IB vs. AP

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NASP

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Appreciate any advice on IB high school classes vs. AP classes on application. Currently enrolled in IB. Any idea on admission preference? Thank you!
 
USNA Admissions has told BGOs that it views AP/IB/Honors courses similarly (no preference). Thus, suggest you pick the program that is most to your liking/skill set.
 
usna1985 said:
USNA Admissions has told BGOs that it views AP/IB/Honors courses similarly (no preference). Thus, suggest you pick the program that is most to your liking/skill set.
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CA-8th academy liaison has been telling applicants that their office looks at dual enrollment more favorably than AP/IB and Honors. Just another wrench in the works. Hah.
 
I was referring only to USNA's view. It may well be that certain MOC committees view one or the other more favorably. That could be due either to personal preference/familiarity or the fact that, in certain districts, one of those programs is known as particularly strong (or weak). It may also be that certain civilian colleges (or even other SAs) have a preference, which students want to consider as they plan for alternatives to USNA.

On this forum, we can only state what USNA thinks and, in this case, they have recently given clear direction on this topic.
 
DesertCaliMom said:
usna1985 said:
USNA Admissions has told BGOs that it views AP/IB/Honors courses similarly (no preference). Thus, suggest you pick the program that is most to your liking/skill set.
Click to expand...
CA-8th academy liaison has been telling applicants that their office looks at dual enrollment more favorably than AP/IB and Honors. Just another wrench in the works. Hah.
Click to expand...
Hi Mom, I teach in the 10th largest district in the country and our DE articulation is only with the local community college. It is the second largest community college system in the country, but it is still community college. Many of our students initially believe their DE credits can be used at UVA or any other school in the state but this is not true. I don't know how your articulation agreement reads. It may be the credits transfer to four year schools. In my district, the DE classes are all taught the same since the classes are made up of non-DE students as well. The big difference is administrative such as syllabus and college over site of the teacher as far as credentialing, etc.

I feel AP/IB as stated above is viewed equally and is far more valuable than duel enrollment.
 
When we attended a USNA/NROTC informational seminar several summers ago, I remember one thing in particular that was talked about. I forget the name of the person on stage who made the comment, but he was the one running the show. The question asked from the audience was specifically about AP vs Honors, but I think the spirit of his answer applies here as well. The question was if taking as many AP classes as possible would increase the chances of getting accepted. He answered that yes, taking AP classes is important, but it is also important to succeed. He advised taking AP classes to show that you are capable of handling higher level courses. But he also said getting straight Cs in all AP classes will not help your cause as much as taking one or two AP classes and the rest honors level while getting As and maybe a few Bs. Of course if you can fill your entire schedule with AP classes and get straight As, then go for it. He stressed again at the end that the academy wants to see students challenging themselves, but also succeed.

The other thing I remember him stressing is to always know who won the last Army/Navy football game, and make sure you know what the score was. It never came up in any of my son's interviews, but he memorized the scores from the past 15 years just to be safe...
 
The other thing I remember him stressing is to always know who won the last Army/Navy football game, and make sure you know what the score was. It never came up in any of my son's interviews, but he memorized the scores from the past 15 years just to be safe...
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I assume he was joking. If he was serious, I hope he's not in a decision-making position. If he is . . . that's just plain scary.

I could maybe see knowing which team won if your interview was within a week of the game's conclusion, but even then . . . :rolleyes:

I don't know the score from this year. And the only reason I even know who won the last 10 years is that there have been only two streaks of winning during that time (USNA for a long while and USMA in recent years). I couldn't tell you any of the scores if my life depended on it. Nor do I care. And I CERTAINLY would not expect a candidate to know.

As an aside, I do agree with comments re AP courses and this has been echoed by USNA Admissions. Taking AP/IB/Honors classes and doing poorly isn't going to be a winning strategy.
 
The textbook answer is to take the most challenging curriculum your schools has to offer, and do well. Admissions gets a school profile, and knows what curriculum is offered. Not all schools offer AP/IB courses , particularly in the rural US, and that is not held against the candidates as long as they take full advantage of the opportunities their school offers.

Brewmeist hits upon the age old question of whether its better to take more AP classes with lower performance, or excel in a fewer number of AP classes. The answer is easy ... you want to take as many as you can, and do well in all of them. (My personal view is that the grade in an AP class should be based upon the score on the standardized test if you want to get credit for taking an AP class, as I saw a wide variety in the quality of AP programs when my daughters were in High School.


brewmeist said:
The other thing I remember him stressing is to always know who won the last Army/Navy football game, and make sure you know what the score was. It never came up in any of my son's interviews, but he memorized the scores from the past 15 years just to be safe...
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I don't know who your speaker was, and hope this comment was made in jest ... sure, it can't hurt to know who won the last game, but nobody expects a candidate to memorize scores for the last 15 years. One could argue that memorizing the scores demonstrates motivation, but seems to be a complete waste of effort . This is a good reminder for all of us to bec careful what we say when representing the Naval Academy, that even an innocuous quip can create unnecessary angst.
 
My son took all the honors and AP classes offered. He said the difference between the two was negligible. The AP classes had a final exam used by the local community college.
 
With regard to AP vs IB, I do wonder if there might not be some preference for AP (compared to IB) at USNA. The only reason I suggest this is USNA's listing of courses for validation. For example: AP Calc AB validates Calc. 1 and BC validated Calc 2 but IB HL Math is not accepted for validation. Only AP classes are listed for language validation. That's not to say that one couldn't validate courses through testing during Plebe summer. Not sure why this is but I suspect it may have to do with less familiarity and track record with IB courses. Just an observation.
 
I probably should not have mentioned the football game comment because it brings things off-topic, but the comment was said. At the time I took it as a joke, but on the way home we talked about it and weren't 100% sure. Old Navy BGO makes a great point. There is no point in needlessly adding extra stress. There's already enough stress.
 
With regard to AP vs IB, I do wonder if there might not be some preference for AP (compared to IB) at USNA. The only reason I suggest this is USNA's listing of courses for validation. AP Calc AB validates Calc. 1 and BC validated Calc 2 but IB HL Math is not accepted for validation
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Two things . . . first, there is a difference in admissions (getting in) and validation (once you are in). The OP's question went to the effect on admissions.

Second, my understanding is that validation tests administered during Plebe Summer are required to validate calculus because, in part, not all AP classes are considered equal. Maybe that has changed. Historically, scores of 4 or 5 (depending on subject) on AP subject tests could be used to validate certain courses -- but not calc or chem.
 
If you have the choice, I would take AP. Our school offers only IB classes and my kids had to explain what that meant several times during the application process, including to those on the interview committees. Even though my kids were full IB diploma candidates, it did not seem to count as much as those taking only 2-3 AP classes. For back-up schools, it varied depending mostly on what part of the country they were in, but we found many admissions departments also did not value IB as much as AP.
 
usna1985 said:
With regard to AP vs IB, I do wonder if there might not be some preference for AP (compared to IB) at USNA. The only reason I suggest this is USNA's listing of courses for validation. AP Calc AB validates Calc. 1 and BC validated Calc 2 but IB HL Math is not accepted for validation
Click to expand...

Two things . . . first, there is a difference in admissions (getting in) and validation (once you are in). The OP's question went to the effect on admissions.

Second, my understanding is that validation tests administered during Plebe Summer are required to validate calculus because, in part, not all AP classes are considered equal. Maybe that has changed. Historically, scores of 4 or 5 (depending on subject) on AP subject tests could be used to validate certain courses -- but not calc or chem.
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FYI, the USNA Math Department page indicates validation of Calculus I via AP (score 4 or 5) or IB ("high scores").
 
I have no basis to question whether admissions views IB vs AP differently (one preferred over the other) but I only note that with regard to plebe year class validation, there seems to be a difference. The more I think about it, the more I concur with what BGOs on this forum continuously expound - take the hardest classes offered that you can succeed at. At my DS's school, they have the IB program (they proudly call themselves an "IB school") and only offer a few AP classes (freshman and sophomore). Other schools have both throughout school and one can do both.

FMHS-79 - good catch! The validation page on the USNA web site only lists AP courses for validation but the Math Dept. includes consideration for IB. I suspect they simply don't see that many IB validation plebes, compared to AP.
 
It appears you can now validate Calc based on test scores from AP/IB national tests. Definitely a change from my day and also makes more sense than AP/IB grades, which are school dependent. Thanks for the link!!
 
As a BGO and a MidDad I've always approached this question from a slightly different POV: Do whatever it takes to best prepare yourself for success AT the Academy. You know you will be expected to take CALC 1 and CHEM 1 first semester. So... whether you take AP Chemistry and get a 5 on the AP exam or take CHEM 1 as a dual enrollment and get an A, you have a pretty good idea you will do well in Plebe Chemistry. (And Admissions logically thinks the same way... at least that's what they teach us in BGO School). As for Validating classes... Plebes take an exam during Plebe Summer which determines yay or nay. Period.
 
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