College and IB
This page is designed to assist students and families in leveraging the benefits of IB after high school. At BHS, we believe IB benefits students in three key ways: College Readiness, College Acceptance, and College Credit.
This page has details on each of those three benefits, followed by the IB University Admission YouTube playlist, and frequently asked questions.
college readiness
In IB courses you work hard, learn to communicate effectively, and think critically. You learn time management and resiliency too! These are the most important contributors to a student’s success after high school.
college acceptance
Taking IB courses also lets colleges know that you took some of the most challenging courses offered at BHS, which helps with college admissions. The IB Diploma can sometimes set you apart from other applicants!
college credit
Most colleges offer credit for IB Exams, especially on HL Exams scoring a 5 or higher. Additionally, colleges may waive some course requirements as well. Some colleges and universities even award sophomore status to students who earn the IB Diploma. Every college is different, so do your research! Use the spreadsheet below to help!
IB University Admission: youtube playlist
The videos here are part of a 29-video YouTube playlist available on the IB's YouTube Channel.
To see all of the videos on the playlist, click the 3-bar icon in the upper-right corner of the video or, for the playlist page on YouTube, click here.
For a direct link to IB's YouTube channel, click here.
How do I know if a college I'm interested in takes IB Exams for credit?
Almost every college or university in the United States offers credit for IB Exams, but every college has its own specific policy, so there is no universal rule that applies to all of them. The best way to learn about the credit-awarding policies for a college or university you are interested in is to Google it! For example, type "University of New Hampshire IB Credit" into the Google Search bar and you'll likely find your answer right away!
(And for the record, UNH offers 8 credits for HL Exam scores of 5 or higher; 8 credits at UNH is the equivalent of two semester classes!)
How do I send IB Exam scores to colleges?
There are two ways to send your scores to colleges:
The IB will send all of your scores to one college or university of your choice for free. This request must be made during your senior year, and it must be made before your exam scores come out. Furthermore, the request must be made on your behalf by the IB Coordinator. Each May, the BHS IB Coordinator sends out a Google Form to seniors who took at least one IB Exam. Completing this form lets the IB Coordinator know to request that your scores be sent.
If you want to wait until after your scores are released (or, if you did not have your scores sent senior year) you can request that IB send your scores as a transcript to the college of your choice. There is a fee associated with this service. The details for how to complete this procedure can be found here.
What will my college think of me if I do poorly on my exams?
A lot of students are nervous about sending their scores to their colleges out of fear that they might not do well. Colleges do not care about that! By the time your scores are released you will have been accepted to college, declared, bought the sweatshirt, and will have likely paid your first tuition deposit -- your college is not going to un-admit you because of a low IB Exam score, so you have nothing to lose but, potentially, credits to gain!
My college claims they did not receive my exam scores, what do I do?
Most colleges and universities receive IB Exam scores electronically. The scores are not "sent", rather, they are made available to your college/university digitally. Colleges have access to an IB system that requires them to log in and retrieve your scores.
Sometimes colleges do this automatically for all incoming freshmen. If you are unsure whether or not your college has accessed your scores and has awarded you the appropriate credits, reach out to your college's registrar's office and ask. Usually that solves the problem.