<p>I am looking to take IB or AP. I would like to go to Cornell, Colombia, Gonzaga, UCLA, or UC-Berkley. I am going for as many credits as I can get, and I am semi-worried that some of these colleges could stop accepting AP Credits (like Dartmouth). Any advice? If I took AP I'd end up taking 11 or 12 AP classes by the end of high school. My extracurriculars should be decent enough, but I have some areas where I can really shine. </p>
<p>My Questions:
1) Will any of the above colleges stop accepting AP credits? Will they give enough of a warning so that I won't take a bunch of AP's and have the college not accept them?</p>
<p>2) Would 11 AP's or IB and one AP look better for the following colleges?</p>
<p>3) How much do 3rd, 4th, and 5th languages help in the application processes? (Random but an honest question.</p>
<p>Honestly, instead of answering AP or IB over credits you should ask what type of person you are. You won’t get the maximum amount of credits if you’re terrible at all the curriculum. IB will require more from you than AP and essays are going to be your main staple for everything. You have less choices and credits are mainly based of HL scores between 6-7 and occasionally 5. AP, I’m unsure, but you can check that on the colleges websites. I’m in IB but I can tell you that if go in for that reason only, you will not be as happy since you have less variety in class choices and you have more outside projects and requirements then AP which consists of the class itself and taking the AP test. So before you decide which gets you more credits, decide what will you do best in. And all the languages depends, are you fluent or is it only phrases and basic understanding?</p>
<p>1) From what I understand, a lot of places already don’t automatically give transfer credits for IB or AP. Instead, they have their own exams in order to place out. Whichever you take, the main concern should be for whether you feel you’re learning what you need to know to place out of those courses.</p>
<p>2) I’m not sure on this one. If I were you, I’d probably do IB and one AP, but this will get you less transfer credits. IB is generally a very good curriculum, which I would recommend over AP. However, unlike AP it’s /hard/ to do a huge number of IB courses. This is could be seen as a sign that it’s a better course. How colleges see AP will also depend on what courses you take (Calculus BC means a great deal more than Human Geography, for example). In the end, I think it depends on what you want. If you want to place out of as many courses as possible, then go with AP. If you want a challenging curriculum that is viewed well all over the world (i.e. that will make it easy if you ended up deciding to go somewhere outside the US), then go with IB. (Of course, IB has requirements for the various subject areas which you need to consider, but I feel the curriculum is worth it.)</p>
<p>It’s also worth bearing in mind that with some IB courses you can probably take the AP exam at the end as well (possibly even for standard level, though don’t quote me on that)</p>
<p>3) It really depends how good you are at them. The US system is not very flexible in allowing you to take extra languages, so it’s either going to look very impressive or be something they won’t judge you for not having. It’s hard to say. If you take 4 additional languages each for one year, it’s not really that impressive. If you take the AP exam in 3 languages, then that shows you’re interested in something and would be seen well. If you want to go into a language related field, then I’d say do as many as you can. Otherwise, it’s really up to what you feel you want.</p>
<p>IB diploma requires 6 classes, only 4 of which can be HL. Ivies typically do not accept SLs for credit and HLs need a high score which are usually much harder to get.</p>
<p>Not sure how one would be able to take lot more tests than what IB allows. There is an internal assessment component to it.</p>
<p>Different schools offer credit for different APs. Some don’t offer and yet force you to start at a higher level class which might be much harder compared to an AP class. </p>
<p>The goal to end up with most credits works only at State schools.</p>
<p>Colombia and Cornell are definitely my reaches, looking extensively at a few state schools. Either way, I am still split. I like the AP flexibility. IB is just so inflexible and stiff. I love being able to choose my own classes. We will see.</p>