I am currently a sophomore here in Alabama and have the option of taking IB or AP classes starting next year. AP classes will be no sweat for me I know, as I did take the one AP class available for me this year. AP classes can get you college credit and are more widely known by colleges it seems, and of course they are much less work and have less requirements compared to IB. With IB you have to complete CAS, write a 5000 word essay, IB elective, an additional 2 years of foreign language, and the homework load is horrible according to upperclassmen. I know I could handle IB and have been recommended by all my teachers and counselor to take it, but I don’t want my GPA to plummet due to the transition of harder classes. There are many universities here in AL that will give free tuition for a 32 ACT and 3.5 GPA (unweighted), and I don’t want to take IB next year and see my 4.0 that I’ve kept drop ruining my chances for those scholarships.That said I’m not really trying to go to a big IVY league just a public universities that meet my needs. Most upperclassmen who too only wanted to go to public universities saw it as a waste of time. I do enjoy learning on a higher level and being among like minded people, but taking the easy way and taking all AP classes, increasing my rank (#4 at the moment), and not stressing myself seems like the better route. And with AP I’ll have more time for volunteering, extra curricular, etc. which looks good on applications. Again I know I could handle IB and give my life up to it, but is it worth it in the end? What are the benefits to IB as opposed to AP? Can you earn college credit with IB? I have heard IB allows you to skip your freshmen year of college completely. For anyone who has been in the IB program, was it worth it? And in my school we take 8 classes a semester!
The point of IB really isn’t the academics, it’s the way you change as a student. The program is very much designed to prepare students for college, as you have a lot of writing assignments and far-off deadlines. Also, the courses are created to make students go very much in depth in only a little bit of area (which helps a lot come exam time). The way IB v. AP is presented at my school is that with IB you go a mile deep but only a few feet wide and with AP you go a few feet deep but a mile wide.
For me, IB has definitely been worthwhile. Although I was not able to finish the full diploma and had to go the certificate route due to a scheduling conflict (thanks a lot, French department), I feel as though I am very prepared for college. My GPA in IB has actually been better than my GPA before IB, but every teacher goes through the standards their own way. A definite benefit of IB is that by the time your scores come out, you’ve already been accepted and are only a month or less away from beginning college (although the same could be said for AP).
As for the college credit, it’s all dependent on your score and the college’s standards. Some colleges only accept 6s or 7s on your exams for credit, which is basically the same as a 5 on an AP exam. If you go on a college’s website, they should have a list of what courses you can get credit for with a certain score.
The thing I love the most about IB is my class. We’re only about 17 students (including me), so we get very into class discussion. Since you’re with your IB class for two years, you get to be very close with them and form a sort of friend group. I feel very comfortable speaking and participating in my classes now because I know my classmates respect me and my opinion.
Honestly, it all comes down to your feelings on the matter. I’d talk to your guidance counselor, the IB teachers/coordinators at your school, and the current IB students, as they can give you the best idea of what IB is like at your school. Good luck!
IB classes are generally seen on an equal or higher level than AP, and the fact that the Diploma is a cohesive program rather than discrete classes makes it a lot more difficult than AP a la carte. Colleges are familiar with this and recognize it.
One of the big draws for IB is for college admissions, but you already know how that is likely to affect you personally. IB, even though it is a standardized sort of program, is different in different schools. My D is in IB and as you mentioned, liked being around like-minded people, and has seen some of the benefits of the program, but overall it hasn’t been great. The program is very rigid, at least at her school, with few options for classes, and once you are in, you have to follow through…just no flexibility. She, and most of her friends, have realized that the actual IB diploma isn’t needed, and comes after all the college acceptances anyway. Unfortunately, many of them have tanked their GPA, and are not getting the scholarships they hoped for. Coming in to college with all those classes can be great, but you can do the same with the AP classes. I think, if you can more comfortably qualify for the scholarships for the colleges you are aiming for with the AP classes, that would be the wisest choice.
Yes, but you are recognized as a diploma candidate at graduation, which means you have completed the requirements for the diploma but have yet to actually receive it. This is a technicality that many people misinterpret, but colleges do recognize you as a diploma recipient.
As an IB student in Alabama, let me make it clear that the 3.5 is weighted. Which means if you get a 3.0 UW and it comes out to 3.5 W, those colleges in specific only look at weighted. Do the IB program, take the equivalent AP exams to the classes you’re already taking so you can get college credit, and your GPA will be fine assuming your school weights IB classes. The point of IB isn’t to get credit, it’s to improve you as a student, and it’ll help you so much when you go to college and have already developed the critical thinking, research, and writing skills very few others have.
@irlandaise thank you for that little bit of knowledge, and thank you everyone else as well. My school does weight IB/AP with 5 points instead of 4, my current GPA is a 4.25, but I had assumed that colleges only looked at unweighted GPAs as far as scholarships and admission goes. I actually talked to my friend who is in IB today, and she convinced me it’s not as bad as it seems. Many people in our IB program simply don’t have the drive nor the course’s demands, and thus created the IB horror stories. I’m definitely going to do it now because I know I have those things, but just need to get my “ACT”" together for it.
Colleges all have different policies about how they look at your GPA, weighted or unweighted. However, when you’re speaking specifically about the full tuition scholarships in Alabama - assuming you mean UAlabama, Auburn, and possibly UAB and UAH - they explicitly look at weighted GPA. It really isn’t as bad as it seems. CAS is just volunteering, sports, cultural events, etc. You do it without realizing. The EE isn’t too bad, just a 4000 word essay over a topic you choose, which you have months to write - almost an entire year if you plan it well enough.
Edit: I remember you from your previous threads! I hope you do end up doing IB. It really is beneficial, and will really help you get to that 32. Don’t forget that for in-state for Alabama and Auburn, you only need a 30 for full tuition!
Mother of an IB diploma Auburn student here - there is good and there is bad. I’m finding that every school is different - it is very time consuming but if you are a good dedicated student anyway, it’s not so tough but can limit your extra curriculars. I do think AP only will allow for a higher GPA (son took 8 AP’s as well). The CAS hours need to be approved so just know what you are volunteering for and at my son’s school a lot of hours can be used for multiple things (i.e. National Honor Society and CAS or Spanish Honor Society and CAS, etc) - so you end up having to do quite a bit more than the 150 hours and of course they have to fall into the specified category. The essay is more a lesson in how to deal with the stress of the program - to be honest I know some of the kids spent the 2 years researching and then writing their drafts for the checkpoint periods and then rewriting the whole thing in the last 2 weeks before turning it in and did well. TOK essay was tougher.
Update: I know this is an old thread, but my family and I just moved recently and my new school doesn’t have IN, so AP for me. Regardless I’m still giving it my all!