If you could do it all over again…IB vs AP High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone write in more simple terms what the IB program looks like. I have looked at the website, and while it looks very interesting, what does it actually look like in the 4 years your kid is in HS?

My DC is in AP and this has been our experience:

-AP is pretty much pick-and-choose which classes you want, as long as you meet the core requirements: English, Math, Science, Social Studies.
-There are AP languages- Spanish, Latin etc. but that's not a requirement as long as you finish your 2,3 or 4 years that's in your track.
-This year, our school said they are encouraging kids to take at least one AP class prior to graduation. Some kids take more than 5 by the time their graduate.
- There are no requirements for volunteer work (did I see this on the IB site?)
- There are AP electives- like Music Theory.
- In our school, there are about 25 AP courses to choose from. There are no required sequential courses except for AP Capstone but you are also not required to take both courses.
- In our school, kids were not allowed to start AP until 10th grade.
- From what I gather here at DCUM and in DC's cohort here's the number of APs taken per grade:

This is extremely helpful. Thank you!

Question: Can kids take summer IB credit courses to help with potential scheduling issues? Do they have to be at same FCPs High School they are enrolled in or May they be across the county?
9th- none
10th- 1 or 2
11th- 2 to 4
12th- 3+

If anyone knows more, please feel free to add.
Would appreciate hearing from IB folks. Thank you!


I’ll answer from a traditional IBDP perspective. This is from International School abroad. Your school offering/setup may differ. So, ask questions.

The IBDP program is a two-year program, so, it is junior and senior year
Students are required to select one course from each of the following six subject areas, three at a High Level (HL), three at a Standard Level (SL).

1) Lang/Lit (This is English)
2) Language Acquisition (this is the continuation of the Foreign Language)
3) Individuals and Societies (This is Economics, Psychology, Geography, History, Philosophy. Each school’s offerings are different, and they don’t all offer all, so check.)
4) Sciences (This is Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science. Again each school’s offerings may vary)
5) Mathematics (At High Level, it is HARDER than AP MATH, at Standard Level, it is EASIER than AP MATH …My spouse is a MS/HS Math Teacher and Tutor so this is an opinion of someone with expertise)
6) The Arts… (This can be swapped out for another subject in category 3,4,5… which is what my DC did)

So, as an example My DC did HL Economics, HL Biology, HL Psychology, and English SL, Spanish SL, Math SL
They still had 4 years of Foreign Language, 4 Years of English, 4 Years of Science, 4 Years of Math, And they had 2 years of Economics which is helping immensely with Microeconomics and Macroeconomics in College. Some Schools allow 4 HLs/2SLs. Again your school may vary.

Additionally, IBDP Candidates must
Submit a Theory of Knowledge Essay and Presentation
Complete Community Service Action Requirements
Conduct independent research in one of the six categories above, and subject a 4000 word research paper.

This biggest difference between AP and IB is the Assessments or “tests”. Throughout all the subject areas across the DP these are application and analysis based ESSAYS. That includes the Math and Sciences. It is not Solve This Equation or Solve this Problem, and Select the right answer. It is - Given What You Know About Theories and The Body of Knowledge, How Would You Go About Solving This, WHICH YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IN CLASS BEFORE. Write Out your Analysis. In Psychology HL was - know understand and recall ALL The Psychology Studies and White Papers and Their Findings…. Based on what you know, Which Studies and Findings Are Applicable to This Case Which Again, You Have Never Seen Before….Defend Your Position.

It is not for everyone.
STEM kids who HATE to write, should NOT go into the IBDP. This is one of my nephews. He is doing AP all the way.
Also STEM kids who WANT to take AP Chem AP Bio AP Physics, AP Math AB, AP Stats, etc… should do AP because at Most and IBDP Kid is going to get a Math and just two Sciences in the IBDP

However, for kids who have the writing competence and the work ethic, the IBDP is FAR MORE WORK than 5-8 AP’s, I think the IBDP is absolutely better preparation for college.

[Anonymous]

This is a very helpful thread.

To answer the question- If you could do it all over again…IB vs AP High School.

Prior to HS, we looked at the IB program because it seemed to be a good fit for DS but we are at an AP school.
When it came down to it, the transportation issue was going to be a pain so we chose convenience.

Now that DS is in 12th grade, he has been able to compare notes with IB friends.

He has appreciated the flexibility of doing the AP track. IB seems to be more rigid with sequence and order.
He will finish HS with 11 APs and I think he will really maximize what he can get as far as good college prep.
With regard to writing and depth. He is in AP Capstone, which is a 2-year course and results in a Capstone Diploma. This resembles some of what I see in the IB program. He'll do year-long research, produce a 4 to 5k-word paper, and do a presentation for a panel.
As far as breadth, he is taking the AP electives he is most interested in Human Geography, Psychology and Statistics, after having finished the "required, read: check the box" Calculus and other STEM courses. He also had room to do 2 DE courses in his interest areas.

With regards to Analysis, he's taking Comp Gov instead of US Gov. For this course, he plans to take the AP exam for both Comp Gov and US Gov since US Gov is a module in Comp Gov.

So while I don't know a lot about IB, I wouldn't say that one is better than the other. I think it will totally depend on how your student is.
I have no doubt DS would have gone for the full IB diploma and would have been fine with all the writing.
One of the things that I see in IB that's not in AP is the CAS component. While DS enjoys rigor, he would not have enjoyed the prescriptive part of CAS. Looking for those activities to "fill in the 150 hours" would not have been fun for him, especially because he already has paid part-time employment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a very helpful thread.

To answer the question- If you could do it all over again…IB vs AP High School.

Prior to HS, we looked at the IB program because it seemed to be a good fit for DS but we are at an AP school.
When it came down to it, the transportation issue was going to be a pain so we chose convenience.

Now that DS is in 12th grade, he has been able to compare notes with IB friends.

He has appreciated the flexibility of doing the AP track. IB seems to be more rigid with sequence and order.
He will finish HS with 11 APs and I think he will really maximize what he can get as far as good college prep.
With regard to writing and depth. He is in AP Capstone, which is a 2-year course and results in a Capstone Diploma. This resembles some of what I see in the IB program. He'll do year-long research, produce a 4 to 5k-word paper, and do a presentation for a panel.
As far as breadth, he is taking the AP electives he is most interested in Human Geography, Psychology and Statistics, after having finished the "required, read: check the box" Calculus and other STEM courses. He also had room to do 2 DE courses in his interest areas.

With regards to Analysis, he's taking Comp Gov instead of US Gov. For this course, he plans to take the AP exam for both Comp Gov and US Gov since US Gov is a module in Comp Gov.

So while I don't know a lot about IB, I wouldn't say that one is better than the other. I think it will totally depend on how your student is.
I have no doubt DS would have gone for the full IB diploma and would have been fine with all the writing.
One of the things that I see in IB that's not in AP is the CAS component. While DS enjoys rigor, he would not have enjoyed the prescriptive part of CAS. Looking for those activities to "fill in the 150 hours" would not have been fun for him, especially because he already has paid part-time employment.

Thank you so much for sharing! Our kids are assigned to a FCPS IB school and this is helpful thread everyone has provided. A lot to think about.