Is an IB diploma better than a regular diploma?

Parent Cafe
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<p>In many cases, the curricula for AP and IB are similar enough so that you can take both the AP and IB tests after the IB course, without any extra preparation. Your college may not give you credit for the IB score, but they may give you credit for the AP score. </p>

<p>My daughter has an IB diploma. At her college, she got exactly zero credits for her IB scores. It turned out that the college did not give credit for IB scores in two of her three HL subjects, and that they only gave credit for a 7 in the third subject, and she got a 6. And of course, she could not get credit for any of her SL scores. </p>

<p>However, she also took 8 AP tests – mostly on the basis of IB courses rather than AP courses – and got high enough scores to get credit for all of them, for a total of 30 credits and a bunch of exemptions from introductory courses she did not want to take. Some of her AP tests were taken after SL courses, and she still got credit.</p>

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<p>My d did the same as Marian’s and took AP tests for all the IB tests.</p>

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<p>The AP people are making a lot of money off of IB kids.</p>

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<p>When my daughter was in high school (she graduated in 2005) the IB was free, or rather the fees were paid by the school, but you had to pay for AP. Seven years later when my son went to the same high school APs were free and you had to pay for the IB. I never did find out why the switch.</p>