There are three thing that Mr. Erickson has challenged students to do during their years at MHS: do the right thing, represent the school well, and take at least one AP class. Erickson, however, made no mention of IB, which raises the question: What even is IB and how does it differ, if at all, from AP courses? Here’s what you need to know about the two:

• IB does not refer to the abbreviation of ibid (ib., an adverb meaning in the same source), but to the International Baccalaureate program founded in Switzerland, 1968.
• AP, or Advanced Placement, is a program created by the College Board which was founded in 1900
• IB is an international program; Colleges all around the world accept diplomas and there are IB schools globally.
• AP is generally limited to the United States.
• IB courses look at subjects in a holistic manner, often not only studying the topic at hand but also exploring how it has changed over time and its effects on society. Also, IB places more emphasis on writing than AP does.
• AP courses explore many different topics within a subject. Subjects are studied on a wide range and from multiple perspectives.
• Students in IB may potentially earn an IB Diploma. This is huge because colleges worldwide, not just those strictly in the U.S, recognize it.
• Students taking AP courses may become AP Scholars if a certain quota of AP courses is filled and if the average score on all meets a certain standard. The scores and quota vary, as within the title of “AP Scholar” there are multiple levels of distinction. Unlike IB, though, AP is mainly accepted in the U.S. only.

Those are the main differences between the AP and IB programs. As an added benefit, both give you a sense of what college courses are like. Also, both can be used to obtain college credit from many U.S. colleges. However, if you’re looking towards Ivy League schools, or other top-notch institutions, they don’t give credit for AP/IB classes taken in high school. You can test out of entry-level courses if you feel so inclined. There is a wide selection of AP and IB courses offered here at MHS, so now that you are aware of all the benefits of taking such courses, I would strongly recommend considering registering for an AP or IB course for the 2016­17 school year. To find about more, you can visit the following online sites: apstudent.collegeboard.org/home for AP; ibo.org/about­the­ib/ for IB