What Is the International Baccalaureate Full Diploma Program?
Academically gifted students are always looking for an edge that will set them apart from their competition when they apply to their preferred university or college. While most are familiar with the benefits of advanced placement (AP) courses on their transcript, many have never even heard of an International Baccalaureate (IB).
Overlooking the value of an International Baccalaureate is a mistake that no high-achieving student should make.
What’s an International Baccalaureate?
The IB program is designed to challenge students aged 3 through 19 to the heights of their academic and personal development. Obtaining an International Baccalaureate is challenging, but it’s also one of the best ways a student can distinguish themselves before seeking admission to an institute of higher learning.
While the IB program is offered around the world at many levels, its two-year Diploma Programme (or IBDP) is typically offered only to high school students.
How Does the IBDP Differ From AP Classes?
Advanced placement courses focus on one area of study or expertise. No matter how many AP classes a student takes, they don’t have the same well-rounded approach or results that you see with the IBDP.
While studies are focused around six main subject groups, like science, mathematics or the arts, all IBDP participants take a specific core curriculum of advanced classes. These core classes include:
- The Theory of Knowledge, which requires a written paper and an oral presentation — both of which can help prepare students for the rigors of the collegiate admissions process.
- A substantial independent project through self-directed research that finishes with a 4,000-word essay detailing what they have learned — which ultimately prepares students to handle the independent nature of many university courses.
- Participation in an extracurricular project that is designed to challenge their abilities and combine the concepts of activity, creativity and service — which is instrumental in helping students achieve healthy socialization and show their good character.
Academically, the IBDP is a rigorous test of a student’s abilities. To achieve a diploma, students must pass exams in all six areas of study, and three of those must be taken at the “higher,” or most challenging, course level.
What Value Does the IBDP Have for College or University Admissions?
Ultimately, an IBDP shows that a student isn’t afraid to take on a major academic hurdle. College admission officers are familiar with the rigors of the IBDP program and know that it has a standard for excellence that’s applied equally around the world, which is something that cannot always be said about AP programs, class rank or grade point averages (GPAs). This can be particularly useful when applying to schools in the United States.
A student with an IBDP shows that they have invested considerable time and energy into understanding how to analyze information or a subject and practically apply what they’ve learned, rather than simply remember and repeat facts, figures and other kinds of data by rote. That allows admission officers to better assess a student’s ability to thrive in a university setting.
By its rarity alone, an IBDP is a notable achievement to put on an application for admission to a university or college — and it indicates that a student is serious about both their future and their contributions to society as a whole.
