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IS IB WORTH IT?


xoxoyessica

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It depends really on two things: the quality of the IB program at the school you'd be attending, and what kind of student you are.

 

1. How good is the IB program at your school? Is it brand new, or has it been around for a while? Do the students generally score well (scores of ~35 or more), or do a significant amount of students fail or barely pass the IB each year? Do the teachers know how to run the IB, or is it a confusing mess? Are there a bunch of subjects to choose from, or are you limited/restricted in what you can take?

 

2. What kind of a student are you? The IB is good for students who are strong in multiple academic subjects, and are hard-working and have decent time management skills. The people that tend to struggle in the IB are those that wait until the last minute to do everything, don't try very hard on assignments, and don't take the time to do things properly, and then never learn from their mistakes (i.e. keep doing them until exams come about).

 

To me personally, the IB is worth it if you don't have another sort of university-level preparation program that's run effectively in your city/area. You don't really get any special advantages over doing something else, such as AP, and you will end up at the same places with these students. Some aspects of the IB were pointless in my opinion and could have been replaced by something more substantial, such as taking TOK. I've never seen the point of TOK nor have it ever been used in my life once I handed in my essay to be scored by IB. Other stuff is good in theory but has dumb aspects. CAS is basically what you are doing extracurriculars-wise anyway, with a bunch of pointless reflections and "learning outcome" things attached which suck the fun out of the activities. I did actually enjoy doing my extended essay, though. That's something that the IB does that most other programs don't do.

 

Is it worth it in the end? Depends on you. For me, somewhat. I enjoyed my time doing the program, but I managed it well and it never consumed my life, and did well in the end. My high school had been running IB since the mid 1990's so most teachers know what they're doing, and we have an average score in the low 30's, with a few students each year getting at least 36+. Our best score was a 44. We also have a very good IB coordinator and CAS coordinator, so it was run well. We have some variety in courses, but it's not a spectacular variety, and some of our classes were required (such as HL English and history). I knocked out almost every general education requirement my school had for my degree with IB and AP credits or placed out of intro courses, which was a nice benefit. However, you will have to put up with a bunch of unnecessary fluff that the IB requires that things like AP courses don't.

 

And if you end up doing IB, please don't act like you're more intelligent/better than people who aren't doing IB. That was one of my biggest peeves with students in the IB program when I was doing it, and it caused most of the general population at my school to resent us and think we were all elite snobs. Some of the IB kids at my school were some of the downright laziest, worst students I've ever seen, while some kids who weren't in IB worked twenty times harder than half of us in the IB program.

Edited by Emmi
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My school has been around for about 10 years and most the students score 35 or around there. Also, I am pretty good at every subject and I am definitely strong in math. Ever since middle school, I've learned to manage my time and I don't usually procrastinate. I can do it I just don't know it'll benefit me in college.

There are some students who overreact about being in IB and how it kills them and what not. I mean they were a bunch of show offs and I notice how some non-IB students put more effort than the actual IB kids. I really don't like about IB to non-IB because I feel like I'm showing off but then again they keep talking about it so idk. But yeah I was going to stay because one reason, college. Second, I'm trying to make my mom proud.

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It sounds as if IB would be good for you as although it's very broad in the sense that it makes you choose subjects from different fields, you are still able to specify with subjects which you are stronger in. A lot of universities in the US also give college credit for IB I believe which can mean your degree can be reduced from 4 years to 3 years which can save a lot of money over there. It sounds as if you are able to do well in IB and also you have a strong program at your school which will help you and of course make your mum proud haha (I know mine is and I'm not even doing well). And it gives your mum things to talk about with her friends and family hahahah. IB seriously isn't as bad as a lot of people make it out to be, I'm not the best student or the most intelligent but I'm not even finding it bad at all, it's actually pretty fun :)

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