Is schizophrenia the same as bi-polar.?

I have a friend who has the symptoms of schizophrenia (hallucinations, hearing voices) when he goes off his meds., but he tells everyone he's bi-polar.

I agree that they are 2 different disorders, however there are people who have been diagnosed with both of these disorders. Another more likely possibility is that your friend realizes that there is much more stigma and fear and lack of understanding for schizophrenia than there is for bipolar, and so chooses to categorize himself as having the more "socially acceptable" diagnosis.

They are two completely different disorders.
No they are entirely different diseases, but there's no reason that he couldn't be both. Bipolar is a mood disorder, schizophrenia is an illness regarding cognitive function and determing reality from fantasy.
They are no where NEAR the same thing

But often, folks with Bi-polar have a higher tendency to also have other mental illnesses.
Bi-polar disorder is a depressive condition. Schizophrenia is a psychosis. If you are bi-polar, then you are manic-depressive and you can be treated with anti-depressants. If you are schizophrenic, then you should be treated with anti-psychotics. Many therapists consider schizophrenia to be cognitive disorder, rather than a mood disorder.
schizophrenia is a very broad disorder. It is different than Bi-Polar but there is no saying that one may not have both disorders or may have Bi-polar behaviors as a result of schizophrenia. Thats just the way mental disorders are.

Try looking up DSM-IV for an exact diagnosis of each.
completely different. He could suffer from both, or is using bi-polar as an escuse for his behaviour as socially it carries less stigma (it is a form of depression)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/schizophren...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bi-polar...