APPLYING TO UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES WORLDWIDE 

Each country has its own individual entrance system for Higher Education, and some universities and colleges have their own entry system. However, the IB Diploma Programme is recognised internationally and students should generally find that their IB Diploma Programme and subject grades are easily understood by different universities and colleges. 

The IB Diploma Programme is widely acknowledged globally as a superb preparation for undertaking university education. The broad range of subjects required to be studied in this diploma enables all students to be able to apply for a very wide range of degrees. This means if university plans change during Year 12 or Year 13, a student is still able to change direction; from a career development perspective, this flexibility offers a distinct advantage over A Level education. In addition, the IB Diploma offers additional benefits in terms of students being able to thrive at university and early career, via the skills and attributes which are formed during the IB Diploma experience: time management, independent research, academic writing, critical thinking, and collaboration, to name but a few.

However, despite the access to degree flexibility offered by the IB Diploma, it is important to realise some degrees, and some national higher education systems, require specific subjects and specific grades, in order to be considered for admission to the university.

Advice and Guidance 

Our Careers and Higher Education team support all students through the lengthy process of research, planning and networking, all of which are prerequisites to the university application stage and getting admitted. By far, the lengthiest time commitment in this process should be each student’s systematic research and investigation into course and university options - the goal being admission to university where there is an excellent “fit and match” between the student and the university experience on offer. This is where the greatest success in higher education will be most likely.

Students need to dedicate the majority of Year 12 conducting systematic research and recording of target universities via their personal Unifrog account, which has a database of thousands of universities and degrees to explore. Unifrog regularly updates data, including global employment trends and is the recommended site to commence all higher education and career research.

Students are advised and strongly encouraged to reach out and consult with Ms Coughlin and Ms. Ali to discuss and explore their research. By term two of Year 12, all students meet with their dedicated university counsellor to develop their plans and to help them gain an understanding of what they need to do next in order to maximise their chance of admission to their target university. Advice will include  improving academic performance in a particular subject, or undertaking independent super-curricular study, or enhancing leadership, or service learning experiences.  

Term 1 for Year 13 students is a busy term, as university applications will need to be submitted and students will need to manage the workload in terms of time and energy involved in applying successfully to university. This additional workload can be viewed as an additional standard level course component of their diploma. It is important therefore that students have a clear action plan, maintain regular contact with the Careers team, and seek advice as often as possible. We will be here to support everyone.

United Kingdom 

The United Kingdom’s university entrance system, UCAS, is a central organisation through which applications are processed for entry into higher education. In term three of Year 12, students who have declared an intention to attend university in the UK, will be taught and guided through the process of registering their online account with UCAS. Students should be aware that for applications to the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge, and for medical degree courses, applications have to be submitted by October 15th; additionally, these applications usually require students to register for and undertake specific admissions tests. Research by students in Year 12 enables them to become fully informed about these tests, and these test requirements should be discussed within the university counselling meetings.

All UK degrees other than those taught at Oxford and Cambridge, and medical degrees, have a closing date of 31st January; however, for application strategy purposes, BISC strongly advises students to apply by the second week of December of Year 13.

A distinct component of the UK application is the very specific nature of the subject admissions requirements. Often, a specific subject or subjects are listed as an essential requirement and at a specific minimum grade. For example, a degree in Psychology may require the applicant to attain a minimum grade 5 in Standard Level Biology, with an overall minimum attainment of 33 points. Course place offers made by universities are therefore “conditional” - this means after receiving a course place offer, e.g. a minimum 33 points with a 5 in Biology, the student has to attain these results in the final IB examinations. For this reason, under the UCAS system, students enter the exam season with a “firm” and also an “insurance” choice (the insurance choice having lower entry requirements in the offer from the university). 

Conditional offers are made by universities on the basis of reviewing predicted grades uploaded by the school, and also to a lesser extent, IGCSE results. It should be noted that the UCAS system does not utilise an academic transcript in any part of the process (other than Cambridge). Alongside the academic data, students upload a 4000 character personal statement (a justification and rationale about why they want to study that degree, and why they will be successful in studying that degree), whilst the school uploads a single reference letter (4000 characters) written by a diploma teacher who knows the students learning behaviours, personal attributes and suitability for the degree in question.

United States 

In the United States, the IB Diploma is recognised for entry into higher education, but a much greater emphasis is placed on school transcript grade, the single page document which lists every subject studied and term grade (the achievement grade as found on the termly reports) from the start of Year 10 through to the end of Year 12. The US system is very different from that found in the UK, in that admissions decisions are based on the recorded track record of termly achievement by the applicant over the last four years of Senior School.  Unconditional university admission offers are made prior to the completion of final IB examinations. 

Another distinctive component of university admissions is the “holistic” nature of decisions for admission. Alongside the transcript of historic academic achievement, students write a personal essay (not about academics but rather an individual response to questions set by each university), and also share evidence of extra-curricular engagement. Predicted grades are not a requirement for the application, although universities sometimes ask counsellors to upload these after the application has been submitted. Counsellors also upload a recommendation letter and complete ranking questions, whilst up to two teachers also write a recommendation letter. Students should be aware that admission is made to the university (applicants do not have to declare what major they want to graduate with) - this is an illustration of the flexibility and open nature of US higher education. A key difference between US and UK admissions, is that universities in the US do not publish minimum entry requirements; however, as a component of research in Year 12, students interested in US options can review the university Admissions Profile, which shows the grade range of the middle 50 percentile of students admitted the previous year - this gives an idea of the common academic strength of students admitted. 

US applicants can apply for “early decision” - a November 1st deadline. This means that by applying in this way, students can get an earlier response from the university, and the student is then obliged to join if admitted. Alternatively, students can apply “early action” - also November - and receive an early response from the university; however, there is no obligation to join if admitted. Applying early can increase the chances of receiving an offer (for university specific details see the admissions profile), however students need to realise the admission is based upon evaluation of Year 10 to the end of Year 12 academic data only (not Year 13 data). Students applying to the US via the “regular” option, will have their term one Year 13 data evaluated by the university - so if a student feels they did not reach their academic performance in Year 12, they may strategise by applying to their target university as a regular applicant, if they have reflected that their academic performance could improve in Year 13; however, the overall track record is of greater significance.

Students applying to the US are sometimes required to complete a standardised multiple choice test, in Egypt, the ACT (Maths, English, Science) - this test score is more frequently required by universities which have more competitive admissions profiles. Additionally, students applying via Early Decision or Early Action can strengthen their application by taking the ACT and including the score in their application. 

Once admitted by a university, in term two of Year 13, students need to be aware that there is an element of trust placed upon both student and School, in that the student will maintain their academic commitment, and that if this waivers, the university counsellor is expected to submit an updated evaluation letter for the student. In an admission letter, students are able to see the conditions of the admission and expectations regarding academic performance prior to completing school, and joining the university.

Additional Countries

Historically, the majority of applications from BISC students are to the UK, followed by to the US. However, every year there are applications to many other countries. As for UK and US applicants, students with other interests utilise their Unifrog account as the primary research portal, especially for research, and from there follow the application procedures as explained on the target university’s website. All students are supported in an impartial and supportive manner, ensuring there is equal access to opportunity.