How does IB affect US college applications?

[defectivelasagna]

Hi im an international student currently doing IB. I'm aiming for US universities and im having trouble understanding IB's relation to college admissions in the US and also the structure of the US education system. So from my understanding, i believe that after IB and SATs i would apply to the us colleges as a freshman right? Must i already have a major during freshman year or even in my application? Would the IB subjects that i take means my major would be restricted? For example if i didn't take Math HL i can't study econometrics at university. Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't freshman year the year to take up all the classes you need for your soon to be declared major? im very confused.

[tenaciousdan]

I'm not sure about your specific questions, but the IBO does have a page that outlines a lot of the US college's policies regarding the IB.

[sweetnsimple786]

So yeah, you'll want to take the SATs but the colleges you apply to might have other requirements as well.

Generally, no, the IB courses you take don't matter. You can major in anything at most colleges, even if you don't have the background from IB or another program. There are some exceptions where you're more likely to get in if you already know what you want to study and you've taken appropriate classes. For example, Cornell University is divided into different schools [i think they call them schools]. For the Engineering School, you'll be more likely to get in if you have a background in math and physics. They ask you why you want to attend the school, so it's easier to answer if you have an idea of what you want to major in [but you can always pretend you're more interested in something when you're not]. Most colleges though, you don't have to know what you want to study.

Also, at my university, you take basic classes for your major the first year and then maybe another semester, depending on what major you're considering. Or some people just take random classes to figure out what they want to major in for a couple of years.