By Chris, IvyWise College Admissions Counselor
I was speaking at a college night for several Long Island high schools — all of which offer several Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses across their curriculums — about the role that a rigorous academic program plays in the admission process and preparation for college-level work. One of the schools also offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program, so I mentioned it as an alternative to AP classes. College admissions committees highly regard the IB program, which prepares students for success at the next level.
Immediately, hands went up — nervous parents were concerned they were missing something. What is the International Baccalaureate, and should my child be doing it? In nearly three decades of assessing applicants from myriad educational systems, I reviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of IB students with college-ready skills, genuine intellectual curiosity, and an academic passion they wanted to pursue. For young scholars who love a trip down the rabbit hole — who see or want to develop connections between various ideas, theories, or movements — the IB can be an affirming educational path. Students earning it can take real pride in their work.
Let’s look at this less common and lesser known, yet rigorous, secondary school opportunity so you can decide if it could be a better option.
The Structure of the IB Diploma Program
The IB diploma program is for juniors and seniors and consists of a DP core and six subject groups. The DP core is comprised of these three components designed to broaden your education and challenge you:
- Creativity, activity, service: An experiential learning component with at least one project .
- The extended essay: Independent research that culminates in a 4,000-word essay.
- Theory of knowledge (TOK): An exhibition and 1,600-word essay.
For the six subject groups, you can choose from an extensive array of courses in:
- Studies in language and literature.
- Language acquisition.
- Individuals and societies.
- Sciences.
- Mathematics.
- Arts.
Within these six subject groups, you take three courses at the standard level (perhaps comparable to a strong Honors class) and three at the higher level (comparable to an AP). You can choose from traditional academic areas like history, biology, or a foreign language, and more specialized areas like philosophy, environmental systems and societies, and world religions. As with APs, not all classes are offered at every school with an IB curriculum.
Most U.S. schools offering the program allow you to take IB classes without pursuing the diploma, which can naturally create some questions.
- If I can choose between AP vs. IB, which one would be better? Can I take both?
- Who is best suited for the IB diploma?
- Which classes should I take?
- If I don’t pursue the diploma, will it hurt my application?
Benefits of the IB Program for College Admissions
Your course selection and the grades you earn are the most significant factors in determining which colleges you can realistically apply to. These factors are the most important in college admissions, so it is important to focus on course rigor and develop your academic interests. You can do this effectively through both AP and IB curriculums, though the IB is designed to facilitate that deep interest with its two-year course of study and the extended essay.
This is not to say that IB is “better” than AP in any way, as many students value the opportunity to broaden their course of study in a wide AP curriculum rather than focusing on six areas. That said, students who develop a strong interest in, say, Spanish cinema, global politics, or computer science are well served by the two-year immersion of the IB. Authentic curiosity and intellectual passion are rewarded in every classroom and in the college admission process — but for students with a fervor to take that deep dive and develop original ideas, IB offers an existing framework and opportunity to do so.
Choosing Between IB and AP Classes
If you have a choice between IB and AP classes, you can usually mix and match to create a personalized, rigorous curriculum reflecting the overall course offerings and your own academic interests (e.g., you can take AP Environmental Science, but the IB equivalent is not available) while not being tied to a preset course of study in 12th grade. A solid mix of AP and IB classes in 11th and 12th grade will be seen positively by admission officers and produce a well-prepared scholar ready for college work. If you have access to IB only, taking a strong combination of standard-level and higher-level classes without pursuing the diploma is still a good curriculum — it just lacks the distinction of the diploma.
Balancing Academic Strengths and Passions
Once you’ve decided to take the IB plunge, what’s next? Students select their courses of study in 10th grade and begin the program in 11th grade. Some are drawn to specific areas like computer science, economics, and dance, studying those at the higher level while continuing with a foreign language, language arts, and math at the standard level. Others focus on more standard subjects in their higher-level classes, perhaps biology, Spanish, and history, and pursue the arts and less common subjects through standard-level courses like film, sports, exercise and health science, and global politics.
Students should seek to balance their academic strengths and passions across both higher- and standard-level subjects — pursuing what they are most excited about — and do so with an eye toward college. For a student focused on a science major and medical school, higher-level math is a must for calculus, as is the case for students who want to major in engineering of some type. Any student with a stated intended major, whether applying to a specific college within a university or seeking an interdisciplinary major at a liberal arts college, should pursue higher-level work in those disciplines.
Incidentally, at the college fair portion of the College Night, I spoke with a junior who shared that she was in the diploma program. I told her that colleges value the IB and assured her that the hard work would be worth it in the end. “Oh,” she said, grinning enthusiastically, “I absolutely love it… but it is a lot of work.”
Navigating the College Admission Process with IvyWise
Whether you choose AP, the IB, or mix and match, it’s important to kindle your passion for learning, discover and develop your interests, and broaden and deepen your knowledge base. Navigating these choices with an eye toward the college admission process can be challenging. It’s important to understand your options.
An experienced counselor, like my colleagues at IvyWise, can be invaluable in helping you make the right choices and contextualize those choices in the college application. Contact us today to learn how we can help you choose the right curriculum for your needs and goals.
