The Foreign Service Journal, December 2006

96 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT Curtis says: “On the bright side, this means you have a chance to build very deep and solid knowledge in a few areas. However, you lose the flexibility of one-year courses; you simply aren’t introduced to as many subjects. If I had been at a U.S. high school I might have had the freedom to take something like photography or music theory.” Some families report problems as a result of relocating when their stu- dents are in the middle of an IB Dip- loma Program. It can be challenging to make a smooth transition from one IB school to the next, because of curriculum differences. One negative aspect of the IB is, ironically, due to its strength: be- cause the IB Diploma Program is at a high academic level, only 80 per- cent, on average worldwide, actually receive the diploma after two years in the program. However, students who fail to receive the IB diploma may still earn a general high school diploma and graduate from high school, as well as receive certificates for those IB classes they do pass. Although this is not common in the U.S., in other parts of the world students who do not receive the IB diploma after two years will often stay a 13th year in school to “finish up,” retaking the IB classes they did not pass the year before. It’s regard- ed in much the same way as American students treat a “gap year” between high school and college. What about College Credit? Can you get college credit for the IB diploma or for IB courses? This varies from college to college. FS spouse O’Connor, whose daughter is now at the University of Edinburgh, says, “The higher-ranked schools that are receiving the cream-of-the-crop applications give different amounts of credit for the scores you receive in higher-level classes. Typically, you need to receive a grade of 5, 6 or 7 in high-level subjects in order to receive credit for those classes. Students can sometimes cut out a full year of expensive schooling by doing the full IB diploma.” In fact, Florida and Oregon now require their public universities to give a full year’s college credit for those students entering with an IB diploma — and more states may join them. However, be forewarned: While there is no question that the IB Diploma Program is advantageous in getting admitted to college in the first place, high school students investigating colleges need to ask questions about credit, and get firm answers, from college admissions (Continued from page 94)