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

<<< 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. >>>

Oh wow, that really stinks! (but that sounds like an interesting extended
essay topic by the way- I'm doing mine on a certain theme in Ana María
Matute's  works, in Spanish... God help me!) I can't believe they didn't take
the credits! My IB coordinator always told us we'd automatically enter as a
junior in the average schools and probably a sophomore in the "Big Schools".
But congrats on doing so well on your exams- I've taken chemistry so far, and
this year I'm up for Spanish B HL, English, history (option of history of the
Americas, quite interesting), math studies (I don't have what it takes to be
a math major, no math methods for me hehe), and music. I'm going to take a
couple corresponding AP tests this year too, along with a Bachillerato from
the Spanish government in literature, mathematics, humanities, and science.
Lets just say the months of April and May will not be very fun at all! (any
IB advice? Besides ditching the program for AP classes? hehe)

Also, I'm thinking of majoring in international relations, focusing on Latin
America. Do you guys think it would be better to do a double major in IR and
Spanish or just minor in Spanish? I'd be able to handle the Spanish major, no
doubt about that, but does it really make a difference as far as grad school
accpetance goes, if you double major or be a sane person and have one major
and one minor? Then again, I'm not even in undergrad this year, perhaps I am
getting a tad ahead of myself! :o)

~Cathy~