<p>A question for those of you who have been through the gauntlet--</p>
<p>My 10th grade son is presently attending the International Academy, an IB school in Michigan. He has about a 3.75. The question is should he go back to his home high school at which he would take AP classes for 11th and 12th grade and probably get a 3.9 or 4.0 or stay and get his IB Diploma with a 3.75?</p>
<p>The question is if the IB Diploma carries any additional weight over the AP with admissions officers. If you have two different students which each of the above scenarios and the same SATs, who gets into the Ivy school, the IB or the AP student?</p>
<p>Your experience and advice would be most appreciated.</p>
<p>Both programs are very well-respected and many states have adopted policies granting 24+ hours of credit for IB diploma grads (with some stipulations, of course). Some also offer automatic admission to honors college with certain IB Diploma scores.</p>
<p>I know it’s VERY early in the game, but if you have ANY notion of what schools he will be considering, I suggest you take a good look at their admission and AP/IB credit policies. Yes, things (with respect to IB credits) might change some by the time he graduates, but probably only for better.</p>
<p>This is something else to consider…are you doing the IB/AP classes to get college credit or to become better prepared for college? If you’re looking for college credit, AP has the slight advantage because there are more course options, but I think the full IB diploma is slightly better for preparing students for the rigors of college.</p>
<p>I look at AP/IB as good college preparation and was never really concerned with the credit aspect. My son will be taking advantage of some of the credits he has earned (or expects to earn) thru AP exams, but not all.</p>
<p>I would think about the rigour of the International Academy though. If this school gets at least some people into HYPSM with 3.75, then you should consider staying.</p>
<p>As an IB student myself who has take a few AP classes, I believe that IB is much more rigorous and requires a student to be strong in all areas rather than just a few areas and it has many additional requirements–EE, CAS, etc.–that can be valuable as a personal learning experience but also for college preparation. I think colleges recognize both as very rigorous and assuming your son would get the same grades in either, I don’t think it makes a huge difference. However, I do believe that it’s a bit easier to get college credit (especially at the top tier schools) with AP.</p>
<p>I encourage you to do a search CC regarding this topic. It’s come up several times in the past 6 months.</p>
<p>In high schools that offer both an IB option and an AP-based option for rigorous coursework, most counselors would recommend that the IB option is the better choice. That’s because it’s a proven program and it’s recognized by selective colleges as such.</p>
<p>Since your comparison is not for the same school, your question is harder to answer. I’ll assume that the student groups that take the IB are similar to those (at the other school) that take APs. If this is the case I recommend that you stay with the IB.</p>
<p>I would also be concerned that a transfer to a new school in junior year for the reasons you’ve given needs to be balanced by the social impact. It can be difficult for an incoming junior to fit in a new school. It could have a toll on grades and eventual recommendations.</p>
<p>I’m a senior enrolled in a full IB program right now. Due to the rigor of the program and my school I have a 3.8 UW GPA 4.4 W and rank 40/390 kids. Yet so far I have been accepted to all the schools that have sent out decisions (NYU stern and USC marshall too name the more prestigious ones). No doubt I would have been able to have a higher GPA and class rank if I went to my local public school and took AP classes. But the bottom line is that I think IB makes you a well-rounded student opposed to AP. IB is all about critical thinking and analysis which makes me believe I will be more prepared for college. However to answer your question about which is better for admission to Ivies, I think that AP vs IB doesn’t really make a difference to them. They look much more at apps holistically so picking one over the other wouldn’t make a huge difference.</p>
<p>As a student of an AP and IB school, I can only speak from personal experience. </p>
<p>I think it depends on the strength of the AP program, and the academic style of the student. Our AP program is in the top 1% of the country and I know a lot of my peers have gotten into very selective schools. </p>
<p>The IB program overall is probably better respected since it’s curriculum is more structured and “guaranteed”. The IB students here did not fare well in admissions, but that may be because they were the “guinea pigs” of a newly instituted IB program. Because of IB’s structure, I think it’s best for students that thrive under that type of environment.</p>