IB vs AP

[gamernotwatcher]

We are coming down to the home stretch. I need to decide whether to HL in Math. Our high school is asking us to focus on either AP Calculus BC or IB Math HL not both because the time commitment does not favor doing well on both tests at once.

USNA Admission page states that the IB program provides admission favor, hooray for bonus points. Yet Calculus BC allows students to validate Calc 2 and 3.

I think I made a mistake by selecting to HL in Math. Are the placement tests at the beginning of the year more difficult to validate out of Calculus.

I do not want to retake another year of calculus just because a college.

I hope this makes sense.

 

[nuensis]

First, Calc BC only validates up to Calc 2. Second, I personally would take the IB Math. Reading through the online syllabus, it appears that Math HL covers a bit more Calculus than AP Calculus AB and appears to be more challenging. If you're up for it, I say do it.

If you're good at Calculus, you will pass the validation exams during Plebe Summer and validate Calculus I, II, and III regardless of the AP/IB exam. Don't worry about validation; except for history and psychology, every subject that can be validated with an AP/IB exam can also be validated with the USNA exam over Plebe Summer.