<p>Me and a friend are arguing over which is harder/better. IB or AP. His school has IB and AP. Mine only has AP.</p>
<p>Is IB like higher level than AP? Or are they the same stuff taught in different ways?</p>
<p>That's a good question. I always assumed that both are at a level that colleges consider rather challenging. </p>
<p>Which is harder? They're probably about the same.</p>
<p>Disagree. IB is a lot more challenging than AP and internationally recognized as such. Let's remember that all AP represents is some college level courses. The International Baccaulaurate degree has a broader spectrum and depth. Traditionally, American High School education is dismissed as "inferior" when compared to other developed countries and internationally looked at with some disdain when you try to study at a University overseas. The scope of the curriculum is certainly one of the reasons.</p>
<p>Hate to burst your bubble guys.. this is well known..</p>
<p>My brother was an IB student, and from what I understand it is a lot more challenging that AP. My school only has AP though and I dont believe it will affect me negatively, after all I took "the hardest classes that were offered to me"</p>
<p>I don't think the choice is so clearcut. Certainly, just taking the curriculum with each label is not the same as taking the tests available in each program and getting high scores. IB math is rather a joke.</p>
<p>If you want to take the most challenging courses, and your school offers IB, then take the IB. If the school does not offer IB, the point is mute. Take as many AP or Honor courses as you can. The point is not whether one finds the courses "a joke" or not because they are "easy". What counts is the recognition that they have....and IB wins every time.</p>
<p>Why not do dual enrollment in college (as many strong students do in my state) for high school? I have seen federal figures that suggest something like 5 percent of United States students do at least one dual-enrollment course before finishing high school.</p>
<p>[MovieBuff] It is not just a matter of scope of the curriculum, but also of length of studies. In most European countries (e.g. England, France, and Germany), students graduate from the equivalent to High School one year later than in the US, i.e. after finishing the 13th grade. As a result, European kids normally enter university with a level that would be comparable to that of someone in the US who has already finished his/her freshman year in college.</p>
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<p>That's a very good specific question, and I hope it gets some specific answers. Since my post earlier today (in which I intentionally was provocative, to stir up discussion), I tried to find a public Web site posting of the IB math syllabus, something corresponding to the easily found AP calculus syllabus </p>
<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_calab.html?calcab%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_calab.html?calcab</a> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_calbc.html?calcbc%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_calbc.html?calcbc</a> </p>
<p>or the AP statistics syllabus (which is excellent, by the way) </p>
<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_stats.html?stats%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_stats.html?stats</a> </p>
<p>So far I haven't seen anything quite that detailed and easily accessible on the IB Web site, but maybe I'm just missing a link. </p>
<p>I also looked at math placement in college courses for students who have previous scores on AP or IB tests. A high scorer on AP calculus BC will usually be placed in a HIGHER course than a high scorer on the hardest IB math test. </p>
<p>But the main point is still the most important: the brand name labels don't tell you much. My local high school is implementing an IB program, but it is doing it with the same teachers it has had in the building for years. I have no reason to believe that applying the label "IB" to a course suddenly makes it a good course. Similarly, the College Board has announced plans to do an audit of AP courses, to make sure that they genuinely follow the published AP syllabuses. (Some schools claim to offer "AP" courses in subjects for which there is no College Board AP syllabus or test, which is simply a fraud on parents and students.) The more impressive credential is actually scoring well on the tests, and the AP tests have one HUGE advantage in that they can be taken by distance learning or self-study, unlike the IB program, which is strictly tied to high school attendance. For many advanced learners, the best path is to self-study or distance learn a few AP subjects, and then go to dual enrollment college for high school credit by the age at which other learners are just beginning the IB program.</p>
<p>I've done both. In terms of classwork and exam, IB is much more demanding than the AP.</p>
<p>Hm...</p>
<p>I live on the East Coast, and I had honestly never even heard of IB before cc.com.</p>
<p>A lot of my West Coast friends take IB classes, though. Is it more of a West Coast thing?</p>
<p>No. It's a European thing. It was begun in Switzerland, I believe, for the sake of third-culture kids who moved around a lot. It has only just started to spread to the West Coast+Florida+some states in the Midwest, but many international schools have been offering the IB programme for decades.</p>
<p>It depends on how many APs you are taking. A lot of IB SL classes are easier than AP courses to balance out the CAS hours and other things such as internal assessments. In my opinion, taking 5/6 APs and a full IB courseload are comparable. However, you can only take 3 IB Higher Level Courses. Just something to keep in mind.
Also, AP is MUCH more useful for credit in college and makes your senior year a whole lot easier.</p>
<p>Also, my school offers both AP and IB and I decided to take 6 APs so that I woul d have more freedom of choice in my classes. I figured that since I was able to go all the way for AP I should. IB can also work for people who are good but not great in every area so that they can take Standard Level courses in their weaker areas. AP- you have to be strong in everything. So I would argue that full AP is harder than IB.</p>
<p>viva<em>sweet</em>love, I agree with you. IB seems to be more concentrated, while AP is more wide ranged.</p>
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lot of IB SL classes are easier than AP courses to balance out the CAS hours and other things such as internal assessments.
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<p>internal assessments are required for all IB classes, whether SL or HL. not sure what you're driving at.</p>
<p>have you taken any IB SL courses? they're definitely comparable to AP courses, no question.</p>
<p>Yeah, IB SLs are comparable to APs. Dont let the name "Standard Level" fool you. Theres nothing standard about it. HLs are just 2 yr SLs. Like IB Biology HL, covers WAY more than AP Biology, being a 2 yr course and all. The only thing that sucks about IB is all that extra stuff (TOK, CAS, Extended Essay) and the fact that u only get credit for HLs. IB students HAVE to take the corresponding AP if they want any credit, b/c its hard to score a 6 or 7 on an HL. A lot of really smart students drop out of IB b/c of the extended essays and all the other required stuff. IB is more structured than AP. In AP u dont have to send essays and internal assesments half way across the world to be graded by ppl who basically determine whether or not u get that diploma. It is a risk that sometimes isnt worth it.</p>
<p>OK guys, you are all talking about different things.</p>
<p>Number one: IB is A LOT more prestigious than AP (again, those of you who disagree, are either in denial or have no idea about what IB is and the way it is taking into consideration by adcoms). At some point, everyone that goes to college will be taking AP courses ... in college.....(that's what it means) It has become a strategy to take those courses in high school for two reasons...to be more competitive applying to college and to get them clep out by not having to take them again)
Number two: whether IB or AP is harder is to the eyes of the beholder. That is not the point to be argued. IB provides a BROADER more GLOBAL curriculum and .....DEGREE. That's the point.</p>
<p>Once again, I see no one commenting about how inferior high school education is in our country compare to Europe and even some South American countries. Americans always score a lot LOWER than other students at the same level of testing. IT IS A FACT.</p>
<p>Also, who ever said something about 13 years of high school elsewhere, that was a some time ago and no longer the fact.</p>
<p>MovieBuff, are you using your own writing as an example of the results of an IB education? Both as to logical structure and as to some points of grammar, it looks like the writing of a young person who is still learning his high school lessons. </p>
<p>I don't think that there has been any careful, factual refutation here yet of my basic point that some AP classes in some high schools may be much better than some IB classes in some high schools. To answer the OP's question, he may be no worse off by taking the AP courses available to him than his friend his by taking the IB program available to him. College admission officers are capable of making nuanced distinctions like that, and I hope that as you wrap up your high school education, you will be too. </p>
<p>Good luck in the college application process to the young people participating in this thread. </p>
<p>P.S. Your screenname prompts me to ask what your favorite movie is. Mine is High and Low, directed by Akira Kurosawa.</p>
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my basic point that some AP classes in some high schools may be much better than some IB classes in some high schools.
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<p>This is certainly a fair point and, I'm sure, very true. The complexity and scope of the IB puts schools who are new to the Programme at a distinct disadvantage to schools who have been familiar with the Programme for a long time. Many schools in the US are only just starting to implement their IB programmes, though they have been offering APs for years and years. As a result, it is very possible (I would venture to say very likely) that AP classes at many schools are better than IB classes at many other schools.</p>