WHAT IS THE GREATEST ADVANTAGE THIS PROGRAM OFFERS?
The program offers a superior pre-collegiate liberal arts education.  Anyone who earns the IB Diploma can be assured of having as good a high school education as his or her peers in the best secondary schools throughout the world.  Such a student can also be confident of communicating meaningfully at the university with students from countries all over the globe.

ARE THERE ANY ADVANTAGES RELATED TO COLLEGE ADMISSIONS OR TO ADVANCED PLACEMENT IN COLLEGE CLASSES?
Yes. Although just being in the program will not guarantee admission to any college (you must be admitted on your own terms), former students tell us that their experience in the program has been very helpful during college interviews. After you have been admitted to your college, you may submit scores from IB exams and receive advanced placement credit for scores of 5, 6, or 7 on the higher level exams (at North Central, those would be English, history, biology, mathematics, physics, music, drama or art). Many schools desiring to attract IB candidates are offering up to one year of credit for those who earn the IB Diploma. IB students from North Central currently attend such highly selective schools as Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Washington University, University of Chicago, University of Massachusetts, Oberlin, Carleton, and Berkeley to name a few. Many IB students have been named Wells Scholars and have received significant scholarships.

HOW DOES THE IB PROGRAM DIFFER FROM THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) PROGRAM?
AP is an external testing program that enables a student to demonstrate ability to do grade 13 work by taking a single examination in the subject(s) of his or her choice. Thus, a student can choose to take as few as one AP exam or as many as four or five. The student earns a single score of 1-5 on each exam. Colleges usually award credit for scores of 4 or 5.

IB is both a curriculum and a testing program. The student must complete the course work, the Extended Essay, the service component, and the exams in six subjects in order to receive the diploma. Though the student eventually earns a single score of 1-7 in each subject, that score has several activities factored into it: (1) the written exams, (2) some work done in class that is mailed to the examinations office and graded separately, (3) some oral work in English, French or Spanish, etc. Scores are finally compiled for a grade total. Twenty-four (24) points are required to receive the diploma.

HOW MUCH DOES THE PROGRAM COST THE STUDENT?
The cost for each exam is $110 payable in October of the junior or senior year. Washington Township pays subscription and registration costs. Parents are responsible for individual examination fees.

HOW ARE STUDENTS CHOSEN FOR THE PROGRAM?
Students choose themselves. They receive counseling and advice concerning their progress and probability of success in the program. They must also be able to earn an A or B in all honors curriculum their freshman and sophomore years.

HOW SMART DOES A PERSON REALLY HAVE TO BE TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THAT IS REQUIRED FOR AN IB DIPLOMA?
A teacher with considerable experience in the IB program at the United Nations School advises that a student should have above-average intelligence, but nearly as important, are two personal qualities which are harder to measure: the ability to remain calm under the pressure of hard work and the ability to maintain good organizational skills. Practically speaking, a student considering the program should be taking honors (X) classes in English, science, social studies, and world language and should be maintaining grades of B or above in all subjects.

ARE THERE SEPARATE IB CLASSES IN VARIOUS SUBJECTS?
Only in a very few cases are there separate IB classes. The IB program is incorporated into existing honors classes in each subject area. Theory of Knowledge is for IB students only. IB students in Advanced Biology also take additional laboratory work that is not part of the Advanced Biology course. Otherwise, honors classes have students who are pursuing the IB diploma, or who are planning to take AP exams.

WHEN DOES A STUDENT HAVE TO MAKE A COMMITMENT TO THE IB PROGRAM?
The ninth grade student should be making serious plans. By the middle of the tenth grade, IB students must decide whether to pursue the diploma because the eleventh and twelfth-grade programs must include the Theory of Knowledge course. This makes taking AP US History 1/2 in grade 10 a necessity.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE IB PROGRAM AND THE PRE-IB PROGRAM?
The pre-IB group of courses would be those such as honors classes in English, science, social studies, and world language that would logically precede their equivalents of the last two years of high school. The student should begin advanced study in foreign language in the middle school to be adequately prepared for the courses during the junior and senior years.

CAN A STUDENT DROP OUT OF THE PROGRAM?
This happens rarely and requires permission of the IB Coordinator. The purpose of the pre-IB courses, those taken during the first two years of high school, is to help the student prepare for the last two years and to help determine for him or herself whether the program is appropriate.

COULD A STUDENT WHO DID NOT HAVE ADVANCED FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL CATCH-UP BY THE ELEVENTH GRADE WITH THOSE WHO DID?
By undertaking independent study outside of school and adding some summer schoolwork, a few students have been able to accomplish this, but it presents a considerable challenge. Such students should consult the chairperson in the foreign language department, describe their personal situations, and seek counsel before making final plans.

WHAT HAPPENS IF A STUDENT DOES NOT ACHIEVE THE NUMBER OF POINTS REQUIRED FOR THE DIPLOMA?
The student receives certification from IB in subjects that were passed. If a student did poorly in only two subjects, for example, he or she would still receive certification in the remaining four, and with appropriate scores in these subjects, would still be eligible to receive possible university recognition for them.

WILL STUDENTS HAVE TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND STILL FULFILL THE REQUIREMENTS FOR AN IB DIPLOMA?

Typically, IB students are also some of the most active in high school. Graduating seniors from the last few classes were members of most of the performing arts groups, successful participants in all varsity sports, members of many academic teams such as Speech, Brain Game, Science Olympiad. They have competed in many State and national competitions and volunteered in youth group activities, held part-time jobs, and taken leadership positions in National Honor Society and student government.

HOW HAVE NORTH CENTRAL STUDENTS PERFORMED IN THE PROGRAM SO FAR?
During the past 26 years of the program, North Central High School students have been awarded 421 International Baccalaureate diplomas–90%.