Harvard , MIT and the ivy leagues

[dubyawhy]

No actually IB is NOT valued as much as AP. At best it's valued the same.

Think Math SL. You cover basically all of the Calculus AB material, yet colleges won't give you the same credit for Math SL.

Think Physics HL. Those passing AP Physics C with a 5 are granted placement out of many of the introduction courses. Physics HL is only granted placement out of 101.

Alot of the US colleges calculate the IB results out of 42 - showing that they really don't care about EE or TOK.

Also, while a college will give credit to someone scoring 5 on an AP test, they will only give the same credit to someone getting 7 in the IB test. This is outrageous. We all know how hard it is for a student to get 7 in an IB exam as opposed to the APs. 4% of History HL candidates get a 7. Over 10% get 5s in APUSH, Euro and World. IB is much more difficult.

[Chronofox]

Since AP is an american program, State universities will generally prefer Advanced Placement over International Baccalaureate.

IB's a lot more popular amongst European universities, though their standards for IB students there are quiet high as well (and rather unfair compared to their A-Level expectations).

[Forester]

from my personal experience, with regards to credits in the ivies, as long as you are of a certain level, it doesn't matter if you took IB or AP. they WILL let you enroll in higher level courses if you are competent enough.

For example, if you took Math SL, but was confident enough to go straight to multivariable calculus - they will not stop you.

i think the most important thing in ivy league admissions (not trying to sound cliched, but), you have to differentiate yourself. make yourself stand out somehow. everyone applying will have great transcripts and amazing ECs. i found inspiration on how to turn my application into a story via watching movies such as "precious" and "the fighter". i feel like if you take the admissions officer on a journey he/she will not forget, he/she cannot reject you. people always warn students not to get too personal in their essays or applications, but i disagree. if you are putting a wall between you and the person reading your application, even if you get admitted, it wont be based on who you actually are, but rather on the person who you say you are on paper.

[Guest Red XII]

2200+ SAT / 33+ ACT are generally a good bet in the US.

Most quality US universities consider IB to be the most or among the most rigorous courseloads you can take (comparable to or better than taking practically all APs). Any admissions offices that don't value the IB highly are silly and way behind the times. For purposes of admissions, IB is as good as or better than AP. For purposes of credit once you're admitted, they're still far more generous with AP. Somehow it makes sense to give more credit for exams that are generally considered easier and to require scores quite arguably above the AP --> IB rough equivalent.

At Ivies and other extremely selective institutions, most of the applicants are academically strong. While there is definitely a lot of emphasis on your standardized test scores and your transcripts (but little to none on IB predicted scores) - and you will not be admitted if they're not up to snuff, the bulk of the admissions decision is made with your essays, activities, awards, and accomplishments (because these are the things that differentiate between the massive numbers of academically qualified students).

[Hexa]

Good luck.

My dream is to get into MIT.

I'll keep dreaming till I get my rejection letter.

I wish you better luck.

[Guest Red XII]

No actually IB is NOT valued as much as AP. At best it's valued the same.

Think Math SL. You cover basically all of the Calculus AB material, yet colleges won't give you the same credit for Math SL.

Think Physics HL. Those passing AP Physics C with a 5 are granted placement out of many of the introduction courses. Physics HL is only granted placement out of 101.

Alot of the US colleges calculate the IB results out of 42 - showing that they really don't care about EE or TOK.

Also, while a college will give credit to someone scoring 5 on an AP test, they will only give the same credit to someone getting 7 in the IB test. This is outrageous. We all know how hard it is for a student to get 7 in an IB exam as opposed to the APs. 4% of History HL candidates get a 7. Over 10% get 5s in APUSH, Euro and World. IB is much more difficult.

This is an issue with the people in the individual academic departments who determine what to grant credit for. It's based on a few flawed studies, as there isn't much research on the comparisons between IB and AP yet.

This issue does not carry over to admissions offices when it comes to looking at your transcript. Admissions offices are well acquainted with the rigor of the IB diploma. It's just the faculty that are lagging behind.

[harvardreamer]

HARVARD 4EVER

OH GOD i do really want go to HARVARD !!!

is it really impossible to go

I don`t think so

at least i have self confidence

[zakia]

i have a ib level 5 in SL math, do i still have a shot at Wharton Business school becasue i know they want strong math backgrounds

[jmw]

i have a ib level 5 in SL math, do i still have a shot at Wharton Business school becasue i know they want strong math backgrounds

Depends what course you are interested in, but generally they would like a 6/7 for SL. But for say economics, a 5 may be fine.

[dogmatichurricane]

i have a ib level 5 in SL math, do i still have a shot at Wharton Business school becasue i know they want strong math backgrounds

Depends what course you are interested in, but generally they would like a 6/7 for SL. But for say economics, a 5 may be fine.

A 5 in SL would hardly be fine. Amongst all social sciences, Economics requires the most application of math, statistics.