What are the benefits of AP and IB?
The Advanced Placement (AP) program and the International Baccalaureate (IB) are the two most prominent elite-level curriculums for high school students across the globe. Both programs offer students a more rigorous curriculum compared to standard high school courses and are widely recognized by post-secondary institutions all over the world.
Many parents, teachers, and students may wonder about the real-world benefits of the AP and IB programs, so in this article we will discuss the differences between them, how they affect post-secondary admissions, and the overall impact of enrolling in these advanced curriculums.
What are the differences between AP and IB?
The Advanced Placement program was created by the College Board in 1955. It offers college-level courses for high school students, which are primarily taken during grades 11 and 12. There are currently 38 AP courses and exams available, ranging from science and math to the humanities, art, music, and beyond.
In 2018, College Board also began offering Pre-AP courses for students in their first and second year of high school. The Pre-AP courses are designed to allow students to focus on the core themes in every course and develop essential skills needed to succeed in grades 11 and 12. As of 2021, there are eleven Pre-AP courses available, although there are no official Pre-AP designated schools in Canada. In the United States, over twelve thousand schools offer AP Calculus AB, while only 288 offer Pre-AP Algebra 1. Technically, students can take any AP courses beginning in grade 9, but due to its difficulty and level of critical thinking needed of students, the CollegeBoard does not recommend it until they are in grade 11 or 12.
The International Baccalaureate, on the other hand, is a complete and comprehensive programme that covers grades 1 to 12. It offers a Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students aged 3 to 12, a five-year Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students aged 11-16, and a two-year Diploma Programme (DP) for students aged 16 to 19. To learn more about the IB Programmes, click on this link. Students do not have to begin with the PYP or MYP; they can join IB in Grade 11 to get their IB Diploma. To do so, they must pass six courses, three of which must be Higher Level (HL), complete their theory of knowledge (TOK), extended essay (EE), and a creativity, activity, services (CAS) requirement. Alternatively, they can pursue an IB certificate for as many courses as they like.
In Canada, both AP and IB are well represented in schools. There are 377 IB schools in Canada (189 schools offer the DP, 172 offer the MYP, and 189 offer PYP), while 424 schools across Canada offer AP. If we compare the programs that are offered specifically in high school, AP is twice as popular as IBDP in Canada. In the United States, AP is overwhelmingly more popular, being offered in over 16,000 schools, while IB is only offered in 1,900. However, with approximately 18,000 schools offering AP courses worldwide, it is clear that it is primarily situated in the United States; IB is more evenly distributed internationally.
While the gap in comprehensiveness between AP and IB is closing, largely due to the introduction of the Pre-AP program, it is generally accepted that IB is comparatively more well-rounded.
For example, a widely accepted advantage of the IBDP curriculum is its required extra components — Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay. Theory of Knowledge is a 2-year long course designed to help students develop critical and philosophical thinking skills by prompting them to question the nature of knowledge by exploring knowledge claims in different subjects, such as the Natural Sciences, History, Art, Ethics, etc.
The Extended Essay, on the other hand, is a 4000-word essay that students are required to write within the span of 2 years; it is designed to be an individual research project where candidates write on a topic of their interest, whether it be in the area of History, Physics, Chemistry, English, Mathematics, etc. Students can obtain help from their assigned supervisor, who will most likely be skilled in the subject area and can thus guide the students through the essay. This essay, while difficult, is extremely beneficial as it provides students with the independent research skills integral to succeeding in university. This is why many top US universities love accepting IB students as they know they are intellectual scholars capable of a rigorous workload! In fact, many IB students choose to send an abstract of their Extended Essay to colleges for admissions!
Students are permitted to take IB and AP courses simultaneously. In fact, if they are not taking the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) or taking a full AP course load, it is recommended that they take courses from both curricula. However, it should be noted that students pursuing the DP program may find it overwhelming to take additional AP courses, so generally, students are advised against it.
If a school does not offer IB or AP courses, students can participate in online AP courses. However, they can only take online IB courses if they are a DP student in an IB school. If the student is homeschooling, their only option is to take AP exams from May to mid-June. It should be noted that self-directed learning can be very challenging, especially at the AP level, so students in this situation might need the help of a qualified tutor. Hack Your Course tutors have helped hundreds of students succeed in challenging AP exams, which regularly results in scores of 4 and/or 5 out of 5.
