AP vs IB vs A Levels

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hey! I decided to study abroad for my last 2 years of high school and I need some advice regarding the programs. I would be starting my last 2 years... starting with next september so the faster your answers come, the better. Now I will go straight to my situation:</p>

<p>After high school, I desire to study business and I am thinking of Universities such as MIT, as my top targets. </p>

<p>It's quite difficult for me, living in Romania, to get in 'direct' touch with any of the programs (AP, IB or A Levels) so I am in need of your best piece of advice : ) . I only listed those three as I heard those are the best one can do. Would there be any others worth considering? I must say I only speak English (and Romanian, but this gets out of the equation) and I can only imagine myself studying in Europe or North America.
*I read on the net about the Cambridge Pre-U program as well, but as it is brand new, it feels to me as quite a risk I can't afford taking. Could I be wrong?</p>

<p>Now, let's dive a little deeper. I am only looking for private boarding schools.</p>

<p>When it comes to studying in Europe, my first choice is UK. There I can study any of the three - AP, IB, A Levels programs. The first school I got in touch to was TASIS, offering the AP and IB. The second was d'Overbroecks offering A Levels. Now, one of my biggest questions at this point is... if I were to choose between the AP and the A Levels programs, leaving the IB out, is there really... a precise difference between the two that could make me place one in front of the other? </p>

<p>In North America my only 2 choices would be USA or Canada. But as I found out on one site, IB in both USA and Canada is currently being offered by a very small number of schools. The most popular seemed to be George School (USA), but their average IB points is just 30 (Despite their very interesting videos). I could also go for AP, but I am really undecided at this point. </p>

<p>All in all, here is what I thought this far:
I would rather go for the IB. Here's my desired formula: Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Business Administration - HL, English, French - SL. I wonder how hard is to have 4 HLs and only 2 SLs, like is the formula of 3-3 a strict one? What I heard is that it could depend entirely on the school... Also, how hard would it be to have 4 HLs and 3 SLs? Also, I would take the SAT tests and maybe take even one or two AP exams, as I read you do not really have to take AP classes to enroll for the AP exams. So I think I can learn on my own...
At this moment, I wouldn't go for AP as my main program.
Then, the last, A Levels. Here I find myself quite... blocked. I could do A Levels and then try the AQA Baccalaureate, currently offered by d'Overbroecks. </p>

<p>Which of the two formulas do you consider best or had experience of any kind with? :)
I know it could be quite complicated, but please comment my decisions, confirm any of the information stated and help me out with some advice :)</p>

<p>An enormously Thanks for your time!</p>

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<p>I think my first decision of considering only boarding private schools was a bit less-inspired. Now I am strongly considering state boarding schools as the fees are so much smaller! :D</p>

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<p>Colleges and universities in the US understand what A levels are. In many cases, students with A level exams are not required to provide results from the ACT or SAT.</p>

<p>AP, IB, and A level programs are not required for admission to colleges and universities in the US. Colleges and universities want to know that you have taken the most challenging courses that are available to you at your own secondary school, and that you have done well in them. You can go to your local public secondary school, and complete the program that is normal for university applicants in your country. Boarding school is not necessary.</p>

<p>You should take a look at <a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/[/url]”>http://www.educationusa.info/&lt;/a&gt; and then pay a visit to the advising center closest to you. Here is the contact information for the center in Romania:</p>

<p>Fulbright Educational Advsing Center
Bucharest, Romania</p>

<p>Adviser Name(s): Mihaela Arsene
Email: <a href=“mailto:feac@fulbright.ro”>feac@fulbright.ro</a>
Phone: (4021) 2319015 | Fax: (4021) 2307738
Mailing Address: 2, Ing. N Costinescu St, Bucharest 011878 Romania
Walk-Up Address: Same as mailing address</p>

<p>Center Website: [Fulbright</a> Educational Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.fulbright.ro/educational-advising-center.html]Fulbright”>http://www.fulbright.ro/educational-advising-center.html)</p>

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<p>Though US unis don’t require IB/AP/A-levels, taking these Honor classes is recommended for having higher chances to be accepted.
I would personally recommend you to take British A-levels instead because they are much easier than IB/AP curriculum.
While the IB and the AP exams are virtually at the same level, the IB curriculum itself does not only prepare you for exams.
Finishing the IB curriculum requires doing extra assessments. Such components like ToK, Extended Essay, all projects and assignments from every subject are due in the second year.
I’ve found the third and the fourth semester(1 semester is half a year in this case) of the IB curriculum most exhausting because of these projects, which there is technically no time to do extra SAT preparation or research on college admissions.
Also from the very beginning if you find one of the IB subjects very challenging to you then you may not be able to drop it. Students who are good in science cannot drop their burdensome language A1 course(compulsory language course on a literature level), while students who are good in language cannot drop their science courses. And since the IB results are usually presented in an overall grade (out of 45), one tedious subject alone will drag it down. </p>

<p>As far as I know I don’t think the British A-levels require you to do assessments as part of its final grade. In this way you can prepare for exams in the 2-years period. Also I think GCE A-levels are less competitive in nature as the percentage of students receiving A’s for most subjects is like 10-20%, though you need to be diligent and astute to receive A*'s, which is what the top few percent of students receives. </p>

<p>Well I need to admit that my opinions are quite biased, and you should also listen to what other members in this forum think.</p>

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<p>I’m an English student and I can offer you advice on a few of the topics you mentioned above.</p>

<p>Firstly, I live about 10 minutes away from TASIS and I can say it is a very good school. Not just from the academic perspective, but also from the extra curricular activites they offer and their wonderful campus. (I didn’t go there or anything, so I’m not biased, that is my honest opinion)</p>

<p>Secondly, I studied A levels and I would suggest you consider exactly how you want to spend your next two years. A levels and AP/IB are EXTREMELY different and you get a wider choice of subjects with AP (as you only study each one for a semester, rather than a 2 year A level course). </p>

<p>capitalist said that you would have to take the ToK and other components and while this is true if you enroll in the Full IB course, you also have the option of taking IB classes as modules, much the same as AP classes.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your answer happymomof1! I took a look on their website and I might contact them soon :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Capitalist, Adambedford thanks a lot for your answers!
It seems to me now I’m leaning more towards the IB.
Capitalist: You make me want to test my limits :smiley: The one thing that scares me is the SAT… Is the SAT syllabus(I hope this is the word) very different to what you learn at the IB classes? I expect it depends on the subjects you choose to study, so if you go for Math SL you might have to study more for the SAT than if you choose Math HL.
Adambedford: The very first international school I heard about was Tasis and it still is on my list… But searching the net I found there is a huge number of international schools that pride themselves quite a lot. Do you think Tasis really stands out of the crowd? :slight_smile: “IB classes as modules” - that sounds really interesting…</p>

<p>Recently I found some uk state schools such as Hockerill Anglo-European College, which made me interested in state schools as well mainly because of the very big difference when it comes to the fees. But do you think the 50% more that you pay for a school like Tasis is worth it? Or do state schools like Hockerill get close to the independent school’s level of support, academics, sports? Another big concern for me is that state schools might not have such a strong student, tied student community… It will be my very first time to leave home for long periods of time, so integrating fast in the community is very important. What do you think?</p>