Congratulations! If you're reading this then you've probably just finished what has been two years of gruelling work, late hours and early wakeups. And now, the feared and long-awaited results day is finally here. But how does results day actually work? Let's dive right into our guide to IB Results Day!
When do I get my IB Results?
For the May session, results are accessible online for students on July 6th, at 12pm GMT (10pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time). For the November session, results are accessible on December 16th at 9pm GMT (December 17th 8am Australian Eastern Daylight Time).
How do I get my IB Results?
Once results have been released, they can be accessed online via the IBO Candidate Website. Log in using your student code and pin provided by your school. If you don't already have this information or have lost your pin, reach out to the IB coordinator of your school. Remember not to panic if the results don't appear immediately, the IB tends to stagger the result release times depending on the time zone.
What do my IB Results look like?
After clicking "view results" you'll be taken to a very dramatic page with a lot of reveal buttons for each subject. If you want to get it over with, you can click reveal all, or you can do it slowly and dramatically one at a time. If you click "view details", you can see your final mark out of 100 in each subject and the minimum/maximum grade boundaries for your grade.
Celebrate!
No matter what results you've received, you have finally reached the end of what has been a very long journey. Take some time to celebrate and recognise all you've achieved. Whether your results match what you expected or not. We'll get into what to do if you're not happy with your results, but take a second to celebrate and look at how far you've come.
University Entry
For many of you, university entry is conditional on your IB results. So we'll go through exactly what to do based on your IB Results.
1. Your results meet your university course requirements
Congratulations! You have nothing to worry about. You can request a transcript from the IB on the same page where you got your results to be sent to your university so that they have evidence of your amazing results! If your results really exceed your expectations, you could consider changing your preferences or applying for different universities/courses which previously seemed out of reach.
2. Your results barely miss your university course requirements
Your results might just be off the score you needed to get into your university course. If this is the case, and especially if you are in Australia, you may still be able to receive entry to your university course even if you're below the published lowest selection rank. You may also benefit from the UAC bonus point/adjustment factor system which you can read about on the UAC site (for IB students in NSW).
If you're still worries that your results aren't enough to make it into your university course, skip to our section on Remarks and see if this could be a good step for you!
3. Your results are far below your university course requirements
This may feel terrible but remember that a lot of IB students go through this. You're not alone! You may have to start looking through your lower university preferences to see if they would be a better fit, and really take a look at where you can gain any bonus points for your course. Even if you've failed your IB Diploma, Australian universities still provide an ATAR conversion and will still consider applicants.
If you're really unhappy with the results, you have two potential options - remark or retake.
Remarks
IB remarks, or EUR (enquiry upon results) allows students and/or teachers to review IB work and/or resubmit subject components for remarking. There are 5 types of EURs:
Category 1 is the most important. This is where students can request for the IB to remark all externally assessed works from a subject. It is important to remember before applying for a remark that marks can go up, down, or stay the same. Since they only usually change by around 0-3 marks, it is best to submit a remark when you are close to the upper grade boundary, otherwise you risk moving down into a lower subject grade.
Category 1 Report provides the markers' feedback for the task, helping students to understand why marks were/weren't awarded. This can be helpful if requested before the remark itself, so you can identify potential marking errors and determine if a Category 1 is worth it.
Category 2A and Category 2B involve teachers requesting external student work for review.
Category 3 involves teachers requesting a re-moderation of internal assessments.
The most relevant EURs would be the Category 1 Report and the Category 1 Remark, if you believe that your grades will increase following the remark. They cost around $100 to $200 per subject, and must be requested through your school's IB Coordinator. Remarks will be processed for up to 18 days.
Retake
You also have the option to retake your exams if you are unhappy with your current results. For November students, retakes occur during the May session, and vice versa. This involves retaking all external exams for any subjects you weren't satisfied with. You may also be able to rewrite internal assessments, however, this may vary from school to school. If you are interested in a retake, reach out to your IB coordinator to organise the details and help make the decision alongside you.
Do I receive an actual diploma?
Yes! Your physical IB Diploma will be processed in Switzerland and arrive at schools around a month after the release of your results. Once they arrive, they can be collected from schools so you can take as many pictures as you want!
And that's it! The definitive Guide to IB Results Day! Good luck, and remember to celebrate!!!
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