<p>In your case, OP, you're perfectly fine. Schools will judge your courseload in the context of what is possible at your school, so if all there is for advanced classes is IB, then take IB.</p>
<p>IB and AP are both great programs, and both have drawbacks. IB, when taken as a full program, is very enriching and unbelievably tiring (as I hear), but won't get you as much college credit as AP's will. AP's are designed as adequate versions of university level classes, so many colleges will offer credit for almost all AP's. As other posters have said, IB SL classes are not at this level, though HL classes are and can even go beyond this level. For HL classes or a full diploma, you can still get credit at many colleges, but it isn't as well known, credit-wise, by some schools.</p>
<p>So to answer your question, OP, you're fine. </p>
<p>And to the whole AP/IB debate, there was a great thread on this before somewhere. It's a draw really; each program works best for different kids, and they afford such different opportunities that whether each one is harder really depends on the school.</p>
<p>I agree with cavilier. SL classes are usually below the level of APs but HL classes go above. I think that IB can only truly be useful if you take the whole program and get the diploma. If you take 2 or 3 classes it won't be as enriching and you're much better off doing AP.</p>
<p>If you're not taking IB classes and that's the highest level your school offers, that will be a disadvantage. As to which looks better to colleges, just use the Search forum. Each has advantages and disadvantages for certain types of students--the usual verdict is "take what is best for you"--but neither comes out on top. You don't have both options, so take the IB courses that interest you (does your school offer Diploma? Because that's the goal of IB programs, so you should probably look into that). The biggest disadvantage you'll experience is getting college credit. It's much rarer for IB than for AP, so you'll probably have to take corresponding AP tests.</p>
<p>^ The problem with taking corresponding AP tests is that many of the classes don't correspond directly, so there may be some subject matter that you would have to self-study.</p>
<p>I took 5 APs last year and am in IB classes now. The thing is, the actual classes are easier, but it's the dumb assignments and projects that are all assigned at the same time and the difficulty of the infinite amount of projects that make IB overall harder than AP.</p>
<p>I agree that IB has more projects (internal assesssments) than AP, but that makes it easier to get a higher score because it's not just an exam grade. Also, internal assessments aren't handled very well by teachers at my school. A lot of them help students out way more than they should. </p>
<p>And yeah, I hate how everything is due at the same time too.</p>