At my daughter’s school, AP and IB classes receive a 5.0 for a grade of an A - a 4.5 for the grade/course itself and an additional .5 if the student sits for the exam. Obviously for an AP class, the test is taken at the end of the year, so there is no delay in receiving that extra .5 credit. However, since the IB tests are at the end of the Senior year, an IB student’s GPA and class rank may be artificially low going into Senior year…when it matters most as they apply to colleges.
Is this how it is done throughout the IB programs? Am I wrong to see this as unfair?
Each high school chooses its own way to calculate weighted GPA and class rank.
It can matter if you apply to colleges that take weighted GPA as calculated by your high school at face value, or class rank from your high school. But many college recalculate GPA their own way or just look at your record.
IB HL courses are usually 2 years. And some SL courses are taken junior year. The weighting is for the course, not the exam, although your HS may differ.
Regardless, colleges view the gpa within the context of the HS.
Hi, is your daughter doing the IB Diploma Program? If she is, I think colleges consider IB scores in itself because it can be tricky to convert IB scores to GPA as it differs per school. In any case, the IB is a fantastic college preparatory program, and colleges will certainly take that into account.
Thank you! The schools I am looking at do take weighted and they do not seem to recalculate from what I can tell. My top choice also has auto admissions into Honor College for a student ranked #1 or 2, so there is a lot riding on it. I don’t know how other schools handle it, but it just seems to penalize IB students somewhat.
Yes, she is a junior in the IB program. I agree that colleges really seem to like the rigor of IB, but one of her top schools has guaranteed admissions into their Honors College based on rank, so she has a lot riding on it. A student who takes a lot of AP classes Junior year is going to be bumped up higher than the IB kids, at least until the end of Senior year when the IB kids test and earn that extra .5 credit. It just seems like a disadvantage for the IB students.
@skieurope, not sure I understand what you mean. Are you referring to college weighting or high school weighting? Also, what do mean that the weighting is for the course, not the exam?
Sorry to be dense, but all of this IB stuff is very new to me. I grew up in an entirely different world, I have to say.
Cool, so when you say the weighting is for the course rather than the exam, (generally speaking, of course), what you’re saying is the additional weighting for a high school gpa is for taking the IB course, as opposed to the grade the student gets for the IB exam proper. Do I have that right?
Each HS sends a school profile which among other things should describe how the weighting system at the schools works so admissions officers can review each transcript in the proper context.