IB vs. Early College: What's the Deal?

I’m not sure whether to tag this post as PHU-specific or not. I’m hoping it’s a relevant discussion outside of my county, but as always, take the opinions here with a grain of salt. The early college systems where I live may differ from yours, and that’s okay.

Let’s back up. What is early college and why is it relevant to you? Early college is essentially a program hosted by a number of community colleges wherein high school upperclassmen can choose to attend their first two years of college in place of their last two years of high school. Most of the time, these kids come out with an Associate’s degree. The difficulty level of the program is similar to IB as they are both a full college-level workload, and early college is not the same thing as dual enrollment. With dual enrollment, you would take some classes at your high school and some classes at the community college. Early college (EC) has very minimal involvement with your high school- you are essentially a full-time college student. 

EC isn’t a program you can just hop into as a freshman- you still need to complete your first two years of high school outside of the college and apply at the end of your sophomore year. This is where IB comes in; it’s a fairly common track to take the first two years of the IB program (technically the Pre-IB program) and then take the EC track for junior and senior year. In fact, if you’re reading this, it might be a track you’re currently considering. 

I know that in my year, there were a decent number of kids who went to EC, and a lot of them had a hard time deciding whether to stay in IB or move to EC. I, obviously, stayed in IB. But in order to give the fullest picture of EC I can, I reached out to a couple close friends of mine who did decide to switch. Together, we’ve compiled a sort of pros/cons list to help you decide which program is right for you. 

Benefits of EC

Financial

Through EC, you basically are able to complete two years of college completely free by accumulating credit hours through your classes. This is a little bit different from IB. In IB, you can get ahead in college through your IB/ AP exam scores, but your classes themselves don’t count for much. You could get straight A’s in IB biology class, but if you have an off day and tank the exam, no college credit for you. It’s a bit more uncertain. Also, different colleges accept different exam scores for credit. Long story short, you won’t really know how many credits you’ve earned through IB until the very end. With EC, you have the full guarantee of getting a transferable Associate’s degree as long as you follow your credit hour requirements. That means two less years of paying for tuition, room and board, meal plans… Essentially, college will be half as expensive. That might open you up to be able to pursue a graduate degree or even just to get ahead in the workforce, all which have financial benefits. It’s a pretty good deal overall.

Scheduling

At EC, you have a lot of freedom with which classes you want to take. You get to request times, subjects and professors that work for you. At my local community college, EC kids even get priority over traditional students to schedule their classes how they like. Obviously, there are some limits- you’re going to need to take certain required classes, both in general and for your major. Like bigger colleges, many community colleges will accept AP scores from freshman and sophomore year to help you check off some of those pre-reqs, but you’ll still need to make sure you’re taking classes that are helping you towards your degree. Unfortunately, IB isn’t quite as flexible when it comes to scheduling. You are required to take classes in Groups 1-5, and you have about 5 Group 6 options to choose from as an “elective.” (If that’s confusing to you, look up IB Subject Groups). You do get to choose things like your difficulty level or your type of science, but you’re definitely more limited with what you can take. 

Additionally, being able to schedule your classes as you like can help open up more time for you to get a job, do an internship, or even just spend more time with family and friends. IB is on the traditional high school schedule in terms of when your classes are. Both programs have a rotating schedule situation (block for IB, weekly for college) which is helpful in managing workload and extracurriculars. Overall, though, EC is definitely a bit more flexible in terms of scheduling. You also get a longer winter break as an EC kid, but you don’t get some of the days off that high schools do, so that bit kind of evens out. 

Independence

Another great thing about EC is that students are given a lot more independence on the day-to-day. You can come and go from campus whenever you want, setting up clubs is easier, and as my friend put it, “you’re treated as an adult.” IB is less like that- despite being highly motivated and advanced, you are still considered a high school student. There’s definitely a bit more regulation on what you can and can’t do, and teachers can tend to micromanage in IB more often than EC professors

Now, this can be a double-edged sword sometimes. EC is like real college- your professors don’t hold your hand when it comes to deadlines and extensions. If you know you time-manage well, that might not be a concern for you. But if you happen to be on the disorganized end of things, sometimes the structure of a program like IB can help make sure you’re thriving academically and meeting your full potential. One of my good friends nearly failed a reasonably easy Ethics course his first year of EC because he got lazy and stopped going to class. No one was chasing him down to show up or turn things in, and he ended up in quite a hole. Basically, be honest with yourself about the level of independence you want versus the level that you can be responsible with. A blessing can become a curse if you’re not careful.

Drawbacks of EC

Community

By far, the greatest thing about IB is the community feel. You have a fairly small class size (my graduating class had 85 people) and you’re with them for a full four years. You really do get to know one another, and you don’t have to love every person to appreciate the tight-knit community. In EC, that type of community doesn’t always exist. Most of the people in your classes will be adults, with a few kids your age sprinkled in. It’s a lot harder to make friends, especially if you’re on the timid side to begin with. For some people, that’s not a huge deal, but for others it can feel isolated or lonely.

Not only is it harder to make friends, it can also sometimes be rough to maintain the friendships you made in your first two years of high school. Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely possible with effort, but there is still a level of FOMO that happens when the majority of your friends see each other daily and you aren’t a part of that. The good thing is that, at least where I live, EC kids are still allowed to participate in clubs, sports and events at their “home school.” That means you could still be on the lacrosse team, attend French Honors Society and go to prom. You’re not getting exiled. However, sometimes EC scheduling can get in the way of those things. One of my friends from theater was never allowed to take on a lead role because she had to miss 2 rehearsals a week for her classes. 

Additionally, the community of IB has some practical benefits outside of just your social life. Because we’re all taking more or less the same courses, there’s a sort of power in numbers that helps us to manage our workload and ask for leniency. When teachers schedule tests or projects right next to one another, there are enough of us with the same problem to ask to push one back and have the request be heard and considered. Teachers are better able to coordinate with one another because they are all teaching the exact same group of students. Those kinds of situations are a lot harder to come by in EC, and it can make it more difficult to manage the workload. Another benefit is that IB kids get a wide pool of people to collaborate with on homework, projects and other assignments. Having people who can help support you in tricky subjects and being able to support others in your stronger areas not only builds the intimate community feel but also helps you do better academically, especially if you don’t like to ask questions in class.

College Things

There are a few aspects of the EC to real college transfer that aren’t ideal. One of these is that sometimes, you can have too much of a good thing. If you have previous AP exams and a bunch of classes in EC, you’re gonna end up with a lot of credit hours. In the state of Florida, the tuition waiver Bright Futures scholarship requires you to take a certain number of credit hours per semester. In order to take the minimum number of credits, some EC kids end up having to double-major or at least minor in something. For some, this might be an advantage, but for others it may be inconvenient. Once again, whatever works for you!

Another aspect is that EC students start out with an Associates, meaning they only have 2 years left to achieve their Bachelor's. As noted previously, this can be a big financial help. However, it brings with it the downside of only getting to spend 2 years in traditional college. Some people may want the full 4-year experience to have time to make deep friendships, intern, study abroad, or do other college-y things. Additionally, some schools require you to take at least one summer semester during your time there. You can absolutely do all those things in a shorter time span if you wanted to, but some people will prefer the extra time of what is considered to be a pivotal (and fun) time in your life.

Non-Issues

There’s probably one aspect of the EC/IB decision that you’re waiting for me to address- which program is more difficult? More academically rigorous? The truthful answer is: I don’t know. You can’t take EC and IB at once, so there’s no one person who could accurately make a comparison. IB is much more difficult than Pre-IB, so even the students who spent their first two years in the IB program don’t have a great gauge. Some students from either program balk at the idea that the alternative is more difficult, and some believe it to be true. Each person is different. You can, however, take comfort in the fact that both options are very rigorous and will prepare you well for college applications and college itself.

Speaking of college, that’s another question that gets asked a lot- which one looks better to colleges?  Unfortunately, there's not a lot of data out there about which option does better overall but if I had to guess, I’d say it's pretty even. Colleges want to see, first and foremost, that you are taking the most rigorous classes available to you. Since both options are about equal, you’ve hit this mark no matter what you choose. Other aspects of your application such as extracurriculars, essays and test scores will likely play into your acceptance much more than scrutiny of IB vs. EC. 

One quick sidenote on this topic: when you apply to colleges coming out of EC, you will most likely apply as a freshman (you absolutely will if you stay in IB). However, if you are rejected as a freshman, some schools offer you the opportunity to re-apply as a junior transfer a few weeks later. I personally know of several people in EC who were rejected from UF at first who got in as junior transfers. There are definitely some complications with that path, but I'm not the right person to explain those. However, this does not mean that EC gives you a "better chance" of getting in; it's just another pathway available to some people aiming for certain colleges.

My goal with this article is to provide an objective comparison to help students make informed decisions about their academic careers. Personally, I'm very happy that I stayed in IB because the community of students and teachers truly helped me to grow as a student and a person, and I wanted a more traditional high school experience. It was challenging at times, but I'm grateful for the experiences as well as the tools it gave me that prepared me for college. I have friends who also loved IB and friends who stayed and hated it. I know people who enjoyed EC a lot and others who regretted leaving IB. At the end of the day, it's all up to you, your preferences and what you're looking to get out of the next few years of high school.

If you’re still looking for some guidance, I recommend checking out this article by the USF Dean of Admissions with regards to how colleges view these programs as well as a few extra considerations. The EC/IB decision isn’t an easy one, but both options contain amazing opportunities and you should trust that with effort and dedication, you will be successful wherever you go. Good luck!