What does it feel like to see your IB results for the first time?

[avident]

I can't help but wonder over and over again about what it will feel like to access my results online. In a way I think that it is so cold, seeing all your work flash in front of you on the computer screen, and I'm sort of scared. A letter would somehow feel more comforting, you know.

I wanted to hear what sorts of experiences past IB graduates have had and what that day felt like to them. Feel free to reminisce the joy, sorrow or anything in between.

[Abu]

Mine, which were texted to me, felt like a punch to the stomach. It can all go pear shaped when you're expecting the best.

[Mahuta ♥]

Worst moment in my life, although I was told the over all result on the phone, when logging to that site I had a very nervous feeling, and I mean VERY, I don't know if it's the same 'punch in the stomach' feeling, but I felt this knot in my throat and in my stomach..especially when I saw that my disappointment was much much bigger than the nervous feeling. Very disappointing.

In a way I think that it is so cold

It's not cold, it could be either so good you would feel this energy inside you as though you want to scream, or it could be, like in my situation, very bad and I would feel this depressing rage, and I didn't know who I was mad at. Everytime I recall the grades I feel it all over again as if it's the first time.

I couldn't believe that 2 years of my life went just like that, feeling that all that hard work..all the all nighters studying for exams, doing IAs, extended essay, I get results like these!

It's been almost a year, but it still stings, it hurts, I just cant forget that I was expecting excellent results, all the teachers predicted me VERY high results..

I would tell you, not everyone is like that, and you need to stay positive, but that's what people told me, and the opposite thing happen and I kind of blame them, although someone in our forum did warn me that IAs could get harshly marked down which would result in disappointing results, which was exactly what happened to him, did I listen? I wish..

[Green]

Its the same feeling for every IB student, a mixture of nervous, nauseous, excitement (perhaps) and depending on your grade the final emotion would either be relief, puzzled, or simply a terrifying shock.

Everyone made a big deal out of it, people were either on the phone while it happened, or in a massive online chat of some sort, and that just builds up the tension and excitement.

Finally seeing your grade- well for me it was pretty much the biggest heart-stopping moment of my life. I had a similar situation to Mahuta, my predicted grade was quite high, and it had dropped immensely.

Not to scare you or anything, but it happens to a few people.

[Sandwich]

I'd not slept for 48 hours, just got off a plane aaaand had my school ring to ask me to come in via trying to ring my little brother's school, which seemed very desperate to get hold of me like it was an emergency. Genuinely, I thought it was because I had done so badly and missed out on my offer and they needed to help me with a contingency plan or something

When I saw mine they totally exceeded my expectations after I'd felt the exams went absolutely horribly (really, I did x__x) and so I think I was vaguely numbed and then like 10 minutes later in the car I had a little cry with some tears of relief. Not sure I would've done that had I not been tired out of my mind but I was so, so happy it worked out. Like ridiculously happy, I don't think I can even describe it.

I got mine a day early because my school decided to release them as they got them and I did the right subject combination for all my results to be in on time Some of our history students had to wait an additional week and a half or something until theirs came through! Fine for those who didn't need history or the points from history as essential, nerve-wracking for those who did! So I can't say how it felt to get them online. I quite liked being told mine in person (well, given a bit of paper with them on). I think I'd prefer that to text/email/online.

[__inthemaking]

Relief (over my bio and chem marks), joy (over my EE), disbelief (over econ HL, I literally studied only 1 day for it) and a twinge of disappointment (over my English HL mark). I was on the phone with my boyfriend (who was also in IB) and we checked our marks at the same time and told each other our marks etc, then we hung up to tell our parents. After that I talked to my best friends on msn about our marks.

I was mostly just happy I didn't get less than what I was predicted (predicted 41). The night before was terrible though, I couldn't sleep at all and was terrified.

Edited May 27, 2010 by __inthemaking

[hanniexx]

Is it true that - with the paper, not text or online - it shows HL then SL then Tok/EE then overall?

Was seeing the HL first quite nerve-racking as those can sometimes be vital for university...?

[Mahuta ♥]

It didn't make that much of a difference to me. Besides, they weren't arranged like that, the A1 is the first on the page.

I was in Tunisia, and not in Oman, so I didn't talk to anyone about it, some of my friends called me or caught me on msn, but I refused to talk about it, it was just..horrible.

I am glad some people recall it as something joyful, lol, IB right at that moment, scarred me for life.

[A_Dying_Wren]

Its not that big a deal at least for me. I didn't have any particular targets to hit but I did almost exactly as expected which was well enough. I'm feeling very nonchalant about it as of now, not delighted, not moaning; nothing really. On one hand I was hoping for a tad bit higher by fluke and on the other I think I could've easily slipped on some subjects so I guess those emotions balance out.

[Tilia]

Nervous, thrilled, excited, scared!

[Tsubaki]

I opened the page, but found I couldn't look at them, because I was so nervous. So, I first looked at my French mark, (which I already knew because I had done French last year) which got me in the mood to actually look at them.

The subjects come up in order of group (with your EE following your subject(s) in the group it was submitted in) so it went a little something like this: I was disappointed by my English mark, but my History and extended essay grades made up for that. A little disappointed again by biology, but Chemistry more than made up for that. (I my that 6 to be able to skip introductory chemistry next year, and I was expecting a 4 or 5) At this point, I was fairly happy, but very worried about math, because I needed a 7, or I would completely lose my math reputation. (In the words of the one guy who got a 7 the year before; we're nerds like that.) I breathed in deeply, and looked at my 7 in Maths SL and was very satisfied. I felt so good I barely even cared about my C in ToK.

So, I went through a bizarre range of emotions, mostly because I did better in the subjects I expected to do poorly in than in the ones I expected to do better in (save Maths). It felt great afterward, though.