Picking classes can be extremely overwhelming, especially for those of us without older siblings to help guide us. For high-achieving students, the time often comes when you have to make a decision: dual enrollment, AP, or IB? However, that choice isn’t as simple as it seems. So, let me help you break it down so you can choose what’s right for you!

Dual Enrollment

Dual enrollment courses are the second-most popular choice for college-level courses that high schoolers take. These courses are classes taken at a community college, usually online. The appealing nature of these classes stems from the flexibility.

Often, dual enrollment courses are much more laid back than AP and IB, and the online format allows for self-paced completion. So, if you have a busy schedule outside of school that doesn’t allow you to always get your assignments done on time, taking a dual enrollment class might work for you since assignments are typically due once a week.

Image credit: zapCulture from Pixabay

Aside from flexibility, dual enrollment is a great option for students who know which college they want to attend. Community colleges that offer dual enrollment often have a list of colleges that specifically agreed to accept all dual enrollment credits from said institution. That means, if your dream college has an agreement with a local community college to accept credits, you could be guaranteed college credit for the course! This is most common with in-state colleges.

If you’re someone who struggles with self-discipline and procrastination, this might not be the choice for you. If you’re organized and looking for a less stressful way to get college credit, dual enrollment might be worth trying. And if you’re extra ambitious and want to knock out some general education in college, getting an associate’s degree through dual enrollment that you get at the same time you graduate high school could be a great option!

However, dual enrollment credits are often limited to in-state colleges and can be hard to get credit for if you plan to go out of state.

Take the Quiz: Choose Your Daily Aesthetic and We'll Reveal Which Movie Icon You Should Be This Halloween!

Your daily aesthetic can reveal more about you than you might think! Take this quiz to discover which movie star matches your unique vibe.

AP

AP courses are the most popular college-level coursework that students take in high school. These classes are structured as single-course classes. Every year in May, AP exams are offered that test you on the course content, which many colleges accept for credit.

These courses are structured similarly the majority of the time: one-part multiple choice and one-part free response. However, there are some exceptions, such as AP Seminar and AP Research (which include a research paper and presentation in the exam grade).

Image credit: paulabassi2 from Pixabay

AP courses get their popularity from their accessibility. You can take an AP exam even if you don’t take the class. So, for students who want to fill their in-school schedules with different classes but are still looking for that college credit, AP Exams are a great way to do that! Additionally, most classes do not have any long-form papers that are part of their exam grades (with AP Seminar/Research being the exception.) This makes cramming easy for students who procrastinate a lot.

However, AP courses can often be stressful for students since college credit rides on one exam. Whereas IB courses include an extended paper that the students have time to perfect, one bad test day could cause a student to lose a chance to get college credit for their class. The exams are often fast paced as well, which adds to the difficulty of the exams and the stress. If you’re a good test-taker and you prefer less writing and more specialized coursework, AP classes might be for you, especially if you’re looking for widely accepted college credit!

IB

Out of the three, IB is the least well-known. These classes have a completely different framework from AP and DE classes. IB is more focused on soft skills rather than memorization or specialization in one topic.

IB courses follow similar structures across all classes: there is a long-term assignment that you work on throughout the entirety of the course (usually a research paper, presentation, and/or project). This means writing and synthesis skills are more valued, and application is vital.

Image credit: StockSnap from Pixabay

Additionally, these classes are much longer! To get the full IB Diploma, it takes two years, compared to AP and DE courses often taking only one or two semesters. For some, this is a huge benefit.

You get to explore your topics more thoroughly and develop a deeper understanding of your research. With an interesting topic and a good mentor, IB classes can be a lot of fun and a good chance to showcase your extensive interest in a topic to colleges!

If long-form papers intimidate you, IB might not be for you. But if you have a personal interest that you would love to do extensive research on, IB could be a great option. These courses are usually much longer, so keep that in mind when making your decision. Being stuck in a class of students or with a teacher you don’t get along with for two years might be a poor choice.

Overall…

Pick what’s best for you based on your strengths. If you like independence and self-managing your classes, try out dual enrollment. But if you like that structure of in-school classes and clear-cut course content, the large-scale nature of AP classes could be for you.

But if you love researching and don’t mind a good bit of writing, IB could be a great way to showcase your skills. In my opinion, I favor AP classes since you are almost 100% guaranteed college credit across most American colleges as long as you score well on the exam.

I also find the clear-cut content of the courses a huge benefit since there are thousands of resources that cover the exact same content you cover in class to guarantee a good score on the exam. To succeed, reaching out to your AP teacher for help when you’re confused, paired with studying AP Classroom resources and released AP exam questions, can help. But don’t feel pressured if you think AP classes don’t align with what you’re trying to achieve.

Pick what you think is best for you. Best of luck!