The Foreign Service Journal, December 2006

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 97 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT officers and registrars. If you are enrolling in the IB Diploma Program solely to receive college credit, it is essential that you investigate the pos- sibility thoroughly with the schools to which you intend to apply. Even if colleges and universities give a full year of credit, graduate schools may frown on students who have only been at an undergraduate institution for three years instead of four. Kate Duguid, who graduated from the International School of Brussels and is now a sophomore at the highly selective Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, has this to say: “I took four higher-level courses (English A1, French A2, Theatre Arts, and History) and two standard-level courses (Math Methods and Bio- logy). Bryn Mawr gave me credit for my four higher-level courses (be- cause I had received a 6 or above) and for my math course, because it had covered calculus. In addition, they were going to allow me to grad- uate a year early.” However, Duguid was advised to stay for the full four years at Bryn Mawr. “Although I had received a year’s worth of credit, graduate schools do not see IB and AP high school courses as being ‘college- level,’ but rather as challenging high school courses which are required to get into a top-tier college,” she explains. “Thus, it was highly recom- mended that I take four years of col- lege classes if I wanted to go to a good graduate school.” Many students have found that U.S. colleges and universities are often more willing to give college credit for AP classes than for IB cer- tificates in the same courses. While the IB diploma should, and usually does, carry the most weight, IB cer- tificate classes taken outside of the diploma program are not always rec- ognized as readily as AP courses, even Continued on page 100 “It’s a great program if your child thrives on that kind of academic challenge and is prepared to make the commitment, but many students find it overwhelming.” — Rebecca Grappo