<p>Which is harder?
15-21 APs or full IB diploma?</p>
<p>at my school they’re the same classes
so people taking full IB take all the APs for those subjects as well</p>
<p>Ah… okay.
So I am guessing, they will end up with 6-7 APs with full IB load?</p>
<p>exams:
AP exams are without doubt the more difficult of the 2.</p>
<p>Class:
completely depends on the teacher, but usually AP classes are tougher b/c the exams tougher… thus the class reflects the exam.</p>
<p>overall:
the reason most people would say that IB is tougher than AP is b/c of the Extended Essay and set curriculum requirements. </p>
<p>personally, I believe AP is harder</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some of you may be surprised to learn that there are many high schools in which the AP classes aren’t truly college level work and most students don’t score well.</p>
<p>fyi, OP has convinced himself he can handle 12 APs in one year. so his scale of measurement is, shall we say, questionable.</p>
<p>I think an AP student can mimic the IB curriculum quite well it that student wants to.</p>
<p>IB English HL=AP Lang+Lit
IB Math HL=AP Calc AB+BC from what an IB teacher told me
IB History HL=AP US History + AP Euro</p>
<p>Foreign languages are better in AP, as are the sciences because AP covers more.
IB has an edge on the Theory of Knowledge program that AP can’t really counter.
IB’s CAS is done by most AP students even if it is implicit.
IB music doesn’t seem like it covers the same as AP Music Theory but most AP students do regular music and not AP Music Theory. Hard to measure here.</p>
<p>Overall AP can be (and is for top students) better but it takes 5-6 APs to overcome IB at a top level.</p>
<p>^ The strongest students can take anywhere from 10-25 APs.</p>
<p>Indeed Jersey. After 10 an AP student goes beyond an IB curriculum in terms of rigor.</p>
<p>^ Are you talking about exams or classes? Even if a student takes 8 AP exams a year for junior and senior year, thats still only 16. Throw in requirements that vary by state, but I will use the NC reqs, which include 1 non-AP history, science, math, foreign language, plus 2 non-AP Englishes taken in addition to AP Lang and Lit, and you only have 10 spots available. Then lets assume that the stuent takes 2 year longs (on junior and senior) that reduces the max. AP courseload to 8.</p>
<p>Not saying it isn’t possible to have 10+ classes, but getting 25 would be because, using the 8 a year scheme, you would have to take at least one AP freshman year!</p>
<p>And if you’re talking about exams 86*25= 2150. Not everyone has that kind of money.</p>
<p>OP, based on his schedule posted on another forum, had 6 APs junior year, wants to take 12 senior year</p>
<p>Also to the OP. If you have any intent of doing 21 AP classes or exams, you are nuts. I took 9 APs (school offered 11, and the other 2 didn’t fit in my schedule), and got As in all of them, but I had to work my tail off 21 would be suicide and pointless. These days most competitive universities only give credit for a 4 or 5, which is easily achievable if you aren’t stretched thin and taking 15-21 APs. In addition, some schools don’t give any credit for some exams, and some don’t give any credit for any exam.</p>
<p>12 AP’s in one year is extreme overkill, I’d say 6 would be a good number</p>
<p>@IBfootballer: I’m still fuzzy on that math. Most schools I know use either the 8 block schedule (with A/B and semester) or use a 7-period day.</p>
<p>IB HL is definitely harder than AP.
D took 3 AP in her freshmen year. She got a mix of 4 and 5 on all 3. She did not spend much time outside of classroom to prepare for them. She is a rising senior and has finish IB diploma along with 8 AP. She could test for more AP, but she feels there is no need. Already we spend over $2000 for IB and AP tests.</p>
<p>How can she do both AP and IB?
Does her school let her do that? Or does she self-study 8 of them? Or does the curriculum overlaps each other?</p>
<p>Many IB kids, realising that college credit for IBs is hard to find (pretty much impossible w. SLs), take the AP exams because their classes prepare them for it. Someone doesn’t take IB and AP english classes, just an IB english class and takes the AP exam because they can handle it.</p>
<p>Most of the her IB classes also covers AP curriculum. So she can take both tests with the exception of physics SL, which covers less than AP. so she did not take AP physics.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends did the IB diploma, I chose 8 AP’s. The only reasons why I chose AP over IB were 1) AP was more open to students, meaning anyone could sign up, whereas IB was pretty closed to the rest of the school, 2) I could choose more of my schedule, and 3) avoiding the Extended Essay. True, the IB program at my school just graduated its first class, but I’m happy with my 8 AP’s bringing in 44 credits with me to college. My friend, similar courseload but IB student and attending the same university as me, is bringing much fewer credits through her IB diploma. </p>
<p>fun fact: today IB scores come out… and I have to wait a week more for AP scores if that changes anyone’s mind.</p>
<p>letigre…are you serious?</p>
<p>My Pre-IB class of 2012 took 4 AP classes/exams in the first 2 years (I got 2 4’s and 2 5’s), and we enter full-fledged IB this fall. All of our teachers have been telling us that IB classes are overall undoubtedly tougher than AP classes…needless to say, I’m nervous as hell about it. Did you do IB?</p>