News and Views

Myth: Students with an IB diploma have a higher acceptances rate to colleges than those who do not have an IB diploma.

Fact: There is no preference given to IB candidates during the college admission process. College admissions view the candidate in relationship to their high school curriculum. Admission officers want to see the student taking the most competitive courses available whether that is AP courses or IB courses. Colleges do not break out acceptance rates for IB candidates. The information provided on slide 18 in John House-Myers IB PowerPoint presentation dated November 1, 2007 is not accurate. Mr. House-Myers or his staff cannot provide documentation to justify their numbers.

Slide 18 from John House-Myers November 1, 2007 presentation.

Sample University Acceptance Rates for IB Students:

School - All Applicants - IB Diploma Applicants

New York University - 29% - 76%
Cornell University - 27% - 70%
Dartmouth - 23% - 60%
Tufts - 23% - 52%
MIT - 17% - 26%
Air Force Academy - 12% - 68%
Naval Academy - 12% - 45%
Princeton - 11% - 14%
John Hopkins - 33% - 83%

The following information was received directly from the admissions offices.

Assistant Director of Admissions
Dartmouth College

These numbers don’t seem right at all. Last year our admit rate was 15-16% overall (it will be lower this year), and I have never seen statistics on our admit rate of IB vs. non-IB students - this includes in confidential reports that are only seen by Admissions Office staff. We don’t even track whether or not students are IB Diploma candidates in our database. What I can tell you about our process is this: we review files holistically, which means that we evaluate each student within their own context. In regards to academic rigor, we are looking to see how students have utilized the opportunities available to them in their schools and communities. If your high school offers no AP classes, you will not be disadvantaged in our process because you haven’t taken any. If your high school offers 25 AP classes and you haven’t taken any, then chances are very good that you are not a competitive candidate for Dartmouth. I hope this is helpful, and please feel free to email or call me if you would like to chat about this further.

Source: IB Board Presentation 11-2007

Myth: Made in the Bow Memorial School Music Room on Wednesday February 13, 2008 at the Budget Hearing for the Bow School District by School Board Chairperson Pansy Bloomfield. She claimed that the Bow school enrollment was “fluctuating and was flattening out” in an attempt to justify the repeated increases in the School Budget over the last few years.

Fact: The Bow school enrollment has not fluctuated over the last 5 years, in fact, it isn’t even flattening out. For the last 5 years Bow school enrollment has decreased significantly and projected to continue to decrease using the numbers provided by the Bow School District.

Please see Enrollment vs Staff Numbers

Flyer on Enrollment from 2002

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