WHY UNIVERSITIES ARE TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT IB STUDENTS — AND WHY THAT MATTERS AT NOTRE DAME PREP

Share this article with a friend.

June 17, 2026

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

New study published last week finds IB students arrive at college prepared for the kind of learning higher education values most.

A newly published International Baccalaureate study featuring leaders from three American universities offers a clear conclusion: students who complete an IB education arrive on campus exceptionally well prepared for the demands of higher education.

Released June 8, 2026, and titled Why Recognizing IB Students Matters: Three U.S. University Perspectives, the report brings together the experiences of admissions and academic leaders from Bradley University, the State University of New York College at Geneseo, and the University of Vermont. Despite their differences in size, mission and geography, all three institutions reached a remarkably similar assessment of IB students.

"Across very different institutions, one conclusion keeps emerging: IB students arrive ready — not just for university, but for the kind of learning higher education says it values most."

For Notre Dame Prep, the findings are particularly meaningful.

As the first Catholic Pre-K-12 International Baccalaureate school in the United States and the only Catholic school in Michigan offering the full IB continuum from the Primary Years Program through the Diploma Program, Notre Dame Prep has long maintained that the value of an IB education extends well beyond test scores or college admissions. This new university-based research suggests colleges and universities increasingly agree.

A university-level foundation before college begins

One of the strongest themes throughout the new study is that IB students arrive on campus already possessing many of the habits and skills colleges seek to develop in first-year students.

The university leaders write that IB students "do not need to ease into university learning. They arrive already fluent in research, writing, sustained thinking and academic independence."

At Bradley University, faculty members who examined IB coursework concluded that students were not merely completing advanced high school work.

"It became clear that this was not advanced high school work, but university-level learning already completed," according to the findings.

The report also notes that students who completed the IB Extended Essay often enter college already comfortable conducting research, synthesizing information and managing long-term projects — experiences that mirror expectations in university-level courses.

Those observations align closely with the educational approach that begins early at Notre Dame Prep.

As outlined in the NDP piece Global Thinking. Catholic Values. Educational Excellence., the school's implementation of the International Baccalaureate is "the backbone of an integrated, values-rich K-12 experience that prepares students not just for college, but for lives of thoughtful leadership in a rapidly changing world."

The article notes that students participate in a seamless continuum of learning through the Primary Years Program, Middle Years Program and Diploma Program, an educational pathway available at very few Catholic schools nationwide.

The combination of the NDP’s Catholic mission with an international curriculum is rare. The school intentionally chooses IB because it supports the development of the whole person — intellectual, moral and spiritual.

Research, writing and critical thinking

University leaders repeatedly point to the same distinguishing characteristics of IB graduates: strong writing, sophisticated critical thinking and intellectual independence.

At Bradley University, the difference was especially visible in student writing.

"IB students arrive having written constantly, across subjects, with feedback and revision," the report states.

Similarly, officials at the University of Vermont observed that IB students are "confident in developing original arguments, synthesizing sources and managing long-term projects."

Those findings mirror research highlighted in an earlier Notre Dame Prep article titled A Measurable Academic Edge.

That article cited a University of Oxford Centre for Educational Assessment study that found students enrolled in the IB Middle Years Program demonstrate significantly stronger critical-thinking skills than their non-IB peers, even after controlling for academic ability, socioeconomic status and student background. Researchers concluded that MYP participation was "a significant predictor of critical thinking."

At Notre Dame Prep, every student in grades six through 10 participates in the IB Middle Years Program.

As NDP educators cite in the article, "The MYP is not a special class. It's the 'how,' not the 'what.'" Rather than focusing primarily on memorization, students learn through inquiry, analysis, reflection and real-world application.

Katherine Thomas, NDP's IB Middle Years Program coordinator, noted in that article that the program aligns naturally with the school's mission.

"The MYP has been a natural fit both for our Marist-based school and for our mission," Thomas said. "The different aspects of the MYP, such as the Approaches to Learning skills and the Learner Profile attributes directly connect with our mission to form Christian people, upright citizens and academic scholars."

Global thinkers grounded in Catholic values

While universities consistently emphasize academic preparation, Notre Dame Prep has long argued that an IB education should develop the whole person.

The school's article Global Thinking. Catholic Values. Educational Excellence. notes that the IB mission seeks to develop "inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect."

The article further explains that at every grade level, IB learning at NDP is defined by three core strengths: "thinking critically and analytically, focusing globally and putting ideas in action."

What makes Notre Dame Prep distinctive is how those outcomes are integrated with Catholic and Marist formation.

NDP pairs "that global, inquiry-driven curriculum with a faith-community ethos, guiding students as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

For IB Diploma Program Coordinator Katrina Sagert, that combination produces graduates who are prepared for more than academic success.

Students completing Notre Dame Prep's IB experience emerge not simply college-ready, she said, "but grounded in empathy, social responsibility and a broader worldview."

The new university report echoes those observations.

At SUNY Geneseo, university leaders found that IB students contribute as "leaders, mentors and global citizens," enriching classroom discussions through both curiosity and perspective.

When universities change policy, it sends a message

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the new study is that it was not originally intended as an endorsement of the IB.

Instead, the university leaders began by examining whether their institutions were appropriately recognizing the work IB students had already completed.

What they discovered prompted policy changes.

At Bradley University, officials concluded that IB students had been "under-recognized for years."

"Correcting that, even retroactively, was not generosity," the study states. "It was about accuracy."

At SUNY Geneseo, university officials found that strengthening recognition of IB coursework aligned directly with their institutional commitment to access and equity.

At the University of Vermont, leaders determined that existing credit policies did not fully reflect the "depth and breadth" of the IB curriculum.

The report concludes that meaningful recognition of IB students extends beyond the awarding of college credit.

"When IB recognition is done well, the benefits extend far beyond credit," the authors write. Students gain flexibility to pursue double majors, study abroad opportunities, research and experiential learning. Universities benefit from stronger retention and academic communities enriched by "globally minded, intellectually serious students."

Outcomes that continue long after graduation

The connection between IB participation and future success has been a recurring theme in research highlighted by Notre Dame Prep.

In NDP, the IB and Key Outcomes, NDP pointed to a growing body of evidence demonstrating the long-term benefits of IB participation. The article noted that the school's educational model is designed not merely to help students perform well academically, but to prepare them for college, careers and lives of purpose.

Likewise, recent IB research highlighted by Notre Dame Prep found that former IB students frequently credit the program with developing "critical thinking, analytical and writing skills and positive dispositions towards lifelong learning."

The newest university study arrives at a similar conclusion.

Its final takeaway is straightforward:

"IB students arrive university-ready because they have already done university-level work." Research, writing, critical thinking and reflection are not supplementary components of the experience; they are embedded throughout it.

For families considering Notre Dame Prep, those findings provide independent validation from the institutions that ultimately receive and evaluate graduates.

Universities are increasingly recognizing what educators at Notre Dame Prep have long believed: when students spend years learning to think critically, write effectively, conduct meaningful research, reflect thoughtfully and engage with the world through both intellectual rigor and moral purpose, they arrive prepared for much more than college.

They arrive prepared to lead.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.