Hello everyone! I am new to CC so please bear with me on my question.
I am currently a sophomore in high school and am facing a choice between two “tracks” to determine my classes for the next two years. One choice is loaded with AP courses, including the AP Capstone (Seminar/Research), while the other gets me my IB diploma.
My AP track for the next two years involves taking 12 AP courses in the next two years, and for reference, I have already passed 2, and am enrolled in 5 this year. In my freshman year, I got a 5’s on both AP Physics I and World. This year I am taking AP Calc AB, Physics II, Lang/Comp, US Gov, and Psychology, and am performing well (3.95 Unweighted GPA) and have a good balance between my schoolwork and personal life. My classes will be provided below
On the other hand, the IB track would provide me with the IB diploma, while taking 4 HL classes on the way.
So the big question is which is better: 19 AP classes including AP Capstone, or an IB Diploma with 11 AP classes?
AP classes Junior year-
Macroeconomics (Semester)
Microeconomics (Semester)
Physics C- Electricity and Magnetism (Semester)
Physics C- Mechanics (Semester)
English Lit and Comp
US History
Seminar
AP classes Senior Year
Statistics
Chemistry
Euro History
Spanish Language + Culture
Research
Computer Science A
Thanks so much!
Take 3 HLs, not 4. And, yes, take the IB.
Having 19 AP’s is going to look seriously wrong to top schools (who want 6 -8 total). They’ll wonder if you’re an AP robot.
The IB will force you to focus on six subjects. It will warrant the “most rigorous” checkmark regardless.
I would recommend, based on your interests, Physics HL, Maths AI or AA HL, English, Foreign Language, Economics or History SL, and one more HL (which could be CS or Chemistry)
Take the path that seems most interesting to YOU, assuming you can continue to challenge yourself. One concern is math. If the AP track has nothing after AB besides stats, that’s a concern. It’d be ideal if you could continue with interesting and challenging math. IB may or may not provide that (HL at many schools doesn’t go much past AB, but yours might). If you’ll need to take math at a local college or a similar arrangement to keep advancing, that would favor AP track over IB. Also consider that, fair or not, APs are often easier to convert to credit at many colleges. Check the colleges you might be interested in. IB is nice in terms of preparing students for college but it is not very flexible and doesn’t fit every student’s interests or pace. I’d also consider the track that your academic peers will be taking; if most people on your wavelength will be in one track or the other, that should be part of the decision (in the sense that you’ll be more engaged and interested during class).
Some colleges give extra credits to those who complete the IB Diploma:
https://blogs.ibo.org/blog/2018/05/05/getting-ib-credit-at-university/