<p>I'm in 6 IB classes at the moment and I'm going for the IB diploma. I want to know if you really can compare the two because the curriculum is similar. I've taken both AP and IB.But in IB though we have to do 150 CAS hours and an extended essay and many otjer thing along with a test. Whereas jn AP you just take the class. I feel like IB deserves a much better rep. What is your opinion.</p>
<p>I’m a future IB student and I agree with you about the IB Diploma. I know I won’t pursue the full diploma, even though I technically could considering my course schedule:</p>
<p>IB English HL I (my school only offers HL)
IB French I (declare as HL senior year)
IB HOA (declare as HL senior year)</p>
<p>IB Physics I (not taking test for physics, taking IB Biology SL senior year w/ test)
IB Math SL I
IB Business SL (one year course for SL, take test then)</p>
<p>I encourage you do full IB diploma because it shows you are very well-rounded. CAS hours allow you to broaden your horizons through art forms/ creativity, sports/ action, and volunteer/ service. The courses are very rigorous and resemble college level courses. IB TOK (Theory of Knowledge) analyzes how humans think! So cool! The Extended Essy also proves your ability to write at a high level. Colleges appreciate IB because it is a great preparation for the demanding college courseload. High school is hard but college is easy through IB route.</p>
<p>Although AP is considered college level, its level of difficulty is either slightly harder or easier than IB SL courses. AP is rote memorization of facts with little to no analysis, whereas IB dives deeper. You just take the class and test, there are no other components with AP. With IB, there are constant assessments, IAs, IOPs, etc in addition to the EAs at the end of the course. I take the only AP class offered at my school right now: AP Government, and have an A for the semester. Honestly it is so easy, I can’t fathom that this is geared towards advanced seniors! </p>
<p>There is a lot of stress with IB but in the end and you seem very capable and will do fine in IB.</p>
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<p>Citation needed.</p>
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<p>AP: You study all year for a test that you either pass or fail.</p>
<p>IB: You study for 2 years and take several tests that you either pass or fail. You also write an Extended Essay, which has nothing to do with rote memorization, and has everything to do with whether you pass IB or not. I think 95+% of the people who did not pass IB failed their EE at my school. If not 95%, then the number was 98%. Somewhere in the 90s, that’s for sure. You also do stuff such as CAS hours, which are just volunteer hours. </p>
<p>Source: friend in IB.</p>
<p>I just don’t agree with the “rote memorization of facts with little to no analysis” part. In my calc AB class, when we learn new topics, my teacher makes the class derive the topics ourselves. In APUSH, we have debates, simulation games, and plenty of essays. The AP test in history/sciences test mostly memorization, but I’d argue that the two calcs and physics (others too possibly, I’m not familiar with many APs) test more than memorization.</p>
<p>I’m not arguing which is harder than the other, IB probably is, but it’s not offered at my school.</p>
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<p>I have never known an AP class to omit a five to ten page paper as part of it’s final assessment; and over the course of my career I have written five of EE length. Despite what you may think, long papers in high school are not unusual.</p>
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<p>What you do not know does not constitute proof by any means. </p>
<p>In IB, there are also Internal Assessments, which often require the writing of papers. My friend, for example, wrote a 6000+ word IA for her Biology class. I know Comp. Sci. kids who had 100+ page IAs. Granted, most of it was code, but there was also at least a couple of pages of student writing. And I doubt that a significant number of AP Calc kids have written papers for Calc. In Calc my friend had to write a 17 page paper for an IA.</p>
<p>My APUSH class has to write two 20 page papers and one 10 page paper among other projects. Do I win yet?</p>
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<p>No, you lose, because my APUSH class is therefore significantly easier than your APUSH class :). But next year, when I’m in IB History of the Americas, I’ll likely be writing papers of such length on a regular basis :o. </p>
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<p>In regards to the IA: sometimes IAs may take the form of taped orals - you speak for 20 minutes on a poem and a text. I doubt AP classes involve the taping of the student. Other times IAs may take the form of a skills assessment - you set up and run a lab while a teacher observes your skill at setting up the lab, taking measurements, not dropping beakers, etc. </p>
<p>Bottom line: some IB courses correspond to AP courses. E.g. there is an APUSH and an IB History of the Americas. There is an IB Physics and an AP Physics. </p>
<p>However, that does not mean IB courses correspond in difficulty with AP courses. IB HL (higher level) courses tend to be significantly harder than their AP counterparts. SL: more or less the same. If you wish, I’ll let you peek at some IB questions. Just don’t start crying.</p>
<p>I have looked up IB questions; and for calculus and physics at least the material is of similar difficulty. AP Physics C and Calculus BC correspond closely to IB Physics HL and math HL (though math HL does have a statistics unit).</p>
<p>Don’t do IB! It’s two years of hell for nothing. I’m an IB senior but I’ve also taken 12 AP tests (10 5s, 2 4s) and I’m not getting any college credit for getting my IB diploma, which I’m not sure I’m even getting yet because my ee was horrible. I was forced to do the HL math for the diploma but I’m also taking differential equations at a different school so I can feel like I’m actually foing something worthwhile in mathemtics (pre req for hl math at my school is a 4 or 5 on bc calc).</p>
<p>@light shining So if your school offers both IB and AP, would you recommend doing AP instead?</p>
<p>Yes, if you can take as many weighted courses AP as you can doing IB, stick to AP.</p>