Help! Very General Problem

[Guest rafrech]

Hey from the U.S., I'll be a junior doing the IB program in the fall and I have ABSOLUTELY No idea what I'm getting myself into with IB.

I am extremely frightened and don't know what to expect. I've been informed about the basics of IB, what it is, how it works, ect. however no one has offered me insight into how hard, time consuming, stressful, the program actually is. I know much of this depends on the students' abilities but could someone provide their own personal experiences with IB?

Thank you!

[Arrowhead]

Don't fret.

The level of difficulty of the IB depends in large part on your own aptitude and the nature of the subjects you've chosen.

The reason that a lot of students, regardless of intellect, struggle with the IB, is not because of the difficulty of the programme, but due to its sheer volume. Organisation is the key to succeeding in the IB, a close second being self-motivation to finish your assignments well in time.

There are numerous components to the IB. For example, when I was doing the IB, based on my subject choices, I had the standard Extended Essay to write, alongside two World Literature papers, an Oral Presentation and Commentary, a 2,000-word research paper in History, 4 Economics commentaries, numerous labs, and complicated Maths assessment reports, and the ToK presentation and essay. All of this, was over and above the usual homework and assignments I had for high school, as well as university applications, extracurricular activities, etc.

Individually, each of these components is not that hard, I would actually say that taken alone each one is fairly easy to manage and get done. Problems arise when everything is compounded together and you feel like you're being pulled in a million different directions at once and you need to be everywhere.

This is where organisation and self-motivation becomes key. It is also where the age-old adage comes from that the IB is a programme for high-achieving students who can multitask easily.

Here, you must also be honest with yourself, if organisation and self-motivation are not your strengths and you wouldn't consider yourself a high-achieving student in general, then you either have to buck up and turn over a new leaf, or prepare yourself for what may perhaps end up being a painful two-year experience for you.

Welcome to the IBS community, you will find all kinds of IB students here, happy to help, and when necessary, commiserate with you.

Cheers!

Arrowhead.

Edited June 18, 2013 by Arrowhead

[Emmi]

I agree with a lot of what Arrowhead has said above. The students who struggle most, at least at my school, weren't necessarily the kids who took the hardest classes. Instead they were the kids who procrastinated and left everything until the last minute, and then everything was due at once. When you get a big assignment (like a world literature paper or something), try to get it done, and get it done properly the first time around. I remember at my school we wrote both of our world literature papers at the end of IB1, but you could revise and edit them until they were sent off in December. Some people took that to mean "Oh I don't have to really try because I can just edit them in like November," but when November came around, the EE was due, TOK presentations were starting, math IAs were being done, and some of the language orals were being done, so people that did that essentially screwed themselves over and had only themselves to blame. Don't let that happen to you. Take your work seriously and just get it done, because that's one less thing that you have to do. And when you finish something major, it feels great not to have it on your shoulders anymore.

My own experience with IB wasn't too bad. There were times that it was really time consuming and I had a lot to get done all at once, but I got my EE done over the summer when I wasn't doing much of anything else and got all my other stuff done as early as possible which made it better. You can still do the IB and have time to hang out with friends, go to prom, have free time, etc.

[nkccue]

First of all relax It is really not that difficult according to many of my friends who have completed the program... My advice to you would be to not procrastinate, use your time wisely and finish the EE and get a head start on your IAs in IB1. Cheers

[Blackcurrant]

IB, at least where I attended, was one big family, with the coordinator as combined mother-guide-counsellor (you run to him/her for emotional support or in crises) and classmates looking out for each other, as siblings do. We suffered together, crammed together, griped together .. you name it. The single greatest benefit of collective suffering is that you stand the best chance of forming tight-knit bonds, which last through life. As in times of war.

You work your butt off ... and feel exhilaration on learning that you've just passed (just kidding - you feel exhilaration WHENEVER you pass ;)

You will feel great satisfaction in working hard and doing just fine, in the end.

How much better can it get?

Edited August 11, 2013 by Blackcurrant