Should I switch to AP? It seems SO easy!

[Maurice Ravel]

Hello,

I am in IB and my school's very competitive (meaning my IB mark could be WELL above my Ontario average which I am going to give you in a second). My Ontario average is a 90 and last night, I visited a friend who's in AP and I looked at the AP books. They are SO much simpler. The program is way less demanding in terms of volunteer hours, essays, etc. He's taking 'CREATIVE WRITING' instead of English and it's SO incredibly FOOOOOLISH. I mean commmmeee ooooon. Writing a random page of your autobiography can NOT be even remotely compared to what I have to go through to write a 1500 comparative on Hamlet and Death and the Maiden about a thoroughly intellectual topic I don't even yet understand!

I can probably get much higher marks in AP but I am already in grade eleven, so can I move to another school ('gifted' is what they call them, ain't it?). Besides, there are FAR more AP exam preparation textbooks than IB and I can easily pick courses that I am good at.

Btw, I REALLy want to get into an Ivy League. I have plenty of awards and EC's but the highest IB mark I can possibly get is a 40. And that's if I am VERY lucky with my English commentaries and the in-class essay...the ones we have to do at home are easy. Or else, I am losing all 5 marks on English PLUS a whole bunch on chem. Enough rambling I guess.

Any ideas appreciated.

Edited December 27, 2008 by Maurice Ravel

[__inthemaking]

I don't have any experience with the AP program since my school only had IB and the regular academic program. But your IB translated mark could end up giving you a much higher Ontario average in the end (my Ontario average was 92 before IB exams and 99.2 after exams). And the gifted program is different from AP..gifted is the PACE program, which is pretty much only a grade 4-8 program.

Since you're already in grade 11, I don't know how beneficial changing programs now would be to you..are you planning on taking AP in grade 12? or starting AP in January 2009?

[flsweetheart422]

If you're looking to go Ivy, you will find that factors like your GPA and SAT/ACT scores mean more than your actual IB Diploma Points. From what I can tell, and the people I've talked to IB is regarded as a more comprehensive and difficult program than AP is because in AP you can specialize and only take AP classes where you have a better chance to succeed whereas in IB, you have your set courses thanks to that beautiful hexagon. I would recommend just toughing it out and sticking to your IB guns even though it is more work and arguably more 'easy' because you will learn more and more importantly, I have found that IB teaches you HOW to learn.

So in a nutshell, if you're looking to go Ivy, I think you should stick with IB, make sure you're getting good grades from you school, and start taking the SAT and ACT now.

Good luck.

[ezex]

pfft, take both! lol. No but seriously, take both if you can. She's right about the whole "IB teachesyou HOW to learn" rather than teaching you real things. Of course I'm only referring to math and science, AP is nowhere near as good in English as IB. Ivys (the liberal arts ones, not the engineering) like IB because it toughens you up and because you can write kikass analyses on virtually anything. Problem is that believe it or not, there are much more people in IB that are waaaaaay below average on schoolwork than in AP:

There are almost 50,000 IB students or so in the states plus a couple more thousand around the world. Taking a random sample, like my school, out of the 150 from last year, about half got their dipplomas. Of those who got their diplomas, about 20 might've taken AP classes. People in IB have it easier (don't freak out I'm not done!) because it tells you how to run your life all four years of high school. Colleges like to see that they are getting mature individuals who can contribute to their comunity. An IB student, though he works hard, generally takes the classes it is assigned and rarely goes outside of the program. In your situation, I wouldn't suggest leaving IB because it would show you can't take it. Then again, if you were to take both it would show the Ivys that you're interested in something and that you're willing to fight for that. Some people just give up as soon as their school tells them they can't take AP classes if already in IB. I was one of those. In the past four years of my high school experience I have fought DOZENS of times to get what I want...to take higher math classes, to go to college at night, to take triple math, to get free periods to go to college more often. I won't tell you that it's going to work because then I'll get angry remarks about how everything in the States is always so easy and we always get what we want, but I think that's all a lie. If you truly belong in an Ivy School you have to show it, otherwise you'll just be another one of the thousands who scored high in their IB tests and...got 50 more comunity services hours than the 150 required?

AP isn't easier, it's specific, like real life. You don't go to college to get a degree in science, you go to get a degree in electrical engineering, or some branch of biochemistry. You're still in time to do a million things, Juinior year is when you try your hardest and senior year you try harder but you're used to it so you not only enjoy it, but get to relax and learn thing the right way.

By the way...what Ivy are you thinking about?

[Maurice Ravel]

[quote name='ezex' post='31169' date='Dec 28 2008, 02:16 AM']pfft, take both! lol. No but seriously, take both if you can. She's right about the whole "IB teachesyou HOW to learn" rather than teaching you real things. Of course I'm only referring to math and science, AP is nowhere near as good in English as IB. Ivys (the liberal arts ones, not the engineering) like IB because it toughens you up and because you can write kikass analyses on virtually anything. Problem is that believe it or not, there are much more people in IB that are waaaaaay below average on schoolwork than in AP:

There are almost 50,000 IB students or so in the states plus a couple more thousand around the world. Taking a random sample, like my school, out of the 150 from last year, about half got their dipplomas. Of those who got their diplomas, about 20 might've taken AP classes. People in IB have it easier (don't freak out I'm not done!) because it tells you how to run your life all four years of high school. Colleges like to see that they are getting mature individuals who can contribute to their comunity. An IB student, though he works hard, generally takes the classes it is assigned and rarely goes outside of the program. In your situation, I wouldn't suggest leaving IB because it would show you can't take it. Then again, if you were to take both it would show the Ivys that you're interested in something and that you're willing to fight for that. Some people just give up as soon as their school tells them they can't take AP classes if already in IB. I was one of those. In the past four years of my high school experience I have fought DOZENS of times to get what I want...to take higher math classes, to go to college at night, to take triple math, to get free periods to go to college more often. I won't tell you that it's going to work because then I'll get angry remarks about how everything in the States is always so easy and we always get what we want, but I think that's all a lie. If you truly belong in an Ivy School you have to show it, otherwise you'll just be another one of the thousands who scored high in their IB tests and...got 50 more comunity services hours than the 150 required?

AP isn't easier, it's specific, like real life. You don't go to college to get a degree in science, you go to get a degree in electrical engineering, or some branch of biochemistry. You're still in time to do a million things, Juinior year is when you try your hardest and senior year you try harder but you're used to it so you not only enjoy it, but get to relax and learn thing the right way.

By the way...what Ivy are you thinking about?[/quote]


I really want to get into Brown because it has a program that suits all my needs.

By the way, aren't APs just exams? Because I don't think I can take extra courses considering I am already really busy, though I was wondering if I could 'sign up' and study myself. It shouldn't be that hard since I am studying for IB already right?

[quote name='flsweetheart422' post='31118' date='Dec 27 2008, 05:06 AM']If you're looking to go Ivy, you will find that factors like your GPA and SAT/ACT scores mean more than your actual IB Diploma Points. From what I can tell, and the people I've talked to IB is regarded as a more comprehensive and difficult program than AP is because in AP you can specialize and only take AP classes where you have a better chance to succeed whereas in IB, you have your set courses thanks to that beautiful hexagon. I would recommend just toughing it out and sticking to your IB guns even though it is more work and arguably more 'easy' because you will learn more and more importantly, I have found that IB teaches you HOW to learn.

So in a nutshell, if you're looking to go Ivy, I think you should stick with IB, make sure you're getting good grades from you school, and start taking the SAT and ACT now.

Good luck.[/quote]

I need to argue over predicted marks because our math teacher is an old '*****' who hates everybody and everything even though I have a seven guaranteed.

[flsweetheart422]

In the states predicted grades do not matter. Out of the 7 schools I've applied to, I had one ask for my scores from the IB tests I took anticipated and one other school ask for my candidate number. I don't even know my predicted grades. I asked one of my teachers about it and his response was "well how you work after break will really show me how dedicated you are... I don't do predicted grades until February." And ezex is completely right! Do both! AP is just exams and you can register to take them at the end of the year. Some of the exams are scheduled for the same time, but if enough people are taking them, the ap exams can be administered at a different time.

Just so you can see what I am talking about: