IB or A-levels?

I'm starting 6th form in 2weeks and now im really confused whether to do IB or A-levels. Currently i've chosen IB but it is yet to be confirmed by my school ie. i still have the chance to change to A-levels if i wish to do so. The main reason why i would wanna do A-levels is obviously that it means less work and i will study my key topics in more depth and i won't have to take unnecessary subjects to fill in such as 2 languages (i aim to study Economics) and that of course, means more free time.
But to the problem, if i wish to do A-levels, will it be as beneficial as IB if i want to study in US?(atm its the only country where i want to study in and it's not about to change as far as i'm concerned) Is a-levels as recognised or is it even more recognised? i know people say that a-levels is something you should only do if you want to study in the uk and that it isn't necessarily true, but i would like to hear people's view that have been or are in that situation.
thank you if you managed to read through this post :smile:

Reply 1

burninginme

2

Forget it, unless your loaded you'll never be able to afford study in the US.

Reply 2

dafunkyguy

11

Bjoorn

I'm starting 6th form in 2weeks and now im really confused whether to do IB or A-levels. Currently i've chosen IB but it is yet to be confirmed by my school ie. i still have the chance to change to A-levels if i wish to do so. The main reason why i would wanna do A-levels is obviously that it means less work and i will study my key topics in more depth and i won't have to take unnecessary subjects to fill in such as 2 languages (i aim to study Economics) and that of course, means more free time.
But to the problem, if i wish to do A-levels, will it be as beneficial as IB if i want to study in US?(atm its the only country where i want to study in and it's not about to change as far as i'm concerned) Is a-levels as recognised or is it even more recognised? i know people say that a-levels is something you should only do if you want to study in the uk and that it isn't necessarily true, but i would like to hear people's view that have been or are in that situation.
thank you if you managed to read through this post :smile:

What matters most if you're going to the US...would be your SAT results. However...I would suggest you to do the IB...because you'll be at a disadvantage if you were to do A-levels...unless you're in UK...of course. If you don't want to do the IB...you can do the AP...if your school offers it. This is because IB and AP are the main programs that the American universities usually accept...and they're usually equivalent. Also...you'll be able to receive some college credits if you get good results. :biggrin:

Reply 3

Ang|ophi|e

12

IB. I'm slightly biased but if you are looking for colleges in the US, IB would be more beneficial. You still have to take SATs/ACT, have extra curricular activities and such. Where IB gives you the advantage is that it's an international level education and you can get college credit for it, even up up 30 credits which is about a whole year off. Realistically you won't get a whole year off, but you'll save a lot of money with the credit you do get.

Reply 4

dismal_laundry

15

Hi Bjoorn- I spent age 0-7 in London, then 7-18 in DC and did the IB + 1 language AP and am at uni in the UK. The IB is much better for the US, but is also accepted everywhere if your plans change. You won't need AP as well unless you particularly want to add to an area of your application. The SAT I, which is an aptitude test rather than an achievement test, is only part of your application, and is not as significant as your overall academic school performance. You may do better in the SAT I if you've been studying the IB, as you have to study five subject areas for it as you know, and this isn't the case with A Levels. The SAT II subject tests are easy if you've already done the subjects at IB. As Anglo says, you can get college credit fro the IB; even the most prestigious US universities should give you 3 credits for each 6/7 at IB HL; some will give you credit for 6/7 at SL.

It's expensive to study in the US and financial aid is very unlikely. No one here in the US will write you a loan if you're not a US citizen either. State universities are less expensive than private universities and there are some very good state universities- they run about $22,000- $26,000 for tuition and fees per year.

So take IB as it will be accepted wherever you apply.

Reply 5

Nuheen

12

A classmate of mine got 6 A's (A-level) and got into Harvard (with full scholarship). I believe that if you know what you are going to study, you should do A-levels.

I personally achieved 5 A's, and I am currently attending University of British Columbia in Canada (one of the top 20 econ departments in the world according to econphd rankings). I got 27 credits for Economics, Biology, Chemistry and Pure Math (my other subject, Math got me the same 3 credits as Pure Math) and skipped a year. However, I don't think US universities would give you this many credits.

Reply 6

Nuheen

12

By the way, I think it is easier to get credits from A-levels than from IB. You can concentrate on fewer subjects and this additional depth fetches more credits. At UBC if you get a B overall in a particular Alevel subject you will receive credit, which is not very hard.

Reply 7

ScholarsInk

10

burninginme

Forget it, unless your loaded you'll never be able to afford study in the US.

BS.

Reply 8

burninginme

2

ScholarsInk

BS.

How is it ********? Please, justify your crude remark instead of merely revealing your mental age of 6. The US is an extremely expensive place to study, as due to the nature of the government, there is no financial help available for International students at all. For an undergraduate degree, the average fee per year for an International student is roughly $40,000 per year, or £20,000. So, over 3 years, the total TUITION fee is going to come to about £60,000, or $120,000 for a 3 year degree, and you've got to add living and rent costs on top of that and with rising costs in America, god knows what that would be.

You're talking out of your arse, to afford that sort of money you have to be loaded. The average university fee per year in the UK is £3000, so roughly £9000 for a 3 year degree, and the students who have taken loans out struggle to pay that off, so how can they expect to pay off £60,000?

So, unless you can get a scholarship, which is extremely hard to obtain for an International Student, or are ****ing loaded, study in the US is pretty much off limits unless you wanna be paying back your fees for the rest of your life.

Reply 9

devil09

7

I'm biased like Anglophile, but I thoroughly enjoyed the IB program. I got a lot of it and felt very well prepared for college. I could've graduated a year early but chose to study abroad for a year instead. :smile:

Reply 10