<p>Sorry i posted this on another forum but thought this might be more appropriate board:</p>
<p>I heard that in the past couple of years the admission officers at ivy league and top universities have developed an increased interest and growing appreciation of the vigorous IB diploma program. But little is known about what subjects they prefer to see or what is the minimum IB score they expect (a friend mentioned a minimum of 42 out of 45 which is quite high).
Can anybody add any info or thoughts on this ?</p>
<p>“top” universities tend to practice holistic admissions. Thus, your IB score is just a single datum of your overall package. It’s akin to asking what SAT score qualifies you for Princeton. There is no answer.</p>
<p>Well, as far as I know, US colleges tend to not care quite so much about your final IB scores as they do classes and grades. It’s like with the AP tests, your final score could get you credit for a class, but since they don’t receive them until AFTER they’ve accepted/rejected you, it won’t make too much of a difference to your acceptance. Of course, they might rescind if you fail or do terribly, but I doubt they’d rescind for a good score that’s not quite as high as a 42.</p>
<p>As for what classes they prefer to see, US colleges do not give credit for standard level classes, and I think they see them as below AP, which really just shows a basic misunderstanding of how IB works. But as far as picking the actual classes go, it’s basically the same as AP. History or economics would be a better choice than geography, and so on. When picking HL and SL classes, I recommend choosing the ones that pertain to your major as HL. That way, if you get a good score on the exam, you might get credit for it and get a requirement out of the way! </p>
<p>My D went to a top LAC , was IB in school and was never asked for her “predicted” score.
If everybody gave a predicted score, eveybody here on CC would have a minimum of 44. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I don’t think US schools care too much about the final IB score, which was an annoying thing to find out as an international where no emphasis is put on ANYTHING throughout high school except your final score. Schools like Cambridge and Oxford though in the UK expect 38 minimum</p>
<p>Its sad that they dont take the vigorous requirements into account (3 SL subjects+ 3HL subjects + study each subject for 2 years and get tested at end of 2 yrs+ Essay + Theory of Knowledge +50 hrs Creativity +50 hrs Action +50 hrs Service). This is not similar to AP courses.
Interesting that the top UK universities oxpect 38 which sounds more reasonable.
So one should focus more on the grades than the scores especially since scores wont come out until after senior year.</p>