IB Program- What is it? IB or AP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm interested as well, and so tired of whomever hijacks every IB thread to say it's a ce ap program and not worth the cost. It's not worse than AP, it's different. Lots of elite colleges do not accept either top AP or top IB scores for credit these days. They do show you took a demanding HS program. I will not pupil place my kid out of IB HS unless the teacher quality proves dismal. That remains to be seen.

You're absolutely right! I was at an event last year where there were HS academic counselors from four high schools including TJ. All of them said the same thing that we were also told by our MS: Colleges want to know whether a student took the most rigorous academic offerings available to him or her. I heard that phrase several times from different HS representatives and heard it again at two different high schools' curriculum nights when they were talking to rising ninth graders. The point is that kids should take whatever is the most challenging thing on offer to them. In FCPS, we are unusually lucky that kids can have the option to switch high schools if their assigned school doesn't have the program they want (AP or IB). But whatever kids take, wherever they take it, colleges are focused on whether the student took the most advanced or demanding courses available.

That's where I think the AP schools have the advantage. The kids end up with a peer group that is more likely to encourage them to challenge themselves. Yet, they really don't have to load up entirely on AP classes, as colleges don't expect that. But, if you are at an IB school and not doing the full diploma program, it's very easy for admissions officers to decide the student wasn't taking the "most demanding" courses available.

[Anonymous]

That's where I think the AP schools have the advantage. The kids end up with a peer group that is more likely to encourage them to challenge themselves. Yet, they really don't have to load up entirely on AP classes, as colleges don't expect that. But, if you are at an IB school and not doing the full diploma program, it's very easy for admissions officers to decide the student wasn't taking the "most demanding" courses available

I prefer AP, but if you think the colleges don't care about how many AP classes are taken, you are sadly mistaken. If a school offers 25 AP courses, and a student only takes 2, it will be noted.

[Anonymous]

[Up]

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:
Ok. Now it's all coming together. The poster who always hijacks AP/IB posts to complain about the cost of IB is a former IB teacher.

Why would you assume that only one poster knows that IB costs more for FCPS than AP or that most IB schools in FCPS have few diploma candidates? It's clear that's not the case, and more people are thinking these days about inefficient programs within FCPS.

I am sure there are plenty of people who agree that IB is an unnecessary cost, but writing style is unmistakable.

Wow, I leave for a few hours and suddenly, I am accused of being the poster who "always hijacks AP/IB posts."
I am a teacher, and during the school year, I assure you that I don't have time to visit this site. I have never participated in a discussion about IB before, so it must be someone else's "unmistakable" writing style you are reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That's where I think the AP schools have the advantage. The kids end up with a peer group that is more likely to encourage them to challenge themselves. Yet, they really don't have to load up entirely on AP classes, as colleges don't expect that. But, if you are at an IB school and not doing the full diploma program, it's very easy for admissions officers to decide the student wasn't taking the "most demanding" courses available

I prefer AP, but if you think the colleges don't care about how many AP classes are taken, you are sadly mistaken. If a school offers 25 AP courses, and a student only takes 2, it will be noted.

True. Big difference between 2 and 25, however, with no one saying at a particular point in the middle you do or don't get an "AP diploma."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's where I think the AP schools have the advantage. The kids end up with a peer group that is more likely to encourage them to challenge themselves. Yet, they really don't have to load up entirely on AP classes, as colleges don't expect that. But, if you are at an IB school and not doing the full diploma program, it's very easy for admissions officers to decide the student wasn't taking the "most demanding" courses available

I prefer AP, but if you think the colleges don't care about how many AP classes are taken, you are sadly mistaken. If a school offers 25 AP courses, and a student only takes 2, it will be noted.

True. Big difference between 2 and 25, however, with no one saying at a particular point in the middle you do or don't get an "AP diploma."

Back when I was in high school, I got 4s and 5s on X number of AP tests, and got some sort of award certificate. It wasn't a diploma, but I was proud of it!

This! Here it is!

https://apscore.collegeboard.org/scores/ap-awards/ap-scholar-awards

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm interested as well, and so tired of whomever hijacks every IB thread to say it's a ce ap program and not worth the cost. It's not worse than AP, it's different. Lots of elite colleges do not accept either top AP or top IB scores for credit these days. They do show you took a demanding HS program. I will not pupil place my kid out of IB HS unless the teacher quality proves dismal. That remains to be seen.

You're absolutely right! I was at an event last year where there were HS academic counselors from four high schools including TJ. All of them said the same thing that we were also told by our MS: Colleges want to know whether a student took the most rigorous academic offerings available to him or her. I heard that phrase several times from different HS representatives and heard it again at two different high schools' curriculum nights when they were talking to rising ninth graders. The point is that kids should take whatever is the most challenging thing on offer to them. In FCPS, we are unusually lucky that kids can have the option to switch high schools if their assigned school doesn't have the program they want (AP or IB). But whatever kids take, wherever they take it, colleges are focused on whether the student took the most advanced or demanding courses available.

I don't believe children should take the most rigorous academic offerings available to them. They should take what they think they can handle or maybe a little above and do reasonably well. Why would a college want to see a student taking more than they can handle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
[Up]

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:
Ok. Now it's all coming together. The poster who always hijacks AP/IB posts to complain about the cost of IB is a former IB teacher.

Why would you assume that only one poster knows that IB costs more for FCPS than AP or that most IB schools in FCPS have few diploma candidates? It's clear that's not the case, and more people are thinking these days about inefficient programs within FCPS.

I am sure there are plenty of people who agree that IB is an unnecessary cost, but writing style is unmistakable.

Wow, I leave for a few hours and suddenly, I am accused of being the poster who "always hijacks AP/IB posts."
I am a teacher, and during the school year, I assure you that I don't have time to visit this site. I have never participated in a discussion about IB before, so it must be someone else's "unmistakable" writing style you are reading.

What IB school did you teach at?

[Anonymous]

I have posted concerns about the cost of the IB program. There is at LEAST one other poster who has brought up this issue. For the record, I am not an IB teacher nor have I ever been an IB teacher.

You don't think that it is a valid concern? Do you have any idea of the cost of the program? This was discussed at length a couple of years ago--on another forum. I'll have to dig out the information again, but it is a substantial expense when you look at the benefits. Sorry, if you don't like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have posted concerns about the cost of the IB program. There is at LEAST one other poster who has brought up this issue. For the record, I am not an IB teacher nor have I ever been an IB teacher.

You don't think that it is a valid concern? Do you have any idea of the cost of the program? This was discussed at length a couple of years ago--on another forum. I'll have to dig out the information again, but it is a substantial expense when you look at the benefits. Sorry, if you don't like it.

Sure how school money is spent is a valid concern, but it's completely unhelpful information for parents who are trying to figure out what the right school and program fit is for their kids. If I want to know what calc bc covers, and someone pipes up that kissing toads does NOT remove warts, repeatedly, it doesn't really help me learn about calc BC. If I want to know why we have soldiers in Afghanistan and you tell me you are sick and tired of American tax dollars going to fund overseas wars, it doesn't help me understand the issues in Afghanistan. You are decidedly unhelpful to the conversation. Notice, I'm not telling you not to post, and I'm not telling you what to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have posted concerns about the cost of the IB program. There is at LEAST one other poster who has brought up this issue. For the record, I am not an IB teacher nor have I ever been an IB teacher.

You don't think that it is a valid concern? Do you have any idea of the cost of the program? This was discussed at length a couple of years ago--on another forum. I'll have to dig out the information again, but it is a substantial expense when you look at the benefits. Sorry, if you don't like it.

Sure how school money is spent is a valid concern, but it's completely unhelpful information for parents who are trying to figure out what the right school and program fit is for their kids. If I want to know what calc bc covers, and someone pipes up that kissing toads does NOT remove warts, repeatedly, it doesn't really help me learn about calc BC. If I want to know why we have soldiers in Afghanistan and you tell me you are sick and tired of American tax dollars going to fund overseas wars, it doesn't help me understand the issues in Afghanistan. You are decidedly unhelpful to the conversation. Notice, I'm not telling you not to post, and I'm not telling you what to do.

NP here. The OP just asked for information about differences between AP and IB. One difference is that IB is more expensive per student than AP. Maybe you don't like that being noted, but that's your problem.

[Anonymous]

Actually the PP is pointing out that IB is a fact of life in FCPS and it's cost just isn't useful information for a parent trying to help their DC decide between AP and IB on academic merit. If you want to ask Whether IB should be an option at all, start your own thread. -- not the PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually the PP is pointing out that IB is a fact of life in FCPS and it's cost just isn't useful information for a parent trying to help their DC decide between AP and IB on academic merit. If you want to ask Whether IB should be an option at all, start your own thread. -- not the PP

Lots of things that cost more money may be on the chopping block soon in FCPS. I'd certainly want to know before committing to IB that it's expensive, many people think it's not worth the additional expense, and that you run some risk it might get discontinued with a $100 million budget deficit looming. OP's original post did not simply ask for a comparison of the "academic merit" of the two programs. Maybe you are the one who needs to start a different thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually the PP is pointing out that IB is a fact of life in FCPS and it's cost just isn't useful information for a parent trying to help their DC decide between AP and IB on academic merit. If you want to ask Whether IB should be an option at all, start your own thread. -- not the PP

Lots of things that cost more money may be on the chopping block soon in FCPS. I'd certainly want to know before committing to IB that it's expensive, many people think it's not worth the additional expense, and that you run some risk it might get discontinued with a $100 million budget deficit looming. OP's original post did not simply ask for a comparison of the "academic merit" of the two programs. Maybe you are the one who needs to start a different thread.

I did. See the colleges forum.

[Anonymous]

Nobody can know for sure what FCPS a will do down the road, and they may pull IB from some schools. Maybe it would even be a good thing to concentrate it in 2 or 3 schools. But FCPS does have a good track record of grandfathering kids in existing programs (see AAP changes, boundary changes, grade changes to the +/- system). If a kid starts into an IB high school program and the program is pulled while they are a student, it would be phased out, so that the kids who started the program could finish it, (or, less likely) they could transfer with their peers to finish. They'd just stop offering it to incoming classes. They wouldn't tell a high performing, full diploma candidate junior-- sorry, your high school coursework is useless for college admissions purposes. So, if a child starts IB, I don't think they need to worry about being unable to finish it.

[Anonymous]

OP, have you looked at the full list of course offerings at Langley, the range of clubs and extra-curriculars at Langley, and college acceptances from both schools? I don't think any IB school in FCPS (with the possible exception of Robinson) has as much to offer for a college-bound student.