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<p>Don't all H.S students have to do a sequence of Physics, Chemistry and Biology?>></p>
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<p>NO they do not. DD's science sequence was Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Anatomy and Physiology (with EMT certification). The last three are lab courses. She could have taken physics as a senior but opted for the Anatomy and Physiology course instead. When visiting colleges last year, her choices all indicated three lab courses were REQUIRED. The Physical science course is NOT a lab course.</p>
<p>Now...to the OP...to answer your question about the "lightness" of your daughter's science courses...it depends what she plans to study in college. If she is entering as a declared engineering major, then YES her sciences are a bit light (but then...her math would be also). However for a declared humanities major I would think this would not be as huge an issue. If your daughter were to decide to switch majors into a hard science field, she would likely have to take additional courses in the sciences.</p>
<p>Oh, and to the mother of the student who goes to an IB program- did you find many of the students very stressed at all the work? My daughter's school is having multiple "meltdowns" of stressed-out students who are very pushed by parents or by their own college dreams. I was wondering if it was the way our school interprets the IB requirements, or whether it is something inherent in the IB program. Finally, my daughter's plan is to do higher level tests in History, English, Spanish and lower level tests in Math, Science, and Music. Her EE (extended essay) will be in English Lit.</p>
<p>My son did not find the IB program overwhelmingly difficult. Demanding, yes, but not impossibly stressful. He did have problems with IB Higher Art, but that was a personal situation with issues that concerned him and his teacher as well as the IBs view of creativity. The academic subjects were fine, although he got a fair balance of As and Bs. </p>
<p>The first semester of Senior year was, however, a real time crunch with the extended essay plus college applications in addition to the regular course load, including TOK which is writing intensive, and senior year ECs. Beware of this time period as this semesters grades figure heavily in the college application. </p>
<p>Having a good advisor for the EE is essential, as well as having good time management skills. My son had the former but not the latter. Remember that the EE grade doesnt count much toward the diploma except in a very general sense, so its important not to go overboard for perfection. The researching and writing the EE is a wonderful learning experience. For my son, understanding the meaning of a long essay in which a personal point of view is posited and developed as opposed to an encyclopedia article was invaluable, but it was also hard for him to call it finished and let it go. </p>
<p>My son did fine on all the IB exams but didnt much worry about them since (except for the two that he took Junior year) they were not a factor in his college admission. For Kids going to European or Asian schools exam period was exceedingly pressured. As it turned out he didnt get any credit or acceleration for any IB scores. Colleges vary widely on this point so if its important to you, check out their rules. As a general statement, credit programs at American colleges are more tailored to AP results, which is, I think, a reason why some kids take both exams.</p>
<p>My daughter is in the first IB class her high school (and the only school in the district) has offered. Therefore, they have been the guinea pigs so to speak. Last year during her junior year, the workload was overwhelming. Each teacher gave homework as if their class was the only one being offered. Our high school has a 6 hour day with students required to take 4 academic classes and PE each year. IB students had 6 academic classes plus one semester of "early bird"--class offered in the mornings before school. It was rare that there were less than 4 hours of homework each night and often she was up until 2 or 3 a.m., caught a couple of hours of sleep and headed back to school. She is also an athlete participating in track, cross country and on the school dance team. Coaches tend to be unsympathetic to academic demands when it impacts their sport. </p>
<p>Anyway, the first year was overwhelming. We had many parents meetings with the administration regarding the overload. I actually found myself begging my daughter to transfer out at the end of the first semester and take honors classes instead. (On top of everything, she had been getting increasingly ill during the fall ending with hospitalization right after Thanksgiving and a diagnosis of severe Ulcerative Colitis and anemia) About 1/3 of the students did leave the program, but she decided to stay.</p>
<p>I don't know if the adminstration listened or if it is simply a different group of teachers, but the work load this year has been more manageable. The program itself has been very good for my daughter. She has always been a "math and science" type of person (with an artistic bent thrown in for good measure) and has avoided English and the social sciences like the plague. I nearly fell over when she scored a 700 on her SAT English exam last summer. And this year history is her favorite class! These are things she would never have achieved had she not been in the IB program as it required her to step outside her comfort zone. </p>
<p>An additional plus is that the IB program is sort of a school within a school and the group of students (about 24 remain of the original enrollees) are extremely close. This is a tremendous benefit as well. </p>
<p>My daughter was right in sticking with it even though it was tough because it was where she wanted and needed to be. I have changed my opinion on the program completely because I can see how she has thrived while many of her peers who opted out (including several National Merit semi-finalists, and the number one ranked students--there are nine tied for this honor) are showing signs of disengaging from the whole high school educational experience.</p>
<p>Shojomo, I went to UC and pretty much lived off campus after my first year. Most of the time I ended up finding apartments that were closer to the buildings where my classes were than the dorms were. The apartments were cheaper than on-campus living, and cooking for myself was a LOT nicer than dorm food. As an undergrad, I always lived with other students - so it certainly was not lonely or isolated. You've said UC Davis is one that your daughter was interested in - that's where I was as an undergrad, and there are big sections of the town with apartment buildings that are mostly occupied by students. Of course rents are much higher these days than they were when I was in college, but I think that you would still find that a shared student apartment is cheaper than a dorm. In any case, living a few blocks from campus definitely did not have a "commuter" feel. </p>
<p>One reason that I would just as soon have my daughter choose UC is that I know we could save money with off-campus housing. My son is not in school but is working in a college town, living in a 3 bedroom apartment with 2 roommates, and my guess is that the combined cost of his rent and food purchases are probably about $800/month - whereas on campus housing with a meal plan averages more like $1100/month. </p>
<p>My daughter is thinking of taking a gap year after high school; if she does, I would be very open to the idea of her living off-campus when she starts college, because when it comes down to it, there are a lot of negatives about dorm life. The bottom line is that my kids are not "substance-free" types, but they are also not into the idea of drinking binges and all night partying, either.</p>
<p>calmom, hmm...thanks for your thoughts on that. I do see some advantages for my daughter to live off campus, too. She is a private person, doesn't do well with a lot of noise and chaos. But I worried some about whether she'd miss out on the spontaneous interactions that occur in dorms, the infrastructure that dorm life provides, and the access to the campus at night. Of all the UC's, Davis seems to be best for having affordable housing close to campus. ( I understand UC San Diego has "commuter lounges" for all the students who have to drive considerable distances to school- over freeways and what not- to "hang out" in during the day...that doesn't sound like the kind of residential college life I envision. By the way, for the other IB parents, my daughter's high school now includes an IB Middle Years program that involves 6-10th grades...it is more demanding than the 11-12th years! We also have a lot of attrition in the program, about a third who start out in the program end up with the full diploma. Last year senior class of about 150 IB students ended up with about 40 diploma candidates.</p>
<p>I don't know about all the other campuses, but I can assure you that the students don't miss out on campus life living off campus at Davis. Davis is just too much of a student-centered town -- the campus is the center of "life" there, and it is very easy to get around. I do think its a good idea for most students to live on campus during freshman year - its just that after the first year, most students already have a circle of friends and a good idea of what their interests are.</p>