Should I take IB?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hello all,

My high school gives us the choice of the IB diploma program, in addition to some “ala carte” IB classes that in the diploma program.

I was wondering if the IB is a good fit for me.

Some information you might need to know:
Interested in the following reach schools: UPenn (Wharton or the College), LSE (which is in the UK), UC Berkeley (Haas)
I haven’t really researched match and safety schools yet.
I intend to major either in biology, business, or both.
I have a few ECs, but the few that I do have takes up a LOT of time (around 6-ish hours a school day and 4-8 hours a weekend). I know from asking upperclassmen and researching the IB program that it is not generally recommended for people that don’t have a lot of time on their hands, but the IB program sounds real interesting.
I would say I generally do very well academically. My weaknesses are the humanities, and my strengths are the sciences.

2

If you’re interested then do it. If it’s too much then drop it.

3

IB is humanities-oriented.

4

I was thinking the same thing when I was going into high school, and I am glad I didn’t choose IB. IB has so many things that you HAVE to do, AP allows much more freedom and flexibility. It will also allow much more time for ECs, which are just as important as grades for Ivy leagues. Colleges also see AP and IB equal in a difficulty level. Conversely, IB will probably make your writing so much better (because of all 5000 words “essays”).

5

Ok, thank you all for your input. I will probably not do IB then.