Mastering AP and IB Courses

Webinar Transcription

2025-01-23 – Mastering AP:IB Courses

Anna: Hello, everyone. Good evening or afternoon or morning, whatever time it is, wherever you’re joining us from in the world. We’re so happy you’re here for our webinar on, “Mastering AP and IB courses.” My name is Anna Vande Velde, She, her, hers. I’ll be your moderator today. I’m a senior advisor at CollegeAdvisor, and I’ve been with the company for over three years.

In addition to working with students one on one, I’m also a co captain of our essay review team. Uh, they’ve asked me to share briefly my background. So I studied psychology at Carnegie Mellon. Thought I was going to get my PhD and be a clinical psychologist, but life is full of twists and turns. So I ended up at Harvard Law School.

Where I graduated, um, Three and a half years ago. So in addition to my work with CollegeAdvisor, I’m a non profit defense attorney, and I live in Ottawa, Ontario. That’s more than you need to know about me, but I do hope you’re finding it interesting as you start considering your college journeys to learn more about others.

I think there’s a lot we can gain from that and with No, no further, uh, delay. I’m so pleased to introduce our presenter tonight, Brandon Mack. I’m going to turn it over to Brandon to introduce himself.

Brandon: Thank you so much, Anna, and always, uh, love hearing about your background. This is so very, very cool. So, good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to everyone.

My name is Brandon Mack. I’m a, uh, former Associate Director of Admission from Rice University. I am based here in the beautiful city of Houston, Texas. Um, I graduated from Rice in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Sociology. Um, I was a member of the admission office for 13 years, starting as an admission officer and working my way up to being an associate director.

So, I actually got to chair admission committees for all of the undergraduate schools at Rice, and I’ve been an independent counselor now for 3 years and have been with CollegeAdvisor now 3rd admission cycle. So, very happy to be here tonight to discuss mastering AP and IB courses.

Anna: I’m very happy to have you with us, Brandon.

Before I turn it over to you, I thought we’d get a sense of who’s in the room with us. So I’m going to open a poll. Please let us know what grade you’re in. If you’re here as an educator or support person, parent, guardian, feel free to select other. And while you do that, Brandon, Now that you are like truly an expert on college admissions, knowing everything you know now, is there anything you would do differently if you had to redo your college application process?

Brandon: Oh, great question. If I had to redo my college process over again, I definitely would have visited more schools. Um, being able to visit schools, um, is a great thing to do to really get a sense of what it is that you do and don’t want. Um, I have a college experience and I visited a good number, but I wish I had visited more.

Anna: I think that’s great advice. And just so you know, Brandon, the room is split into thirds. So a third are in ninth grade, a third are in 10th grade, and then a third respond in other. So presumably support folks in whatever role. Um. So, folks, I’m going to hand it off to Brandon for the presentation. At the end, we will respond to your questions in a live Q& A.

You can start submitting your questions now, um, in the sidebar if you’d like, but please know that given this format, since we can’t see and, and speak with you, and since, uh, we have a whole group here, this is not an appropriate venue for us to answer very specific questions about your specific situation.

So, Please ask all the questions you have that you think would be helpful to other students as well, and we’ll get to as many of them as we can. And just so you know, you can also download Brandon’s slides in the handouts tab on the sidebar, um, so you can follow along that way. I think that’s all the housekeeping, Brandon, so I’m gonna turn it over to you.

Brandon: Thank you so much. And so once again, thank you all for being here. So just to kind of first start off, we want to talk about the differences between AP or advanced placement courses and IB, which are international baccalaureate courses, and how can students decide what is right for them? So the AP program or Advanced Placement Program is operated by the College Board.

The College Board is the same organization that organizes and runs the SAT. Now while the IB program is also run by the International Baccalaureate Organization. So they’re two separate organizations and they also approach their programs very differently. The AP program is primarily focused on Individual courses.

So there’s not a set course list or a set, um, curriculum or stair step that you have to do to be a part of the AP. So if you’re someone who knows that you want to really focus and specialize on math and science classes, you can do that and take those at the AP level while maybe taking your English and social studies classes at the more, um, on at the more honors level.

While the IB program is going to be more focused on a comprehensive education that emphasizes critical thinking, intellectual understanding, and a global perspective. So with the IB diploma program, you do have to, um, focus and specialize on up to three, maybe four high level classes, and then the remainder are going to be at the standard level.

But it is a more comprehensive, and so you don’t have that ability really to do as much individualization. As part of the IB program. So once again, AP is going to be more geared towards if you want an individualized kind of approach versus the IB, which is going to be more comprehensive. Now, the ways in which these courses are assessed is that the IB courses are assessed through a combination of both.

Internal and external assessments. The internal assessments are going to be primarily done by your teachers who will give you a grade and an assessment based off of your performance in the course. And then the external assessment is going to be how well you perform on the IB exams at the end of the academic year. AP’s.

On the other hand, are only assessed through a standardized test or the AP exams that are administered at the end of the year. So these are some of the important things to just think about in terms of how your work is going to be assessed, but also the focus of the particular program in and of itself, because it 1 may better suit your needs.

But the great thing is. Both are going to be considered the highest level of academic rigor within a given academic environment.

So, when should students start taking AP and IB exams? So, typically these are going to be offered in high school. So, you will need to wait until you reach this level of education in order to take them. So, for any of our students who are very eager and are currently in middle school, Um, you will have to wait in order to fully take advantage of AP and IB courses. But there are opportunities to be able to prepare for these classes. And so in some schools, they do give students the opportunity to get ahead in middle school through taking high school classes that will give you credit. And that will start you on the pathway to getting to AP and

IB. courses a little early. But for most students, usually their first A P or I B class could take place in ninth grade. Very common for a P students to take human geography in the ninth grade. I B. Typically, you usually will take those as far as, um, honors classes related to that earlier on. And then the full I B classes usually come in junior and senior year.

So once again, some schools are going to offer something called Bye. Pre AP or pre IB courses, which once again help prepare you for the rigor of the AP or IB courses. Typically, these pre IB and pre, um, these pre AP and pre IB courses are going to happen in 9th and 10th grade. So then you start with one or two AP or IB courses, once again, in subjects that interest you and that align with your academic interests and your academic strength.

Um, the reason for why you want to do this is because for many colleges and universities, you’re going to be evaluated based off of what you state are your academic interests. So, for example, if you’re someone who goes into engineering, you’re going to probably be, uh, Evaluated on your performance in math and science classes.

So one way to demonstrate that you’re a strong student within those classes is making sure that you take the strongest level where you’re possible and that could be demonstrated through taking pre I. B. P. A. P. Classes as well as A. P. And I. B. Courses related to those particular academic areas of interest.

But another thing to keep in mind is especially for highly selective institutions and also institutions that have a liberal arts focus, that means that they’re going to want you to be strong in all of the core academic areas. So, Making sure that you are taking AP classes that are across all of the different core subjects.

That would be English, social studies, um, science, as well as social sciences is definitely going to be important if you want to be competitive for those particular programs. Now, always remember that AP and IB courses can be challenging, so you want to make sure that you feel ready. Academically and have developed a strong work ethic because this is about a balance.

We want there to be great academic rigor, but at the same time we want there to be excellent grade performance. So this is also about knowing yourself and you’re definitely going to hear a lot about that over the course of this particular presentation. And once again, you always want to consider your college goals when deciding when to start taking AP or IB courses.

So once again, This is about knowing what are you interested in and making sure that your academic rigor is going to be set up in a way to where you can be academically challenged and academically prepared for the rigors of that particular institution. So once again, if you’re someone who knows that you probably want to go to a competitive engineering school, you’ll probably want to make sure that you’ve prepared yourself to be able to finish high school by taking either IB high level math or AP calculus BC or uh, or a higher class than that just to make sure that you are competitive for those particular competitive engineering programs.

So how can students effectively balance the AP and IB workload with other activities? ’cause once again. This is going to be about balance. You want to demonstrate that you’re challenging yourself by having a great curriculum, but also performing well, but also engaging in extracurricular activities that also demonstrate that you are investigating those things that you’re interested in and also getting involved with your community.

So you have a lot of competing priorities. So you want to be able to effectively balance your performance in those challenging classes with the other responsibilities. One piece of advice is to always prioritize your academics. The reason why I say you need to prioritize your academics is you have to think about from the admission standpoint.

Generally, the thing that’s going to get your foot into the door or start even the conversation about your admission is going to be having the academics. So if you do not have the academics, but still have an excellent extracurricular profile. The lack of the academic strength is often going to be the reason for a deny or a non acceptance decision.

So that’s the reason for why I always tell students. You need to have the priority of the academics to just start the conversation because of the academics are not there. The conversation is going to be over. So you want to make sure you’re doing your academics first. Then you want to choose extracurriculars that are important to you.

Once again, I stress the word important to you. The reason why this is important is because if the extracurricular is important to you, you’re going to devote the time to it. If it is not important to you and you’re just doing it for the sake of doing it, you’re not going to be as committed and then the output of your work is also going to be reflective of that.

Uh, one thing that many students often ask me is how much community service should they do in order to be admitted to a college or university? My response always to them is Do you like doing community service? If they say no, then I say don’t do it because the whole purpose of community service is to be in service to the community.

And it’s because you want to give your service back to the community. And therefore you’re going to devote that time because you authentically. Want to give that time rather than doing it because you think it’s going to look good on your application because all we’re going to see is that you devoted this time, but the output of your service and the impact of your service is not that effective because you truly didn’t care about it.

And it wasn’t that important to you. So once again, choose extracurriculars that are important to you, not because you think they’re going to be, um, impressive, on your application. Then you need to set the limits on your commitments. So once again, this is about knowing yourself. So knowing, okay, I need this amount of time in order to effectively do well on my academics.

This amount of time is how much I’m going to devote towards my extracurriculars. This is the amount of time that I need to devote to myself, to my family. So once again, it’s saying those limits and knowing. What your limits are. So maybe you need to do a trade off. Maybe, you know, at this particular point in my high school career, I have a little bit more flexibility to give to my extracurriculars.

So I’ll give there. But then when you see the adjustments in your grades, and you see that maybe there’s a more need to really buckle down and steady and devote a little bit more time to the academics. That means trading off and giving less time to those extracurriculars. So once again, it’s about setting your limits and making those adjustments so that you are effective.

This goes right into managing your time effectively. Knowing those limits and those commitments will help you to manage your time effectively. So you know how much time do you need to devote towards studying. Maybe how much time we need to devote to a break. Um, one thing that I’ve used, that’s a particular method that I recommend is using the Pomodoro or tomato timer, a method it’s where you set a timer for 25 minutes and you do a deep steady session, focused on one area, and then you take five minutes.

You do another session where you do 25 minutes of studying and then take a break for five minutes. You do about five of those and then you take a much longer break. It’s a great way of helping you to manage your time so that way you know you’re deeply working on a particular subject, but also building in a break.

Be realistic about your commitments. One thing that I think many people think is that we expect everyone to have a very, very long list of activities. That is not an expectation. That is, once again, those students who know themselves, who are able to balance their commitments. And able to fit those things in, but they’re also realistic with themselves.

We much prefer a student who is realistic in their commitments rather than spreading themselves too thin and not being effective. So this is really about once again being realistic. Please do not be afraid to say no is a complete sentence, and oftentimes students will overcommit themselves or think that they have to do something instead of once again thinking and knowing themselves and saying, you know what?

This is too much. I have way too much capacity. So it’s perfectly fine to say no to build in the capacity for yourself to be effective. Always ask for help if you need it. You can ask for help from your fellow students, from many other resources, but this also helps you to effectively balance your workload because then you’re able to get the assistance that you need in order to perform well.

And then always feel free to delegate tasks. Do you have to be the one to do this? If not, give it to a friend, give it to a fellow officer, give it to a teammate, give it to someone who you trust will continue to do the work while you are building in the capacity for yourself to do the other things that you need to focus on.

Following these particular tips will definitely help you as you effectively balance the workload of an advanced level curriculum while also engaging in other activities. So what are some of the proven study techniques or strategies for mastering the content in an AP or IB course? First and foremost is being organized, making sure that you know where your materials are, making sure that you are ready for class, making sure that you are, um, as together as possible.

So it’s, uh, so it’s always good for you to do, um, and organize yourself to the best of your ability. For some people. They can take their notes and things of that nature and save it onto a computer. Some of us, it’s a lot better if we handwrite them, but as long as you know where your notes are, that’s going to be helpful.

Rather than it being in all these different places, and then you lose time and effectiveness in trying to find where is the information that you, um, where did you take down the information. A big piece of advice is to take notes and review them daily. Often what will happen is that students will wait until it’s crunch time to then try to master content and that is not effective for everybody.

And on top of that, many of these subjects are going to build upon each other. So, in order for you to be able to be as effective as possible, you need to know one subject before you move on to another. And that will happen both for our math and science subjects, but also even for some of our English and social studies based subjects as well, and definitely the same for foreign languages.

So I always recommend to students that they make sure that they’re reviewing daily so that they can make sure they’re maintaining the mastery of that content in order to once again, build capacity to build on to what it is that they’re now in taking new. So definitely make sure that you’re doing that reviewing daily and reviewing your work as you keep learning and building upon this knowledge.

Complete your work on time. Once again, this helps you in terms of maintaining your work, maintaining your workload, and also maintaining the content that is necessary for understanding that particular unit. If you end up not completing your work on time, you get behind, right? You get frustrated and therefore that impacts your ability to master content.

Finding test prep materials is definitely very, very helpful. It’s helpful because of the fact that you’re able to see what does the AP exam or the IB exam prioritize and some of their favorite subjects. So there are many different test prep companies out there, uh, Kaplan, Princeton Review, Barron’s. Many, many of those materials are going to be helpful in helping you to master the content as well as giving you test taking strategies to be effective on the test.

Always do the readings. Many times I think students think that the homework is only that thing that you turn in. Homework is also doing the readings. So when your teacher literally says, read chapter one before class, make sure that you do and read chapter one before class, because that gives you the background knowledge that you need to build upon and engage with the material.

In the classroom, you’re going to have to do the same thing when it comes to college. So you might as well already get into the groove of that of doing the readings before class because it isn’t just going to be you regurgitating that information is going to be with you engaging with that material.

And so it’s much easier for you to engage with the material if you already have a good background knowledge of it, which comes from your readings rather than 1st, being exposed to that material. in that class because you did not do the readings. Be confident and knowing yourself. When you are confident, you own the material.

That makes it so much easier for you to master the content of the material. When you’re not as confident, when you don’t feel like you know yourself and you’re not doing, you’re studying to the best of your ability and in your method, Then you’re least likely to, uh, master that content and also knowing yourself is important in meaning knowing how do you best take in information and how do you best study the material?

Some people are visual learners, so therefore reading and visual methods are going to be the best way for them to intake material and to master material. For some individuals are more auditory learners. Some are more kinesthetic learners, meaning that they have to actually get up and physically move. Do what you need to do and the method that you need in order to best master this material rather than relying on a method that is not going to be as effective for you.

So that’s once again, the important thing about knowing yourself and also being confident. In approaching this subject in the best way that fits you and then always review with fellow students talking, interacting, engaging with the material is going to help you. Do not view your fellow students as your competitor.

View them as your colleague. So, therefore, y’all are both working to a common goal and that common goal is the mastery of this material. And so the best so that is 1 of the best things that you can do is to say, hey, did you understand this? Okay. What? Um, let’s talk about the understanding. Oh, we both have the same understanding.

Okay, that’s probably a good check on. We both understand this material or both of us are confused about this. Okay, this means that this was confusing. Maybe wasn’t received the best way. So let your teacher know because of you two are confused. More of you probably are confused as well, which means that we may need to go over that material again to make sure that we’re mastering.

Okay. So use these to definitely make sure that you’re mastering that content. So how should students approach preparing for the AP exams? So first and foremost is you need to establish what you need to learn and review. One great way is to look at the syllabus for your AP class. So your syllabus is the, um, document that you get at the beginning of the year that outlines the course of study of what you’re going to study up until that AP exam.

Using that is going to be a great way to remember and review the subjects that you’ve already learned, but also you can use that to maybe get ahead. Maybe use some outside materials, outside learning aids and methods to make sure that you’re getting reinforced in that, uh, material for the AP exam. Also, old tests and quizzes are also an excellent way, once again, to establish what you need to learn and review.

Um, often your teachers are going to give you, uh, tests that are actually modeled after AP and IB exams. So it’s a great way to get familiar with those type of questions and the type of content that will often appear on the AP and IB exams. Make a study plan and work backwards. So once again, you generally know when you’re going to take your AP and IB exams.

Typically, those exams are administered usually in the beginning of May. Some of them may run through May or even the beginning of June, but typically they’re going to be in the beginning of May. So you know that’s when the test is. So you work backwards, you know, when you generally are going to start school yet that time to really steady.

So you create a steady plan. You create that plan of saying we’re going to review this work on a weekly basis, set a day and time in which, you know, you’re going to review. And remain committed to that and remain committed to working your plan once again, find content review resources. So this could be, um, practice exams and questions as you see right there.

But this also could be additional resources since you have that syllabus, you have that steady materials to know the content that’s going to be in the exams. Find additional resources that are going to be good reinforcement for that. Your librarians, um, Um, both at your school as well as in your local community can be excellent people to help you find additional content resources, but also utilizing the wonderful Internet as well.

Uh, get to work and once again, stay on that schedule. You have that plan, you know, uh, the objective you’re trying to reach, making sure that you’re maintaining that regular A review that regularness of studying is going to ultimately be a benefit to you on the exam. If you need a tutor, make sure you get a tutor.

If you need to attend tutoring sessions, many schools offer these types of sessions, but even if they don’t, you and your friends can always, once again, organize those sessions where maybe one person is doing better on, let’s say, um, AP French. You do better on A. P. Uh, statistics. You both are in that are in classes together, help each other out and offer tutoring sessions and other people can help and bring in their expertise as well.

And then once again, I can’t stress enough work with your fellow students. Y’all are going to be stronger together than you are all than you are individually. And ultimately, you can all receive a five. So, um, definitely recommend utilizing some of these to help best prepare you for those exams. And with that, we’ll go to a poll.

Anna: Thanks, Brandon. Yeah, so folks, we’d love to get a sense of where you are in the application process. So go ahead and let us know in the poll while you’re doing that. Brandon? So this, this is a personal question, uh, because my public high school did not offer AP classes. Will colleges hold that against students when they apply if their school doesn’t offer A P or I V.

Brandon: So the answer to that is no, we do not hold that against you. When we evaluate you in the college admission process, we evaluate you within the context of the school that you’re coming from. And so we know not all schools use, um, the advanced placement or the international baccalaureate as their curriculum.

So we don’t hold that against you. We look to see what does your school offer. So it may be your country’s national curriculum. It may be dual enrollment, meaning that you take upper level classes at a local community college or university. And we look to see what are the options available within your school.

And did you take advantage of those upper level options? So it’s not held against you.

Anna: Thank you. And it looks like we have our results in. So, about a quarter say they haven’t started. They’re at this webinar though, so I would argue that they have started. They are at least thinking about it. And, uh, three quarters are researching schools.

Brandon: Awesome. Awesome. Well, glad to see that y’all are all involved in the process. This definitely is helping you with that and definitely continue to do that research in the colleges and universities. They all offer amazing things and understanding their uniqueness is going to be helpful to you in this process.

Anna: And back over to you, Brandon.

Brandon: Sure. And so this is actually a great segue to this question. So what role do AP and IB courses play in the admission process? And how can a student make the most of them on their applications? So once again, This is about demonstrating your fitness, your alignment to the particular subject that you’re interested in potentially studying.

So taking AP and IB courses is a demonstration that you have challenged yourself to the best of your ability with the curriculum that is offered within your school. So once again, as I previously mentioned. It’s going to be about what is offered and available within your school. And so if your school does not have AP or IB courses offered, there isn’t an expectation that you took advantage of them.

However, if your school does offer the advanced placement. And the international baccalaureate, uh, program and courses, then there is going to be an expectation that you did take advantage of them. And you would want to make sure that you do the AP and the IB because they are standardized and are therefore generally going to be considered higher.

And more rigorous than the dual enrollment and honors courses within your school because the dual enrollment and honors are not standardized, whereas the AP is standardized by the college board and the IB is standard by the International Baccalaureate Organization. So once again, this is gonna be very unique to your situation, but if these courses are offered and available to you.

Take advantage of them because it is going to be a demonstration that you have challenged yourself to the best of your ability. It’s another great way to demonstrate, once again, alignment with your intended area of study. When you apply to some colleges and universities, you will have to indicate a major that you’re interested in.

That’s the lens by which the college or university will look to see, are you going to be a good student for what you’re intending to study when you go to that school? So, let’s say you want to go into English. A school would probably naturally want to see that you’ve taken, um, a, uh, AP English language and literature, uh, or literature and composition.

They would want to see maybe you took I. B. H. L. English. And if you do not necessarily have that, then it calls into question. Are you truly going to be the strongest student for that subject if you didn’t take advantage of the ability to challenge yourself in that particular subject? So once again, you can help use this and make the most of this on your application by making sure that you took that you took these classes and took advantage of that of that opportunity to challenge yourself.

You can also earn college credit. Many colleges and universities will get you will give you credit based off of your performance on the AP exams or the IB exams. So once again, it is not going to be based off of your performance in the classes is going to be based off of your performance on the examination itself.

So for APs. Usually schools will give credit for three and above. There are some schools out there that will only give you credit for four and above or five only. For the International Baccalaureate, there is a couple of caveats that can happen. Some universities will give credit for, um, standard level classes.

Some schools will only give credit for higher level classes. And they’ll give credit for scores of sevens or eights. Some may go above a six, but also some will put up. Maybe we’ll put a caveat that the only way that will give you credit is if you are an I. B. diploma candidate. So as going back to our previous 1 of our previous slides.

One of the ways in which the IB is more of a comprehensive is in the fact that they have a diploma program. And so in order for a student to be considered a full IB student, they must be a part of the diploma program and not taking individual classes. So once again, that can be a benefit to you in terms of being able to earn that college credit and once again, a demonstration of how you challenge yourself and could perform potentially well within those classes.

And then also, this is a way for you to be able to play to your strengths and demonstrate that you perform well. So a student who is not only having A’s in those classes, but then also a 4 or 5 on the AP exam. Or a six or seven on the higher level. Uh, IB exams will be a demonstration that this is a strong student within the context of that particular subject.

And once again, be a benefit in the admission process. So, these are some ways in which you can use it and will be a part of the admission process and the way in which you’re evaluated. So, how can students approach extended projects and assessments? So. Both the Advanced Placement AP program and the IB program have opportunities for you to engage in research and extended projects.

For the AP, they now have something called the Capstone Project. So this is a culminating project in which you’re generally combining two classes, an AP seminar class and an AP research class, to come up with an ending project that you came up with based off of your own academic interests. For the IB, they have something that is called the extended essay.

So once again, these are two projects that you can use to demonstrate that you really extensively, uh, dealt deeply into a particular subject that generally is going to align with your interests. First and foremost, and I’m telling you, everyone who engages in research, from our graduate students to professors, they’re always going to tell you to choose a topic that you are genuinely interested in.

The same is true when it comes to the IB Extended Essay and to your AP Capstone. If you choose a topic that you love, It will not feel like an assignment. The more interested you are, the more you’re just naturally going to work on that project rather than feeling, Oh, I got to do this because it’s a required grade.

So advantage of this opportunity to really think about what would you be really interested in learning more about? Are you interested in the ethical implications of AI? Are you interested in understanding the ways in which people interact with different political systems? This is a great way of once again, demonstrating your academic prowess and your academic interests.

So mindset is very important because when you have the right mindset, you’re going to continue to work towards that, uh, towards that project. And the results will generally be better because of your great mindset. It is generally recommended that you start your extended essay early or start your, uh, AP capstone research early.

Um, because of the fact that you won’t have as many competing priorities, senior year is a busy year because not only are you working on your senior year courses and this particular project, you’ll also have the wonderfulness of working on your college essays and so the more early that you work on the extended essay or the AP capstone research because you don’t have as many competing priorities, The better, but at the same time, you want to pace your research.

You want to continue to work on it, not to the point where you have to rush everything at the end, because you may not have time and you may not have the ability to be able to devote to that project for a successful outcome. One thing that is helpful is to create a planning diagram or a timeline. So once again.

Work backwards. You know that generally, you’re probably going to have to finish up this project by May of your senior year. You know, you’re going to start maybe on this extended essay or this AP capstone research at, uh, in your sophomore year, plan it out. When do you want to have that topic chosen? When do you want to do the background research?

When do you want to carry out your, your experiment? When do you want to write up your results? Put it in a nice timeline or diagram and that way you can visually think, this is what I want this done and keep yourself accountable for when those milestones come up.

So what should students do if they struggle in an AP IB course and how can they seek support? Please do not be afraid to ask for help. If you’re in an AP IB course, you genuinely are going to be a student who cares about your academics. You genuinely, probably up until that particular point, have been self sufficient and it may be the first time that you have asked for help or needed help on a subject.

You are not deficient. If you ask for that help, you’re actually stronger because of the fact that you’ve asked for that help. So I want you to understand and know it is not bad to ask for help. It’s worse for you to struggle and not do well. So definitely I encourage students to ask for help once again from your fellow students.

You may need that peer to peer interaction to help you. But also feel free to get a tutor, attend those tutorial and tutoring sessions. Always talk to your teachers. Your teachers are here to help you. They want you to succeed. They don’t want you to struggle. And so if they see that you are struggling to maintain in the class or struggling with the concepts, they can offer you good tips and advice in terms of how to better study, how to better handle the content, or maybe even change the approach of how you engage with the material.

Now, it may come to the point where the course is too much. It may come to that point. If it does come to that point, it’s best to talk to your counselor about alternative curriculum options. Because once again, this is a balancing act of academic rigor and grade performance. So, let’s say by the close to the end of your semester.

You see that you are making a C in that AP or IB class. You’re immensely frustrated with trying to get the materials. You’ve gone to tutorials. You’ve done everything that you can in order to try to master this content and to master this rigor. But you finally come to the realization, maybe this is at a pace that is too fast for me.

This is at a level that is a little too high for me. You can go to your counselor and ask about alternative curriculum options. Maybe you need to go to the pre IB or pre AP level. Maybe you can go to a local community college and they can do it at a different level. Seek out what those alternative options are because it’s probably going to be better for you to perform well and demonstrate that you’re performing well in that subject rather than trying to struggle.

To maintain that level of rigor because once again, it is not going to be worth it to struggle in that class and not perform well. A common question we often get is, is it better to make an A in an honors class or B in an AP class? The thing is, to be perfectly honest, it’s a bit of a trick question. It is best to make an A in an AP class.

What I mean by that is generally, colleges and universities want you to have great rigor, And great, great perform. But once again, the demonstration is this, if you have an A in an honors class or B in an AP class, that is always going to be better than having a C in the AP class, because we want you to both perform well, but also have the rigor.

But if you’re not performing well, meaning you’re getting in that C, D, F range, it is not going to be worth it, regardless of what the rigor is. So I always tell students. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, but at the same time, always be in the right level and the right environment for your success.

So what are some of the common mistakes students make in an AP and IB class? Poor time management. The belief that you’re going to have all the time in the world that because you don’t have a set assignments in the way that you may have in another class, you develop those poor time management habits where you’re thinking, Oh, I can just cram.

at the end or not maintain your time and maintain your study always leads to a detriment. A lack of practice. Once again, this isn’t just about regurgitating the information. This is about engaging with the material. Engaging with the material. takes practice. So you want to make sure you’re building in that practice of engaging with the material because that lack of practice will lead to you not being successful.

Once again, poor study habits in terms of not maintaining review, not maintaining, um, adding on or taking notes. So you want to make sure that you have great steady habits. Lack of self care. So this means not getting proper rest, not eating properly. You need to take care of yourself because when you feel good, you’re going to perform well.

So make sure you are sleeping. Make sure you are eating. Make sure you’re drinking water. Make sure you’re doing the things that you need to feel your best. Cause that’s the way you’re gonna perform your best. And also, not seeking help when needed. It is okay to ask for help. So avoid these pitfalls and you’ll be successful.

And what are some resources you, I recommend for students who are looking to excel in AP and IB courses? Once again, look at your amazing CollegeAdvisor, counselors, and admission officers. We’re all here to help and support you. Um, and that’ll be the same for your counselors and teachers. Former students and older siblings are great resources.

They’ve been through it before. They can tell you what pitfalls they encountered and help you to avoid them. They can also be great resources in terms of what to study and also to maybe use some of their previous materials. Test prep books are always very, very helpful as well because they are going to be geared generally toward those particular exams.

It can be a great resource both in terms of study strategies, test taking strategies, and content material. And then always go to the International Baccalaureate and College Board websites. Go directly to the source. They’re going to provide you with excellent information about the content of those particular subjects and exams, as well as providing resources for study materials that they directly would recommend.

With that, let’s open up the floor to questions and answers.

Anna: Awesome. Thank you so much, Brandon, for all of that information. As you said, this is the end of the webinar. Remember, you can download Brandon’s slides from the link in the handouts tab. Before we move on to a live Q& A, I’ll give you some info about how that will work.

I’ve been reading through what you’ve submitted here, and also the questions you submitted when you registered for this webinar. As I get to each one, I will paste it into the public chat so everyone can see them. I’ll also read it out loud before, um, asking Brandy to respond. As a heads up, if your Q& A tab is not letting you submit questions, just double check that you joined the webinar through the custom link in your email, and not from the webinar landing page.

So you might need to close out real quick, go to your email, click that link, come back. Don’t worry, we’re recording, so you will not miss anything if you need to do that. Alright, first question, Brandon. Are there options to take AP and or IB courses online?

Brandon: So, yes, there are options to take, um, AP and I. B.

Courses online. Um, there are a variety of different mechanisms and methods in order to be able to do that. What I would probably recommend is that you talk to your particular school to see if there’s a particular method that they recognize because there may be, um, A particular method that they recognize.

So that way that those courses can count towards your, uh, transcript. Um, so that would be a great way of being able to take a P and I. V. classes online. If they’re not currently offered in your school, but they’re also like Florida virtual school, Georgia virtual school to name a few that do offer these courses online.

Anna: Good to know. Thank you. How would you say the workload compares between AP, IB And traditional classes.

Brandon: Great question. In general, I would say that the workload is going to be higher in your A. P. And I. B. Courses because once again, the demands are going to be higher because of the exams themselves. So what I mean by that is this.

For your traditional classes, there may just be one end of unit exam. Whereas because of the kind of internal assessments and the ultimately end of year AP or IB exam, there’s probably going to be even more assessments and more tests. So therefore the requirement and the workload is going to be higher.

Also, the requirement in terms of self, uh, you being self regulated is going to be higher as well. So instead of it being like, oh, you’re going to have a quiz on this particular subject, it may be we expect you to know the information related to this subject. And so therefore you have to be self regulated and make sure that you’re staying on top of it.

of those readings and staying on top of that work to be ready for when those assessments happen.

Anna: Thank you. Brendan, I’m going to give you a little break because you’ve been going strong for about an hour now. Uh, I’m just going to take a few minutes to talk about CollegeAdvisors. So for those in the room who are not already working with us, we know how overwhelming the admissions process can be.

CollegeAdvisor has a team of over 300 former admissions officers and admissions experts who are ready to help you and your family navigate the college admissions process in one on one advising sessions. We’ve already helped over 8, 000 families in their college journeys. And I’m excited to share we’ve done some analysis and from 2021 to 2024, our data shows that CollegeAdvisor students are 2.4 times more likely to get into Harvard, almost three times more likely to get into Stanford, and almost two times more likely to get into Princeton. So increase your odds and take the next step in your college admissions journey by signing up for a free 60 minute strategy session with an admissions specialist on our team.

You can do that by scanning the QR code on the screen. Remember, it’s also available in the slides that you can download. Um, so give it a scan, schedule that free 60 minute strategy session. During that meeting, you’ll receive a preliminary assessment of your academic profile. Along with some initial recommendations from us on what you can do to stand out.

At the end, you’ll also learn more about the premium packages we offer that pair you with an expert who can support you in building your college list, planning out what classes you’re going to take, which AP exams, editing your essays, and so much more. We are here for the full process. We’re going to use the rest of our time to go through more of your questions.

But that QR code is going to stay on the screen, so if you haven’t scanned it yet, please go ahead and do, or make sure you, uh, grab a screen, a screen save of it, if you do it later. Landon, are there any fees associated with taking the AP exams?

Brandon: So there are fees that are associated with taking AP and IB exams.

So once again, you’re going to want to check with your school because often what will actually happen is that your schools are going to cover those particular fees. But if you are taking the exam independently, there can be a fee associated with taking it.

Anna: Thank you. Helpful to know. Um, how do AP and IB programs, and it might be different for each, but do you know how they accommodate students with learning differences or other, other special needs?

Brandon: Absolutely. So, Um, both the A. P. and I. B. will offer accommodations if a student does, if a student needs those accommodations. So once again, this is where, um, making sure that you have the documentation that you need to demonstrate that you need those accommodations to be able to give to the college board and to the international baccalaureate directly so that they can make accommodations when you take the exam.

Anna: Good advice. We have, um, a student who, uh, has taken a lot of AP classes and they’re looking ahead and wondering how do I continue balancing a rigorous course load, all my extracurriculars, and then add to my plate

Brandon: So that’s where once again, developing this balance ahead of time is going to be the important thing. So, as I mentioned, um, when you start working on that, uh, extended essay, maybe working on it more in your, uh, sophomore junior year, if, uh, if, uh, if you’re able to, because, you know, those, those essays are going to come towards the end.

So it’s once again, this is about knowing yourself and is also about knowing when are you going to be busy in certain points and when are you not going to be as busy in other points. So, for example, if you know that, um, your sports schedule, for example, because sports usually have very busy periods where you’re at the height of a season.

You know, you’re going to be busy and devoted to that during that particular, uh, set, uh, during that particular time. So, you know, that you don’t have as much capacity to be able to devote to other things, but then, you know, once that season is over with. You have more capacity. Maybe that’s the time in which you’re working more on your extended essay.

Maybe that’s when you’re working more on your essays. Um, also starting earlier on your college admission essays is always a good thing to do because then it builds up time for when you get into busier season. So once again, this is why it’s important to know yourself and to know when, uh, know when your commitments are so you can build capacity for yourself.

Anna: Yes. My answer to the question I asked Brandon at the very beginning, what would I do differently if I was applying to colleges now? Start earlier. I would start so much earlier. I advise all of my juniors. Like, junior spring, we need to be talking about the personal statements, brainstorming, starting the draft, um, because you don’t want to leave that all for senior fall.

That’s setting yourself up for stressful senior fall. Yes. There’s a lot of fun things going on senior year we want you to enjoy. Um, I think we have time for a few more, Brandon.

Brandon: Let’s go for it.

Anna: Do some universities prefer AP over IB or vice versa? And how, how would students know that?

Brandon: So, generally, schools are not going to have a preference for AP versus IB because of the fact that, once again, they’re not universally offered.

Now, in general, as I mentioned, um, AP and IB are going to be looked at as the same level because they are standardized. And generally, they’re going to be considered as the highest form of academic challenge over a dual enrollment or honors class. Because once again, dual enrollment and honors are not standardized across the board.

Anna: Thank you for summarizing that again. I think this can be our last question, though. If you’re typing one now, please get it in soon so we can make sure we get to it. But, Brandon, can students take both AP and IB courses? Would that ever be recommended?

Brandon: So yes, students can take both AP and IB courses if they are both offered within their school and also within the constraints that the school allows.

There are some schools that will give students the opportunity and ability to take both. There are going to also be schools that say you need to choose one over the other. Once again, this is about you knowing yourself. If you feel that you can handle that rigor, go for it. But if you cannot, it is once again not going to be to your benefit to take both of those very rigorous curriculums if you’re not going to perform well.

So it can be done. I definitely have seen it done, but once again, this is about you knowing yourself.

Anna: I can’t think of a better note to end on. I think the entire college application process invites you to reflect on who you are. So you can start preparing right now, um, by, you know, figuring that out. Who are you are, who you are, what works best for you, uh, and use that to guide your high school career.

Thank you so much, Brandon, for your expertise. We’re really grateful. Thank you everyone for joining us. We had a great time talking about AP and IB courses. Best of luck with all of your applications and take good care.

Brandon: Take care, everyone.