Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy PSEO and AP

"Anyone with kids in IB diploma program? Is it worth the effort? Do colleges here in the US really pay more attention to kids graduating from this program? Anyone with kids studying abroad after an IB?"

Ania,
I would start a separate topic for this question. The people who could answer this may not see it under this topic. I am curious also. Our school district is looking into the IB program.

You know Ania, I have no clue. I think the stuff is just so way below his ability. He types a paper about once a month, but I expected way more homework for 9th grade. I don't count the occasional paper typing as "homework". I think of homework as the day to day assignments that one would expect in math, for example. I'd like to see him doing AT LEAST an hour of something school related every night night.

Frankly, I'm worried he'll freak out at the homework level for the AP course. He's flying by easy right now. I remember his 5th grade gifted cluster class as being loaded with homework and then 7th grade pre-algebra being a lot of work, but 8th grade and 9th grade have been a breeze.

Ok...I just asked him. He says he has "media center" time 3 days a week at school where he can study and use the computers for papers. Math -- He laughed. He's in geometry/algebra and he says it is like a review of the last 2 years. What homework he has he finishes in other classes. What's he doing in those other classes, nothing, says the Rite-the-Great.

He's getting straight A's.

So basically he's getting by with it because there is nothing challenging him. This district does nothing for gifted kids except for "honors cluster" and AP. PSEO is open to everyone.

Hope that 'splains it Lucy!!!

My 2 cents
Background, for what it's worth. I taught college, have been on scholarship committees, although not involved in admissions and I'm not in academia anymore...

If Rite has a couple schools in mind, take a look at anything you can find on their web sites about admissions. That may help you decide on AP vs PSEO.

For admissions to a place like Stanford, you should ask someone about transfer credits from the PSEO. If Rite goes to school in state those PSEO credits should transfer directly to in state colleges because they are simply credits for classes taken at a real college. Given that the state sponsers the program, they should have some sort of transfer policy to make sure students get credit for these courses when they enter college after graduation. Besides, many colleges have transfer agreements with colleges that their students are likely to transfer to or from. For example, most community colleges have articulation agreements with nearby 4 year schools. This sounds like a great option for a student who stays in state because of the potential to have so much coursework paid for by the state.

HOWEVER transfering college credits from one college to another can be extremely tricky, especially for distant schools. Many times courses are examined individually for acceptance. There are no guarantees that a course taken at one institution counts for anything at another. Generally, a completed degree is somewhat easy to transfer, individual courses are more work. For example, a general ed associates degree at a community college should allow you to tranfer to a 4 year school with jr status. You are typically able to start in upper division degree coursework, although you may need to take a few lower division courses specific to your area of study. Most importantly, the general education courses are usually considered complete.

On the other hand, if you have 15 classes to transfer, the college will look at each class and decide whether or not it counts under their system. This tends to create holes in lower division general ed -GE- coursework because diffent schools have completely different ideas about what is needed for GE. If Rite is planning to go out of state, the college coursework may not be as easy to get credit for as the AP tests.