Things are constantly changing, and the IB program is no exception. Within the past couple of years, there have been changes to their curriculum, and even to the IB curriculum taught at North Atlanta High School. For the classes of 2025 and 2026, their Extended Essays (EEs) were done at two completely different times. While the current junior class did it within their second semester of this year, the class of 2025 wrote the EE within their first semester of senior year. With two completely different things going on at these two times, one can wonder whether one time was better than another.
According to IB, the EE is supposed to expand over two years. This set-up of the IB program is typically made for a much smaller class, rather than the 200 to 250 students enrolled just in 11th and 12th grade. With so many people enrolled in the IB program at North Atlanta, assignments like Internal Assessments (IAs) and Individual Orals (IOs) need to be spaced out for both teachers and students. “We’ve noticed that writing the EE in a single year is a lot better for the students,” TOK teacher Ms. Shilling said. “Doing the essay within a condensed timeline lets students remember to do their work and helps keep them on schedule.”
The timeline for the Class of 2025 was a little bit different than that of the current juniors. Although it wasn’t over the entire two-year period, seniors had to not only complete their EEs, but balance many things on top of that. Between the start of senior year and early college applications, seniors had a lot to juggle. “The timeline in which it was given was very stressful,” said senior Keelin Lahiff. “It felt super rushed and was overwhelming, especially with all the other things for school and college going on at the time.”
For the Class of 2026, the situation was different. The EE was written in March of their second semester, while the research and planning started late in the first semester. Writing these essays was done on a more concise timeline, without the interruption of summer break. However, this didn’t change the fact that there was still plenty of stress for students while writing it. “The whole process felt a little rushed,” said junior Erin Cason. “ I definitely could have managed my time better, but all of a sudden we have two weeks to write this paper and it just creeps up on you.”
Regardless of when these essays are written, two things are clear: stress will occur when writing these papers and the date for when the EE is done could change again. Regardless of the due date, current students in the IB program advise future scholars to be prepared and learn to manage time efficiently – find a way to deal with it before it’s too late.
