How Hard is the IB Diploma?

Pre-College Issues International Baccalaureate (IB)
1

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.

2

I’m a Junior and I did a 2000 word research paper for my IB European History. Next year in ToK I will expand it into a 4000 word research paper. From what I have heard about the IB diploma, it will prepare you for college level workload. So your freshmen year in the University is not going to be that hard.

I’m taking it because I like to take the hardest courses in my High School.