Is it possible to switch from an IB Certificate to an IB Diploma?

[Person-A]

Is it possible to switch from an IB certificate to an IB Diploma? 

If so, how?

[VeronicaG]

At my school it was considered impossible unless the following conditions were met:

1. Less than a month had passed since you started IB

2. You're taking 4 or 5 IB courses already

3. You're getting really good grades in your current IB classes

Diploma is much harder than certificate because of the full course load and the bonus stuff (TOK and EE). Make sure you know what you're signing up for.

[Rosalina]

Since you're in Year Two and IB is designed to be a two-year program, I'm afraid not.

You'll have to catch up on IAs, EE and CAS, all of which require a great deal of amount of time invested in to them.

Not to mention, it'll be very difficult to catch with the extra IB topics in your new IB subjects and TOK (if you haven't taken it already), in such short amount of time.

[ChocolateDrop]

9 hours ago, Person-A said:

Is it possible to switch from an IB certificate to an IB Diploma? 

If so, how?

As long as you meet the requirements for the IB diploma you should be able to get one. The (non-grade related) IB requirements include: 6 IB subjects, 3 or 4 at Higher level and 3 or 2 at Standard level, CAS (community service eg) Extended essay (a 3 500 - 4 000 word essay), Theory of Knowledge presentation and Extended essay all before your final examinations session.

 

So it depends on a lot of factors, Have you done some community service? How many certifícates subjects are you doing and at what level? When would you like to sit your final IB exams? Would you mind taking at least an extra year? Have you ever studied Theory of Knowledge? Would you be able to write a 3 500 - 4 000 word essay for extended essay? 

[Scribblefish]

As others have mentioned above, it would be difficult to do so, and whether or not it is possible depends on what your current situation is, though I think it may be possible given that you are asking this question. I'm assuming you are not wanting to take an extra year, and are already taking 5-6 IB subjects (that fulfill IB diploma subject requirements)  (If not, it may be time to admit that you probably are not going to be able to switch to diploma from the certificate program, it'd be extremely difficult to cram 2 years worth of knowledge in such little time and perform well at them).

Depending on your subject choices/current knowledge on subjects, current grades and your work ethic, I would say it is hard, though not impossible to do so. CAS isn't too hard to catch up to, though if you haven't done any CAS at all at this point in time, staying in certificate might be a better option. Raising SL to HL in a language subject, provided that you are performing decently at it, shouldn't be too much of an issue. TOK would take a bit getting used to, though I wouldn't worry about that too much compared to IAs and your EE - Ask yourself: will you be able to complete this all in time? If you're not already taking 6 IB subjects that meet IB diploma requirements, you'll also have to study a subject at what takes 2 years to do. If you're a little into year 1, I don't think it would be too late, but if you're in year 2, you'll have to seriously consider whether you'll be able to finish all this.

However, all this comes down to the school: Ask the IB coordinator at your school/relevant people whether or not you'll be able to make such a switch.

[Guest Nope]

If you are in the IB certificate programme already, you made your first mistake. I took the certificate and al it did was prevent me from getting into the college I so hopefully desired. If I took regular honors courses without IB, I would've gotten into my desired college and even into its honors program. My suggestion: It's either full IB or nothing. Certificate is useless in my opinion.