IB vs AP, Which is Better for an International School Student?

Purpose

The International Baccalaureate (IB) was founded in 1968 in Switzerland as an internationally accepted university entrance qualification.

The Advanced Placement (AP) was developed by the College Board in the US in 1955 to help high school students prepare for college by offering college-level advanced courses and exams.

Philosophy

The IB aims “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.” 

The AP program aspires to give high school students a “head start” in college, by “getting familiar with college-level work”, developing “skills necessary for college”, and “discovering their passion”.

Curriculum

The full IB diploma program is a two-year program that requires students to pass IB-level classes chosen from 6 subject groups, complete a 4,000 word essay on a topic chosen by each student, as well as extracurricular activities for personal growth.

The AP is a 1 year course focused on teaching students specific knowledge and testing their understanding through the exams. Students could take any number of AP classes they prefer, depending on their school, schedule, and goals.

Subjects

57 classes in 6 subject groups (Language and literature, Foreign language, Individuals and Societies, Experimental Sciences, Math and Computer Science, and the Arts).

To earn the full Diploma, students will select 1 subject from each of the 6 subject groups with subjects available in Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL). 

It is possible to take just a few IBs without earning the diploma, but IB was developed to be a set program of courses.

38 classes in 6 subjects groups (Arts, English, History and Social Sciences, Math and Computer Science, Sciences, and AP World Languages and Cultures)

Students can choose as many subjects as they would like to study and take the exam.

Exam

In addition to being graded for their class work and assignments throughout the 2 years, students will also take the final exam, where they need to apply their learning to unknown situations or scenarios by explaining the thought process in written form.

Students can take AP exams without being enrolled in an AP class. The exam tests how much you have acquired the knowledge and skills of each specific subject, and are mainly multiple choice questions.

Accessibility

As of August 2021, there were over 7,500 IB programs being offered worldwide, across over 5,500 schools in 159 countries according to the IBO. More than 170,000 students took the exams.

In 2020, 1.21 million students took 4.1 million exams.

College Recognition

IB diploma shows colleges that the student challenges him/herself in all subject areas, and both academically and extracurricularly.

Depending on the overall grade or specific grade of a subject, some universities will give credit or placement.

AP program shows colleges that a student is highly knowledgable or has interest in a particular subject.

Almost all colleges and universities in the US and Canada  grant credit and placement for qualifying AP scores.

Recognition by Region

Universities in Europe, UK, and other parts of the world recognize the IB.

The AP is mainly catered to students planning to apply to universities in the US & Canada, although some schools in other countries will recognize and give credit.