<p>ib may have been started for third culture kids, but it seems like it's only the ones who live in suburban america who get to do it. I'll go to 3 high schools in 3 countries, but only the school i'll graduate from has ib, so i have a choice: get held back a year to get the ib degree, or graduate without it.</p>
<p>That's one strong point of the AP program: mobile families can get credit for learning they did in other school systems.</p>
<p>Ironically, that was the whole motivation behind the IB program. Unfortunately, because it offers such a wide variety of classe it is often difficult for students to continue with the same HLs/SLs if they have to move in the middle of high school.</p>
<p>You're right--the commonality of IB programs from school to school was meant to accommodate families that moved internationally. Here in the United States, until there are more IB programs, the possibility of self-study for AP makes AP the way to obtain a uniform credential regardless of where one lives.</p>
<p>tokenadult:
Have you ever even looked at an IB Mathematics syllabus? AP calculus AB is so easy compared to IB Math, that the AP exam is often taken by IB Math HL students without even taking the class. And do not forget that AP students only need a year preparation for their exam when IB students need a two year long preparation.
First of all, did you know that any IB class requires external and internal assessments? For Mathematics the internal assessment is a portfolio. The IB Math HL portfolio is composed by two extended essays (avg 24 pages long, each) where the student is asked to find a theorem, formula and prove it for ALL real numbers. And proving it doesn't only mean using math but also using technology. Which obviously takes a lot of time, knowledge and skills. You cannot possibly say that IB mathematics is a joke because you obviously have never even attended one.
Even if you find IB Math HL "easy" as you say there are more difficult courses like IB further math SL and IB further math HL. Or if this is not enough you can write the IB required extended essay on math.
This essay is definitely NOT a joke. Students are expected to find theorems and theories that have never been talked about before. This rather hard and on top of that they ahve to use technology in different ways to prove it too.</p>
<p>Here is a link to a website where you can get an idea of what an IB mathematics course is like: <a href="http://www.newton.edu.pe/Mathematics/Contents/ibm_m_hl.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.newton.edu.pe/Mathematics/Contents/ibm_m_hl.htm</a>
and here is another forum where more informed people share facts:
<a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?99/5526%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?99/5526</a></p>
<p>You should check them out and talk to any IB Math HL students who took the AP calculus exam before replying to this.</p>
<p>IB is better for a student good at everything. If you are very science oriented but suck at other subjects, do not take IB.
But if you want something challenging (Internals, Extended, TOK, external assessments, taped oral commentaries, graded presentations. etc.) do IB. It can be amazing, and much more challenging than AP.</p>
<p>A 40+ at IB is incredible cuz it means that you have excelled at ALL subjects, social sciences, experimental sciences, languages (2 languages actually) and mathematics. AP is not as challenging, considering that you can get a 4.0 while you suck at social sciences. And for example, one who goes to Harvard and has a 4.0 GPA with all science APs will not do as well as an IB student with a 43 GPA (everything above 40 is a 4.0, so 40-45 is 4.0!!) who has immersed himself in all subjects, and a very diverse curriculum.</p>
<p>I was just at the Exploring College Options program at my town, and none of the college admission officers present said that IB is necessarily better than AP. (Remember, the thread title here is "IB v. AP.") A question from the audience got the admission officers talking about students who take genuine college courses for high school credit while still in high school, which is a pretty common choice here. IB is good, and AP was mentioned a lot by the admission officers, but the common advice is to challenge yourself academically, whatever the brand name of the program. Attending an IB program is not going to be a guarantee of admission, in much the same way that there is no particular score on the SAT I that guarantees admission. </p>
<p>P.S. Both the Stanford admission officer, in the main general Q and A session yesterday, and the Harvard admission officer, in Q and A specific to Harvard, mentioned that both "well rounded" and "well lopsided" students can be admitted. That's one more reason why there isn't any systematic reason to favor taking an IB program over taking several thoughtfully chosen AP courses while in high school. In general, the admission officers advised doing the activities the learner enjoys and can be passionate about and not trying to do everything in high school to please college admission officers.</p>
<p>There is a really long, detailed thread on this same topic somewhere on CC. I'll try to find it and post a link..</p>
<p>You can look at this</a> one, this</a> one or this</a> one, which is the best IMO.</p>
<p>That recommended thread doesn't leave me with a good impression of IB.</p>
<p>Irrelevant. I just said that it is the most extensive and potentially commendable for viewing thread. I think that if sb wants to understand what IB is all about though, this thread should NOT be the only consultant!</p>
<p>Here's an informational question: can a tenth grader (someone who expects to have two more years of secondary schooling) in an IB program take a higher level mathematics course? The IBO Web site says, " The Diploma Programme is a challenging two-year programme of international education for students aged 16 to 19." But what about the student who is ready for that level of study at age fifteen or younger?</p>
<p>I go to a school where both are offered (top ranking school) and I can say that IB's are much more in-depth and time consuming, where as AP's are not. Many IB students self study an entire AP course in a week or so, while you cannot do the same with IB courses. Plus the extended essay and the CAS requirement add to the difficulty.</p>
<p>To answer to tokenadult's question:
Further Mathematics.
I don't think there is a course that hard in any APs. It's even harder than HL mathematics, and it's the highest level there is. But beware, the difficulties of the class are significant-don't take it if you are pursuing high grades, cuz it might bring you down. If on the other hand you are a math genious, go ahead (generally speaking)</p>
<p>Well, I know fourteen-year-olds who take calculus BC (and who then go on to take university math courses), and that's why I'm wondering how much advancement in mathematics is possible in the IB program. The same concern applies to several other kinds of courses. If the IB diploma curriculum is for students in their last two years of secondary schooling, what can it do for students who are already taking college-level courses when they are of the age of high school freshmen?</p>
<p>It also all depends on the courseload for APs. For me, IB would actually have been much easier than the courseload I took my junior year and am currently taking now. Sure, if somebody takes two or three APs, IB will be much more difficult, but taking IB would have actually been a step down in terms of challenging myself.</p>
<p>Then that means that you have not challenged yourself enough viva<em>sweet</em>love. IB is designed in a way that you can challenge yourself again and again.
Questions to you:
[list=a]Have you got 4 HLs and 2 SLs or the regular 3/3?
[<em>]Do you have 6 or 7 IB courses?
[</em>]Did you take the easy HLs?
[/list]
Tokenadult, further mathematics is the most rigorous program I know in IB in general, and no math AP whatsoever can beat it. It is taken as an additional course and you have to complete the HL curriculum. It's offered at standard level (SL) only because nobody ever does well in the exams, simply because it is so advanced. If you get like over 50-60%, you get a 7. The percentage is incredibly low, but then again that corresponds to the mind-blowing rigor of the course. If you have people who do mathematics and want to pursue the subject more extensively, further math at IB is the best. If they can get a 7, colleges will be both startled and surprised because it's actually an incredible feat!</p>
<p>P.S. I know that a friend of mine had incredibly low IB grades, but a 6 in Further Mathematics and an amazing extended essay in Goldbach's conjecture got him into MIT-no particular extracurriculars. (low SAT scores but 800 in Math Reasoning, Math I and II)</p>
<p>I would have had to go down a level in at least one subject (if not more) in order to do IB. Instead I chose to do 7 APs. I would have wanted to do ALL HLs because that is the track I was on. I was disappointed that I would have had to step down the rigor of my curriculum in a subject to do IB. I would not have been able to have the difficulty and variety of courses that I do now. </p>
<p>I do agree though that Math HL is harder than AP Math.</p>
<p>Errr, how would that be a step down, especially since you wouldn't know the level? I mean, many people think that some SLs are easier than some APs and that is in general another myth that should be abolished. This is so not the case, and since many HLs are harder than APs, it would not bring you down in terms of level. On the contrary, it could also bring you up. But I think that if you had tried it, you would have been able to see to what extent your stance was valid. Plus, if you really wanted to challenge yourself, you could have done IB + APs (after all, APs can be self-taught-IB can't)</p>
<p>im a Junior In IB at my highschool and its harder/ tougher/ more indepth/ and wider. our math courses are the most encompassing, our level of art production is incomparable, our science departments are top notch especially wiht Group IV science projects, a discertation-like senior extended essay, internal assessments, the ability to take AP tests for our classes if we'd like to, also the choice to take IB tests for college credit, internationally accredited, economics geniuses, fluency in foreign languages, requirements of extra curriculurs to graduate, </p>
<p>it prepares you to be the #1 person applying to schools. Ib is def better.
i have so many things to choose from to put in college apps, its not evn funny.</p>