Today there are many types of programs a student can choose from. What separates IB from the rest? Why is it considered the top preference by international universities and employers?
We will be covering what makes the IB program at Sancta Maria so competitive in the international space:
● How relevant is the program in the real world?
● How do we review the curriculum?
● What makes our teachers stand out?
● How do we exactly help students get into top universities?
The main goal of IB education is to transform the student by using the 3-step approach:
1. Inquiry – Encourage students to be curious and question the fundamentals
2. Action – Learning through a practical and hands-on approach
3. Reflection – Critical analysis of their submissions
This method allows us to nurture and grow students from ‘idea to improvement’ in every task they take up.
The teachers at Sancta Maria develop these techniques from scratch. You will often see these being implemented at the centre of learning. This is the student’s platform to achieve academic and personal success.
How relevant is the program in the real world?
The IB diploma program is the most sought-after program by universities and employers.
Why? Studies on LinkedIn show that decision makers feel it and train students to face real on-ground challenges.
Time and again international universities have preferred IB students during admissions. This is also seen at an employer level due to the rigour of the IB program.
The topper of Class of 2022, who got offers from top universities like York University, Toronto University and IUPUI believed that pursuing IB Diploma programme gave him a competitive edge over other candidates and helped him get better scholarships compared to his peers from other curricula.
The world is ever-changing and evolving at a fast pace. This is why we regularly review the changes in the IB curriculum. We always try to find ways to add more practical methods to explain new concepts. Like how Augmented Reality is helping surgeons assist staff from different countries!
How do we review the curriculum?
The IB review process involves many academic members. Some of the most important are:
● Practicing teachers
● Examiners
● International research experts
The teaching community reflects on the teaching methods and always looks to improve them. Almost every seven years the curriculum is reviewed by the IB and necessary amendments are done to keep the course up-to-date. At Sancta Maria, there is continuous professional development of the teachers through in-house training sessions and IB subject-specific seminars so that our teachers adapt to the changes smoothly. Most of our teaching fraternity are also trained examiners and hence leave no stone unturned to provide the best possible guidance to the students.
What makes our teachers stand out?
Agility:
It is rare for even universities to change policies based on the latest studies. But, at Sancta Maria, our teachers are flexible and are quick to respond to new research.
This can be validated by the fact that although there was a recent change in the curriculum of Economics and Language acquisition, our teachers adapted to the change and produced excellent results. This makes us believe that we are surely going in the desired direction.
Creating immersive and educational events:
Our teachers draw from their strong educational backgrounds to create innovative experiences.
Extensive field work, hands-on learning experiences, guest lectures and many more are all possible due to the strong networks of our teachers. We have a strong in-house Enrichment Programme that builds on the various facets of the student and unlocks the potential in all possible ways. Our “After-school sports programme”, Swimming and Karate lessons are just added feathers to our cap.
We give students every opportunity to express themselves outside the classroom. Yet, academic performance will always be a top priority at Sancta Maria.
How do we exactly help students get into top universities?
The admission process takes into account many factors apart from exam performance. In fact, the 4000-word essay component demands in-depth research and analysis. Students here are trained to thrive under the high-pressure environment at the university level. Universities also prefer that we have a requirement for (CAS) Creativity, Activity, and Service.
Our students do not only excel academically but holistically. We believe that some of the amazing work in CAS, be it building a robot, bagging national level and state level awards in sports, or selflessly doing animal welfare: our students symbolise excellence in creativity, activity, and service to the core.)
We have a strong career counselling cell and the programme coordinator herself is UCLA certified career counsellor who personally chalks out and guides the students to land into their dream universities.
Sancta Maria graduates have been accepted into the top Universities: The University of Toronto, Purdue University, York University, and the University of Technology Sydney to name a few.
Why not drop by the campus and experience what learning should really be like for yourself?