International Bacheloriate

[tony.mchugh]

Does anybody out there have any thoughts on the new (?) International Bacheloriate ("IB")? My 17 y.o. son has just returned home from school to tell me that some of his friends are taking these instead of A-levels.

Does anybody have any children who are taking IBs instead of conventional A-levels? Is it just me who thinks there is nothing wrong with a proven, recognised system, or am I showing my age here?!

[Allyofrydah]

Ha ha, it's not your age, IB stands for International Baccalaureate (IB). It is just like, if their school systems ever had, Honors for high school or private schools. IB is a highly regarded thing for colleges, if they accept it. They love to see it on your records. It is a lot of, but if the college you want to go to accepts it, it will encourage the college to accept you big time. About 10% of the people who join drop-out though so be warned, it isn't a breeze. You might need to give your son a tutor if he never took pre-IB or the IB classes prior, because for ex, in geometry or trig, regular would have an 8-step problem to solve. IB courses might require you to do a 10-15 step problem of a like matter. When my son took it, the college was very interested in it, but he took it from 9-12 grade (9+10 were pre-IB, 11+12 were IB). I'm not sure if he can still join IB if he is a senior, because most places require it taken in 11-12. But thats all there really is too it. IF you want to learn more here is the link to the site that hosts it:

http://www.ibo.org/