I take full IB, any use in taking AP exams?

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>Okay so in 10th grade I took AP stats and Gov and politics and got a 5 and 4 respectively.
I'm now taking full IB (math, phys, chem, econ HL and english and french SL).</p>

<p>I'm looking at some good schools (Stanford, northwestern, UCB, UCLA, etc) and my test scores should be in the range of most of those schools (only a junior) and my gpa as well.</p>

<p>I was wondering if there was any use in taking some of the AP exams offered? I'm currently looking at AP Microeconomics and AP calc AB. I'm fairly sure I could get a 4 or 5 in those exams if I studied hard enough, but would it be worth it? Some kids at my school at planning on doing the calc exam, but I'm not certain if it's worth it.</p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

2

<p>It depends on what math level you’re doing. Are you doing HL? If so then DO NOT waste time on the AB exam. Are you doing SL? You could do the AB exam since SL and AB are just about the same level. Are you doing Studies? Then yes do the AB exam.
I’m not sure about econ, but since you’re doing HL it probably wouldn’t be worth it to take the AP exam.</p>

3

<p>When I listed my classes I meant that the first four were HL and the next 2 were SL. </p>

<p>Is it really that worthless to do the AP exams for those subjects? Would colleges care at all?</p>

4

<p>Go to your prospective college’s website and check the AP/IB policy. If they don’t accept IB credit for some subjects then take the AP equivalent (if AP credit is accepted).</p>

5

<p>aldfig is right–at some colleges you may get credit for AP scores, but not for IB scores–and especially not for SL scores. You may also be able to use the scores for placement.</p>

<p>This is the only reason to take those tests–the colleges won’t care in terms of admissions.</p>

6

<p>Okay thanks for the replies guys!</p>

7

<p>Check each college you are considering to see if there are subjects where the AP test is worth more than the IB HL test in terms of placement or subject credit (IB SL tests are unlikely to be given any placement or subject credit, so you may want to take the AP tests in those subjects if you think you can do well). One other possibility is to take the AP tests to get a “second chance” in each subject. (Note: at Berkeley, AP and IB placement and subject credit policies vary by major, so you may have to do some digging on the department web sites of your possible majors.)</p>

<p>Even if you get placement or subject credit at the college you attend, if the course that you may be able to skip is an important prerequisite to other courses, it is best to check the college’s old final exams for the course that you may skip to ensure that you know the material from the college’s point of view.</p>

<p>Specifically for math, the usual crediting is IB HL >= AP BC > AP AB > IB SL.</p>