I.B. vs A.Levels

<p>hey buddy, i just dont know how this ll end. but i know what's a lie. the 10A record is a lie. n u know what, cambridge doesnt keep a record of the max no of A's. Our external examination incharge called to ask if any such record existed to check if 13 beat such a record, they said they dont keep one. n if they did, 13 wud beat 10, right?</p>

<p>this is so dumb.........why wud anyone lie that their friend got 13 As...if I were to lie I wud say...I GOT 13As !!!!</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
i just dont know how this ll end. but i know what's a lie. the 10A record is a lie. n u know what, cambridge doesnt keep a record of the max no of A's. Our external examination incharge called to ask if any such record existed to check if 13 beat such a record, they said they dont keep one. n if they did, 13 wud beat 10, right?

[/QUOTE]

The 10 A record is not a lie it was in the news last year. If this 13 passes occured since then then it obviously breaks it - unless not all of the 13 passes were As in which case the record stands and i can understand why there was absolutely no news coverage of the achievement - but i have seen/heard absolutely nothing on this supposed achievemnt anywhere other than this forum and here only by a couple of far from convincing posters. I dont know what youre on about with regard to Cambridge keeping a record of the maximum number of A's - why on earth should they keep a record of an achievement of a school kid who has nothing to do with them? Did this fellow achieve 13 A grades or merely 13 A-Level Passes at various grades?</p>

<p>hello dude. i think cambridge has to keep record because in case u dont know, hey, CIE is responsible for A Level examinations n its full form is Cambridge International Examination. and what news are you talking about? well, this guy is from Nepal and maybe its not that surprising that it was not in the news. and hey, he got 13 A's so stop talking abt 13 pass grades and stuff.d I talked to the guy in question and asked if i can give his info and he's agreed. so if u really want to know, contact Princeton University and ask for the records of one Rajesh Poddar who has just completed his freshman year there. He did high skl from Budhanilkantha Skl, Nepal. U ll see what is really true.
but hey, even that mite not b enuff for u right? n ya, u have no right to question our credentials but who cares anyways when its a person so obsessed with oneself? since u have been so persistent in your quest fo truth,
I ll let u in on the big secret. U see, we, those who claim that our friend has 13 A's, are all aliens trying to invade the world. we have chosen CC as our vehicle and we are claiming these 13 A's as a political step. princeton uni was established by our forefather aliens so if u do call there as well, u ll get the response that we want u to get. u r also a part of the grand design so keep your silly posts coming. i m really bored these days so its good fun.
have fun, dude!!!</p>

<p>nice one! these egotistical nutters ought to be treated this way!</p>

<p>ansiarach,
straining to disbelieve the testification of more than 5 CC'ers including me , who were the classmates, for 2 to 8 years,of this person who got 13 A's, is ugly and vulgar affectation of scepticism, only worthy of some cynic Byronic killjoys who have more than their share in the Humanity. As for news coverages, you know that the Western Media eludes Nepal in life and death, while Nepali media has meagre readership. This causes people like you to shroud themselves in a fatal cloak of ignorance, but When they feel themselves challanged, they further wear another cloak of cynicism and retreat into their own narrow shell. this makes them feel warm and cozy. But they dont know the warmth of the sun.they dont know the joy of belief of the unbelieveable.
peace.</p>

<p>(I seriously do think that this thread should be renamed the "Record of the highest number of distinctions scored in the A Levels" instead of "IB vs A's".)</p>

<p>We've been offtrack for the entire space of 5 pages, so why don't we stop arguing over the minute debate if the guy had 13 As, 13 passes, or even 13 subjects at all? So, to kickstart this over again...</p>

<p>What would you recommend? The IB, or the A Level's? Right now I have a dilemma choosing between the two, and I'll like to see genuine discussion about the actual topic on board instead.</p>

<p>:) Generally, I'm academically focused (some say too much so, hah) and I'm pretty much intrigued by IB's offer of academics. Yet, I'm taking my O Level's this year, so I'm used to this system definitely. What are the pros and cons of each?</p>

<p>I have done Alevels in Maths, Business, Accounts, Economics</p>

<p>I have little knowledge about IB, but i can tell u what i know about Alevels. It is a very INDEPTH course which covers almost all the courses of first year of university. Im going to McGill second year in fall because of advanced credits.
Alevels however, only focuses on academics unlike IB, the whole 2 years of studying is decided by 2 hrs of xam and if u get nervous in it, ure grade is gone down the drain! thats a disadvantage in my opinion.
If u can take the pressure, go for alevels as there is nothing as indepth as this.!</p>

<p>Amir</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
straining to disbelieve the testification of more than 5 CC'ers including me , who were the classmates, for 2 to 8 years,of this person who got 13 A's, is ugly and vulgar affectation of scepticism, only worthy of some cynic Byronic killjoys who have more than their share in the Humanity

[/QUOTE]

When your peers are incapable of discussing the matter in anything which doesnt resemble the manner and attitude of an obnoxious 12 year old i feel quite justified in witholding belief. Firing forth an ostentatious condemnation with pretensions to eloquence such as the above - while amusing - does little more to convince me of the truth of the fact although il accept (and have already done so) that it is possible this mysterious fellow achieved the 13 A grades you claim. Now if we can let the thread get back on track...</p>

<p>I'd agree with ansiarach...I'm not impressed by someone who's idea of an argument is to use as many big words as possible. Although "Byronic killjoys" did give me a laugh.</p>

<p>Does it actually matter that someone got 13 A grades? Is it really so important? I took three A-Levels (AAB) (and one AS (A)), and it didn't stop me from getting into a pretty good university. Who, quite honestly, cares?</p>

<p>Beside Singapore's, the ones given in Hong Kong are quite a bit harder also. They also give so few "A"s each year that students with straight-As were rare and pre-selected by Oxford/Cambridge when Hong Kong was still under UK's rule (not sure about now). One of my good friends who got 800 on SAT I math and SAT II math 2c got a "D" in pure math. Luckily, he chose to stay in HK for undergrad at the end; otherwise, he would have a hard time to get into top US colleges even he's pretty smart and his math is much better than that "D" indicates.</p>

<p>This guy who did 13 A-levels, what board were they with?</p>

<p>I've only heard of the 10 A-levels record. The guy who did them was an IMO gold medalist and is currently doing a math degree at Trinity College (Cambridge) I believe.</p>

<p>One advantage of the IB is that US colleges are more affiliated with it than with A'levels. Another thing about the IB is that you can study it in a different country. For example let's say I finish my O'Levels in the UK, I can apply to a school in, say, Mauritius, to do my IB. Halfway through my course, I could transfer to Norway, to complete my IB program. Its quite flexible and offers more oppurtunity than A'Levels</p>

<p>"Beside Singapore's, the ones given in Hong Kong are quite a bit harder also. They also give so few "A"s each year that students with straight-As were rare "</p>

<p>Not sure about Hong Kong, but the last time I checked at the Singapore side, it was raining many more A grades year on year. The A level exams have also been criticised for getting "too standard".</p>

<p>I agree that the I.B. is a better option than the A levels. It gives you more options when considering where to study at College.</p>

<p>i dont know neting about IB
But alevels is also internationally recognized. and u can also transfer from one country to another and do the same alevel courses.
other then tht i did 6 olevel papers and i got in UIUC ,georgia ,umich ann arbor, ut austi,n ucsd, usc. and i have friends who got ito upenn, carnegie , stanford. alos know ppl who got in waterloo and macgill canada.</p>

<p>besides i downloaded this form from Cambridge internation examinations website whihc says tht A in alevels is to be considered a A+ by us unis and a B in alevels is to be considered an A by us unis when they want to calculate the gpa or use grades in thier admission formula.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Not sure about Hong Kong, but the last time I checked at the Singapore side, it was raining many more A grades year on year. The A level exams have also been criticised for getting "too standard".

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, that's good for the Singaporeans! Nope, Hong Kong's grade standard hasn't changed a bit. Last year, out of over 100,000 students, only 40 or so got straight As in 9 or more subjects in HKCEE (O-level in HK). There are some that took only 8 subjects and got straight As but newspapers only published the ones taking 9 or more subjects. So less than 0.05% of candidates got all As in 9 or more subjects!!!!!!! Their exams (science/math) are also a lot harder than those in UK (well, maybe except English/English Literature. LOL!). I know that because our textbooks had some drill problems taken from past exams and the ones from UK were much easier. A-level is even worse in terms of difficulty and grading standard. You may wonder how do people get into univeristies there. Well, universities generally take E as the minimum for entrance. However, the heavily impacted majors like acturial science/medicine do require much higher grades than that. Thank God I moved to the US after form 4!</p>

<p>well, im currently taking the IB full diploma thingy in Hong kong so i guess i know the system. basically, some regard this ib program as 'the most rigourous program'. Dont flame me that it is not, i'm just stating what i've been hearing about it from many different places. In a way it could really be the most rigorous program. Program is the key word here. Because if you want to complete the program and get the diploma, you need to complete at least 6 subjects, 3 in higher level (harder), and 3 in standard level, across 6 different fields. (at least this is my schools system, which follows the IB booklet). Furthermore, you take the Theory of knowledge class, some might call it philosophical or waste-of-time class, do the extended essay (a research paper of 4000 words), and complete the CAS requirement, which stands for creativity, action, and service. you need to complete at least 150 hrs of it across the three fields. So i guess it is the most rigorous program out there. HOwever, this does not mean tht other system cannot be as rigorous, such as taking a bunch load of AP etc etc. Unfortunately, you onyl get credits for the higher level subject, which is normally given when you get a 6(A) or 7(A*), or sometimes just geting a 5(B). i guesss the pt of this program is tht it is more diverse, instead of A level which average/typical student takes like 3-4 subjects only. And it kinda resembles a more 'college' type course, cuz u needa do projects etc and the EE is like a college paper...
oh, and i did hear tht the Hk A-levels are harder than the UK ones</p>

<p>devious_ , sorry for the late response.
the guy in question, 13 A's, can be considered to be affiliated directly to the CIE because all his papers, and ours, were sent to the UK to be marked. Thats how its done here every year coz Nepal doesnt have its own board like Hongkong.
HE's just finished his freshman year at Princeton and is doing a research with a professor over the summer.</p>

<p>so, grades of A-levels and IB can be turned into credit hours?
that means that my duration of studies in US will be shorten?</p>

<p>this is a list of the colleges that offer credit or admissions with A/AS levels.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cie.org.uk/CIE/WebSite/WorkingWithCIE/ParentsCandidates/ParentsCandidates.jsp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cie.org.uk/CIE/WebSite/WorkingWithCIE/ParentsCandidates/ParentsCandidates.jsp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Also this was posted to the CIE web site...6 schools in the US have the CIE program, of them are in Florida</p>

<p>Study concludes that Florida high school AICE program graduates at the University of Florida achieve higher average GPA (3.46) than AP, IB and Dual Enrolled students</p>

<p>University of Florida Director of Admissions, Bill Kolb, addressed faculty concerns about whether students given advanced college credits for freshman level courses through their participation in acceleration mechanism programs such as the Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Dual Enrollment (DE) were performing as well at the University as those students who were taking the freshman level courses at the University before moving on to sophomore level courses. His study divided first year college students according to acceleration program participation and compared their average end of freshman year grade point averages (GPAs). The students from these acceleration programs were not only taking freshman level college courses, but sophomore level college courses during their first year as a result of earning advanced college credits. Acceleration group students had been compared twice before the Florida AICE program graduates arrived on campus. The first time he found that IB students (3.08) outperformed AP (3.02), DE (2.65) and non-acceleration program students (2.60). The second study found that AP students (3.12) had a higher end of freshman year GPA than IB (3.10), DE (2.75) and non-acceleration program students (2.63). When he reviewed the performance of Florida High School AICE program students he found that their average end of freshman year GPA was 3.46 – exceeding each of the other groups. Evidence that the AICE program not only prepares students for acceptance into universities, but to be successful once they’re there.</p>