Is there one that Ivy Leaugue schools like Cornell prefer?
With regards to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes
Whatever is the most demanding available to you.
But also make sure that the offerings match your interests and strengths. For example, if your interests and strengths are in math and science, but your school’s IB program offers only SL (instead of HL) math and science, it is likely to be a poor fit for you.
“Prefer” is probably to strong a word. I’d say that unless you are doing the IBDP, there is no preference. And even IBDP may not be suitable for all, particularly those very accelerated in STEM areas. But really, it’s all in context.
My older daughter didn’t do IB and my younger one did. The only feedback I would give is IB curriculum does not match up with SAT subject tests, therefore my younger kid had to study on her own for those subject tests, whereas my older one was able to do very well on the subject tests after completion of each course. My younger daughter also did not find IB to be that challenging, just a lot of busy work. You would need to score very high on your IB exam to get credit for them, whereas if you go to a competitive school you could generally score fairly high on AP exams.
Would schools like Cornell take IB over AP or vice versa? I want to take some IB but not necessarily the IB Diploma Program because I don’t like how it restricts you to what you’re taking (I like being flexible). Idk, I’m feeling very lost with this whole AP IB thing and I don’t want to make any wrong decisions. My school offers both AP and IB options in a wide variety of courses, and I’m struggling to figure out which one is best for me. My guidance counselor (who’s in charge of scheduling) is on leave and the school doesn’t know when she will return. My parents don’t know much about it either so I feel like there’s no one I can talk with about it.
Is it worth taking IB if I’m not doing the Diploma Program?
Our school doesn’t allow IB courses if you’re not in the full IB program, but one of the other local schools does. Many, many kids mix and match IB vs AP depending on the relative rigor of the specific course as well as the strength of the teacher. At that particular school for example, the most rigorous and best Chemistry teacher is found in IB HL. In other areas, it can be beneficial to take the AP version and not lock yourself into 2 years to take an HL exam as very few schools give credit for the IB SL exams.
From an admissions perspective, it will make no difference, as I said earlier. From a credit perspective, it is usually, though not always, easier to get the AP score needed to get credit that the IB score needed.