<p>Hello, guys</p>
<p>I am a international student, currently attending the university (1st course).
I'd like to take IBDP course, is it possible for university students?
Moreover, how much does it cost?</p>
<p>Thank you)</p>
<p>What does IBDP stand for?</p>
<p>I’ll guess that you mean the International Baccalaureate program. It’s a two-year secondary school program. You cannot get the diploma for passing a set of exams; you actually need to complete the full two-year program. You could probably attend a private high school for two years to get the diploma if you REALLY wanted to, but there’s probably a better way to achieve your goals.</p>
<p>Why don’t you share with us the problem you are trying to solve, and maybe we can help you brainstorm ideas?</p>
<p>b@r!um, thanks for responding.yeap, IBDP = IB diploma programme)
Well, I studied in Kazakhstan, got Kazakhstan High School qualification, which is not familiar to the majority of colleges worldwide. Now I am a 1st year student of one university, but I am not content with that) So, I want to apply for several good colleges(not transfer, just as a freshman), and in order to do that I want to boost my chances somehow. passed some standardized tests, ielts with an overall band score of 7.5, sat I with 2100, and sat II with 2220. Maybe I am wrong, but I think I should do something more. Can you advise some ideas? Oh, and I must somehow obtain financial aid or smth else, despite not having any CCAs(unfortunately, our schools emphasize only studying)</p>
<p>I don’t think you can apply as a first-year applicant if you are already enrolled in a university</p>
<p>As I know, there are some universities, NTU and NUS for example, that consider such applicants as me to be freshman-like)</p>
<p>You are right. American universities would consider you a transfer student, but most other universities in the world let students apply as first-years always. (For example, in most countries college students study their major exclusively. If you want to switch to a different program, you gotta start over as a first-year student.) </p>
<p>How much can you afford to pay (including living expenses)? American universities are infinitely more generous with financial aid for foreign students than universities elsewhere. Unfortunately, almost all of that financial aid goes to first-time college applicants. Unless you can pay for almost all of your college education (say $30,000 a year instead of the $50,000 sticker price) or you are competitive for the tippy top universities (think Princeton or MIT), you probably don’t have much hope there.</p>
<p>What other countries besides the US are you willing to consider? For example, universities in German-speaking Europe are almost free, so you’d only have to pay for your own living expenses. I’d be happy to talk to you more about European and American universities. I am less familiar with Asian universities, so I’ll leave that to someone else’s expertise.</p>
<p>
A second high school credential is not going to impress anyone (unless are applying to universities in a country that cares about nothing but your high school record <em>and</em> you got poor grades in the past). </p>
<p>Who exactly do you want to impress anyway? If you are applying to American universities, you’d be MUCH better off to put your effort into extracurricular activities and interactions with your professors (you’d need two letters of recommendation). If you are applying to British universities, all you should care about are standardized test scores. If you feel a need to polish up your high school credentials for them, you could take a couple of AP exams or A-levels independently. If you are applying to German universities, they’d ignore all of your current credentials and ask you to take an internal proficiency exam instead (e.g. in math and physics for science and engineering applicants). (An IB diploma or APs or A-levels or a number of other credentials substitute for that proficiency testing, but it would probably be easier to just take their test.)</p>
<p>Well, I can’t say I can afford to pay such amount of money, and moreover, I don’t think I am competitive to such universities. Not having any extracurricular activities, I don’t want to apply to American universities (besides, they are rather expensive).
At the same time, the majority of the European universities require knowledge of German language, that would be a little bit difficult to learn. The last option is UK. But again, I consider education there to be expensive) It’s a pity that you don’t know much about Asian universities) What is the best route, in your opinion, for me to get into some good college? Is it a good variant to graduate in my own country and go somewhere for further education?</p>
<p>
To the best of my knowledge, finishing college in your home country and applying abroad for a graduate degree might indeed be the best option. An undergraduate degree in the English-speaking world is just too expensive, and cheaper European universities require knowledge of the local language. </p>
<p>That being said, there might be options in Asia I am not aware of. I am hoping that someone else will jump in.</p>
<p>b@r!um, thank you for responses)</p>
<p>However, I am not willing to finish college here)) So, I’ll try to find something)
Can you tell me whether one can do IB being a college student?</p>
<p>
Last time I checked, you could not take IB exams independently. You had to be enrolled in an IB school and go through the full two-year program to sit for the exams.</p>
<p>I assume that you do not want to go back to high school. Have you considered getting a high school credential by exam? A-level and AP exams can be taken independently, for example, and both are widely accepted by universities across the globe.</p>
<p>However, before you invest more energy into high school-level exams, I would urge you to formulate a plan of action. What will you do once you have the extra credentials? Do you have a specific university (or universities in a specific country) in mind that might accept you with another high school credential but not the credentials you have right now?</p>
<p>I would appreciate if you could share your plans with me. Maybe I’ll learn something new about universities in other parts of the world today. :)</p>
<p>Well, to be precise, I want to get into either National University of Singapore or Nanyang Technological University. However, I don’t think my application to NUS stands good chance. As for NTU, last year I was shortlisted for entrance examinations, passed them but not good enough. This year I have applied for both; I am waiting now. Just in case of failure, I am interested in such credentials as IB, AP, A-levels. Maybe you think that it’d be just waste of time, however, I have enough time to do that since now I am only 17(and I will have finished 1st year by the summer). I believe that these credentials will be of some value for universities) That is my plan)) Perhaps, you can advise a better way)</p>
<p>I will admit I don’t really see your point. From what I understand you are enrolled in Kazakhstan and so the question that arise is what languages do you speak?
If you speak french, you can look at France and Switzerland.
If you speak german, you can look at Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
If you speak english, you can look at Ireland, UK, Sweden, Netherland, Norway and Finland.</p>
<p>In most of those countries, applications is mostly based on a passing grade to the final exam that gives you access to University. If they accept your high school diploma, it should probably be easy to get in.</p>
<p>As b@r!um has said,
“An undergraduate degree in the English-speaking world is just too expensive, and cheaper European universities require knowledge of the local language.”
That’s the problem, I don’t know any European language, except English (and Russian by the way, but education there is almost of the same level as in my home country).</p>
<p>@ b@r!um,
How can I take A-levels examinations? Is it possible to pass them only through self-study?</p>
<p>Oh, and is it possible to take A-level or AP somewhere closer to me?)</p>
<p>
Google “taking A-levels as a private candidate” for suggestions on study materials and how to register for an exam. Be aware that there are several exam boards. They are all equally recognized (as far as I am aware) but differ slightly in their exam format and administration. Some exam boards don’t admit private candidates, for instance, and some don’t have test centers overseas.</p>
<p>If you want advice on A-levels or British-related educational questions, you might get more responses in The Student Room forums. It’s a website very much like College Confidential but geared towards British universities. (College Confidential is mostly about American universities.)</p>
<p>And what about AP exams? Are they conducted in the USA only?</p>
<p>Forgot to ask, how much APs should I take just in order to be competitive with usual students that have ability to take APs during school time?</p>
<p>Regarding A-Levels, usually only Edexcel and CIE exam boards have exams for internationals. OCR (the domestic version of CIE), AQA, WJEC often only allow students in British schools abroad to take their exams.</p>
<p>Edexcel exams are offered in January and June while CIE exams are offered in May/June and October/November.</p>
<p>You can contact the British Council in your country to find out more.</p>
<p>
Good question!</p>
<p>NUS asks for at least 3 AP exams from American applicants: [NUS</a> - Office of Admissions : International Applicants](<a href=“http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/apply/international/admissionreq/BYA-admissionreq.html#qualification]NUS”>http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/apply/international/admissionreq/BYA-admissionreq.html#qualification)</p>
<p>German universities want to see at least 4 AP exams:
- for prospective science and engineering majors: calculus, a science, a language, and a social science
- for all others: English language or literature, one other language, one math or science, one social science
Oh, also, the two Physics C exams or the two Economics exams need to be taken together and count as a single exam as far as the Germans are concerned, so applicants might actually need to take up to 6 AP exams to fulfill the requirement. </p>
<p>The most competitive American applicants would have many more AP exams (and college-level qualifications beyond APs) but you gotta draw the line somewhere.</p>