<p>Hey guys, I'm a current high school junior and I was wondering just how important the IB diploma is in admissions? I am taking a full IB schedule, but the Diploma really doesn't sound like something I want to do. How much of a difference would the Diploma make if I am still taking all the classes?</p>
<p>Edit (for more information): I currently have a 4.0 unweighted and am expecting to get 2200+ on my SAT's (my average practice test score is 2310) and I am planning on applying to Dartmouth, Brown, Duke, Stanford, Yale, and Harvard, as well as a few state schools</p>
<p>IB Diploma, assuming you have a bunch of hard courses, is the single most difficult program a high schooler can undertake. It is a lot of work, but you will A) be looked upon favorably, and B) better prepared for college. When I visited my brother in college, I did his physics HW for him (I take IBH Physics). I mean, there is no point not getting the Diploma; usually your school will allocate a few weeks for the IB exams anyways. By taking the classes and doing the work, you will be an “IB Diploma Anticipated” student. </p>
<p>Colleges, I believe, really enjoy the fact that you have to write a 4000 word Extended Essay and take TOK, along with the CAS requirements. Altogether, the IB creates an all-around student, which is nice to have in my opinion.</p>
<p>There is no reason to enroll in IB courses if you are not pursuing the Diploma. Certificates are crap (they give them to people who fail the exams). The work is well worth it. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did it once it’s all over with. You’re clearly a strong student and will be able to handle it.</p>
<p>Since you’re taking the classes already, the addition of the exams won’t be a huge issue. Most students at my high school were able to successfully study for them solely during the month of exams, and often just in the few days leading up to each exam.</p>
<p>CAS is a joke. Don’t be deterred by it at all. It requires very little effort. I did the entire reflection component the night before it was due. Same goes with the rough draft of the Extended Essay, although that’s actually a really good requirement and a great experience both for your abilities as a student and both as something to show colleges that you’re capable of as a high school student.</p>
<p>TOK is an extremely useful class. It may sound like BS at times, but it’s great for critical thinking, which is absolutely essential for success.</p>
<p>The educational benefits of the IB program alone are enough for me to recommend it (but only if you’re doing the Diploma - you’re not really making the most of it or getting the true experience by only doing bits and pieces of it), but it will also be highly advantageous in college admissions. There are tables of overall acceptance rates and IB acceptance rates for quite a few colleges available somewhere on the internet that reflect extremely high IB acceptance rates as compared to the overall rates. This isn’t just because of the IB program (it’s also because of the students likely to participate), but it’s still notable, and the IB program does help in admissions as evidenced by what admissions officers have to say about it.</p>
<p>The Diploma looks nice, too. It’s seriously an amazing feeling to finally have it.</p>
<p>RedSeven gives a great comprehensive review, but if you want only admissions advice, the answer is that it depends. From my high school, only IB Diploma students went onto top universities. This was partially a function of the rigor of the program and partially because a) the program had the strongest teachers in the school and so those students had the best recs and b) even straight-A AP students couldn’t match the top IB students in rank (based on weighted GPA) because there weren’t enough AP classes.</p>
<p>By contrast, at another high school in our district, non-IB students regularly went on to the top schools (they were a much stronger school overall; their resources weren’t concentrated in the IB program). </p>
<p>Your school’s historical records will reveal a lot.</p>
<p>Parent of IB student here – agree that getting the diploma is excellent preparation for college work, including time and project management as well as the underlying critical thinking skills. A note though about certificate vs. diploma students – there is significant variation across schools about why students may or may not pursue the diploma. </p>
<p>For example, at my son’s school which is a newer IB magnet program, they are still expanding the IB courses offered. As a result, some math/science kids are certificate, not diploma kids, because the AP math or science courses are more demanding than the narrower range of IB classes offered. At some IB schools where the curriculum is more robust and well-developed, those differences are less significant and there may be no compelling reason not to get the diploma. </p>
<p>In making your decision, I would encourage you to focus more on your interests and goals for your high school education than the trade-off in terms of college admissions. You sound like a strong candidate already so think about what you want out of your coursework. </p>
<p>With your GPA and exam scores, the difference between completing the diploma and not really is minimal for college admissions. Talk with your counselor about this. At some not-tippy top places a full diploma may allow you to enter with sophomore status whereas a whole string of AP/IB results may not count for quite as much.</p>
<p>Actually, that’s the case almost anywhere. Even Harvard gives advanced standing if you score well enough. My IB credits at Rice knocked out one of three distribution requirements, and I entered just shy of sophomore status (to the point that after my second semester I’ll be an academic junior).</p>
<p>We moved when my daughter was in 9th grade to another state. This state did not compare in education with our home state, our only choice was IB. We found the following, 1) teachers and curriculum is the same throughout the country 2) Although a large public school, classes were drastically limited to no more than 12 students, it seems as a school within a school, 3) yes program was demanding but nurtured an elitism concept were the IB students were second to none, AP is a distant second 4) Most of her peers are looking at Ivy’s or honors college of the state school.
You be the judge?</p>
<p>This certainly isn’t the case everywhere, however! My IB classes were very large; indeed, my TOK class, which is supposed to be discussion-based, had 43 people in it. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, IB students do tend to get better resources and especially better teachers in schools that also offer AP courses. That’s simply a function of the difficulty of becoming and remaining an IB program: there’s quite a bit of funding, paperwork, and certification involved. But at some of the wealthier public schools, the AP curriculum doesn’t have to be neglected and so may be a better choice for a “well-lopsided” student depending on his or her academic strengths.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies everybody. I am now going for the IB diploma. I finished my EE over the summer, and my CAS is complete. It was definitely worth the effort, and I don’t know why I was considering not doing it in the first place…</p>