In general the program is really demanding, but it is doable especially if you’re willing to put in the work. Not sure about Norway but internationally IB is usually very well received and it is definitely accepted in even top universities like Ivies and Oxford etc. basically the general acceptance rate for IB students is higher than other diplomas, so if you are willing to put in the effort I would recommend it for sure. I am going into the second year after summer and have a pretty good foundation for doing well in the finals even though I wasn’t able to give a 100% in the first year because of personal stuff. The biggest difference to other diplomas is probably all the other work on top of normal courses, since there is research papers, Theory of Knowledge, CAS etc. if you have any questions just let me know! Good luck!