No High School Diploma but Extremely High IB Grades. Will Colleges accept me?

Here in Canada, a high school diploma or GED is required to enroll in universities and colleges. They will make zero exceptions whatsoever.

I’m afraid I don’t know what an IB diploma is, so I cannot advise you about it.

I do recommend you talk to your school counselor about this issue – they know SO much about these things and really are there to help you out.

And just to let you know, here in Canada you can get a GED, General Education Degree, which is equivalent to high school. You can get this anytime after you’ve left high school for a year. It is a bunch of tests that grades you on English, Mathematics, Science, etc. It’s not promoted a lot, but it does exist.

I would work with the school to see if you can make some work up and get you diploma. Lacking that, you can get your GED, but it is not as good an option if you want to pursue college.

If you explain your story well and come off as a smart student who got through the experience, then I think you’ll be an attractive student. I would recommend seeing the admissions staff in person so you can make a good personal impression.

Just to be clear, an IB diploma = International Baccalaureate diploma which is a highly respected scholastic program… It is considered to the equivalent of a first or second year of university testing….

The high school diploma is only important in that it means that some organization thought you had learned enough to be worthy to receive it. That said, the college is interested in seeing you graduate—in part because if you don’t, it reflects poorly on them statistically, and in part because if you’re not going to graduate, they’re less interested in admitting you. Getting the piece of paper shows a certain level of commitment and persistence, and those are traits that are incredibly valuable in education.

All that said, some schools might insist on it, but others won’t. Generally, the smaller and more elite the school, the more likely it is to look at non-traditional students.

So there’s no hard and fast rule—some universities will insist on it, while others won’t. And some universities that officially insist on it will make an exception for a promising student, while others that don’t officially insist on it will put an application from someone without a high school diploma at the bottom of a pile.

It’s probably worth finding out if there’s anything you can do to get the high school diploma, if only because it will make things significantly easier and less uncertain.

I got into two colleges just fine, without having graduated from high school. I took my GED and entrance exams to one school, which placed me into the correct courses (either college level or pre-college level) I first attended a community college though, so that may have given me a leg up with getting into a University.

I think @Zaku is right – talking to the people in the admissions office and explaining your situation is probably the best way to go. Completing an IB diploma definitely shows even more commitment and achievement than getting a regular high school diploma, so it should really just be a question of what the college’s requirements are, and whether they’re willing to waive them if they need to.

Going out of your way to discuss the situation with them also shows your commitment to getting into a good college, despite the obstacles you’ve had to overcome, so that should give you some brownie points too…

My daughter did not graduate from high school, but did dual enrollment her first semester of her senior year, and dropped out her last semester of her senior to attend college full time. She’s 22, and is completing her master’s this year. She was accepted to law school at age 18, which is not as unusual as it may sound.

It’s not unusual, but you will have to work a little more closely with the university admission office. I would look for schools that have dual enrollment programs, as they would tend to be a little more flexible, and understanding. Your IB diploma, coupled with decent SAT scores, should be more than enough.

I am an IB student at HCHS and I would tell u to talk to your councelors etc an IB diploma can take you very very far ,sometimes I want to drop out because the work is too hard but I won’t because I want to be successfull

Go get your GED.

I’m sure that if you receive your IB diploma, they’re not going to care much for your regular high school diploma.

i was just reading something online similar to what you are saying, and basically if you explain to the colleges, what your problems were through out school, you should be able to be accepted, and you can finish your ib program with good grades to show the colleges that no matter what is going on in your life it is not effecting your grades just your attendance