I will officially beome an IB student next fall. Although I am very excited to take such advanced classes, I also hoped that being in the program would enhance my chances of being admitted to the University of Miami and obtaining large scholarships that would cover of the school’s tuition. One doesn’t hear admission officers speak well about the IB program, in fact, not one admissions officer that I have listened to has even mentioned IB. So, my question is : are IB students more likely to be accepted in prestigious schools and obtain scholarships; is the IB program as renowned and highly looked upon as one could claim?
There are some schools that give IB specific scholarships.
In general, IB helps check the “rigor” box but no one is going to drop at your feet and unload the $$ just because you have an IB diploma. Heck, when you apply for schools you are just a "full IB Diploma candidate.
D had several merit scholarship offers from her schools but I doubt IB had anything to do with them. They were based on GPA and test scores and maybe to some extent her ECs (although they were nothing like the incredible ones we read about here.)
Do IB because you feel you will like the inquisitive style of learning and the cross-subject analysis. Don’t do it because you think it will give you a scholarship. You will be miserable and likely disappointed.
Hard to say. My son went to a regular private high school and his friend went to IB. My son had higher grades, the friend had higher test scores (but not higher grades, due to the toughness of the IB program). They both got accepted to UF. I think you will get into Miami either way, but I’m not sure about scholarships.
IB is good to show rigor when you’re applying to universities, but IB is GREAT when you’re applying internationally or to Ivy League-tier colleges. Some colleges accept IB credits, however, or offer IB-exclusive scholarships. Nonetheless, it alone will not help you, as AP alone would not help you. Someone at my school dropped out of the MYP program sophomore year, but she has stellar extracurricular activities and a high SAT score (around 1500), and she has a full scholarship to a university in Florida as well as medical school guaranteed.
Honestly, I wouldn't do IB if your sole motive is for college admissions. That is the mistake I did. I didn't slack off or anything--on the contrary, I can still boast a 4.0 unweighted GPA, good extracurricular activities, and meaningful volunteer experiences. But when it comes down to it, it's precisely those ECs, those volunteer experiences, the GPA, the letters of rec, the SAT, and more than a label that says IB.
This program for me has been very mentally unhealthy. I'm very mediocre, so it takes a lot for me to maintain my grades, and it's very draining. I feel it didn't help me very much regarding admissions decisions, but that's just me. If you genuinely wish to prepare for college, by all means, join IB! Because of this program, I don't quake in fear in the face of overlapping deadlines for internal assessments, and 4000 word essays are a piece of cake. It's good college preparation, but if your motive is only college admissions (especially to universities below Ivy League-tier/ U.S. universities), I'd say opt out and take AP whilst maintaining your ECs.
I also encourage you to continue gauging others’ opinions on this matter as I am only one of many representatives of IB. Best of luck to you!