Will I be able to get good predicted grades?

[Julia B.]

I just finished my first year of IB, and my HLs are History, English and Geography (SLs are Math, Bio and Portuguese). Because of some personal issues (namely depression), my grades were pretty low. While I got a 6 in English without even trying, I got a 2 in Geography and a 3 in History. I know, I know... Reeeally bad, but I didn't feel motivated to study at all with all the crap going on in my head.

I know that if I work hard enough next year I'll be able to get a 7 in English. I'm aiming for a 6 in Geo and a 6 in History (which I also know I can get if I make an effort). I'm so worried that my predicted grades will reflect my gr 11 marks and ruin my chances of getting in the university of my dreams. I want to apply to unis in the UK around late November/early December, so do you guys think it's possible to improve my grades and get good predicted marks before I have send in my applications?

Considering I get the grades I'm predicting myself, will my gr 11 marks matter as much as my gr 12 ones?

Thanks for the help!

[Procrastination]

Hello Julia, let me tell you that unfortunately your gr 11 marks matter as much as your gr 12 ones. The International Baccalaureate is a 2 year program and there's almost no difference between both of them, it is a process.

It is pretty important that you acknowledge that getting 6 and 6 for History and Geography will be pretty pretty hard but it is not impossible. Maybe you'll not get a high predicted grade in geography since you scored a 2 In this year. You should start working very hard to fulfill your dream in your Internal Assesments, those are serious topics so yeah, you could change your predicted grades if you do pretty amazing IAs, and when I say pretty amazing IAs, I am refering to something that will blew minds! You'll have to study a lot and try to get high grades in your MOCKs, those have certain influence in your predicted grades too.

Let me tell you something with a lot of respect, it will be pretty hard and I don't really think you'll get a 6 in Geography because of the 2 you got this year, you can't repair something that was supposed to be made in a 1 year lapse of time.

I hope it helped.

[Rigel]

Hello Julia, let me tell you that unfortunately your gr 11 marks matter as much as your gr 12 ones. The International Baccalaureate is a 2 year program and there's almost no difference between both of them, it is a process.

It is pretty important that you acknowledge that getting 6 and 6 for History and Geography will be pretty pretty hard but it is not impossible. Maybe you'll not get a high predicted grade in geography since you scored a 2 In this year. You should start working very hard to fulfill your dream in your Internal Assesments, those are serious topics so yeah, you could change your predicted grades if you do pretty amazing IAs, and when I say pretty amazing IAs, I am refering to something that will blew minds! You'll have to study a lot and try to get high grades in your MOCKs, those have certain influence in your predicted grades too.

Let me tell you something with a lot of respect, it will be pretty hard and I don't really think you'll get a 6 in Geography because of the 2 you got this year, you can't repair something that was supposed to be made in a 1 year lapse of time.

I hope it helped.

It depends.

Some guys in my Geo class got a 2 in IB1, but they got a 7 in IB2! I guess it doesn't matter too much regarding that matter...

I don't know how it can be managed in your school, but IB1 are important.. Unless the Uni you are applying for doesn't care about that. Most of Universities in Canada do, though... Just don't give up!!

[Guest PoisonousPumpkin]

Well in my school IB1 matters as much as IB2 , even though you can get a 7 in IB2 , if you got a 2 in IB1, the most probable thing is that you'll get a 5 or 5.5 as your predicted grade.

[Julia B.]

Thanks for the replies (:

People always tell me IB grades are scaled up, so I was hoping to ace every test/IA during the beginning of gr 12 so my predicted grades could be good enough.

What a teacher told me once was that if you get 2s and then start getting 6s and 7s, your grade would be a 6 or a 7. At my school, the teachers translate the IB mark from the "regular" school mark, and they don't exactly scale it up (at least not in the report cards). And taking into account that the university I want to go to wants me to get around 35 points overall, it shouldn't that hard (hopefully).

Oh, and I'm going to Cambridge University for a creative writing course nest month. Does anyone know if summer programs make any difference in a uni application?

[Rigel]

Thanks for the replies (:

People always tell me IB grades are scaled up, so I was hoping to ace every test/IA during the beginning of gr 12 so my predicted grades could be good enough.

What a teacher told me once was that if you get 2s and then start getting 6s and 7s, your grade would be a 6 or a 7. At my school, the teachers translate the IB mark from the "regular" school mark, and they don't exactly scale it up (at least not in the report cards). And taking into account that the university I want to go to wants me to get around 35 points overall, it shouldn't that hard (hopefully).

Oh, and I'm going to Cambridge University for a creative writing course nest month. Does anyone know if summer programs make any difference in a uni application?

It could!

And well yeah they do, they translate the regular school mark into the IB mark..

And well the Uni i want to go also needs 35 points overall!

Where do you want to study?

[Procrastination]

Oh that Cambridge University writing course seems pretty interesant, I bet that'll help you somehow with English.

Everything that you've done and that you are proud of counts in the university application, everything. I had a conference with Georgetown University, Harvard, U Penn and Stanford a month ago and I made several questions to them at the end about the uni application, they want to know everything you've done in your life in your personal statement, this includes extracurricular activities such as Model United Nations, if you play an instrument, play a sport, love photography blah blah blah, if you have attended to conferences (Such as the one you're talking about), volunteer for social causes, among others.

I think the university applications between Canada and the United States dont differ a lot and they'd like to know as much of your personal life too. Let me clarify, I was talking about BIG WONDERFUL Unis but I bet that the university you're planning to assist would like, besides academic reputation with IB, something that'll make you different from the others. 8-)

[Julia B.]

My first choice is St Andrews (it's truly the university of my dreams), but I'm aware that my grades might not be good enough. They require at least 35 (or so the website says - and 38 for their English course). I want to be a writer, though, so I'm counting on my personal statement to get me in, haha. Other than St Andrews, I'd love to go to Newcastle Uni or Aberystwyth Uni! What about you?

Oh that Cambridge University writing course seems pretty interesant, I bet that'll help you somehow with English.

Everything that you've done and that you are proud of counts in the university application, everything. I had a conference with Georgetown University, Harvard, U Penn and Stanford a month ago and I made several questions to them at the end about the uni application, they want to know everything you've done in your life in your personal statement, this includes extracurricular activities such as Model United Nations, if you play an instrument, play a sport, love photography blah blah blah, if you have attended to conferences (Such as the one you're talking about), volunteer for social causes, among others.

I think the university applications between Canada and the United States dont differ a lot and they'd like to know as much of your personal life too. Let me clarify, I was talking about BIG WONDERFUL Unis but I bet that the university you're planning to assist would like, besides academic reputation with IB, something that'll make you different from the others. 8-)

I've been to a few conferences like that too. Mm, thank you for the motivation, it means a lot! Sometimes I feel pretty hopeless when it comes to IB and my marks, so it's always good to hear some encouragement, haha. I'm just so worried that next year will come around and I'll be university-less, *sigh*.

[Rigel]

My first choice is St Andrews (it's truly the university of my dreams), but I'm aware that my grades might not be good enough. They require at least 35 (or so the website says - and 38 for their English course). I want to be a writer, though, so I'm counting on my personal statement to get me in, haha. Other than St Andrews, I'd love to go to Newcastle Uni or Aberystwyth Uni! What about you?

Well i was planning on going either to McGill University or to the UofT.. I want to study the Maths and Physics course! It's really interesting.

Well, i don't need too much for going into those unis, but i'm aiming for a 40/45 in my final grade! Hehe

[Julia B.]

Well i was planning on going either to McGill University or to the UofT.. I want to study the Maths and Physics course! It's really interesting.

Well, i don't need too much for going into those unis, but i'm aiming for a 40/45 in my final grade! Hehe

I live in Canada, and I'm pretty sure you'd be able to get in those unis with a 35+. But a 40 is amazing! With a mark like that you should be aiming higher, haha.

[Rigel]

Well i was planning on going either to McGill University or to the UofT.. I want to study the Maths and Physics course! It's really interesting.

Well, i don't need too much for going into those unis, but i'm aiming for a 40/45 in my final grade! Hehe

I live in Canada, and I'm pretty sure you'd be able to get in those unis with a 35+. But a 40 is amazing! With a mark like that you should be aiming higher, haha.

I would lol, but money is a problem .

And where are those Unis located? In Canada?

And in which part of Canada do you live?

[Procrastination]

Money's always a problem But maybe you could get a scholarship with 40+ in some universities.

[Julia B.]

I would lol, but money is a problem .

And where are those Unis located? In Canada?

And in which part of Canada do you live?

McGill is in Montreal (they speak English in the university, but French in the city), and UofT is in Toronto. They're both on the east side of Canada, and I live near Vancouver on the west coast. UBC is pretty good too - if you're planning to come to Canada, you should look into it too!

[Rigel]

I would lol, but money is a problem .

And where are those Unis located? In Canada?

And in which part of Canada do you live?

McGill is in Montreal (they speak English in the university, but French in the city), and UofT is in Toronto. They're both on the east side of Canada, and I live near Vancouver on the west coast. UBC is pretty good too - if you're planning to come to Canada, you should look into it too!

Ughh lol how is Vancouver btw?

[Julia B.]

Ughh lol how is Vancouver btw?

It's pretty good. Very clean and people are usually adorably nice (:

I'm from Brazil though, and moved here about 3 years ago. Compared to Brazil, Canada is like heaven, haha. Whereabouts do you live?

[Proletariat]

Montreal is officially French, but almost everyone that you would interact with will be able to speak both languages. About 10% of the city's population only speak English. It's also got one of Canada's (and imo, North America's) best nightlife/party scenes (four major Unis in one town ^^) As far as costs go, I know UoT is quite expensive, and while I don't know about UoT scholarships, 25% of entrance scholarships at McGill go to international students (which make up only about 10-12% of the undergrad pop.)

As for predicted, it's all up to your teachers. There is no set policy on predicted grades; if you maintain friendly relations with your Geo and History teachers and significantly improve in the beginning of next year (although I thought UK international apps were quite early ><) then it's possible that they'll be lenient and/or more inclined to predict you fairly well. Most teachers I know are not actively trying to deny their students access to unis =p

[dessskris]

sorry to interrupt the convo,

I think some teachers might give you predicted grades not just based on your exams or such. but also from your performance throughout the year. for example, I know an alumnus who is really good at math and took math HL. but in her mock exams she only got a 6. but her teacher gave her a 7 as her predicted grade, because she believed that this student could get a 7 and had always got a 7 before. so yeah, in the real exams she actually got a 7.

what I'm trying to say here is like you got 2 and 3 in geo and history. if next term you suddenly get 6s, your teachers might be kinda surprised and not believe that you could maintain it because you had got 2 and 3 before.

the key is to show your teachers that you are willing to work extra hard and that you really want a good grade. trust is the key. good luck!

[Julia B.]

As for predicted, it's all up to your teachers. There is no set policy on predicted grades; if you maintain friendly relations with your Geo and History teachers and significantly improve in the beginning of next year (although I thought UK international apps were quite early ><) then it's possible that they'll be lenient and/or more inclined to predict you fairly well. Most teachers I know are not actively trying to deny their students access to unis =p

I do maintain friendly relations with them (: They're both amazing, and I'm doing my EE in History so me and my teacher talk quite a bit. I know my Geo teacher thinks highly of me because I actually sat down with him and talked about how I wanted to work harder and improve my marks next year. He said he "really appreciated my effort", which made me happy. And, well, thank you for the encouragement haha :3

sorry to interrupt the convo,

I think some teachers might give you predicted grades not just based on your exams or such. but also from your performance throughout the year. for example, I know an alumnus who is really good at math and took math HL. but in her mock exams she only got a 6. but her teacher gave her a 7 as her predicted grade, because she believed that this student could get a 7 and had always got a 7 before. so yeah, in the real exams she actually got a 7.

what I'm trying to say here is like you got 2 and 3 in geo and history. if next term you suddenly get 6s, your teachers might be kinda surprised and not believe that you could maintain it because you had got 2 and 3 before.

the key is to show your teachers that you are willing to work extra hard and that you really want a good grade. trust is the key. good luck!

I get your point. Teachers seem to like it when the student shows initiative. I'm pretty good at bugging my teachers and asking the tons of questions after class, so hopefully they'll see that I'm willing to learn! And thank you (: