What's Better for You: IB or AP? College Expert Guide (2024)

The Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs are both high school programs that offer college-level courses and the opportunity to earn college credit.

So what's the difference between AP and IB? Does one look more impressive than the other? Which will improve your odds of getting into a top school the most? We will introduce you to both programs and explain which one will look more impressive on your college applications.

5 Key Differences Between IB and AP

Both the AP and IB programs offer challenging courses to high school students that you can earn college credit while doing. However, their philosophies and goals are quite different.

The AP program was developed in the United States to help high school students prepare for college by taking advanced courses, with no set program of courses. Students could take just one or even a dozen AP classes, depending on their school, schedule, and goals.

In contrast, IB was developed in Switzerland to be an internationally recognized diploma. To earn the diploma, you have to take a certain number of courses in a range of subjects. It is possible to take just a few IBs without earning the diploma, but IB was developed to be a set program of courses.

Now, let's go over five key ways the two programs differ from each other.

#1: AP Is Much More Popular Than IB

The IB program is far less common than AP. More than 2.8 million students took AP exams in 2019, but only about 166,000 took IBs. Furthermore, AP reported in 2014 that over 30% of US public high students took at least one AP exam.

While AP is quite widespread, the IB program is rarer since schools have to be able to offer enough classes for the diploma in order to host an IB program. Adding IB is often more costly than starting a few AP classes.

#2: IB and AP Have Different Program Goals

The programs have different goals as well. IB has more emphasis on writing and developing critical-thinking skills—and not just on the exams themselves. The IB diploma also requires the extended essay (a long, college-style research paper) and maintains extracurricular requirements.

In contrast, the AP is a program focused on teaching students specific content and testing their knowledge via exams. There is more multiple choice on these tests and a bigger emphasis on meeting certain content goals.

#3: IB Is More Expensive Than AP

Another difference is that IB exams are more expensive for US students than AP exams.

Whereas there is a $119 fee per IB exam, AP tests cost $94 per exam for students at schools in the US, US territories, or Canada, and $124 per exam for all other students.

However, many schools have financial aid and fee-waiver programs for AP exams, so your actual cost could be lower. Talk with your guidance counselor to find out more about testing costs. (Also, remember that these fees, albeit steep, are much less than the cost of taking the equivalent course in college.)

#4: Only IB Requires You to Enroll in Classes

You can take AP exams without being enrolled in an AP class, but you must be enrolled in an IB class to be able to take an IB exam. If you have proficiency in a language that's not offered by your school or you want to self-study for a niche subject such as art history, then the AP program will give you more flexibility.

AP is a good option for students who like to study on their own.

Additionally, IB offers higher-level and standard-level courses. To get an IB diploma, you have to take at least three higher-level courses. AP courses are offered at a single level, though there are certain subjects, such as calculus and physics, that have different course options.

IB higher level is, at some high schools, considered harder than AP. Most colleges give credit for AP exams and higher-level IB exams, but not all give credit for standard-level IB exams.

You can search the AP credit policy of various colleges at the AP college database. The IB program doesn't have a similar database, but you can look up the IB credit policy of any college or university by searching "[School Name] IB credit."

You might be attracted to the IB program's focus on writing and a broad education, or you might think the AP program's flexibility makes it a better choice for you. Definitely take these differences into account as you make your choice.

But what do colleges think? Does one program have a reputation for being more rigorous?

What Do Colleges Think of IB and AP?

As it turns out, colleges don't automatically consider AP or IB harder or more impressive on a transcript. Since IB is a rarer program, they can't penalize students for not taking it. Plus, there are huge differences in how both AP and IB courses are taught and graded at high schools across the country.

Because of the differences in IB/AP course grading, colleges—especially the most selective ones—just want to see that you have taken the most challenging course load available at your school. So instead of worrying about AP versus IB, you should worry about taking the most rigorous classes your high school offers.

For example, Princeton says on its admissions website, "Whenever you can, challenge yourself with the most rigorous courses possible, such as honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and dual-enrollment courses. We will evaluate the International Baccalaureate (IB), A-levels, or another diploma in the context of the program's curriculum" (bold emphasis mine).

Princeton is more interested in how hard your schedule is considered at your school rather than whether you chose AP or IB.

So if your high school just has APs, then you should take some AP classes. If your high school has just the IB program, you should take some IB classes or, even better, go for the diploma. If your high school has both, you can take a mix.

Since IB is a diploma program and AP is not, if you're going for the most selective schools, it's smart to pursue the IB diploma if it's offered at your school. If you don't, you technically haven't taken the most challenging courses available to you.

However, if you have a demanding extracurricular schedule or are intensely committed to a few academic areas, you won't necessarily be penalized for not doing the diploma. The bottom line is that you should consider your high school's offerings and how challenging your schedule (including extracurriculars) looks in comparison.

One thing to keep in mind is that the IB diploma shows you are challenging yourself in all subject areas, whereas with the AP program you could just pick subjects you are strong in. Colleges will notice this. If you can, try to take AP classes in a broad range of subjects while digging deeper into subjects you're passionate about.

For example, if you're a writer and do well in your English classes, definitely take AP English Literature and AP English Language if you can. But you should also consider trying AP Statistics or AP Calculus to prove that you have strong quantitative skills, too.

Does IB or AP Give You More College Credit?

Another difference between the AP and IB courses is how much course credit you can earn from them at schools. If a college you're interested in seems to favor one program over the other, this could help you decide which program to pursue.

In most cases, if you earn a high passing score—for example, a 7 on IB or a 5 on AP—you will get course credit.

But one thing to keep in mind is that while IB higher-level courses are usually accepted by colleges, standard-level IB courses aren't always taken. In contrast, AP is offered at one level. So if you take three higher-level IB courses and three standard-level IB courses as part of the diploma, you might end up with less credit than you would for the same six AP courses.

Furthermore, many colleges have slight variances in credit hours between AP and IB, which could affect your decision between the two programs.

For example, at Stanford, the IB and AP credit lists are mostly the same, with language and math getting the same credit. However, you can get more credit for IB Chemistry than AP Chemistry.

Some colleges tend to give AP more credit. For example CU Boulder generally gives AP language exams more weight than IB language exams. Meanwhile, other colleges give more credit for IB. The University of Michigan, for instance, generally gives more credit hours for IB classes.

The point here is that although AP and IB credit are both widely accepted, there are lots of slight differences in credit policies. We suggest looking up policies at your target schools since the credit policies can differ.

How do you get this info? Search for "[School Name] IB credit policy" or "[School Name] AP credit Policy."

The university's web page with credit information will often be the first or second result.

If a school you're really interested in seems to vastly favor one program over the other, you should take that into consideration when weighing the IB and AP programs. But odds are that if you look up more than two or three schools, it will end up being a wash, with some schools slightly favoring IB and others favoring AP.

Also, keep in mind you only get credit in most cases if you have a 5 or higher on IB exams or a 4 or higher on AP exams. So regardless of whether you opt for AP or IB, remember to focus on doing well and passing your exams!

2 Additional Considerations for Deciding Between AP and IB

There are a couple of other factors you should think about when deciding between AP and IB.

#1: How Do They Fit With Your Scheduling and Extracurriculars?

Would doing the IB diploma prevent you from a certain extracurricular, such as yearbook, debate, or band? Are APs and IBs offered as the same class at your school? Are you ready to commit to an IB diploma, or would you prefer the flexibility of AP classes?

These are questions you should consider before signing up for either AP or IB classes. Ask your high school if they have suggested four-year plans for advanced students. This will give you an idea of what your schedule might look like and how it could conflict with any extracurriculars you want to participate in.

#2: Do IB or AP Classes Have Better Teachers at Your School?

Does your school have the same or different teachers for AP and IB courses? What are their reputations? The quality of a teacher can make or break your experience in a class.

You can ask upperclassmen about their experience in certain classes, or see if there is a way you can look at syllabi from current and past years for AP and IB classes.

You can also ask your guidance counselor about the exam pass rates for different teachers. This can give you a sense of a class's reputation and how many students are successful.

Should You Change Schools for IB?

We've talked about deciding between AP and IB at the same school. But what if your local high school doesn't offer IB and you're considering switching to a school that does?

Remember to consider the time it will take to commute!

I had to make this decision myself. My district had three high schools, but only one offered the IB program. That high school was pretty far away from my neighborhood, but it drew tons of students specifically for the IB program, and a lot of my friends were going there because they wanted to get into good colleges. I strongly considered going to that high school just so I could do the IB program.

I eventually decided to go to my neighborhood high school that offered only APs. Going to the other high school would have involved at least an hour of commuting each day, and it would have strained my family's schedule.

Since I saved time by not commuting, it was actually easier to get involved in after-school extracurriculars like debate and Model United Nations. I was also able to keep taking piano lessons and doing service work—activities I had done since I was little—because my schedule wasn't squeezed by commuting.

Furthermore, I was able to take a rigorous schedule of AP classes. I earned leadership positions in my extracurriculars by junior year. All of this helped me put together competitive college applications. I likely could have done as well at the other high school, but the point is that even without IB, I was able to pursue a rigorous and challenging high school program.

Because I took the most challenging program available at my high school, I didn't hurt my admission chances. In fact, I might have improved them by having more time for extracurriculars.

There's one exception to this worth noting, though. There was an in-state scholarship competition I was in the running for that ended up selecting most of its winners from IB schools. It's possible that for some private scholarships and organizations, IB will look more impressive. But that's a factor that could vary state by state, or even district by district.

The key here is to do your best at whatever high school you attend. Colleges are evaluating you in the context of your school. If you feel as though you won't have many opportunities to be challenged at your local high school and really want to attend a different school, you can make that call. But don't feel pressured to switch just because you think it will look better on an application.

Recap: Determining Whether AP vs IB Is a Better Fit for You

Taking either AP or IB classes will look very good on your college applications, as it shows you're challenging yourself with college-level courses. There's no real preference or benefit from doing one program or the other, as long as you do well in your chosen courses.

As one admission officer at Northwestern stated, "One qualification (AP vs IB) is not better than another."

However, you want to make sure that you are doing well in your classes and not overloading. There's no point in taking 10 AP classes or the IB diploma if you get a low GPA and don't pass the exams.

Finally, you want to be sure that other parts of your application are strong, especially your ACT/SAT score. Along with your transcript and GPA, your ACT/SAT score can have an enormous impact on your admission chances, especially at selective schools.

What's Next?

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You can also get a reliable study schedule for the SAT and ACT. The earlier you start, the more opportunity you'll have for a high score.

What's a good SAT/ACT score for the Ivy League? Find out what scores you'll need to be competitive.