Hi, I am a freshman a a high school that offers the IB program. I don’t know if I should take the program or not and would like to know if it would effect my chances of getting in if I did or didn’t do it.
Hi @bridgermholt ! William & Mary generally recommends taking coursework that is rigorous and academically challenging during your time in high school so that it prepares you for college. This may take place in IB courses or its academic equivalent the Advance Placement (AP) courses.
I would take advantage of the opportunity if you are interested in academic challenge and are interested in applying to William & Mary. It is an opportunity to take advanced coursework, get valuable experience, and even earn college credit while in high school. If you do decide to take the courses, take an amount that is manageable to you and do not feel the need to overload yourself with courses.
It is certainly possible to get in without taking such courses, but oftentimes William & Mary wants students who have shown that have challenged themselves and perform at a high level.
Hope this helps!
^ that’s true. Being in IB can significantly increase your chances of getting into certain colleges if you do well (my administrator handed me a sheet with all the percentages but I lost it). If you don’t think you can do well then I won’t suggest it since you’re aiming for W&M (acceptance rate around 30%).
I’m in IB and I received the postcard letting me know I got in. I took an AP class in my freshman and sophomore year then started IB in my junior year. IB looks better than AP because I believe during your junior/senior year you’re not allowed to take but so many AP courses (unless your school offers a lot) but you’d be taking mostly IB courses if you got in. If you can, take an AP class next year.
Personally, I like the way IB teachers teach better, but that might just be my school. Also posters about AP may be misleading. If you want college credit for an AP class you have to pay a 90$ fee to take the exam (20$ if you get a waiver) which you may not pass, whereas in IB the county pays for the tests (because they’re over 800$) so you don’t waste money if you fail. In IB most colleges only give credit for HL courses (Higher Level) but in IB it’s easier to get a higher score because your exam is based on about 4 different sessions and some of these sessions you can do in class and get feedback from your teacher before turning it in. In AP there’s like 2 or 3 exams that you take in one day and it’s administered so your score is only reliant on that one test. (Some people literally used translate on the IB Spanish exam last year because you’re allowed to do it in class and get help from classmates until it’s due)
@Alezzu, this very much varies by locality.
Your account of an exam is… concerning. In my kids’ school IB exams are proctored and no one checks over your work before you turn it in. IB supplies not just the exam sheets but the scrap paper that is also turned in. The proctors collect phones and keep them till the exam is done.
They have also capped the number of exams that are free to students. If one takes an exam over the cap, they have to pay a fee.
Bottom line, full IB diploma program is VERY hard, though the journey is rewarding. Besides (hopefully) getting a great education with a global focus, IB’s most important benefit is being the most rigorous curriculum. IB exam grades are returned much later than AP, so you cannot report your success before colleges decide admission. Credits for the IB exams are more or less equivalent to AP.
OP needs to see if IB program suits their interests and academic ability. In terms of utility for admissions in a selective college, I’d say it’s a wash between IB and AP.
@Twicer When I talk about exams I don’t only mean the proctored exams. Part of the score that IB sends back is based on Internal Assessments. IAs are the tests that you do in class and your teacher has one opportunity to give you feedback, but you can get feedback from classmates and other teachers as well as use online resources. These scores are combined with the score you get on the proctored exam to make the final score. I guess some schools do partial IB programs, but my school is a full IB program so they just pay for all the tests.
Both AP and IB scores come out the summer after testing so colleges would have already made their decision. AP and IB testing happen in May so it is impossible to send these scores as a part of the admissions process unless the scores are from a previous year (Decisions come out April for most schools RD). Not going to lie, it’s a lot of hard work but just doing well in either AP or IB will be a great advantage in the admissions process. While rigor and grades are probably the most important, make sure you’re also involved.