IB-worth my time or not?

Midwestmomofboys
Thu, 25 Jul 2013 17:20:17 +0000

Parent of IB students here – agree that is certainly important to take advantage of the most rigorous course selection available for students aiming high in college admissions. Also, watching the comparison between my som’s IB and AP course work (he was not diploma candidate bc of some scheduling challenges), the IB course work was better college prep than the AP-- IB involved more reading, critical thinking and writing whereas AP was more memorization, though the complexity of AP work could vary by school.

Another significant consideration, noted above, is whether your school offers HL courses in your area of interest/strength. You want to be as well prepared for college work as possible, so consider the specific offerings available to you.

On all our college visits, no admissions rep was willing to say either IB or AP is better than the other. Most top schools only offer credit for HL courses but you can self-study for AP in your SL courses to try to max out credit/placement.

IB is a significant commitment but schools do recognize the value of the work and extent of preparation for college level work.

Good luck.