Is IB® recognized in India?
IB Diploma Programme is officially recognized in India. The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) recognizes the IB Diploma as equivalent to the 10+2 Class of the Senior Secondary School, which is the eligibility criterion for admission to the undergraduate courses in India.
How are IB® students graded and what is the equivalent percentage?
The IB® students are graded on a scale of 1-7 for each subject. The results are declared twice in the year, July 5 & Jan 5. If you are one of those students who is getting the results on July 5 then at that time most Indian Universities admissions are already mid-way. But this has nothing much to be worried of. IB® board issues something called the “Predictive Scores” which is like a provisional Mark Sheet based on the past performance of the student and admissions to various Indian universities can be applied on the basis of the same. Students are given provisional admission and basis their mark sheet, the admission is confirmed.
Can IB® student appear in Indian entrance exams?
Yes, IB® student is able to appear in Indian entrance examinations of Medicine, Engineering (IIT etc.), BBA, BMS, LAW etc.
Which universities in India accept IB® students?
All major universities in India do accept IBDP students. Some have their own processes/timelines to be followed though. Let’s, talk about some major universities:
Delhi University
DU, is one of the most prestigious universities in India with several top ranked colleges like Lady Shri Ram, SRCC, Hindu, etc. and offers wide range of courses like Economics, B.Com, Psychology, Pure Sciences, Literature, Life Sciences etc.
Some of the colleges in DU, accept the predicted scores, but in majority of the colleges students will have to wait for their results to come out and then apply in 2nd or 3rd List. Lady Shri Ram College accepts the students to apply on the basis of predicted scores. IB® is getting more prominence by the day and the rules of various universities are changing every cycle, so it is suggested that one should check the website of individual college to check for their rules/timelines regarding admission of IB® students.
For parents with kids in Grade 11(IBDP 1), please note that IB® is gaining both momentum and prominence by the day and the acceptability is also increasing every passing year.
Mumbai University
Another prestigious university in India is University of Mumbai, and it offers wide range of courses in almost all major fields. Admissions are on basis for 12th Marks and for some courses in Narsee Monjee etc. it is through entrance test. University of Mumbai accepts IB® diploma students for both UG & PG courses in all its affiliated colleges. Students can look at applying to prestigious colleges like Narsee Monjee or St Xavier’s etc.
Ashoka University
Ashoka University, is coming up as one of the finest liberal arts universities in our country with courses in Economics, Psychology, Humanities, Political Science, International Relations etc. Admissions to Ashoka are based on SAT®/ACT® or Ashoka’s own entrance test, followed by an interview and on the spot essay. The students have to submit an application form detailing their academic performance, extra curriculars, along with a personal essay called SOP.
IB® students are eligible to apply to Ashoka University with no minimum percentage requirement. They are required to follow the above-mentioned admissions process and during the admission, they are required to submit the predicted scores issued by the school.
Only if there is considerable difference in predicted and actual scores then final admission can be cancelled. Though, provisional admission offer is given to the selected students in advance.
Christ University
Christ University, is also a prestigious university in South India. It offers courses in wide range of areas, Business Management, Commerce, Business Studies, aw, Humanities, Liberal Arts, Pure Sciences etc.
Admissions to Christ is on the basis of entrance test (CET) for almost all of its courses and this is followed by the personal interview.
For courses which do not require the candidate to write the entrance test, personal interview is still mandatory part of their admissions process.
Christ University, accepts the IB® students and accepts the predicted scores issued by IB®. Admission is based on entrance test, personal interview and academic performance in IB®. The university requires the transcript from the school which would include the percentage equivalent of that of the grades. Candidates are required to submit their final mark sheets of IB® before the date communicated by the university.
Medicine-MBBS/BDS in India for IB® Students:
For those IB® students who wish to study medicine in India and aim to appear for the Medical Entrance test it is important to understand that you should have all 3 sciences in IBDP – Physics, Chemistry & Biology.
Now the problem is IBDP requires you select subjects from 6 allocated groups with 1 subject from each group. You are allowed to leave group 6 and select any 2 subjects from any other group. But for appearing for medical entrance you need to have all 3 sciences and to solve this situation you should consider studying the 7 subjects and take extra science subject.
This will not be counted in your IBDP score but fulfill your requirement for the Indian medical entrances. This is simply to fulfill the requirement for Indian Medical entrance and you can apply for non-regular IB diploma.
The 6 IB Groups are:
Group 1: First Language (English)
Group 2: Second Language (French, German ab initio, Hindi, etc.)
Group3: Individuals and Societies (History, Economics, Business and Management, etc.)
Group 4: Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Systems)
Group 5: Mathematics and Computer Science
Group 6: Electives (either Visual Arts or a second subject from any other group except group 1 and 2.)
Engineering/IIT Entrances:
IB® students are eligible to appear for the Engineering entrances like IIT JEE. They can appear for the entrance test even before their final DP exams and their admission on qualifying the entrance will be provisional subject to minimum equivalent 60% marks in PCM.