<p>How seriously does Harvard take the IB diploma in contrast to the AP route? (I'm the latter btw)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>They are literally the same thing.</p>
<p>According to an IBO handout, IB students will be accepted at a higher rate at almost every university across the country (Stanford being the notable exception).</p>
<p>I hate to say it ... well DUH an IBO handout is gonna say that...</p>
<p>yes IB likes to say they are the greatest thing ever invented- I go to an IB school and my BC Calc teacher is the IB coordinator so all I hear every day is about how amazing IB is (im not in it due to scheduling conflicts with Academy of Finance)</p>
<p>I am an IB Diploma candidate.</p>
<p>I think it is significantly harder than taking few AP courses....but schools treat them the same.</p>
<p>P.S. I am talking about DIPLOMA vs courses, not certificates vs AP.</p>
<p>IB candidate here. IB coordinators/propaganda seem to like to play up how college officers view IB as harder than AP blah blah blah blah blah blah.</p>
<p>Um, yeh. Most of the people I've talked to say that a IB diploma is a good thing, but that ...well, it's about the same as a rigorous AP schedule.</p>
<p>what if you take quite a bit more than a FEW AP classes?</p>
<p>Pound-for-pound, AP courses are more difficult.</p>
<p>or in my case...ton to 100 tons....:)...go APfreak!!</p>
<p>"Pound-for-pound, AP courses are more difficult."</p>
<p>I agree. Not to knock IB, but I've self-studied for almost all the AP tests that corresponded with my IB courses, and the AP material tends to require much more rote memorization. The same can be said for the AP courses I've taken too.</p>
<p>it all depends on the teacher and circumstances. REALLY. i've self studied five APs and received 5s on all, as well as on three others. One of those was Biology. I also took IB Bio SL last year, and received a 4 on that. What accounts for the discrepancy? Even though AP material was more difficult, its curriculum and expectations are clearly stated in the most readily available of study guides. IB review material is nearly impossible to get your hands on, and if your teacher's a nincompoop, you're screwed.
AP has been a less stressful experience than IB even though its content is probably at a higher level.
IB TOK essays, CAS hours, Extended Essays, Internal Assessments make for a much, MUCH more difficult and stressful route. I wish colleges would give additional consideration to IB students for this reason; we have to put up with far more deadlines, technicalities, and requirements than do strictly AP students. It's a feat in time-management and endurance.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Pound-for-pound, AP courses are more difficult.
[/quote]
LOL! Obviously you've never taken IB Math HL or IB Chemistry HL- the AP courses barely touch on some of the subject areas IB explores in depth. I'd like to see AP students take some IB exams.</p>
<p>"I'd like to see AP students take some IB exams."</p>
<p>Why would they want to waste their money? There are no practice IB books...that is why IB sicks.</p>
<p>There are lots of old IB exams online, and they give them out to teachers each year- unlike AP with their hoarding of MC. :D</p>
<p>Anyway, most IB kids take AP exams anyway, so the discussion is immaterial...</p>
<p>What always amazes me about AP students is the fact that they can't leave IB alone. If one student says IB is better, all of these AP student just have to get anal about it. I mean, geez. </p>
<p>First off, I am a believer that the reason IB is said to be harder, is because you don't have much of a choice to take a easy way out, whereas AP, you can. If you have 6 AP classes in your schedule, then by all means, you're course is as hard as an IB student's. So it's really not the difficulty, but the way they are structured differently. </p>
<p>IB has included materials needed for the diploma, such as REQUIRED community service, an extended essay, internal assessments, and oral exams. IB teachers are required to submit these timely per students, so they are obviously going to be tough. AP teachers, while some may be cruel, others are really not, so theres a discrepancy in that also. I had a bad IB teacher my junior year though, so I guess there is some variance to the "IB teachers are always hard" claim. </p>
<p>
[quote]
There are no practice IB books...that is why IB sicks.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Someone tell me how this makes sense. You're in preparation for the exam for 4 years...I fail to see why you would need a practice book, really. IB has study books specially made for the exams though, obviously you've made a claim without knowing much.</p>
<p>Actually, look up the OUP Study Guides.
They have special "IB" textbooks for Chem, Bio, Phys, Math, English, and TOK. Also, if you just ask your teachers, they will give you practice exams until you have them coming out your ears. </p>
<p>Still, I agree with Tami. If you've been preparing for an exam for two years at such a high level, you shouldn't need prep books. And futhermore, I don't think that memorization makes a course harder by any means. I think that the difficulty of a course should really be determined by the level of analysis and the depth of the topics (which is why IB rules :P) imo. </p>
<p>Plus, none of you have experienced writing a History HL Paper 3 in your second language (french for me). Three full essays in 2.5 hours, marked as if you were writing in your first language. I'm pretty certain that AP does not have bilingual courses.</p>
<p>yeh history HL is tough, you usually end up with a cramped hand afterwards lol, and im taking my exam in like 2 weeks!</p>
<p>I did History HL and it wasn't difficult at all. It required you to know little actual historical knowledge. </p>
<p>IAs aren't difficult neither is the extended essay--students have received good marks on them doing little real work and a lot of methodological BS. </p>
<p>AP students would kill the comparable SL exams with no problem at all. AP Bio students would certainly do well on Bio HL as would Physics C students on the comparable physics exam. </p>
<p>"AP has been a less stressful experience than IB even though its content is probably at a higher level."
Do you concede my point?</p>
<p>"we have to put up with far more deadlines, technicalities, and requirements than do strictly AP students. It's a feat in time-management and endurance."
That's just bureaucracy, not higher amounts of difficulty.</p>
<p>Higher Level history, it depends a lot on luck with the essay topics. It's fine if you get all 3 that you have prepared for. but I was looking at the past exam papers and sometimes there's only 3 essays that you can do (ie only 3 topics you've been taught) out of the 3 topics you HAVE to do, so there's no choice...and the topics might be on something really obscure. Having said that, I think history has a more lenient mark boundary. Maths HL is wayy harder...</p>
<p>i remember my teacher, who is an examiner, telling us that once she had just marked an essay on the causes of WWI by a girl in america. she said that it was caused by colonialism, slavery, etc etc...she obviously got it horribly mixed up with American civil war...the first examiner gave her 0/20, my teacher gave her 4/20 cuz it had some bits which were kinda ok. I bet the girl had a particularly horrible exam paper...</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm having my exams in like 10 days... by that time i might feel better or not feel so good about defending the IB....:S</p>