Each IB course is graded on a scale of 1 to 7 - with a 7 being
the highest grade attainable. Attaining a 7 in an IB course
can be quite a challenge and rumours are that each year the
IB Organisation makes it slightly harder for students, but
earning your 7 is still doable. (Although IB does not "curve",
around 8% of grades are 7s.) What is significant about this
is that universities will generally like seeing your IB grades
because they give a better evaluation of a student than scores
in a system where grade inflation is rampant, such as the
UK A-Levels.
An IB Diploma receives a score out of 45. Out of those,
42 (or 6 x 7) will come from your course grades, while 3
"bonus points" will be given to you by combining
your Extended Essay and TOK scores (AA or AB = 3, BB or
BC = 2, etc.). So it is important to do equally well both
on your TOK and your Extended Essay if you want points for
them.
The following is a scale of IB scores and what they mean
(written from a European perspective):
> Below 24 In this range, counting
point is useless because it amounts to a fail. About 20%
of IB students fail their Diploma; in my opinion, this is
simply because they have not worked or have a poor understanding
of English, or were victim to another failing condition
(such as malpractice). While attaining higher scores may
be tough, anyone who works for it can pass the IB.
> 24-28 Students in this range have
barely scraped by; 24 points is the absolute minimum but
there are a number of failing conditions that only clear
if you reach 28 points. Students in this range will find
it hard to find a place in any university except those who
only require a pass. Schools offering professional trainings
may accept them.
> 29-31 Students with such scores are
average and will generally find many universities who are
happy to take them.
> 32-35 This is what most good students
score, and students in this range generally comfortable
fit into good universities. Most continental European public
universities place their threshold for admission around
this range, although in most cases the real cut-off will
be at university exams.
> 36-39 This is officially an "excellent"
score. Students in this range often attend US universities
within the top 50 or very good UK universities such as Warwick
or Edinburgh. The lowest possible offer from Oxford is 38
points, but offers are generally higher.
> 40-45 This is an outstanding score
range, reached by only 6-7% of candidates every year. No
university will ever ask more of you than 41 points, except
in extremely rare circumstances. Needless to say, these
students often end up studying at Harvard, MIT, Oxford,
Cambridge or comparable institutions. Achieving 45 points
will place you in the top 50-60 of the 30,000 Diploma candidates
for that year.
Of course, no US University will require that you achieve
a certain number of points to be accepted. The above comments
are thus a mix of my own extrapolation from how the UK system
works and experiences gathered from the people I know who
have gone on to study in the US.
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