Differences and advantages of IB in comparison to others

Students may enter overseas universities without exams and have a head start over local applicants. The IB Diploma opens many doors! To become a top university student or enroll with credits already awarded of universities in the US – these are all opportunities of the International Baccalaureate Diploma’s holder!

On Open Doors Day, we are often asked to distinguish between the International Baccalureate, special courses, bachelors or masters? Dear reader, please, remember: the International Baccalaureate Programme in Kazakhstan – is the programme for Primary and Secondary School! Please do not confuse it with higher education!

We suggest you to make a comparison between the IB and other school programmes, the Kazakhstani and Cambridge’s ones. Here, we are going to talk about the content of the programmes for secondary school students and further perspectives for graduates. Let’s go one by one:

The Kazakhstani secondary general education programme is designed for children with different ability levels. It comprises seven subject groups: language and literature, mathematics and ICT, science, social studies, art, technology, PE and basic military training. The languages of instruction are Russian and Kazakh. There are some schools where mathematics and science are delivered in English;
The International Baccalaureate programme – is a holistic programme for students. It comprises six subject groups: language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics and arts. In the high school two year pre-university Diploma programme for students 16-19, there is a compulsory Theory of Knowledge course aimed at the formation of a systematic approach to learning. Students participate in the Creativity. Action. Service (CAS) programme, which involves a creative activity, action which may involve a sporting activity and service where a student may become involved in an unpaid community voluntary activity. In the IB Diploma Programme IB schools in Kazakhstan deliver classes in English;
The A-Levels Cambridge programme. At the age of 16, a high school student determines which field he/she will study at the university, and designs a plan for admission. There are about 3-4 subjects are studied. A combination of the subjects should allow to carry on learning at the university. For example, enrollment at the School for Economics, requires mathematics to be studied. The language of instruction is English.

The International Baccalaureate may be offered in a Cambridge School, where secondary education is delivered by Cambridge methodologies школах, где среднее образование преподается по кембриджским методикам. If prescribed, there is an opportunity for high school students to either continue their education via the A-Levels programme or follow the IB Diploma route.

Qualifications for admission to worldwide universities is for many families, the determining criterion when choosing a school. Let’s compare our programmes by this.

Herewith, in accordance with the requirements of Admission Boards of US universities it is required for students:

who have a Kazakhstani certificate, to go through a pre-university programme and provide a certificate confirming the level of English;
who have an A-Levels certificate can enroll immediately in the first year if the subjects studied at school match the requirements for the chosen specialty;
who have an IB diploma may be accepted for any faculties. In some cases it is possible to enroll in a second year or offset academic credits.

It is obvious that IB diploma holders are in the most advantageous position!

Parents often ask how many International Baccalaureate programmes there are. There are three, and all of them are presented at the Miras school:

Primary Years Programme (PYP) for children aged 3 -11;
Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students aged 11-16;
Diploma Programme (DP) for students aged 16-19.

You can start your way to a university abroad already at preschool age!

In 2014, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) developed a new assessment system that equates the International Baccalaureate to A-level programmes.