Hi! I’m a sophomore going into my summer before junior year and I’m about to enter the IB program and I’ve heard of CAS and I’m not really sure what it is. I am doing the full diploma but I don’t know how much community service I need, etc. I am planning on doing service at an academy this summer for maybe 50-75 hours, will I be able to put that into my CAS, for example? Or is it only starting the first day of junior year? If someone could help me that’d be awesome because my guidance counselor isn’t informing me on anything. Thanks so much!
CAS stands for Community, Action, and Service. In order to receive the diploma, you have to shown that you’ve met the 8 CAS learning outcomes (Google them) and satisfied your school’s CAS requirements. Because CAS requirements vary by school, you should check with your school, but generally you need 50 hours of each category.
Your work at the academy would go under the ‘Service’ category if your school counts summer activities, but be prepared to get proof (like a letter or something) verifying your work there.