IB students have their schedules filled until the very last day of school with testing. Each test is over one or two days, consisting of two to three papers, depending on the subject. Students are stressed, but have done what they can to prepare.
Senior IB diploma student Michael McCoy just completed his IB History exam over the past two days, writing three papers. He still has three more subject exams to take over the next two weeks, on top of his AP exam. McCoy feels a sense of relief being able to say that one of his tests is complete. “It’s a weight off of my shoulders because the IB is so intense and it’s one less thing I have to worry about going into future tests,” McCoy said.
Although the stress is high, McCoy feels prepared going into his tests. Most of the IB curriculum ended in April, so it gave the students about a month of review time. This time is essential to the students, having to recall two years worth of content.
Senior IB diploma students Sophie Dhupar and Caitlin Luther had many ways of studying and preparing for their exams. They played review games, made flashcards, created study groups, and created silly acronyms to remember content. Dhupar noted, “ We had a master document with everything we learned last year, which was very helpful when reviewing.”
Senior IB diploma student Yorusalem Embaye has already taken two tests and has three more to complete. She joined IB to challenge herself and because she was inspired by her sister. Embaye understands the difficulty of balancing the IB workload and her personal life. “It’s really hard to balance,” Embaye stated. She attempts to complete all of her assignments on Fridays, so she can have a stress free weekend.
McCoy doesn’t let his academic workload interfere with his social life. “I believe that a social life is very important to your happiness,” McCoy mentioned. He has this mindset when preparing for his exams. “We know the content, we’ve read the books, we’ve practiced the tests.”
Dhupar has a similar mindset when it comes to IB as a whole. She has put in the work over these two years and it’s all down to the tests. She knows that some colleges don’t even accept IB scores, so her intentions behind doing IB don’t rely on her scores. “I did IB to experience that college level workload and to put on my resume,” Dhupar said.
