<p>That's more like it: course for course, it's hard to say whether IB or AP is tougher.</p>
<p>The same thing goes with comparing IB/AP and A-level courses taken in countries that follow the British system, though I've seen some postings from students who have undergone the British system who claim A-level courses are harder.</p>
<p>The fact that IB usually consists of a program in which you HAVE to take 6 or 7 classes and that's the only way you can take the tests along with the EE and Internal Assessments, makes it a lot more difficult and comprehensive than any AP test. I'd like to see any of you cram the Math HL syllabus in a month or two like you can do for Calc BC. </p>
<p>Perhaps the individual classes aren't harder in the long run, but the fact that IB is a program, while AP is a series of classes definitely, in my opinion, ranks IB higher than AP.</p>
<p>The two main weaknesses of IB compared to AP are that it is not offered nearly everywhere (whereas AP is very flexible, and supports independent study), and that many schools simply don't all of the qualified teachers to sustain an IB program. IB is like filet mignon; great, when you can get it.</p>
<p>I agree, reasonabledad.</p>
<p>My program doesn't have enough support to offer higher level math classes and the program wasn't flexible enough to let me take a period and self-study it under the supervision of a teacher (because I would need to sit a class under IB's regulations).</p>
<p>I say IB is certainly harder than AP for several reasons:</p>
<p>I slept through Chem AP and Comp Sci AP and received 5, 4. I worked my ass off in IB Bio SL and barely managed a 5, but that was partially due to my abysmal lab reports.</p>
<p>The workload, without a doubt, is atleast thrice that of my AP classes. (I have yet to study for economics or government and I have a 95 in both, but I work my ass off in IB math HL and managed B's) Also, my friend, who is in calc BC confirmed that we covered AP Calc BC in the span of about 3 months.</p>
<p>IB Diploma requires proficiency in all areas, which is tough.</p>
<p>And I'll back up the 'A-level syllabus is harder than AP' argument with this - I'm doing crap in my AP Latin course, having done even worse than crap in Latin at AS level in England - but if I'd actually done some work in England for Latin and gone on and done A-level, I'd be far ahead of them. I certainly don't use myself as an example for my claim, but I think the depth of the A-level syllabus makes it impossible to 'cram' or 'get' unless you have worked hard for two years, and it's all based on that final three hours in an exam.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think AP needs some more depth to their exams. But that might only be able to be accomplished with 2 year courses which I don't think AP-takers want.</p>
<p>They cover a lot, though - I know the AP Art History covers a massive period of history of art, different movements and how to recognise it... but that's it. No 'why is it important' no, 'why art is valuable for different reasons', no 'what these people were thinking when they reacted to an impetus'. It's pretty much, 'how many paintings can you memorise' rather than, 'how can you identify different techniques, why are they valuable, how did they develop from what had gone before' etc. A friend and I saw art in Pton Art Museum, and he was able to identify way more paintings than I was - but when we got to a section I had studied as part of Classics, I was able to talk far more extensively about the detail and really appreciate <em>why</em> pieces of art were important, and why techniques recognisable in the art were important, instead of simply noticing that they were.</p>
<p>I think this is an example of how the AP/A-level syllabi compare, and a major downside of breadth is that you don't fully understand what it is you're studying, but you're given the main facts to memorise in such large quantities that you feel as if you're studying in depth.</p>
<p>I had a 600 on the SAT II literature test and I got in ED (granted all of my other scores/grades/essays were really good). It just goes to show you that one black mark may not ruin your shots.</p>
<p>And no, I'm not a URM, legacy, or athletic recruit...</p>
<p>I don't believe that IB courses are harder. The IB Bio HL curriculum will cover only a little more than AP Biology. It's really hard to contend that SL science courses are harder than their counterparts, especially physics. </p>
<p>I would also contend that AP classes tend to have wider disparities in how they are taught, difficulty-wise. IB classes would operate within a narrower, more consistent range.</p>
<p>IB history courses require little actual KNOWLEDGE of history and therefore I consider it easier--considering I was able to do extremely well on IB History HL simply by knowing a lot about three specific events--WW2, Korean War and the Great Depression rather than broad swathes of history. Writing essays about random events doesn't mean one knows history. </p>
<p>I would think a student taking 6 AP classes would be working just as hard as an IB kid doing 6 IB classes, 3-4 of them SL. And if they're not, then it's just because IB tends to have more busywork (I can attest from experience).</p>
<p>you can't do 3-4 SL classes.</p>
<p>The lower end difficulty of IB = AP, but the upper end exceeds it drastically.</p>
<p>is it ok to get B's in IB? What will colleges think of that compared to a B in an AP course?</p>
<p>How do you get a B in IB? Its on a 7 point scale. Also, some individual IB subjects aren't hard. Its only when you put them all together, add the coursework, the Extended Essay, and the TOK essay, that it really starts to get tricky. You have to keep up with all the stuff that goes on in class, revision work etc, but you also spend plenty of time meeting with EE supervisors, doing lab work, collecting field data and interviewing people for coursework, reading philosophy (for TOK) etc. To top it off there's CAS, which is amazing, but can be really difficult to coordinate with all this other stuff, especially if you're doing something big, like organizing Model UN or going on an exchange trip, because you miss a lot of classes.</p>
<p>Yeah, so I guess if you considered only the final exam which IB students sit in May, you could equate the IB with the APs. But when you add all the other stuff, the IB is way more rigorous. Thats why its so difficult to get a perfect score on the IB Diploma.</p>
<p>like in school....report card?</p>
<p>I have a pretty low SAT score (2100), but I hope my class rank and ECs/sports make up for it. In a nutshell:</p>
<p>-Salutatorian
-Captain of the varsity football team
-Defensive MVP (I led the team in sacks this year; was 2nd in total tackles)
-First Team All League Pick
-NY State Scholar Athlete
-Varsity wrestling (1 year)
-Varsity track (2 years)
-NHS President
-Second highest ranking cadet at my military school (JROTC: Cadet Major)
-300+ hours community service
-Presidential Service Medal
-My school offers 3 APs and I'm taking all of them this year</p>
<p>Salutorian is nice and all but truly: even if you were ranked like 4 or 8...your chances wouldn't be affected. You see SATs are a way for even low academic rankers to tower up. SAT=Godlike</p>
<p>And your ECs are waaaaaay too usual....but I guess I sense some leadership.</p>
<p>no offense..but im just givin some insight.</p>
<p>If I were a princeton admissions officer, I'd probably be laughing my pants off right now.</p>
<p>Wrestling is the toughest sport in the world (I've been there) so I'd give you some points if I were on the committee. Don't worry too bad I've got similar SAT scores so I'm scared as heck too...</p>
<p>Actually competitive martial arts is the toughest sport becuase it mixes everything including wrestling and hurts a hell of a lot more =D.</p>