AP or IB?, which one is better? Options

[sprezzatura]

Sophomore is going to end in 3 months (I am currently in pre-IB), but I have to tell my IB coordinator in advance before I could drop out of IB and switch to the AP program. Right now, I am very hesitant.

I might as well describe myself a bit. I am the top student at math and science courses, but I totally sucked at history. It takes me so much effort to regurgitate what is in my history textbook already (currently taking AP European history), not to mention that I have never received an essay score with a score higher than a 5, which 5 is just barely mediocre. I couldn't put any analysis in my writing, it's mostly BS of how my I can regurgitate, especially I loathe history. If I write about literature or persuasive essay in English class, I usually get scores ranging from 7 to 9, so I am pretty okay with English.

On the other hand, math and science is like...the bomb. I do well in those classes and I am one of the top students in the math and science departments.

Advanced Placement
PROS:
1. I get to choose what classes to take.
2. I can get career certification.
3. It is not mandatory to take history classes in the AP/IB level.
4. It is less stressful than IB, but definitely it is still stressful.
5. There is a greater chance that I could enjoy my classes and earn a higher GPA.

CONS:
1. There aren't much AP science classes offered at my school, which AP Biology is the ONLY one.
2. The classes are less competitive because the most competitive kids stay in IB, but I need the competition to stay motivated.
3. If I drop IB, I am not allow to take any IB classes, but I really want to take IB Physics HL.
4. If I drop IB, I can't regret and join IB again.

International Baccalaureate
PROS:
1. It looks good in college apps, but only if you do well in those classes.
2. The classes are competitive, so you can get yourself to work harder.
3. I can take IB Biology SL and IB Physics HL, which are the classes that I want to take.
4. Usually the top 4% of my school are IB kids, although there are a few AP ones and a few regular ones.
5. IB is more rigorous than AP.
6. Well-rounded people are more likely to succeed in IB (which I am not well-rounded).

CONS:
1. It is very stressful.
2. You have a very limited choice of what classes to take.
3. I have to take APUSH and IB 20th Century History HL, and I fear history classes to the most because the AP/IB history teachers are really hard.
4. I might not do well in IB because I have APUSH to drop my grade.

I really don't know what to do. I doubt my ability to do well in IB, because I can't survive history despite how well I could be in other areas. But in AP, I have my choice and I am confident to get an A or B in these classes.

But my school has this weird IB program that I am not allowed to take IB courses when you are not in IB, which I know other schools allow their students to do so.

I am caught between...IB Physics HL and APUSH.
Which way should I go? Should I avoid APUSH and just stick to the AP program? Or...should I stay in IB and take IB Physics and APUSH together and just die like that?

[stormbringer]

I want to go to IB because it seems better then tech and AP, but I heard there are loong hours.

[sprezzatura]

^Do you mean the 150-hour CAS requirement? Personally, I think I can do it.

[radhikaeatsraman]

You said you weren't very good at History, right? I say ride on your strengths and take IB Physics.

[Smoogrish]

Take IB. If you've sufficiently motivated, you'll do well. Good luck!

Actually, if I were you, I'd talk to Kaycee.. she's in IB, I believe.

[sprezzatura]

You said you weren't very good at History, right? I say ride on your strengths and take IB Physics.

My IB coordinator doesn't let me take IB Physics if I drop out of IB. If I stay in IB for IB Physics, I have to take APUSH and 20th Century History.

[Juanjo]

Yesterday I got my accepted letter of IB

I will start the program in a few months

Do you have to take history
History is not too bad :p you only have to take atention

[datass]

I'm pre-IB too, I think it's better, even though it's a lot more stressful.

[HakunaMatata]

Take IB. If you've sufficiently motivated, you'll do well. Good luck!

Actually, if I were you, I'd talk to Kaycee.. she's in IB, I believe.

....and doing badly in it, and I still love the program! Seriously.

Take IB. You'll flourish in the sciences and math; that'll make up for APUSH, believe me.

[michellerrific]

I'm in Pre-IB right now, and I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with it the rest of my school years. I've heard that AP is more about studying, memorizing, testing, etc. but IB is more of a 'thinking' program, where you tend to analyze stuff I guess. It's more for those who can expand their minds, but if you're more of a study person rather than thinking, then that's AP.

[Juanjo]

3. I have to take APUSH and IB 20th Century History HL, and I fear history classes to the most because the AP/IB history teachers are really hard.

You can't choose Between history and other class?

[minioligo]

Can't you do IB Certificate instead of Diploma? That way you can take half IB and half AP classes. I'm not sure if you're allowed to do IB Physics HL w/ IB Certificate though....hmm....

Anyway, I'm currently in the pre-IB program which doesn't mean much, but it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do next year. If you're good at math and sciences, I would stick to it.

[sprezzatura]

^My school doesn't allow IB certificate. It has to be IB Diploma at my school.

[SimplicityGirl]

I've been through the IB program. I do not consider myself well rounded but I got a decent mark on my IB Diploma so...

I say ride your strengths and do IB. IB looks THAT much better for colleges than AP. IB is recognized all around the world...AP isn't. Not to my knowledge anyway. As for History...do you HAVE to take it? My school offered Geography and World Cultures as alternatives to History. I took IB History...it wasn't too hard and I had an IB Exam Maker/Marker as my teacher. What's APUSH? And what's so bad about it.

Yes IB can be stressful. But so can AP. I have friends who went through AP and they're just as stressed as me at times. Now that I think about it...IB isn't that bad. It's manageable. You won't be able to do everything of course, but with a little bit of time management, you'll find that you have time for a lot of things outside IB.

[xBUTTMUNCHx]

IB of course! lol.

[alysaphobia]

take IB
assuming APUSH is AP us history... i took that class as a sophmore and i didn't find it too difficult. of course, there's no way of telling what differences my ap us history and your ap us history class have, but yeah. it was more of a writing/studying/memorizing class than anything, so it wasn't crazy challening in terms of expanding your thinking.

plus you said you don't have that many AP science classes to choose from... and yet your strength is science, right? challenge yourself with the IB classes. you already have a list of a great many pro's for it. :)

[WickedDreamer]

Stick with IB, we don't have it at my school, but at my school we all know that the AP kids are by far the laziest kids at school. If you want to challenge your self stay in IB! My friends in AP are constantly slacking off and constantly talk about how lame the class is and how they are just taking it to get the college credit. Stick with something that challenges you!

[xmkaex]

^ i thought you only get the college credit if you pass the ap exam.

[Wereismybelt]

would it be better to do good in regular courses

or do poorly in IB courses?

[BOOGERSHAHA]

well. sounds like for your case specifically, you should take IB because there's not that many AP classes.

BUT.
this is a huge but.

for colleges, they usually offer more AP credit than IB credit. what does this mean? it means you get college credit for scoring well on an AP. for example, if you get a 5 on the AP BC calc test, which is what i did, i got 8 credits (that is 2 math courses in college) for college. however, my friend took the equivalent of BC calc, except it was IB, and she scored well. HOWEVER, she did not receive college credit for her IB score and had to retake math in college. what a waste of money when there are other interesting classes you can take.

edit: oh my bad. this topic is old. somebody else is asking a new question. i don't know too much about the IB program. but i know if you take an AP course, they add like extra credit to your GPA. so if you get a B+ (3.5) on AP history, they add .5 to that and technically you have a 4.0.

[Wereismybelt]

so if your a student that doesnt like to be challenege in classes you dont like

which one should you choose
IB or AP?

[alysaphobia]

AP and IB are both challenging in their own ways. If you don't like to be challenged, then don't take it.

AP courses are college level equivalent classes, which means they move at the pace of a college class, meaning there's TONS more work than in regular classes. I understand that IB is also quite stressful. If you're taking a difficult course just to make it "look good" on your transcript, chances are, you'll do badly. Yes, AP gives .5 extra credit to your subject average, but some of the AP classes (at least, taught in my school) are really challenging... and you need to score a satisfactory grade on the AP exams in order to recieve college credit. Colleges will probably prefer you to recieve an A in a regular class than a C in a difficult one.