Is the IB Diploma Program worth it?

<p>Hello. I am currently a sophomore in high school and soon I will have to pick my classes for junior year soon. I'm trying to decide if doing the full IB Diploma Program is worth the huge time commitment. Academics are obviously very important to college admission officers but extracurricular activities are a close second. I have quite strong academics (straight As and decent AP exam scores) but I'm lacking a bit in the extracurricular area. My main focus freshman and sophomore year was being varsity basketball manager which takes a lot of time. I'm not sure if I could handle both full IB and managing basketball. So my question is, is the full IB program worth the sacrifice of my main extracurricular activity? Thanks for reading this all the way through if you made it this far. </p>

<p>Also, my dream school is Duke University which I know prefers the IB Diploma over AP courses if they’re available at your school but I also know they value extracurricular activities as well. I don’t think sacrificing one or the other would help me get into the school but if I continue with both and my grades start to drop, that would be bad too. </p>

<p>At my son’s high school only two of the top 10 graduates last year attained the IB diploma. The valedictorian got the IB; the salutatorian did not. They awarded only 20+ IB diplomas in a class of over 400 students. Our small town newspaper published all these stats. I do know a couple of the IB recipients went to a popular mid tier state college that requires a “B” average so I’m not sure what the point of all the hard work was. </p>

<p>At one point our family had the chance to transfer to England for a couple of years. The IB program would have worked well for this. </p>

<p>We determined that the IB program was more liberal arts concentrated than my oldest son needed. He would not have been able to take the engineering and computer science electives he wanted and still fulfill the IB requirements. He’ll still have four years of math and foreign language etc. He takes AP classes wherever they are offered and he is plenty challenged. I think the guidance counselors try to foist the IB program on the smart kids because it somehow reflects well on the high school.</p>

<p>Duke prefers the IB program? Really? </p>

<p>The IB diploma program is quite demanding but if you don’t have “hooks” per se in your college application, this is a step up. If your only EC is basketball manager you definately need to add something to your resume. Isn’t basketball a short winter season? I guess if I were you I would determine how I’d like to spend my spring and fall extra time ~ would you prefer to do academics, then do the IB diploma program. Would you rather pick up some other EC interests, then choose them. But if you are considering top tier schools you’ll need something to add. If your grades and standardized tests are above average and you are looking at second tier schools maybe you don’t need to stress about it. Community service is always a good EC, can you look into Habitat for Humanity or another nationally-recognized program?</p>

<p>FWIW, D will graduate with an IB diploma. We weren’t really sure if it would be worth all the extra effort. It has been alot of work, nearly double what her friends are doing in the local school in AP classes. She has a list of 18 colleges she’ll be applying to…of those there are 8 that her chances of admission are increased by at least 10%, in some cases much more. She is not an athlete, has no real music/arts talent, and I think the IB diploma was worth it to increase her odds. She does however, have several decent ECs (Class VP, GS Gold Award, Acapella and Ski Clubs). Either way, she got a great, well-rounded high school experience, so no regrets.</p>

<p>Some examples of those schools (not necessarily on her list) that the IB diploma increases admission chances significantly are: Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, George Washington…and many more. This is a list from 2011, I haven’t been able to find anything more current so YMMV.</p>

<p>The admissions counselors who will be reviewing your application will know what types of academic programs are offered at your high school. If you have the opportunity to take IB classes and choose not to, this can be viewed as taking the easy road and reduce your chances of acceptance.</p>

<p>We were told that taking AP was equal to that of IB My D’s school offers full IB or full AP or a mixture. My daughter took a mixture of IB,AP and honors and got into 4 of the 5 schools she applied to. Three awarded her very significant merit scholarships. The one she didn’t get in deferred her. No rejections. I think a challenging set of classes is what counts and not IB vs AP. </p>