How US Colleges Read IB Predicted Grades (A Guide for International Applicants)

If you are applying to US universities from an IB school, the number that matters most in your file is not your final diploma score. It is your predicted grade total, which your school sends with the counselor report in the autumn of Grade 12. Final results arrive in July, after every decision has been made.

What US readers actually look at

A US admissions reader will see:

• Your Grade 11 transcript (term or semester grades per subject)
• Your predicted grades for each subject and the predicted total out of 45
• Your subject levels (HL/SL) and which HLs you chose
• Your IGCSE or MYP results if your school includes them
• Your school profile, which tells the reader how your school grades and what its average diploma score is

They do not convert this to a GPA in any consistent way. They read the trend, the rigor, and the school's context.

What "competitive" looks like

Rough bands, based on admitted-student profiles rather than published cutoffs:

• 42-45: every school, including the Ivies, Stanford and MIT, with everything else in place
• 38-41: top-30 national universities and top liberal arts colleges
• 34-37: top-50 to top-80 universities and strong state flagships
• 30-33: most state universities and many private schools; selective programs (CS, business) become reaches
• Under 30: test-optional schools with holistic review; expect gaps in the list

A 7 in an HL subject related to your intended major matters more than the total. Three HL 7s and a 38 reads better than a 40 with 6s spread evenly.

HL/SL choices are read as signals

• Intended engineering or CS: readers expect Maths AA HL and Physics HL. Maths AI HL is accepted at most schools but AA is the safer signal for engineering.
• Intended business or economics: Maths (AA or AI) at HL helps at Wharton, Ross, Stern, Berkeley Haas. SL is fine at most other business programs.
• Intended humanities or social sciences: HL in the subject plus HL English. Maths level matters less.

The low Maths grade problem

A 4 in Maths HL is the most common weak spot in IB files. Two options:

1. Drop to SL before your school's change deadline (usually early in Grade 12). A 6 at SL reads better than a 4 at HL for almost every major except engineering, and it protects your total.
2. Stay at HL and explain. Only if the rest of the file is strong and the major needs HL Maths. Use Additional Information to note the choice, not to apologise for it.

Trend beats level

A student who went from 32 to 37 between Grade 11 terms reads better than one who went from 38 to 36, even though the second total is higher. If your Grade 11 was weak because of a school move or a family event, use the Challenges & Circumstances box to give the dates and facts. Do not leave the reader to guess.

TOK, EE and CAS

• TOK and EE feed the bonus points. A B/B combination is worth aiming for; a C/C is not a red flag.
• CAS with zero hours logged by the end of Grade 11 is a diploma risk your counselor will notice. Fix it before the counselor report goes out.

Testing and IB

Most US schools accept IB predicted grades as strong evidence of rigor, but schools that require the SAT or ACT (MIT, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Georgetown, UT Austin, Purdue, and others) will not waive that for IB students. Check each school's policy for the cycle you are applying in.

Admitify reads your predicted grades and subject levels against each school on your list and shows you where a school is a reach because of one subject, not the total. Free for students.