Is the IB Extended Essay considered a legitimate research paper for submission?

<p>Hi, I'm a rising senior and a prospective applicant. A lot of the more prestigious schools seem to value research papers and lab reports written during internships, etc and I was wondering if anyone knew/had opinions on an EE (that's an Extended Essay) being valid material to send in? As most IBers would know, a lot of supervisors and teachers consider the EE as a piece of pretty legit research writing (...for high schoolers), it's 4000 words of concentrated analysis. Would it be considered appropriate?</p>

<p>If it helps, I'm writing mine in English Literature. I'm not going to apply as a lit major though, most likely something related to sustainability and environmentalism (something like EnvEng or environmental studies and economics). The EE is something IBers pore over the holidays and what not, so it would be great news for me if I could show something I'm genuinely proud of to someone other than the examination board. Any opinions would be immensely helpful -- especially so if anyone knows about sending in the EE elsewhere e.g. other Ivies, top LACs.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>I thought about it. Then I decided not to.</p>

<p>In my case, I’m going to ask my EE advisor to write a recommendation. I figure my advisor will talk about my EE and I believe that’s enough. If I were an admissions officer I would rather read a teacher’s honest discussion about a student’s research capabilities, time management, etc. than a 4,000 word researchy-paper.</p>

<p>Good thinking that, will definitely keep it in mind. Which college will you be applying to?</p>

<p>Yeah, the EE has some pretty specific requirements that don’t fit exactly with actual research papers in the field. Considering how often EE topics are slightly latered and reused, I’d advise against it. In your case, the essay topic doesn’t even relate to your intended field of study so it’s unlikely to help you much.</p>

<p>If you really do have some awesome original research, I’d encourage you to enter it into one of the international competitions like intel or siemens.</p>

<p>I’d also recommend you start deciding whether you want to apply to college or engineering early, as the type of app they favor is quite different.</p>

<p>Thanks for that, especially the engineering or college part. Will keep it in mind…as far as I am aware Penn doesn’t offer an undergrad EnvEng program tho.</p>

<p>I’m applying ED to Wharton. My EE’s topic is in Business & Management. My rec writer has been my marketing teacher, Business & Management teacher, and DECA adviser.</p>

<p>I see…you’ve already gotten your recs? I’m assuming you’re predicted at least 40+ right?</p>

<p>Tentatively. My adviser has mentioned he’d like to write a rec but since senior year hasn’t started yet I haven’t officially asked/given him the unnecessary materials. </p>

<p>I have no idea what my predicted score is. The IB program at my school is a little uncoordinated sometimes.</p>

<p>Right…so which score will you be submitting to the school then? Your senior year report or the mock exam scores you received last year (providing you sat mock IB exams at the end of last year)? Good luck to you too!</p>

<p>Senior year report. Probably won’t be as high as they could be due to a little phenomenon known as senioritis.</p>