Thursday, December 16, 2010

To IB or not to IB...

One of the considerations in choosing a school is the type of degree each school awards.  Most schools in New South Wales, Australia (our new state and country) award the Higher School Certificate (HSC).  This is the recognized high school diploma for graduates in NSW (New South Wales).  One of the schools on our list also offers the International Baccalaureate (IB), which is a standard curriculum recognized world-wide and organized out of Switzerland.  Would it be better for Nicole to apply to US universities with an IB or an HSC?

(Whew, now that you are all familiar with the acronyms currently populating my life!)

Unfortunately, the school offering the IB is on the too-small side, and Nicole is really looking for a larger pond to swim in with this move.  There would be just 14 girls doing the IB next year, so class sizes could range from 3 to 14, depending on the subject matter.  So, we are strongly considering schools where the degree would be the HSC.

According to a friend who works in admissions at a local university in CT, it shouldn't be an issue, since the HSC is the standard, recognized degree for NSW graduates.  As long as we keep our eyes on the classes she chooses to take so that she fulfills graduation requirements that align with US high schools, we should be fine.

Now that we have a house and car, school selection is the next Big Decision.

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