I’m a 10th grader and for the whole year I had my mind set on doing IB Diploma since I’ve always been in honors and have a 3.8 GPA. But recently I’ve been considering doing PSEO (basically means I take college classes while I’m in high school). The reason why I wanna do PSEO is because if I become a full time student, I can get up to 60 college credits by the time I graduate High School. That’s 2 years! Then I wondered about what IB would do to compete with that, and I’m not really sure. You can only get credit for the few classes you test in, no where near 60 credits. So what are the benefits of IB Diploma?
Anyone wanna give it a shot?
I am in it right now, and let me just say, I believe it makes college classes much easier, gives you more credits based on the college and is generally a favored course schedule. Go for it!
I mean 2 years of college is nothing if you don’t go to a school that accepts your credits, so keep that in mind.
As far as the benefits of the IB, it provides you with not only a difficult course load but also (and perhaps most infamously) requires CAS hours for the diploma. So while your college courses may offer you greater credit, IB forces you to participate in your community and in various extracurricular activities throughout your upperclassman years. This will make you a competitive candidate but more importantly forces you to get out of your comfort zone.
Frankly, IB isn’t just a curriculum–it’s a lifestyle.
Also, keep in mind that universities limit the amount of credit you get during your high school years. 2 years of credits may sound great, but when they limit it to only 15 credits, then you basically wasted your time (also, keeping with with your regular course work as well as college credits may prove to be a daunting task). Plus, IB gives you a slight boost to your application (meaning that it makes it look better, and allows you to be more competitive). IB FOR LIFE!!!
I’ve been doing the IB since August and I love it. Not only is it challenging academically, it also makes you plan and initiate activities (CAS learning outcome am i right) which really pushes you out of your comfort zone and makes you grow as a person!