<p>My public high school of 2100 students doesn't offer any AP classes.</p>
<p>Instead, we have IB, International Baccalaureate classes. When I see people on this forum talking about how many AP classes they've taken I don't see a direct correlation to IB classes. I see a lot of people taking AP classes in 10th grade, when IB classes are only available 11-12 grades. I hear people take 9 AP classes in a year, when taking more than 4 IB classes a year is considered hazardous to your health, and we all shake our heads at those who dare take 7 a year, the absolute maximum. </p>
<p>How does my course selection compare to that of others who have AP classes?</p>
<p>The colleges will ask if the student is in the most rigorous program available in your school, and unless you are doing the full IB Diploma, he will have to say no. The full IB Diploma includes 3 HL Subjects, 3 SL Subjects, a year of Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and 150 hours of Community Action Service Activities (all to be done in your junior and senior year). Yes, IB classes are only available to juniors and seniors, and no, it is definitely not hazardous to your health to take more than 4 IB classes. All the IB Diploma candidates I know have six IB classes, and some very able students take more than 3 HL classes. Now except for one-year IB classes, most exams are taken after two years of study. That is where the major difference with AP is...with AP, you take the exam after one year of study...you can even take the exam if the course is not offered in your school...you can self-study.
As to how it compares with your course selection, students aiming for top colleges will have lots of AP classes to show that they are in the most rigorous program available in their school. In your case, to prove that you are in the most rigorous program, you will have to be an IB Diploma candidate, meaning 3 SL classes and 3 HL classes, plus TOK, EE and CAS. For more accurate information, please ask your counselor.</p>
<p>I don't kow much about AP classes. However, an IB diploma is considered worldwide as a sign of having completed one of the most rigorous academic programs avaliable. </p>
<p>Why would it be better to load up on a ton of AP classes just simply to show colleges that you're able to do a lot, than to do the IB and thereby prove that you have extensive knowlege in your six subjects which are studied in depth (especially those you have at HL)?</p>
<p>Problems are, diploma can't be acquired until you've applied to and been accepted by colleges. Of course, they see you're on the track. I'm not taking TOK, and I'm taking IB Chem 11th grade and IB Physics 12th grade instead of IB Bio 1 and 2, which is the only science track for the diploma at our school. I loathe Biology. So basically, I'm 1 IB class short, and 2 different IB classes, and the essay away from the entire diploma. The CAS is easy. I'm doing 45 hours of Marching Band this week. That's 5 hours short for the C OR the A. In one week.</p>
<p>It's not the most rigorous... by inches. </p>
<p>And no one really answered my question at the end.</p>
<p>The answer to your question is that students who take AP classes are enrolled in the most difficult classes that their school has to offer. If your school offers IB and non-IB courses, and you take only IB courses, you are obviously demonstrating that you are challenging yourself. Remember though that the most difficult courses are the HL courses, and so, top colleges would like to see HL courses in your transcript. In this case, more is better, I guess. As for the question about the student being in the most rigorous program available, check with your counselor. As far as I know, if the IB diploma is available, and you are not a candidate, they will have to say no. And as to the diploma being acquired after applying to, and being accepted by colleges, you have the wrong information. The diploma is given after you have taken the six IB exams in May, completed TOK and CAS, and submitted your Extended Essay. The scores come out in July, and then you get your diploma. In Europe, being accepted is contingent to getting the diploma, and so it cannot be given after being accepted. You can check the IBO website.</p>
<p>I took seven IB classes last year and I have seven this year...I don't know, I'm alive, and I have about 20 hours of gymnastics practice a week. I know a lot of people with six IB classes. I kind of see the opposite of you. I hear people from AP schools talk about how they're doing 4 or 5 APs, but it's really not uncommon to see six or seven IB classes from diploma kids. That's just how it sort of works out. I'm not sure if we have more to choose from or something though. You can't start in 10th grade but my school has pre IB classes for 9th and 10th graders. </p>
<p>nomadmom - actually the diploma info is correct. I will already have been accepted (um at least hopefully ;) ) and committed to a college most likely by the time I even TAKE the IB exams next year. It is not contingent for America universities, at least not the vast majority of them. That would be sort of unfair when there is no AP diploma to get or not get. I've only taken one IB exam, I'll be taking all the rest (HLs and two year SLs) next year in May. They send your scores when you get them but that is only for credit and not admission purposes. That was made very clear by our IB coordinator at the beginning of the exam as the seniors sitting it had already been accepted. For the purpose of American universities, actually scoring high enough and all to get your diploma doesn't really matter. Which means most of us just care about not getting kicked out of diploma before we sit our exams next May.</p>
<p>Princedog, are you a diploma candidate? How do you squeeze in TOK? I did not even know that the IBO allows seven classes! And yes, I do not doubt your being alive in spite of seven IB classes. It is all a matter of time management.
Actually, you and I agree on the diploma. I focused on "can't be acquired," and must have misinterpreted the sentence. By the time, the seniors take their IB exams, they all know what college they are going to, and the score does not really matter. Well, good luck to you though it looks like you don't need it. You seem to have everything under control.</p>
<p>I took seven last year since I was a junior, so no TOK. I had two IB electives, IB Art, and IB Business. Next year I will have to take TOK obviously. We have the option to take it after school (it's like 3 and a half hours once a week) or during school (just at normal class times). As of now, I would like to take both electives again but I am not sure if the afternoon class will fit into my sports schedule. So right now I am signed up for it during the day and I'm going to continue with IB business. IB art was having some issues last year which have mainly worked out now and I would like to continue it. The counselors would probably hate me forever if I asked them to change it the first week but they would probably also do it...so I am kind of back and forth now between whether I want to take it during school or after. The Art exam is obviously kind of different, you don't write anything (it's like an interview) and it happens early (at least it did last year). So adding that probably wouldn't make a ton of difference. Mainly I hear TOK is boring during school because there is like 5 or 6 hours a week to do 3.5 hours of work everyone in after school does. </p>
<p>I'll probably have 4 HLs. Well actually I definitely will. But one is going to be a certificate I guess because I took the SL exam for it (Business) and got a 6 so I don't want to mess with it. I don't really understand how it works but I guess our coordinator can enter that as one of my diploma scores and I can take HL Business next year as an extra certificate.</p>
<p>Strange. At my school, individual IB courses are considered to be slightly more rigorous than AP courses. I'm on track for the full IB diploma, but up until my junior year I took the hardest offered non-IB courses (except for 1 IB/SL), which included two APs. They were both history courses, and I absolutely suck at history, so I got two 3s. I took one IB SL exam during my junior year and got a 6. I guess it's a problem that most IB candidates take their exams during their senior year, because I'm confident that I'll have straight across 6s and 7s on my exams, and for now, all I'll have to report to colleges are my two crappy AP grades and one decent IB grade...</p>
<p>Yeah my school doesn't offer english or history SL, because you have to take it your junior and senior year. You have to take government to graduate and on the regular track that's in 12th grade. Since the IB 12th grade class is Topics, the IB history track has pre IB Government in 10th grade. We have to take the US history state standardized test in 11th grade, so we take IB History of the Americas. So while you could theoretically decide to drop IB history now between 11th and 12th, you'd have to go into the regular track freshmen class...so people don't really do that. History is definitely the IB class we get the most work in, by FAR. There's not even any comparision. But the score results for that department are pretty much the best I think, so I suppose there's something to be said for the teacher's approach. And they plan a lot of fun stuff. Plus they are nice with their grading and as long as you actually turn the things in on time with your best effort, the policy is generally that if you got below a B, you can (and by can I mean "are required to" :) ) review it with the teacher and redo it for a B. All our tests are essays and those are redone too, if necessary. </p>
<p>So basically not doing homework killed a lot of people's grades, because if you didn't turn your best effort work in on time, then they will show no mercy at all. But otherwise if you were willing to try hard and get the work done, it was structured as a learning process where you don't just do things wrong and then forget about it after it gets handed back.</p>
<p>A lot of the Ivy schools like IB. I read something that 40% of IB students get into Harvard, compared to the normla 10%. </p>
<p>"IB is for people who are academically masochistic lol..
AP is for smart kids...who test well..
Thats how your course load differs."</p>
<p>I disagree, I took 11th grade IB and studied very rarely. I'd say, throughout the whole year I studied about 20 hours for tests. </p>
<p>I like IB, its opened me up to a lot of new ways of thinking that I would not be able to experience doing just AP. My IB classes have a lot more class discussions whereas AP seems to have just tests and lectures.</p>