<p>I've been looking at a lot of posts latelywhere people want to be "chanced". Most of them are taking 4 honors and 3 AP classes a year. Smh -easy. My junior year (im a rising senior) i took ALL IB classes, and got 3 As and 4 Bs. Is this any better than a person who is taking 4H/3AP but got straight As? with the exception of PE,music, and algebra I, EVERY class on my transcript is honors, ap, or IB.</p>
<p>No, not really. Applicants to top schools are expected to do well in rigorous programs.</p>
<p>it’s hard to tell. </p>
<p>There are a lot of posters on college confidential who have 43-44 predicted points with the core points. </p>
<p>For myself, I had a B±A- average at the top prep school in the nation before hand, which could get me into Notre Dame, Northwestern, etc. etc. </p>
<p>I now take the IB diploma program and have a 3.9 GPA. I only have IB courses and 2 AP courses, and am enrolled in 4 HL and took senior Calculus HL. </p>
<p>A lot of people who wouldn’t do well in public high school (aka have no initiative and do few EC’s) do the IB and have average grades in the IB. Out of a class of 60 kids, 7 are going to ivy league schools. Their GPA is like a 3.7 and they have low 2000-ish SAT scores. So, a combination of IB and international status help kids out. I’m not sure if the same is true at high schools in the US, because a lot of kids have high predicted scores.</p>
<p>People with “lower” GPAs in my IB programme usually went to the state flagship (UMD) on significant scholarship and with enough credits to enter as a sophomore, but did not have success with ‘top’ schools. Those kinds of grades Junior year don’t help your case.</p>
<p>I got into UChicago and Tufts with 2290 SAT and around a 3.5 GPA from an IB programme similar to the one you mentioned. But people with higher grades (3.8+)–and there were many–and good SAT scores often had success with higher-ranked schools.</p>
<p>a 3.8 in that kind of IB programme is generally harder to get that a 4.0 with hard courseloads in other schools. It generally translates to similar success.</p>
<p>Yup, I would probably go with what IBfootballer says, especially if you go to school in the states.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why the IB is such a big deal though. IB exams covers things less in depth than AP examinations that I’ve taken so far. Plus, they have similar pass-rates (70% for a 5/7), while any score above a 40 on the IB is supposedly really really good (like automatic-admit to Oxford good).</p>
<p>^HL classes are much, much more difficult than APs. Moreover, IB requires that you take advanced courses pretty much across the disciplines. You don’t get to opt out of hard stuff (SL is still difficult, possible exception of Maths) just because it’s not your forte. Moreover, you’re taking all this stuff simultaneously, while managing Internal Assessments and your Extended Essay.</p>
<p>70% of people do not get 5-7s on IB exams. 70% of people may pass, but passing means 3 and above.</p>
<p>the SL classes that i take (Psychology, Spanish, Math) are very easy. But the HL classes that I take are very challenging, and i am assigned twice the amount of work as my AP counterparts. I also took 4 HLs. Oh, and my Math Studies results come out tommorow, as well as my AP Language Exam (i think). Im prettyyyy excited!</p>
<p>“4 honors and 3 AP classes a year. Smh -easy”</p>
<p>Respectfully, it is a mistake to universally discount another students academic rigor. This is one reason why colleges request a school profile. What does a ‘A’ really mean? What is the grading scale? How many APs are offered and what are the scores historically earned.</p>
<p>AP Chem at S2s school is killer, while AP Lang is not as hard. The reverse is true at his cousins school across the county. The AP exam scores reflect this. Many students dual enroll. You can try to determine how competitive your application is, however it would be a mistake to underestimate students from other academic backgrounds. Students from schools with very few APs are admitted to Ivy League and top research universities every year.</p>
<p>A B average is still terrible no matter what kind of school you go to, but I guess colleges will value you more than students in regular high schools.</p>
<p>^A B average is not terrible. Furthermore, 3As and 4Bs is neither a B average, nor terrible. </p>
<p>OP, keep in mind that not all high schools offer such advanced options. I believe colleges will respect that you took rigorous classes, and were relatively successful in them. However, there will also be applicants who also took full IB but who also have 4.0s. Don’t get cocky- it’s not enough to just take the classes. Although it is certainly an admirable factor in an applicant.</p>
<p>No, you mis-read what I meant IB footballer. I meant that if you get 70% on the exams, you can get a 5 on the AP and a 7 on the IB (regardless of HL or SL)</p>
<p>Also, I am in the IB diploma, and SL is pretty basic. I wouldn’t even put it on par with AP; it is the same difficulty as the SAT II’s. I’ve also taken HL Calculus (a senior course), which is one of the hardest IB courses, and it was pretty easy. I got a 98% on a mock IB exam, when the second highest score was a 80-ish%. Me, a person, who probably will get a 4 on the AP Calculus AB exam. </p>
<p>@masterofpupets: A B average is not terrible, especially if it’s a B+. At Andover, and many other prep schools, a 3.5 almost guarantees admission to a top-15 school. Because colleges understand that it is so much more meaningful than a bs 4.0 gpa that 34.5% of public high school students now have (based on SAT statistics). The same is true for IB.</p>
<p>What everyone should consider is that the IB is different at every school, as with AP, in terms of how it’s implemented. At some schools both programs are integrated, at others it isn’t. What really determines the effectivenes of an IB program at a school, has much to do with experience, teachers and students. Colleges view IB as thorough and conprehensive preparation for College. As such a B grade in an IB class is great, as Colleges understand its difficulty.</p>
<p>thanks for all the input you guys! In all honesty, I just dont want to be shortchanged in the admissions process. I’ve been working in IB year round (i have four books to read this summer!!) as well as keeping up with my ECs and my quickly dwindling social life… so yeah, i just dont want to feel like i’ve been through all of this for noo reason.</p>
<p>I myself is, or used to be, an IB student (and all the exam results come out tomorrow), and I seriously do not think IB program is that challenging. If you work efficiently, even if you go out every night on fridays and saturdays, you can easily achieve As on all classes. (I did not take physics, which is considered to be the hardest of the hardest, so I may as well say physics might be an exception)</p>
<p>That being said, a lot of students who apply to top schools have straight As on all the IB subjects, so B average can actually have a negative impact on your applications.</p>
<p>There are very top schools with no classes called AP or IB.</p>
<p>An IB student absolutely is not seen as having a more rigorous program than an AP student. How your grades are seen is primarily in comparison to those of other students at your school, in short, rank. Whether or not your school officially ranks.</p>
<p>Many IB students are admitted to top Colleges with B averages. Besides, there’s also an IB score out of 45 to take into account. The same holds true with AP. Students with mixed AP scores of 4-5 who gain admission to top colleges. There’re other parts to a application which are to be considered. Keep in mind that many straight A students are rejected. Therefore there’s still hope for a B average student. Not that it guaranties admission.</p>
<p>Haha I have that SAME reaction with my AP friends although it’s just good natured competition 
(Our school has both AP and IB and we love arguing over who’s best <em>cough IB cough</em> 
) The only reason I think it’s harder is because of the extras like IAs (internal assessments), the EE (extended essay), CAS (community-action-service), and the fact that you have to be proficient in EVERY subject.</p>
<p>Colleges understand the rigor of the IB program and so will take that into consideration when they look at your grades. Honestly, if you’re doing well, and want recognition for all that hard work in IB, look at foreign schools like in the UK. THEY understand it. IB’s not really as accepted up here in the U.S. 
It’s more of an AP world.</p>
<p>Personally I believe there’s a conspiracy when there is one company that conveniently makes all the tests that kids are basically forced to take to get into college <em>cough collegeboard cough</em> 
but that’s an argument for another day :)</p>
<p>"Our school has both AP and IB and we love arguing over who’s best <em>cough IB cough</em> "</p>
<p>Keep in mind, if a school offers IB that is probably their main focus and it stands to reason that their AP classes are not going to get the same attention. It is a mistake to assume this is the case at ALL schools. Also keep in mind that the plain fact that if the instructor has the best and brightest at that school, they have the ability to cover more material and go more into greater detail. If IB is drawing those students at your school, that is where you will find the most challenging classes. If AP classes are drawing those students at your school that is where you will find the most challenging classes. At an IT speciality school you may find AP comp sci isn’t going to be as hard as a neighboring school because the ‘techie’ students are taking their IT classes by speciality instructors and dual enrolled at the local cc.</p>
<p>Be proud of the program that you are involved in and take pride in what you accomplish. Assuming you are automatically a better applicant as an IB student than ANY AP student is foolish.</p>
<p>^ Haha of course I know that AP students are on the same level as us It’s just as I said, good natured competition! The majority of my friends are in AP and I know they’re all just as intelligent as the people in IB :)</p>
<p>And nah, in my school, there’s no real emphasis on either program. In my IB year, there’s like less than 30 kids but there’s a WHOLE lot more in AP! </p>
<p>And I never said I assumed I was better than any AP applicant. Of course there are people in AP, IB, or even in neither of those that are way smarter than me! At my school when we argue over who’s best it’s more like teasing and joking, haha not like cutthroat competition :)</p>
<p>Besides, I actually think you cannot really compare the two! They are two vastly different styles of education! Although I have to add in (and don’t get mad at me) one of the ways I believe IB is better is because we have TOK (Theory of Knowledge). In my opinion, EVERYONE should take that class - not just IB kids. It’s a shame it’s not offered to kids outside of the diploma :/</p>
<p>It really depends on the difficulty of your particular IB programme. </p>
<p>My IB programme was very tough. people did have free time, but there was a lot of work, and we had several people drop out for health reasons related to stress. Then again, our programme is so rigourous, we manage to prepare people very very well. A failed exam is practically unheard of, and as is someone not getting their diploma.</p>