Is AP necessary for me?

<p>I'm taking the international baccalaureate (IB) which is similar to taking 6 AP level classes. Should I just take AP exams for things I've studied in the IB (microeconomics, macroeconomics, Calculus BC, Physics B, Chem, English Lit, and/or Spanish), self-study for a new AP exam (psychology, environmental systems, or statistics), or just stick with the IB? </p>

<p>The reason that I want to take AP is because I want to be an AP scholar and to show I have strong fundamentals- I got a B+ in honors physics last term, even though I got an 800 on the SAT II physics and qualified for the US physics quarterfinal exam that year as well. </p>

<p>People who have had experience IB are very, really, extremely welcome to comment.</p>

<p>If you want to be AP scholar, go ahead and try to study for those AP exams. There has been students who taken IB classes and self-study the AP exams of the corresponding IB course.</p>

<p>AP is a gr8 opportunity, all u have to do is pass the test, u can easily self study APES or AP Psych. Myself decided to take a AP psych class bcus it was worth it and a full AP Econ class bcus my teacher is pure awesome.</p>

<p>But yea, definitely take the exams, it may require more then just prior knowledge, do some practice tests and check to feel what the test will be like.</p>

<p>Thanks, but I’d like to know if it is redundant to take two exams that test essentially the same thing. I’m on track to receive 40-43 on my IB exam, and that’s a supposed very good score. </p>

<p>If I get a 3 on an AP exam, but a 7 on the IB exam, will people just reason that I could not study for the AP on time, or will they think that my skills are not as good as though people who get 4’s and 5’s?</p>

<p>No college cares about AP scholar, especially if you are taking IB. So don’t waste hundreds of dollars and risk getting a bad score if this is the only reason.</p>

<p>Whether or not you should take the AP tests depends on what colleges you are looking to get credit from. ie: georgia tech gives credit for IB and AP tests alike. MIT however, doesn’t.</p>

<p>Could you please elaborate? Do some colleges prefer AP over IB then?</p>

<p>I have gotten top scores on standardized exams (think in the 750-800 area for every test), but I got screwed over in terms of grades at my old school. How I understand it is that if I fail an AP exam, then I’m in big trouble. But, if I do well and end up an AP scholar, with the test results to show I understand the concepts for each subject, is there any positive light shone on my application or no? I know AP is redundant, especially since I’m taking IB, but all I’m going to have when I present my IB scores next year is a prediction made by my teachers at the beginning of senior year (IB is a 2 year program ending near graduation).</p>

<p>What I meant is all colleges recognize the difficulty of the IB program.
However, not all colleges will accept IB scores for credit.</p>