Replies

I could bore you all to tears with negative aspects of IB. Just to be polite for a couple of minutes, here are some points used to sell IB. (Warning - these selling points are not very effective with most Freepers)

* IB is found in schools in quite a few foreign capitals, and it is relatively easy to transfer from one IB high school to another. An IB school would thus be a magnet for children of foreign ambassadors, state department children, etc.

* IB Diplomas (earned by an average of about five percent of kids in an IB high school) are accepted at many foreign colleges and an IB Diploma would be good for kids planning to attend college overseas.

* IB is a strong program for the linguistically gifted. It requires a minimum of five years of a foreign language.

* As I noted above, IB has more of an international flavor. Rather than taking US History and Government, IB students study History of the Americas and Topics in Twentieth Century.

* IB content is more liberal than AP. (Hey, I warned you these selling points are not very effective with most Freepers!)
...........................
As I just mentioned, on the average only about five percent of students in an IB school earn the IB Diploma. HOWEVER, if you kid is in an IB school and is not going for the full diploma, don't waste your money applying to a top tier college. Top colleges only want students who are taking the most rigorous schedule of courses available to them, and if you are not going for the Diploma, you clearly are NOT on the "most rigorous" track.

If your parents are thrilled to get their kids into IB courses, does that mean you have already lost access to the college level Advanced Placement courses? Most US colleges and universities give advanced placement and/or credit for a score of 3 or, in some cases, 4 or 5 (out of 5) on an AP exam. Some colleges give credit/placement for good scores on High Level IB exams. However, few colleges grant credit/placement for the Standard Level IB exams that most kids take.

Sorry, I’m getting into details now. Feel free to send me a private reply if you want to pursue them.