IB students to US colleges

YauMum

acdad,

Well, if it is not the money problem, why not complete the IB DP for entering a regualr U in US.  She will have a better study life.

A lot of people are saying 2 years community college & 2 years U would have the same 'cert' but save a lot of money & time.

Does your daughter agree to your plan?


Yau Mum

p.s. I always think from the views of the kid first.

acdad

Hi YauMum,

Thanks for your comments. Appreciate your concern.

Actually,   my wife and I had studied in CC and transferred to a 4 years U in US before we studied in our graduate school in US.

Frankly, we do not think we have lost  any part of our education life (except a nice and green campus)  by using this path until we saw the mission statement and learner profile in IB website.

However, the recent discussion in this forum gave me an impression that a significant number  of IB parents view the IB program as an education programme especially  for elite students only. I guess that's why some schools and  parents just join the DP program and use that as a stepping stone for Top U instead of using that as a complete education experience for their kids.

Some parents set their ultimate goal to join Top U above other things, which is quite  different from our value.

To us, having our kids  qualifying for Top U is the probable outcome, but not the ultimate goal to enroll in IB programmeS, not just the DP !

As I mentioned in another post, we would not mind to have my daughter completing  DP ,  but that's not our most preferred path.


Thanks again for your recommendation.

tamm

To acdad:

I see your point if you are looking for a shorter route to finish school

2 year IS kinder
6 year primiary
5 year secondary

Total 13 years before going to US college.  I thought about this route too.  However, I have done some research and note that US college actually give credits to IBD students.  I cannot remember which site I was reading, Yale or Hartford.  It said that you can get 7 credits for each subject that you get a certain grade, 5 or something.  So, you can get up to 42 credits after IBD.  Of course, in the US, it is not only the number of credits that matter, but also the right subject.  Assuming that you take the right subjects, you can get upto 42 credits against your college study.  This is more than a year study assuming you take 15 semester units every term.  This will leave you about 2 1/2 year study in the US.  Given the cost of studying in the US, even for CC after taking into account the living cost, going through the IBD may not be a bad choice.

Back in my days, I think I only got 6 units for each AL subject but it already helped me shorten my study time.

YauMum

Dear acdad,

I do agree with you.  I did study in US & I am familiar with their system but I sure different students would have different path.

As you said that most of the parents are using IB DP as a stepping stone, too.  

It may sound successful in disclosed cases; I read one report on some Bristish newspapers with very bad comments.

I have also heard of one good thing about IB DP, the students are good to adapt long essay assessment in 'U' as they start earlier than others. (another 'good' learning point 嬴在起跑點上 but I do not totally agree as Asian learn more difficult thing and earlier than the western students, so Asian also beleive Western study is earlier and can get better grade - it is from my points of view only)

Good luck to your daughter.  She is luck to have parents like you two have independent thinking.

YauMum

原帖由 acdad 於 10-10-26 21:01 發表
Hi YauMum,

Thanks for your comments. Appreciate your concern.

Actually,   my wife and I had studied in CC and transferred to a 4 years U in US before we studied in our graduate school in US.

Frank ...

acdad

Hi tamm and Yaumum,

Thanks for your sharing.

I am not sure if  other well known university system would grant credits to IB DP candidates but I did write that in my first post that the UC  (University of California) system does grant credits for IB DP and MYP cert. candidates. Since Us in CA are my targets and the size of the UC system is representable enough, I think we can use that as a good reference .

Please find the link here

http://www.universityofcaliforni ... -credits/index.html

The International Baccalaureate Organization awards either a diploma or a certificate for individual IB exams. Students who complete the IB diploma with a score of 30 or above will receive 30 quarter (20 semester) units toward their UC degree. Students who receive IB certificates with scores of 5,6 or 7 on Higher Level exams will receive 8 quarter (5.3 semester) units.

The length of the pre-U education is certainly my concern but  the quality of school and family life are most important to us.

I have friends having their  kids studying in primary schools doing homework till 10-11pm everyday. I know  parents having most of their conversation with their kids on homework assignement and test preparation, taking lessons for hobbies in order to get  a certificate facilitating targeted schools admission. I can understand why they do that as that will help them getting into better schools under the 9 years free education system. That's the trade-off most parents/students  need to do in order  to stay competitive under the free education system.

Since we are lazy parents, we chose the IS system for my kids and for ourselves from the beginning. We really do not want to waste the only hours after work in coaching them the homework  

If there is an easy path, we defintely would not take the hard one

nintendo

原帖由 acdad 於 10-10-26 02:01 發表
Sorry but I still could not persuade myself  why I need to add 1 or 2 years in  each IB programme to compensate the 1  year in kinder.  

First, no one is adding any extra years to a program. Different programs are different.

Second, you do not need to persuade yourself to believe in anything. Take action and find another school.

BTW, which school is your children in? Are you having any issues with the school?

acdad

Hey, take it easy!

I have no problem with the school.

We are discussing alternative paths and exit plan which can provide flexiblity for other IB parents as well.

I may not be the only one who would  benefit from whatever being discussed in here and  I don't think changing school is the only action we have to take.

Would U mind telling us which school and programme your child is taking ? I believe he/she must not be taking IB MYP, right?

JTmom

If your goal is to shorten the total years of studying, you may not need to skip the IBDP. There is a 2-year university in the UK which may be an option for you. Check out the below link.
From a cost cutting perspective, it is cheaper to  cut a year in overseas university than a year in local secondary school.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/university-challenge-does-a-twoyear-degree-make-more-economic-sense-2037887.html

But at the end of the day, it's what your daughter feels like to do with her life that matters.
b.rgds,

原帖由 acdad 於 10-11-1 12:21 發表
Hey, take it easy!

I have no problem with the school.

We are discussing alternative paths and exit plan which can provide flexiblity for other IB parents as well.

I may not be the only o ...

acdad

JTmom,

Thanks but studying in UK is never an option to us due to various reasons.

BTW, my daughter  is an US citizen. It would make more sense  to have her tertiary education in US.:D