<p>Okay so my friend told me that some colleges prefer IB or AP classes
So does Harvard favor IB or AP classes or do they not have a preference?
What about Yale? Thanks.</p>
<p>I think they don't care but everyone knows AP is more difficult despite the IB program has " depth" argument which is nonsense. AP's are tough IB's are a joke.</p>
<p>it depends on what your school has</p>
<p>so they dont really have a preference?</p>
<p>my school only offers ib classes</p>
<p>if your school doesn't have AP's and IB's are the most rigorous courses, then given the context, IB's would be considered more heavily. It just depends on what curriculum your school has</p>
<p>but they wont look at somebody differently if they have ib classes of ap?</p>
<p>again, if your school only offers IB and those are the toughest courses, then it doesn't matter compared to a student from an AP school.</p>
<p>ok thanks for the help!</p>
<p>sure thing</p>
<p>Woa, AP courses are "harder" than IBs?
Hmm...interesting, I've always thought it's the other way around (but I've never been in the IB system, so I have no idea) :)</p>
<p>This might turn into a long rant in the wrong place but here goes.</p>
<p>I disagree with IB being "a joke." Many colleges feel that IB is more difficult and demanding than AP.</p>
<p>Although the sit down tests at the end of year year are easier for IB than for AP, full IB students face much more rigorous work throughout the year. </p>
<p>If you've attempted to get the full IB diploma, you will realize that the IB requires extensive assessments in every class. In math, you have to send portfolios to IB, in science you have to send labs and do an extensive research experiment, in language you have to send a cassette tape of an oral interview to IB, in english you have to write two in depth papers, an oral presentation, and an oral commentary, which are all taped and sent to IB, in history you have to write a historical investigation, in ITGS you have to create a product that will solve a problem in your community, and then there's the Extended Essay for your summer, and the 150 hours of Creativity, Action, and Service, plus a TOK essay and a TOK presentation. </p>
<p>Then you sit down for tests at the end of the year, and it can be more difficult to score all 7's on IB than it is to score all 5's on AP.</p>
<p>This is why pretty much all IB students have no life. </p>
<p>I go to a school that offers both IB and AP, and I take both IB and AP tests at the end of the year. I've gotten five 5's and a 4 on my AP's. On my IB's so far I've gotten two 6's. For me it seems like the IB tests are more difficult than the AP because some of the final grade comes from the assessments during the year.</p>
<p>AP seems to measure test taking ability while IB measures every aspect of a student. </p>
<p>I don't know if Harvard realizes this, however.</p>
<p>It really depends on what is offered at each school. Some schools teach the same classroom full of students a course that is dual-designated, with some students taking AP tests and some students pursuing the IB diploma. And some students self-study AP subjects with no class at all. Only for test-takers in each program is there a way to make any kind of meaningful comparison, but, again, AP tests are available to self-studiers and homeschoolers and IB tests are not. There is also the choice of taking genuine college courses through dual enrollment (college course for high school credit) in many places, outside both the AP and IB programs. </p>
<p>Just do what fits you locally to challenge yourself, and don't worry about it.</p>
<p>oh my lord i had no idea that the IB diploma entailed so much work for each class. i guess it is more difficult because while it's easy to self-study for an ap, it seems like IB is way more structured. good heavens. i admire people who go through with that.</p>
<p>Being an IB student myself I agree with chonfop. It also isn't like IB students don't take AP tests - we do. And often times we score decently on them, but because we are involved in all the internal/external assessments that make IB multi-layered and continuously difficult - IB is definitely the most extensive and difficult program. AP isn't even really a program and often times you'll find under qualified teachers instructing those classes, culminating at the end of the year to one test whereas IB is much more comprehensive and representative of a student's skills to synthesize and actually use the information they are given. In the end - when Harvard says they measure you according to the amount of resources you have at your disposal, I truly believe that. So if you only have AP take them, if you only have IB - you are more than fine and can always take the AP tests at the end of the year using your IB education.</p>
<p>Well IB students do have to take a whole elective (Theory of Knowledge) if they want to get the diploma... SO I guess that takes some dedication...</p>
<p>Of course it does. AP is indeed easier than IB-no wonder u rank the best students based on how many all-nighters they have pulled in the past month (we do amongst ourselves, seriously:D:D)</p>
<p>And on the whole, it is better and more multifaceted. I've heard cases where Oxbridge admitted students solely based on their extended essay....Really self-evident which program is better</p>
<p>and one key difference:
IB analyses, AP memorizes</p>
<p>I agree with everyone who has said that AP is easier. Last year I was in IB Psychology and we started preparing for the AP test the day before we took it. In the AP Psychology class, only 27 out of ~100 kids scored 5s. In my IB Psychology class, 26 out of 28 students got 5s. I know there are a lot of extraneous variables involved, and psychology isn't really a very tough AP, but still...it goes to show that if you analyze the information (the way you learn to do in IB Psychology) you will do better on the AP test.</p>
<p>Also, think about the general difficulty of some subjects. Tons of students score 5s on AP Calc BC every year, but the number of students who score 7s on IB Mathematics HL is much less ratio-wise. </p>
<p>I don't think that Harvard prefers one or the other...I do both. I'll have 6 IBs and 7 APs at the end of high school and I think that that is a good balance.</p>
<p>I disagree. TOK is a lame side class why are you speaking about it as if it is substantial. And I might add some of the super rich kid schools with lower tier college aspirations abroad offer IBAC because there is no way their students could cut AP's. I do not mean to be difficult but this is true. If IB was so hot I am sure schools such as Exeter and Andover would be getting rid of AP's in favor of IBAC. Surely the Harkness table is not about memorization! Why do you assume that if you take an AP you are forbidden to think about the material in depth? Absolutely silly assumption.</p>
<p>You're not forbidden to think about the material in depth, but you are not necessarily required to do so. I know I shouldn't be reverting back to the psychology example again, but it's fairly simple and therefore easy to understand. On AP Psychology, it is pure memorization. The essays are generally requesting regurgitation of the same material that is found within the multiple choice sections. On the IB Psychology test, a student must examine deeply the cultural implications of psychology and the effect that said implications possess over psychology and human behavior in general. That kind of material is never tested on the AP Psych test. </p>
<p>While not every subject is like this, when do AP Calculus students ever need to perform such complex mathematical reflections and investigations as they do in the IB higher-level mathematics internal assessments? I don't know how it works at other schools, but in IB sciences at my school we perform Group 4 projects and then present them with all three of the scientific disciplines. I can't remember a time when AP Bio kids listened to presentations from AP Chem or AP Physics kids, but in IB we do. In AP English exams, the necessity for cultural comparison isn't highly emphasized in most cases, while in IB English a paper devoted entirely to foreign literature is required.</p>
<p>I don't think that hedoya's conjecture of "if IB was so hot...schools such as Exeter and Andover would be getting rid of AP's is fair." I am not deriding AP curriculum in any way; I appreciate the rigor of many of the AP tests and do appreciate the necessity to memorize. However, IB can still be more valuable overall even though AP is desirable, productive, and rewarding. </p>
<p>And a side note: I don't know who you are, but if your experience with TOK/observing TOK/whatever shows you that it is a "lame side class," you're not witnessing a good TOK class. </p>
<p>And I'm not trying to be rude, but really</p>