<p>Hi, I'm a Canadian student in the Middle East going to an American school which offers AP and IB. I'm planning to go to an American University and I'm stuck between which one to choose. I've emailed several universities asking this questions and they all said that they regard them as the same. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>IB is a more rigidly defined curriculum, although the student has some choice in which subjects to take at HL (higher level) versus SL (standard level). AP courses are just advanced options in subjects of the student’s choosing within whatever the regular high school curriculum is at your high school. Consider which subjects you are more interested in taking at an advanced level (AP or IB HL) and compare to your high school’s offerings (some high schools may be limited in which AP or IB HL courses are offered).</p>
<p>As a Canadian, you may find Canadian universities less expensive than many US universities.</p>
<p>Look at what the high school says is most rigorous. If they say IB, do IB. If they say AP, do AP. If they think both are the same it’s a matter of preference. IB is a lot of work. You usually take 3 HLs (two year) and 2 or 3 SLs (1 year). IB includes Internal Assessments which are basically major projects for each class. In IB you also have to do a 4000 word Extended Essay and CAS hours (volunteer, work, extracurricular, etc). IB scheduling is more laid out for you. With AP, you can choose which classes you can take. For example, if you take IB Bio HL which is a two year class in IB you can take AP Biology and AP physics in AP. With Ap, you usually graduate with a bigger variety of classes. IB you do go more in depth in classes and you talk more about current events. </p>
<p>I believe IB and AP are equally as difficult, but are completely different styles of learning. Yes, you have the extra work with IB, but many classes you will have the opportunity to work on them in class. You should look in to the different styles. IB is more writing, discussion, and in depth. AP is more factual, definite, not biased, etc. </p>
<p>From being on College Confidential, I kind of THINK colleges look at the difficulty of courses like…
IB Higher Levels → Advanced Placement classes-> IB standard level
So if you do IB or AP, it kind of equals out. Some IB classes are easy (TOK, philosophy, etc) and Ap classes (environmental science, stats). </p>
<p>There are colleges like URochester that reward students who gain an IB Diploma rather than take IB courses. You might check those out. I however have seen very few students on CC who have done the Diploma because it’s an enormous amount of work and it makes one’s schedule pretty inflexible.</p>
<p>My D did both IB and AP, and I haven’t noticed any differences in college preferences, except that the IB should be HL if you’re to get credit for the courses in most colleges.</p>
<p>If you go for the IB Diploma, that seems to be most interesting to colleges. If you take IB courses and maybe some IB tests, that also appeals. It seems more and more colleges are down on AP as curriculum in a box/teach to the test. IB prepares you better for the thinking and research needed for college, I believe. </p>
<p>Just to clarify BB8764’s comment: in some IB schools both HL (higher leve) and SL (standard level) are taught as 2-year classes. In my D’s school, TOK was the only class less than 2 full years. It was 1.5 years.</p>
<p>My understanding is that international IB schools may treat this differently and may start IB a lot earlier (in the US it’s generally grades 11 & 12.) So look into what YOUR school is offering.</p>
<p>Also, we heard directly from several small selective LAC admissions reps that they LOVED IB. As dyiu13 noted, there’s a consensus that the program prepares you better for college, both in the critical-thinking aspect and also the workload. (As you probably know, a full-diploma candidate has other work besides classes, including an extended essay and community service hours…)</p>