<p>My school offers IB and AP. I'm currently a freshman in MYP. Lately I've been questioning whether or not I should do IB diploma when I get to junior and senior year. A couple seniors have told me about how much work it is and how they literally have no life and I'm seriously so unsure if I'm making the right choice or not. </p>
<p>The teachers at my school all worship IB and try to sell it to me whenever possible but I really don't know if it's worth it. I'm not really a "knowledge for the sake of knowledge" kind of person. I just want to get good grades, get into a good college, and leave. Would picking the AP route be okay? My school offers over 25 of them so I wouldn't be lacking. I just hate how stringent the IB course load is and I don't like all the extra requirements.</p>
<p>So to conclude my long spiel, does IB have any advantage over AP?</p>
<p>With 25 AP’s, you could do a lot there as well. I personally think you could do just as well picking a lot of AP’s because you have that much variety to choose from. And if the IB program at your school is that hard, you might have a little bit more free time.</p>
<p>Our D just graduated from a high school that offers a lot of AP’s and IB. She choose IB, and loved it. And she had a life. </p>
<p>A academic things to consider: how do you score on essay tests? Do you mind writing essays? Do you do well in all types of subjects (science/math as well as english/social studies)? Will the GC’s check off the "most demanding schedule if you do a full AP program (go ask–and find out what a full AP schedule is the GC)? </p>
<p>Are the seniors just trying to impress everyone with how hard they worked? Are they people that would have done a lot of EC’s anyway?</p>
<p>There was one person in D’s graduating class who did IB and really didn’t do much else. But that’s who she was…she was the same in middle school.</p>
<p>I’ll say this much, and it’s based on what Mom2M was asking in regards to essays:</p>
<p>IB will teach you how to write better, simply because it forces you to do so on a regular basis. The exams, the IAs and the World Lit paper, the EE, Theory of Knowledge requirements, and (likely) the classes themselves–all will involve a solid amount of writing. You will improve simply due to the fact you’re doing it so often, and you will get used to it.</p>
<p>Though I can’t speak from experience quite yet (high school senior in the IBDP), I’m anticipating all of the writing to prepare me for college in a way AP simply can’t. On top of that, IB teaches you how to think and know, where AP is more oriented toward content. Again, that’s better preparation for college right there.</p>
<p>Of course, take all of this with a grain of salt–there may be some AP teachers who make an effort to teach students how one reaches a conclusion versus just the conclusion itself, and there may be IB teachers who make rote memorization a mainstay in the classroom. These are observations I’ve made in the process of taking both IB and AP courses at my school, but I feel as though it’d be similar elsewhere.</p>
<p>To answer your question in shorter terms: in terms of a transcript, AP will probably make it easier to score better grades as well as ease your stress-load (college credit will probably be easier to get, too). In terms of college prep, IB is probably the better way to go.</p>
<p>I took both AP and IB classes during my high school because the system is weird. I have a slight bias toward IB.</p>
<p>But, IB is sometimes overrated, and definitely isn’t suitable for some people. In my school, about 48 people started IB and later around 8 people dropped. I don’t know any of those other people, but I have a feeling that they preferred a quieter high school life and hated the extra pressure that IB put on them, and also didn’t place as much value on the writing part of IB. In Junior year a lot of people were complaining, but in Senior year I haven’t heard anyone complain about IB. Maybe we’re just a weird Senior class?</p>
<p>I went with IB because I knew someone who really came out of her shell and liked the freedom that IB gave in some areas.</p>
<p>I also know one person who went with AP and later bitterly regretted it - he was a very free-thinking person who would have loved the discussion/debate instead of rote work, but was unwilling to take the possibly over-strenuous classes. And he liked to be seen as prestigious, so that too.</p>
<p>sorry for the long answer! Whatever you do, I just hope you make an informed decision and be happy. Good luck!</p>
<p>IB being classified as strenuous? It depends on the school really. AP has just as much merit in my school. The level of difficulty is substantial, just as IB is. However IB and AP have different approaches. Some like AP and some like IB. Personally,I’m pro AP</p>