High School parents,please explain the IB program to me

[JimMIA]

We finally decided it wasn't for him and dropped him out of the magnet program. He stayed at the same high school and just took AP classes in areas where he was gifted and did a dual enrollment program his senior year. He was so much happier.

He was accepted into UGA - one of the top choices here in Georgia because tuition is free for if qualifying graduates who stay in state. He was one of only around 35 kids out of his graduating Magnet class of 550 who were accepted. He went in with 42 total hours already completed between AP and dual enrollment credits.

All of his AP and dual enrollment credits counted. He will finish an undergraduate Accounting degree and a Masters degree in 4 years thanks to all the early credit he received.

My next door neighbor's son had a similar experience. Decided against IB, did lots of AP, went to Florida, graduated in a little less than 4 years with a bachelors in Marketing and an MBA with a concentration in Finance. First job was 65K; he stayed there a year and is currently packing to move to NYC for a new, much better, job.

We've watched him grow up for the last 18 years -- great kid, great work ethic, from a great family, and with a promising future.

 

[Hrhpd]

Mine liked the classes because they had interesting teachers and small class sizes.

Exactly

 

[tvguy]

Many colleges, though, don't seem to care much if they took more challenging courses in high school.

I haven't run into that. I have run into schools that no longer give the SAT, ACT and GPA consideration, preferring to look at a students accomplishments and areas of study.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I haven't run into that. I have run into schools that no longer give the SAT, ACT and GPA consideration, preferring to look at a students accomplishments and areas of study.

We don't have too many of those yet. Hopefully we will soon, but I don't know. I was reading an article yesterday about the history of the SATs. They just revised them this year, so I assume they're thinking they'll be around for a while if they invested all that energy in a revamp. Anyway, I was a little surprised at some of the things I'd encountered at colleges, based on what I'd read and studied, one of them being that most "average" private colleges here seemed to admit almost everyone who applied, even those who never took more than general ed classes.

 

[DawnM]

Mine liked the classes because they had interesting teachers and small class sizes.

My son has enjoyed honors classes this year since the kids are better behaved! I tried to tell him this would be the case, but he didn't believe me.

He is ready for at least one AP this year.

 

[DawnM]

Before I became a SAHM I was a college librarian. As a college librarian I encountered many visiting high school students and often would discuss with them what they were doing to prepare for college. When it came to AP and IB I recommended first checking with the local university what they will and won't accept. That means finding out:

• what scores they will accept
• how many AP classes they will accept
• and what they will count towards.

My friends who were in programs like engineering and premed though chose to retake the intro classes. They were concerned that the content would be different from what they learned in AP classes, wanted to get to know the professors, wanted to get in on the ground floor of major study groups that were forming, and were hoping that the classes would be GPA boosters.

Again, he has no idea where he wants to go. We haven't started looking at options. Up until about 3 weeks ago he had planned to do dual enrollment for the next 2 years. We had a lot of talks and decided it was a better idea for him to do 2 more years of high school. His academics were strong but I really just want him to enjoy being a kid.

I have looked at the local state college and have seen what they will accept.

 

[BearFamily]

To speak to the question about how kids couldn't participate in extra-curriculars when they actually have to in order to get their CAS hours for IB - here is the situation at two schools I was familiar with.

1. Because of the number of class periods offered in the school day, students were often not able to take certain electives outside the IB program. So some incredibly strong musicians might be in the IB Music class taught by my friend, but those students could not be in the regular band or choir program some years, as those classes were at the same time as certain IB core classes for that grade level. That meant those students were also ineligible to audition for All-State Honors choir, etc and/or could not participate in the local youth orchestra (which required participation in a student's school ensemble.) They could, and did, continue to study privately outside of school and I'm sure used some of those hours for CAS projects but were prevented from being in regular school ensembles during the school day, and thus the extra-curricular opportunities available to students who were in those curricular ensembles.

2. The second school was much larger, and had multiple bands, orchestras and choirs. Students there COULD participate in the daily ensemble classes, and many did. However, that school also had a very intense competitive marching band, a nationally recognized forensics team, and a very strong musical theater program. All of these programs require a LOT of outside hours from students over a specific "season" of the school year. I'm talking hours per night, most school nights, and long days on the weekends. Many students there found that the level of homework attached to IB (and I have also *never* heard this homework described as busy work!!) and the service project hours needed for CAS prevented them from being able to commit the large chunks of time outside of school needed to participate in those specific, time-intensive extra-curricular activities. I am certain that they could have done other, less intense extra-curriculars.

Like I said, we were investigating this as teachers. Our school was looking into starting an IB program, as several other schools in the area had, so my colleague and I were interrogating our music teacher friends at schools that already had IB to find out how it had affected them and their programs. We didn't talk to any coaches.

 

[DawnM]

Ok, I was able to find the credits the state school would accept if he were to take IB and it lists the scores he needs on the tests and the number of credits they will accept. That is helpful, even if the isn't where he will go. However, I really don't care as much about that.

 

[Hrhpd]

I'm a bit curious about those who mention that IB kids cannot participate in sports or extra-curricular activities. In order to receive the diploma you must complete a certain number of hours (1000?) under the headings of Creativity, Action (sports), and Service. So, the students must be participating in some activities-- if not, they would not be eligible for an IB diploma. Many of my friends played multiple varsity sports. It was not a problem. They just had less free time between sports and studying.

Doubting myself, I just read the IB parent handbook for the school in our district. It clearly states that it is highly encouraged to complete CAS requirements during the summer, starting the summer before your junior year. So, the students do get their CAS requirements in, just during the summer. It still is almost impossible for them to do any kind of sports or extras during the school year.

All schools are different, so it is important to visit your school and talk to parents and most importantly, current students in the program.

 

[Hrhpd]

Many colleges, though, don't seem to care much if they took more challenging courses in high school.

That is really interesting.

All the schools my kids applied to, both public and private, Academic Rigor was a very important component for consideration of admittance. But this was for schools of engineering. I don't have experience with any other schools in a university, so that may be different.

 

[tzolkin]

Doubting myself, I just read the IB parent handbook for the school in our district. It clearly states that it is highly encouraged to complete CAS requirements during the summer, starting the summer before your junior year. So, the students do get their CAS requirements in, just during the summer. It still is almost impossible for them to do any kind of sports or extras during the school year.

All schools are different, so it is important to visit your school and talk to parents and most importantly, current students in the program.

I guess I just wonder how "impossible" it is in reality. Like I said in my previous post, I think sometimes administrators encourage/discourage certain activities because they assume they will be too difficult. Like telling them not to work-- sure, it would be more difficult to balance their studies with a job, but that doesn't mean that it "can't" be done. Why can't the IB students participate in sports/etc? Is it just that homework takes up too many hours during the evening or is there some other hindrance at this school?

My school also highly encouraged completing CAS hours over the summer, but that was because they didn't trust our time management skills and wanted to make sure we got them done so we would be eligible to receive the IB diploma-- not because they were impossible to complete during the school year.

That is really interesting.

All the schools my kids applied to, both public and private, Academic Rigor was a very important component for consideration of admittance. But this was for schools of engineering. I don't have experience with any other schools in a university, so that may be different.

I agree. My daughter just finished the college search/admission process and this was also the case at every school we looked at. Public, private, liberal arts, etc. all said academic rigor was "the most important component".

Pea-n-Me, why do you believe many colleges don't care? Is this a new trend among certain universities? I just don't understand why they would not factor that into their admission decision.

Every school I know of does take what the student had been offered into consideration, so you may wind up with many students who just took honors classes (no AP or IB) but that doesn't mean that the school doesn't favor AP/IB. They simply choose not to hold it against a student who wasn't offered the opportunity. For example, if Student A took all honors classes at a school that offered no AP/IB classes she would be favored over Student B who took all honors classes at a school where AP/IB were offered. Student A took the most rigorous courses available to her, but Student B took the easier option.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Our district does not offer IB classes, so I have no personal experience, but from what I hear from friends in the program elsewhere, it's more writing intensive than AP classes, with numerous research papers required.

DS took several AP classes (6 over 3 years), and liked the flexibility to choose only the subjects he had the most interest in. As pp mentioned, he found that colleges do consider rigor of course load in admissions decisions. His university accepted the AP credit for some of them but not all. In one case, he didn't receive credit but had a prerequisite waived and started in a higher level course.

Something to consider that may or may not affect you depending on where you live, is summer homework. Here in NY, the school year runs early Sept. to late June (graduations were just this past week, up to yesterday). AP exams (and I believe IB as well) are given in early May, which means the curriculum has to be finished 5 or 6 weeks before the end of school. So to cover all the material, all AP classes have a substantial amount of reading and writing assignments to be completed in the summer before the class starts. Honestly, it seems unfair to students in the northeast, but that's the way it has always been.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Pea-n-Me, why do you believe many colleges don't care? Is this a new trend among certain universities? I just don't understand why they would not factor that into their admission decision.

It was my experience this year.

 

[RangerPooh]

If I were in Admissions, that would tell me more than anything else on that student's transcript...and it wouldn't be helpful to the applicant.

That makes me wonder if the applicant will follow through enough to graduate from my school. And if not, why should I even consider admitting them?

The most common reason for a student not taking the additional exam is the cost. The students typically performed well in the course (as shown in their final grades on their high school transcript), but could not afford the cost to take the exam for college credit.

Inferring that a student who could not afford to take the examination for credit will therefore not be successful in college, is a poor judge of character.

 

[gwynne]

The most common reason for a student not taking the additional exam is the cost. The students typically performed well in the course (as shown in their final grades on their high school transcript), but could not afford the cost to take the exam for college credit.

Inferring that a student who could not afford to take the examination for credit will therefore not be successful in college, is a poor judge of character.

Thank you for your post. You're likely aware of this, but other might not be:
There are schools that pay at least a portion of a student's testing fees. Other schools don't offer a penny. It's nice when there is money, but it's not the student's fault when there is not. Not every student can afford the fees.

 

[RangerPooh]

Again, he has no idea where he wants to go. We haven't started looking at options. Up until about 3 weeks ago he had planned to do dual enrollment for the next 2 years. We had a lot of talks and decided it was a better idea for him to do 2 more years of high school. His academics were strong but I really just want him to enjoy being a kid.

I have looked at the local state college and have seen what they will accept.

Definitely start having conversations about what your child wants to major in and where. As an academic advisor I have seen many students coming straight from high school with their general education requirements practically satisfied thanks to either AP/IB credits or through dual enrollment at the local community college. Those who only focused on those requirements would find themselves struggling to create full schedules due to not working on major pre-reqs simultaneously. At my previous university we wouldn't allow students to begin upper core courses until the lower were completed. Thus leaving holes in their schedules for 1-1.5 years. Hence the importance of talking to advisors at the schools your child wishes to attend.

 

[DawnM]

Definitely start having conversations about what your child wants to major in and where. As an academic advisor I have seen many students coming straight from high school with their general education requirements practically satisfied thanks to either AP/IB credits or through dual enrollment at the local community college. Those who only focused on those requirements would find themselves struggling to create full schedules due to not working on major pre-reqs simultaneously. At my previous university we wouldn't allow students to begin upper core courses until the lower were completed. Thus leaving holes in their schedules for 1-1.5 years. Hence the importance of talking to advisors at the schools your child wishes to attend.

We have talked and talked. He just has no clue. We have taken aptitude tests. We have mentioned several careers and talked about what they are, how to get there, what to do, etc......he still shrugs and says, "Well, I don't know yet." or "Maybe."

Up until last month he was set to just do dual enrollment and only get his 2 year transfer credits. We have opted not to do that now. So, we are exploring other high school options. IB is something I wasn't familiar with, but this school offers.

We will be visiting a few colleges in the Fall and Spring of next year.

He has mentioned engineering but then when I brought it up again last night his response was, "I don't know if I really want that or not."

I know my major changed between my Jr. and Sr. year of college! But I don't think it is as easy to do that as it once was.

Truth be told, he wants to major in drama and be in community theater for the rest of his life........but we have told him that is a HOBBY and something he can enjoy while actually being able to feed himself.

His aptitude is very high in math, so we are discussing math options with him. He can't decide, he says nothing is jumping out at him or exciting.

We will get there, but I am not going to stress over this right now. If his options for college are more limited, that is on him, and so be it.

 

[Princess Mulan]

I haven't read the entire thread, so I apologize if someone else has already mentioned this: Transylvania University, a highly regarded liberal arts school in Lexington, Ky., has established a major scholarship program for IB students.

 

[DawnM]

I haven't read the entire thread, so I apologize if someone else has already mentioned this: Transylvania University, a highly regarded liberal arts school in Lexington, Ky., has established a major scholarship program for IB students.

Thanks. Looks like they are starting locally.

 

[tvguy]

We don't have too many of those yet. Hopefully we will soon, but I don't know. I was reading an article yesterday about the history of the SATs. They just revised them this year, so I assume they're thinking they'll be around for a while if they invested all that energy in a revamp. Anyway, I was a little surprised at some of the things I'd encountered at colleges, based on what I'd read and studied, one of them being that most "average" private colleges here seemed to admit almost everyone who applied, even those who never took more than general ed classes.

I'm in California, where the taxpayer supported University of California and taxpayer supported California University system admit less qualified out of state students over residents to get the higher out of state tuition, I'd day the entire system needs fixing.