<p>Being an IB student myself I am quite inclined to lean toward suggesting IB. </p>
<p>If the math and science focus is what worries you don't allow your son to take a math or science at a higher level. The standard level math and science classes are much easier and much less involved (coming from someone who takes both math and science higher level).</p>
<p>I find IB to be absolutely wonderful in terms of subject depth. My favorite subjects have definitely been English, History, Economics and TOK. TOK, with a good teacher, is a brilliant class.</p>
<p>The great thing about the IB is the inter-connectedness (if that is a word) that TOK facilitates. If your son is a good writer and enjoys thinking the IB would be a great fit. It is quite writing intensive- most of the classes have assortments of internal assessments, essays and of course there is the TOK essay and the extended essay. The exams are also very writing intensive. For English your grade depends on 2 essays. </p>
<p>I've had friends who have done AP and others a combination of both and it seems to me AP is a lot of busy work and tests. I greatly prefer the IB. I find it actually encourages real thinking and accumulation of knowledge. The exams are about real knowledge, out of all the exams I'm taking there is only 1 multiple choice test paper and only 40 questions. </p>
<p>I don't think the ADD will be that much of a factor. My younger brother has a combination of ADD and various other learning disabilities and he is taking the IB, well next year, this year he's doing IGCSEs. </p>
<p>Those are my thoughts on the program (I'm an IB senior at the moment). Good luck! I hope that helps a little.</p>
<p>I agree completely with scarletleavy. I've found, personally, that AP is a lot more busywork. With IB, the workload is intense, but I find it to be more meaningful and engaging. It is overwhelmingly writing-based. Thought process is worth at least as many points as the final conclusion or answer, which I think is important - it feels like the emphasis is on learning and thinking rather than being a robot.</p>
<p>There are ways to structure an IB diploma to be very math/science intensive (Ex: Chemistry, Physics, and Math HL, English, Spanish ab initio, History SL), and there are ways to take it easier. It doesn't have to be too in-depth:</p>
<p>If your son is in Algebra 1 as a freshman, SL Math Studies (not Methods...but the SL Math Methods course is being renamed just SL Math, I think) would probably be best for him. Math Studies doesn't require any calculus, so he's right on track. He'll find a lot of writing and explaining and critical thinking even in math, it isn't all calculations.</p>
<p>For science: he could probably do well in any SL science with the possible exception of physics. Other options in my district are chemistry, biology, and environmental studies.</p>
<p>You/he might not have to choose between AP and IB, SBmom. At many schools, IB offers the IB Certificate program (as opposed to the Diploma) where you take half the IB classes (you can choose which ones based on your strengths), half the community service, and you don't have to do the extra work like the Extended Essay. People in IB Certificate usually take a couple AP classes instead.</p>
<p>As far as the IBO is concerned certificate exams are individual examinations and no CAS/EE/TOK is required. You can take as many or as few exams as you like. Individual schools may or may not let students pursue certificates.</p>
<p>The downside here is no CAS/EE/TOK, especially because it sounds like the TOK is a big draw for you. My own biased opinion here is that IB isn't worth it if you don't go for the diploma. I think IB is really about the whole experience - my classes relate to each other, complement each other. TOK and the EE are integral parts. It just feels to me that eliminating TOK and the extended essay defeats a lot of the point.</p>
<p>Talk to IB students around November of the senior year, and they may disagree with you about the EE. ;) Everyone's proud of it once they're done, though.</p>
<p>Haha, my school's EE's (and TOK presentations, and TOK essays) were due last week so you could have gotten some pretty violent reactions from us last weekend.</p>
<p>I count my thesis as about the best academic experience I had in college; I suppose the EE is similar...</p>
<p>Yes, TOK is very appealing given my S's interests.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input everyone. He'll be visiting the school next week and will sit in on some classes. I think it could be a match, but ultimately he'll decide.</p>
<p>hahah....lol.....no one answered my question......its all kool........i like this discussion...i should go and change the thread to name to IB versus AP...but cant do that....my chances to edit the thread is long gone...keep up the thread everyone....i want to hear all you opinions about AP versus IB....forget about my question and focus on ap verus ib</p>
<p>Allright. I think i'm a pimp so i'm gonna tie it all back to the original question: "Is IB a Waste of Time?" My answer:
Is AP a waste of time? Is honors a waste of time? Is formal education a waste of time? Is life a waste of time?
Well..yes...but it kinda depends on how you do it.
I'm in the full ib program. I've taken several ap classes and tests (11), as wll as 2 ib sl tests. I am scheduled to take 4 more aps and my 4 ib hls this year. It's been fun. I consider my motives for joining ib pretty typical, in that a) i wanted the "extra wonderful" education it promised and b)as you've probably guessed, i'm a credit whore who likes to push the limit. All that said, i'm going to share some insight that i've only recently arrived at. Maybe it'll help some of you to be ib peeps or something.</p>
<p>Enjoy life. Don't try to hard to impress colleges. Don't overdwell on academics. Go for a challenging courseload, but make sure you save time for sleep and fun. Definitely don't focus on academics so much you neglect other things that are important for colleges and for live (ec, volunteering). If you're looking for the best education possible, i'd say go for ib. DON'T EXPECT TOO MUCH THOUGH. All these years i've just been expecting incredible educational experiences, but finding that i learn very little in class that i can't learn just by reading the book(s). The real way to get an education beyond the ordinary is to branch out for yourself, and to communicate with unusually intelligent people ( a few classmates, some teachers outside of class). As far as colleges go, ib might be a double edged sword in that unless a college happens to have had lots of students from your ib program or w/e, they'll have a hard time comparing it to an ap curriculum at another school. In the end, the added difficulty probably wont be that much of a factor in college admissions. I guess what i'm trying to say in this long rambling monster of a comment is...</p>
<p>Enjoy your youth. Save some of the college classes for college (when you don't have seven classes a day, ecs right after, and parents and crap to bug the hell out of you the whole time).</p>
<p>p.s: T.O.K. is bull. I expected it to be a kind of intellectual payoff at the end of ib but TOK IS THE DEFINITION OF MENTAL FLUFF COTTONCANDY BS.</p>
<p>Which is why I got an A on my internal and external assessments =) even thought I have 1 source for my essay, and made up my presentation on the spot; it was on black holes, which I know ALOT about and love.</p>