The Big Question for MOE Bursary Scholars: IBDP Aye or Nay?

This post is updated! Why "updated"? Because this post is now from an experienced me. Of course I'm not as experienced as my good seniors, but it is definitely an update from THIS one that I wrote a year ago when I got the scholarship and proceeded to mull over the very important matter.

And yes, people, it is VERY important. It is life or death.

You do NOT want to end up in deep shit because you chose the wrong course.
^ This especially applies to people who got into IB and decided that it is Hell's middle name.

This, to me, sums up IB.

Anyway. I don't usually proactively offer help to people, or hang around Facebook answering a million questions. I guess it's good enough on my part to offer a post on how to decide in this 3 months (it took me that long, like seriously, it was a week before the bursary deadline when I applied).

My current batch of IB students has 30+ of us (about 34?) although we started about 38 of us. 3 of us dropped after one semester. So yeah. However according to some of the student ambassadors, many more students applied for IB this year, presumably because of our senior Eleasha's successful offer to study at Harvard (which was a big piece of national news). But before you rush to apply in the hope of getting into the most prominent Ivy League university, do you think IB is for you?

So here's a few facts about me:

• I'm an MOE Bursary Scholar, took SPM in Dec 2012, got 9A+, got the Bursary in 2013
• I'm currently an IB junior at Taylor's College Sri Hartamas, enrolled in July 2013
• My course is for 2 years, will be sitting for finals in May 2015.
• I stay in the hostel accommodation provided.

Why TCSH:

Disclaimer: I am not in any way paid by Taylor's to say all this. I am in all honesty giving my holy opinions, including the goods and the bads. 

It is convenient. My accommodation is just across the road, 1 minute to college if you're lucky, 5 minutes if you're unlucky like me and got Block E, which is the furthest block. Still it was really close and I don't have to face jams every time I want to get to school. This means I can wake up late and still get there in time. Major bonus point right! And we have weekly cleaners. BUT: it's fixed so yeah. 

It is modern. I haven't seen another private college having escalators as staircases (probably because we're in an office/shop building). I love it because this means I can lug my heavy bag up two floors without going crazy. The facilities and furniture and stuff are really new and polished too, since the campus only started since 2009. This means we get to use newer, not-vandalised-yet stuff! BUT: no cafeteria. Food choices limited to outside food which are mostly expensive (but there are cheaper options too!)

Taylor's reputation. As shallow and superficial as you might think it is, it's not. Yes Taylor's is rich, expensive, and spends on advertisements like nobody's business. But it's free for us, so since finance isn't an issue, why not go for the biggest and brightest college there is? They have consistent good results too. Now before you bash me up about how other colleges are good too, I know, I get it, and you will know that I've been to many of them if you read my earlier posts. Hence I'm choosing TCSH based on all criterias, not just the reputation. BUT: Taylor's known for A-Levels, not really IB.

And now, why IB:

1. I have no idea.

2. Repeat 1.

Like seriously. Well I did have valid reasons for choosing IB in my earlier post HERE, but all of that didn't really matter. I might want six different subjects that I could never do with A-Level combos, want a better education, find the idea of 25% coursework grade interesting, think EE is something I would enjoy, give me an edge for US universities, yadda yadda yadda, but at the end of the day when you're faced with shitloads of IB stuff you just want to throw your head in and give up and nothing that I mentioned matters anymore. 

That was the point when everyone regretted their decision and wanted desperately to change to A-Levels.

Don't get me wrong, IBDP is a wonderful course with a great philosophy: a balanced education for a balanced, global student. I love the course, the fact that I can choose all the subjects I love instead of packages that I have to take, which may not be the ones I like or suitable for my future degree.

Goods of IBDP:

• A wonderful, wonderful experience when you don't look at the amount of work you have.
• You get to go to another country for a service programme! Mine's Cambodia. You get to run charity sales, loads of fun activities that you can choose from to complete your CAS hours. 
• Depending on who your coursemates are and how they are like, chances are you will be much more able to form strong relationships with them than in A-Levels. The IB community is the most close-knit among the three programmes offered here.
• Depends on your subjects, sometimes you get experienced teachers who make your subject interesting and easy to learn.
• Again depending on your subjects, you get REALLY small classes, ranging from 2-20 people, so it's much easier to concentrate in class.
• Good edge for applying to universities, especially in the US where they value a well-rounded experience. Not that good for UK cause they don't really recognise IB much as in their offers are known to be unfairly higher than A-Levels, so you'd be better off doing A-Levels (although we might see a little change in the future)

Bads of IBDP:

• Depending on your subjects, sometimes your teachers keep changing. Although this probably just due to the college issues, nothing to do with IB.
• The workload is scary shit. No joke. We all thought we'd be fine and disregard any warnings from our seniors, but now, 3 months to being a senior myself, I'm dying. There's just so much to do that sometimes I don't know where to start. Excellent time management helps a lot. 
• Deadlines are horrible. You get everything thrown onto the same deadline, so knowing what to do when is IMPORTANT.
• CAS paperwork is annoying. Even though I like writing, having to write reflections for every activity I do gets stale.
• Teacher experience. You might find that you will need to rely on yourself for some of the subjects, as some of the teachers have little to no IB background, although they will be eager to help you, I find that being independent is very important as I couldn't feel secure in some of my subjects. 
• Expenses. Bursary might cover all of your tuition fees, but it doesn't cover your textbooks (which can go up to more than RM2000), graphic calculator, travelling expenses and whatnot.

And here's some interesting things you might want to know about:

• You get your allowance every 6-months (meaning they will pay you RM2000+ at once) but it takes forever for them to bank in, so it's like you only get your Jan-June money in March.
• Accommodation is provided but fixed and it depends on which college you go to, some may be walking distance while others require shuttle buses (extremely annoying esp in KL, best to avoid to save your time)
• Extremely expensive to stay in the Sri Hartamas area. The MOE allowance will not be enough, so be prepared to fork out some more money if you're to stay here all the time (if you're from other states especially and can't go home.)

Would I recommend this to anyone? Well, I guess it depends. I know some people who will love this and will be determine enough to persevere through this so they can reap its ultimately better rewards, but I also know some people who just can't do so much at a time and will be easily demotivated if there's too much work. 

My answer would be only you know what you are capable of. If you'd like to come here and be a junior, you're very much welcome. But remember, be fully prepared of the things that you have to do. However if you can go through 2 years of this, you'll definitely be more prepared for university and gain many skills and friends that will last you through life. :)

Would I have reconsidered?

Sometimes when the going gets tough, I have regretted. 

But ultimately I haven't and will not give up as I'm already into this and will do anything to see this through and pass the IB hurdle! :)

And I think it's worth it, though it may be psychologically biased. HAHA.

Feel free to ask me any questions below. :) I might take awhile to get back to you though, all in the name of IB. :3