IB, IGCSE or the Turkish curriculum alone? Six questions to ask when choosing a high school path
All three programmes can lead to a good university. The right question is not "which is best?" but "where will my child learn best, and where will they apply?"
Every October and November we sit down with Grade 8 and Grade 10 families, and the first question is almost always the same: "Which one is better?" In this article I set that question aside and ask, in turn, the six questions that actually make the decision easier. First, a short introduction to the three programmes.
Three programmes, three logics
The MEB Anatolian high school programme is the common curriculum of all high schools in Türkiye and is built around the YKS university entrance exam. Turkish citizens follow it on every path and receive the MEB diploma.
Cambridge IGCSE is usually studied in Grades 9 and 10 and gives a certificate subject by subject. Students choose seven or eight subjects; exams are sat in Cambridge's May–June series and each subject is graded separately. IGCSE is not a high school diploma on its own, but it is a benchmark recognised around the world.
The IB Diploma Programme (DP) is a two-year programme in Grades 11 and 12. Students take one subject from each of six groups, three at Higher Level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL). Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the 4,000-word Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) form the core. The diploma requires at least 24 of 45 points and completion of the core.
1. Where is your child thinking of applying?
If only universities in Türkiye are in view, the YKS is decisive and the last two years of the MEB programme focus on it. For undergraduate study abroad, the IB Diploma or a strong high school record after IGCSE matters most. If both are on the table, the double diploma is an option, at the price of a demanding Grade 12.
2. How do they learn?
The DP asks students to work independently over long periods: the Extended Essay is months of research and every subject has an internal assessment. A student who works better with short-term, exam-focused goals may find IGCSE's subject-by-subject structure more comfortable. This is a question of working style, not ability; tutors observe it together with the student in Grade 9.
3. What is their English level?
Most DP courses are taught in English and require academic writing. We recommend B2 or above when starting Grade 11. At IGCSE, the choice between First Language English and English as a Second Language makes language support more flexible.
4. Which subjects interest them?
A student considering medicine or engineering should take chemistry and biology, or physics and maths, at Higher Level in the DP. At IGCSE this direction begins in Grade 9 with two sciences. Subjects are chosen according to university prerequisites; we draw up a "subject map" with every student in the second term of Grade 10.
5. What are the family's plans?
If a job move or a year abroad is likely, the international programmes make transitions easier: IB and Cambridge programmes are taught with the same structure in many schools worldwide. Moving between the MEB system and schools abroad requires equivalence procedures.
6. Can they carry the double diploma?
It is possible to take the IB Diploma alongside the MEB programme, and most of our students graduate with both. But in the second term of Grade 12, IB exams and YKS preparation fall in the same months. The student, family and university counsellor make this decision together in the second term of Grade 10; if needed, the path can still change in the first month of Grade 11.
A short note
No programme on its own guarantees a university place. What universities look at is what a student learned, and how, over four years. With the Pathway tool on our website you can choose your child's grade and goal and see which stops lie ahead.
