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University Planning Guide

UNIVERSITY PLANNING GUIDE · THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB)

Aiming for a top university? Choose Higher Level subjects for the degree you want.

Top UK universities set grades in your Higher Level subjects, and some degrees accept only one of the two IB math courses. Here's what matters each year, from MYP 4 in the Middle Years Programme through the Diploma's two years, DP1 and DP2.

For IB schools anywhere, including those that teach IGCSEs before the Diploma.

Written for the 2026–27 school year.

Students in MYP 5 in 2026–27 usually apply in fall 2028 for 2029 entry.

At a glance

At an IB school, when do you make the choice that matters most?

Before DP1, when you choose your Higher Level subjects and your math course. Discovery College in Hong Kong, for example, sets a firm deadline in February of MYP 5.

What matters most, in our view
Three Higher Level subjects your degree asks for, the math course it needs, and strong predicted grades. Your choices ↓
One thing now
MYP 4 and 5: Ask your school when you choose Diploma subjects, and whether you can change them in DP1.DP1: Ask how and when your school sets your predicted grades.DP2: For this year's dates, open the guide below for the country where you go to school.
Can wait, in our view
Your personal statement and U.S. essays, until the summer after DP1. Your years ↓

Universities can change the subjects and math course they require, so check each course's page for the year you'll start.

St Donat's Castle, home of UWC Atlantic College in Wales, above a yew hedge and a rose garden
St Donat's Castle, UWC Atlantic College, Wales · Photo: Yearbookmaniac / Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Resized.

Year by year

Three choices in these four years decide where you can apply.

Find your year to see what matters now.

  1. MYP 4

    Ages 14 to 15 · about U.S. grade 9Applying to the U.S. too? This year counts: Stanford asks every applicant for grades from U.S. grade 9, which for you is about MYP 4. Stick with two or three activities, and keep them going into DP1. Taking IGCSEs? Oxford says the results can form an important part of your application. Tanglin Trust School in Singapore starts them this year, and Dulwich College Singapore a year earlier.

    CoursesActivities

  2. MYP 5

    Ages 15 to 16 · about U.S. grade 10Choose your six Diploma subjects, the ones you'll take at Higher Level, and which math course to take. Schools set their own deadlines and rules. Aoba Global Campus in Tokyo, for example, allows changes in the first two weeks of DP1, and after that only in exceptional cases. Applying to the U.S. too? Princeton reads your record against your school's curriculum, so choose the most demanding subjects you can do well in.

    Courses

  3. DP1

    Ages 16 to 17 · about U.S. grade 11Your teachers will base your predicted grades on your work and tests so far, so this year counts. At Discovery College in Hong Kong, the Extended Essay starts in February of DP1 and is due in late November of DP2, as applications go in. Medicine in the UK? Sit the UCAT in the summer after DP1. For 2027 entry, it ran from July to September 2026. Applying to the U.S. too? Take the SAT or ACT when you feel ready, usually this year.

    Tests

  4. DP2

    Ages 17 to 18 · about U.S. grade 12Apply through UCAS, the UK's university application service. Your predicted grades go with it, and they can't be changed once it's sent. For 2027 entry:September 28, 2026: booking closed for the October ESAT, TMUA, and TARA, which Oxford and Cambridge require. Other universities also take a January sitting.October 15, 2026: the UCAS deadline for Oxford, Cambridge, and most medicine, dentistry, and veterinary courses.November 1: early applications to Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, and Penn.January 13, 2027: the UCAS deadline for most other courses.Early July: your results, if you sit the May exams.

    Tests

The choices that matter

Make these three choices with your degree in mind.

Open each one for what's required, our advice, and who to ask.

Higher Level subjects, in MYP 5Pick the three Higher Level subjects your degree asks for.

Oxford, Edinburgh, the London School of Economics (LSE), and Imperial all set grades in your Higher Level subjects, not just a points total. So your offer hangs on those three.

Who to askYour IB coordinator. Check each course page too.

The Higher Level subjects top UK universities name, by degree (2027 entry)
DegreeHigher Level subjects named
MedicineChemistry, plus Biology, Physics, or math, at Oxford. Imperial asks for 6s in Chemistry and Biology.
EngineeringMath and Physics, with 7s in both at Oxford.
EconomicsMath: a 7 at LSE, and a 6 or 7 for Economics and Management at Oxford.
Computer ScienceMath, with a 7 at Oxford.
PPE at OxfordNone named, though Oxford still asks for 7, 6, and 6 at Higher Level.

Our viewNot sure of your degree yet? Take math at Higher Level if you can, then two subjects you'd enjoy and can earn 6s or 7s in.

The evidence, and what it doesn’t show

What it doesn’t show: every degree and university. Check the courses you're considering, for the year you'll start.

Your math course, before DP1Planning engineering, physics, computer science, or economics? Take Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches at Higher Level.

You can take either course at Higher Level. What differs is which degrees each one keeps open. In MYP 5 now? The IB's new Analysis and Approaches course starts in August 2027, so check each university's rules for 2029 entry.

Who to askYour IB coordinator.

  • Analysis and ApproachesCambridgeKing's College LondonKeeps math-heavy degrees openKing's College London requires it at Higher Level for math, physics, chemistry, engineering, and computer scienceAt Christ's College, Cambridge, Economics asks for a 7 in it, and Physical Natural Sciences requires it
  • Applications and InterpretationOxfordLSEWorks for many degrees, but not allOxford accepts either course at Higher Level wherever it requires math, except ChemistryLSE Economics considers it and Imperial Physics accepts it, but both prefer Analysis and Approaches

Our viewUnsure about math-heavy degrees? Analysis and Approaches at Higher Level keeps more of them open.

The evidence, and what it doesn’t show

What it doesn’t show: 2029 entry, when universities may update their rules for the IB's new math courses.

Where to apply, in DP1Decide in DP1 whether to apply in the UK, the U.S., or both.

UK offers usually depend on those results. So you may have to accept or turn down a U.S. place before you know whether you've met your UK offer.

Who to askYour school. Ask who will write your UCAS reference, and who will write the counselor letter many U.S. colleges ask for.

How applying differs in the UK and the U.S.
UK universities, through UCASU.S. colleges
How manyUp to five coursesUp to 20 on the Common App, which many colleges share
WritingOne personal statement for all your coursesEssays, which can differ by college
TestsAn admissions test for some coursesThe SAT or ACT, which Harvard, MIT, Yale, and Penn require for fall 2027
From your schoolOne reference, with your predicted gradesA school report, teacher letters, and often a counselor letter

Our viewApply to both only if you'd be glad to go to either. A U.S. application adds essays, letters, and often a test, so start it in DP1, not DP2.

The evidence, and what it doesn’t show

What it doesn’t show: later entry years. UCAS consulted in 2026 on changing its deadlines and number of choices, as early as the 2028 cycle. Princeton requires the SAT or ACT again from fall 2028, and none of the U.S. colleges named here has announced its testing rules for fall 2029.

Where it leads

UK, U.S., Europe, or Asia? Each looks at your IB differently.

Here's how you apply in each place, with one fact to know and one to watch out for.

  • UK universitiesOxfordCambridgeUCAS, with online interviews in December 2026 for shortlisted Oxford applicantsAt Christ's College, Cambridge, Economics and Engineering ask for 42 points, with 7, 7, and 6 at Higher Level, which may be above Cambridge's own minimumYou can apply to Oxford or Cambridge, but not both in the same year
  • U.S. collegesHarvardMITHarvard takes the Common App, and MIT has its own applicationHarvard and MIT ask for your predicted grades too, as UK universities doHarvard counts IB predictions in place of the SAT or ACT only if you can't take a test
  • EuropeBocconiIE UniversityEach university's own applicationBocconi ranks you on a test and your grades from the two years before DP2, never predicted onesBocconi and IE University both require the full Diploma, and IE says Spain doesn't accept the IB Certificate
  • SingaporeNUSNTUEach university's own application, with its own datesSitting the IB in May 2027? The National University of Singapore (NUS) decides by the third week of July 2027, after U.S. replies are dueNUS and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) need you to authorize the IB to send your results

Your final year

Applying this year? Start with our guide to the country where you go to school.

Each guide puts this year's dates on one calendar, helps you budget in your currency, and shares our students' stories.

One of our students

Comparing U.S. offers? D.K. let the courses and the aid decide.

An IB student in Hong Kong and a U.S. citizen living abroadMeet D.K., who applied to U.S. colleges from Hong KongCurricular flexibility and actual aid helped her choose Penn.A Letrado studentChoseUniversity of PennsylvaniaAlso admittedHarvard UniversityYale UniversityUniversity of Chicago

Her interests needed a connection, not another credential. Student government, tutoring, an economics publication, and short courses competed for equal space. Her first draft made it hard to see what mattered most.

How we helped: We explored the questions she returned to: how people choose, what fairness requires, and why rational systems can produce unequal outcomes.

Read D.K.'s story →

In our view

What you can skip at an IB school.

Three things families often overdo, and what to do instead.

  • 3Higher Level grades in an Oxford offer, such as 7, 6, and 6. Skip a fourth Higher Level subject unless you'd enjoy it.
  • 80%of your personal statement goes on your subject, Oxford suggests. Skip long, U.S.-style activity lists.
  • Grade4in IB English A, at either level, meets Imperial's English requirement, and LSE takes any grade at Higher Level. Skip a separate English test for both.
Sources

Oxford: PPE's IB offer · Oxford: the personal statement · Imperial: English requirements · LSE: English requirements.

Where we come in

How Letrado can help.

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