Myths about ISI High School

MYTH 1: You can’t join ISI if you do not already speak French or Spanish well. 

  • There is no previous foreign language requirement to join ISI. 
  • We have beginner and intermediate level classes throughout the upper grades. 
  • Students joining our Grade 11 to start the IB Diploma can take French or Spanish at foreign language ‘B’ level, or can take Spanish from beginner level. 
  • For native speakers of other languages we may even able to include a course in their native language as one of their IB Diploma subjects.  (We currently teach Korean to two of our students in the IB Diploma, and allow them to take English as their foreign language elective.) 
  • Many of our students are indeed proficient in several languages, but it is also true that we can guarantee every newcomer will make very significant progress in a foreign language, with a great stress on being able to use the language, rather than on the explanations and grammatical exercises that other schools regard as language teaching. 

MYTH 2: The International Baccalaureate Diploma is only for the top students.

  • Sadly many schools treat the IB Diploma in this way, but nothing could be further from the truth. 
  • Any student who is ambitious enough to go to college can take on the Diploma with a good chance of success. 
  • The Diploma is marked out of 45 points in total, but the minimum passing score is 24.  The spread of points from 24 to 45 encompasses a significant section of the normal student population.  
  • Scores of 40 and above are not easy to achieve – typically only 5% of the total number of candidates around the world will score at this level.  A score of 40 above is required, for example, for entrance to Cambridge or Oxford universities in the UK. 
  • However, a score of 24 is also an excellent achievement for many students, and we expect the majority of our students to be between 30 and 36 points.
  • And putting scores to one side for a moment, students gain great skills for lifelong learning from participating in the IB Diploma at ISI. 
  • These skills, such as critical thinking, a willingness to consider opposing points of view and to leave one’s own comfort zone, as well as the ability to work with others and independently on extended pieces of work, give our students a great advantage in their future lives.

MYTH 3: Several schools offer the IB Diploma in this area.  I can do the IB for free at a bigger public high school.

  • This is possible, but typically only a tiny percentage of top performing students are allowed to study for the full IB Diploma.
  • This can be as few as 3% of all the students in the grade level.
  • Many of the remaining 97% of students could certainly benefit immensely from the IB Diploma, but have no opportunity to do so.
  • Not many schools are as committed to the IB way of doing things as ISI, so if you are admitted to the IB Diploma in one of the public high schools you might find that you are mixed in the same class as students doing AP courses. 
  • You also need to look carefully at what people mean when they describe something as IB. 
  • It is possible at such schools to enter for the examinations in just one or two IB subjects and be called an IB student.  This can be confusing. 
  • It is only the full diploma, consisting of 6 subjects, plus the Extended Essay, the TOK (Theory of Knowledge) course, and the 150 hours of CAS (creativity, action and community service), that is regarded by universities and employers as the ‘full IB’.

MYTH 4: ISI is too much hard work compared with the other high schools.

  • Being happy and successful at ISI is about developing the right attitude and motivation. 
  • The IB is very insistent on students leading balanced lives. 
  • Students in the Diploma program (Grades 11 and 12) have a number of study periods included in their weekly schedule. 
  • Teachers give our students extended tasks rather than ‘busy’ homework. 
  • Our students learn to organize themselves and plan their time, so that they are able to participate in a wide range of athletics and extracurricular activities while keeping up with their course work. 
  • We also provide a supportive environment.  We encourage students to work together and be mutually supportive. 
  • The IB Diploma at ISI is not a lonely journey but a team enterprise where we do our best to help everyone to the top of the mountain.

MYTH 5: Going to a big high school and getting the ‘high school experience’ is the best preparation for college.

  • The world is changing rapidly, and students all around the world are striving for the highest standards of learning in all fields, and through the globalization of markets and the overcoming of distance by modern technologies will be competing with our own students for the jobs of tomorrow. 
  • While the traditional high school experience is a cherished aspect of American culture we need to ask ourselves whether it is truly preparing our students for college in today’s much more competitive environment. 
  • Many American students have been faced with low expectations and underachievement at high school, and this in turn has driven up the length and with it the expense of a college education. 
  • Many high schools have been built very large for economic reasons, not educational ones.
  • ISI offers a smaller environment where students of different grade levels mix with each other, and we ensure that our high school students have many wonderful opportunities for social interaction, including dances, concerts, performances, athletics, as well as two major overseas exchange visits. 
  • With high expectations for both academic and personal development, ISI provides an outstanding preparation for college, with many of our graduates being offered significant academic merit awards and saving up to a whole year of college.

MYTH 6: ISI won’t help me get into the college of my choice or help me earn scholarships.

  • Our results speak for themselves, and that’s why we have students studying at Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, MIT, Stanford, McGill, the University of Chicago, Penn, the London School of Economics, Cambridge, Edinburgh, and many more.
  • ISI is fortunate to have an incredibly dedicated college counselor who starts working with students from Grade 9 and does not relax until they are packing their bags and setting off for college. And even then she follows up and makes sure everything is as it should be. 
  • The reputation of ISI for being one of the few ‘full IB’ schools and encouraging students to reach their true potential is spreading rapidly with college admissions officers. 
  • Our recent classes were our strongest yet, and saw students offered places at truly outstanding universities in the US and in Europe.  Each graduate was offered an average of $100,000 in academic merit awards. 
  • ISI graduates have been accepted at all of the great local schools, as well as the world-renowned institutions listed above, plus many other fine schools in the US and Europe.

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09.08.2010

The IB MYP Authorization Visit Coming to ISI

The IB Organization has now confirmed that the ISI IB MYP Authorization Visit will take place on Thu

ISI News visit news page

02.02.2012

Spring and Summer Soccer Camps

Registration is now open for West Ham United International Academy Player ID Camp in April and the 2nd Annual ISI-West Ham United Soccer Camp in June.