<p>Andover and Exeter don't need the IB program to excel--what they have is better. </p>
<p>That being said, they don't need the AP program either and don't have courses that teach to the test--Andover and Exeter courses do that as a by-product of their difficulty.</p>
<p>J07, what you're completely ignoring is the type of students who take the class. Psych is known to be one of the less challenging APs so those are the kids who are most likely taking only one AP compared to others who are doing the entire IB program. </p>
<p>And AP also analyses. I hate this generalization.</p>
<p>Furthermore, being from a school that offers both IB and a wide variety of AP courses, I was concerned that colleges would look unfavorably upon me for choosing a full set of APs instead of IB. My fears proved to be completely unfounded, and I often posed the question to counselors, admissions directors, etc to ask their opinion. The response I got was that they are looked upon equally. Not one slightly better or one slightly worse, just the same.</p>
<p>The point is, whatever you may choose, do it at the highest and most rigorous level.</p>
<p>That's a perfect summary right there.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The point is, whatever you may choose, do it at the highest and most rigorous level.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I like that too as a summary of the basic issue. My local school district offers an IB diploma. To the best of my knowledge and belief, no new teachers were hired to implement the program, and thus I have doubts about whether the local program meets the highest aspirations of the worldwide IB program. To address similar concerns about brand name, the College Board has recently been conducting an audit of the AP program, because some high schools have claimed to offer "AP" courses in subjects for which there isn't even an AP test, or have offered plainly inadequate courses under one of the genuine AP subject labels. A high school student has to be an informed shopper. These days, distance learning opportunities and opportunities for dual enrollment in college for high school credit are much more numerous than they were when I was in high school, and what is LOCALLY available will determine what makes sense for each high school student. My advice to most high school students making study plans is DARE TO BE YOURSELF. Don't restructure your whole high school career just to please unknown college admission officers. Seek out areas of interest, and find out what you enjoy, and then do your best. Use brand names of different programs as a guide, but check local details to see if a program really measures up to its brand name.</p>
<p>Well put tokenadult, and viva<em>sweet</em>love, even i disagree with many things, i have to admit that
[quote]
The point is, whatever you may choose, do it at the highest and most rigorous level.
[/quote]
is a great and prime point...</p>