“I wish our school was not IB, AP is easier!” This quote reflects a common sentiment shared by many AHS students.
The bane of any AHS student’s existence goes by the name of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. It is the quintessential package for the over-achieving high school student to succeed and get into the college of their dreams, but it can also be considered a deal with the devil.
By accepting the IB Diploma program, a student will be guaranteed sleepless nights, copious amounts of stress, mounds of homework from the six to seven IB classes and the occasional strands of gray hair that will grace their young head.
Contrary to popular belief, an IB student has a social life, but usually with other fellow IB students. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though,  because the more people to share the pain with, the better everyone feels.
Despite the few negative aspects of the IB Diploma, a student will be thankful for gaining a global perspective. The program applies a more holistic view of the world in terms of education, which proves to be effective when a student leaves high school.
In the end, the students will leave high school with a greater understanding of the world as it is today and as it was hundreds of years ago. For this, every IB student should be grateful, as not all high schools offer the rigorous program and instead offer the Advanced Placement classes, better known as AP classes.
Although there seems to be quite a bit of debate regarding whether or not IB is better than AP, both programs are quite comparable.
Both are rigorous and require commitment, good work ethic and prepare students adequately for college.
More importantly, the programs put emphasis on college level work and education. There is no obvious distinction between which program is more beneficial to high school students because they are equal in many ways.
Looking at it from an IB perspective, the tests ask more open-ended questions which require the the use of facts to support a view.
On the other hand, the AP tests tend to be more fact-based, and do not typically ask questions that require extensive analyzing and merely tests whether a student is a good test taker.
Another difference is that the IB program gives a total of three exams over the course of two years, each focused on writing, content and oral presentation. This allows a student to have multiple chances while taking exams, unlike the AP exam, which is set in May, and is the only time a student can take it.
The IB program is more beneficial in the sense that it complies with the increasing globalization of the world and the spread of cultures.
As the world progresses, the demand for internationally-minded students will be an advantage for students who are used to the IB curriculum. In the end, is this all just a battle of prestige? Yes, of course it is, and it always will be.