by: Tsam Wa Tou
Personally, I grew up in a mix of curriculums, including the IB. However, I ultimately decided to actually pursue it when I was transitioning to secondary school. I remember pouring over leaflets of information that different schools had given me when I was touring, all with the word “IB”. What was IB? I was determined to find out.
My first school was the first IB world school in Macau, but I transferred away when I finished my primary years. I applied to a few schools, including ones that offered A-levels, AP and IB, but when taking the entrance exams, I found myself captivated by what I would later learn were “IB-style questions”. Five years later, I am now taking the DP. Here are some experiences from my IB experience in Macau that I hope will help other students thinking of applying.
IB in Macau
The IB, which is also known as International Baccalaureate, offers four high quality international educational programmes all over the globe, including PYP, MYP, DP and CP. There are three schools which operate within the IB system in Macau, all which offer the DP. Lucky for me, the school that I attend also offers the PYP and MYP, so I was able to take the MYP as well.
The IB is fairly new in terms of curriculum compared to the British system (IGCSEs, A-levels) and the regional curriculum. So, most students are unaware of the IB program. Speaking from my own experience, I had multiple friends from schools that implemented the regional curriculum who weren’t aware of the IB. Since the regional curriculum is also the main route for applying to universities in Mainland China and Macau, it is also a more popular choice.
As I take both the regional curriculum on top of the IB, my choices in applying to different locations for universities increased – I can apply both abroad, but also to universities in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China. This allows for greater flexibility in making choices for my future path.
IB Subjects
The DP courses that each school offers varies. My school, which operates under government funding, had restrictions on what courses were offered. I was limited to only a few choices, and I had to study the regional curriculum on top of IB.
For instance, the courses in my school are as follows:
| Subject Group | Available Subjects |
| Group 1 (Language and Literature) | Chinese Language and Literature HL/SL |
| Group 2 (Language Acquisition) | English B HL/SL |
| Group 3 (Individuals and Societies) | Geography HL/SL, Business Management HL/SL, Economics HL/SL |
| Group 4 (Experimental Sciences) | Biology HL/SL, Chemistry HL/SL, Physics HL/SL |
| Group 5 (Mathematics) | Analysis and Approaches HL/SL |
| Group 6 (The Arts) | Visual Arts HL/SL |
All students are required to choose six subjects, but you can take a seventh if the school allows you to. Available subjects are determined by a survey that groups subjects based on what the students wanted to take. Still, there were unavailability of subjects offered. For example, in my cohort, the arts were not offered due to the lack of teachers. I chose the following subjects based on the availability and the groupings that my school had offered. It was also a path that I thought at the time was feasible for the major that I wanted to pursue:
| HL | English B, Economics, Business Management |
| SL | Mathematics AA, Chinese Language and Literature, Physics |
Other integral parts of the DP include the EE, TOK and CAS are all offered by the IB schools in Macau.
IB vs Regional Curriculum
The curricula are mostly the same in terms of levels and certificates. However, the regional curriculum is more based on memorization, a passive style of learning, and students only choose subjects that align with what field groups they want to pursue. For example, if you were really passionate about economics and business management all throughout high school, then you could only pursue a business field during secondary school. For students interested in STEM, they could only take an interdisciplinary field of biology, chemistry and physics combined with further maths. With respect to the IB, it focuses more on educating via targeting critical thinking and evaluating global aspects of interests, a more active-style learning method. Students can also take different subjects based on different subject groups rather than just learning a single subject group.
Below is a chart summarizing the differences in structure between the two curricula:
| IB | Regional Curriculum |
| – PYP or Primary Years Program: Grades 1-5 (in my school PYP is offered from grades 1-6) – MYP or Middle Years Program: Grades 6-10 (in my school MYP is offered for grades 7-9), MYP Completion Certificate issued – DP or Diploma Program: Grades 11-12, IB Diploma issued | – Primary education: Grades 1-6, Primary Education Certificate issued. – Secondary education: Grades 7-9, Middle School Education Certificate issued and Grades 10-12, Full General Education Certificate issued. |
Aside from subject varieties, I was required to take civil education, physical education, art, music, ICT and Chinese history for the regional curriculum. So when I graduate, I would be able to receive two diplomas.
Examinations
In the DP, students are required to complete exams in all of their six chosen subjects. In my region’s case, we take examinations in May, which is a packed schedule for students who have just submitted their applications for university. Examinations typically include two-three papers depending on your subject level. This is on top of the individual oral (IO) for the languages and an internal assessment (IA) for each subject, which are completed before the final exam. IAs are projects, which contribute 20%-30% of the individual’s final grade, that every student has to take for each subject. It should be noted that each subject is graded out of 7 with 4 as the passing score for HLs and 3 for SLs – The student must obtain a grade of 24 in order to obtain their diploma, where the maximum grade that one can receive is 45.
Additionally, DP students receive predicted grades. These are essentially grades given by their own teachers that estimate a student’s likely final result in the DP based on previous performance, usually after DP1. These are the grades typically sent to universities with their application. Since IB is widely known, it is accepted all over the globe.
Applying to University
For the regional curriculum, universities assess your application by looking over your grades in grade 11 and grade 12, with interviews starting in January. Students are graded out of 100 for their chosen elective (business, STEM, or liberal arts) along with required subjects (English, Chinese and Mathematics). Other subjects, including religious studies, civil education, physical education, art, music, design, ICT and Chinese history, are graded based on a letter system (A-F).
Students who want to apply to specific universities in the Mainland have to take an entrance exam, in which they are tested in English, Chinese and Mathematics. If you pass the standard, you are immediately accepted. If not, you have to be interviewed by your second choice of university after the first round, which often is the last resort. When applying to Macau universities, you also have to take an entrance exam, but it is not possible to apply to both Macau universities and Mainland universities based on the interview, so it was critical to choose which path you wanted to pursue.
Conclusion
Overall, my experiences in IB have been memorable and it has truly introduced me to a newer and more global world, despite living in a small, packed city with tourists swarming around 365 days. The chance of taking the IB has brought me many opportunities that I would not have ever thought so, allowing me to fully challenge myself and allow me to become a global citizen of the world.