Uni application when doing IB .

[mybrainisfull]

Don't know much about the IB and UCAS to be honest, but wondered if this sounded right to you?
A friends DC is very clever, predicted high marks etc etc, and is applying for medicine courses I think.
They have applied for Cambridge, Durham, and Edinburgh, and Exeter.
DC did not get an offer from Exeter, and now they're worried that it's something to do with her doing IB rather than A levels.

I was just wondering how other people have got on applying to Universities when doing IB. Did you think it was an advantage/disadvantage/no different to other A level friends?
thank you

@poetryandwine
’I think you are saying there is more ‘wiggle room’ because there are more ways to earn 38 points than ways to earn A star A star A. Is that right?’

Yes, this is exactly what I mean.

Your explanation was very helpful - thank you.

As I’ve said before, I’ve had a DS do IB and a DD do A levels. Neither were ‘easy’, and each had advantages and disadvantages. I guess this is true of a lot of things in life!
Also, it is difficult to know if part of the reason my DD was so stressed was because she never sat GCSEs in the traditional way (covid year group) and so her A levels in 2023 were her first insight into ‘proper’ exams.

As someone previously mentioned, the entrance tests are different. Also, the scoring system for IV that Exeter uses means that unless you’re predicted 3 x A star (or the IB equivalent) then it’s too risky to apply. Even if you have a high entrance test and two A star and 1 A prediction.

Helli, @RampantIvy

Where I can judge, IB does fewer topics in greater depth. The exam questions are more sophisticated and may require the pupil to bring together different bits of knowledge in novel ways, but less technical knowledge is required.

An IB teacher I know told me that analytical thinking is a core value, emphasised throughout the curriculum. I can well believe it.

Don't you mean A levels cover fewer topics in greater depth? I am confused (easily done), or is it fewer topics per subject if it is IB?

IB do fewer topics from what I understand. Certainly in the 2 HL Maths. Depth can be defined in various ways, and I haven’t examined the curricula. But the HL Maths questions seem more cognitively demanding to me, relative to the curriculum, than A Level Maths. (I looked again last night)

On the Student Room the consensus is that the HL Analysis paper (one of the 2 HL Maths papers ; you choose) is at least the equivalent of FM and most consider it more difficult

Also of course IB pupils have roughly half the instructional time per subject as they do 6 subjects. Much more independent work

Totally agree with those saying the IB is an immense amount of work. My DD is in final year IB and it’s been relentless with the internal assessments and extended essay. What I still don’t understand is why the top universities who appear to regard it highly (or say they do) often ask for higher HL
grades than the equivalent A levels (and then of course they still have to deliver the SL grades and extended essay/theory of knowledge. @FarEast do you know why this is?

Thank you for the explanation @poetryandwine.
I think maybe some universities prefer A levels for some STEM degrees because of the breadth of topics covered in the science subjects, so the foundation blocks are already there to be built on. I am happy to be corrected.

I do know, however, that DD would absolutely nothave done well if she had done the IB. She struggled in year 12 doing 4 A level subjects. Then is transpired that she had CFS/ME. When she dropped down to 3 subjects she managed to excel in all of them because the workload was manageable for her.

CFS is awful, @RampantIvy I think I remember reading about your DD’s struggles and her ultimate success. If that is correct, really well done.

We may have had some confusion earlier between ‘subjects’ and ‘topics’ and I may have misunderstood your question? But I think we are clear now.

IB is generally seen as more rigorous than A Levels. A number of British International Schools abroad have abandoned A Levels for IB for this reason.
Uk universities are fully aware of the merits of IB. Not getting an offer from Exeter has nothing to do with the choice of IB versus A Levels. But medicine courses everywhere are incredibly competitive, so it's just one of those things.
Good luck to her!

As others have said, workload for IB is more like 4.5 - 5 A levels, not 3, and the top score of 45 points scores almost as many UCAS points as 5 top grades at A level
IB requires students to continue essay subjects and is better preparation for most university subjects.
One exception is for maths/heavily mathematical subjects, where the specialisation involved in double A level maths (standard and further) and can give greater depth specifically in maths at the expense of breadth and essay-writing skills. This gives A level candidates an edge over IB in competitive maths exams/interviews around the time of uni application. Whether that advantage is sustained longer term is doubtful - my own view it that it's premature specialization for no long term gain, but it does create a disparity at the time of uni application.
There are disparities of up to 3 IB points between universities in what they will accept for courses requiring the same A level grades. So e.g. a course which has standard offer of AAA at A level may require 37 points at one uni but 34 at another. Unis with a lot of international applicants seem to be more aware of the heavy workload of IB and make lower IB points offers, whereas unis that are less aware of IB seem to ask for unfairly high points in comparison to what they ask for A level.
I think IB is a superior qualification, but I'd be ambivalent about my own children doing it until/unless all universities are more aware of the demands of IB and offer greater parity and more standardization.