DP Diaries: How Juniors Are Really Surviving?

How are the 11th graders finding the DP and what advice do they have?

For our juniors, this month marked a quiet but significant milestone: we are officially halfway through 11th grade, and already a quarter of the way through the IB Diploma Programme! It sounds dramatic, but it’s true.

For sophomores choosing classes and for the rest of the school watching from the sidelines, DP can feel like a looming storm cloud of acronyms, summatives, and whispered warnings about sleep deprivation. So instead of relying on rumors, we asked the people living it: how has DP actually been? And what do you wish you knew before you started?

So… how bad is it?

Let’s start with the data. In a survey that was sent out to the 11th grade, the following responses were collected from 41 students. Students were asked about their experience in the Diploma Programme so far. 39% of juniors said DP is “not easy, but not as bad as I thought,” and 36.6% described it as “OK (mid).” Additionally, 22% said it’s “pretty challenging,” but only a very small fraction—2.4%—said they “love it.” And thankfully, nobody chose “absolutely horrible.”

What does that mean?

Firstly, the Diploma Programme is undeniably hard. More than one in five students labeled it “pretty challenging,” which isn’t insignificant. But the most striking statistic is that the largest group, nearly 2 out of 5 students, said it wasn’t as bad as they expected. That suggests something important: the fear surrounding the diploma programme may be worse than the reality. Ultimately, it’s demanding, but it’s survivable, or as one student put it, “DP is not as bad as they say.” When it comes to standard versus higher level classes, one student offered an important clarification

“HL and SL aren’t necessarily measures of difficulty, they’re measures of content load. Some of my SL classes are harder than my HL classes.”

What Classes Do Juniors Love (and Not Love)?

Favorite Classes:

1. Psychology HL & Economics HL (tied at 14.6% each)

2. Biology HL & Physics HL (tied at 10% each)

3. Design HL (7.3%)

The interesting pattern? Many of the favorites are HL courses. This suggests students often enjoy the subjects they choose to go deeper in, especially when they’re actually interested.

Least Favorite Classes:

1. Theory of Knowledge (32%)

2. Math A&I SL  (14.6%)

3. Second Language A SL (12.2%) 

TOK appearing at the top of the most unanimous least favorite list isn’t shocking but here’s the twist: TOK also showed up on the easiest list for some students. It seems less about difficulty and more about confusion. As one student wrote:

“TOK is the most confusing and time-consuming class.”

Hardest vs. Easiest

Hardest:

1. Second Language A SL (17%)

2. Biology SL (14.6%)

3. Math A&A HL, Biology HL, & Physics HL (three- way tie at 10%)

Biology appears in three of the four lists, but both HL and SL biology showing up in the hardest list indicates that it’s one of the harder classes to take, though some HL students may disagree. And despite AIS having a heavy emphasis on language, many people still found their Second Language A classes (including Spanish, French and German Language and Literature as well as School-supported self-taught Language A) to be the hardest class.

Easiest 

1. Theory of Knowledge (17%)

2. Math A&I SL, Biology HL, & Art HL (three-way tie at 7.3%)

What advice would the juniors give to the upcoming DP students?

• Don't procrastinate and always study at least 3 days before the summative

• You never know what you're going to expect, always study more than what you think is enough, and remember to just push through and you're not going to feel perfect all the time and that's okay everyone around you is going through the same thing.

• The first 2 weeks of DP is going to be really hard but once you make the adjustment and accept the workload it gets better. And don't take classes unless you REALLY enjoy them.

• I wish I mentally prepared for the struggles of TOK and keeping my energy and motivation up.

• You will not get a lot of guidance for EE and you NEEDDDDD to start early - for the sake of your mental health and sanity start over summer or anything start research early!!! finish research BEFORE end of winter break

• I recommend planning your classes and schedule based on the time that you will have to commit to each class, especially if you are involved in a lot of extracurriculars or are in one of the music ensembles.

• The difference is that the tests are a lot more often. You can't just study everytime you have a test coming up, it has to be consistent because they pop up out of nowhere and are so often. So basically you have to learn as you are taught, and leave each class fully knowing and understanding what was taught - if you want to get a 7.

• OCP is completely a game changer

• Take breaks when there are a lot of tests. It keeps you from stressing out too much

• you have to sacrifice a lot of your free time

• PICK YOUR CLASSES WISELY

• Make sure you are always taking notes in class, DONT GET BEHIND!!

• Learn study habits and start building them now

• Take breaks when there are a lot of tests. It keeps you from stressing out too much

FUNNY DP MOMENTS

• Getting OCP

• honestly nothing really to laugh about 😭😭

• My English semester grade (it's not funny) #englishliteratureissofreakinghardomg.

• Ms. Koskovich's "where's your lanyard" dance

• The Jagroo advisory’s winter break memes

• Robert coming into school a day early from winter break and Ms. Greywall telling him to go home.

• The hilarious amount of summatives.

• Someone thought I looked like Ms. Koskovich when I was wearing a beanie and covering my face with my gloves.

• When Jacquie thought Grantham was Ms. Koskovich (do you see the connection?)

• You know DP has taken over your life when you thought a sign said DBQ instead of BBQ (we’re victims of Biology)

• When I had to drop out of HL physics to SL physics to just taking biology and I had to study two months of biology within two days to take my make-up test. That was super funny to me.

• TOK because that class is a joke.

For our juniors, the message is clear: DP is challenging, overwhelming at times, and occasionally exhausting, but it is not the horror story it’s often made out to be. Nearly three out of four of students described it as either “not as bad as I thought” or simply “okay,” and not a single student labeled it “absolutely horrible.” That says something.

Yes, the workload will increase. Yes, the summatives will pile up. Yes, you will probably misread BBQ as DBQ (data-based question) at least once if you take biology. But the juniors also emphasized growth, developing stronger study habits and better time management, having deeper engagement in subjects they genuinely enjoy, and even quite a few moments of unexpected humor along the way.

For sophomores who are  preparing to choose classes: be intentional, be realistic about your time, pick subjects you actually care about, and do not take physics. Build your study habits early. Start your Extended Essay sooner than you think you need to (like way sooner). And most importantly, don’t let the fear outweigh the facts.

The diploma programme may be hard, but 25% through, our juniors are still standing strong!