AP vs IB vs college classes

[cheme]

We are trying to decide on a high school for dd next year and I'm feeling like we have too many choices! I'd love to get your thoughts on what we should be thinking about for each of these choices.

#1 - public HS - normal, large (~2000 student) school. AP classes for highest level. Large class sizes (~35)

#2 - public HS - normal, large school (also ~2000 students) Has an IB program for 11th and 12th grade. 9th and 10th are "pre-IB" core classes taught by IB trained teachers. One negative I've heard is that the 11-12th IB curriculum is planned out so there aren't many (possibly any?) elective choices. Class sizes would be smaller for the IB classes.

#3 - public HS, but is a "school of choice" and is much smaller (~250 students). Smaller classes (~20-25) and teachers that get to know the students. Has AP class choices, but also encourages students to take some junior/senior classes at the local public university (not a top tier school - but in the top 100 of public universities) or community college. Has some, but not many extracurricular activities - you can participate in the extracurriculars at your local public school, but it can be hard to get there in time. Sometimes elective choices may be limited because of scheduling, but overall there are quite a few choices.

We will go to the open houses and dd should be able to shadow a student at each school. What would you look for and/or ask each school? Do you feel that either AP or IB is better? Or the same? What about college classes? Would other colleges even accept the class credit or are they more likely to accept AP/IB credit - and does it even matter?! I know I went in to college with 30-some AP credits, but it didn't help me graduate more quickly because I still had to follow the four year engineering class schedule. It mostly let me start in a higher math and take fewer credits each semester.

Thanks for any thoughts!

[vonfirmath]

Your experience is typical for an engineering schedule.

What is more, SO MANY kids take AP/IP/College credit, most of what those classes do is help you get into college. If all the competition is already taking college level courses in one way or another...

Something to think about with college courses -- it involves logistics to get to and from college campus. Do you have the ability to get your student to the college? Realize that the time of the classes could also limit other things the student can do -- esp at a small school that is not going to have lots of choices of times you can take certain classes.

I expect that AP vs IB vs college class is fairly equivalent -- in terms of colleges taking. If your kid already has an idea what college they might want to go to, you might contact them and see if they have a preference. Otherwise, it will come down to the school and where your kiddo fits in best and which will fit your families' priorities the best.

[gymnbomb]

I went to college with 20 something AP and college credits. They helped me get a better parking spot my freshman year and avoid 1 or 2 classes I didn't want to take in college, but that was really it. It took me 4.5 years to graduate because I changed my major after my second year. College was a positive experience for me, but the credits didn't make a big difference in that.

I now teach at a state university, and I have had some students tell me the graduate schools (PT/PA and similar) they are applying for have prerequisites that cannot be from AP (and I imagine also not from IB). We also tell students to take their core science courses at a 4 year school if they are wanting to go to graduate school. Having one of them from a community college is probably not a big deal, especially in a situation where maybe they took Chemistry 1 at a CC and then went on to take Organic Chem and Biochem at a 4 year school, but we try to avoid situations like them taking anatomy and physiology at home at a CC in the summer because some grad schools don't like it.

It looks like they all offer some reasonable upper level options, so I would look at the other aspects of the schools -- location, class size, schedule, electives/extracurriculars in her areas of interest, etc. -- and make the decision on those factors.

Edit: There is a reasonable chance that one or both of the large high schools will also allow her to go take some classes at a local college even if they don't advertise it. My HS offered AP and some dual credit (CC enrollment & credit but taken at the high school during regular class times) classes, but also allowed students to leave to take classes at local CC or local Catholic College.

[JElaineB]

I work at a large, public university (R1, AAU member, NCAA Division I). I am the credit by exam coordinator for the the largest undergraduate college (liberal arts & sciences) and working closely with Admissions and other colleges at the university in dealing with AP, IB, CLEP, CIE, and other types of credit by exam, and I see tons of transfer credit as well.

First, I think you should base your decision for DC as to which school is best after visiting/shadowing/etc. along with school size (since choice #3 is clearly a much different size). I don't think you should make a huge part of your decision on AP vs. IB vs. community college possibilities.

That said, there are differences among the three types of credit. AP is widely accepted but the score cutoffs and which exams are likely to be different for different colleges. Look on college websites for credit by exam or similar to see. The scores listed on the AP website tend not to give the full picture. IB credit is not as widely accepted or recognized. My university does not recognize the IB diploma, but will give credit for individual IB exams (Higher Level exams only). We do not accept all IB exams. Being a public university we must accept transfer credit from any regionally-accredited institution of higher learning including community colleges. So that credit is widely accepted. At my university we have a limit of 30 s.h. of credit by exam but 60 s.h. credit from a community college.

My opinion - students with AP credit tend to be good students. If they were able to pass AP exams they will be successful in college. The AP credit does not tend to mean they will graduate early. These students are go-getters who will want the full 4-year college experience and will fill in the extra time with additional credentials (second major, minor, internships, study abroad, etc.). IB I don't have as good of a feeling for because we have so few students come in with IB credit. It just tend to be on their record and not have a big impact on their progress towards graduation. There is a big push in my state for students to take community college courses in high school. I don't know about where you are, but community college courses, especially those taught at the high school, are not really the equivalent to university level courses, though we have to articulate them as if they were. We find students need to repeat math, language and other courses if they want to move beyond those levels at the university. We have done studies that found 12 credits is the "sweet spot" for community college credit while in high school - more than that the student is actually less prepared for the 4-year college experience than they should be. They get to the university thinking the courses will be the same as the community college courses and they have rude awakening their first semester. Average students here can take community college courses, so there really isn't anything that makes a student with community college coursework make me think they would stand out in any way just for having taken it.

ETA: I agree with gymnbomb's assessment about possible impact on AP and community college credit on graduate/professional school opportunities.

[Percycat]

Thanks for the insight JElaineB.

[KpbS]

I would be inclined to chose school number 3 because I think AP credit courses are a good thing and smaller environments with more teacher involvement produce better outcomes and better student involvement. Plus dual enrollment/credit is excellent for high school upperclassmen needing a challenge and introduction to college classes. DS1 is in a school that offers the same and has the possibility of graduating with 12 plus college credit hours (or more) if he chooses. It is one of the main draws for us in choosing his school.

[wendibird22]

I work at a large, public university (R1, AAU member, NCAA Division I). I am the credit by exam coordinator for the the largest undergraduate college (liberal arts & sciences) and working closely with Admissions and other colleges at the university in dealing with AP, IB, CLEP, CIE, and other types of credit by exam, and I see tons of transfer credit as well.

First, I think you should base your decision for DC as to which school is best after visiting/shadowing/etc. along with school size (since choice #3 is clearly a much different size). I don't think you should make a huge part of your decision on AP vs. IB vs. community college possibilities.

That said, there are differences among the three types of credit. AP is widely accepted but the score cutoffs and which exams are likely to be different for different colleges. Look on college websites for credit by exam or similar to see. The scores listed on the AP website tend not to give the full picture. IB credit is not as widely accepted or recognized. My university does not recognize the IB diploma, but will give credit for individual IB exams (Higher Level exams only). We do not accept all IB exams. Being a public university we must accept transfer credit from any regionally-accredited institution of higher learning including community colleges. So that credit is widely accepted. At my university we have a limit of 30 s.h. of credit by exam but 60 s.h. credit from a community college.

My opinion - students with AP credit tend to be good students. If they were able to pass AP exams they will be successful in college. The AP credit does not tend to mean they will graduate early. These students are go-getters who will want the full 4-year college experience and will fill in the extra time with additional credentials (second major, minor, internships, study abroad, etc.). IB I don't have as good of a feeling for because we have so few students come in with IB credit. It just tend to be on their record and not have a big impact on their progress towards graduation. There is a big push in my state for students to take community college courses in high school. I don't know about where you are, but community college courses, especially those taught at the high school, are not really the equivalent to university level courses, though we have to articulate them as if they were. We find students need to repeat math, language and other courses if they want to move beyond those levels at the university. We have done studies that found 12 credits is the "sweet spot" for community college credit while in high school - more than that the student is actually less prepared for the 4-year college experience than they should be. They get to the university thinking the courses will be the same as the community college courses and they have rude awakening their first semester. Average students here can take community college courses, so there really isn't anything that makes a student with community college coursework make me think they would stand out in any way just for having taken it.

ETA: I agree with gymnbomb's assessment about possible impact on AP and community college credit on graduate/professional school opportunities.

Yes to all of this. I work in H.Ed. at a highly selective state campus. Almost all of our students come in with 30-60 credits as first semester freshmen. And despite this credit load, they are still considered first-time, first-year undergraduates. Though the AP or CC credits may exempt them from a course or two, it does not necessarily waive a requirement of a major OR of a common curriculum class...it just may mean they have to take something different. So, for example, AP Spanish may count towards a language requirement, but may still be required to take something in the language category of the gen ed/common curriculum. And like JElaineB state, these are almost always go getters who pick up a double major, a 2nd minor, do a semester or year externship in a foreign country, etc. I rarely see AP/CC credits as a way for our students to save time and/or money. I also agree that CC courses earned at the high school are viewed very differently than CC courses taken at the CC campus, and even those may not have enough rigor to prepare a student for subsequent courses at their university. I've had students take Chem 1 at the CC at home and then feel way overwhelmed and unprepared to take Chem 2 back here on campus.


And my oh my things are so different than when I was in high school for sure. I remember a time when having 1 or 2 AP courses to transfer in was seen as a big deal.

[AnnieW625]

I took no ap classes in high school (although this was from 91 to 95 so offerings were limited) and still went and graduated from one of the most competitive universities in California, and graduated in 4.5 yrs. . I would probably lean towards option1. 2000 students ta would be ideal for me as our local high schools have 4500 students.

[legaleagle]

I went to an extremely competitive public IB school, back when there were very few - early 90s. Most of my classmates also took the AP test along with the IB test since IB covered at least as much as the AP curriculum. I had almost 30 credits when I started college, and ended up graduating in 3 years + 2 summer classes but my course load was kind of insane, and I wasn't an engineer.

[jenmcadams]

Depending on your daughter's extracurricular interests and what she's looking for socially, I'd lean towards #1. My DD went to a very competitive independent K-12 private school for middle school and decided to make the switch to our neighborhood public for high school (smaller than yours, but same vibe from your description). She had the option of an IB program as well, but in our area, IB is known for killer HW loads and a lot of rigidity in the curriculum and choices in Jr/Sr year (during the actual IB program). My DD is a strong student across the board, but not freakishly strong :). As perspective, she's taking an all honors load including French IV, AP Human Geo and Honors Algebra2 as a freshman, but she really didn't want to be doing 4+ hours of HW a night (which was average for her friends in IB). She does two sports (Varsity XC and Club swimming) + she sings in an auditioned choir. She wants to do the musical and is doing a lot of leadership/community service stuff. She may not get straight A's, but she's doing well in these classes and she's managing the workload and time. I don't think she'd be able to do the same at our local IB school. I also don't love the IB curriculum for all kids. I like the idea of being able to choose which courses you take AP in and not having to be advanced across the board. While my daughter is relatively accelerated in math now, she could hit a stumbling block and with AP, it seems like it will be easier to slow down (e.g. with AP, she could go from Pre-Calc to Calc AB instead of straight to Calc BC). Another factor for us was school size - the local IB program is at the largest highschool in our district. Having spent middle school in a class of 80 kids, the jump to 300/grade was big, but going all the way to 500 would have been tougher. The smaller high school also means they are more flexible about kids doing sports and music. At the high school in our area with IB, you really can't do both.

Finally, a friend of mine worked in admissions at a super elite school (think Stanford, Yale, Princeton) and she said they don't care. They want to know that kids have taken a rigorous class load and have taken advantage of what their school offers. High School Counselors have to fill out a basic recommendation form and there's a checkbox that asks if a student took the most rigorous courseload available. Getting that box checked is what matters to them - at an IB school, that might mean taking the full IB Diploma, but at a school with AP Courses, it probably means taking a reasonable number of those courses.

[ahisma]

I went to an extremely competitive public IB school, back when there were very few - early 90s. Most of my classmates also took the AP test along with the IB test since IB covered at least as much as the AP curriculum. I had almost 30 credits when I started college, and ended up graduating in 3 years + 2 summer classes but my course load was kind of insane, and I wasn't an engineer.

Our HS has recently received IB status. This is my understanding of how it's structured, although it came through just as DD1 was graduating and DS1 is still a ways off from HS.

Does the IB school have only the IB track? I'd be hesitant to commit to that, but maybe it's my bias towards our school. We have about 230 students / grade and they can opt for the standard track, AP, or IB. DS1 is 99th percentile within our district, but even so I'd hesitate to commit him to an accelerated track without a plan B option available if he wants to slow down a bit.

[chemnerd]

I have taught at 2 IB schools. Both also had AP courses. I agree with the previous comments about IB students having a heavier load of homework and a more rigid program. However I also see my IB students receiving more scholarships than others and having greater success in college. My point of view might be skewed by having both programs at the same school though.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[StantonHyde]

Our IB students here can basically skip 2 years of college at several of the state universities. So it depends on where you want to go to school. The college I went to took AP and IB credit and college courses you took in high school but it didn't get you out of any requirements. So even though I took a Philosophy college class, I still had to fulfill a philosophy type requirement when I went to college. I did have the equivalent of 2 classes worth of credit and that allowed me to drop to only 3 classes one semester and TA another semester.

I think you are much better off with the AP and/or IB. DD will go to an IB school that also offers AP-they take honors classes their freshman year, AP is sophomore year and IB is the last 2 years. IB has many other requirements aside from the academics--students have to volunteer in the community etc. My plan is for DD to go as far as she wants. She doesn't have to get the IB diploma but she can take classes in that track. And she can a bunch of AP classes. She will also have lots of elective options because it is a larger school. The good thing about the IB track is that she will be in smaller classes (30 classes in HS is small here) with dedicated learners. Sort of like being in an Honors College at a state school.

[egoldber]

Personally, I would go with option 1. My DD has enjoyed being able to try different types of activities and classes that are often just not available at a smaller school.

I also would not like for her to have to feel committed to a full IB diploma experience in school. The amount of homework could be incredible. One thing I prefer about AP is it is more customizable to a student's interests.

I will say that as a parent of a HSer, I find the trend for so many AP classes in HS to be appalling. The HW load is wretched for many of these classes and as several PP have said, you have to take classes in your major or pre-reqs for grad school at the college/university anyway. I know so many kids who pile on the AP classes because they feel like they have to in order to be competitive for college entry or to get the "GPA bump". DD feels like a "slacker" for only planning to take 6 AP classes. And then we wonder why several of our local high schools have become suicide clusters. The pressure on these kids is unreal.

[baymom]

I earned the IB diploma in HS a million years ago and also took AP classes/tests. With my own experience coloring my view, I plan to encourage DC to focus on AP and skip IB. It is incredibly time consuming and I since I took AP tests in the same higher level IB subjects, it didn't make any difference, in terms of graduating earlier. I took 4 years to graduate. It's just an extra thing to put on your college application. I still did do sports and other extra curriculars, but remember never having any down time. Seriously, ever, for ALL of high school. I went to a highly ranked, large public university and feel like I was already burned out when I got there. For my own kids, I'd rather they have a more balanced HS life and focus on APs.

[AnnieW625]

Personally, I would go with option 1. My DD has enjoyed being able to try different types of activities and classes that are often just not available at a smaller school.

I also would not like for her to have to feel committed to a full IB diploma experience in school. The amount of homework could be incredible. One thing I prefer about AP is it is more customizable to a student's interests.

I will say that as a parent of a HSer, I find the trend for so many AP classes in HS to be appalling. The HW load is wretched for many of these classes and as several PP have said, you have to take classes in your major or pre-reqs for grad school at the college/university anyway. I know so many kids who pile on the AP classes because they feel like they have to in order to be competitive for college entry or to get the "GPA bump". DD feels like a "slacker" for only planning to take 6 AP classes. And then we wonder why several of our local high schools have become suicide clusters. The pressure on these kids is unreal.

I do not have a high school student, but agree with all of the above. I want my child to be happy in high school and have the a typical high school experience and extra curricular opportunities. My cousin who is 24 completed an ib program at a large Bay Area high school known for the program, and she said it was harder than her freshman at Miami University-Ohio; she was well prepared for college, but she regretted it a bit and still took four years to graduate from college.

[cheme]

Thanks for all the thoughts! Lots to think about. All three high schools have AP courses as an option, but school #1 does have the most AP course offerings. School 2 has some AP, but with all the IB classes it seems they have fewer AP choices. School 3 has several AP also, but they do encourage the college classes as well.

I really should have titled this thread "choosing a high school" - because I am thinking about everything else too, not just AP vs IB vs college. Dd will be coming from a combined elementary/middle school of 300 students so options 1 and 2 are going to feel huge to her and I do worry about the huge class sizes and not getting to know teachers that she would have at school 1. School 2 would also have large classes, but she would get to know more teachers and have smaller classes if she was on the IB track.

I do worry about extracurriculars too - I feel that those are just as important as the academics in many ways! Unfortunately, dd is not big on the extracurriculars. :( I plan to require her to do something, but we will have to see how that goes! I'm not sure if she will be more likely to do them at the small school (fewer choices, but maybe a higher percentage of kids do them) or the big school (many choices).

We do know former students from our current elementary/middle school that have gone to all three schools. Options 2 and 3 seem to get better reviews than option 1. I'm not sure why option 2 gets better reviews than option 1. Option 2 is more economically and racially diverse, while option 1 is in the "richer" area and the people that seem to like it are the ones really into sports. I think option 2 has a smaller feel somehow even though it is the same size.

[AnnieW625]

About 1/3rd to 1/2 of the 8th grade class at my kids school (same size as yours) go to the large public high schools in our district all of which have 4000 students or more and they do well in whatever interest area they are assigned to (honors, creative arts, science, math, and business are the ones that come to mind) The rest of the kids go to Catholic or Christian high schools).

[cheme]

Another question - what is freshman year like at your high schools? We are in a very low ranked state educationally so I'm not sure how this is other places, but all I hear from the parents with kids in HS is how easy freshman year is. It frustrates me because I know that jr/sr year will be very stressful! Why not even it out a bit? I'm just wondering if this is common in other areas of the county? I'm told by my friend that is a HS counselor that its because the drop out rate is so high for freshman here. But that doesn't seem like it would apply to honors classes so it is still confusing to me!

[wallawala]

Thanks for all the thoughts! Lots to think about. All three high schools have AP courses as an option, but school #1 does have the most AP course offerings. School 2 has some AP, but with all the IB classes it seems they have fewer AP choices. School 3 has several AP also, but they do encourage the college classes as well.

I really should have titled this thread "choosing a high school" - because I am thinking about everything else too, not just AP vs IB vs college. Dd will be coming from a combined elementary/middle school of 300 students so options 1 and 2 are going to feel huge to her and I do worry about the huge class sizes and not getting to know teachers that she would have at school 1. School 2 would also have large classes, but she would get to know more teachers and have smaller classes if she was on the IB track.

I do worry about extracurriculars too - I feel that those are just as important as the academics in many ways! Unfortunately, dd is not big on the extracurriculars. :( I plan to require her to do something, but we will have to see how that goes! I'm not sure if she will be more likely to do them at the small school (fewer choices, but maybe a higher percentage of kids do them) or the big school (many choices).

We do know former students from our current elementary/middle school that have gone to all three schools. Options 2 and 3 seem to get better reviews than option 1. I'm not sure why option 2 gets better reviews than option 1. Option 2 is more economically and racially diverse, while option 1 is in the "richer" area and the people that seem to like it are the ones really into sports. I think option 2 has a smaller feel somehow even though it is the same size.


I went to an IB "magnet" school in the early 90's, so things may have changed. It was a local high school that was by far the poorest, and most racially diverse. The IB students were bused in from their public schools. While AP classes were offered, the IB classes and the fact that we were kept together in coursework meant we didn't take those. I was previously at a very small K-12 school (60 kids/grade), and the IB magnet location was actually the public high school I was zoned for if I had not been IB. There were about 400 kids/grade, and 100 of those were IB track.

The competition was fierce. I was not in the top 25 with a 3.8 average (this was the dark ages when there was no such thing a GPA "5"). My senior HS year was way tougher than my college years! I, like most of the IB diploma track students, also took the AP exams as fewer colleges were familiar with IB back then. The IB diploma earned me a full ride through college, so while I also received a full year of course credit... I used all 4 years to take courses out of my field, minor in math, publish research with a professor, and study abroad. Graduating in 3 years wouldn't have helped me, as I wasn't paying. All the extra time in college helped me get a very competitive scholarship that paid my way for med school. The long term savings were staggering. Not the path that all IB'ers take, and certainly not a path I was even interested in when I signed up for IB in 9th grade, but doors were open.

The IB program was tough but emphasized more than just academics. As someone mentioned above, you have to have service hours, and a few other commitments as well. As the program was just part of a regular HS, all the extracurricular were available. Many IB students played varsity sports. I think working so hard in HS taught me how to work hard, and ESPECIALLY how to deal with not being the smartest or the highest score even when I as trying as hard as I could. Life lessons that made college, and then a combined MD/PhD program a better experience. It's the work, and lots of it over time, that is more important than your grades if you really want to survive.

I think you should decide after having your DC shadow at all three.
My DD- I'd pick the IB option over the other choices you mention in a heartbeat. It's her style and you can still also take the AP exams if you want. My DS, not sure, I think he'd probably do better in option 3. So really depends on your kid, but I had a very valuable experience with IB.

[cheme]

I think you are much better off with the AP and/or IB. DD will go to an IB school that also offers AP-they take honors classes their freshman year, AP is sophomore year and IB is the last 2 years. IB has many other requirements aside from the academics--students have to volunteer in the community etc. My plan is for DD to go as far as she wants. She doesn't have to get the IB diploma but she can take classes in that track. And she can a bunch of AP classes. She will also have lots of elective options because it is a larger school. The good thing about the IB track is that she will be in smaller classes (30 classes in HS is small here) with dedicated learners. Sort of like being in an Honors College at a state school.

What AP classes are sophomore year? Here I think they only one they can take is AP World History - but this ties into my question above about HS freshman years and how useful/challenging they are, or are not, in different parts of the country. Sadly, we have heard from many families who went on to HS from our MS and even with all honors classes, the kids just aren't challenged freshman year at all here. Her current teacher and I have tried to figure out how she could skip/test out of some of the easier classes - English 9 (honors) for example - but we keep being told that it isn't an option. It is frustrating!

[legaleagle]

My senior HS year was way tougher than my college years!

Yes! College & law school were easy compared to IB for sure. When I got to college I wondered why everyone else was freaking out about the workload - I had so much more free time than I had in high school.

[egoldber]

What AP classes are sophomore year?

This will depend on the school. My DD is a sophomore in a magnet HS. As her elective she is taking AP Comp Sci this year. Many kids in her grade are taking AP Biology, AP Psychology (elective), AP Micro/Macroeconomics (elective), AP Calculus AB or BC (there is a heavily accelerated math track in this school), and some kids may be in an AP language depending on if their MS had languages and/or they were in a language immersion elementary school.

All that being said, even in her very competitive school, almost NO freshman take AP classes. The transition from MS to HS is really difficult for a lot of kids. Even if your MS was competitive, the HS work load can be astronomical in comparison. Having a hard freshman year would make that transition even harder for a lot of kids.

And as the years go by, the course and work load ramps up. So it may just be that the freshman year seems easy in comparison by the time you have a junior or a senior!

[jenmcadams]

Another question - what is freshman year like at your high schools? We are in a very low ranked state educationally so I'm not sure how this is other places, but all I hear from the parents with kids in HS is how easy freshman year is. It frustrates me because I know that jr/sr year will be very stressful! Why not even it out a bit? I'm just wondering if this is common in other areas of the county? I'm told by my friend that is a HS counselor that its because the drop out rate is so high for freshman here. But that doesn't seem like it would apply to honors classes so it is still confusing to me!

My DD chose to attend our neighborhood public high school after private middle and one of the things she likes is that they have a GT Center (one of the few high school GT centers in the country). The GT Center has two full time teachers who teach a GT Elective (lots of independent studies based on the autonomous learner model) that's offered every semester in high school (my DD is taking it in place of normal freshman seminar this year). More important for my DD though is the way they customize the curriculum and allow kids to accelerate beyond the normal schedule. As a freshman, my daughter is taking 8 classes in 7 periods (she splits the GT Elective with Advanced Acting), all honors academic classes (Alg2 Honors, English Honors, AP Human Geo, Honors Bio (sophomore class) and French IV) and she was able to audtion for an advanced choir. The school has bent over backward to accomodate her interests and make the schedule work. In some ways, the workload is less than the average freshman because French IV is mostly conversational and project based (no listening lab) and she's not taking some of the typical freshman weedout classes (Honors Earth Sci and Geometry Honors are notoriously hard at her school, but she took both in middle school). Our school is very diverse and has a lot of AP options, but the best thing is that they're flexible and want to meet each kid where they're at. Her HW load isn't awful, but it's not super easy either.

[StantonHyde]

And remind your DD that extracurriculars are the way to meet people and keep up with friends. Kids get scheduled with so much that there isn't lots of hang out time. So if you want to see your friends, you want to get in the same clubs with them.

[cheme]

Wow - well, there is a reason that the schools in our state rank 48-50th in the US every year! The three schools we are looking at are in the top five public schools in the state and none of what you are saying is possible at any of them! I have no concerns at all about the transition from our MS to HS. I've talked with many families, and even taking the most advanced courses offered to freshman, the kids just aren't challenged in 9th grade. Our state probably has the highest (or close to the highest) freshman dropout rate in the nation so I've been told that drives it, but I really wish there were some true honors courses at least! I do know the difficulty picks up sophomore year, and gets crazy hard for junior/senior years (if you choose the hard courses), but I honestly do not know a single person that left our MS and had any trouble with 9th grade workload. I'd like her to take some sophomore classes, and her current teacher and principal would definitely advocate for her, but the counselors I've talked to say it's not allowed and she should enjoy the easy year. I'm okay with some easier classes as I do value extracurriculars. I just want her to stay challenged too!

[bisous]

Holy cow, OP. The choices for my DS1 for high school look so similar to what you've posted in your OP! He's in 7th this year so we have some time to think about this but it is a hard decision for everyone I know. Unlike some of the other communities I've lived in where you just pretty much attend the local high school, every kid I know around here goes through this period of angst trying to decide on the right fit.

We're leaning towards the smaller option for DS1 but he has some disabilities that would be easier to keep on top of in a smaller school--definitely not something you appear to be dealing with. I will say that my neighbor is a 9th grader at the smaller, local school and in addition to his courseload he is also taking a class for college credit and doesn't feel too overwhelmed. In that way it seems like 9th grade is a little bit more laidback than maybe subsequent years!

[maestramommy]

Our town HS has both AP and IB. I think whether you want one or the other matters more depending on what colleges you are aiming for. Some accept one more than the other. BUT there are kids at the school that go for the IB diploma just because they are really driven and that's what they want, so college choice doesn't really factor into it. I remember hearing that if you have that diploma it says enough about the student that colleges need to know.

ETA: Probably the same as other schools, but at ours you can take IB classes without going for the full diploma.

[bigsis]

Am I the only one? What's IB? :bag

[maestramommy]

Am I the only one? What's IB? :bag


International Baccalaureate. A HS diploma program, although I think there are some schools that start in elementary
. http://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/

[KrisM]

International Baccalaureate. A HS diploma program, although I think there are some schools that start in elementary
. http://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/

Our entire district is IB. My kids have/will have the PYP certificate for elementary (primary years program), the MYP for middle (up to 10th grade), and then the diploma is an option. I don't see much of it at the middle school level, but I love it in elementary.

[bigsis]

International Baccalaureate. A HS diploma program, although I think there are some schools that start in elementary
. http://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/
Oh my word!!! :47:

[Cuckoomamma]

I don't have any experience with IB classes but wanted to mention another idea regarding AP classes. You could ask the schools for the average scores of the AP classes on the AP exams. Just because a school offers an AP class doesn't mean it's a quality class.

We homeschool and dd took AP Psych as a freshman with a teacher with a very high 4 and 5 rate. A local high school which is highly rgarded and offers almost all the AP classes has a very poor teacher teaching their AP Psych and they have a significantly lower pass rate. If I were weighing options, I would want to know the scoring rates for both tracks.

[cheme]

I don't have any experience with IB classes but wanted to mention another idea regarding AP classes. You could ask the schools for the average scores of the AP classes on the AP exams. Just because a school offers an AP class doesn't mean it's a quality class.

We homeschool and dd took AP Psych as a freshman with a teacher with a very high 4 and 5 rate. A local high school which is highly rgarded and offers almost all the AP classes has a very poor teacher teaching their AP Psych and they have a significantly lower pass rate. If I were weighing options, I would want to know the scoring rates for both tracks.

Good suggestion!