Hello to all prospective IB students!
Most students that are in the year before embarking onto Further Education (International Baccalaureate, A Levels, SATs, APs) have finished their exams and have started their summer holidays. Some of them may even be planning to study the IB Diploma Programme when the new term starts. If this is you, carry on reading!
I’m sure that you know the fundamentals of the International Baccalaureate by this stage, especially if you are studying it next year! But, if you don’t I would strongly advise you check out the following websites that will be able to give you an idea of what to expect, IBO DP website & International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Article on Wikipedia, these sites will be able to explain the IB much better than I could ever hope to.
Now, you have an idea of what to expect, it may seem a little bit daunting! But if you are willing to put in the hours and work during your own time and organise! I’m sure you shall be fine.
I’ve got all this free time, what can I do to prepare myself? – Well, it’s up to you. If you want you can try and learn some of the content now, or you can just wait until the course starts. I would recommend that you start learning during your free time as there is alot of content to learn, especially when you’re studying six subjects, doing your 150 hours of CAS and ToK and the Extended Essay. You should probably get in touch with your school now if you can, see what textbooks they recommend you buy and whether they will provide them, or you can have a look at the the textbooks reviewed here and decide which will be best for you.
What should I do to prepare myself? Just spend a few hours a day, not every day, just a few days per week, reading up in the textbooks and answering the questions, making notes, researching on the Internet. Just do something that will make you more familiar with the course! Don’t over do it though, otherwise you will find your motivation may suffer when you do actually start full time.
I don’t want to prepare now, I want to enjoy my summer! Good! Remember, it’s up to you. The IB focuses on directing students to learn for themselves. If you would rather spend your last ‘free’ summer doing fun things then go for it! Remember, the summer holiday between IB year 1 and IB year 2 will be very busy with work and internal assessments.
Once again, It’s up to You whether you do work or not before the course starts! I would recommend you do a little to give you a brief head start, it will help in the long run and when you do start the work load won’t be as big a shock to you than if you did nothing! Good Luck! Have Fun! Prepare!!
