If you want to go to college in some country other than the United States, take IB courses. The IB diploma is respected internationally.

If you want to go to college in the United States, do the AP program. Take as many courses as you like. From what I hear, I think you can get more college credit through AP. Of course that is not an official statement, but I have done enough research by looking at AP Credit Tables and IB Credit Tables for colleges in my states. It seems like you can rack up a lot more credit through AP courses if you take a good number of them (like 7 or more). Depending on the courses you take (I suggest you mix hard ones with easy ones), you won’t be completly overwhelmed if you are taking like 4-5 per year. Also, AP courses are easier (I can tell that from all the hard work my friends in IB had to go through), but they are not any less respected. At many institutions, you will not be able to get credit for IB Standard level courses (rather, you have to take Higher Level courses to get the credit), and you will have to take at least 2, and probably 3, of your courses Standard Level. So that may mean that you can only earn college credit for 3-4 of your IB courses at many US colleges and universities.

This is just my VERY biased opinion. But again, I think AP is a lot better.

The IB is more well known worldwide… the AP is more well known in the US.

The IB is better (if you are taking the Diploma) because it promotes well-rounded personalities. It gives you the opportunity to research and to do the CAS course… (mainly extracurriculars)… What is more, you can take exams in MAY AND NOVEMBER… (AP is only in may)

in the AP program you only have an external assessment (the exam_) whereas in IB you have also an internal assessment (varies according to subject)…

Anyway, they are similar.. a combination of both would be great!!!! (remember: you can take AP exams at another school, but IB doesn’t permit that…. suggestion: take the IB Diploma and study independently for some AP’s)….

good luck

For example, if your forte is science, you can choose to take AP Biology or AP Physics, etc. while at the same time taking regular level English, because maybe you aren’t as good at it. If you go the IB route, all of your classes will be advanced.

An important thing to know when deciding though is that while IB can be much more difficult, colleges look at both pretty equally.

ETA: At the end of courses, depending on whether you’ve taken AP or IB, each is tested differently. In AP, you take one AP Exam at the end of the class. In IB, you are required to have a major project, major paper, and major test in each subject.

IB is International Baccalaureate

With IB you get a special degree when you graduate.

AP is more well known, there aren’t many IB schools.

IB classes follow the cirriculum set by the International Baccalaureate Organization. It is pretty much interchangeable with AP, but AP is a little better known.