High school grades/College acceptance?

[LVKflash]

oihoihoibnlibklugbv

 

[Morm]

IB gets you basically fuck all in life. They make zero difference in the long run.

 

[Polis4rule]

Somewhat helps getting into college. After that, doesn't help you out at all.

I've heard that your IB program in particular is quite excellent though.

 

[Eraddd]

Im in the international baccalaureate program at the united nations int'l school, and i was wondering what opinion colleges have of the IB...

the ib scale goes from 1-7 and you are required to take 3 higher level classes (kind of like AP) and 3 standard level classes. All your higher classes are bumped up 2/3 of a grade on your transcript (like from a 5 to a 5+ to a 6-) and standard level grades are bumped up 1/3 (like from 5 to 5+)

i have been getting primarily 6+ to 7 range, and my sat diagnostic (i have yet to take it) was between 2200 and 2300.

how good are my chances of getting into a really nice university? (Harvard..?)

also, what is the act? should i take it this year? (11th grade)

Universities don't give two shits about your IB grades. Your regular grades and GPA count far more. While it's true that they do look a bit highly on IB courses, they couldn't care less what your predicted or actual grades are (unless it's for credit).

The only reason why I took IB is because the schools around my area suck balls, and that the regular program consisted of the exams being bumped around 20-30% each time there was a major exam. That being said, I thought it wasn't a waste of my time, and now I'm busy raping university courses, because it's pretty much a review of what I did in grade 11 (Not even grade 12 stuff yet =/ It might be just my university though).

Oh and it helps you identify your interests. While depriving your sleep at the same time. Although the same happens in university, you just get a year start on what you will experience during midterms and finals (except almost all year long!)

If you can get a 6-7 range, IB will be fine for you, and hopefully your GPA won't suffer (like mine did). For example, a 70%+ in physics IB HL is considered a 7, but some schools refuse to scale (like mine), so I ended up with a 75% in Physics HL, while getting a 6/7 predicted, and a 6 on my finals (which was partly due to me giving up, because I got into the universities I wanted to, and couldn't go to most of them, resulting in me being pissed the hell off and just gamed the entire exam week).

Oh and Harvard receives so many good applicants, even getting those marks probably won't be enough. My friend got a predicted 45, 97%+ average, plays for his province for soccer (and was about to be recruited by a professional team in our area, but he got sent to Harvard so...), and was the top in his category for the Sun Run for the U-18 section. He was also rejected from Yale and Stanford.

So good luck, and don't lose your life in university applications. Find a school that's a bit realistic, while having the Ivy Leagues in mind. And remember to enjoy high school. That's the one part I regret, that I'm making it up with university.

 

[LVKflash]

sagbaerbaerbadrsnbarnb

 

[Eraddd]

yeah my school curves everything up as wel. im taking IBHL math, so if i can get above an 85% it counts as a 7+... i probably have to stop gaming though lol like i spend a large chunk of my evening playing competitively and updating my youtube account... (not to say my homework isn't getting done though)

ive heard as well that college courses may be easy in comparison with ib courses, but i agree that its helping me find my interests, especially in math and chem.
i know it isnt enough to have good grades, you have to have extracurriculars and sports as well (but thats why im head of 3 clubs and on the track and tennis teams :D)

thank you for ur answer tho very informative

Again, doens't matter what your mark is in IB, it's your GPA that counts. I hope your school scales your GPA up, not just your IB grades, because that would probably screw you over.

Oh and I hope you rank in the top 3% in your class =/ And have references to back then up.

 

[Polis4rule]

Colleges generally won't curve your grades just because you're in IB (I don't know exactly what the Ivies do, but I know the elite private schools elsewhere don't and state schools don't give a shit). As most schools in the US have traditional grade scales (American that is), they want high grades. I know my IB school graded traditionally (we didn't do so hotly on the IB exams, as we were their first graduating class and they fucked up numerous times during our instruction).

That being said, there are still very excellent universities in the US that aren't Ivy league schools. I'd recommend looking into US World News and Report's rankings of colleges. Though they tend to heavily favor liberal art schools and schools that have good liberal art programs, you can get a good idea about what schools fall in what area of the ranking.

Also, what do you want to be? If it's something like becoming a doctor, then it's primarily med school that's the determining factor for getting that excellent job; you can go to an in-state school for undergraduate, do excellently there, and then go to Harvard or so for grad school. Just food for thought.

But yeah, do what eraddd said. Just be sure to actively participate and excel in extracurriculars and don't stress out too much for college applications.