Where to international school graduates go to university?

It is quite common for well-established international schools to send their graduates, over a five-year period, to upwards of 180 universities in 20 different nations.

This is a truly privileged international outcome, showing that the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme really is a passport to entry in universities around the world, and offers a testament to the IB’s ability over the years to gain global recognition and status.

However, the picture is actually much more complicated than it first seems, with a disproportionate number of graduates entering the same universities, in the same cities.

I have been observing this phenomenon since 2017 and can paint a distinct picture. Put simply, a distinct clustering trend can be observed involving a handful of universities in four global cities: London, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver.  

A disproportionate number of graduates enter the same universities, in the same cities.

An initial study using university matriculation data obtained from the official school websites revealed that, between 2016-2021, a “Big-5” attracted an average of 11 to 15 per cent of all graduates from each international school.

In order, this involves entry to University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Toronto, King’s College London (KCL), University College London (UCL), and New York University (NYU). Sometimes, in Asia in particular, the proportion of graduates going to those five universities is upwards of 20 to 30 per cent. 

A second study into the clustering phenomenon focused on comparing the entry into Toronto with that of elite Ivy League member Harvard. That study showed how entry into Toronto is nearly always relatively high (indeed, usually the main destination), especially in Asia whilst the entry to Harvard is negligible. The six schools observed in that study had sent 74 students to Toronto between 2017 and 2021, whilst only one entered Harvard. 

IBDP graduates seem to prefer to tread a new transnational pathway towards Toronto and London.

So, now we had two surprising trends. First, the IBDP graduates from international schools are clustering in major global cities, particularly Toronto. Second, they are clustering in a small grouping of elite(ish) universities, with relatively few entering elite establishments such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, or Yale.

A third study into this phenomenon delved deeper into the matriculation destinations of graduates from Dulwich College International’s three branded and franchised IBDP branches in China, in Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou.

Overall, the three branches had 757 graduates between 2018 and 2021. Of those, 11.4 per cent entered a university in Toronto, London, Boston, and New York. At the same time, only 1.8 per cent entered Durham or Bristol, the normal entry points for boys from Dulwich College London. Even fewer entered universities in major British cities such as Cardiff, Liverpool, or Nottingham.

This all seems rather strange. Instead of following the normal elite private school pathways, the IBDP graduates from international schools seem to prefer to tread, together, a new transnational pathway towards Toronto, and London.

This trend, especially with regards to Toronto, seems to be becoming a firmly established one. It also seems quite paradoxical. Would we not expect to see IBDP graduates from the well-established international schools to be less risk-averse? Why, instead, do we find them travelling and congregating together in the same safe, liberal, campus-based universities? It arguably does defy the notion of open-minded and risk-taking “global citizens”.  

I can offer few concrete reasons for the trends. The topic stands at a crossroads and now requires empirical data, focusing on interviewing school alumni, as well as university admissions people and school-based college counsellors. There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding the push-and-pull factors. I am sure readers of this article will have their own views and ideas.

Many graduates of international schools are forming long-lasting friendships and relationships.

That aside, there is another issue bubbling away below the surface. This involves the potential for the graduates to network and socialise together. This might be advantageous in the global labour market, and the topic requires a totally new approach.

Previously, we had thought of these young people as being isolated and segregated, constantly moving between schools, and forging few lasting friendships. However, we can now see that many graduates of international schools are entering an environment where long-lasting friendships and relationships can potentially be forged.

For other articles by Tristan Bunnell, click here.