<p>I am currently a junior and working towards an International Baccalaureate diploma. A lot of the people I know (mainly the ones who say IB is a waste of time) claim that there is no benefit whatsoever to having this diploma. As a result, I've been wondering--what are the benefits? Do colleges really look more highly on a student with an IB diploma than another student without it?</p>
<p>Also, I have about a 4.6 gpa (unweighted 3.6) and I have a lot of ECs, though nothing that I focus on (I'm really involved in all of them, but no "passion"). However, I'm 60-something in my class of 900, and I'm really worried that the schools I'm interested in (Northwestern, Georgetown, George Washington, Yale, U of Chicago, NYU, etc.) will turn me down. Any comments/advice on my chances?</p>