Veronica Ciastko says she’s been involved in gifted and accelerated programs in the U.S. since fourth grade. Her parents wanted her to continue to be challenged in high school, so together they decided she should enroll in the International Baccalaureate diploma program at her school in Chicago.
The IB diploma is a two-year academically challenging program for students ages 16 to 19 that is offered at more than 4,500 schools worldwide.
“There was the understanding that doing IB gave you a leg up in applying to good universities and getting scholarships,” says Ciastko, now a creative writing student at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
[Get more information on AP and IB diploma programs.]
For prospective international students planning to study at a global university, the IB diploma program may be a good fit. The program is internationally recognized and offers such students preparedness for studying overseas, as well as access to global scholarships specifically for IB diploma holders. Success in the IB program often results in advanced standing, course credit and more at many universities, according to the IB website.
The diploma curriculum is made up of six themes, including math and the arts, as well as the diploma program core, which consists of a Theory of Knowledge course, an extended 4,000-word essay on independent research and a project focused on creativity, activity or service.
Here are two key reasons prospective international students who have the option should consider enrolling in the IB diploma program in high school.
— International recognition for strong academics: Leading global universities recognize that the IB program prepares international students well for undergraduate studies.
“We are huge fans of the International Baccalaureate program. One of the aspects we appreciate most is that the IB program is a complete curriculum, rather than a collection of random courses. There is no question about the rigor of the program in regard to preparing students for rigorous college work,” says Thyra Briggs, vice president for admission and financial aid at Harvey Mudd College in California.
Studies that the IB educational foundation commissioned have shown that, compared with their peers in the U.S., IB students are more likely to enroll in college, choose more selective universities and perform better during their undergraduate studies.
Filipino national Gabrielle Ilagan, a senior at Williams College in Massachusetts, says the IB program significantly improved her writing skills and ability to think critically as well as to articulate and defend a clear, cohesive and concise argument.
“The first 20-page paper I wrote in college was not as daunting because I had written an extended essay for IB and knew I was capable of doing it, whereas some of my friends were struggling,” says IIagan.
[Review the types of IB assessments before the first course.]
More than 900 schools in the U.S. have IB diploma programs, according to the IB website. For U.S. students planning to attend an overseas university, the program can help them meet the varying requirements of different universities’ academic systems.
“With an IB diploma, applicants will not need to submit standardized test scores like SAT, IELTS, TOEFL, ACT,” Linette Lim, director of admissions strategy and outreach at Singapore Management University‘s Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Assistance, said via email.
Lim said the school is committed to holistic admissions and looks for academically successful students but also those with a “positive attitude and aptitude, intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and communication skills.” She said that over the years, the school has found that IB students “are very competitive and have done well in our degree programs.”
— Scholarship funds: Some universities offer scholarships specifically for IB diploma holders, which can be a benefit for prospective international students.
Liz Hunt, admissions manager at the University of Sheffield, says the school highly values students who have completed the IB program.
“We recognize this excellence by offering international students who have studied the IB program the opportunity to apply for our merit-based International Baccalaureate scholarships, which help support high-caliber students pursue a degree at Sheffield,” says Hunt.
Sudanese national Israa Elsayed Ali, a business management major in her final year at the University of Sheffield, says receiving the IB scholarship lifted a huge weight off her family financially.
“It was difficult to find scholarships for undergraduate international students in the U.K. I felt lucky to have gotten the opportunity to do the IB; otherwise, I would not have gotten this scholarship and would not have been able to come to Sheffield, much less the U.K.,” says Ali.
[See global universities where tuition is low or free.]
Students who completed the IB program may also qualify for scholarships not specifically dedicated to IB diploma holders. For instance, Tyrone Carlin, deputy vice chancellor at the University of Sydney, says the school offers the Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarships to international students who have completed an international secondary school qualification equivalent, including IB.
Carlin says students do not need to apply for the scholarship and that all eligible applicants who receive an unconditional offer to study at the school will be considered.
“Selection for these scholarships is based strictly on academic merit and will award between 5,000 and 40,000 Australian dollars toward a recipient’s first-year tuition fees for their enrolled program of study,” says Carlin.
Experts say prospective international students should check the websites of universities they’re interested in for IB-related scholarships.
Now in her fourth year, Ciastko says studying at the University of British Columbia has been easy compared with her high school’s IB program.
“It set my standard for ‘too difficult’ very high,” says Ciastko.
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IB Diploma Prepares Students for Global Universities originally appeared on usnews.com
