YMMV. I have a good friend who went to an American international school in Belgium that did the IB. It was a lot like you describe - many more freedoms and the

YMMV. I have a good friend who went to an American international school in Belgium that did the IB. It was a lot like you describe - many more freedoms and the teenagers were treated more like adults. He had a very good experience there. My experience at a large state school in the Bay Area was pretty much the opposite.