| I go to a high school in Birmingham, Alabama called Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School. It was rated # 1 in the nation by Jay Matthews and Newsweek during my freshmen year and has subsequently fallen to 2, 4, and I don't know if he has new rankings for this year. At my school, we combine AP and IB courses. For instance, last year I took AP Human Geography and IB Geography in the same class. Here's how I feel about the situation.
IB is a better program, if you're a diplomma candidate. It is a lot of work, but if you are up for the task, it can be very rewarding. There is much more depth in IB than there is in AP. AP is just a test that you take in May, but IB is a process. That being said, most colleges typically accept AP credit more often than IB. Usually, they only take "higher level" IB credit. Also, AP is more accessible than IB. You see a ton of AP prep books at bookstores, and you don't see any IB prep books.
As far as being prepared for college, IB is better. AP essentially asks you to regurgitate facts that you might forget the day after the exam, but like I said before, with IB, you get depth on a particular subject.
I would suggest trying to go for the IB diplomma and take AP courses. If not, you have to prioritize. Would you rather take courses that most colleges are more willing to accept as credit to get out of basic courses or would you rather be in an engaging and helpful but sometimes incredibly challenging program? |