Anyone of you with the IB?

**edyzmedieval** · 02-01-2008, 20:26

Anyone here is currently taking the International Bacalaureat? I will be taking it next year, as I move to 11th grade, and I wanted to know more about it, like how hard it is.

People always tell me it's very very hard and stuff, but because I know what's hard from my sister (the Romanian Bacalaureat), I have a different view - not very hard but lots of work. I might be wrong, so this is why I seek advice.

**pevergreen** · 02-02-2008, 01:12

AFAIK My school may be the first in Australia to run it.

We have about 30 odd people doing it, about 10 have dropped out.

The work is a lot more, but generally of less difficulty than the QSA (Queensland Studies Authority) course.

Over the holidays, they have had a lot of work to do, reading and journals etc.

Main reason for getting an IB would be to go to University in another country. If a student from my school wanted to go over to america to study, and said he had an OP 1 (overall position), they would ummm and ahhh as they have no idea what that means. Then you say its the same as a 45 in the IB and they accept you.

A high IB ranking will help you a lot in getting into University, but in terms of workload, its just more work. Not that much harder. I still wouldnt want to be a C student going into it though.

Hope that helps.

**TevashSzat** · 02-02-2008, 02:54

Well my school over in the US uses the AP program which is essentially equivalent to being in an IB program here.

For the AP program, generally schools want to see you have a challenging courseload so its okay to have alot of them even if you can't guarantee perfect grades. Just make sure that you can handle them and can get at least Bs

**Caius** · 02-02-2008, 02:59

Originally Posted by edyzmedieval

Anyone here is currently taking the International Bacalaureat? I will be taking it next year, as I move to 11th grade, and I wanted to know more about it, like how hard it is.

People always tell me it's very very hard and stuff, but because I know what's hard from my sister (the Romanian Bacalaureat), I have a different view - not very hard but lots of work. I might be wrong, so this is why I seek advice.

Please tell me whats that, I never heard of it before.

**Charge** · 02-02-2008, 03:04

Originally Posted by Caius

Please tell me whats that, I never heard of it before.

Beyond our brains ;)

**TevashSzat** · 02-02-2008, 03:13

Originally Posted by Caius

Please tell me whats that, I never heard of it before.

This is from the IB page

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Its basically like courses that can be equivalent to what you might learn in college. You take it in high school to beef up your resume for applications into university. If you're in the US, its very similar to the AP

**menander** · 02-02-2008, 04:41

I just finished the IB course and got 44.

I gotta tell you edyz, that Extended Essay is a bitch. Get onto it early and pick a topic that not only you feel like you could write about for 4,000 words, but one that your teacher is an expert on. And do not repeat do not change topic three weeks before it is due. That is retarded.

The two most important things in the IB are picking good subjects and having good teachers - one of which you can control and one of which you cannot. You know what you're good at, so you're the best judge, but I have to say changing from Theatre (which was fun) to Physics (which I'm actually good at) was an excellent decision for me.

As for the workload, I'm not the best one to ask as I split it up and finished two subjects the year before and four last year. But any high school diploma you do will be a lot of work if you want a really good mark.

Good luck.

**edyzmedieval** · 02-02-2008, 08:10

Thanks guys for the insight.

Menander, how hard are the normal subjects? I mean, the highers are very hard or are they relatively ok but there's lots and lots of work to do?