FAQs

I don’t know what I want to do at university; must I make a decision now?

• No you don’t need to decide what you want to do at university now, and it is very normal not to be sure. However, this is an opportunity to start thinking about the future and considering where your academic strengths and interests lie.

Are HL and SL IBDP subjects considered equally important by universities?

• How you do overall in your IBDP is as important as how well you do in each subject.

• Some universities make conditional offers, usually requiring a certain total number of points, as well as specific subjects and grades in Higher Levels. However, this is not all universities.

• It’s important to be confident about Higher Levels, but you can’t afford to neglect Standard Levels.

What careers can I pursue with my IBDP subjects?

• The IBDP combines breadth and depth and is intended to give you a broad enough foundation to pursue a wide range of possible options at university. Many subjects at IBDP, and many university courses, do not lead to a particular career, but rather equip you with the skills needed to succeed at a professional level. Please see the What Universities Want page for more details.

• Courses such as English, Geography, Chemistry, and Economics all fall into this category; non-vocational degree courses at university can lead to numerous career paths, some that may not even exist at present. 

Do universities prefer some IBDP subjects over others?

• Some highly selective universities prefer IBDP options with no more than one non-traditional or vocational subject e.g. Sports Exercise Health Science.

• US applicants should for more highly selective University applications ensure that they have rigour within their option choices, however this does not mean that taking subjects such as Theatre or SEHS is detrimental to their applications. Another words you can be more flexible!

Can I take three sciences in my IB Diploma options choices?

• No, the IB Diploma has structured their programme to enable a breadth of subjects across Science, Humanities, Math's, English, languages and the arts and Regents International School supports this breadth as excellent preparation for all university programmes. Note for example UK Medical schools do not require 3 Sciences for entry.

• If you want FOCUS then choose the IB Careers Pathway - including University courses that have focus on your chosen career.

How does the points system work in IB Diploma?

• Each of the six subjects is graded out of seven. The Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge are combined to give up to three core points (please see matrix diagram in assessment section.) The total Diploma score is therefore a maximum 45 points.

• Remember in the IB CP and IB Courses pathways there is no overall points score.

How does the IB DP/CP compare to A-levels?

• The International Baccalaureate Diploma and the IB Career Related programme are complete programmes of study, and overall are more comprehensive and rigorous than A-levels. The IB has not suffered from grade inflation and therefore is more able to distinguish between good and excellent students. All universities recognise the IB as at least an equivalent qualification, and in many cases, indicate a preference for it.

Is the IB DP/CP accepted by universities?

• The IBDP is accepted by universities in the UK, the US and across the world. The IBCP is accepted by many markets/countries but not all, you must do your research to check this.

• Please see these University recognition pages which show evidence that for most university systems around the world – the IB Diploma is the best preparation and most accepted programme of study.

Does the IB include coursework?

• Yes, around 20% for each subject and 100% for Arts Subjects and then presentations and essays for 100% of Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay coursework for DP, and for CP 100% of Personal Professional Skills, Reflective Project, Language and Cultural Studies. 

How many students gain top grades?

• Approximately about 150 of IB Diploma students worldwide achieve the top grade of 45 points. However, anything above 36 is considered a top grade and as a broad example if applying to UK Universities –

  • UK Russell group Universities ask for around 36+ 

  • Oxford’s offers are around 38+

  • Cambridge’s offers around 38 – 40+

How does HL Maths equate to Maths A-level courses?

• Higher Level Maths is more rigorous than A-level Maths. Not all university courses that would normally require A-level Maths require IB higher level Maths; many will accept standard level Maths.

What is the difference between A, B and Ab Initio language courses?

• In fact, A and B languages are old terms -

  • A means – courses which are looking at the study of how a Language is used and the Analysis of its Literature. These courses are for first language speakers and are correspondingly more advanced.

  • B are courses of language acquisition and so for second language speakers, i.e. those who have been learning the language for three to five years.

  • Ab Initio literally means beginners but are courses for those that have studied the language for three semesters or less.

• In essence the IB and IGB are looking for students to be appropriately challenged in the languages they study. As mentioned previously you choose your language and we choose the level of study.

Can I take two Arts subjects when I choose my options?

• No if doing the IB Diploma this is not possible at the present time, however if you wish to focus ont eh Arts the IBCP pathway with SCAD can give you that strong focus in the ARTS.

Is the (I)GCSE program or MYP the best preparation for the IB Diploma?

• The MYP programme is setup to prepare students for the transition and ths skills necessary to achieve well, the IGCSE is more contetnt based as so can be good for preparing students for more content based courses however students will need to adapt quickly to the coursework and internal assessment approach.

What is the IB Courses Programme and how does it differ to the full IB Diploma Programme?

• The full IB Diploma programme involves the core and 3 HL and 3 SL subjects. The courses programme enables students to choose how many subjects and how many at SL and HL they would wish to take, and can also choose whether they participate in the core activities apart from CAS in which all IGB students will always be involved. At IGB we recommend 5 or 6 subjects studied.

Do students need to be competent at a foreign language to pursue the IB?

• No as shown above there are a variety of course levels appropriate to those that are beginners to advanced.

• We offer Spanish Initio, as some students decide to start a new language from scratch at the IB.

Does the IB cater for both able and less able students?

• The IB Diploma Programme, IB Careers and IB Courses pathways are inclusive but require all students to be self-motivated and independent learners to succeed. The rigorous standards and demanding workload require a sustained commitment to study, considerable organisation and initiative in all pathways.

• Remember students can achieve from 24 to 45 points to pass the IB Diploma, the IBCP and IB Courses have no specific pass grade so the pathwyas allow for a considerable level of differentiation.

What is TOK?

• TOK (Theory of Knowledge) is an interdisciplinary programme where students are encouraged to think about the strength and limitations of different ways of knowing. To put this simply they analyse how knowledge is constructed in different subject disciplines and areas and how this affects their personal knowledge as well the worlds shared knowledge. 

What is the difference between HL and SL courses?

• At the Higher-Level students study their course for 240 hours over the two years. Standard Level course are run for 150 hours. Within this study time – either the level of difficulty or the amount of content will differ between the SL and HL courses in certain subjects.

Do all students follow the full IB Diploma Programme?

• The majority of students entering into Grade 11 will begin the full IB Diploma Programme or the IB Careers Programme but some students may be advised that both these Programmes are too challenging for them and/or not ideally suited to their college or university aspirations. In these specific situations, the school will direct the student to follow an individualised set of Diploma and High School courses, designed to best meet their needs and abilities. 

Can I take four Higher Level subjects?

• It is possible to take four Higher Level subjects as part of the IB Diploma programme but it is strongly discouraged. The IB Diploma programme is very demanding and can be stressful at times for even the most able students. Universities do not favour students with four Higher levels and taking such a challenging programme could result in weaker performance across the subjects due to the workload pressures. We will consider some students taking four Higher Levels for the start of the IB if they are unsure of which subjects to pursue at a higher level but this would only be for a short period of time and all students would be expected to be on three Higher Levels by the end of Term 1 at the latest. 

• However, in very special circumstances there may be a sensible reason that will not affect a student’s overall performance that IGB will either allow a student to start on 4 Higher Levels, and / or continue to the end of the programme with 4 HL’s. An example maybe their ability at their chosen Language B course is suitable and would not impact heavily in workload for them to do HL rather than SL. 

What is, and how do I achieve, a Bilingual IB Diploma?

• The Bilingual IB Diploma is awarded to students who complete the full IB Diploma in a language that is not their mother tongue. To be awarded a Bilingual IB Diploma, a student must either:

  • Complete two languages selected from Group 1 with the award of a grade 3 or higher in both. For example, a student may take Chinese A: Language and Literature and English A: Language and Literature.

  • Complete one of the subjects from Group 3 or Group 4 in a language that is not the same as a student’s nominated Group 1 language.

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"The results show that students holding an IB Diploma are more likely than students holding an A level qualification to enroll at a Top 20 higher education provider." -  HESA report 2015