<p>I'm a sophomore. I procrastinate a lot. Do you thing doing IB would force me to stop? Is it very stressful? Everybody complains and I feel I don't know what I'm getting myself into. Thanks.</p>
<p>I think it depends on what school you want to go to! Some, very few, schools say they prefer ib. Most big schools do not. Whatever your school says is most rigorous on their report to colleges should be the one you choose but many schools out ap and ib the same. If they put it as the same rigor level, I would recommend ap!
Benefits of IB
-can boost your gpa because you HAVE to take more IB classes because of the diploma even if they’re useless and easy
-again some colleges prefer ib diploma over ap (look into that)
- forces you to be a better writing
Cons of IB
-useless project and time
-strict scheduling
-stupid rules
-you Have to take the expensive ib test - most schools don’t give credit to ib standard level</p>
<p>Benefits of ap
-flexibility of schedule
-who can take the hard classes without having to worry about the projects like IB has and just focus on the material
-you can take more subjects in high school
-you’re not wasting your time
-you aren’t stuck with the same people all the time
-colleges love ap just as much as ib
Cons of ap
-usually no ap diploma
-may not boost your gpa as high
-sometimes weird testing
-sometimes have to study material fast</p>
<p>No you shouldn’t take AP classes and enjoy life and a higher gpa</p>
<p>Don’t. I regret it more than anything else. Seriously, don’t.</p>
<p>If you are already known to procrastinate, IB will not stop that, just make things 1000x more stressful. I would recommend against it and stick with AP classes. They give you similar credit in the eyes of colleges, and are less complicated/stressful than IB. </p>
<p>Well, it really depends on the sort of person you are. </p>
<p>I am one of the few people who actually enjoys the IB. I made the decision to do it myself, with no parental influence, and would make the same decision again. The reason is that at the end of the day I feel I am better off for having done the IB, opposed to a schedule of AP classes. </p>
<p>Now, that is not to say that I think AP is bad; merely, I believe that IB simply has more to offer. I entered IB similar to you. I procrastinated on things, and had an overall poor work ethic. What IB does to people like us, is that is forces us to change. You can either adjust to the steep learning curve, or do poorly, which is not very uncommon. I won’t say it wasn’t hard at first. I spent many panicky nights at the beginning on the verge of tears from stress, but I did adjust. And from that adjustment I feel I learned an important skill that I would not have gained from merely taking AP classes.</p>
<p>While IB has many, many, MANY, annoying and restrictive features (CAS, EE, IA), I feel it is overall a better program for me. But like I said earlier it depends on the person you are. If you feel like you can adjust to the work, and deal with a pretty consistent amount of stress, do the IB. If not, take AP courses.</p>
<p>If you have access to a strong AP program, take AP. I wish I would have. Ivies deem AP equal to IB and IB is a lot harder.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the school and what courses they emphasize. If I had to do it again I would tell my daughter, a rising senior, no. Our HS puts so much emphasis on history that to make A’s in the other subjects making a B in history can be a struggle. IB & AP tests next week, and history teachers gave out a 40 page review packet for a completion grade - then told students to ask their other teachers to give them less work so they could focus on history. Hmmm. </p>
<p>Strongly suggest talking to juniors and seniors (not teachers) about work load and emphasis. Make sure it aligns with what you what. I personally think that having 5 hours (the averager) of history homework for every class period is ridiculous. HIstory is important, but STEM is much more so in today’s world.</p>
<p>Like everything else is life, to do or not to do (:D) IB, is a matter of personal fit and it will vary by person and by school. From what I have read and seen, taking all AP courses is just about as good - and our school counts them as equal value, so the extra IB work doesn’t help your GPA - just the opposite.<br>
USER BEWARE</p>
<p>Just finished IB and I’m still a serial procrastinator. I loved the program though. Great courses and learnt alot.
If you have the option take AP since its easier and colleges seem to perceive it as equal to IB.</p>
<p>Allow me to expand on my post by saying that it depends a lot on your school. IB was very new in my school, so it sucked. There were only 4 other people in my class, so little annoying traits suddenly became the most obnoxious things ever, and you had almost no choice when it came to your IB schedule. If this is the case at your school, run, and run far. Your school will likely screw you over, and IB will be a huge regret.</p>
<p>That said, if your school is a well-established IB World School, and you have a broad mix of diploma and certificate students in your classes, and you will be able to interact with different people and select classes based on your interests, then I’m sure that IB will be a great experience.</p>
<p>So do your research. And listen to current seniors. If they say that they’ve gotten screwed over, listen to them well and heed their warnings.</p>
<p>My friend got in Brown University after dropping IB/MYP and taking only AP courses. Do NOT do it if you will be procrastinating. It only gets harder. Good luck :)</p>
<p>IB will not force you to stop procrastinating; it will either encourage you to stop procrastinating because you’ll get tired of all the stress and decide to get things right or you’ll learn how to become a master procrastinator. I suffered from the latter.</p>
<p>In IB there will be tears. I think that everyone has some sort of mental/emotional breakdown at some point during their IB career because the extra workload is a shock. That being said, I absolutely loved the IB program and everything it offered me. I loved the classroom culture of being treated like respectable thinkers and young adults, I loved being part of a community of overworked students who were going through the exact same thing I was, I loved taking a global perspective on knowledge and human nature, I loved being challenged to initiate projects and show leadership, and I loved being inspired to achieve my best academically and beyond. </p>
<p>Leisure and freedom are sacrificed for personal growth. It is up to every individual to understand this trade-off, evaluate what their motivations are for entering the IB program, and decide whether or not the program is right for them. Those looking for nothing more than college credit and high GPAs might find themselves more satisfied with AP. After all was said and done, I personally can use 9 credit hours that I earned through my IB diploma towards my electives in college (this is partially because engineering is an inflexible major). 9. IB is not always a golden ticked to college success and credit, but I have no regrets other than procrastinating too much.</p>