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Does taking IB have an impact on the application for University?

So I'm in high school and am completing the IB diploma, but I was wondering whether it has an impact on university decisions on applications. #university #IB

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Aaron’s Answer

Yes, it most certainly does have an impact on the your college applications, and does weigh on admissions decisions, etc. When you are in an IB program, you take a higher level of more challenging and difficult classes than other high school diploma paths. Where I am from (Dallas, Texas USA), we were awarded a higher level GPA for taking harder classes in our IB program. For example, the standard diploma path may only be eligible for total GPA points of 4.0 but if you are in advanced IB classes, then your would be eligible for a maximum grade point average of 5.0. This ultimately has a large impact in your overall class ranking when it comes to your peers because you have the opportunity to stand out if you do well. Also, colleges recognize that the high school diploma path you took is more advanced and difficult than the average, and they would put more weight on those classes which gives you a better change of being accepted to your university of choice. If you want to go to a school that is hard to get into and has a very competitive admissions process, then IB will put you in a much better position to potentially be admitted in the future if you do well.

Aaron recommends the following next steps:

Reach out to your high school counselor and ask them what are the advantages of completing the IB program as opposed to the standard diploma track
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Kendrick’s Answer

Taking either AP or IB classes will look very good on your college applications, as it shows you're challenging yourself with college-level courses. There's no real preference or benefit from doing one program or the other, as long as you do well in your chosen courses. The IB Diploma Program is well known in the US, where it’s unofficially accepted as a “college standard” curriculum. Universities tend to admit IB students at a higher rate than their non-IB counterparts. When admissions officers see the IB DP qualification on your application, they automatically get a picture of you as a student and an insight into your character. The IB offers a broad education by requiring students to pick subjects from a range of academic disciplines. This, in turn, gives students a well-rounded liberal arts perspective, which is highly sought after in the US university admissions process. The IBO aims to create well-rounded students with all of its programs. They do this by making sure students show achievement not only academically, but non-academically as well. This works in favor of US universities who look for things like community involvement, leadership, research, and impactful projects – all of which are built into the IB curriculum.
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Hanna’s Answer

Yes, it will look great on your application.
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Jasmine’s Answer

I found that having done a few IB courses while in high school set me up well for university. In my senior year of high school, I took biology, math and English. Come university, I was able to transfer my biology credit and thus go directly into a second year biology course. For English, though I wasnt able to transfer my credit, we read many of the same books that I had already read in IB English, thus I didn't have nearly the amount of work to do as my peers. For math, I had already been introduced to calculus which was a first year course in university. while many of my peers struggled becuase they hadn't seen the concepts before, again, I had much less work to do than those who hadn't seen the concepts before.
Come my fourth year of university, because I had transferred a credit in first year, I didn't have to take a fifth course in either my first or second semester, and therefore I was able to work a part-time job while studying my other four courses, something that my peers wouldn't have had as much time for. As well, courses in university are expensive. Because I had transferred a credit, it was ~$1500 in course fees that I didn't have to pay for.
I remember thinking that IB was a waste of time when I was in high school, but in hindsight, it was well worth my time and effort.
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