Cambridge and the International Baccalaureate

I can't say that they love the IB, I think the stance is more that they don't hate it.

Having said that, it is usually harder to meet an IB offer than to meet an A level offer, as we have more subjects, some of them more in depth, and we don't get the opportunity to retake (before offer results are counted). And also because A's in A levels are a dime a dozen.

General minimum offer from oxbridge is 38/45 points overall; higher standards will be called for competitive positions, e.g. 40 or even 42 for law/medicine. Sometimes they will ask for specific grades in your higher levels, e.g. I have to get 7/7/6 in Math/Phy/Eng.

Reply 2

afoneleri

for medicine - make sure you have two sciences at least at higher level (NB: sciences include maths...) and a third at standard level. Ideally, two sciences and maths at higher level, though I think they're fairly flexible. I was given an offer of 7,6,6 with bio, chem and maths at HL (which was interesting, as I was taking maths methods, but they changed it to 7,6 in bio and chem HL and 7 in maths methods).

generally, take the sciences you know you're good at at HL. And if you think you can do well in the third, take that at HL too.

Reply 3

epitome

11

It's a well-respected qualification (deservedly so), and will certainly not disadvantage an application (though it is often harder to meet the offer, just because the IB is...well, frankly it's a superior qualification!).

For medicine, expect a high offer...

Reply 4

Hm..I don't think they necessarily view the IB as a superior qualification. I would say that UK universities probably assess a student according to the difficulty and breadth of the courses they take, and that a student who only obtains an average score in their IB does not maintain any advantage over a student who likewise does average under another system, say, A levels. This type of thing depends on a variety of factors and not just on the system the student is enrolled in.

epitome

It's a well-respected qualification (deservedly so), and will certainly not disadvantage an application (though it is often harder to meet the offer, just because the IB is...well, frankly it's a superior qualification!).

For medicine, expect a high offer...

By superior, are you comparing it solely to A levels?

I would say that the IB is a very good qualification, but each system has its merits depending on what the student chooses. In that sense it's very subjective, although the IB does have more rigorous basic requirements that need to be met.

For example, the AP system that I'm currently doing is in no way inferior to the IB. The difference is that each AP subject is taken on its own, as opposed to a fixed set or combination. Thus, it really is up to students how many they take, and at what level (Calculus AB or BC, Computer Science A or AB, Physics B or C, etc.). I believe the same can be said for A levels.

Reply 5

--

3

Standard offer - compared with AAA for A Level - is generally around 39 points overall with 7, 7 and 6.

Reply 6

epitome

11

Sorry Firz - you're right, I wasn't clear. I meant simply that the IB is superior to A Levels. :smile:

Reply 7

Does anyone happen to know the approximate IB score required to enter Cambridge/Oxford? I think 3232 posted 39, is that about right?

Reply 8

nota bene

15

Reading on their homepage it is between 38-42 /45.
Although, I have heard of someone getting an offer of 41/42 (i.e. excluding bonus points).

Reply 9

From experience and hearsay, I would say the average is probably around 39, but that doesn't specify the other strings that might be attached. Sometimes these strings may be harder to accomplish than the overall scores themselves, since they usually concern specific points in higher level subjects. I didn't even get a overall score condition, they just said 7/7/6.

Reply 10

NilsJohan

1

My offer for Natural Sciences at Trinity was 42 with 777 maths/physics/chem, that was including bonus points afaik. I missed said offer (6 in maths) but I still got the place, no pooling or anything (although I did have to wait about a month and a half after I got the results to see if I got the place or not, so missing your offer is definitely not recommended).

I dont know how they view the IB but talking to people who have done the A-levels and what they did/didnt do that a high level IB subject is roughly equivalent to an A-level (with slightly different emphasis in some areas I guess, and maybe a bit more), but HL maths is almost like maths and further maths.

Reply 11

WokSz

17

epitome

Sorry Firz - you're right, I wasn't clear. I meant simply that the IB is superior to A Levels. :smile:

Disagreed. IB students take more subjects, but the level is similar. There are exceptions like Maths.

Reply 12

G Unit

OP

WokSz

Disagreed. IB students take more subjects, but the level is similar. There are exceptions like Maths.

Sorry - i've heard the A Level standard has dropped dramatically over the past couple of years - not to mention that IB is 6 subjects, not 3, a compulsory foriegn language, and university level course work.

Reply 13

WokSz

17

Depends what examination board. A-Levels have examinations in 12th grade and previously it used to be similar to IB where it would have two years of work in to one year.

Reply 14

WokSz

Depends what examination board. A-Levels have examinations in 12th grade and previously it used to be similar to IB where it would have two years of work in to one year.

This basically means that instead of having all our exams lumped together at the end in IB, A level students can take their exams periodically, and they also get the opportunity to retest before results are counted, which IB students are unable to do. For a student who's consistently on top of things it isn't a problem either way, for those who like to cram A Levels are better off since they only need to cram a small section of the syllabus each time.

Reply 15

--

3

G Unit

Sorry - i've heard the A Level standard has dropped dramatically over the past couple of years - not to mention that IB is 6 subjects, not 3, a compulsory foriegn language, and university level course work.

I'd be wary of what you've heard in the popular press, the standard of A Levels are something which is dredged up by the press at the same time every year, typically timed to coincide with results day, without much basis in fact.

Reply 16

arod

5

NilsJohan

My offer for Natural Sciences at Trinity was 42 with 777 maths/physics/chem, that was including bonus points afaik. I missed said offer (6 in maths) but I still got the place, no pooling or anything (although I did have to wait about a month and a half after I got the results to see if I got the place or not, so missing your offer is definitely not recommended).

I dont know how they view the IB but talking to people who have done the A-levels and what they did/didnt do that a high level IB subject is roughly equivalent to an A-level (with slightly different emphasis in some areas I guess, and maybe a bit more), but HL maths is almost like maths and further maths.

You were lucky.. I had a similar offer for biochem for Oxford and didn't make the 7 in chem and was rejected.... Kind of heartbreaking. It's like getting to the front door, but not being allowed in. Maybe Oxford is tougher on students who miss their offers because they have quite a few open offers to fill.

Reply 17

fibiso

Usually anywhere from a 38 to a 42.
Specifications on higher levels are quite common, and are generally 776.

For law, there is usually no specifications on WHICH of the higher levels need to be the 7s or the 6s, compared to other courses such as perhaps English. In that case, they would probably expect you to take HL A1 English AND get a 7.

Ah okay. I'm doing the AP system so I have no idea how that matches up, but I suppose I could do a quick estimate using tariff points?

Reply 18

For the top-tier universities, tariff scores do not really really convey much to the admissions tutors. You see, tariff scores can be easily boosted by increasing the number of courses you take, but for admissions purposes any number of A levels above 3 A's starts to be increasingly insignificant, as do any external, non-academic qualifications such as music exams and horseback riding awards.

If they based admissions on tariffs scores alone, the number of IB students entering Oxbridge next year would probably triple, considering the new IB-tariff point conversion scale UCAS are implementing this year.

An AP course I would probably weight the same as an A level; it's not like they can ask for anything more if that's all your school has.

Reply 19