Re: CHAT: University Advice (was Re: A bit of advice)

On Sun, 10 Sep 2000, Cathy Whitlock wrote:

> yl112@CORNELL.EDU writes:
>
> << Hmm.  Is IB available?  I bet Canadian schools recognize IB a lot better
>  than most U.S. universities.  I might as well not have taken the stupid
>  IB and gotten the diploma for all the good it did me here.  :-/ >>
>
> uh oh... elaborate? I'm gettin' scared now... ACK!
> ~Cathy~
U.S. universities seem pretty lousy about awarding IB credits.  I took
the IBH in French, English, math and physics.  I got no credits or any
sort of waiver for the language requirement for a 6 in French.  6 credits
(1.5 courses) for a 7 in English, so at least that wasn't a wash.  No
credits for a 5 in math, though I *knew* all the material in the 1st two
semesters of calculus (and having an easy first semester math class
didn't hurt).  4 credits for a 7 in physics.  I took subsidiaries in
psychology and 20th century history, got 6's on both, and got no
credits.  Plus, trying to write your extended essay on a comparison of
Roman and medieval siege warfare in South Korea is just completely
stupid, as I realized about halfway through (too late to change the
subject--I'd rather have studied medieval mercenaries, but that would've
meant no sources as opposed to a bare dozen, most secondary), especially
when *you* are the person in the school who knows the most about the
subject (this included the teachers--there just weren't enough people in
the history dept.) and can't get adequate advice.  :-/

If you're going to college in Europe, you're fine.  :-)  But I think I
would've gotten more out of equivalent AP's had they been available (they
weren't).  It would've freed up time in college to take interesting
things that weren't at all available in high school.  If you're applying
to U.S. universities, look into their advanced placement policies.

YHL