The IB Diploma Programme is regarded by colleges and universities across the United States and around the world as one of the most valuable means of preparing students for college and the challenges that lie far beyond. In the words of the admissions office from the University of Virginia,
"For admission purposes, we assume that students pursuing a full IB diploma are taking the toughest academic program available to them and that is what the Committee on Admission generally wants to see."
This sentiment is echoed across North Carolina and the United States as colleges seek students who have put themselves in a position to take advantage of the challenges and the opportunities these colleges have to offer.
How do colleges recognize IB Diploma students?
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
The average acceptance rate of IB Diploma candidates into college/university is 22% higher than the average acceptance rate of the total population per a comprehensive 2012 IBO survey. Why is this? Ask Cliff Sjogren, former Director of Admissions at the University of Michigan:
“A transcript that reveals a student’s enrollment in International Baccalaureate courses serves notice to the admissions officer that the applicant is someone who accepts rather than avoids educational challenges.”
The above quote reflects the importance of student transcripts in the college admissions decision. Colleges want to know the extent to which a students challenged themselves and how well students did in those challenging courses. IB students demonstrate their willingness to accept challenging coursework. Their efforts are reflected in their "weighted GPA" and the potential impact on their class rank.
QUALITY POINTS AND GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)
Quality points are the additional points awarded to a student's GPA to reflect the difficulty of the course the student is taking. While a student earns 1/2 quality point for each Honors class taken, they earn 1 full quality point for each AP and IB course taken. Because Diploma Programme Students take approximately 12-14 IB classes during their junior and senior years, they earn a significant number of quality points that can greatly impact their "weighted GPA", and thus their Class Rank, an important factor in the college admissions selection process.
"For admission purposes, we assume that students pursuing a full IB diploma are taking the toughest academic program available to them and that is what the Committee on Admission generally wants to see."
This sentiment is echoed across North Carolina and the United States as colleges seek students who have put themselves in a position to take advantage of the challenges and the opportunities these colleges have to offer.
How do colleges recognize IB Diploma students?
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
The average acceptance rate of IB Diploma candidates into college/university is 22% higher than the average acceptance rate of the total population per a comprehensive 2012 IBO survey. Why is this? Ask Cliff Sjogren, former Director of Admissions at the University of Michigan:
“A transcript that reveals a student’s enrollment in International Baccalaureate courses serves notice to the admissions officer that the applicant is someone who accepts rather than avoids educational challenges.”
The above quote reflects the importance of student transcripts in the college admissions decision. Colleges want to know the extent to which a students challenged themselves and how well students did in those challenging courses. IB students demonstrate their willingness to accept challenging coursework. Their efforts are reflected in their "weighted GPA" and the potential impact on their class rank.
QUALITY POINTS AND GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)
Quality points are the additional points awarded to a student's GPA to reflect the difficulty of the course the student is taking. While a student earns 1/2 quality point for each Honors class taken, they earn 1 full quality point for each AP and IB course taken. Because Diploma Programme Students take approximately 12-14 IB classes during their junior and senior years, they earn a significant number of quality points that can greatly impact their "weighted GPA", and thus their Class Rank, an important factor in the college admissions selection process.
This trend in college acceptances has proven to be case with Millbrook's Diploma Programme Students. Over the past seven years of the MHS Diploma Programme, student acceptance rates have been well above the colleges' and universities' overall acceptance rates. The chart below reflects those MHS acceptance rates as reported to the DP coordinator for the purpose of reporting IB scores to the students' respective universities.
2. College Credit
Most colleges will award college credit to students for IB courses taken based on the scores received on IB assessments. The University of North Carolina system schools recently announced a new Board Policy awarding college credit for all IB exams for scores of 5 for Standard Level assessments and 4 for Higher Level assessments.
For schools outside of the UNC system, students can visit individual school websites and search IB credit to learn their policies. While those policies, most schools do award college credit for strong scores on HL exams. For a sample of those policies at non-UNC system schools frequently attended by MHS Diploma Programme students, click the links below:
Clemson University
University of South Carolina
University of Virginia
Virginia Tech University
Wake Forest University