If you wish to go to any of the premiere American education institutions and universities, then you will need a firm foundation in high school that will set the path for future success in education and career. International Baccalaureate’s IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) and US High School’s Advanced Placement (AP) programme have the reputation of offering a progressive curriculum that is grounded in theories and teaches students relevant and transferable skills through college and beyond. When you are trying to decide between IB or AP, your aims, the requirements of the college programme that you wish to apply to and the subject availability at the school you are applying to matter.
The IB Diploma Programme is an interdisciplinary course with six subject groups, from which the students will choose six subjects and a DP Core which comprises two essays - Theory of Knowledge (ToK) and Extended Essay (EE) and the Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS). On completion of all these elements and earning a minimum score of 25/45 the student earns their IBDP certificate. Through this programme, students will learn time management, academic research and writing, foundational concepts of subjects and their application in real life, critical thinking and organisational skills. The programme is offered by international schools around the world that are affiliated with IBO.
Advanced Placement courses are offered by American High schools as additional subjects that students take to challenge themselves academically and to earn extra college credits. Students can choose to take as many AP classes as they like from the 35 offered options. AP courses are taken in addition to the regular programmes by students who want to go to the top college programmes. It is important to score well in them and the regular courses to improve one’s GPA.
IB is a full-fledged high school programme and you must complete all the course requisites to earn the diploma. Many schools offer single IB subjects as credits, but you will only earn credits for these subjects, not earn the complete diploma. AP subjects are a way to improve one’s GPA and earn college credits in the process. While IBP is a two-year programme, AP subjects are studied for a semester. Students can choose to take as many AP subjects as they like while working on their high school diploma. In the case of both programmes, students can take only those subjects that are relevant to the college programme that they are applying to. However, in IBDP there are some compulsory subjects that students have to choose. These are Mathematics, Language A and Language B. However, they have the choice to pick the level of intensity at which they will study these subjects.
Both IB and AP programmes have worldwide recognition and students who aspire to go to Ivy League colleges or enrol in top international college programmes generally opt for these courses. Both the programmes have strong value, but with IBDP the student has a more holistic learning environment and wider learning opportunities beyond the curriculum. Because of the CAS component, students have adequate hours of meaningful extracurricular activities that strengthen their student essays. Furthermore, the stress on interdisciplinary applications and critical thinking prepares them better for the college programme.
As important as the course is the school that you are studying from. They must facilitate you with good faculty, an excellent learning environment and opportunities to explore the subject through experiential learning methodologies. They must also offer subjects that you want to study and prepare you for a college path that will underline your goals.
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