<p>can someone explain to me the main differences in these curricula? I mean in a practical sense. does one carry more weight intellectually?</p>
<p>I think that if you do a search on CC, you will find plenty of discussion on that question and many persuasive arguments promoting either program. For my son, in our school district, IB was a more complete program that fit his needs intellectually.</p>
<p>If you’re choosing between the two, what really matters is how they are delivered in the specific school your child is attending. Either can be excellent, or not so good.</p>
<p>The IB diploma is a comprehensive program. AP is a collection of individual courses. This is probably the biggest difference.</p>
<p>But as Hunt said, the important thing is how these programs (and, if available, other special programs) are implemented in your child’s school. There are enormous differences from one school to another, despite the seemingly restrictive rules.</p>
<p>Depends on the choices available at your child’s school. In our district, the strong math/ science kids tend to avoid IB as it is more humanities focused. Our HS offers 17 AP classes, 6 of which are AP/IB classes. You can cherry pick AP classes depending on strengths and interests vs. following the lockstep IB path. I’d recommend talking to parents/students who are seniors or who have graduated and are/were IB. Ask them if they think it was worth it.</p>
<p>RobD has a good idea – especially about asking students who have graduated.</p>
<p>My daughter, who is now a senior in college and who was never science oriented, definitely thinks that her IB diploma was worth it, primarily because it prepared her very well for college-level work in terms of academic knowledge, writing skills, and time management skills.</p>
<p>But others from her school disagree. Some feel that the lower GPAs they received in IB, as compared to what they would have received if they had been in the regular high school program and simply taken some AP courses, led to poorer college admissions results.</p>
<p>Marian, we heard that similar refrain about lower gpas & compromised scholarship opportunities from some parents/kids. Along with the comment “I could have STILL gotten into X school AND had a life in HS!” D1 didn’t do IB but cherry picked APs; she knew most of the IB kids and said the stress level could be incredibly high. D2 has to make her decision this spring. She is “pre-IB.” I am of the mindset that, in our district, “the juice isn’t worth the squeeze” but it’s her decision.</p>
<p>At D’s school IB is wonderful. Co-Ordinated program with AP (only 5 classes are different from what a top AP student would take). The teachers are great, and the students are well supported by the IB Booster Club. Yes, it is work, but so is AP. So far, D is doing very well and loves the program and her class mates.<br>
FYI–the school has one of the highest Diploma rates in the country, colleges in the area know the program and the quality of the students. For us, it’s a huge plus. And she definately has a life!</p>
<p>DD was a full IB diploma student as well as involved in a year round club sport which practiced 2.5 hours a day. It was very difficult to maintain both and some weeks the sport suffered due to the amount of HW she had to complete. This was her decision, it meant commuting to a high school in our district that was outside her normal neighborhood. In the end she felt it was worth it, she is proud of her accomplishment and feels that IB also helped her get into one of the top LAC’s in the country. If she had to do it all over again she wouldn’t change anything.</p>