How much does getting a full IB diploma help with college admissions?
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Anonymous
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I teach at a European International School that offers both IB and AP. I don't see a difference in the impact between the programs on college acceptance in the US.
Another poster asserted that full IB in college apps is like AP because the scores don't come out until summer, but this isn't quite true. IB provides predicted grades, and these are provided to colleges during the application process. 7s are rare. Admissions counselors know this. An IB predicted 6 is a fine score, comparable to an A. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Glad to hear that 6's are a respected score. DC has mainly 6's with a couple of 7's and I was getting concerned after reading some other posts about how even students with straight A's were having a hard time getting accepted to competitive schools like Michigan, W&M, let alone the top SLACs and Ivys. My fear was that if 6's were treated as B's then we would really need to revise our college list and look at much lower tiered schools than our current list. |
Anonymous
| There are extensive discussions on this on College Confidential. There are many who regret doing it because of the time commitment. Most say it was worth it for the college preparation, although some who are more science/math oriented hated it or questioned its worth in college admissions. |
Anonymous
This is true. If you get an IB diploma and do ok taking the easy route (like IB math studies), your college admissions are going to be very different than if you take the highest classes available and do well in those. All IB diploma candidates are not equal. |
Anonymous
I get what you're saying, but you are overstating AP exam scores. Those are used for college placement, not in admissions. |
Anonymous
| Colleges absolutely look at AP scores for college admissions. |
Anonymous
Focus on the GPA and SAT/ACT and subject tests if required. Don't sweat the AP exam. - recent ivy admit |
Anonymous
| Colleges can't see the AP scores; they aren't on the transcript. You can be an obnoxious College Confidential "chance me" type by stating them in an essay if it's that important to you. |
Anonymous
From Stanford's webpage: http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/prepare.html Students currently enrolled in AP courses are not required to submit AP scores as part of our admission process. AP scores that are reported are acknowledged but rarely play a significant role in the evaluation of an application. Grades earned over the course of a term, or a year, and evaluations from instructors who can comment on classroom engagement provide us with the most detailed insight into a student's readiness for the academic rigors of Stanford. |
Anonymous
| What about AP scores from junior year (or earlier)? Wouldn't these be submitted as part of the admissions package? Grades in classes differ from school to school, but a 5 on an AP is supposed to be meaningful. |
Anonymous
| The real value of IB rigor pays off in college, not college admission game |
Anonymous
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From Princeton's website: https://admission.princeton.edu/how-apply/standardized-testing
We recommend that you self-report all of your AP or IB scores on your application. (Obviously, these would be from junior year or earlier). |
Anonymous
Nope. My kid took AP Gov in 10th, and when I saw it wasn't on his transcript I emailed the counselor who explained AP and IB test scores are never part of the transcript. They are used for placement purposes. Again, there's nothing stopping you from self-reporting elsewhere on the application if you think it will help, but it likely will not. |
Anonymous
Not as much as attending a top AP school with a stronger peer group. |
Anonymous
You are wrong but whatever... |