Hi all,
Next year my son is going to enter lukio. He speaks Finnish fluently and has good English skills. The important dilemma we need to resolve is which program to choose. We don't know where we end up in 4 years. Maybe e'll still be living in Finland, may be moving elsewhere. Job market in Finland is rather poor and nothing is certain anymore.
+ IB: international exposure, transferrable grades, teaching in English (I am not a native Finnish speaker, thus cannot help with äidinkieli-related subjects)
- IB: To my knowledge, subject selection is more limited in IB.
+ regular lukio: maintain and develop expertise in Finnish, smoother transition to universities (e.g. graduation time)
Would be very interesting to figure out factors, which can help with selection. Thank you
International Baccalaureate vs. regular lukio
Re: International Baccalaureate vs. regular lukio
Well I think you pretty much said it all. It's true that there is a limited choice of subjects with the IB diploma - it depends where you live, though. In Helsinki, if you compare SYK, Ressu, Etela-Tapiola, Mattliden... you might find what you are looking for.
As you point out, the main problem is the timing of the grades. Some universities in the UK want firm grades before they give an offer and some Finnish universities are not prepared to hold on until the IB grades are published (not a problem if military service is on the agenda after high school). On the other hand, with the Finnish matric, some UK universities may require IELTS to prove proficiency in English unless your son can prove he is a native speaker. That would not be asked for if he took the IB diploma.
Subjects may differ: I think Finnish long maths is close to IB long maths and a UK A level. But Finnish short maths is barely GCSE level (IB short maths is more demanding). So that is also a consideration when thinking of what comes next (after lukio, science? humanities?)
As you point out, the main problem is the timing of the grades. Some universities in the UK want firm grades before they give an offer and some Finnish universities are not prepared to hold on until the IB grades are published (not a problem if military service is on the agenda after high school). On the other hand, with the Finnish matric, some UK universities may require IELTS to prove proficiency in English unless your son can prove he is a native speaker. That would not be asked for if he took the IB diploma.
Subjects may differ: I think Finnish long maths is close to IB long maths and a UK A level. But Finnish short maths is barely GCSE level (IB short maths is more demanding). So that is also a consideration when thinking of what comes next (after lukio, science? humanities?)
Re: International Baccalaureate vs. regular lukio
Thank you Rosamunda. I did not realise,e.g. military service & IEltS factors.
Finnish natural sciences school curricula is an absolute fiasco. Very patchy, shallow & jumpy. Chemistry without formula, simplistic explanations. Math of 9th grade is about calculating percentages. We believe he will stick to natural science, so good math program is a must.
Finnish natural sciences school curricula is an absolute fiasco. Very patchy, shallow & jumpy. Chemistry without formula, simplistic explanations. Math of 9th grade is about calculating percentages. We believe he will stick to natural science, so good math program is a must.
Re: International Baccalaureate vs. regular lukio
Jump from elementary school's maths to lukio was... harsh. I did solid 9s and 10s (4-10 grading) in elementary without any effort and managed to struggle through first year of lukio before I realized that I can't just sit in class and pass the tests.Vallu98 wrote:Finnish natural sciences school curricula is an absolute fiasco. Very patchy, shallow & jumpy. Chemistry without formula, simplistic explanations. Math of 9th grade is about calculating percentages. We believe he will stick to natural science, so good math program is a must.
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Re: International Baccalaureate vs. regular lukio
Yes, and it gets worse and worse since many UAS accept students with poor maths skills hoping that they will mysteriously morph into numerate scientists in their first year. 
I'm not sure which IB schools have the best natural sciences programmes though SYK seems to have the best overall reputation for science and I know students who graduated from there straight into Imperial College / Cambridge. Having said that, when my sons were at Kulosaari (not IB) there was an excellent biology teacher there - I think she left but is still teaching somewhere in the region.
Quite a few IB students kick off with advanced maths but switch to 'normal' maths after the first year, usually as a strategic move to maximise their scores. They are still way above average in terms of high-school maths.
But I'm a bit out of touch as my youngest graduated over a year ago (he did the European Baccalaureat).
I'm not sure which IB schools have the best natural sciences programmes though SYK seems to have the best overall reputation for science and I know students who graduated from there straight into Imperial College / Cambridge. Having said that, when my sons were at Kulosaari (not IB) there was an excellent biology teacher there - I think she left but is still teaching somewhere in the region.
Quite a few IB students kick off with advanced maths but switch to 'normal' maths after the first year, usually as a strategic move to maximise their scores. They are still way above average in terms of high-school maths.
But I'm a bit out of touch as my youngest graduated over a year ago (he did the European Baccalaureat).