Hi all,
I’m a sophomore in the pre-IB program, and want to know how many sports is realistically too much when completing the IB program? I have 5 pre-IB courses and 2 electives but want to play at least one sport…and more if I could handle it.
I plan on attending an Ivy League school, so not only need a rigorous course load, but I need to ace my classes so don’t want to over-extend myself.
I also don’t want to sign up for sports and then drop out mid-year.
So how many sports do most IB students take and still earn A’s?
DS played 1 winter high school sport which required 6x per week participation. Played fall and spring club sport requiring 3-5x per week participation. 4.0 uw. Good test taker, solid student, but limited ECs. Attending ucla. Accepted ucb and other UCs . Denied brown.
Most of the IB kids at DS school do 1 or 2 seasons of sport during the year. Some drop from 2 season to 1 junior year. It all depends on how hard the academic work is for you and the demands of the sports. YMMV.
My kid did a fall and Spring sport the first three years but it’s dropping to just one sport for senior year. If you have a Spring sport be aware that IB exams cannot be rescheduled so if you have a conflict between an IB test and athletic event you have to take the test.
My sweet girl attended a full IB private school. In middle school (public school) she played lacrosse and soccer and loved volleyball as well. She also played the violin in the school orchestra. When we/she decided on the private school IB program we/she had to consider 1) what activities she was most passionate about 2) if she would be good enough to earn scholarships at the schools she would be applying to and 3) if she would attempt to play the sport in college if she didn’t receive a scholarship.
We also looked at the time commitment necessary to play a sport as opposed to continuing the violin. She came to learn that she could build her resume to include significant leadership activities with more depth as opposed to play a few sports (which don’t always allow time for other leadership activities) AND maintain a high GPA.
Her extensive resume which was geared towards her international affairs and political science interest was more valuable for her The George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs and University Honors Program acceptance. Her full IB and GPA also earned her GW’s Presidential Academic Scholarship.
IMHO playing a sport in high school is awesome (I ran track and field in high school which lead to a partial college scholarship) but I didn’t apply to selective and highly selective schools.
As long as you don’t overload yourself with clubs, you should be able to play as many sports as you want without much trouble. I’ve heard the IB program doesn’t truly pile up until junior year.
@psychicphysics It really depends on whether or not the students is taking the full IB or just taking classes in the IB. MY daughters private full IB 9th and 10th grade schedule included 10 classes and a Middle Years Project (3,500 paper in support of a project…ranging from starting non-profits to building a computer to writing original music). Our local public school only offers pre-IB classes in 9th and 10th grade. The 10 classes I mentioned above include a language, English, math, physics, chemistry, biology, history, digital technology, PE and music/drama or art. Her IB Diploma Program years (11th and 12th grade) include three Standard Level classes, three Higher Level classes, a 4,000 word extended essay, a 1,500 theory of knowledge essay and 150 creativity/activity and service hours. I don’t think our public school program requires all of this in the IB DP years.
Sports are good for IB students for physical fitness and stress relief.
All IB Diploma programs include include three Standard Level classes, three Higher Level classes, a 4,000 word extended essay, a 1,500 theory of knowledge essay and 150 CAS hours all to be completed in Jr/Sr year.
If they don’t include that they are not a DP.
A sport will usually satisfy the 50 “A” hours.
As I mentioned above, it can be challenging to compete in a spring sport in 11/12 grade especially at a high level. League and further competitions, through state level, can conflict with the May testing schedule and unlike AP tests there is no alternate testing date. Discuss with your coach before you get down that road if you foresee a conflict.
@VickiSoCal Your statement is true…which is the reason why we put our sweet girl in a private full IB program. As I previously stated, our public high school will allow you to take IB classes and earn an IB Certificate as opposed to an IB Diploma. Our sweet girl did not attend the public school for the very fact that it does not require a student complete all phases of the DP. Even though the IB coordinator attempted to advertise the schools program as one of the best she did not like the fact that I questioned how the school could say “we are a full IB!”
The private full IB school our sweet girl attended required all students complete all phases and sit for the IB exams. The sacrifice we made to send her to this school was well worth it. So again, you are correct.
Junior year IB was not crazy stressful.
Senior year is another story all together. If you play a fall sport then you should count on spending most of your summer writing your EE. If you can get your EE out of the way you will significantly clear up your early fall.
I know at least three IB kids who cleared out their fall sports or heavy EC schedule this year. Hard to say if they did it specifically because of IB or if for other reasons.
@HappyFace2018 We are at a public IB where 90% of the students in the program complete the diploma. Definitely a question you should ask.
@carachel2 Fall sport is out for my senior. 2 games a week, usually on weekdays. Too much. She’s hoping to continue spring sport but we will need to see schedule before knowing what conflicts there will be.
@VickiSoCal You are so right. When our sweet girl was in the 8th grade we had a joint meeting with the her guidance counselor and the high school freshman counselor (all students and parents were required to meet to discuss their high school schedule). During that meeting we were told that she would be unable to take any pre-IB courses because she’d “waived” into advanced math and Honors language arts. How well she did didn’t seem to matter to them. I had done my research on the high schools IB success and my comments (as an engaged parent) were not very well received. They told my sweet girl that she would never succeed in the IB.
When we submitted the document showing our intent to pull her from the public high school we were called in to a meeting and told that we were making a mistake. Further, they refused to release her middle school transcript to the private school until the very last minute (she had already taken the placement test and submitted her middle school report cards for admission).
About a month ago, I was walking into Fresh Market and saw the high school freshmen guidance counselor. She asked “so, how did your daughter do at the IB school?”
My response (and no…I couldn’t contain myself) “she graduated with a 4.16 GPA, earned the IB Diploma and is now attending The George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs on a Presidential Academic Scholarship…oh and she’s also in the University Honors Program”.
It took her too long to respond because her mouth dropped to the floor…I politely said “enjoy your day” and walked away 
:))