Normal high school or IB high school?

Okay so basically, I have a huge problem. I'm an 8th grader moving onto high school next year and I have no idea which school I should go to. My district decided to make a new high school, which is suppose to be a smaller HS with an IB program. The thing is, there is a lot of controversy whether to go to the new school or the normal one. Everyone has been saying different things and are trying to get me to go to either school. First, my teachers have been telling me things like, "The new school is going to be great; you'll have a better chance of college, everything will be new, the teachers will be specially trained, and etc."

The people at the normal high school has been telling me other things like, " You're going to regret it, IB starts in junior year so you'll be wasting a lot of your time." or "The IB school will work you too hard. You won't get the 'normal' high school experience and you wont have a good social life."

So, if any of you know information about IB programs or have had similar experiences with choosing schools, please help.

[i think this should go in the pre-collage section]

Anyways, my high school is like that. It's a small high school with an IB program (but with an academic program too). I had to make the decision of either going to this one or a normal one too when I was in grade 8 lol.

But yes, IB IS really tough and hard and there are a lot of stress but it really does prepare you for university though. People usually say that from high school to university there is a really big jump which is the reason why most kids do bad during their first year. IB is supposed to prepare you for that; it's in the middle between 'normal' high school and university. Also, if you're planning on going to school in other countries, it is easier to get accepted because IB is recognized internationally. It's really up to you. Do you think you handle all the stress? Do you think you're responsible and a hard worker? And what's more important to you? A good social life or getting a good education that will prepare you for university?

By the way, being in IB doesn't necessary mean you won't have a social life at all (of course it also means that you have to know how to manage your time well). I think the kids in IB at my school have a better social life than most students I know rofl.

Oh, this is tough. But in times like these, I just do eenie-meenie-miney-mo. If you were planning to go to normal high school, then just go to that one. But I guess if you want to go to IB just go for it. Don't have second thoughts. (:

[i think this should go in the pre-collage section]

Anyways, my high school is like that. It's a small high school with an IB program (but with an academic program too). I had to make the decision of either going to this one or a normal one too when I was in grade 8 lol.

But yes, IB IS really tough and hard and there are a lot of stress but it really does prepare you for university though. People usually say that from high school to university there is a really big jump which is the reason why most kids do bad during their first year. IB is supposed to prepare you for that; it's in the middle between 'normal' high school and university. Also, if you're planning on going to school in other countries, it is easier to get accepted because IB is recognized internationally. It's really up to you. Do you think you handle all the stress? Do you think you're responsible and a hard worker? And what's more important to you? A good social life or getting a good education that will prepare you for university?

By the way, being in IB doesn't necessary mean you won't have a social life at all (of course it also means that you have to know how to manage your time well). I think the kids in IB at my school have a better social life than most students I know rofl.

Wow, thanks for the info. I would want to go to a school in another country, so it might be a good school. But another issue that people are concerned with is that it is a NEW school. So a lot of people think that since its new, the staff wont have that much experience and we wont be completely assured that its a stable school. ALSO, I heard that you have to PAY for the IB program. Is this true? TT_TT

Please please please PLEASE do not take the IB if you want a social life. If you work hard, you won;t regret taking the IB but if you're a procrastinator like me ... please spare yourself from all the mental break down and go to a normal school instead. Heck at one stage I even wanted to die =.= But yeah, if you're keen and is willing to do the work .. by all means take it haha ^^

LOL. I was gonna go into IB but then I decided against it because I wanted to go into sciences. Also also partly because my friend told me her brother graduated from IB (like 5 or 6 years ago?) and since none of the universities recognized it, he had to repeat the last year of highschool.. I guess it gets recognized now? :|

Apparently IB is targeted towards business students cuz they make you take economics and marketing for some reason. and here there's a mandatory 4 years of french as well.

I don't really think the IB workload is too bad, cuz my friends who went to IB all said it's not too bad compared to our previous JHS (Or maybe it's cuz our JHS was brutal compared to other schools)...

EDIT: I'm speaking for CANADIAN IB programs, btw.

Wow, thanks for the info. I would want to go to a school in another country, so it might be a good school. But another issue that people are concerned with is that it is a NEW school. So a lot of people think that since its new, the staff wont have that much experience and we wont be completely assured that its a stable school. ALSO, I heard that you have to PAY for the IB program. Is this true? TT_TT

I don't think it being a new school is that much of a problem? Do you mean that the teachers will be new hence why they won't have much experience or just the fact that IB is new and teachers will be new at teaching it? I'm sure that the teachers they hire will have experience. It really depends on who you get. You can go to any high school and can still get the worst teacher possible and vice versa; it's the same thing. And yes, you have to pay for the IB program. It's basically an activity fee that you pay. Normal high schools will require you to pay about $50 (of course not all schools are like that) every year but for IB I forgot how much but I think it's about 100 - 200? Don't quote me on it :/.

edit: @janers LOL so true about how teachers favour IB a lot more than other students. I thought it was only my school xD

V

IB revolves around alot of hype. Like the more 'prestigious' universities like SFU/UBC, IB is supposed to be the equivalent for HS. It does not guarantee you will have a better experience in highschool, nor that you will miss out on a regular highschool experience. It's just more homework, more challenges, and more 'prestige'.

Yes, you will get credits for specific classes when you apply for university, and yes, you will probably have better essay/debating skills due to 10 page essays, and the Theory of Knowledge class that is mandatory (or at least it was when I was there). Just because you're in IB doesn't mean everyone there isn't a slacker. It's just a personal preference of whether you want to be more challenged for academics. But I can say that teachers seem to favor people in IB alot more, we got away with way too much that we shouldn't have when I was there

So if you are generally a hard worker, take IB. If you just want to have fun, take regular classes. They aren't that much more different! But if you're going to take IB, at least you'll be with the same core group of friends!

the rigor of ib varies from school to school. It can be just like taking advanced courses or it can make your life hell and get you into an ivy. YMMV. Its probably easier to transfer out of than into IB though so I'd say try it out.

uh no you don't pay for IB but i'm sure in doing their requirements you'll be paying some money

for me, my first year in the program as a junior i needed to take one SL test at the end of the year

and it ended up being...a little over 100 dollars?

during senior year it's more because you need to take 5,

okay it sounds pretty reasonable so far but...on top of that I need to take AP tests, SAT, and SAT subject

school's not cheap.

Ok...speaking as an IB alumni, I had read quite a few misconceptions. Haha, I shall clear them up. And I agree with Janers!

LOL. I was gonna go into IB but then I decided against it because I wanted to go into sciences.

Apparently IB is targeted towards business students cuz they make you take economics and marketing for some reason. and here there's a mandatory 4 years of french as well.

EDIT: I'm speaking for CANADIAN IB programs, btw.

^ Definitely NOT true. IB programs vary from school to school, we werent even offered economics and marketing. And unless you go into a Full IB program, there is no way that you are REQUIRED to take those. Just like Theory of Knowledge is NOT required if you only take math and science courses. It is a supplement to HITORY IB.

In fact, many of my friends are now in american ivey league or top Canadian schools (I'm from Canada), doing engineering, biochemistry, life science, etc.

to OP:

check with the highschool. most IB programs offer two kinds: Diploma and Certificate. Diploma meaning you take all IB courses. Certificate meaning you take 2 or more IB courses and then the other ones are "normal" courses. For example, I took physics, chemistry, and history IB. My other math, english, french...options...were all non-IB. I am a Business major here in University. Personally, I really struggled in IB not because I was stupid but because EVERYONE is smart...also because I picked IB courses in areas I was weak in. So if you go into IB, select your strengths! ><''

With that said, in the end...all turned out well. I got into one of the top Business programs in western canada and university is not EASIER per say, but you ARE prepared for not being "babied" anymore. Also, like I mentioned, most of my friends ended up being from the IB program in highschool. And these, are probably friends I will keep in touch for life. These ppl are so so so amazing, and inspirational. They are not only smart (full scholarships, ivey leagues, national debate/science fair/math olympics champions) but they also use their brains to help ppl (volunteering, biomedical research). IB teaches you virtues too...imo. lol.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is...IB really did shape me as a student and made me value learning a lot more. Before, I thought I was "smart" in jr.high so I looked down on others and just took my smarts for granted. But going through IB, i learned to be humble and that to gain anything in life, you DO have to WORK for it.

As for a social life...most of us had one. there were very few underage drinking/clubbing/grazing. Most of us just hang out, eat, shop, watch movies, camping in the summer, have BBQ, go sing karoke etc...

And for PAYMENT. You do need to pay for IB courses and the exams, but as I recall it was like $80 per course? Which is pretty good (maybe compared to my uni tuition lol, I dunno your financial situation). I definitely recommand giving it a try and perhaps choosing partial IB if you don't feel confident about full IB.

Jnn is right -- not all of the IB school focus on business, in fact, my school value science moreso than business/economics (actually, our school don't even offer any class that drives students toward a business major).

I'm graduating from an IB school in exactly 44 days . Sure, the past few years has been a struggle and I'm not going to deny that it is stressful, but it is worth it. A lot of my older friends, who are all IB diploma aluminas, are telling me that the first two years of college are a breeze. Then the people you meet in there, boy are they wonderful. They all have their little quirks, but everyone bonds overtime and .. I don't know if I'm just being weird or if the realization of graduating is finally hitting me, but IB is like a .. huuuge family. I think it's mostly because of the night chats of complaining and whining about homeworks and projects, hehe.

Also, colleges are starting to accept IB credits, in fact, if I do well on my IB exams, I can pretty much start off as a sophomore in college or even junior. And the good thing about IB is that it makes you a harder worker (in a good way) and you learn to use your time efficiently. If you're worrying about later when you have to take SATs and that you might not have time to study for it, believe me, IB prepares you much better. A lot of my friends made 2000 +, I made somewhere around 1900 (but that's because I'm not as smart nor as a hard worker as them), but either way, almost all of the IB kiddos got full ride somewhere.

We all had a life and everyone has friends outside of IB, so secluding yourself and becoming a hermit should be the least of your worries .

Oh, well, I don't know if Jnn meant that you have to pay for the exams or the courses, but in my school. we just have to pay the exams at the end of the year, the IB courses itself are free/ provided by the school.

Pfff, IB is not stressful. The classes are alright. The exams are actually quite easy - much easier than the AP exams in my opinion. Plus, IB graders are very generous and give big curves, haha. It's quite hard not to get the diploma, as long as you do your stuff (World Lits, CAS, Extended Essay) and you don't procrastinate.

My school has both the IB and AP program. I'm not sure why I chose to do IB, but I did, and I don't regret it at all. I'm finishing up junior year right now and I still don't regret it. Sure, we have to do a teensy bit more work than AP kids (which really isn't that much) but overall, at my school, it's pretty much the same. We all learn the same material, IB just learns a little more that's specific for the exams.

And... we do have social lives. Yes, outside of the IB world. I don't even hang out with that many IB kids, lol, I see AP kids more than I see IB kids. So if you actually believe all the stuff people say about IB having no social life and becoming some kind of hermit... yeahhh, that's totally wrong, lmao. I'm a party animal

I dunno what kind of student you are and what you like but for me, being an average, mediocre student, I lived through it (so far), hehe. The stress level wasn't too bad for me, and I'm like a B student, lmao. So yeah, good luck with the decision! :)

It's really up to you and what kind of experience you want in hih school and if you want to go to unviersity. As everyone said, yes the course load is a lot more intensive than the regular work, but no, it will not drain your social life.

As long as you know how to manage your time, you will be fine. I've had IB friends who did IB but also sports and student council and gone to school social events. We all still had time to hang out after school too. But if you're more likely to procrastinate and want to be more laid back and social then don't do IB.

In terms of university... well you'll somewhat get the upper hand and if your exam marks are high enough then you'll be able to skip some classes depending on the school you go to (my sister didn't have to do the first year English requirement in university).

Is it worth it? I hear things from both sides, some people tell me it really helped them prepare and others said it was a waste of time and unneeded stress. I was accepted into IB and opted out of it. Personally I managed in university just fine. As long as you can manage your time and know how to study then you will do fine in university.

Is the IB school going to be fully IB with no regular classes?

My school offers IB and regular classes so I've had an equal mix of both throughout my 4 years (which makes me a Certificate). Thankfully I did because if I had tried to go for the diploma, I would have died. First because of the workload and second because I wouldn't pass the exams. The workload is quite heavy. You have a list of things to finish from CAS to EE to World Lits and IAs and maybe even more that I forgot about o_o. Through what I've seen, the IB classes also build you up to the IB exams in hopes you get a grade that will help you in college. If you get a good enough grade then some colleges will credit you and you don't have to take the class in college (which means you don't have to pay for the class and "waste time"). However on the down side, that means you might want to work your butt off to get that grade or else your past 4 years of IB and pre-IB were all in vain unless you really don't care about the grade you get. On the up side, IB really does prepare you for college. All our alumnis have came back and said, "IB was harder than the college courses I'm taking right now." I don't doubt it especially because my English teacher has made my class write 6 page essays since Junior year. We're so used to it now that we can write a 6-page essay easily. Some of my IB classes has helped me in my own life and how I perceive things. However, its also made me angry, tired and negative during hard times XD (esp now since its IB exams le gasp!). Through my experience since I'm near done with IB, the program was worth it because of the classes that changed how I saw things and because I really do think its going to help me in college. However, the downside is that its A LOT of work and requires self-discipline (unless you're a procrastinator who can work under pressure well and finish your essay on the day of lol). Not only that but as I see it, you should either be a well-rounded student where you're good in practically each subject or a very hardworking and studious person because IB will only truly be worth all the pain and torture if you get good enough scores in the end. Contrary to "having no social life", I don't think its true. Like I said, self-discipline and you will be able to have that social life.

I haven't taken any AP classes but from what it sounds, its just a little bit easier than IB. To me, it seems like IB gives big projects/work but AP seems to give a lot more homework o_o'

I'd try to evaluate myself as a student and person first before choosing which school to go to because each person is different. If you think you have what it takes to do the IB program then go ahead. Many have gone through the IB program and survived so its not impossible. Think about whats valuable to you as a student. To me, it was the experience and I sure got it through IB.

BTW, I've heard that high school life shouldn't be your focus because college life is way more fun >D

Well for me i took ib in high school and i struggle since everyone else in my grade is so smart as for a social life you do have one but not like the one where you get to hang out with your friends 24/7 it was mostly during the weekend and if you procastinate in ib you will struggle for real i mangae to switch out during my junior year which was intense for me at first but i manage. I think that if do go to ib school in high school try to see how your first two year are if yoou passsed those 2 years with all a and had no proble in the classes they offer thaen go ahead go for db if not then SWITCH out in your junior yeaar to a normal high school or to an AP school it will help you alot trust me im going thru this right now and im stressing out since i swithc in mid semester witch was hard thath is why u shoould switch before your junior year.