IB Diploma - Worth it or not?

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msp1206

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My high school is a major IB school and offers little to none AP classes. The "lingo" around my town is that the IB diploma program is a waste of time if you plan on going to college/university domestically in the United States and that most civilian schools disregard it. Is this true with the Naval Academy? Is the IB diploma program considered "impressive" or "useful"? At the very least, I plan on taking IB classes, but I have not made up my mind on whether or not I want to commit to its program... (I am a sophomore)
 
msp1206 said:
My high school is a major IB school and offers little to none AP classes. The "lingo" around my town is that the IB diploma program is a waste of time if you plan on going to college/university domestically in the United States and that most civilian schools disregard it. Is this true with the Naval Academy? Is the IB diploma program considered "impressive" or "useful"? At the very least, I plan on taking IB classes, but I have not made up my mind on whether or not I want to commit to its program... (I am a sophomore)
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My experience- I take AICE, rivals IB in my state (FL). It began my freshman year where all of my classes were weighted. Had I not done that, there’s no way I’d be top 5% of my class. I have 565 in my graduating class. I didn’t take IB mainly because the school I’m zoned for offered AICE. Many candidates have gone to USNA from the AICE program from my school. In fact, last year there were 3.
 
Take some time to read every page, tab, link and pulldown on the USNA website. Know the academic requirements for applicants. You’ll see that they hold IB in the same regard as AP. Their main interest is that you take the most challenging classes your school has to offer — especially in STEM and English — and excel at them. USNA will measure your transcript in context of your school’s profile. They’ll know what your school has to offer, how rigorous it is, and where students go after high school.

Bottom line is that USNA wants to know you’re prepared for the rigors of their curriculum. They’ll know that through your transcript and ACT/SAT. Mids have proven themselves successful coming from all kinds of schools: public, private, home, foreign, IB, AP, and so on.
 
I'm a proponent for taking APs: all colleges regard AP and IB the same.
And there's the problem.

I'd say that the effort required to get a 5 on an AP and a 7 on an IB test is very disparate. IB is a great program, but I feel like there is a growing sentiment that the value it gives to a student is less than the effort required. I go to a school that doesn't have an IB curriculum, but our sister school does. The general consensus is that they wished they didn't take IB for more time to pursue exceptional ECs like publish research with college professors or create apps/businesses. In most cases, you are also allowed to self-study APs in addition to the classes you are offered, and that cannot be done with IB. If you want to validate courses at USNA, then taking AP is the way to go. For example, with mathematics, if you look at USNA's course validation policy, a 4 or 5 on Statistics, AB, and BC allows you to validate Statistics, Calc I, and Calc II. However, there does not seem to be an outright test validation policy for IB. There probably is, but it is not on that website. Since AP is a less prescribed track than IB, you could probably take Multivariable Calculus (not an AP) senior year and potentially validate Calc III.

But then again, there's the dilemma of taking the most rigorous courses that your school offers. The decision ultimately comes down to you.
 
IB Diplomas are very rigorous. You will do college level work and be prepared for college.
You can get credit for IB Diplomas...for example, at SUNY Binghamton my daughter got a years worth of credits with her IB Diploma.
IB Diploma is less flexible on what you take, but is very well understood by college admissions.

Is it right for you? That is a different question. Can you get into a top college or SA without it? of course.
 
bopper said:
IB Diplomas are very rigorous. You will do college level work and be prepared for college.
You can get credit for IB Diplomas...for example, at SUNY Binghamton my daughter got a years worth of credits with her IB Diploma.
IB Diploma is less flexible on what you take, but is very well understood by college admissions.

Is it right for you? That is a different question. Can you get into a top college or SA without it? of course.
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yep, my daughter was full IB. Rigorous is the right adjective.
 
Honestly, I've done both AP and IB courses (did AP through junior year, and switched to an IB school senior year).
In my opinion, IB is wayyyyy harder, and doing the diploma program also means doing a lot outside of class (think extended essays, CAS, etc.). With IB, it's a lot more of teaching yourself, and the whole scope of each class goes further than most APs.
 
msp1206 said:
My high school is a major IB school and offers little to none AP classes. The "lingo" around my town is that the IB diploma program is a waste of time if you plan on going to college/university domestically in the United States and that most civilian schools disregard it. Is this true with the Naval Academy? Is the IB diploma program considered "impressive" or "useful"? At the very least, I plan on taking IB classes, but I have not made up my mind on whether or not I want to commit to its program... (I am a sophomore)
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Ib program is definitely something that is helpful it prepares you for college. You just do a lot more work and if you get the diploma you can shave off time from college many of my friends got their BAchelors in Civilian in just 2 years. It's definitely a good investment.
 
USNA views IB, honors and AP courses similarly. Thus, for USNA purposes only, you don't get "extra credit" for an IB over another type of honors program. Whether you should take IB (vs. AP) for other colleges or for other reasons is beyond my expertise.
 
My three oldest sons did the IB diploma program in HS and sat for the IB diploma tests. All three found the IB program and classes to be very rigorous and comprehensive and the extended essay was very valuable for college writing experience. The actual diploma is not particularly valuable - could help in some schools - but not USNA. The tests take place near the end of your senior year and you will not know if you get the diploma until July/August before your freshman year in college. You will not know your test results until then, either. So, actually being awarded the diploma will happen AFTER you've been accepted/rejected at the schools you apply to. Contrary to what my son understood going into Plebe year, USNA does NOT accept most of the IB test results for validation (I know this for a fact because my son was not able to validate ANY classes with his IB test results except Spanish and his test scores were 6's and 7's (out of 7)). Had he taken AP tests for these classes, he likely would have validated all of Plebe year calc, english, and chem and be much farther ahead on his matrix. (He did not take the chem validation test at USNA, which he should have). Upside is that those were all classes he got A's in on autopilot during Plebe year (that could be considered a downside, too, but thankfully he has good study habits). The IB diploma process (multi-year classes, theory of knowledge, extended essay, service hours, etc.) is really solid but the actual diploma itself is not particularly valuable and in the case of USNA, skipping the IB tests and taking the AP tests (or doing both tests) would be more useful. Our youngest son (junior in HS) is doing IB classes but not going for the diploma.
 
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