Hey, I was never an IB student because it wasn't available at my high school, but I always wished I could participate in the program.
In my entire state, there were two schools that offered the IB program but they were hundreds of kilometers away so I couldn't have attended them. How prevalent is the program where you are? (Malaysia, I imagine.) Did you choose it or were you required to? Do you think it's worth it?
And do you enjoy the IB program?
I'm just very curious about it and there will always be a part of me that regrets not having the opportunity to participate in the program during high school. The traditional American high school curriculum was extremely easy for me but the more I see of the world, the more I realize that I learned almost nothing throughout my high school classes. (the exceptions being my Debate, AP Lang, and AP Lit classes)
Hi! Thanks for answering this topic HAHAHA
I'm in Brunei, next to Malaysia
There are only 2 schools (both are international schools) in the country that offer the IB. 1 school offers A levels AND IB, my school only offers the IB. So basically, I either choose between my school, the other school or public schools (that all do A levels) for my parents' convenience + my own interest, I chose to stay in my school (I've been here since 2011) So technically, it was kind of required to since it would be a bit problematic to move schools? But I don't really mind it as well. Oh yeah, I COULD go to AUS/UK/USA to do a foundation course but my family doesnt trust me to live alone (same)
Compared to Singapore where IB students average a 40/45, my school averages a 30-32 (i think?), not sure about the other school, but I think they do better
A possible reason for this is that the entry requirement for IB in my school is 5C's for IGCSE, whereas the otherschool requires 5B's or something; or maybe student differences or something idek. IB is intense but people in my school don't intensely study 24/7, theyre actually quite chill but lowkey internally panicking and stressing
but we're fine! There are some students in the country that get 45/45, like maybe 4 people in the whole country? It's expensive to attend an international school here in Brunei, so there are lots of other rly smart people who are studying in public schools because they attend for free/at a super low fee
Is it worth it: Being someone whos very indecisive, 6 subjects (5 excluding a foreign language) opens more doors to a wider variety of uni courses? I think 0.0 I think it's worth it because I got to try out new extracurricular activities and learn more about subjects like psychology and film (which I wouldn't be able to do in A levels I imagine) Also, I heard it will be worth it in the end because in uni you research and write a lot of 1000s word essays, so the IB prepares you for that!
Overall on the rly big picture, the IB is nice, eventhough it can be a serious pain if you procrastinate or dont know how to organize yourself with the EE, CAS and technically 7 subjects! Like seriously, everyone complains everyday. There are times where I really want to jump off a cliff because IB HURTS but I just remember nothing is permanent so I just deal with the pain while I go on with the course :^^^^^)
I was always curious about AP classes in America! Seems like you would be a really good IB student because the IB challenges you in many ways (different forms of assessments and all) If you wish to know more about the IB you can always drop me a message! I use tamatalk to procrastinate from attending to my IB responsibilities :^) I hope I answered alll your questions! (Not sure about the prevalent one bc it either means powerful/widespread (thx google))
