I’m a freshman in a high school from California, and I’m planning on completing the IB Diploma in my junior and senior years. I was wondering how difficult this was, and how much homework the Diploma classes give students?
Currently, I’m taking:
Mandarin 1: A+ (as a non-Chinese person)
English 9H: high A
Algebra 2H: A+
Chemistry H: high A
PE 9: A
Spanish 2: high A (as a non-Hispanic person)
Next year, I’ll be taking:
AP Physics
AP European History
English 10H
Biology H
Mandarin 2
Math Analysis H (Precalculus, basically)
Photography 1
Junior year:
IB History 1 (basically APUSH)
IB Chem/Bio
AP Calculus
Mandarin 3
Spanish 3
IB English 1
Theory of Knowledge
Senior year:
IB History 2
IB Chemistry
IB Math HL
IB Mandarin HL 1
IB English 2
Theory of Knowledge
IB Photography, or IB Philosophy
How rigorous would this schedule be? I’m looking at colleges like Columbia, UPenn, NYU Stern, the like. My EC’s so far are Mock Trial and Academic Decathlon. I’m a USAJMO qualifier, so how good would that look on college apps too? I’m basically wondering how to strengthen my application for college. Thanks for the help.
I’m a current full diploma senior, and the difficulty would depend on the courses you’re taking, and your school. As for strength of schedule, colleges are looking to see that you have challenged yourself and taken the hardest classes available to you, so yes, in that sense, your schedule is rigorous enough.
My schedule is the following:
IB Bio HL
AP Calc AB (took Math SL sophomore and junior years)
IB Physics SL
IB History of the Americas HL
TOK
IB Spanish SL
IB English HL
Yes, there is a lot of work, and with extracurricular activities, it can really pile up if you procrastinate. In my experience the worst period was March of this year when almost all of our internal assessments were due in a two week block. In all honesty, if you manage your time well and don’t procrastinate, the workload is very manageable. Not sure what your goals are for the exams, but if you’re just looking to pass and get the diploma, then it’s not hard at all. Same with the extended essay, TOK, and CAS hours: they can be tedious, but it’s not hard to pass them. At most schools (including the top ones), you would need a 5+ in the HL subjects to receive college credit, but unfortunately, few schools take SL credits.
Hope this helps! If you have any additional questions, please let me know.