Graduating from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and now studying at a prestigious university, I can confidently say that the IB is slightly easier than university. This is due to several reasons, which I will discuss in this article. The essential requirement for graduating with an IB diploma is that the student must take at least six subjects. This is one of the most crucial aspects in determining how difficult your journey to the IB will be.
It is known that the Theory of Knowledge (ToK) is the connecting rope that highlights the interdisciplinary nature of all IB subjects. According to UNIS, “less than 1% of students who receive the IB diploma score 45 points and “only 7% receive the maximum grade of 7 in each subject, so all students have done phenomenally well.” If you score a 7 according to those IB standards, the grade of that subject on your Ontario diploma becomes more than 96%. You get a 7 if you get a score of more than 80% or whatever the grade limit for that subject, as established by the IB. Research led by the University of South Florida suggests that IB students are more susceptible to the negative effects of stress.
My coordinator says that the IB is more difficult than anything you can do in the future, but it's probably biased. My brother completed the IB and goes to ASU in Arizona and says that classes like Chemistry are pretty easy since he took IB Chem SL. I heard that people find it easier in the first year because the workload on the IB and the first year is practically the same or less. I mean, obviously, the IB prepares you for academic and critical thinking that you won't necessarily include in the normal high school curriculum, which has definitely been useful to me, but the amount of work still doesn't match what I'm doing here. IB students tend to perform better and develop strong academic, social and emotional characteristics. To conclude, after having taken a rather tough combination of subjects in the Diploma program and now studying Chemical Engineering at a highly respected technical university, I can confidently say that the IB is definitely a little easier than university.
