KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Hi All, anyone heard whether our local IB Dip students have good admission rate to local Universities like NUS/NTU?
Anyone from IB programmes can tell more about the entries to different faculties in the U? For example, 42 to medicine? 35 only to Arts or something like that as i do not know anything about IB... Any info is welcome!

It is not true that lesser spots are available for IB. We have met the NUS, NTU and SMU admission team who came to ds school. All have confirmed that there is no quota for IB and A level students. It is all by Merit. Of course there is a question of using what yardstick to measure. After all, it's like comparing apple and pear. From my understanding, as of now, they said they do not have enough data in terms of admission of IB students to actually come out with common criteria for both, meaning to associate an A level grade to and IB grade. IB is still relatively new in Singapore. It is still very much under monitoring and will take some years before a common criteria can be set. All said, they do have some guidelines as to the score necessary to make application for the different faculties. There are many brochures you can get from the Unis on the requirements for IB students. Hope this helps

IB students definitely aren't at a disadvantage when entering university; in fact they may be better regarded due to the breadth of study that they do. Of course, it is possible that this breadth is not as appreciated by local universities, as it sometimes comes at the expense of some depth (not for all subjects though). IB students tend to be more articulate due to the amount of emphasis the curriculum places on effective communication and critical thinking, through subjects such as Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and Internal Assessments (IAs), many of which are assessed orally.

The grades needed to enter each of the courses is technically hearsay, but you're right that it is approximately 42-43 to secure the interview for medicine in singapore unis, and a decent score of 36-38 is certainly sufficient for most courses, apart from the more competitive ones like law, dentistry, accounting etc. I have a friend who was offered 38 to do law at a good university in the uk, so these high scores are atypical to singapore, where competition for places tends to be stronger, as there are many who meet the requirements, but not as many places.

Hi, I do teach Language and Communication Skills in the university and in general, I find them more critical in their thinking. They are also more articulate and confident in their presentation. perhaps the IB program has trained them to be more eloquent.

I always find the IB education to be more holistic compared to the A levels. It seems like they give more emphasis on course work, independent learning, and non curricular activities. That said, its often more favourable when it comes to applying for overseas university.
For local uni, its much dependent on the entry requirements, after that its all based on merit, especially the resume and CV