Differences in Credit Given for AP and IB

Pre-College Issues International Baccalaureate (IB)
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Something I’ve seen come up a lot lately as my friends are looking at credit they may get for IB or AP courses is the differences between the amounts given for each. Each school does it differently, but my observation is that it’s either:

  1. No credit for anything, at all. (think most selective)
  2. Some credit for med-high scores.
  3. Only allows you to skip ahead in classes, no credit given.

I can see the reasonableness of all three options for both IB and AP credit, but I have trouble understanding when universities give credit for AP but not comparable IB SL courses. Let’s take AP Chemistry and IB Chemistry as an example.

Here is an example AP Chemistry syllabus from CB: http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/courses/pdfs/chemistry-sample-syllabus-1-id-1029708v1.pdf
Topics covered include equilibrium, rates of reaction, gas laws, enthalpy, VSEPR, acids and bases, etc.

An example IB SL Chemistry class syllabus: http://www.holyhearthigh.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Chemistry-Guide.pdf (skip to p. 41)
Similar topics covered, maybe gas laws not in-depth but with an added option like biochemistry, etc.
The HL class covers the same topics but more in-depth than either AP Chem or IB SL chem as it functions like a third-year chemistry class.

Credit given varies greatly between the three courses. Some specific policies for CC popular universities (all for colleges of arts and sciences or equivalent):

Duke: 1 credit for AP 4/5, ? credit for IB HL 6/7
Northwestern: 1 credit for AP 3, 4 credits for AP 4/5; 1 credit for IB HL 5/6, 4 credits for IB HL 7
U Michigan: 4 credits for AP 4/5; 5 credits for IB HL 4 and 8 credits for IB HL 5+
UNC: 5 credits for AP 3, 8 credits for AP 5; 5 credits for IB HL 5+
U Virginia: 6 credits for AP 4/5, 6 credits for IB HL 5+
Swarthmore: AP 5 or IB HL 6/7 allows chance to skip ahead, no credits

Obviously just a sampling, and these are all selective schools. Some of these policies seem more balanced than others, but some seem to favor AP. IB SL courses seem to be dismissed.

Some things to also think about: a 6/7 on an IB test is, IMO, harder than a 5 on an AP test and significantly harder than a 4. IB tests are usually all writing (exception Chem Paper 1). AP tests have stricter time limits. AP tests are also one part, while IB are often three or four, including a project. IB students are limited to 3 (in rare cases 4) HL classes.

I’d like to hear thoughts. I’m not meaning for this to be any sort of attack on AP or IB, just a look at the discrepancies in credit given, especially for SL classes that have very similar curricula to AP classes. I’m biased, obviously, because I took full IB. However, I’ve also taken a few AP classes, so I’m interested in the comparison.

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I’m not any expert in this subject but I will give you my two cents on the information which I have heard.

The reason there are more colleges that give credit for AP classes is because AP classes are highly standardized and therefore easier to calculate how rigorous the student’s workload is. IB classes on the other hand have a very different approach, one which I personally consider far better than AP. IB classes as you’ve mentioned require students to do projects, papers, and some tests whereas all AP classes do is prepare students for a test to “prove” their college readiness. In reality, college is nothing like AP although CollegeBoard claims otherwise. Indirectly, AP classes are the reason American education is bad because students lack the ability to think as critical. Humans don’t have a standardized mind but unfortunately, AP classes are still considered the “gold standard” for advanced high school classes.

Anyway, to answer your question, AP classes are more likely to be accepted in colleges all across the country is because they are the same tests taken everywhere therefore colleges know the “rigor” students have endured. Not to say IB classes are not standardized. Many aspects are, but it’s not what the IB curriculum revolves around unlike AP courses.