Practical differences between AP and IB in FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

I have two kids who did the full IB diploma and both were heavily involved in extracurriculars:

DC1: marching band, swim & dive team, tennis team, part time job (worked about 4 hours a week during the week), Boy Scouts (earned Eagle Scout), It’s Academic

DC2: golf team, swim & dive team, lacrosse team, part time job (worked every Saturday from 10-5 all of Junior & Senior year), student leadership team

I have very self motivated children (young adults) and I didn’t see them much junior and senior year - when they weren’t in an extracurricular, they were in their rooms during homework. The IB Diploma is not very everyone but if you have a go getter, it’s a wonderful program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking for the best education/college prep:

Full slate of AP courses or IB diploma > cherry-picked AP courses > cherry picked IB courses.

The whole of IB is greater than the sum of its parts. The benefit of IB is the holistic approach, and the peer group provided by school-within-a school environment. It’s really not unlike the AAP Centers that everyone strives to get their kids into.

If you are looking for college credits:

DE > AP > IB

I think most college-bound kids in FCPS should be targeting DE.

What’s a full slate of AP courses?

At least calc BC, physics C, multiple languages, and english lit and language. Our FCPS high school is not anyone's idea of a great school and manages to offer all of that plus post calculus duel enrollment classes. The neighboring IB school can't even offer a full slate of HL classes every year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

Most AP parents know very little about IB and resort to criticizing it. I haven't read every single comment here but from quickly skimming the thread I didn't see any mention of the IB Program's built-in CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) project.

The CAS project is a requirement for the IB Diploma existing precisely for kids to explore extracurriculars of interest at a broad level. They create a documented portfolio of experiences during junior and senior years as they engage in activities across three categories. As you can see CAS is quite flexible to meet the needs of any type of kid - Creative/artistic, Activity/athletic, or Service/community involvement. Culminating in a long-term, open-ended project of their choosing.

Of course, as with anything, kids get out of it what they put in. Some anti-IB folks will call this kind of thing fluff and a waste of time. I've seen some excellent projects and some low-effort ones. But if taken seriously, it's a great opportunity for kids to accomplish something meaningful to them and goes beyond grades and academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

Most AP parents know very little about IB and resort to criticizing it. I haven't read every single comment here but from quickly skimming the thread I didn't see any mention of the IB Program's built-in CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) project.

The CAS project is a requirement for the IB Diploma existing precisely for kids to explore extracurriculars of interest at a broad level. They create a documented portfolio of experiences during junior and senior years as they engage in activities across three categories. As you can see CAS is quite flexible to meet the needs of any type of kid - Creative/artistic, Activity/athletic, or Service/community involvement. Culminating in a long-term, open-ended project of their choosing.

Of course, as with anything, kids get out of it what they put in. Some anti-IB folks will call this kind of thing fluff and a waste of time. I've seen some excellent projects and some low-effort ones. But if taken seriously, it's a great opportunity for kids to accomplish something meaningful to them and goes beyond grades and academics.

That’s such a rosy picture of what CAS is, that you must be some IB coordinator going for the hard sales pitch.

The vast majority of students in IB think CAS is a bore and a waste of time. It’s really artificial, it consists of going about volunteering in various areas and keeping a log to document experiences. It lacks actual goals and involvement with peers that other extracurriculars have, and there is little exposure to leadership that you’d find in a regular club. For most students it’s just a performative task, a checkbox to fill in for the diploma. Some students do fit in their actual extracurriculars in CAS, but not because the CAP is good, it’s because they have good extracurriculars on their own that fit the requirement. I literally don’t know of a single student that developed meaningful extracurriculars through CAS, they were already involved in them before, or just checked the box. Also, the gross exaggeration about activities and hours spent is rampant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

+1
IB is not going to help in college admissions, because of its rigidity and a lot of busy work. For academics AP kids can easily take 6-8 core APs outshining the 3 HL classes in the diploma program and as a results they are better prepared for college with a broader knowledge base.

IB kids sink a lot of time in their ToK, CAS, EE, etc, when the other kids load up on rigorous academic classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

+1
IB is not going to help in college admissions, because of its rigidity and a lot of busy work. For academics AP kids can easily take 6-8 core APs outshining the 3 HL classes in the diploma program and as a results they are better prepared for college with a broader knowledge base.

IB kids sink a lot of time in their ToK, CAS, EE, etc, when the other kids load up on rigorous academic classes.

Lighten up, Francis. You're trolling way too hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does FCPS limit IB offering to just these schools?

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/high-school-grades-9-12/advanced-academics/international-baccalaureate-ib/schools

That’s where they could get away with it.

Is fcps offering IB particularly at historically underperforming schools where AP course enrollment has been low?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

+1
IB is not going to help in college admissions, because of its rigidity and a lot of busy work. For academics AP kids can easily take 6-8 core APs outshining the 3 HL classes in the diploma program and as a results they are better prepared for college with a broader knowledge base.

IB kids sink a lot of time in their ToK, CAS, EE, etc, when the other kids load up on rigorous academic classes.

“Outshining” Is this real life? They are both fine programs. If kids put in an effort in either program, they will likely do well in college. Again there are so many variables outside of AP vs IB that will impact college readiness and academics. OP-the fact that you are interested and invested in your kids academic path is a bigger factors in said kids outcomes vs whether they do AP vs IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

+1
IB is not going to help in college admissions, because of its rigidity and a lot of busy work. For academics AP kids can easily take 6-8 core APs outshining the 3 HL classes in the diploma program and as a results they are better prepared for college with a broader knowledge base.

IB kids sink a lot of time in their ToK, CAS, EE, etc, when the other kids load up on rigorous academic classes.

All of your reasoning is completely inconsequential. Universities look at admissions in the context of available courses at each school, so a comparison between a kid at an IB school versus an AP school is never drawn in the first place. Neither program helps nor hurts more than another as far as admissions goes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

+1
IB is not going to help in college admissions, because of its rigidity and a lot of busy work. For academics AP kids can easily take 6-8 core APs outshining the 3 HL classes in the diploma program and as a results they are better prepared for college with a broader knowledge base.

IB kids sink a lot of time in their ToK, CAS, EE, etc, when the other kids load up on rigorous academic classes.

All of your reasoning is completely inconsequential. Universities look at admissions in the context of available courses at each school, so a comparison between a kid at an IB school versus an AP school is never drawn in the first place. Neither program helps nor hurts more than another as far as admissions goes.

I’d be more concerned with having a non-IB diploma kid at an IB school. Some IB schools put their diploma kids on a pedestal and everyone else gets treated like crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

+1
IB is not going to help in college admissions, because of its rigidity and a lot of busy work. For academics AP kids can easily take 6-8 core APs outshining the 3 HL classes in the diploma program and as a results they are better prepared for college with a broader knowledge base.

IB kids sink a lot of time in their ToK, CAS, EE, etc, when the other kids load up on rigorous academic classes.

All of your reasoning is completely inconsequential. Universities look at admissions in the context of available courses at each school, so a comparison between a kid at an IB school versus an AP school is never drawn in the first place. Neither program helps nor hurts more than another as far as admissions goes.

I’d be more concerned with having a non-IB diploma kid at an IB school. Some IB schools put their diploma kids on a pedestal and everyone else gets treated like crap.

You do realize they separated the kids with AAP for grades 3-8? Many went to different special AAP centers. Everyone has the opportunity to take IB classes. They even have SL versions which are a bit slower paced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

+1
IB is not going to help in college admissions, because of its rigidity and a lot of busy work. For academics AP kids can easily take 6-8 core APs outshining the 3 HL classes in the diploma program and as a results they are better prepared for college with a broader knowledge base.

IB kids sink a lot of time in their ToK, CAS, EE, etc, when the other kids load up on rigorous academic classes.

All of your reasoning is completely inconsequential. Universities look at admissions in the context of available courses at each school, so a comparison between a kid at an IB school versus an AP school is never drawn in the first place. Neither program helps nor hurts more than another as far as admissions goes.

Context matters but only marginally, it’s not the determining factor. You’ll be compared against the entire applicant pool, still need to take the challenging course load. You’re at a disadvantage in IB because it’s so restrictive and you waste so much effort on on the fluff. When did Theory of knowledge ever moved the needle on an applicant? But I’m certain taking AP Physics C matters. With AP, you have the flexibility to choose you schedule based on how capable you are, you can focus more in an area you’re interested in, and you have more rigorous courses to begin with.

Compare 6-8 APs with 3HL, there’s no contest and no surprise, IB kids don’t do as well in admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are still bickering and I’m not sure OP
has even come back.

🤣 OP here. I've been reading but this thread is...a lot

I'm not sure what else to ask other than: why do people keep mentioning the inability to do IB and take extra curriculars. I'm big on the idea that kids should have well rounded school experiences. Is the extra coursework in IB problems so great that kids can't have outside activities. That doesn't sound like a great trade off but I could be misunderstanding.

It’s a prescriptive program that wasn’t designed with American HS kids with their own extra-curricular interests in mind. So some of the requirements take up a lot of time.

I’ll admit I’m biased. We were at an IB school where a lot of kids doing the full IB program were miserable and then resentful when other kids they knew got into the same or better schools. I think you really need to do full IB for its intrinsic value, such as it is, and not expecting some big payoff in terms of college admissions.

+1
IB is not going to help in college admissions, because of its rigidity and a lot of busy work. For academics AP kids can easily take 6-8 core APs outshining the 3 HL classes in the diploma program and as a results they are better prepared for college with a broader knowledge base.

IB kids sink a lot of time in their ToK, CAS, EE, etc, when the other kids load up on rigorous academic classes.

All of your reasoning is completely inconsequential. Universities look at admissions in the context of available courses at each school, so a comparison between a kid at an IB school versus an AP school is never drawn in the first place. Neither program helps nor hurts more than another as far as admissions goes.

Context matters but only marginally, it’s not the determining factor. You’ll be compared against the entire applicant pool, still need to take the challenging course load. You’re at a disadvantage in IB because it’s so restrictive and you waste so much effort on on the fluff. When did Theory of knowledge ever moved the needle on an applicant? But I’m certain taking AP Physics C matters. With AP, you have the flexibility to choose you schedule based on how capable you are, you can focus more in an area you’re interested in, and you have more rigorous courses to begin with.

Compare 6-8 APs with 3HL, there’s no contest and no surprise, IB kids don’t do as well in admissions.

The HL courses are 2 year courses.