will probably like Italian. I know our public library offers a on line program called Mango that teaches over 20 languages. Also start dreaming and planning a trip to Italy which is a great country to visit! Most students have their highs and lows with IB, but usually they are very happy they stuck with it once they have the diploma. Also, most students feel it really prepares you for college.</p>