Is DP as scary as it sounds?

Besides having new buildings and new students, there’s a new experience for 11th graders which is the Diploma Program. It is the last school step for IB students, which makes it definitely the most stressful 2 years of high school before going off to college. Therefore we were curious about what DP1 students really think of it and is it as difficult as the stories make it seem?

the world of IB, many MYP5 students were scared to death of DP because they thought you “have to work hard and still may not succeed,” said a student before entering DP. Many students were worried about things like TOK (Theory of knowledge), EE (extended essay) and exams, thinking that they wouldn’t be able to handle the workload and get bad grades.

The reality is at this point many students are finding IBDP1 way easier than expected. “There’s a slow transition, teachers guide and help to transition from MYP to DP,” said an 11th grader. Many students mentioned that the overall workload is smaller at the start of the school year and material is presented much slower than in MYP. Others think that it’s okay but getting stressful quite fast. 

On the other hand, the students who are new to an IB school, have been wondering what it is like to be in an International school. Some wonder if they will cope with English as it’s not their mother tongue. After the first few weeks they have realized that even though the DP is a lot of work and effort, it’s not as bad as they originally thought.

Overall, DP sounds to be just like any other school step, just with extra stress. The main cause of the stress are the big assignments such as EE, TOK and exams. However, there is plenty of time to prepare emotionally and physically, the materials are gone through carefully and slowly, and the teachers support each step of the way.