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DS didnt get IB diploma - what does that mean now?

15 replies

dreamingchild · 05/07/2024 17:34

Hi can someone talk me through the maze of the IB? We are in the UK, he has offers via UCAS but didnt get his IB diploma as he failed one of the HL subjects and didnt get enough total points in the HL subjects. Does that mean he can't apply to university at all or should he retake that one subject? He has maths and English GCSEs but not the others as again the school didnt offer them

OP posts:
LIZS · 06/07/2024 11:02

He can look at Clearing to see if anywhere might accept a lower score, perhaps with a Foundation Year. Might also be worth ringing the admissions for his Firm and Insurance offers to establish whether they are going to reject him and discuss options.

Octavia64 · 06/07/2024 11:06

Hi

If he has offers via ucas he has presumably already applied and is holding offers.

If he has his results he should speak to the universities to find out if they will take him despite the fact he has (presumably) not got the results they offered on.

If he did ok in the subjects he is continuing with plus supporting subjects they might take him anyway.

Was it generally low or did he fall beneath in one component?

The IB if they can't award the full diploma will usually certificate the components.

dreamingchild · 07/07/2024 18:30

thanks. he fell behind in one component that pushed his HL level scores down too much. overall he passed comfortably on points and translated into Ucas points he has enough for the courses he wants .

OP posts:
LIZS · 07/07/2024 18:48

Unless there were more specific details in the offer than overall points he should meet the offer anyway. If he needed HL maths, for example, but did not achieve it then they may not be able to confirm his place yet.

Doublethecuddles · 10/07/2024 08:15

Could he get a paper remarked? Our DD a was 1 point of 2 subjects to go up a grade and we have asked for the exam to be remarked.
Did you get a component breakdown? That will explain where he lost points.

Genevieva · 10/07/2024 09:05

Can you be more specific about the breakdown of his grades? Normally, as well as a total point score, universities want a high enough result in the subjects relevant to the degree applied for. If they haven’t specified that he must get the DP certificate then they may not mind, but you need to look at precisely what the offer is and discuss this with his school and the university. He should be able to retake the subject he failed, if necessary.

limoncello23 · 10/07/2024 12:44

It sounds like he's done pretty well overall and will have options open to him.

If his firm or insurance offer will still take him and he still wants to go then I think it is usually better to take the place than to do a retake. There will be others on his course who also didn't get exactly the grades they were hoping for, so he won't be the only one. Just carrying on is a particularly good idea if the subject he did badly on is unrelated to the subject he's going to study at university.

If he doesn't have a remaining offer and he's not absolutely certain that he would do better in a retake then either clearing or a gap year and reapplying is likely to lead to a better end result than risking retaking to get the same result. A meaningful gap year and a potential rethink on uni subjects (or other alternatives) is often good idea if the subject he did badly on is one that he had been planning to study further.

Given that the IB is not super well known and he will get certificates for his HL and SL passes, I wouldn't be too worried about not passing the diploma itself.

AppleCream · 10/07/2024 12:52

Clearing is open, so he can have a look on the UCAS website to see what courses are available to him with the results he got. Or talk to his school about retaking.

dreamingchild · 13/07/2024 16:21

hi, so he got 11 across his HL subjects and you need 12 to pass. but he did well in his SL subjects and the core extended essays so overall did well when translated into UCAS points. His first choice uni says it is still considering his application but also said there's not much wiggle room on grades.

. the school has sent two subjects for remark as he was on the upper boundary but i don't think he should hold out on that
. other unis said they'd consider him but he's not in clearing yet because he's not had a decision from his first choice. They've promised to decide asap but i wonder if he's better off asking them to reject him so he can speak to others. does anyone know if unis give clearing places to IB students before the AL results are out? All the unis have asked about subjects and points but not the diploma as such

OP posts:
Genevieva · 13/07/2024 17:15

dreamingchild · 13/07/2024 16:21

hi, so he got 11 across his HL subjects and you need 12 to pass. but he did well in his SL subjects and the core extended essays so overall did well when translated into UCAS points. His first choice uni says it is still considering his application but also said there's not much wiggle room on grades.

. the school has sent two subjects for remark as he was on the upper boundary but i don't think he should hold out on that
. other unis said they'd consider him but he's not in clearing yet because he's not had a decision from his first choice. They've promised to decide asap but i wonder if he's better off asking them to reject him so he can speak to others. does anyone know if unis give clearing places to IB students before the AL results are out? All the unis have asked about subjects and points but not the diploma as such

Hopefully you will get an answer next week. I would advise against telling the university to reject him at this stage, when A level results aren’t even out. If you don’t hear early next week, ask for a firm date by which they know they can decide.

It will probably depend on whether the HL subject(s) that he failed are relevant to his degree. They are more likely to be, by virtue of him choosing to study them at HL, not SL.

There is still a lot of information missing. What was his total score out of 45? How many HL did he do - 3 or 4? What was the mark in each HL individually? If he got a total of 11 in HL I am guessing he did 3, so got something like 5, 3, 3 or 5, 4, 2.

As you say his total point score is over the pass mark, and he got 11/21 in the HL, he must have got 14+ in the SL subjects. I’m going to guess he got 2 or 3 out of 3 in the core. So we’re looking at between 27/45 and 32/45. That’s quite a range, and we don’t know the subject he has applied to study, so we can’t tell you whether am applicant with that score would likely be able to get a degree place or whether he would do well to retake and defer entry.

Also, what did his university offer actually say? Did it require grades he hasn’t met in individual subjects, a total grade he has just missed or did it specify that he must achieve the diploma certificate?

Genevieva · 13/07/2024 17:23

PS
for context 32 is equivalent to a BBB offer.

27 is more like CCC, so would be quite restrictive.

kitchenhelprequired · 13/07/2024 17:38

I don't know for definite but my understanding was that if you don't achieve the minimum score in each requirement that you end up with IB certificates in the subjects passed rather than an IB diploma. The what qualification has DS achieved as it stands and will he be accepted into uni are two separate issues. At the end of the day you only have the last set of results, It's not just about getting into uni, if the remark doesn't get him over the line to the full IB diploma I would be looking at retake options if that's possible.

dreamingchild · 15/07/2024 08:33

so he got 4,4,3 at HL: all in STEM subjects. his offers ask for 2 HL subjects but don't specify grades. He got 28 points which turned into 130 UCAS points according to the UCAS calculator. his first choice uni says they are still considering him but i really don't think they can offer him a place and wish they'd say so so he can move to his insurance or clearing. having to sit on my hands to not micromanage this for him.

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dreamingchild · 31/07/2024 10:24

Just an update: the diploma itself didn't seem to matter. His uni said they can still give him a place based on his grades so he doesn't need to go into clearing. thank you for all the advice on this thread

OP posts:
AppleCream · 31/07/2024 11:47

Great news OP!

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