Questions Regarding AP vs IB & High School Credit Back From Middle School:

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey all,</p>

<p>I have two quick questions:</p>

<li><p>Back in middle school I took a couple high school credit class which are now on my transcript. It was 6 semesters total, and I wasn’t exactly studying too much back then–from those classes (Alg 1, Geometry & Spanish I) I had a 3.3 GPA. Since then, I have matured and thus received one B in high school, but my cum gpa is flawed and can never really be brought up beyond a certain amount. I’m just wondering how much this will hurt admissions decisions. I know some schools don’t consider freshman grades; does this include middle school? Further, for the schools that consider all grades, will they realize I was a dumb 12-13 year old just screwing around at the time and that I matured?</p></li>
<li><p>Next year, I have the option of taking AP Calc AB or IB Maths SL. The counselors say the two are very similar. I’m not sure, though. What, exactly, is the differences between the two? Is one looked upon more highly or anything of the sort?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks a lot</p>

2

<p>Honestly, take AP Calculus AB. <a href="http://www.isparis.edu/documents/curriculum/IBdiploma/mathematicssl.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.isparis.edu/documents/curriculum/IBdiploma/mathematicssl.pdf&lt;/a> is the SL syllabus. As you can see, it's much less advanced a course.</p>

3

<p>In regards to the first point, almost every (good) school recalculates GPA, and will likely ignore your jr. high grades. I wouldn't worry at all. The only area it might be a bit of a drawback is that it might hurt your class rank.</p>

4

<p>You can't get credit for IB Mathematics SL anywhere- colleges only take HL tests. You can, however, get credit for Calc AB. </p>

<p>Also, to your first point, I don't know. It really depends on the college, but if you show an upwards grade trend, then that's always good, even if it starts in junior high.</p>

5

<p>I myself am a full IB diploma candidate (final year), and Math SL can't be used for credit anywhere. Only HL tests get credited as atrophic whisper stated before. </p>

<p>I suggest if you are very mathematically inclined to take Math HL, if your school offers it. Otherwise stick to your next best choice, Calc AB [Best in regards to rigour]</p>