Expert: Todd Johnson - 2/16/2008

Question
Hi

I am a high school sophomore, a week away from applying for courses in grade 11. The courses I choose now will determine the path I take towards grade 12, university and the potential university I will apply to in years to come. I currently find myself in a bit of a dilemma. I am in a pre - IB program and am forced to choose between taking the full diploma or certificate. If I take the diploma I'll end up with  IB Math  SL, IB English HL, IB History HL, IB Biology HL, IB French SL, TOK and Visual arts or a science (chemistry or physics)SL. I am not strong in the sciences and visual arts. If I decide to take on the certificate only certain courses will be granted IB Status, however I'm afraid they will not be accepted as well as the diploma is by most North American Universities. I want to pursue a career in either Corporate Law or Financial Research Analysis, so I believe it will be to my benefit to take the diploma, but I fear I will jeopardize my chances of getting into a good program. Can you help me determine what path would best suit my careers, as well as any universities that accept the IB Certificate?

Answer
Crystal,

First, congratulations on obviously being a strong student. All colleges  look at a variety of issues in deciding who to admit. The primary criteria for almost all colleges are the courses taken in high school and the grades you receive in those courses. You are correct that the most selective colleges will look more favorable on a full diploma although if you are taking any courses with IB status it will look good.  There is no right or wrong answer here but my initial reaction is to strongly consider the full diploma. If you do well on that program you will be in a strong position to apply to the highly selective colleges in the US. You could also do this with the certificate program but you would not be as strong a candidate. Outside the very top programs, you would be a strong candidate at almost any college with either program.

Colleges recognize that not all students are strong in all areas of study so not doing as well in science or visual arts, considering your interests, would not be a major problem. However, if you think you would do poorly even with extra work in the science or visual art course, then taking the certificate program might be a better option.

For both corporate law and financial research analysis, you will need a graduate degree and you do not need to necessarily go to one of the most selective colleges to get into a graduate program in these areas.

I would also suggest that you have a serious discussion about this issue with someone who knows you better academically, such as a counselor in your school or one of your teachers. They will be in a better position to give you guidance on whether they think you can handle the full diploma program or not.

Good luck.