The Key Code

The Key Code: Symbols & the Admissions Criteria They Represent

Schools in:

  • RED font - Accepts Diploma Graduate Credit ONLY  (Diploma Candidates)

  • BLACK font - Accepts Diploma Graduate or Individual HL Courses/Certificates ONLY  (DP candidates and HL students)

  • GREEN font - Accepts Diploma or Individual HL and SL Courses (all IB students finishing the course)


The Symbols designate:

  • The Stars ✭ -  A lot of schools have designated a minimum score out of 7 that the student needs for the course to be accepted for credit:

    • ✭✭✭ - Scores of 6 or higher on exams/course

    • ✭✭ - Scores of 5 or higher on exams/course

    • ✭ - Scores of 4 or higher on exams/course

    • ✩ - Scores of 3 or higher on exams/course

  • The Smiley Face 😃  - These schools will grant up to 30-32 credits (if the courses meet specific school criteria) or they will automatically take the full diploma and grant sophomore standing.  Some schools listed a specific minimum composite score.

  • The Looped Square ⌘ -  Number of credits determined on a case-by-case basis, especially for SL.  So, the school might give an HL Lang & Lit student 6 credits, but they might give an SL Lang & Lit student 3 credits.  Schools might reach out to teachers for syllabi.

  • The Box ❒ - Credit is awarded at the discretion of the specific department or based on a faculty-approved equivalency chart (these are on the college’s website and show the college course each student will get credit for).

  • The Number Sign [#] - The college has a max credit limit; they will not grant over a certain number of credits for any course taken in high school.

  • The Crown ♛ - Exams and coursework must align with a university course, if they don’t, no credit will be given.

  • The Ampersand & - No duplicate credit for IB, AP or CLEP courses/exams that focus on the same topic; so if a student took AP Literature, AP Language, and IB Language & Literature, they will only receive 6 credits.

  • The Arrow ^ - No credit awarded, used for placement, course scheduling and/or admission; these schools are also colored BLUE and there are less than 10 listed.

  • The Check Mark  ✔ - Diploma Holder gets automatic admission.

  • The Dollar Sign $ - Scholarships are available specifically for IB Diploma Holders.

  • The Accented A  á - SL accepted for Foreign Language even if the overall school policy is HL-credit only.

  • The Equal Sign = - SL credit is accepted for Math and/or Computer Science even if the overall school policy is HL credit only.

  • The Dash Mark /  - if a school had different requirements or test score minimums for Diploma graduates and certificate holders, I put a dash mark between the symbol requirements.

  • “or” - If a school wrote something like, “we take scores of 4 or higher and will consider scores lower than 4 on a case-by-case basis” it was signified as:  ✭  or   ✩❒



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About the IB College Info Sheet

     This information sheet was made by Ms. Foster after reading through the admissions policies of each school below in October-November of 2019. Each credit acceptance criteria listed by the colleges were turned into symbols in order to make an easy-to-read list.   The sheet is meant to be a guide for IB certificate and diploma candidates so they can see which schools will accept their course credit.  Please note, colleges and universities may have updated their International Baccalaureate Credit Policy since the creation of this document. Please contact individual colleges and universities, especially schools that are not listed, for their most up-to-date policy. Symbols representing admissions criteria were only attached to a school name if such criteria was ​explicitly​ stated in the policy at the time of this document’s creation. If a school’s policy did not explicitly state that only IB Diploma holders receive credit, it was not colored RED. You can also find course-credit
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