Original post by zizi.karlYou're obviously new here.
King's only very recently lowered their IB entry requirements due to complaints and pressure from international schools and, believe it or not, 'parents of applicants' who thought the IB entry requirements weren't equivalent to the A-Level listings. Back when I applied during my IB two years ago, their entry requirements for Law, History and the likes were 39, with the majority of other courses ranging from 36 to 38. They've now lowered their maximum admission standards to 35 for the IB across all courses, but with heavier emphasis on the three higher level subjects.
That's not to say they're looking to recruit lower standard students; they will continue to be one of the most competitive UK universities in terms of admissions, but will now consider a slightly broader spectrum of IB candidates. Many people like myself will be there with scores of around 40, simply because the prospectus have changed, and not the standards. As for people you know that have received offers with lower predicted scores; what you see as a 'strong' personal statement is entirely subjective and, quite frankly, theirs must've been stronger to have received an offer from King's! To continue, having a 41 predicted does not make you academically superior to someone predicted, say, a 37. If the latter has more attractive credentials, extracurriculars, a stronger personal statement, a good reference, a subject-specific test score (for applicants to courses like Law), generally seems like a candidate better suited to the principles of King's, or perhaps most importantly, a solid 37 as opposed to a predicted score, they will nearly always be favoured over you. Bear in mind that in my application round, King's received nearly 20 applications per place for Business Management. Any predicted score is, in essence, useless as anything but an indication of how the pupil is valued within their own school. Lastly, remember too that for highly reputable and traditional institutions, which school you are from may even play a part, particularly as an international student.
For the record, you are right, it does annoy me when people underestimate the rigours the IB. It is slowly getting more and more recognition in the UK though, so don't worry about it. Just for your information, Bath is famously not a part of the Russell Group, and Exeter I believe to be a fairly recent addition. In any case, good luck with your applications and your upcoming examinations!