When I was a freshman going into my sophomore year, I knew it was time to start thinking about my junior year curriculum: to do IB or not to do IB?  I knew that if I opted to do IB, I would have to take two math classes my sophomore year because I was in grade-level math, so I wanted to figure out if the experience would really be worth it.

I first had to question my preferred style of learning.  Did I like the critical thinking questions on tests, or did I prefer multiple choice questions?  Did I want to lead class discussions as part of my grade, or would I rather take notes on what is being taught and hand those in for a grade?  As it turned out, I preferred the latter in both circumstances, so I chose not to take part in the International Baccalaureate program, but instead to continue on with college prep and honors courses with the addition of some advanced placement courses as well.

Never once have I regretted choosing the path that I did.  I thoroughly enjoy the freedom that I have to pick and choose the levels of classes that I participate in.  I am definitely much stronger in English, History, and Spanish than I am in Math and Science.  Instead of having to take the same level of all of my classes, I was able to choose to take higher levels of the former to challenge myself while taking lower levels of the latter to lessen my stress load.

That being said, if you are someone who wants to take all advanced placement classes, you can do this as well.  It is certainly harder to take all AP courses than it is to take a few AP courses amongst CP and honors courses, but I have plenty of friends who have chosen to take all AP classes and they are able to handle their work just fine.  It all depends on your time management skills, your interest in the classes, and your dedication to the education that you are receiving.

One of my major concerns when choosing between IB and AP classes was how the courses would be viewed when applying to colleges.  Did IB kids have an advantage, or were the course loads viewed equally? As a senior who has already applied to college and whose friends have already heard back from their top-choice schools, I can tell you right now that AP and IB are viewed pretty equally, so you can believe your guidance counselor when he or she tells you that! Plenty of my friends, in both IB, AP, honors, and CP classes have been accepted, rejected, and even deferred from their top-choice schools – it is definitely more about your complete application than it is about AP versus IB.  IB and AP classes are perceived as having equal weight in rigor and difficulty.

Overall, the real difference between the two comes from how they are taught.  If you like to learn straightforward facts over a broader range of topics, then the AP path is probably for you.  If you like to go extremely in depth into what you are learning, but learn fewer topics in general, then the IB path is probably for you.  It really all depends what YOU want.  Do not make the mistake of choosing one or the other just because your friends told you to do; do what is best for your personal learning style.