International IB - What are your culture's standards like?

[Guest]

Hello! Apologies for the question phrasing, I couldn't think of another way to word it.

I'm from Singapore and being a very academically driven country we hold ourselves to high standards - most of my cohort are aiming for 36 points and above, good students for the 42-45 range. We always hear stories about IB-ers in other countries, particularly Western ones, being satisfied with point ranges in the 30+ range and loving it if they get a 4 or 5, is that true for you guys? Would love to find out what kind of standards are 'normal' within your cultures, and the degree of exaggeration we're getting haha.

State your country and share below!

[ABKor752]

Speaking mainly for my own school, everyone stresses out about getting those 6's or 7's, but it is the teachers who try to calm us down by saying we only need a 4 or 5, and that is where we get our standards from. Personally, I am only striving for a 4 or a 5 just because I do not want to stress myself out that much. That might be true for other areas of the U.S. but obviously I am not speaking for everyone

 

[shellziess]

In our school it is quite different. We have a range of people who strive for 40+ points and then there is some that are fine with just passing but it really depends on the person. Personally I strive for 37 or more points, because I want to have a bit more than my uni requires. 

Edited July 2, 2017 by shellziess

[mac117]

Hi there!

I'm from Central Europe, but currently live in Western Europe, so I guess my mentality is a mix of both. In my school, most people are indeed satisfied with 32+ points. This isn't because they aren't capable of more, but this is usually the minimum cutoff for most majors in European universities. Of course, this isn't a rule of thumb here. Some need to be motivated to work harder, and some  have to be reminded that it isn't all about getting the perfect grades.

Personally, I am aiming for 42+ points, with 7776 in my HLs. It is roughly the condition for my dream university, and I would probably be disappointed if I were to receive an offer and then miss is due to an inadequate number of points.

As someone who has a few friends in Asia (who either are Asian or moved there from Europe) I have to say some of what is told about Europeans doing the IB is exaggerated. Surely, our scores aren't nearly as perfect as the ones there, but we still strive for the best grades possible. Naturally, one's abilities and expectations might shift the definition of what such grades might be. 

[revumol7]

Heya!

I am from Canada (from an east-indian background), and we see a diverse range of expectations here too, mostly because our class is extremely diverse (with about 10 countries represented). However everyone mostly is striving for 35+. Good students aim for 39+. The highest our school has ever seen is 41.

[abc7]

In America, IB is not very common, because most students take AP courses. In addition, not every school that offers IB, like mine, is a good school. My school does not have very smart students, which is why we don't strive to get 6s or 7s, because it's very uncommon for our school to have students who get only 6s and 7s. 4s and 5s are what we aim for, and what our teachers prepare us for. 
Even in the good American schools, IB scores come out after we've graduated and enrolled into a university. For instance, while I want my scores to be 6s and 7s, it doesn't matter to me if they aren't. I mean I'll be sad, but even if I don't get my IB diploma, I get to go to the college. Colleges here don't admit us based on our predicted scores or anything that has to do with IB scores. So after you get into college (here), you're prone to senioritis because it doesn't matter what your scores are in the end.