<p>Hi I'm new here and have an urgent question about students taking the IB Diploma (like me) and admission into US colleges. My parents and I toured a bunch of colleges this summer and found out that all the colleges except one of them hardly had a clue about the IB Diploma. We toured in the west: We looked at U of A, UCSB, UCSD, UCI, UCB, and even northern AZ uni (NAU). Last year (with my sister who now goes to U of Michigan) we looked at eastern/midwest schools. Most of them didn't understand that the IB was a Diploma and instead treated them as classes, mentioning that some guy could take one class and get credit for it. However, obviously for diploma students you have to do the whole thing (6 classes). I understand that the IB can give you a lot of credit (my sister got so much credit that she entered michigan as a sophmore technically), however, what is the deal with admission? I know your high school GPA is the most important thing/one of the most important things when it comes to admission, but how are the grades of the IB treated? We utilize a number scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being the best. A very unfortunate thing that happened to my sister confirms my fear that most US colleges don't know how hard the IB Diploma is. She received a 7 in every class except math and one other and received 40 POINTS for the Diploma!!! Her GPA was at least 4.0, I think even higher due to the credit you receive from the IB (I hear that some students can even get 4.2 GPA's from taking AP classes or such). However, U of Michigan took off 20% (YES 20%!!!) from her 4.0 GPA (her counselor declared it was 4.0) which knocked it down to a 3.6! Their reason was that she was a foreign student. This was a major disapointment to her. I forgot to say that Michigan was her last choice and that she wanted to go to stanford. My parents and I found out that some colleges just equate an equivalent US grade to your IB grade. So like a 7 is A, a 6 is B, a 5 is C, etc. I honestly think that is unfair and that a grade of 5 on any IB exam should be equivalent to at least a B+. Do you guys know of any college that has this policy? At UCSB, we found some hope when we talked to the international admissions person, who said that all we expect from IB students is an average of 5 on their exams. Unfortunately though I don't really want to go to UCSB (lol).</p>
<p>Any insight into this would greatly be appreciated! Its unfortunate, b/c I've put a lot of work into the IB and have not left enough time for the SAT. I really wanted to take the ACT, but unfortunately all the colleges I want to apply to require the ACT writing test, and the writing test isn't offered outside of the US. My SAT's are also not that good. They are:</p>
<p>I know I'm horrible at the CR section. I've been looking at a lot of books with strategies (lol) but they hardly help. I'm interested in engineering, so I hope that the college I apply to will not take the CR and Verbal section so seriously when I announce I want study engineering.
Thanks, guys.</p>
<p>The IB Program is being adopted by more and more high schools in the USA, but unfortunately, most of the universities and colleges will give credit for High Level courses only. It seems that the whole diploma is hardly considered, but for a list of universities and colleges that do recognize the diploma, please check the IBO website.
As for IB exam grades, it really does not matter in a way because the grades are out in July, the summer after you graduate, and admission decisions are announced in April. And so, an actual score of 40 will not really help.
The Common Application though comes with a Supplement for International Students, and your counselor is suppose to complete this form. He is suppose to give your projected IB exam grades, and I guess this will have some bearing on the admissions process. I do not really know if they do verify later on if you really got those scores. I am guessing that they will only do so if you want credit for the HL courses.
As for converting the IB grades to a GPA, the International Student Supplement gives a guide, but you may want to contact the admissions of the colleges.
Having worked hard for your IB classes is not an excuse for your SAT scores. I personally think that achievement in the CR part really depends on how much you have spent reading in English since kindergarten. But then again, SAT scores also depend on test taking skills to a certain extent. I suggest you enroll in a SAT I Prep course. It should raise your scores somewhat depending on how hard you work. Most students take eight sessions before taking the test. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hi, I'm in a similar situation as you. I take the IB diploma and go to an International school in China, and I was ... how would you say.. somehow felt like the IB diploma would help increase my chances to get into a better college. Unfortunately, I only recently (going-to-be senior) figured out that it doesn't help that much, if at all.. But I just wanted to say, you should be able to have enough time to study for the SAT and should be able to get a decent score if you're able to get A's in your IB classes. I worked quite hard nearing the end of my junior year to improve my SAT score (doing practice tests over and over again) and got a decent score of CR=730, Math=770, Writing=...510. Also without studying for the ACT I got a 29. However, my IB grades aren't that appealing. I do agree that American colleges underrate the IB... But you just have to live with it. Think of it like this, college'll probably be a breeze after taking the classes you took.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies guys. Btw, what is the International Student Supplement? Sorry I'm a little ignorant :D I have taken a couple courses, but I really think it has to do with, like you said, how much I've read over the years of childhood, which isn't very much -_-</p>
<p>@Mcdz: Yeah I'm also going to be senior this year. You're SAT scores are quite impressive. Congrats :D. I do believe the IB to be good preparation for college, my sister was so ahead of all the other newcomers, and hope it will be the same for me.</p>
<p>most top colleges recognize that the IB is an extremely difficult courseload. When they rate you on ur choice of courses/difficulty, IB students are at the top of those numbers. this is a very good thing.
i have to say, sat prep classes, if u choose the right one, are extremely helpful. i raised my score from a 2120 to a 2310 in a few short weeks.
good luck!!!</p>