Hi, I am planning on applying to an international boarding school in which I will start during the second semester of 11th grade. This school only offers IB and IGCSE programs. I am currently taking AP classes. Since you need to take 2 full years of IB to get the IB diploma, is it worth it to switch schools and take IB classes, but not get the diploma? I also would like to know how this would affect my chances of getting into college, and how colleges would view this as.
You should go to the school that is right for you. Colleges understand and value both AP and IB classes.
Can you even start the second semester of 11th grade? Will they let you because IB courses are 2 years?
Unless you go to a college that puts your diploma as a clause for enrollment after admissions, it doesn’t matter. I am doing IB and due to very high grades in classes, I was accepted into “elite” schools and will be attending. However, due to horrible exam guidance, I am quite sure I may not receive the diploma. Guess what, it doesn’t matter. The only important thing for universities is that you challenged yourself and took the classes and earned credit If you want it. If they ask for class scores, and some end up really terrible, they could put you on academic probation, but still, overall it’s ok not to receive the diploma.
Sorry if i didnt make sense
IB has been an interesting experience for me with a lot of pros and cons, but going into my final 2 weeks of exams I’m pretty sure I’ll get the diploma.
IB has been good for me overall in that it has really helped prepare me for college in ways I don’t think AP would have. The extended essay, CAS, IA’s, etc are all fairly long and difficult things to do that provide good practice for college and researching and stuff like that.
However, my IB high school is very competitive, and a lot of students in my program have GPA’s lower than what they would receive at other schools, which hurt us during college admissions. Next year I am going to a safety school because of my lower GPA. My test scores (1460/33), with a higher GPA, would have gotten me into a better school. Another thing is stress levels are pretty high, and free time can be limited (however the workload can definitely be manageable and I still have a decent social life with 3 HL’s, 2 SL’s, volunteering, and a major varsity sport that is in season.)
Those are the two biggest pros and con’s in my IB experience. Overall I would say I am significantly more prepared for next year because of IB, and I believe in the long term the program will be beneficial, however, it does frustrate and disappoint me a little that people who I outperformed academically for years with lower test scores are going to top 25 universities with honors and scholarship while I will be at a bottom tier UC.
With that being said, I do believe I would still make the decision to join IB as I believe that the things the program has taught me and prepared me for will benefit me more in the long term than undergraduate studies at a better university since even lower tiered UC’s are pretty good schools. This is also just my experience, as for every person attending a safety school in my program, there are students in my class who will be at Stanford UCLA, UCB, USC, and Ivies
Good luck with your decision!
Colleges will understand your circumstances. Take the IB and I feel that you would be able to sit external examinations and even earn certificates. Showing colleges that you can get a 5+ on your IB results will please them, assuming that you got 4+ on your AP exams.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
The original poster asked this question last year, and has never returned. So, closing thread.