<p>Right, so, I'm having a bit of a dilemma. For a very long time, I have wanted to be an exchange student - I have actually done my research and looked into the programs and talked to other people who have been on exchange and decided that it would be a good option for me. I was planning to go on a year exchange when I am a junior through AFS or rotary - a gap year exchance is not an option for me.
However... the only honors courses my highschool offers are IB - there isn't any AP - and to graduate with an IB diploma i would have to remain at my school for junior and senior year, meaning that i would have to give up exchange. If I were to leave for junior year it would be likely that i would take "normal" classes my senior year and not graduate with any honors, as well as basically giving up my chances of being captain of the debate team senior year. </p>
<p>So, my question is - which would look better to colleges: being an exchange student and having all the language and life skills that come along with that, or completing the IB program and getting the diploma?</p>
<p>At university I intend to study international relations, if that makes any difference (preferably at Georgetown).</p>
<p>do an exchange program if living in another country and learning about another culture is something that appeals to you. You say you are interested in international relations, so keep that in mind.</p>
<p>Alternativley, if you are more interested in intensive learning in a rigorous program, do IB.</p>
<p>Don’t do one for the sake of college…that’s just stupid. But also keep in mind it’s called International Baccelaureate for a reason. It’s an internationally recognized program, depending on where you went you could end up at an IB school.</p>
<p>But yes, would you rather go through life knowing you got into Georgetown because you took alot of hard courses which could have had an impactive learning experience? Or reflected, would you rather know you got into Georgetown because you had an impactive learning experience in a foreign exchange program.</p>
<p>i went abroad the summer of 08 to barcelona, lived with a spanish family, and took spanish classes 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. My exchange was 7 weeks and I LOVED IT! It’s the experience of a lifetime!</p>
<p>Really, this is YOUR LIFE. Don’t choose one over the other just because it’ll look better to colleges. In five years will you be more happy that you had the independence and determination to live in a foreign country and learn a foreign language for an entire YEAR or that you took some honorable classes.</p>
<p>If you were to do the exchange program, you could take individual IB courses and get separate IB certificates for every class. You don’t have to go the full diploma route. Just take the 1 year SL classes available.</p>
<p>Exactly my point.
One of my friends moved from Germany to the USA during her first year of IB, and did not miss a thing because its an international curriculum.</p>
<p>You could find an IB school abroad that offers the same courses, do year 1 there, then come back do year 2, or vice versa.</p>
<p>The exchange would look better because you’d be following your passion, gaining maturity, independence, and language/cross cultural skills. It literally would change your life.</p>
<p>There are thousands of students with the IB diploma. There are relatively few students who have spent a year abroad in a Rotary exchange. You’d stand out in admissions and also be enjoying a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in an interest.</p>
<p>Students overestimate the value of the IB diploma. It’s a nice program, but admissions officers don’t genuflect when they see it on an application. The top colleges get thousands of IB applicants. They don’t get thousands of Rotary exchange applicants nor do they get thousands of applications from students who have immersed themselves in their passions.</p>
<p>Saying this as a person who graduated from an Ivy, has interviewed from an Ivy, and has 2 sons who were in IB programs.</p>
<p>i don’t get it. when i was i high school, my IB program funded my exchange program. it was part of the curriculum (though only a select few got to participate). they paid for a year in france…</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of an IB program funding an exchange program. It may be that your school system was very wealthy because funding exchanges isn’t routine for IB. In fact, when I lived in Michigan, the local IB program was shut down for lack of funding. Where I live now, the IB program has to struggle to keep being funded.</p>
<p>I also recommend doing the exchange. A student in the school where I teach (the top of the class) chose to do that instead of IB and is going to attend an Ivy. I think the college was very impressed with the student’s choice, and accepted him on that basis. Remember, it’s what you choose to do with your life, and how well you do it, rather than only a numbers game. If all of your grades and scores are good, then the exchange will only help you.</p>
<p>Thanks so much to all of you for your input - i think i may have been overestimating the IB program. While it would be a fulfilling thing to do if i were to receive the diploma, travelling and foreign language and experiencing other cultures truly is my passion - and if the school i want to doesn’t appreciate that, then perhaps it isn’t the school for me.</p>
<p>I highly doubt that my school system was wealthy. I think they just made a point of setting aside money every year to continue funding the program. In my school, it was customary for a few students in the IB to recieve be selected for this exchange.</p>
<p>do the exchange. i missed a LOT of AP’s doing mine, but ultimately it was absolutely worth it. i feel like my success as an exchange student really distinguished me from other applicants.</p>
<p>Quick question, I’m having the same problem. I’m already doing the IB Diploma program and want to do a semester abroad for my upcoming senior year… I can’t do this at another foreign IB school? Even if I continue with the same courses?</p>
<p>Hey you guys. I have actually had almost the same dilemma, and looked a little into it. You should talk to you counselors for a detailed answer. I’m only telling you what I’ve found out. Like sarah6438 asked, you don’t have to chose between going to an IB course/program at your High School and going abroad as an exchange student for a year. Matter of fact, these two are very compatible because you have (almost) the same rules, the same guidelines and the same courses in every IB school all around the world. So if you for example attend to the Pre IB year and go one year abroad after that, that actually shouldn’t be a problem if you attend to a IB school (first IB year in this case) in the place you want to go. After that, you will be able to finish with the IB program at your own school and get the diploma and everything. Of course, there are other things that have to be taken care of with an IB student like most IB programs being in big cities and most volunteering host families living in rural areas.
But still, if you, your school and the eventual organization you go to like Rotary can work it out, it should be okay and Georgetown or any other university would like that you had done an IB course and been abroad. These links have helped me and maybe the will to you, too:
[Possible</a> to do IB program and be a foreign exchange student? - Yahoo! Answers](<a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos)
[Can</a> I do a foreign exchange program if I’m in IB? - Yahoo! Answers](<a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos)
[I'm</a> interested in being a foreign exchange student in France and would like to know some information? - Yahoo! Answers](<a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos)</p>